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The Rock, Winter 2023, Whittier College

The Rock

Contents:

• President's Corner
• New Board Members
• Poet4Life
• Around the Rock
• Leadership Changes
• Societies
• Faculty Files
• Environmental Studies
• Q&A: President Dillon
• Athletics
• Advancement
• Honor Roll of Donors
• Alumni
• Board of Trustees

Floating Arms Activity Plan, Admin Stem For Success

STEM for Success Showcase

Voluntary vs. involuntary muscle movement

No. 59: Increasing The Use Of Spatial Data In Urban Household-Level Food Security Measurement, Jordan Blekking, Kurt Waldman

Hungry Cities Partnership

Measuring urban food security in Africa is challenging because the current food security metrics were designed for rural contexts, and often feature a bias toward food availability, yet limited urban food production means urban food security measurement requires a multi-dimensional evaluation that also takes stock of the spatial and behavioural dimensions of food security. Current metrics are poorly suited to evaluate urban food security because they do not incorporate the spatial and behavioural dimensions of urban livelihoods, which relate to the variability of entitlements across space and how urban infrastructure accessibility enhances or constrains the choices available for a household …

Patterns Of Utilization And Clinical Adoption Of 0.35 Tesla Mr-Guided Radiation Therapy In The United States - Understanding The Transition To Adaptive, Ultra-Hypofractionated Treatments, Michael D. Chuong, Mary Ann Clark, Lauren E. Henke, Amar U. Kishan, Lorraine Portelance, Parag J. Parikh, Michael F. Bassetti, Himanshu Nagar, Stephen A. Rosenberg, Minesh P. Mehta, Tamer Refaat, Justin M. Rineer, Adam Smith, Steven Seung, Bassem I. Zaki, Martin Fuss, Raymond H. Mak

Radiation Oncology Articles

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVE: Magnetic resonance-guided radiation therapy (MRgRT) utilization is rapidly expanding worldwide, driven by advanced capabilities including continuous intrafraction visualization, automatic triggered beam delivery, and on-table adaptive replanning (oART). Our objective was to describe patterns of 0.35Tesla(T)-MRgRT (MRIdian) utilization in the United States (US) among early adopters of this novel technology.

MATERIALS/METHODS: Anonymized administrative data from all US MRIdian treatment systems were extracted for patients completing treatment from 2014 to 2020. Detailed treatment information was available for all MRIdian linear accelerator (linac) systems and some cobalt systems.

RESULTS: Seventeen systems at 16 centers delivered 5736 courses and 36,389 fractions (fraction details …

Oncolytic Virus-Based Suicide Gene Therapy For Cancer Treatment: A Perspective Of The Clinical Trials Conducted At Henry Ford Health, Shivani Thoidingjam, Sushmitha Sriramulu, Svend Freytag, Stephen L. Brown, Jae Ho Kim, Indrin J. Chetty, Farzan Siddiqui, Benjamin Movsas, Shyam Nyati

Radiation Oncology Articles

Gene therapy manipulates or modifies a gene that provides a new cellular function to treat or correct a pathological condition, such as cancer. The approach of using gene manipulation to modify patient's cells to improve cancer therapy and potentially find a cure is gaining popularity. Currently, there are 12 gene therapy products approved by US-FDA, EMA and CFDA for cancer management, these include Rexin-G, Gendicine, Oncorine, Provange among other. The Radiation Biology Research group at Henry Ford Health has been actively developing gene therapy approaches for improving clinical outcome in cancer patients. The team was the first to test a …

Chemistry And Public Policy: Equipping Advocates, Herbert R. Fynewever, I. Bos, C. Demlow, G. Fulkerson

Summer Research

No abstract provided.

Impact Of The Flexibility Of A Hydroxy Group Of Coumarins To Its Quantum Yield, Yejin Chung, Mark Muyskens

Summer Research

Coumarin is an organic, bioactive (anti-tumor, antioxidant) molecule that has a structure of a bicyclic benzene and pyrone ring. The monohydroxy-substituted coumarins only differ in the location of hydroxy group location but carry radically different photophysical properties such as wavelength of absorption, excitation, emission, and quantum yield.

The hydroxy groups in coumarins have different flexibility in rotating based on their locations. Ranked by quantum yield: 7-hydroxycoumarin (7HC) > 6HC> 5HC > 8HC. The flexibility of coumarins were studied in relation to the quantum yield.

Lumbar Specialization And The Evolution Of Swimming Modes In Cetaceans, Caedmon Morgret, Ryan Bebej

Summer Research

Locomotion describes how an animal moves through its environment. The driving force behind locomotion in cetaceans (whales, dolphins, and porpoises) is the vertebral column and its associated muscles, tendons, and ligaments. Lumbar vertebrae represent one of several vertebral regions in the column (Fig. 1) that dictate cetacean swimming mode1 . Ancient cetaceans had four limbs and were able to move around on land, with swimming capabilities similar to modern terrestrial/semiaquatic mammals2 . Over time, as cetaceans became more aquatic, they transitioned from using limb-dominated swimming to taildominated swimming, which required drastic functional changes in the lumbar region. Prior work demonstrates …

Nutech Ventures Annual Report 2022-2023

NUtech Ventures: Publications

NUTech Ventures annual report 2022-2023.

Molecular Profiling Of High-Level Athlete Skeletal Muscle After Acute Exercise: A Systems Biology Approach, Stefan M. Reitzner, Eric B. Emanuelsson, Muhammad Arif, Bogumil Kaczkowski, Andrew Tj. Kwon, Adil Mardinoglu, Erik Arner, Mark A. Chapman, Carl Johan Sundberg

School of Engineering: Faculty Scholarship

Objective: Long-term high-level exercise training leads to improvements in physical performance and multi-tissue adaptation following changes in molecular pathways. While skeletal muscle baseline differences between exercise-trained and untrained individuals have been previously investigated, it remains unclear how training history influences human multi-omics responses to acute exercise. Methods: We recruited and extensively characterized 24 individuals categorized as endurance athletes with >15 years of training history, strength athletes, or control subjects. Timeseries skeletal muscle biopsies were taken from M. vastus lateralis at three time-points after endurance or resistance exercise was performed, and multi-omics molecular analysis performed. Results: Our analyses revealed distinct activation …

Finutyper: Design And Validation Of An Automated Deep Learning-Based Platform For Simultaneous Fiber And Nucleus Type Analysis In Human Skeletal Muscle, August Lundquist, Enikő Lázár, Nan S. Han, Eric B. Emanuelsson, Stefan M. Reitzner, Mark A. Chapman, Vera Shirkova, Kanar Alkass, Henrik Druid, Susanne Petri, Carl J. Sundberg, Olaf Bergmann

School of Engineering: Faculty Scholarship

Aim While manual quantification is still considered the gold standard for skeletal muscle histological analysis, it is time-consuming and prone to investigator bias. To address this challenge, we assembled an automated image analysis pipeline, FiNuTyper (Fiber and Nucleus Typer). Methods We integrated recently developed deep learning-based image segmentation methods, optimized for unbiased evaluation of fresh and postmortem human skeletal muscle, and utilized SERCA1 and SERCA2 as type-specific myonucleus and myofiber markers after validating them against the traditional use of MyHC isoforms. Results Parameters including cross-sectional area, myonuclei per fiber, myonuclear domain, central myonuclei per fiber, and grouped myofiber ratio were …

Inklings: Research And Rhetoric From The Suffolk University First-Year Writing Program, Vol. 1 No.1, Fall 2023, Olivia Windisch, Stephanie Thulare, Camille Culpovich, Zachary Ullrich, Laura Martone, Syeda Tabassum, Mary Miro, Brandon Bellafontaine, Elise Coelho, Natalie Palacios

Inklings

No abstract provided.

The Effect Of A Self-Regulated Intervention On Vocabulary Knowledge And Self-Regulated Learning Skills For English Language Learners, Qizhen Deng, Guy Trainin

Literacy, Language and Culture Faculty Publications and Presentations

English language learners (ELLs) lack academic vocabulary knowledge, an essential component that explains much of the persistent achievement gap between students who start schools as ELLs and their monolingual peers. This single-subject experimental design study addressed this issue by focusing on self-regulated vocabulary learning that helps ELLs become effective and independent word learners. Nine upper elementary ELLs participated in an intervention for 16 sessions, with about 35 minutes per session. The intervention included the instruction of task-specific cognitive strategies (i.e., morphological and contextual analyses) and metacognitive strategies (i.e., goal-setting and monitoring) in authentic reading texts in social studies. Results indicated …

Of Game Keepers, Opportunism, And Conservation, Raymond Hames

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

In this collection, gamekeepers are supernatural entities that regulate wildlife hunting in a wide variety of ways. They assist the hunters in pursuit of their prey, ritual respect for the game, and the reincarnation of slain animals. In addition, broader considerations are described, such as the mutual moral obligations between hunters and the supernatural. Gamekeepers seem to be nearly universal in those societies that depend on game animals as an important part of their diet, making the topic interesting from a ideological perspective. Some of the chapters argue that gamekeepers play a role in the conservation of prey types. The …

Dermatologic Manifestations Of Rheumatic Disease: Cutaneous Manifestations Of Vasculitides, Julianna S. Kang, Julia Nunley, Tiffany Ho, Mavra Masood, Fnu Nutan, Beth Rubinstein

Open and Affordable Course Content at VCU

No abstract provided.

Identifying Barriers To Dental Care Among Hispanics In Southwest Minnesota, Lissette Garza

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The purpose of this study was to assess the different barriers for dental health care among the Hispanic population in a rural, southwestern community in Minnesota. To collect data, an adaptation of the survey written by Vazquez and Swan (2003) was distributed to Hispanic individuals at an agricultural facility, religious organization, and an early childhood organization. The findings for the research question are presented in the cross-sectional study utilizing descriptive statistics in the form of frequencies and percentages. The results of this study indicate that not having a dental provider of the same cultural background, having a language barrier, and …

Identifying The Binding Residues On Cyp3a4 To Naringin Using Protein Modeling And Docking, Parth Shah, Vraj Patel, Sanjana Ananthula, Emily Schmitt Lavin, Arthur Sikora

Protein Modeling Reports

Cytochrome (CYP) enzymes are a superfamily of monooxygenase hemoprotein enzymes that are found throughout the body but are heavily concentrated in the endoplasmic reticulum and mitochondria of liver cells. These enzymes catalyze reactions that modify a wide range of substrates into more hydrophilic and, therefore, more readily excreted forms. Cytochrome enzymes are heavily involved in the detoxification process of many medically relevant drugs. As such, the inhibition and activation of these enzymes can substantially alter the effective bioavailability of medications and can introduce additional variables or modifiable variables into a pharmacological-based treatment.

Cytochrome p450 3A4 (CYP3A4) is one of the …

Using 3d Modeling To Describe The Electromotility Of The Outer Hair Cell Protein Prestin, And Its Role In Sound Perception Among Mammals, Marqus Colon, Syed Hussain, Russel Robert Reside, Emily Schmitt-Lavin, Arthur Sikora

Protein Modeling Reports

Prestin is one of the key motor proteins that has been identified in enabling auditory perception in mammals. By modulating its electromotility in response to changes in environmental voltage, prestin contracts and elongates in the plasma membrane of cochlear outer hair cells (OHCs). This allows different frequencies of sound to be processed quickly and precisely. Belonging to the SLC26A5 family of anion transporters, prestin is especially adept at binding anions in order to facilitate its oscillation through a series of unique conformations. Previous research has demonstrated that prestin is reversibly inhibited in the presence of salicylate. However, the broader mechanisms …

Modeling Cysteinyl Leukotriene Receptor Antagonist Knw For Possible Optimized Asthma Treatment, Shalet James, Sreejani Jonnalagadda, Emily Schmitt Lavin, Arthur Sikora

Protein Modeling Reports

Underdiagnosed and under-treated, particularly in low- and middle-income countries, asthma has affected 262 million people globally. Current anti-asthmatic medications such as pranlukast inhibit cysteinyl leukotriene receptor 1 (CysLT1R), yet many patients do not respond to this drug. CysLT1R is associated with bronchoconstriction, inflammation, and mucus production in the airways of the lungs and bronchial tissues. When cysteinyl leukotrienes bind to CysLT1R, these effects are triggered contributing to the symptoms of asthma. The potential role of the related receptor CysLT2 in asthma remains poorly understood. To better understand this process, CysLT2R has been identified as a promising drug target for not …

Multilevel Selection On Social Network Traits Differs Between Sexes In Experimental Populations Of Forked Fungus Beetles, R. A. Costello, P. A. Cook, E. D. Brodie Iii, Vincent A. Formica

Biology Faculty Works

Both individual and group behavior can influence individual fitness, but multilevel selection is rarely quantified on social behaviors. Social networks provide a unique opportunity to study multilevel selection on social behaviors, as they describe complex social traits and patterns of interaction at both the individual and group levels. In this study, we used contextual analysis to measure the consequences of both individual network position and group network structure on individual fitness in experimental populations of forked fungus beetles (Bolitotherus cornutus) with two different resource distributions. We found that males with high individual connectivity (strength) and centrality (betweenness) had …

Investigating The Extent To Which Chatgpt’S Output Reflects And Reproduces Gender Stereotypes About Math Ability, Miles Baldwin, Nina Braum-Bharti, Peter Baldwin

NERA Conference Proceedings 2023

One concern with AI systems is their potential for perpetuating harmful stereotypes. In this paper, we task ChatGPT with estimating student age based on math test performances. Despite attributing identical test performances to girls and boys, ChatGPT’s age estimates for girls are 5.8 months older than for boys on average.

Patient Guide To: Stevens-Johnson Syndrome (Sjs) And Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis (Ten), Djoni Elkady, Eden Lake Md

School of Medicine

No abstract provided.

Critical Theory And Poverty, David Ingram

Philosophy: Faculty Publications and Other Works

This chapter explores the contributions that the Frankfurt School of critical theory has made to philosophical discussions about the meaning and injustice of poverty. Critical theorists interpret poverty to mean more than material deprivation, and they see its injustice as 2 extending beyond wrongful suffering and the threat to a human right to life to encompass psychological impoverishment and dehumanization. The chapter begins by examining critical theory’s historical roots in the Marxist critique of capitalism. The next section discusses early efforts by critical theorists to extend this critique to state-administered economies (capitalist and socialist) that have succeeded in sharply reducing …

Graduate Bulletin & Catalog | 2023-2024, Jacksonville State University

Bulletins & Catalogs | Graduate

Jacksonville State was granted University status in 1966 and began adding graduate programs to its curriculum at that time. Graduate bulletins and catalogs contain information on the academic calendar, policies and procedures, faculty, scholarships and tuition, and degree requirements for graduate programs.

Hippocampal Versus Cortical Deletion Of Cholinergic Receptor Muscarinic 1 In Mice Differentially Affects Post-Translational Modifications And Supramolecular Assembly Of Respiratory Chain-Associated Proteins, Mitochondrial Ultrastructure, And Respiration: Implications In Alzheimer's Disease, Mohammad Golam Sabbir, Mamiko Swanson, Robert C. Speth, Benedict C. Albensi

HPD Articles

In a previous retrospective study using postmortem human brain tissues, we demonstrated that loss of Cholinergic Receptor Muscarinic 1 (CHRM1) in the temporal cortex of a subset of Alzheimer's patients was associated with poor survival, whereas similar loss in the hippocampus showed no such association. Mitochondrial dysfunction underlies Alzheimer's pathogenesis. Therefore, to investigate the mechanistic basis of our findings, we evaluated cortical mitochondrial phenotypes in Chrm1 knockout (Chrm1) mice. Cortical Chrm1 loss resulted in reduced respiration, reduced supramolecular assembly of respiratory protein complexes, and caused mitochondrial ultrastructural abnormalities. These mouse-based findings mechanistically linked cortical CHRM1 loss with poor survival of …

The Need For Fairness And Accuracy For Women In Sentencing: Surmounting Challenges To Gender-Specific Statistical Risk Assessment Tools, Elizabeth E. Wainstein

JCLC Online

States across the country have increasingly adopted statistical risk assessment tools in multiple stages of their criminal legal systems with the hope of reducing incarceration without increasing crime. These tools use various characteristics to estimate an individual’s future risk of recidivism, and judges consider the results of these assessments when determining levels of custody or community supervision for convicted individuals. Despite much debate amongst academics and activists on the utility and fairness of these tools, one critique seems beyond debate: the tools are built for men, not women. These tools are based on criteria, statistics, and theory drawn from the …

The Neuroscience Of Trauma Supports Diminished Capacity As A Nuanced Approach To The Icc Case Of An Ex-Child Soldier, Lee Hiromoto, Ramail Siddiqui, Landy F. Sparr

JCLC Online

The 2021 conviction of former child soldier Dominic Ongwen by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes committed as an adult commander in the Lord’s Resistance Army in Uganda raises questions about the ICC’s approach to mental illness.  During his trial, the defendant unsuccessfully raised defenses of insanity and duress, based on his kidnapping into the militant group as a child.  The court rejected not only those defenses, but also the claim that he had mental illness at all, in spite of his traumatic childhood.  Integrating scientific research, we argue that both the ICC and the defense failed to …

Unveiling Undergraduate Research Opportunities For All, Justin Fedoryk, Laniece Jones, Timothy Luckritz, Tracy Mcmullin, Teresa Salgado, Meredith Sisson

The Grace E. Harris Leadership Institute Publications

VCU is experiencing unprecedented levels of growth in its research operations, having secured more than $460 million in sponsored research funding in fiscal year 2023 and becoming one of the top 50 public universities in the country for sponsored research. Between FY18 and FY22, sponsored research funding at VCU increased by 49% (Crawford et al., 2022). Nonetheless, many faculty members are leaving a key resource untapped: VCU’s undergraduate students. According to Dr. Srirama Rao, Vice President of Research and Innovation, in a recent State of the Research address, only about 600 undergraduate students participate in sponsored research annually. Even faculty …

Undergraduate Review, Vol. 17, 2022/2023

Undergraduate Review

No abstract provided.

Unm-Och Diabetes Project Data Set, Janet Page-Reeves, Lidia Regino, Erik B. Erhardt, Cristina Murray-Krezan, Blanca Pedigo, Maria Tellez, Mark R. Burge, Shiraz I. Mishra, Elaine Bearer, Molly J. Bleecker, Denise Guerrero, Daniel P. Rodriguez

Family Community Medicine

Background

Latinos who live in poverty are at high risk for type 2 diabetes (diabetes). Health guidelines recommend strategies for self-management, but many people find lifestyle change to be challenging. Systematic reviews show that culturally competent self-management programs that take values, customs, beliefs, and language from Latino culture into account can significantly improve diabetes outcomes.

Objectives

We compared the effectiveness of two distinct evidence-based models of culturally competent diabetes health promotion: 1) The Diabetes Self-Management Support Empowerment Model (DSMS), an approach using a classroom-based educational sessions taught by trained diabetes educators, and 2) The Chronic Care Model (CCM), a holistic …