Digital Commons Network^™

The Role Of Biological Plasticity In Model-Based Translational Research, Jessica A. Bolker

Faculty Publications

Reports of low replicability and translatability of biomedical research have called the value of animal models into question. The problems are real, but abandoning animal research is not the solution. Rather, improving the translatability of model-based research requires attention to relevant differences between humans and models, and to attributes of the models themselves that are essential to both robust science and effective translation. One is biological plasticity, the responsiveness of individual organisms to complex and variable environments. Though under-represented in model systems (for both historical and practical reasons), plasticity is central to human biology. While there are good reasons to …

Roles Of Hydrogen Sulfide (H2s) As A Potential Therapeutic Agent In Cardiovascular Diseases: A Narrative Review, Kazi N. Islam, Ivan D. Nguyen, Rahib Islam, Humza Pirzadah, Hassan Malik

School of Medicine Faculty Publications

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) stands as one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide, and the continued search for novel therapeutics is vital for addressing this global health challenge. Over the past decade, hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) has garnered significant attention in the field of medical research, as it has been proven to be a cardioprotective gaseous signaling molecule. It joins nitric oxide and carbon monoxide as endogenously produced gasotransmitters. As for its mechanism, H₂S functions through the posttranslational addition of a sulfur group to cysteine residues on target proteins in a process called sulfhydration. As a result, the observed …

Provider Implementation Of Probiotics As An Adjuvant Treatment Modality For Patients With Anxiety And Or Depression In A Primary Care Setting, Sarah Dedmon

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The prevalence of anxiety and depression among Americans is growing rapidly. Patients are seeking out traditional treatments as offered by their primary care providers, but also frequently look toward integrative or complementary methods of managing their symptoms. The use of dietary supplements is at an all-time high, yet the U.S. Food and Drug Administration does not regulate these substances for potency and purity or evaluate them using quality standards as it does pharmaceuticals. Most providers lack education regarding the physiological interaction their patients may experience when using these substances and are naïve to their place in primary care medicine. The …

Effect Of Midsole Thickness On Running Economy, Comfort And Effort In Well-Trained Runners, Gian-Andri Baumann, Mattia Nolè, Christina M. Spengler, Fernando G. Beltrami

ISBS Proceedings Archive

By the current rules, midsoles in running shoes cannot exceed 40 mm in thickness, but this limit seems arbitrary. We investigated the effect of midsole thicknesses beyond the current limits on running economy, perceived comfort and effort, and spatiotemporal variables. Sixteen well-trained runners completed twelve outdoor runs (1.2 km each) at 16 km·h⁻¹ alternating between three different footwear (one entry-level shoe (EL) with 30mm thickness and two modern shoes with thickness of 40 mm and 50 mm). Both modern shoes showed lower O₂ uptake and effort compared with EL, but no differences between the 40-mm and 50-mm shoes …

“Sapere Aude!” (“Dare To Know!”): Learn To Teach Feminism, Rainier A. Ibana

Budhi: A Journal of Ideas and Culture

No abstract provided.

Genetic Diversity Of 1,845 Rhesus Macaques Improves Genetic Variation Interpretation And Identifies Disease Models, Jun Wang, Meng Wang, Ala Moshiri, R Alan Harris, Muthuswamy Raveendran, Tracy Nguyen, Soohyun Kim, Laura Young, Keqing Wang, Roger Wiseman, David H O'Connor, Zach Johnson, Melween Martinez, Michael J Montague, Ken Sayers, Martha Lyke, Eric Vallender, Tim Stout, Yumei Li, Sara M Thomasy, Jeffrey Rogers, Rui Chen

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Understanding and treating human diseases require valid animal models. Leveraging the genetic diversity in rhesus macaque populations across eight primate centers in the United States, we conduct targeted-sequencing on 1845 individuals for 374 genes linked to inherited human retinal and neurodevelopmental diseases. We identify over 47,000 single nucleotide variants, a substantial proportion of which are shared with human populations. By combining rhesus and human allele frequencies with established variant prediction methods, we develop a machine learning-based score that outperforms established methods in predicting missense variant pathogenicity. Remarkably, we find a marked number of loss-of-function variants and putative deleterious variants, which …

Towards An Interdisciplinary “Science Of The Mind”: A Call For Enhanced Collaboration Between Philosophy And Neuroscience, Alessandra Buccella, Uri Maoz, Liad Mudrik

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

In recent decades, the neuroscientific community has moved from describing the neural underpinnings of mental phenomena—as characterized by experimental psychology and philosophy of mind—to attempting to redefine those mental phenomena based on neural findings. Nowadays, many are intrigued by the idea that neuroscience might provide the “missing piece” that would allow philosophers (and, to an extent, psychologists, too) to make important advances, generating new means that these disciplines lack to close knowledge gaps and answer questions like “What is Free Will?” and “Do humans have it?.” In this paper, we argue that instead of striving for neuroscience to replace philosophy …

Majors And Minors, Saint Mary's College Of California

Undergraduate Academic Catalog

No abstract provided.

Identification Of Core Competencies For Exercise Oncology Professionals: A Delphi Study Of United States And Australian Participants, Mary A. Kennedy, Kelley Covington Wood, Anna Campbell, Melanie Potiaumpai, Christopher M. Wilson, Anna L. Schwartz, Jessica Gorzelitz, Maxime Caru, Kathryn H. Schmitz

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Introduction: Integration of exercise into standard oncology care requires a highly skilled workforce of exercise professionals; however, competency requirements have not kept pace with advancements in the field. Therefore, the aim of this study was to obtain consensus on core competencies required for an exercise professional to be qualified to work with adults undergoing active cancer treatment. Materials and Methods: A three-round modified electronic Delphi process was used. In Round 1, an international group of 64 exercise oncology stakeholders (i.e., exercise oncology professionals (n = 29), clinical referrers (n = 21), and people with lived experience (n = 14)) responded …

The Effect Of Angiogenesis On Thermal Properties Of In-Vivo Human Tissue, Shriya Musuku

Theses

Bioheat transfer is the study of heat transfer in biology. There are several sources of heat in biology including external ones such as surgical applications of heat, or internal ones like cancer tissue. Blood flow networks affect both types of processes and are often generated during disease phenomenon through a process called angiogenesis. This affects the properties of the tissue. Several attempts were made to model flow and heat transfer within various tissues through physical measurements or computer simulations. Both types of models used bioheat transfer models do not consider the geometry of vasculature at its most fundamental level. The …

T. Boudieri Extract Potentiates The Effects Of Capecitabine Treatment In Human Colon Cancer Cells, Katia Sawaya, Mahmoud Khalil, Ghada Khawaja

BAU Journal - Science and Technology

Resistance to chemotherapy remains a major challenge for colorectal cancer patients worldwide, hence the persistent need to uncover alternative treatments as well as new adjunct therapies in the fight against cancer. Natural extracts constitute an excellent source of bioactive substances that have a promising potential in that regard, with minimal negative side effects. We have previously demonstrated that both the ethanolic as well as the water extracts of Terfezia boudieri, a black desert truffle abundant in and part of the cuisine of the Mediterranean region, have significant antiproliferative effects against colon cancer cells. Our aim in this study was …

Communication Research On Sign Language Telecommunication And Digital Modes Of Interpretation., Scooter Briody

Honors Theses

Since the invention and proliferation of the telephone in the late nineteenth century, our world has become increasingly dependent on technologically mediated communication. Nowadays we are just as likely to have our next human interaction through our smartphone or computer screen as we are to meet another person face to face. We do not even tend to think of these things as tools for telecommunication anymore, but rather as extensions of our own will. Despite the overwhelming convenience of this technology, it is also fundamentally created with the interests of certain people in mind. If you are able to use …

Increasing Measurement Accuracy: Scaling Effect On Academic Resilience Instrument Using Method Of Successive Interval (Msi) And Method Of Summated Rating Scale (Msrs), Beta Wulan Febriana, Farida Agus Setiawati

Jurnal Penelitian dan Evaluasi Pendidikan

A research instrument is crucial and must meet the requirements to be valid and reliable in content and construction. Not infrequently, various methods are tried to increase the accuracy of research instruments, one of them being a simple method such as the scaling technique. This research aims to improve measurement accuracy by using scaling techniques through the process of successive intervals and summated rating scale in confirmatory factor analysis of the Academic Resilience (ARS) instrument. This research is a descriptive exploratory study using a questionnaire consisting of five answer choices (5-point Likert scale) as the research instrument. Participants in this …

Assessing Human Visual Attention In Retail Human-Robot Interaction: A Yolov8-Nano And Eye-Tracking Approach, Kamlesh Kumar, Yuhao Chen, Boyi Hu, Yue Luo

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Objectives: This research delves into the dynamics of human-robot interaction (HRI) in retail environments, with a focus on robot detection from videos captured via an eye-tracking system. Methods: The study employs YOLOv8-nano model for real-time robot detection during grocery shopping tasks. All videos were processed using the YOLOv8 model to test inference speed while performing eye-tracking data analysis as a case study. Results: The YOLOv8 model demonstrated high precision in robot detection, with a mean average precision (mAP) of approximately 97.3% for Intersection over Union (IoU), 100% precision, and 99.87% recall for box detection. The model's ability to process an …

The Other Arctic: Competition, Cooperation, Or Coexistence?, John B. Kelley, Christopher J. Sarton, Scott A. Curtice, Charles C. York Iii

Joint Force Quarterly

In Antarctica, the United States must mitigate risks stemming from competitive influences working to alter the current paradigms, but it also should seize the opportunities that Antarctica’s unique status affords. As climate change continues to open new opportunities in polar regions, international concern has grown over the potential for the future irresponsible use of the area by actors more concerned with military and economic advantage than conservation efforts. Apprehension over the People’s Republic of China (PRC)’s activities raises more significant concerns that Antarctica may become a region of military competition instead of global cooperation. This apprehension is well-founded but not …

Case Report: Dementia Sensitivity To Altitude Changes And Effective Treatment With Hyperbaric Air And Glutathione Precursors, Edward F. Fogarty, Paul G. Harch

School of Medicine Faculty Publications

A 78-year-old man with dementia experienced waxing and waning of symptoms with changes in altitude as he traveled from his home in the Rocky Mountains to lower elevations and back. To replicate the improvement in his symptoms with travel to lower elevations (higher pressure), the patient was treated with a near-identical repressurization in a hyperbaric chamber using compressed air. With four 1-h treatments at 1.3 Atmospheres Absolute (ATA) and concurrent administration of low-dose oral glutathione amino acid precursors, he recovered speech and showed improvement in activities of daily living. Regional broadcast media had documented his novel recovery. Nosocomial COVID-19 and …

Utilizing Some Techniques In Producing Wall Covering Fabrics With Embodied Designs, Ezzaldeen Osama Halawa, Mervat Abdelfatah Abo Eleneen, Mohamed Abd Elgawad

Journal of Art, Design and Music

There are various kinds of wall coverings, including wallpaper, vinyl, textile, and woven glass-fiber. Although they are occasionally utilized for their unique, ornamental impact in low-wear locations like hotel ballrooms, wallpaper is more frequently used in residential projects. For high-traffic areas where a textile appearance is preferred, heavy-duty synthetic textile wall coverings may be employed. European-style woven glass-fiber wall coverings are becoming more and more popular in the US due to their strength, permeability, and fire resistance. Woven Fabrics are used by interior designers in wall covering as an alternative for the ceramic tiles due to the high cost of …

The Correlation Between Students’ Academic Workload And Salivary Ph Levels, Yves Zidane J. Biscocho, Lorenzo Miguel S. Carpio, Giovanni Paolo C. Salceda

DLSU Senior High School Research Congress

Stress has been known to have negative and positive effects on humans. Studies have shown that academic stress, which comes from overwhelming academic demands, causes various negative effects on the well-being of students. Salivary cortisol levels can also be a predictor of academic stress. Concurrently, salivary pH levels are affected by changes in the salivary cortisol, and it can be inferred that salivary pH levels can predict the increase in academic workloads. To prove this relationship between students’ academic workloads and salivary pH levels, the researchers conducted a study utilizing a prospective research design. The data was collected from sixteen …

Non-Transgenic Guinea Pig Strains Exhibit Divergent Age-Related Changes In Hippocampal Mitochondrial Respiration, Maureen A. Walsh, Amanda S. Latham, Qian Zhang, Robert A. Jacobs, Robert V. Musci, Thomas J. Larocca, Julie A. Moreno, Kelly S. Santangelo, Karyn L. Hamilton

Health and Human Sciences Faculty Works

Aim: Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia. However, while 150+ animal models of AD exist, drug translation from preclinical models to humans for treatment usually fails. One factor contributing to low translation is likely the absence of neurodegenerative models that also encompass the multi-morbidities of human aging. We previously demonstrated that, in comparison to the PigmEnTed (PET) guinea pig strain which models “typical” brain aging, the Hartley strain develops hallmarks of AD like aging humans. Hartleys also exhibit age-related impairments in cartilage and skeletal muscle. Impaired mitochondrial respiration is one driver of both cellular aging and …

Hba1c And Pulsatility Index In Middle Cerebral Artery Of Patients With Acute Thrombotic Stroke, Rio Tasti Surpa Rahmat Bintan, Sita Setyowati, Yudhi Adrianto

Folia Medica Indonesiana

Highlights: 1. The findings of this study indicate that clinicians should remain vigilant, as effective glycemic control, reflected by optimal HbA1c levels, does not necessarily correlate with favorable distal cerebrovascular resistance, as measured by pulsatility index (PI). 2. This study recommends that patients with acute thrombotic stroke undergo a comprehensive examination to ensure an accurate diagnosis and appropriate treatment. Abstract Stroke is the second leading cause of death and disability in the world. Diabetes mellitus is a risk factor for stroke with an increase in blood viscosity associated with hyperglycemia, and HbA1c is a well-established biomarker primarily used for the …

Digital Coercive Control (Dcc): The Role Of Platforms In Victims’ (In)Justice And Potential For Online Dispute Resolution, Reeve Lanigan

Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal

Domestic violence (DV) is a form of gender-based violence characterized by acts of coercion whereby a perpetrator employs power and control to isolate, surveil, harass, and abuse a current or former intimate partner. The rise of and reliance on digital technologies, especially social networking sites, have intensified gender-based violence and methods of perpetuating DV. The term Digital Coercive Control (DCC) describes mechanisms perpetrators use to stalk, harass, and abuse current or former partners in cyberspace through technological platforms and their associated social media sites. The widespread expansion and power allocated to social networking sites and technology platforms has perpetuated the …

Creating A Capital-Efficient Organization: Accele Biopharma, Jesse Lee Brown, Tyechia Paul

College of Business and Economics

Research methodology

Case information was mainly acquired through interviews with Richard Gammans, chief operating officer. Dr Gammans was a visiting professor at Fayetteville State University for a year, and two of the case authors developed personal friendships with Richard. Interviews were conducted over a two-year period as the accelerator got started. In addition, one author conducted a team-building session with the management team and one of the bio-startup researchers. An interview was also conducted with Clayton Duncan, chief executive officer, to gain his agreement with developing the case.

The Accele website included a write-up on each of the pharmaceutical startup …

Human Health And Outdoor Lighting: A Multidisciplinary Systematic Review Of Current Research, Kellie Joy Grover

Honors Projects

Although outdoor lighting has long been associated with reduced rates of traffic-related injuries and fatalities, a growing body of research associates it with various health problems. However, there are no systematic literature reviews on the human health impacts of outdoor lighting. This paper presents a multidisciplinary systematic literature review of current research regarding the relationship between outdoor lighting and human health. Outdoor lighting was defined as outdoor electric and vehicular lighting, while health was defined as matters pertaining to physiological wellbeing and the risk, presence, and degree of physical injuries, diseases, and disorders. A search of 45 databases produced 99 …

2024 Central Washington University Commencement, Central Washington University

Commencement Programs

A commencement program from graduation ceremonies at Central Washington University.

Developing A Computational Representation Of Human Physical Activity And Exercise Using Open Ontology-Based Approach: A Tai Chi Use Case, Eloisa Nguyen, Rebecca Z Lin, Yang Gong, Cui Tao, Muhammad Tuan Amith

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Many studies have examined the impact of exercise and other physical activities in influencing the health outcomes of individuals. These physical activities entail an intricate sequence and series of physical anatomy, physiological movement, movement of the anatomy, etc. To better understand how these components interact with one another and their downstream impact on health outcomes, there needs to be an information model that conceptualizes all entities involved. In this study, we introduced our early development of an ontology model to computationally describe human physical activities and the various entities that compose each activity. We developed an open-sourced biomedical ontology called …

A Case Study: Impacts Of A Building Retrofit On Employee Efficiency And Productivity, Rigo Zepeda

Construction Management

This case study explores the effects of retrofitting building systems on operational efficiency and employee productivity in the contemporary office environment. As concerns over sustainability and the well-being of employees are now at the forefront of modern workplace design, the retrofitting of outmoded building systems has been seen as an option to enhance energy efficiency and occupant satisfaction. This research paper focuses on the recently retrofitted Performance Contracting office building in Benicia, California. As heating and ventilation systems, and lighting are two big contributors to energy consumption in buildings and comfort, analyzing these systems provided insight into its building performance. …

Lower Extremity Joint Kinetics During Walk-To-Run And Run-To-Walk Transitions, Li Jin, Michael E. Hahn

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Lower extremity joint kinetic factors are thought to modulate walk-to-run transition (WRT) and run-to-walk transition (RWT). This study aimed to investigate joint stiffness and energetic patterns during the WRT and RWT processes and identify whether gait transitions occur within a single step or not. Ten healthy subjects participated in treadmill WRT (1.8–2.4 m/s) and RWT (2.4–1.8 m/s) tests. We investigated two steps before transition (S–2, S–1), two steps after transition (S1, S2) and the transition step (S0). We found significant differences between S2 and S–2 for ankle joint stiffness during WRT and RWT (p < 0.001); for hip joint stiffness, we found significant differences between S1 and S–1 during WRT and RWT (p ≤ 0.001). Additionally, stance phase mechanical energy generation was observed to transfer from proximal to distal joints at S0 during WRT, and from distal to proximal at S0 during RWT. Transition step ankle kinematic and kinetic patterns were similar to the target locomotion task gait format in both WRT and RWT. Moreover, RWT required longer adaptation time compared with WRT. These findings indicate that WRT and RWT were modulated before and after the actual transitions, not within a single step. Redistribution of joint mechanical work generation was related to gait transition triggers, which modulate the WRT and RWT processes.

Examining Elevation Opening Ratio And Space Proportions In Lebanese Schools, Chirine Traboulsi, Mary Felix

BAU Journal - Creative Sustainable Development

The academic performance and outcomes of students are significantly impacted by the architecture of educational institutions. When designing learning spaces, two important considerations are the size of the room and the elevation opening percentage that describe how much daylight enters the space through windows. Previous studies showed that these factors have an important effect on student learning performance. This study explores the link between elevation opening percentage and space proportions in educational institutions. In order to assess daylight dispersal in a classroom in Lebanon that faced north—the direction required for the nation's best solar exposure—a quantitative approach utilizing modelling software …

Adaptation To Tolerate High Doses Of Arabinoxylan Is Associated With Fecal Levels Of Bifidobacterium Longum, Edward C. Deehan, Zhengxiao Zhang, Nguyen K. Nguyen, Maria Elisa Perez-Muñoz, Janis Cole, Alessandra Riva, David Berry, Carla M. Prado, Jens Walter

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

Dietary fiber supplements are a strategy to close the ‘fiber gap’ and induce targeted modulations of the gut microbiota. However, higher doses of fiber supplements cause gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms that differ among individuals. What determines these inter-individual differences is insufficiently understood. Here we analyzed findings from a six-week randomized controlled trial that evaluated GI symptoms to corn bran arabinoxylan (AX; n = 15) relative to non-fermentable microcrystalline cellulose (MCC; n = 16) at efficacious supplement doses of 25 g/day (females) or 35 g/day (males) in adults with excess weight. Self-reported flatulence, bloating, and stomach aches were evaluated weekly. Bacterial taxa …

Heart Rate Variability Applications In Strength And Conditioning: A Narrative Review, Jennifer Addleman, Nicholas Lackey, Justin Deblauw, Alexander Hajduczok

Division of Cardiology Faculty Papers

Heart rate variability (HRV) is defined as the fluctuation of time intervals between adjacent heartbeats and is commonly used as a surrogate measure of autonomic function. HRV has become an increasingly measured variable by wearable technology for use in fitness and sport applications. However, with its increased use, a gap has arisen between the research and the application of this technology in strength and conditioning. The goal of this narrative literature review is to discuss current evidence and propose preliminary guidelines regarding the application of HRV in strength and conditioning. A literature review was conducted searching for HRV and strength …