Digital Commons Network^™

Navigating The Aftermath: Understanding Covid Impact & Addressing Health Disparities In The Post-Pandemic Recovery Symposium Executive Report, Ashlee Young, Zuri Dale

COVID Research

While the immediate crisis may have passed, the pandemic exposed significant vulnerabilities in public health systems. A comprehensive examination of the ongoing effects of the pandemic offering insights into the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead as we continue to recover and rebuild four years after the pandemic began is crucial. Our bold vision is to improve health and quality of life and further the science that transforms lives. This reflection is crucial to prepare for future pandemics or global health crises. The 2024 theme, Navigating the Aftermath: Understanding COVID Impact and Addressing Health Disparities in Post-Pandemic Recovery, was a …

Spectator 2024-11-21, Editors Of The Spectator

The Spectator

No abstract provided.

Talking Back As An Act Of Resistance And Healing For Black Women Survivors Of Prostitution, Amelia Cole

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

The sexual abuse and prostitution of Black women is a system of oppression that has its foundation in slavery and is still embedded in the culture of the U.S. This ongoing practice of domination, racism, sexism, and class exploitation is at work daily in the lives of Black women. Some of the harsh conditions of today that limit choice and influence Black women into prostitution include poverty, lack of opportunity/education, and prior sexual, emotional, and physical abuse, which leads to a disproportionate number of women of color and girls of color who are trapped by racism and structural oppression into …

Montana Kaimin, November 21, 2024, Students Of The University Of Montana, Missoula

Montana Kaimin, 1898-present

Student newspaper of the University of Montana, Missoula.

More Choosers, Fewer Choices? Supported And Medical Decision-Making Law Post-Dobbs, Megan S. Wright

Pace Law Review

This Article focuses on two conflicting trends in the law of medical decision making. More states are adopting supported decision-making legislation, wherein an individual with a disability receives decision-making assistance from someone they elect to serve as a “supporter.” In the absence of supported decision making, adults with significant decisional impairments may be disqualified from making contemporaneous medical decisions. But with the advent of supported decision making, more patients with impaired cognition may have the legal authority to make contemporaneous medical decisions. While the number of people eligible to make decisions is potentially increasing due to widespread adoption of supported …

Molecular Diagnosis Of Cantu Syndrome: Implications For Katp Channel Function And Drug Therapy, Jian Gao

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Subunit Kir6.1 and SUR2B form a subtype of ATP sensitive potassium channel (KATP) which is mainly expressed in vascular, gastrointestinal and lymphatic smooth muscles controlling the muscle contractility tones. Gain-of-function mutations of this channel lead to Cantu Syndrome, featured with hypertrichosis, coarse facial expression, cardiac hypertrophy and sometimes lymphedema. Conventional patch-clamp assays are available for studying the consequences of Cantu Syndrome, however, the throughput is low. In this thesis, two higher throughput fluorescence -based assays, thallium flux assay and DiBAC4(3) assay with unique capabilities of large and small current detections respectively were developed for more comprehensive mutation characterizations together with …

Modulation Of Monocyte Effector Functions And Gene Expression By Human Cytomegalovirus Infection, Matthew Planchon, Jay Fishman, Joseph El Khoury

SKMC Student Presentations and Publications

Monocytes are crucial players in innate immunity. The human cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection has significant impacts on monocyte effector functions and gene expression. CMV, a β-herpesvirus, disrupts key monocyte roles, including phagocytosis, antigen presentation, cytokine production, and migration, impairing their ability to combat pathogens and activate adaptive immune responses. CMV modulates monocyte gene expression, decreasing their capacity for antigen presentation and phagocytosis while increasing pro-inflammatory cytokine production, which can contribute to tissue damage and chronic inflammation. CMV also alters monocyte migration to sites of infection while promoting trans-endothelial migration, thus aiding viral dissemination. Additionally, the virus affects reactive oxygen species (ROS) …

Moral Of The Story: Secondary Language Arts Teachers’ Perceptions Of Students’ Moral Intelligence, Sadia Fauzia Zaman

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The literature review reveals a gap in secondary English Language Arts (ELA) teachers’ perception of students’ moral intelligence (MI). While many character education studies examine the student perspective, this study contributes to the limited research on secondary ELA teachers’ perceptions of students’ moral intelligence and how it can be cultivated. This dissertation addresses that gap by collecting and analyzing ELA teachers’ lived experiences and perceptions of students’ MI, as well as exploring how ELA teachers and schools can support students’ moral development by integrating moral and ethical topics into instructional practices. This qualitative study used narrative inquiry to gather interview …

Supporting The Cultural Identity Development Of Indigenous Youth: Findings From An Indigenous Educators' Community-Of-Practice, Angela Lunda, Amber Frommherz, William Gamaas Bolton, Barbara Dude, Naomi Leask, Roberta Littlefield, Jennifer Mccarty, Shawna Puustinen, Natasia Vaska

Faculty and Staff

Research reveals a positive impact on educational achievement for Indigenous students when their teachers are also Indigenous. The educational value of shared identity between students and teachers manifests in the form of increased student attendance rates, grades, and graduation rates. Fewer than 5% of public-school teachers in Alaska are Indigenous, while nearly 20% of students are Indigenous. Thus, it is unlikely that most Indigenous students in Alaska will experience a shared cultural identity with their teachers—nor would it be desirable, in this age of global mobility, for society to strive for teachers and students to share cultural identity in all …

The Current (Including Special Section) - Volume 35 Issue 6, Nova Southeastern University

Student Newspapers

No abstract provided.

Development Of Long-Term Studies Evaluating The Potential Of Chondrostereum Purpureum As A Mycobiocontrol On Invasive Buckthorn, Abraham F. Stone

Michigan Tech Undergraduate Scholarship

Chondrostereum purpureum is a circumboreal polypore with high potential as a native fungal biocontrol for weedy, deciduous tree species in the Northern Hemisphere. This thesis describes the development of three multi-year studies designed to evaluate the effectiveness of C. purpureum as a management tool for invasive buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica and Frangula alnus) in Upper Michigan, in a manner that tests a broader range of application methods beyond girdling or cut-stump treatments. Our experiments focused on a) developing a viable liquid inoculum to spray on buckthorn whips and b) creating a symptomatic assessment scale to quantify disease progression of C. purpureum …

Open Nebraska (One) Tagging Project Overview, Stephen Craig Finlay, Renata Valquier Chavez

Criss Library Faculty Publications

Open Nebraska (ONE) is a multifaceted open education and affordable content initiative which includes all three campuses of the University of Nebraska system and includes grant funding for adoption of no-cost and affordable materials, a course tagging system, and a rigorous program of assessment for metrics of student success. The ONE initiatives are administered and funded by the Division of Innovative and Learning-Centric Initiatives at University of Nebraska at Omaha, in cooperation with various academic units including university libraries, bookstores, and centers for online learning and teaching development. As of Fall 2022, the affordability initiatives in the University of Nebraska …

Introduction—Bioethics After Dobbs, James Toomey

Pace Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Alabama Embryo Decision In Ethics, Law, And Politics, I. Glenn Cohen

Pace Law Review

No abstract provided.

Legal Disputes Over Frozen Embryos After Dobbs: A Retrospective Study Of Claims, Contracts, And Liability In Cases Of Divorce Or Separation, Gerard Letterie, Dov Fox

Pace Law Review

This study reviewed legal claims and clinic liability over disputed frozen embryos in cases of divorce or separation. Our data shows that one-third of cases had no prior arrangement regarding disposition about what to do in the event of separation or divorce. When agreements were in place they were rarely clear enough to determine the court’s resolution in these cases. In a post-Dobbs era, absence of adequate guidance could have significant implications regarding liability for all parties.

Are Embryos Or Fetuses Brain Dead? Implications For The Abortion Debate, Greer Donley

Pace Law Review

Most state abortion definitions exclude the removal of a dead fetus, attempting to distinguish miscarriage and abortion care. But what does “dead” mean at the earliest stages of potential life? There is a consensus at the end of life that death not only encompasses the cessation of cardiac activity, but also brain death. This symposium essay considers whether life can only begin with the emergence of brain life and if so, how that might impact the abortion debate. The most rudimentary brain waves cannot be detected in an embryo before roughly the eighth week of pregnancy; the capacity for feeling …

Personhood, Politics, Assisted Reproduction, And The Law Post-Dobbs, Myrisha S. Lewis

Pace Law Review

With the end of the federal constitutional right to abortion, state legislatures and state courts have become far more important in the sphere of reproductive rights. Before Dobbs, anti-abortion advocates had significant (albeit increasingly porous) ceilings on what they could prohibit in relation to reproductive health care. A significant check on those actions is now gone.

In the wake of Dobbs, societal debates about personhood have increased and expanded in terms of their practical implications. Before Dobbs, anti-abortion advocates admitted that Roe and subsequent cases limited the scope of their arguments, especially in relation to the legality …

We Have Lost Our Minds, Teneille Ruth Brown

Pace Law Review

This Article examines the paradoxical treatment of autonomy in American healthcare law. While autonomy has become the dominant principle in medical ethics and neoliberal market philosophies, pregnant people have been systematically denied this same autonomy through increasingly restrictive abortion statutes. Using the rhetoric of “informed consent,” abortion-restrictive statutes ironically pervert the animating principles behind the doctrine—rendering it almost meaning- less. I argue that this contradiction stems from the dehumanization of pregnant people who seek abortions, particularly through the denial of their capacity to have individual, complex mental states and feelings. Drawing on moral psychology, the Article demonstrates how pregnant people …

November 21, 2024, The Daily Mississippian

Daily Mississippian (all digitized issues)

No abstract provided.

Military Spouses’ Perceptions Of Family Stress And Resilience During Multiple Relocations, Mauranda Nikki Jones

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The purpose of this qualitative transcendental phenomenological study was to increase understanding of military spouses’ perceptions of family stress and resilience during multiple relocations. On average, active-duty military families relocate every 2 to 4 years, placing additional stress on them. It has been argued that military spouses, because of their central roles, are uniquely positioned to demonstrate resilience, thus providing an important perspective for this study. Understanding specific risks and resiliency from the perspectives of service members’ spouses can enrich knowledge from which human service professionals can learn. The study was grounded in the resiliency model of stress, adjustment, and …

Unravelling The Erythropoietin Heterodimeric Complex: In Silico Analysis Of Complex Assembly And Binding Interface, Atiya Habib, Urooj Qureshi, Mohammad Nur-E-Alam, Aftab Ahmed, Zaheer Ul-Haq

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Erythropoietin (Epo), a glycosylated protein categorized as a member of the cytokine family, is responsible for the modulation of erythrogenesis. Besides this, the nonhaematopoietic effects of Epo are associated with tissue-protective activity via an antiapoptotic pathway. This function of Epo is linked with its heterodimeric form, i.e. EpoR/βcR belonging to the cytokine family as well. Both receptors are dissected into three domains: extracellular (also known as ligand-binding domain), transmembrane and cytoplasmic domain. The transmembrane and cytoplasmic domains are assumed to play a paramount role in dimerization and tissue protection. However, the tertiary structure of cytoplasmic domains of both …

Book Reviews, Usawc Press

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

No abstract provided.

Hybrid Energy Systems: Synergy Margin And Control Co-Design, Mario Garcia Sanz

Faculty Scholarship

Extraordinary properties emerge from subsystems' interactions. Hybrid energy systems (HESs) are a promising concept that could change the renewable energy landscape. By co-designing generation, storage, and conversion technologies, HESs can provide new electrical power services, increase grid stability and control authority, and generate energy and/or nonenergy products such as electricity, hydrogen, ammonia, heat, digital data, or fresh water. This article discusses some conditions the co-design of HESs should follow to optimize the combined system (synergy), avoiding deterioration (dysfunction). It introduces some technoeconomic synergy conditions, develops a synergy margin, and analyses several case studies, exploring also the control co-design methodology to …

Dobbs And Sterilization Decision-Making: Understanding The Coercive Spillover Effects In Reproductive Choice, Thomas Wilson Williams

Pace Law Review

The Supreme Court majority in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization argued their decision would have limited impact beyond abortion rights. This Article examines how Dobbs and subsequent state abortion restrictions are likely to increase women’s reliance on permanent sterilization procedures, particularly among already marginalized populations. Drawing on emerging data and historical context, I argue that some post-Dobbs sterilizations should be understood as effectively coerced by state policies, implicating reproductive justice concerns and potentially undermining fundamental rights established in Skinner v. Oklahoma. Then, I demonstrate how interdisciplinary bioethics frameworks and methodologies can help courts better understand the full …

Phagolysosomes Break Down The Membrane Of A Non-Apoptotic Corpse Independent Of Macroautophagy, Shruti Kolli, Cassidy J. Kline, Kimya M. Rad, Ann M. Wehman

Biological Sciences: Faculty Scholarship

Cell corpses must be cleared in an efficient manner to maintain tissue homeostasis and regulate immune responses. Ubiquitin-like Atg8/LC3 family proteins promote the degradation of membranes and internal cargo during both macroautophagy and corpse clearance, raising the question how macroautophagy contributes to corpse clearance. Studying the clearance of non-apoptotic dying polar bodies in Caenorhabditis elegans embryos, we show that the LC3 ortholog LGG-2 is enriched inside the polar body phagolysosome independent of autophagosome formation. We demonstrate that ATG-16.1 and ATG-16.2, which promote membrane association of lipidated Atg8/LC3 proteins, redundantly promote polar body membrane breakdown in phagolysosomes independent of their role …

Rare Sugars And Dairy Ingredients: A Synergistic Pairing For The Reduction Of Food Waste And Sugar Consumption, Melinda Michelle Moss

Theses and Dissertations

In the future, sustainability in the dairy industry will require creative and scale-able solutions for better utilization of the primary solid component in milk: lactose. One promising avenue of “up-cycling” underutilized lactose is converting it to valuable rare sugars. Rare sugars like D-tagatose and D-allulose are increasing in popularity extremely quickly. D-tagatose and D-allulose are hexose sugars, D-allulose being an epimer of D-fructose and D-tagatose an isomer of D-galactose. They have excellent functional properties in food systems with clean sweetness profiles similar to sucrose. Critically, they also have excellent nutritional characteristics, such as low caloric values and low glycemic indices. …

The Role Of Microrna-155 As A Biomarker In Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma, Epameinondas Koumpis, Vasileios Georgoulis, Konstantina Papathanasiou, Alexandra Papoudou-Bai, Panagiotis Kanavaros, Evangelos Kolettas, Eleftheria Hatzimichael

Computational Medicine Center Faculty Papers

Diffuse Large B-cell Lymphoma (DLBCL) is the most common aggressive non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). Despite the use of newer agents, such as polatuzumab vedotin, more than one-third of patients have ultimately relapsed or experienced refractory disease. MiRNAs are single-stranded, ~22-nucleotide-long RNAs that interact with their target RNA. They are significant regulators of post-transcriptional gene expression. One significant miRNA, miR-155, is involved in the pathophysiology of DLBCL and it is a critical modulator of hematopoiesis, inflammation, and immune responses. Targets of miR-155, such as histone deacetylase 4 (HDAC4), suppressor of cytokine signaling-1 (SOCS1) and immune cells, play a crucial role in DLBCL …

Smartphone Haptics Can Uncover Differences In Touch Interactions Between Asd And Neurotypicals, Ivonne Monarca, Franceli L. Cibrian, Isabel López Hurtado, Monica Tentori

Engineering Faculty Articles and Research

Utilizing touch interactions from smartphones for gathering data and identifying digital markers for screening and monitoring neurological disorders, such as Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), is an emerging area of research. Smartphones provide multiple benefits for this kind of study, including unobtrusive data collection via built-in sensors, integrated haptic feedback systems, and the capability to create specialized applications. Acknowledging the significant yet understudied presence of tactile processing differences in individuals with ASD, we designed and developed Feel and Touch, a mobile game that leverages the haptic capabilities of smartphones. This game provides vibrotactile feedback in response to touch interactions and collects …

Pro-Choice Legalism Vs Pro-Life Grace: How Soteriology Informs Our Idea Of Personhood, Stephen Bauer

Achieve

This paper was presented in the Bioethics Section of the Evangelical Theological Society. It explores how arguments for elective abortion and also for some forms of euthanasia treat personhood (and thus the sanctity and sacredness of that individual life) as something that is merited by possessing certain functional capabilities and behaviors. By contrast, this paper argues that in the Bible this personhood is conferred by grace apart from meritorious capacities. Thus the first mimics legalism while the second reflects the principles of Gospel salvation. A brief exploration of end of life limitations that allows for conceding defeat without intentionally killing …

Effectiveness And Safety Of Irreversible Electroporation When Used For The Ablation Of Stage 3 Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma: Initial Results From The Direct Registry Study, Robert C G Martin, Rebekah Ruth White, Malcolm M Bilimoria, Michael D Kluger, David A Iannitti, Patricio M Polanco, Chet W Hammil, Sean P Cleary, Robert Evans Heithaus, Theodore Welling, Carlos H F Chan

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Overall survival for patients with Stage 3 pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) remains limited, with a median survival of 12 to 15 months. Irreversible electroporation (IRE) is a local tumor ablation method that induces cancerous cell death by disrupting cell membrane homeostasis. The DIRECT Registry study was designed to assess the effectiveness and safety of IRE when combined with standard of care (SOC) treatment for Stage 3 PDAC versus SOC alone in a real-world setting after at least 3 months of induction chemotherapy; Methods: Patients with Stage 3 PDAC treated with IRE plus SOC or SOC alone were prospectively enrolled …