Digital Commons Network^™

Music Is My Language: Analyzing Autism Acceptance Within Communities, Cielo Bake

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis explores the intersection of music and romanticism, drawing upon the emotional expressionism of Romantic era composers, inspired by Romantic literature, such as Frederic Chopin and Franz Liszt as a vehicle for communication. The ultimate goal was to determine a way to bridge the neurodivergent and neurotypical gaps in connection, enabling a stronger community that values every member of its locale and allows for a sense of belonging. The format for this research is through a performance, comprised of a piano recital of Romantic Era music by Frederic Chopin and Franz Liszt and improvised original music with a speech. …

Next Generation Sequencing Based Profiling Of Genes In Patients With Syndromic Forms Of Retinitis Pigmentosa, Harshavardhini G

Theses and Dissertations

India is one of the largest populations in the world and is estimated to have a high prevalence of Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP). RP is clinically and genetically heterogenous, characterized initially as night blindness, leading to complete vision loss due to retinal degeneration. RP can occur in non-syndromic or syndromic forms, affecting other organs as observed in Bardet Biedl Syndrome (BBS) and Usher syndrome (USH).

BBS is characterized by RP, polydactyly, obesity, renal anomalies and learning difficulties. USH is characterized by RP and sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL), with variable presence of vestibular dysfunction. Nextgeneration sequencing (NGS) has become a cost-effective technology …

Review Of Supporting Secondary Teachers' Critical Disciplinary Literacies, Tim Sears

Open Educational Resources - Reviews

No abstract provided.

Falling In Love, Rebecca Bradbury

Psychology Student Publications

No abstract provided.

Ole Miss Senior Chosen As 2025 Marshall Scholar, Clara Turnage

University of Mississippi News

OXFORD, Miss. – The British government has named University of Mississippi senior Christian Boudreaux as a winner of a prestigious Marshall Scholarship, making him the university's fourth Marshall scholar ever.

I See You Too, Moe Kennedy

A Midwestern Review: A Magazine of the Arts and Issues at DePauw University

Moe Kennedy is a senior biology major and Bonner Scholar at DePauw University. They love acrylic and oil painting, as well as making jewelry, woodworking, and occasionally writing poetry. Their artistic focuses are queer expression as well as botanical and insect life. In their free time, they enjoy animated shows and movies, hiking, and playing guitar.

Feasibility Of A Low-Intensity Intervention To Influence Antibiotic Prescribing Rates Use In Outpatient Settings: A Cluster Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial, Brigid M. Wilson, Sunah Song, Robin L.P. Jump, Federico Perez

Faculty Scholarship

Background. Primary care providers (PCPs) may modify their antibiotic prescription practices if aware of their potentially damaging impact. Methods. We conducted a cluster randomized controlled trial at 12 Veterans Affairs community-based outpatient clinics. PCPs at clinics randomized to the intervention group received quarterly antibiotic use reports with feedback about antibiotics prescribed for acute respiratory infections and adverse event letters alerting about Clostridioides difficile infection or antibiotic-resistant gram-negative bacteria among their patients. The main outcome, antibiotic prescriptions in primary care visits, was compared in the preintervention (April–September 2020), intervention (October 2020 to September 2021), and postintervention periods (September 2021 to September …

A Mirror Of Henry Rousseau, Samaira Snow

A Midwestern Review: A Magazine of the Arts and Issues at DePauw University

Samaira Snow is a sophomore from Carmel, Indiana, majoring in biology with a minor in studio art. They enjoy using vibrant colors and surreal imagery to express emotions in their artwork.

Detecting Multiple Paternity In Mule Deer Using Kinship Values, Madeline K. Martin, Brock Mcmillan, Paul Frandsen, Sydney Lamb, Randy Larsen

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Multiple paternity is an ecological phenomenon that plays an important role in reproductive dynamics and population genetics; the presence and rate of multiple paternity can shed light on reproductive behavior and the potential genetic effects of human management. Previous methods have estimated multiple paternity using genetic markers such as microsatellites, and require DNA from both parents and their offspring. However, evolving genomic technology promotes use of alternative genomic methods and acquiring paternal DNA from free-ranging animals is often difficult or impossible. We propose kinship values derived from single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) as a tool to predict multiple paternity. Calculating kinship values …

Models Of Classroom Assessment For Course-Based Research Experiences, Howard Hughes Medical Institute

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Course-based research pedagogy involves positioning students as contributors to authentic research projects as part of an engaging educational experience that promotes their learning and persistence in science. To develop a model for assessing and grading students engaged in this type of learning experience, the assessment aims and practices of a community of experienced course-based research instructors were collected and analyzed. This approach defines four aims of course-based research assessment – 1) Assessing Laboratory Work and Scientific Thinking; 2) Evaluating Mastery of Concepts, Quantitative Thinking and Skills; 3) Appraising Forms of Scientific Communication; and 4) Metacognition of Learning – along with …

Development Of A Ripk1 Degrader To Enhance Antitumor Immunity, Xin Yu, Dong Lu, Xiaoli Qi, Rishi Ram Paudel, Hanfeng Lin, Bryan L Holloman, Feng Jin, Longyong Xu, Lang Ding, Weiyi Peng, Meng C Wang, Xi Chen, Jin Wang

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

The scaffolding function of receptor interacting protein kinase 1 (RIPK1) confers intrinsic and extrinsic resistance to immune checkpoint blockades (ICBs) and emerges as a promising target for improving cancer immunotherapies. To address the challenge posed by a poorly defined binding pocket within the intermediate domain of RIPK1, here we harness proteolysis targeting chimera (PROTAC) technology to develop a RIPK1 degrader, LD4172. LD4172 exhibits potent and selective RIPK1 degradation both in vitro and in vivo. Degradation of RIPK1 by LD4172 triggers immunogenic cell death, enhances tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte responses, and sensitizes tumors to anti-PD1 therapy in female C57BL/6J mice. This work reports …

Reducing Detroit’S Heart Disease Risk: The Role Of Social Determinants Of Health And Health Behaviors, Caress A. Dean, Rebecca Milan, Maidah Raja, Swathi Radhakrishnan

Michigan Journal of Public Health

Introduction: The age-adjusted death rates related to heart disease have been increasing in Detroit, Michigan. Recognizing public health professionals' role in promoting and protecting community health, this study examined the relationship between cardiovascular health and health beliefs, behavior tracking, and social determinants of health among Detroit residents.

Methods: This cross-sectional study was guided by the World Health Organization's conceptual framework of social determinants of health, which classifies social determinants into structural (e.g., socioeconomic factors) and intermediary (e.g., behavioral factors) categories. From May 2019 to August 2021, 394 residents of Detroit were recruited to complete a survey about their …

Predictors Of Low Birthweight Using Data From Electronic Medical Records In Flint, Michigan, 2013 To 2016, Rie Suzuki, Neida Monroy-Sechague

Michigan Journal of Public Health

Introduction: Infant mortality continues to be a major health problem in Michigan, with low birthweight (LBW) being a leading cause. Between 2020 and 2022, Black infants were nearly twice as likely to be LBW compared to White infants. The purpose of this study was to use electronic medical records (EMR) data to assess predictors of LBW and determine whether race influenced this relationship using a unique data source of EMR in Flint, Michigan (MI).

Methods: A retrospective study from 2013 to 2016 was conducted at the Health Resources and Services Administration local health center in Flint, MI. Demographics, birth …

5,6-, 8,9-, 11,12- And 14,15-Epoxyeicosatrienoic Acids (Eets) Induce Peripheral Receptor-Dependent Antinociception In Pge2-Induced Hyperalgesia In Mice, Flavia C.S Fonseca, Igor D.G Duarte

Pharmacology and Clinical Pharmacy Research

Epoxyeicosatrienoic acids (EETs) are cytochrome P450-epoxygenase-derived metabolites of arachidonic acid that act as endogenous signaling molecules in multiple biological systems, including their controversial effects on pain, including reports of the central analgesic effect and its action in inducing pain. The aim of this study was to verify the peripheral antinociceptive effect of EETs and the effect of the selective EET receptor antagonist, 14,15-EEZE, on this antinociception. The nociceptive threshold was determined by paw pressure withdrawal, and hyperalgesia was induced by intraplantar injection of PGE2 to evaluate the effect of EETs administration. EETs (5,6-, 8,9-, 11,12-, and 14,15-EET) were administered intraplantarly …

Schools Apart: Curricular Stratification Across School Socioeconomic Compositions And Implications For Educational Inequality In The Us, Daniel Mackin Freeman

Dissertations and Theses

Motivated by longstanding sociological theories and utilizing the most current, large, and nationally representative data, this dissertation aims to describe and add nuance to our understanding of how the curriculum US youth are exposed to is stratified by the socioeconomic composition of the schools they attend. All three empirical chapters suggest that school SES contributes to substantial differences in school structure, as evidenced by differences in course-taking patterns and how course-taking relates to academic achievement in high school and beyond. The first study suggests that the relationship between curricular intensity in secondary school and postsecondary achievement is variable depending on …

Enhancing Communication And Swallowing Skills In Children With Cri Du Chat Syndrome: A Comprehensive Speech Therapy Guide, Soultana Papadopoulou, Areti Anagnostopoulou, Dimitra V. Katsarou, Kalliopi Megari, Efthymia Efthymiou, Alexandros Argyriadis, Georgios Kougioumtzis, Maria Theodoratou, Maria Sofologi, Agathi Argyriadi, Efterpi Pavlidou, Eugenia I. Toki

All Works

Background: A specific deletion on the short arm of chromosome 5 (5p) is the hallmark of the rare genetic syndrome called Cri du Chat Syndrome (CdCS). It causes severe difficulty with swallowing, speech, motor skills, and cognitive deficiencies. These arise from characteristic laryngeal abnormalities and oral–motor dysfunctions. Objective: This study aims to investigate the effectiveness of speech and language intervention in addressing the multifaceted challenges of CdCS, including speech and language impairments, feeding difficulties, and social communication deficits. Methods: A narrative review was conducted to synthesize existing studies from the last 35 years on therapeutic interventions for individuals with CdCS. …

Identification Of An Early Subset Of Cerebellar Nuclei Neurons In Mice, Maryam Rahimi-Balaei, Shayan Amiri, Thomas Lamonerie, Sih-Rong Wu, Huda Y Zoghbi, G Giacomo Consalez, Daniel Goldowitz, Hassan Marzban

Duncan NRI Faculty and Staff Publications

Cerebellar nuclei (CN) neurons serve as the primary output of the cerebellum and originate from the cerebellar primordium at early stages of cerebellar development. These neurons are diverse, integrating information from the cerebellar cortex and relaying it to various brain regions. Employing various methodologies, we have characterized a specific subset of CN neurons that do not originate from the rhombic lip or ventricular zone of the cerebellar primordium. Embryos were collected at early stages of development and processed for immunohistochemistry (IHC), western blotting, in situ hybridization (ISH), embryonic culture, DiI labeling, and flow cytometry analysis (FCM). Our findings indicate that …

Differing Effects Of Alcohol Use On Epigenetic And Brain Age In Adult Children Of Parents With Alcohol Use Disorder, Jamie L. Scholl, Kami Pearson, Kelene Fercho, Austin J. Van Asselt, Noah A. Kallsen, Erik A. Ehli, Kari N. Potter, Kathleen A. Brown-Rice, Gina L. Forster, Lee A. Baugh

Faculty and Staff Publications

Background: It is known that being the adult child of a parent with an alcohol use disorder (ACoA) can confer a wide variety of increased health and psychological risks, including higher rates of anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms. Additionally, ACoAs are at greater risk of developing alcohol/substance use disorders (AUDs/SUDs) than individuals from families without a history of AUDs.

Methods: ACoA individuals with risky hazardous alcohol use (n = 14) and those not engaged in hazardous use (n = 14) were compared to a group of healthy controls. We examined structural brain differences and applied machine learning algorithms …

Pneumonia And Anemia In Rural Midwestern Missouri: A Retrospective Analysis, Jenna Watts, Morgan Stewart, Tyler Stone, Shelby Mertz, John Paulson, Nova Beyersdorfer, Kerry Johnson

Student Publications

Introduction: Pneumonia and anemia are prevalent medical conditions with significant implications on patient health, resulting in numerous hospitalizations and deaths. Various studies have been done on the mortality rates of pneumonia and anemia individually. However, fewer describe the mortality of patients diagnosed with pneumonia superimposed on anemia.

Methods: This retrospective study used data from electronic medical records obtained from rural Midwestern Missouri, including 9,879 patients who were admitted with either anemia or pneumonia. The primary outcome was in-hospital mortality.

Results: The study found that patients with pneumonia had a higher mortality rate of 25.8% when diagnosed with comorbid anemia compared …

A Statistical Approach For Systematic Identification Of Transition Cells From Scrna-Seq Data, Yuanxin Wang, Merve Dede, Vakul Mohanty, Jinzhuang Dou, Ziyi Li, Ken Chen

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Decoding cellular state transitions is crucial for understanding complex biological processes in development and disease. While recent advancements in single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) offer insights into cellular trajectories, existing tools primarily study expressional rather than regulatory state shifts. We present CellTran, a statistical approach utilizing paired-gene expression correlations to detect transition cells from scRNA-seq data without explicitly resolving gene regulatory networks. Applying our approach to various contexts, including tissue regeneration, embryonic development, preinvasive lesions, and humoral responses post-vaccination, reveals transition cells and their distinct gene expression profiles. Our study sheds light on the underlying molecular mechanisms driving cellular state transitions, …

Blinatumomab Maintenance After Allogeneic Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation For B-Lineage Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, Yuanxin Wang, Merve Dede, Vakul Mohanty, Jinzhuang Dou, Ziyi Li, Ken Chen

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Decoding cellular state transitions is crucial for understanding complex biological processes in development and disease. While recent advancements in single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) offer insights into cellular trajectories, existing tools primarily study expressional rather than regulatory state shifts. We present CellTran, a statistical approach utilizing paired-gene expression correlations to detect transition cells from scRNA-seq data without explicitly resolving gene regulatory networks. Applying our approach to various contexts, including tissue regeneration, embryonic development, preinvasive lesions, and humoral responses post-vaccination, reveals transition cells and their distinct gene expression profiles. Our study sheds light on the underlying molecular mechanisms driving cellular state transitions, …

Detection Of Kmt2a Partial Tandem Duplication By Optical Genome Mapping In Myeloid Neoplasms: Associated Cytogenetics, Gene Mutations, Treatment Responses, And Patient Outcomes, Qing Wei, Shimin Hu, Jie Xu, Sanam Loghavi, Naval Daver, Gokce A Toruner, Wei Wang, L Jeffrey Medeiros, Guilin Tang

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

KMT2A partial tandem duplication (PTD) involves intragenic KMT2A duplications and has been associated with poorer prognosis. In this study, we evaluated KMT2A PTD in 1277 patients with hematological malignancies using optical genome mapping (OGM). KMT2A PTD was detected in 35 patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) (7%), 5 patients with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) (2.2%), and 5 patients with chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (CMML) (7.1%). The PTDs varied in size, region, and copy number. An Archer RNA fusion assay confirmed KMT2A PTD in all 25 patients tested: 15 spanning exons 2 to 8 and 10 spanning exons 2 to 10. Most patients …

Pharmacologic Blockade Of A Pioneer Transcription Factor, Katerina Cermakova, H Courtney Hodges

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Cancers frequently co-opt lineage-specific transcription factors (TF) utilized in normal development to sustain proliferation. However, the effects of these TFs on tumor development depend considerably on where in the genome they bind. A new article by Taylor and colleagues expands on previously developed diamidine compounds that obstruct the DNA binding sites of the pioneer TF PU.1 (SPI1) in acute myeloid leukemia. Immobilization and sequencing of genomic DNA targeted by these compounds revealed that these inhibitors alter the genomic binding patterns of PU.1. The authors report that their strategy constrains the genomic binding preferences of PU.1, leading to redistribution of PU.1 …

The Comparative Effect Of Propolis And Chlorhexidine Mouthwash On Oral Nitrite-Producing Bacteria And Blood Pressure Regulation, R. Bescos, L. Du Toit, A. Redondo-Rio, P. J. Warburton, T. L. Nicholas, M. Kiernan, R. A. Burton, L. Belfield, G. Montagut, A. Benavente, W. Vevers, T. Gabaldón, Z. Brookes, P. Casas-Agustench

School of Health Professions

BACKGROUND: Propolis mouthwash (PROP-M) has demonstrated antibacterial properties like those of chlorhexidine mouthwash (CHX-M). However, its impact on the abundance of oral nitrite-producing species (NPS) and nitrite-producing activity (NPA) remains unexplored.

METHODS: Forty-five healthy individuals were randomised into 2 groups to rinse their mouth twice a day for seven days with either CHX-M ( n  = 21) or PROP-M ( n  = 24). Metagenomic sequencing (16S rRNA) was performed on saliva samples collected before and after each treatment. Additionally, salivary biomarkers and blood pressure were measured.

RESULTS: CHX-M increased the relative abundance of NPS ( p  < 0.001) but significantly impaired the NPA ( p  < 0.001) compared to baseline and PROP-M. No significant differences in the relative abundance of NPS and NPA were observed in the PROP-M group. However, a significant increase of plasma nitrate (+7 µmol/L, p  = 0.047) and a decrease in systolic BP (-2 mmHg, p  = 0.022) was observed in this group compared to the baseline.

CONCLUSION: The results indicate …

First-In-Human Dose-Escalation Study Of Fianlimab, An Antilymphocyte Activation Gene-3 Antibody, With Cemiplimab In Patients With Advanced Malignancies, Nehal J Lakhani, Haeseong Park, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

PURPOSE: Preclinical data indicate that fianlimab (antilymphocyte activation gene-3) plus cemiplimab (anti-PD-1) enhances antitumor activity. Here, we report prespecified final analyses of the dose-escalation part of a first-in-human, phase 1 study (NCT03005782) of fianlimab as monotherapy and in combination with cemiplimab in patients with advanced malignancies.

PATIENTS AND METHODS: Adult patients received 1 to 40 mg/kg of fianlimab plus 350 mg of cemiplimab every 3 weeks (Q3W) across various dose-escalation schedules. Primary objectives were the rate of dose-limiting toxicities, adverse events (including immune mediated), deaths, laboratory abnormalities, and pharmacokinetics. Secondary outcomes were objective response rate, best overall response, duration of …

Killing Time: The Condition Of Exile In The Fiction Of Jose Y. Dalisay, Jr., Cyan Abad-Jugo

Kritika Kultura

The exilic condition extends not only to the Filipino who has chosen to study or live abroad, or is forced to leave the Philippines, but also the Filipino who, though he resides and works in his own country, feels himself in a state of rootless suspension brought about by the circumstances of history and colonization. In this light, all Filipinos—belonging to one or the other geographic, economic, tribal or social group—could be considered exiles, and this could be reflected in our literature. Dolores Feria states: “our literature has always been a consequence of exile.” A Filipino writer’s works could be …

American Globality And The Us Prison Regime: State Violence And White Supremacy From Abu Ghraib To Stockton To Bagong Diwa, Dylan Rodriguez

Kritika Kultura

What do we make of the abiding significance of state-sanctioned human captivity and imprisonment on a massive, unprecedented scale as a primary American modality of civilization? Democracy? Modernity and (postmodern) Nation-building? The American prison intertwines as it animates two structural logics: 1) white supremacy as a historical modality of social (dis)organization, and 2) the circulation, militarization, and mobilization of allegedly local or domestic US social formations across global geographies, including and beyond the Philippines. This paper considers the formation of the United States prison industrial complex as an epochal global regime that is integral to the fabric of an incipient …

En-Gendering Desire In Aida Santos's Lesbian Poetry, Danicar Mariano

Kritika Kultura

Lesbian feminist literary criticism seeks to deconstruct the essential categories of male and female and their “natural” link to the production of desire, enabling an insightful criticism that formalism and feminism alone cannot fully venture in. Thus, this lesbian feminist literary reading of Aida Santos’s poetry critiques heteropatriarchy in language, desire and gender by questioning the binary assumption operative in them. A binary logic defines women and men by what each are not, highlighting one sex over the other, and presenting them as in need each other. This patriarchal assumption intersects with compulsory heterosexuality to marginalize lesbian existence in the …

Feminism Across Our Generation, Delia D. Aguilar

Kritika Kultura

No abstract provided.

The Communality Of Creativity And The Creativity Of Community: A Comparison Of The Ethics Of Nikolai Berdyaev And Watsuji Tetsurō, Anton Luis Sevilla

Kritika Kultura

Self-fidelity is a human ethical task. But how can we be faithful to a self that is both individual and social? This paper takes up this question by comparing the basic ethical frameworks of Nikolai Berdyaev and Watsuji Tetsurō. In the first section of this paper, Berdyaev’s notion of personality and his three forms of ethics (ethics of law, ethics of redemption, and ethics of creativeness) are discussed. In the second section, Watsuji’s notion of ethics as the study of man (ningen) is explored, detailing the dual structure of ningen and the double-negation of ethics. And in the third section, …