Digital Commons Network^™

The Comment, March 6, 2025, Bridgewater State University

The Comment

No abstract provided.

Best Practices: Running Focus Groups With Young Children, H. Colleen Sinclair

Reports

The practice guide provides general recommendations for conducting focus groups with elementary school children in the United States. The guide was assembled with the intention of gathering students' experiences with math, particularly their use of digital learning tools in the classroom. Researchers provide practical and easy-to-follow recommendations for qualitative inquiry with groups of young students.

The Hospitality Challenge: Recovering A Biblical Method For Discipling Busy People, Kristopher Clifford

Doctor of Ministry

How can the church effectively disciple career-driven, community-involved, and weekend-traveling individuals? This question shaped the focus of my doctoral project, which explores Christian hospitality as an experiential and flexible approach to discipleship. Traditional, program-based models of discipleship often fail to engage busy individuals because they rely on attendance and intellectual learning rather than practices integrated into everyday life. In contrast, hospitality, modeled by Jesus and the early church, emerges as a transformative and scripturally-rooted method of discipleship that is flexible for busy people, practical in nature, and effective in fostering life transformation.

In my ministry context at Columbia Baptist Church, …

Quaker Campus, March 6, 2025 (Vol. 23, Issue 10), Whittier College

Quaker Campus

No abstract provided.

The Common Threats Of Artificial Intelligence And Privatization, Landyn Rookard

Texas A&M Law Review

Administrative agencies’ growing use of automated decisionmaking tools poses threats to core democratic values, such as agency flexibility, expertise, fairness, transparency, and accountability. But decades of privatization have wrought similar, lasting harms to the United States’ public institutions. This Article argues that the thoughtful criticisms and prescriptions from the burgeoning literature on the government’s use of artificial intelligence should be used to strengthen the scrutiny accorded to privatization.

Specifically, this Article challenges the perception that automated decisionmaking poses a greater threat to public values than privatization. Indeed, the two share several characteristics and goals. These include, for example, a fixation …

Regulating Ai Therapy Chatbots: A Call For Federal Oversight, Carolyn V. Wheeler

Texas A&M Law Review

While artificial intelligence therapy chatbots continue to develop and increase in popularity, there is little regulatory oversight for this burgeoning industry. Regulation is needed because there is a high probability for harm when artificial intelligence is used in the mental health therapy industry, yet there is no consensus on standards that apply. Artificial intelligence therapy chatbots are currently only regulated by indirect, suboptimal liability schemes. State governments could regulate them by considering them human practitioners or telehealth services, or the federal government could regulate them as medical devices. This Comment examines the pitfalls of the lack of artificial intelligence therapy …

The Colby Echo (2025-03-06), Colby College

The Colby Echo

Published by the students of Colby College since 1877, The Colby Echo is the weekly, editorially independent student-run newspaper of Colby College in Waterville, Maine. Published monthly, 1877-1886; semi-monthly, 1886-1897; and weekly during the academic year, 1898-present.

Cardiometabolic Benefits Of A Non-Industrialized-Type Diet Are Linked To Gut Microbiome Modulation, Fuyong Li, Anissa M. Armet, Katri Korpela, Junhong Liu, Rodrigo Margain Quevedo, Francesco Asnicar, Benjamin Seethaler, Tianna B. S. Rusnak, Janis L. Cole, Zhihong Zhang, Shuang Zhao, Adele Gagnon, Edward C. Deehan, Joao F. Mota, Jeffrey A. Bakal, Russell Greiner, Dan Knights, Nicola Segata, Stephan C. Bischoff, Laurie Mereu, Andrea M. Haqq, Catherine J. Field, Liang Li, Carla M. Prado, Jens Walter

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

Industrialization adversely affects the gut microbiome and predisposes individuals to chronic non-communicable diseases. We tested a microbiome restoration strategy comprising a diet that recapitulated key characteristics of non-industrialized dietary patterns (restore diet) and a bacterium rarely found in industrialized microbiomes (Limosilactobacillus reuteri) in a randomized controlled feeding trial in healthy Canadian adults. The restore diet, despite reducing gut microbiome diversity, enhanced the persistence of L. reuteri strain from rural Papua New Guinea (PB-W1) and redressed several microbiome features altered by industrialization. The diet also beneficially altered microbiota-derived plasma metabolites implicated in the etiology of chronic non-communicable diseases. Considerable …

Roles Of Mir-223 In Platelet Function And High On-Treatment Platelet Reactivity: A Brief Report And Review, Shayan Askari, Lawrence E. Goldfinger

Cardeza Foundation for Hematologic Research

BACKGROUND: Platelets are highly enriched in microRNAs (miRNAs), which are genomically encoded 19-25 nucleotide non-coding RNAs that target complementary mRNAs through total or near-total base pairing. MiR-223 is among the most abundant miRNAs in human and murine platelets, but despite ongoing investigations in recent years, miR-223 roles in platelet physiology and its putative roles in high on-treatment platelet reactivity (HTPR) remain controversial, as studies showed varying findings.

OBJECTIVES: In the current hybrid review/report, we aim to compare studies that investigated miR-223 in platelet function and HTPR. Additionally, we briefly report our own findings on murine miR-223-deficient platelets.

METHODS: We have …

Faculty Senate Meeting Minutes March 6, 2025, University Of Rhode Island Faculty Senate

Faculty Senate Meeting Minutes

No abstract provided.

Sorry For Any Inconvenience Caused: Why Britain Messed Up High Speed Rail, Iain Docherty, Jon Shaw

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

High Speed 2—the planned new railway from London to the north of England—is one of the largest and most controversial public sector investment projects Britain has attempted in decades. Much has been written about the huge cost overruns that the project has suffered, and why this led to the eventual cancellation of the line beyond its first phase now under construction. In this article, we explore two under-appreciated aspects of this story: first, the (unintended) consequences of those forms of professional expertise privileged by decision making machinery, and second how the politics of charisma are essential in understanding how the …

Nanoengineered Constructs For Immunomodulatory Therapeutic Delivery, Zoe Elisa Clapacs

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Immune processes are central to aspects of human health ranging from wound healing to pathogen recognition, yet even within the field of drug delivery, immunomodulatory therapeutics remain relatively niche. In this work we apply nanoscale peptide, lipid and polymer engineering principles to address present challenges in immunomodulatory therapeutics delivery, particularly in the treatment of non-healing wounds and vaccination against flaviviruses and other pathogens that exhibit antibody dependent enhancement. In both cases, nanoengineered delivery systems allowed us to overcome challenges associated with immune hyperactivation using targeted immune stimuli rather than nonspecific signals. A frequent driver of non-healing wounds is failure of …

Nanoengineered Constructs For Immunomodulatory Therapeutic Delivery, Zoe Elisa Clapacs

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Immune processes are central to aspects of human health ranging from wound healing to pathogen recognition, yet even within the field of drug delivery, immunomodulatory therapeutics remain relatively niche. In this work we apply nanoscale peptide, lipid and polymer engineering principles to address present challenges in immunomodulatory therapeutics delivery, particularly in the treatment of non-healing wounds and vaccination against flaviviruses and other pathogens that exhibit antibody dependent enhancement. In both cases, nanoengineered delivery systems allowed us to overcome challenges associated with immune hyperactivation using targeted immune stimuli rather than nonspecific signals. A frequent driver of non-healing wounds is failure of …

Conversational Voice User Interfaces Supporting Individuals With Down Syndrome: A Literature Review, Franceli L. Cibrian, Concepción Valdez, Lauren Min, Vivian Genaro Motti

Engineering Faculty Articles and Research

Conversational Voice User Interfaces (CVUIs) are widely used in commercial applications such as personal assistants. CVUIs are beneficial for most users as they enable interaction through speech and natural language. However, recent studies indicate that underrepresented user groups, such as individuals with speech impairments and specifically those with Down syndrome, face challenges in using voice commands to control CVUIs. The anatomical and physiological differences affecting the voice, speech, fluency, and prosody of users with Down syndrome hinder their experience with CVUIs. This article presents the results of 43 papers related to the use of voice user interfaces supporting individuals with …

Diagnosis And Treatment Of Hypophosphatasia., L Seefried, F Genest, C Hofmann, M L Brandi, Eric T. Rush

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

Hypophosphatasia (HPP) is a rare inherited metabolic disorder characterized by deficient activity of tissue-nonspecific alkaline phosphatase (TNAP) caused by variants in the ALPL gene. Disease manifestations encompass skeletal hypomineralization with rickets and lung hypoplasia, vitamin B6-dependent seizures, craniosynostosis, and premature loss of deciduous teeth. The clinical presentation can comprise failure to thrive with muscular hypotonia, delayed motor development, and gait disturbances later in childhood. In adults, pseudofractures are a characteristic indicator of severely compromised enzyme activity, but non-canonical symptoms like generalized musculoskeletal pain, weakness, and fatigue, frequently accompanied by neuropsychiatric and gastrointestinal issues are increasingly recognized as key findings in …

A Role For The Actin Cytoskeleton And Plastin-3 In Osteoblast Mineralization And Mechanosensation, Samantha Meagan Chin

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

The great diversity in actin network architectures and dynamics is exploited by cells to drive fundamental biological processes including cell migration, intracellular trafficking, and cell division. One such system that relies on the actin cytoskeleton to fulfill its physiological function are osteoblasts, which are mesenchymal lineage bone cells that promote bone formation through depositing a collagen scaffold and subsequently promoting mineralization of this matrix. A number of factors are known to drive osteogenic differentiation of pre-osteoblast cells including extracellular matrix cues such as substrate stiffness, which are primarily detected via mechanosensitive machinery linked to the actin cytoskeleton. Disruptions to β-actin, …

Montana Kaimin, March 6, 2025, Students Of The University Of Montana, Missoula

Montana Kaimin, 1898-present

Student newspaper of the University of Montana, Missoula.

Neurocellular Stress Response To Mojave Type A Rattlesnake Venom: Study Of Molecular Mechanisms Using Human Ipsc-Derived Neural Stem Cell Model, Satish Kumar, Miriam Aceves, Jose C. Granados, Lorena Guerra, Felicia Juarez, Earl Novilla, Ana C. Leandro, Marcelo Leandro, Juan M. Peralta, Sarah Williams-Blangero, Elda E. Sánchez, Jacob Galan, John Blangero, Joanne E. Curran

School of Medicine Publications

The Mojave rattlesnake venom shows significant geographical variability. The venom of Type A animals primarily contains β-neurotoxin referred to as Mojave Toxin (MTX), which makes bites from this snake particularly feared. We performed a genome-wide transcriptomic analysis of the neurocellular response to Mojave Type A rattlesnake venom using induced pluripotent stem cell-derived neural stem cells to unveil the molecular mechanisms underlying the damage caused by this snake’s envenomation. Our results suggest that snake venom metalloproteases, although having a limited repertoire in Type A venom, facilitate venom spread by digesting the tissue’s extracellular matrix. The MTX, which is composed of heterodimers …

Structure-Function Relationship Of Ash1l And Histone H3k36 And H3k4 Methylation, Kendra R Vann, Rajal Sharma, Chih-Chao Hsu, Maeva Devoucoux, Adam H Tencer, Lei Zeng, Kevin Lin, Li Zhu, Qin Li, Catherine Lachance, Ruben Rosas Ospina, Qiong Tong, Ka Lung Cheung, Shuai Yang, Soumi Biswas, Hongwen Xuan, Jovylyn Gatchalian, Lorena Alamillo, Jianlong Wang, Suk Min Jang, Brianna J Klein, Yue Lu, Patricia Ernst, Brian D Strahl, Scott B Rothbart, Martin J Walsh, Michael L Cleary, Jacques Côté, Xiaobing Shi, Ming-Ming Zhou, Tatiana G Kutateladze

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The histone H3K36-specific methyltransferase ASH1L plays a critical role in development and is frequently dysregulated in human diseases, particularly cancer. Here, we report on the biological functions of the C-terminal region of ASH1L encompassing a bromodomain (ASH1LBD), a plant homeodomain (ASH1LPHD) finger, and a bromo-adjacent homology (ASH1LBAH) domain, structurally characterize these domains, describe their mechanisms of action, and explore functional crosstalk between them. We find that ASH1LPHD recognizes H3K4me2/3, whereas the neighboring ASH1LBD and ASH1LBAH have DNA binding activities. The DNA binding function of ASH1LBAH is a driving force for the association of ASH1L with the linker DNA in the …

Pspc1 Exerts An Oncogenic Role In Aml By Regulating A Leukemic Transcription Program In Cooperation With Pu1, Juyeong Hong, Pinpin Sui, Ying Li, Kerryn Y Xu, Ji-Hoon Lee, Juan Wang, Shi Chen, Peng Zhang, Noah Wingate, Asra Noor, Yaxia Yuan, Robert Hromas, Hongwei Zhou, Karina Hamamoto, Rui Su, C Cameron Yin, Fengxi Ye, Andrés E Quesada, Jianjun Chen, Suming Huang, Daohong Zhou, M James You, Feng-Chun Yang, Jianlong Wang, Mingjiang Xu

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is an aggressive hematopoietic malignancy characterized by the blockage of myeloid cell differentiation and uncontrolled proliferation of immature myeloid cells. Here, we show that paraspeckle component 1 (PSPC1) is aberrantly overexpressed and associated with poor survival in AML patients. Using human AML cells and mouse models, we demonstrate that PSPC1 is not required for normal hematopoiesis, but it is critical and essential for AML cells to maintain their leukemic characteristics. PSPC1 loss induces robust differentiation, suppresses proliferation, and abolishes leukemogenesis in diverse AML cells. Mechanistically, PSPC1 exerts a pro-leukemia effect by regulating a unique leukemic transcription …

Sequence Variants In Hectd1 Result In A Variable Neurodevelopmental Disorder, Gazelle Zerafati-Jahromi, Elias Oxman, Hieu D Hoang, Wu-Lin Charng, Tanvitha Kotla, Weimin Yuan, Keito Ishibashi, Sonia Sebaoui, Kathryn Luedtke, Bryce Winrow, Rebecca D Ganetzky, Anna Ruiz, Carmen Manso-Basúz, Nino Spataro, Peter Kannu, Taryn Athey, Christina Peroutka, Caitlin Barnes, Richard Sidlow, George Anadiotis, Kari Magnussen, Irene Valenzuela, Alejandro Moles-Fernandez, Seth Berger, Christina L Grant, Eric Vilain, Gudny A Arnadottir, Patrick Sulem, Telma S Sulem, Kari Stefansson, Shavonne Massey, Natalie Ginn, Annapurna Poduri, Alissa M D'Gama, Rozalia Valentine, Sara K Trowbridge, Chaya N Murali, Rachel Franciskovich, Yen Tran, Bryn D Webb, Kim M Keppler-Noreuil, April L Hall, Bobbi Mcgivern, Kristin G Monaghan, Maria J Guillen Sacoto, Dustin Baldridge, Gary A Silverman, Sonika Dahiya, Tychele N Turner, Tim Schedl, Joshua G Corbin, Stephen C Pak, Irene E Zohn, Christina A Gurnett

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Dysregulation of genes encoding the homologous to E6AP C-terminus (HECT) E3 ubiquitin ligases has been linked to cancer and structural birth defects. One member of this family, the HECT-domain-containing protein 1 (HECTD1), mediates developmental pathways, including cell signaling, gene expression, and embryogenesis. Through GeneMatcher, we identified 14 unrelated individuals with 15 different variants in HECTD1 (10 missense, 3 frameshift, 1 nonsense, and 1 splicing variant) with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs), including autism, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and epilepsy. Of these 15 HECTD1 variants, 10 occurred de novo, 3 had unknown inheritance, and 2 were compound heterozygous. While all individuals in this cohort displayed …

Lasalocid A Selectively Induces The Degradation Of Myd88 In Lymphomas Harboring The Myd88 L265p Mutation, Wei Li, Ruirui Wang, Junhao Wang, Dafei Chai, Xiaohui Xie, Ken H Young, Ya Cao, Yong Li, Xinfang Yu

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Myeloid differentiation primary response protein 88 (MYD88) is a key adaptor molecule in the signaling pathways of toll-like receptor and interleukin-1 receptor. A somatic mutation resulting in a leucine-to-proline change at position 265 of the MYD88 protein (MYD88 L265P) is one of the most prevalent oncogenic mutations found in patients with hematological malignancies. In this study, we used high-throughput screening to identify lasalocid A as a potent small molecule that selectively inhibited the viability of lymphoma cells expressing MYD88 L265P and the associated activation of NF-κB. Further investigations using CRISPR-CRISPR-associated protein 9 genetic screening, proteomics, and biochemical assays revealed that …

Assessing The Biological Impacts And Health Risks Of Uv Radiation In The Context Of Sustainable Development Goals: Review, Ruaa H. Abbas, Lina M. Shaker

AUIQ Complementary Biological System

Ultraviolet (UV) radiation, while essential for certain biological processes, presents significant risks to human health and ecosystems. Increased UV exposure, driven by ozone depletion and climate change, heightens threats such as DNA damage, skin cancer, immune suppression, and eye disorders, directly aligning with Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3: Good Health and Well-being. Additionally, UV radiation disrupts marine and terrestrial ecosystems, impacting biodiversity and productivity, relevant to SDGs 14 and 15. This review evaluates the health and environmental impacts of UV radiation and highlights recent advancements in UV monitoring technology. Key findings reveal substantial evidence linking UV exposure to accelerated skin …

Osmosis Magazine - Fall 2018

Osmosis Magazine

Osmosis is a student read, led, and written publication from the University of Richmond, focusing on all aspects of healthcare and science.

The Elephant In The Room: Why Don't The Largest Animals Get Cancer, Abigail Watterson

Osmosis Magazine

There is a famous conundrum in the field of cancer research called the Peto Paradox that questions why animal body mass and rates of cancer development are not actually correlated. It seems reasonable to think that more cells and more cell division would lead to a higher rate of developing mutations that lead to cancer. But as it turns out, larger animals have hidden mechanisms that can fight off cancer and prevent tumor growth.

Osmosis Magazine, Spring 2017

Osmosis Magazine

Osmosis is a student read, led, and written publication from the University of Richmond, focusing on all aspects of healthcare and science.

An Affective Assessment Intervention To Improve The Motivational Climate In Courses, Brett D. Jones, Meghan Byrnes, Harold Mckenzie

International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education

The motivational climate and student engagement within courses are important for instructors to consider during the instructional design process because they can affect student learning. To help instructors improve the motivational climate and student engagement within their courses, we implemented an affective assessment intervention within the first- and second-year courses in a US college of veterinary medicine. Based on the MUSIC Model of Motivation Theory, the intervention was administered near the end of the courses, and the results were presented to the course instructors in an attempt to improve the motivational climate within the courses the following year. The purpose …

Uncertainty As A Catalyst For Growth: Learning Through Dialogue, Questioning, And Reflection, Eric Jennings, Hans Kishel

International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education

Higher education institutions strive to turn out graduates that are well-rounded, engaged, and civic-minded individuals no matter their discipline or major. The authors believe that more can be done to ensure that this goal is attained. To address this issue, two librarians designed a learner-centered course that embraced the uncertainty found in today’s information landscape through the use of dialog, questioning, and reflection. This article will describe the social and educational atmosphere at colleges that necessitates looking deeper into how and why colleges and universities need to build these new types of courses to meet their goals. From there, it …

The Rhetoric Of Public Dialogue, Rob Anderson, Kenneth N. Cissna, Meghan K. Clune

Communication Research Trends

No abstract provided.

An "Exceedingly Persuasive Justification": Affirmative Action As Protected By The Free Exercise Clause, Kristin O'Bryan Pereira

Pepperdine Law Review

In 2023, the Supreme Court’s Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. Harvard (SFFA) decision effectively outlawed the use of race-based affirmative action programs in higher education, holding that such programs violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Meanwhile, the current Supreme Court has been unprecedently friendly to claimants seeking Free Exercise Clause protection from government restraints on religious exercise. The intersection between these two areas of law has implications for a category of schools not explicitly considered in the SFFA decision—private, religious schools …