Digital Commons Network^™

The Chatgpt Fact-Check: Exploiting The Limitations Of Generative Ai To Develop Evidence-Based Reasoning Skills In College Science Courses, Ursula Holzmann, Sulekha Anand, Alexander Y. Payumo

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Generative large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT can quickly produce informative essays on various topics. However, the information generated cannot be fully trusted, as artificial intelligence (AI) can make factual mistakes. This poses challenges for using such tools in college classrooms. To address this, an adaptable assignment called the ChatGPT Fact-Check was developed to teach students in college science courses the benefits of using LLMs for topic exploration while emphasizing the importance of validating their claims based on evidence. The assignment requires students to use ChatGPT to generate essays, evaluate AI-generated sources, and assess the validity of AI-generated scientific claims …

Using A Sober Curious Framework To Explore Barriers And Facilitators To Helping Sexual Minority Women Reduce Alcohol-Related Harms: Protocol For A Descriptive Study, Tonda L. Hughes, Lauren Bochicchio, Laurie A. Drabble, Belinda Lunnay, David Whiteley, Jillian R. Scheer, Beth Meadows, Paul Ward, Carol Emslie

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Background: Globally, women consume less alcohol than men, but alcohol consumption among women has declined less in recent years than among men. Drinking rates and alcohol-related harms vary substantially across population groups of women, and sexual minority women (eg, lesbian, bisexual, and queer) are at notably high risk. An emerging body of literature suggests that in addition to minority stress (eg, stigma, discrimination), drinking norms and drinking cultures likely influence sexual minority women’s drinking. Almost no research has explored these factors as possible targets of interventions. Sober curiosity is a rapidly growing wellness movement that may be particularly salient for …

On Entityness And Takeovers: Acquisition Valuation, Theory Of The Firm, And Coase’S Error, Robert J. Rhee

Vanderbilt Law Review

This Article advances a theory of entityness that theorizes the firm and its relationship to the acquisition premium. This theory is the first scholarly analysis to construct a general model of takeover valuation by integrating the modern finance theory of asset value and a corrected Coasean theory of the firm. The acquisition premium is an enigma. Acquirers must pay it. But why? Isn’t the market price tethered to fundamental value through an efficient market? This enigma reveals a key insight about firms. The theory of entityness postulates that the acquisition premium is compensation for a capitalized asset intrinsic in the …

Proper Conjugation Of Bodies: Chastity, Age, And Care Work In Sri Lankan Migrants’ Families, Michele Ruth Gamburd

Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Physical and symbolic aspects of bodies limit the migration trajectories of female domestic workers from a Buddhist community in coastal Sri Lanka. Government regulations and family decisions regarding women’s overseas labour draw upon and in turn influence discourses about gender, sexuality, age, health, and class. This ethnographic analysis illustrates that local norms task women with nurturing the brains of babies, preserving the chastity of teenage daughters, caring for frail elders, and preventing their working-class husbands from overindulging in liquor or having sex with other women. Successful social reproduction depends on the proper conjunctions of bodies in the extended family. Corporeal …

The Statewide Standard, 2025, Illinois State University

The Statewide Standard

Annual newsletter of the Illinois State University College of Education

From Misinformation To Policy Solutions: Teaching Herd Immunity And Vaccine Hesitancy Through Real-World Case Studies Of Measles Outbreaks, Laurieann Klockow

Biomedical Sciences Faculty Research and Publications

Vaccine hesitancy threatens herd immunity, contributing to the resurgence of measles outbreaks. This lesson engages upper-level biomedical science students in analyzing the complex interplay between vaccination rates, herd immunity and vaccine exemption policies through examination of the 2019 New York measles outbreak that threatened the United States’ measles elimination status. Students critically evaluate anti-vaccine misinformation, analyze epidemiological data and develop evidence-based policy recommendations to increase vaccination rates. The lesson combines team-based learning with authentic assessment through vaccine policy development, moving beyond knowledge acquisition and content to building scientific literacy and evidence-based reasoning skills essential for scientifically literate citizens and future …

Seasonal Variability Of Surface Ocean Carbon Uptake And Chlorophyll-A Concentration In The West Antarctic Peninsula Over Two Decades, Jessica S. Turner, David R. Munro, Amanda Fay, Sharon Stammerjohn, Heather Kim, Oscar Schofield, Heidi Dierssen

OES Faculty Publications

The Southern Ocean plays a vital role in global CO₂ uptake, but the magnitude and even the sign of the flux remain uncertain, and the influence of phytoplankton phenology is underexplored. This study focuses on the West Antarctic Peninsula, a region experiencing rapid climate change, to examine shifts in seasonal carbon uptake. Using 20 years of in situ air-sea CO₂ flux and satellite-derived Chlorophyll-a, we observe that the seasonal cycles of both air-sea CO₂ flux and Chlorophyll-a intensify poleward. The amplitude of the seasonal cycle of the non-thermal component of surface ocean pCO₂ increases with increasing latitude, while the amplitude …

Rock: Riesz Occupation Kernel Methods For Learning Dynamical Systems, Victor W. Reilly, Chau Nguyen, Kamel Lahouel, Anthony Kolshorn, Nicholas Fisher, Bruno Jedynak

Mathematics and Statistics Faculty Publications and Presentations

We present a representer theorem for a large class of variational problems, generalizing regression, finite element methods, and providing techniques for learning partial and ordinary differential equations (PDEs and ODEs). We apply our formulation to the multivariate occupation kernel method (MOCK) for learning dynamical systems from data. Our generalized method outperforms the MOCK method on most tested datasets, while often requiring considerably fewer parameters. Experiments are presented for learning ODEs and PDEs.

The Matryoshka Doll Prior – Principled Multiplicity Correction In Bayesian Model Comparison, Andrew Womack, Daniel Taylor-Rodríguez, Claudio Fuentes

Mathematics and Statistics Faculty Publications and Presentations

This paper introduces a general and principled construction of model space priors with a focus on regression problems. The proposed formulation regards each model as a “local” null hypothesis whose alternatives are the set of models that nest it. Assuming constant ratio of prior probabilities for any “local” null and its alternatives provides a natural isomorphism of model spaces (like a matryoshka doll), constituting an intuitive way to correct for multiplicity in Bayesian model selection and averaging problems. This isomorphism yields the Poisson distribution as the unique limiting distribution over model dimension under mild assumptions. We compare this model space …

Does Digital Screen Exposure Have An Impact On The Ocular Health Of Children And Adolescents?, Hannah Brodt

The Science Journal of the Lander College of Arts and Sciences

The increasing prevalence of digital screens among children and adolescents raises significant concerns regarding their ocular health. This paper reviews current evidence linking screen time to visual health issues, particularly myopia (nearsightedness), dry eye syndrome, and digital eye strain. Through a comprehensive literature review of observational studies, the analysis identifies a strong correlation between excessive screen time and the exacerbation of myopia and dry eye disease, particularly in younger populations. The findings highlight the importance of balanced screen time and suggest that early exposure to screens may significantly increase the risk of developing myopia. Further research is also recommended to …

Can Cystic Fibrosis Be Treated With Genetic Therapy?, Steve Silverberg

The Science Journal of the Lander College of Arts and Sciences

This paper discusses the current and prospective treatment options for the fatal genetic disease cystic fibrosis. Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a rare recessive genetic disorder that is caused by a mutation in the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) gene, which codes for a protein that is on the surface of a cell. This protein allows for the flow of chloride, bicarbonate, and sodium ions to pass through the cell wall, bringing water with it. When this protein doesn’t work, the lack of ions and water in extracellular fluid becomes too thick, causing a multitude of problems. The most common …

Presumed Guilt: Epistemic Closure In Pregnancy Prosecutions, M. Eve Hanan

Scholarly Works

Criminal law and reproductive justice scholars are calling attention to the increase in prosecutions for pregnancy outcomes in the United States. Trace amounts of controlled substances in newborns are prosecuted as child abuse. Miscarriages are prosecuted as illegal abortions or homicides. This area of criminal law existed side-by-side with Roe v. Wade for late-term pregnancy outcomes. The Dobbs decision has further emboldened these prosecutions by removing the protections of the Due Process Clause from the pre-viability phase of the pregnancy.

Using a case study of a woman who was pressured to plead guilty to manslaughter and sentenced to eight years …

Unpunishment Purposes, Meredith B. Esser

Scholarly Works

Sentencing scholarship often begins by exploring the traditional purposes of punishment: deterrence, retribution, incapacitation, and rehabilitation. However, little scholarship exists addressing how these four punishment purposes apply in the post sentencing or second-look contexts. Further, abstract theories of sentencing can often seem sterile and disconnected from the realities of how violent, disproportionate, and dehumanizing the actual experience of incarceration is for many people, and tend to downplay the impact of incarceration on the families and communities of those who are incarcerated. This Article attempts to reconceptualize the traditional purposes of punishment to meet the current historical moment, and it does …

Structural Originalism: A Second Amendment Case Study, Ian C. Bartrum

Scholarly Works

“Originalism” is having a national moment, even if it is not entirely clear what the word means. What should we be originalist about? The leading academic approach asks us to parse the communicative content of text ratified in a very different linguistic culture; then construct a modern legal meaning consistent with our semantic speculations. Too often the result enforces policy judgments made in a radically different moral and technological world. This makes very little sense.

In this paper I recommend a more perspicuous and coherent use of constitutional history, which I call “structural originalism.” Rather than saddle ourselves with the …

Ecarrots: Prison Control And Profits From Correctional Tablets, Justin Iverson

Scholarly Works

In recent years, tablets have gained tremendous popularity behind bars for their ability to expand access to educational and rehabilitative services for people in prison. However, there are downsides to tablet implementation, including high costs at the expense of a captive population and shifting power dynamics resulting in possible volatility. This Article examines the use of correctional tablets in jails and prisons as mechanisms for administrative control and profit-making in an era of beleaguered correctional budgets. It also considers legal and policy implications related to the disproportionately negative impact of the introduction of tablets on people in poverty, increased dependency …

Copyright, Ebooks, And The Future Of Digital Lending, Mary Lafrance

Scholarly Works

Public libraries face a digital lending crisis. Even as library patrons demand greater access to digital materials, eBook publishers have subjected libraries to onerous licensing terms. These include prices substantially higher than those charged to the general public, as well as stringent constraints on license duration and/or loan volume, forcing many libraries to repurchase their eBooks every one or two years. Some publishers are releasing new books only in digital formats, making it even more costly for libraries to maintain robust collections. eBook publishers also compel libraries to use specific digital lending platforms which pose risks to patron privacy. At …

Acute Metabolic Decompensation After Liver Transplant In A Patient With Maple Syrup Urine Disease, Shao Ching Tu, Marium Khan, Katie Wolfe, Sakil S Kulkarni, Elizabeth Toolan, Dorothy K Grange

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Maple syrup urine disease (MSUD) is an inborn error of metabolism characterized by the accumulation of branched-chain amino acids (leucine, isoleucine, and valine) caused by a defect in the branched-chain alpha-keto acid dehydrogenase complex. Liver transplant is an effective therapy for MSUD, and patients can usually tolerate a regular diet after transplant without symptomatic metabolic decompensation. Most post-transplant patients do not follow a sick-day diet. We report a case of a 7-year-old male with MSUD Type IA, status post-liver transplant at 2 years of age, who presented with profound encephalopathy following poor oral intake and vomiting for 3 days. Broad …

The Dna Demethylase Tet1 Modifies The Impact Of Maternal Folic Acid Status On Embryonic Brain Development, Lehua Chen, Bernard K Van Der Veer, Qiuying Chen, Spyridon Champeris Tsaniras, Wannes Brangers, Harm H M Kwak, Rita Khoueiry, Yunping Lei, Robert Cabrera, Steven S Gross, Richard H Finnell, Kian Peng Koh

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Folic acid (FA) is well known to prevent neural tube defects (NTDs), but we do not know why many human NTD cases still remain refractory to FA supplementation. Here, we investigate how the DNA demethylase TET1 interacts with maternal FA status to regulate mouse embryonic brain development. We determined that cranial NTDs display higher penetrance in non-inbred than in inbred Tet1−/− embryos and are resistant to FA supplementation across strains. Maternal diets that are either too rich or deficient in FA are linked to an increased incidence of cranial deformities in wild type and Tet1+/− offspring and to …

Goldenbraid20 E Coli: A Comprehensive And Characterized Toolkit For Enterics, Matthew B Cooke, Kobie T Welch, Laura D Ramirez, Alice X Wen, David C Marciano, Christophe Herman

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Modular cloning systems streamline laboratory workflows by consolidating genetic 'parts' into reusable and modular collections, enabling researchers to fast-track strain construction. The GoldenBraid 2.0 modular cloning system utilizes the cutting property of type IIS restriction enzymes to create defined genetic 'grammars', which facilitate the reuse of standardized genetic parts and assembly of genetic parts in the right order. Here, we present a GoldenBraid 2.0 toolkit of genetic parts designed to accelerate cloning in the model bacterium

Refugee Law: Human Rights, Refugee Law, And Border Crossing, Moria Paz

The Judges' Book

No abstract provided.

Characterization Of Tlr9 Responsiveness In Cell Subsets Derived From In Vitro Pdc Differentiation Of Hematopoietic Stem And Progenitor Cells, Sabina Sánchez Hernández, Tobias Wang Bjerg, Ian Helstrup Nielsen, Anders Laustsen, Hai Q Tang, Lars Henning Pedersen, Eynav Klechevsky, Martin R Jakobsen, Rasmus O Bak

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs) are multifunctional immune cells with roles in both the innate and adaptive immune system. Their hallmark function is production of large amounts of type I interferons in response to viral infections, but they are also capable of producing a range of other cytokines, antigen presentation, and cytotoxicity. Their potential as an immunotherapy for cancer and infectious disease is being explored, but broad application of these cells is challenged by low frequency in the blood and low viability during

Zic1 Is A Context-Dependent Medulloblastoma Driver In The Rhombic Lip, John J Y Lee, Ran Tao, Zhen You, Parthiv Haldipur, Anders W Erickson, Hamza Farooq, Liam D Hendriske, Namal Abeysundara, Cory M Richman, Evan Y Wang, Neha Das Gupta, Jennifer Hadley, Melissa Batts, Christopher W Mount, Xiaochong Wu, Alex Rasnitsyn, Swneke Bailey, Florence M G Cavalli, Sorana Morrissy, Livia Garzia, Kulandaimanuvel Antony Michealraj, Abhi Visvanathan, Vernon Fong, Jonelle Palotta, Raul Suarez, Bryn G Livingston, Miao Liu, Betty Luu, Craig Daniels, James Loukides, Anne Bendel, Pim J French, Johan M Kros, Andrey Korshunov, Marcel Kool, Fernando Chico Ponce De León, Mario Perezpeña-Diazconti, Boleslaw Lach, Sheila K Singh, Sarah E S Leary, Byung-Kyu Cho, Seung-Ki Kim, Kyu-Chang Wang, Ji-Yeoun Lee, Teiji Tominaga, William A Weiss, Joanna J Phillips, Shizhong Dai, Gelareh Zadeh, Ali G Saad, László Bognár, Almos Klekner, Ian F Pollack, Ronald L Hamilton, Young-Shin Ra, Wieslawa A Grajkowska, Marta Perek-Polnik, Reid C Thompson, Anna M Kenney, Michael K Cooper, Stephen C Mack, Nada Jabado, Mathieu Lupien, Marco Gallo, Vijay Ramaswamy, Mario L Suva, Hiromichi Suzuki, Kathleen J Millen, L Frank Huang, Paul A Northcott, Michael D Taylor

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Transcription factors are frequent cancer driver genes, exhibiting noted specificity based on the precise cell of origin. We demonstrate that ZIC1 exhibits loss-of-function (LOF) somatic events in group 4 (G4) medulloblastoma through recurrent point mutations, subchromosomal deletions and mono-allelic epigenetic repression (60% of G4 medulloblastoma). In contrast, highly similar SHH medulloblastoma exhibits distinct and diametrically opposed gain-of-function mutations and copy number gains (20% of SHH medulloblastoma). Overexpression of ZIC1 suppresses the growth of group 3 medulloblastoma models, whereas it promotes the proliferation of SHH medulloblastoma precursor cells. SHH medulloblastoma ZIC1 mutants show increased activity versus wild-type ZIC1, whereas G4 medulloblastoma …

Visual Acuity, Full-Field Stimulus Thresholds, And Electroretinography For 4 Years In The Rate Of Progression Of Ush2a-Related Retinal Degeneration (Rush2a) Study, David G Birch, Peiyao Cheng, Maureen G Maguire, Jacque L Duncan, Allison R Ayala, Janet K Cheetham, Nicole R Doucet, Todd A Durham, Abigail T Fahim, Frederick L Ferris, Rachel M Huckfeldt, Michele Melia, Michel Michaelides, Mark E Pennesi, José-Alain Sahel, Katarina Stingl, Ajoy Vincent, Christina Y Weng

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

PURPOSE: To describe progression of best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), full-field stimulus thresholds (FST), and electroretinography (ERG) over 4 years in the

DESIGN: Prospective natural history study.

PARTICIPANTS: Participants (n = 105) with biallelic disease-causing sequence variants in USH2A and BCVA letter scores of ≥54 were included.

METHODS: BCVA, FST, fundus-guided microperimetry, static perimetry, and spectral domain OCT were performed annually and ERG at baseline and 4 years only. Mixed effects models were used to estimate annual rates of change with 95% confidence intervals. Associations of change from baseline to 4 years between BCVA, FST, ERG, and other metrics were assessed …

Bcg-Induced Dna Methylation Changes Improve Coronavirus Disease 2019 Vaccine Immunity Without Decreasing The Risk For Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Infection, Santiago Carrero Longlax, Kent J Koster, Ashish M Kamat, Marisa Lozano, Seth P Lerner, Rebecca Hannigan, Tomoki Nishiguchi, Abhimanyu, Daanish Sheikh, Malik Ladki, Alexandra Portillo, Amrit Koirala, Tajhal D Patel, Zoe Spieler, Aaron B Benjamin, Maxim Lebedev, Theresa U Ofili, Robert W Hutchison, George Udeani, Lynne A Opperman, Gabriel Neal, Anna M Mandalakas, Mihai G Netea, Moshe Arditi, Pablo Avalos, Sandra L Grimm, Cristian Coarfa, Jeffrey D Cirillo, Andrew R Dinardo

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: The BCG vaccine induces trained immunity, an epigenetic-mediated increase in innate immune responsiveness. Therefore, this clinical trial evaluated if BCG-induced trained immunity could decrease coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)-related frequency or severity.

METHODS: A double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial of healthcare workers randomized participants to vaccination with BCG TICE or placebo (saline). Enrollment included 529 healthcare workers randomized to receive BCG or placebo. Primary analysis evaluated COVID-19 disease frequency, while secondary analysis evaluated coronavirus immunity in a subset of participants. Study enrollment ceased early in December 2020 following introduction of COVID-19-specific vaccines.

RESULTS: Study enrollment was halted early, prior to reaching …

Increasing Premedication For Neonatal Intubation: A Quality Improvement Initiative, Michelle H Lucena, Toshiba Morgan-Joseph, Alecia Thompson-Branch

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

INTRODUCTION: Endotracheal intubation is frequent in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) but may result in neonatal distress and instability. Premedication reduces adverse effects, such as hypoxia, bradycardia, and pain. The Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-Bound aim for this project was to increase premedication use for nonemergent neonatal intubation in a specific NICU from 22% to 80% from March 2021 to May 2023.

METHODS: We use quality improvement methodology to explain our theory for improvement. Our key driver diagram depicts this initiative's aims, key drivers, and interventions to increase premedication use for neonatal intubation. We defined exclusion criteria and …

Comparative Analysis Of Aav Serotypes For Transduction Of Olfactory Sensory Neurons, Benjamin D W Belfort, Johnathan D Jia, Alexandra R Garza, Anthony M Insalaco, J P Mcginnis, Brandon T Pekarek, Joshua Ortiz-Guzman, Burak Tepe, Hu Chen, Ascent-Pd Investigators, Zhandong Liu, Benjamin R Arenkiel

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Olfactory sensory neurons within the nasal epithelium detect volatile odorants and relay odor information to the central nervous system. Unlike other sensory inputs, olfactory sensory neurons interface with the external environment and project their axons directly into the central nervous system. The use of adeno-associated viruses to target these neurons has garnered interest for applications in gene therapy, probing olfactory sensory neuron biology, and modeling disease. To date, there is no consensus on the optimal AAV serotype for efficient and selective transduction of olfactory sensory neurons

The Pointer Imaging Baseline Cohort: Associations Between Multimodal Neuroimaging Biomarkers, Cardiovascular Health, And Cognition, Theresa M Harrison, Tyler Ward, Jacinda Taggett, Pauline Maillard, Samuel N Lockhart, Youngkyoo Jung, Laura C Lovato, Robert Koeppe, William J Jagust, Danielle Harvey, Joseph C Masdeu, Hwamee Oh, Darren R Gitelman, Neelum T Aggarwal, Mark A Espeland, Maryjo L Cleveland, Rachel Whitmer, Sarah Tomaszewski Farias, Stephen Salloway, Valory Pavlik, Melissa Yu, Christine Tangney, Heather Snyder, Maria Carrillo, Laura D Baker, Prashanthi Vemuri, Charles Decarli, Susan M Landau

Staff and Researcher Publications

Introduction: The U.S. Study to Protect Brain Health Through Lifestyle Intervention to Reduce Risk (U.S. POINTER) is evaluating lifestyle interventions in older adults at risk for cognitive decline and dementia. Here we characterize the baseline data set of the POINTER Imaging ancillary study.

Methods: Participants underwent health and cognitive assessments and neuroimaging with multimodal positron emission tomography (PET) (beta-amyloid [Aβ] and tau) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Framingham risk score (FRS) was used to quantify cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk.

Results: A total of 1052 participants (31% from underrepresented ethnoracial groups) were enrolled. Compared to Aβ-, Aβ+ (29%) participants were older, …

Double Atrial Septum With Interatrial Space In Patients Experiencing Ischemic Attack, Blerim Berisha, Fadhel Hamidani, Mathias Humm

The Texas Heart Institute Journal

No abstract provided.

Accidental Left Ventricular Placement Of A Leadless Micra Pacemaker Through A Patent Foramen Ovale, Hamza Alkowatli, Mahmoud Kutmah, Adnan Shaik, Osama Hallak

The Texas Heart Institute Journal

The Micra device is a leadless pacemaker implanted in the right ventricle via a femoral vein transcatheter approach. There are several indications for and advantages to using a leadless pacemaker, and the device's role in the field of cardiology will probably continue to increase. This article presents the case of a rare complication probably due to inadvertent placement of the device in the left ventricle across an undiagnosed patent foramen ovale.

Digital Otoscopy With Computer-Aided Composite Image Generation: Impact On The Correct Diagnosis, Confidence, And Time, Seda Camalan, Carl D Langefeld, Amy Zinnia, Brigham Mckee, Matthew L Carlson, Nicholas L Deep, Michael S Harris, Taha A Jan, Vivian F Kaul, Nathan R Lindquist, Jameson K Mattingly, Jay Shah, Kevin Y Zhan, Metin N Gurcan, Aaron C Moberly

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Objective: This study investigated the comparative performance of ear, nose, and throat (ENT) physicians in correctly detecting ear abnormalities when reviewing digital otoscopy imaging using 3 different visualization methods, including computer-assisted composite images called "SelectStitch," single video frame "Still" images, and video clips. The study also explored clinicians' diagnostic confidence levels and the time to make a diagnosis.

Study design: Clinician diagnostic reader study.

Setting: Online diagnostic survey of ENT physicians.

Methods: Nine ENT physicians reviewed digital otoscopy examinations from 86 ears with various diagnoses (normal, perforation, retraction, middle ear effusion, tympanosclerosis). Otoscopy examinations used artificial-intelligence (AI)-based computer-aided composite image …