Digital Commons Network^™

A Media Ecology Review, Lance Strate

Communication Research Trends

No abstract provided.

Neurocriminology: A Beginner’S Guide, Jerrod Brown

Forensic Scholars Today

No abstract provided.

Media And Emotions, Werner Wirth, Holger Schramm

Communication Research Trends

No abstract provided.

Real-World Applications Of Imipenem-Cilastatin-Relebactam: Insights From A Multicenter Observational Cohort Study, Kaylee E. Caniff, Nicholas Rebold, Xhilda Xhemali, Nikki Tran, Taryn A. Eubank, Kevin W. Garey, Yi Guo, Mei Chang, Katie E. Barber, Tamara Krekel, Mark Biagi, Wesley D. Kufel, Amy Carr, Jillian Hayes, Travis J. Carlson, Jeremy Frens, Veena Venugopalan, Kristen Lucas, Ashlan J. Kunz Coyne, James Sanders, Elisabeth Chandler, Rosanna Li, Kayla Antosz, Julie Ann Justo, Russell Benefield, W Justin Moore, Jennifer Ross, Jenna Adams, Fritzie Albarillo, Sylvia Stefanos, Athena L V Hobbs, Nicholas Mercuro, Brian Raux, Kristen Zeitler, Michael J. Rybak

Pharmacy Faculty Scholarship

Background: Multidrug-resistant (MDR) gram-negative infections are a substantial threat to patients and public health. Imipenem-cilastatin-relebactam (IMI/REL) is a β-lactam/β-lactamase inhibitor with expanded activity against MDR Pseudomonas aeruginosa and carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales. This study aims to describe the patient characteristics, prescribing patterns, and clinical outcomes associated with IMI/REL. Methods: This was a retrospective, multicenter, observational study of patients ≥18 years old who received IMI/REL for ≥48 hours for a suspected or confirmed gram-negative infection. The primary outcome was clinical success, defined as improvement or resolution of infection-related signs or symptoms while receiving IMI/REL and the absence of 30-day microbiologic failure. Multivariable logistic …

The Ability Of Chatgpt To Aid In The Rapid Development Of Inoculation Message Treatments: A Case Study And Recommendations, Alicia Mason, Josh Compton, Griffin Cooper

Faculty Submissions

One of the most widely known types of AI technologies in recent years is ChatGPT. ChatGPT is a state-of-the-art language model that has revolutionized natural language processing by generating human-like text with context and coherence, enabling new possibilities for human-AI interaction (Brown et al., 2020). This case study reports on a 10-week conversational AI training initiative to assess whether ChatGPT4 can (a) identify the structural elements and features of conventional inoculation messages (i.e., forewarnings and preemptive refutations); (b) augment inoculation message design features (i.e., linguistic signatures, language, and length); (c) adapt messages for specific audiences (i.e., younger populations, experts); and …

Development Of A Self-Management Tool For Individuals With Seizure Clusters: Trial Design And Methodological Report, Molly Mcvoy, Eytan Hirsch, Luisa Londono, Kari Colón-Zimmermann, Jin Seok Cho, Evelyn K. Shih, Martha Sajatovic

Faculty Scholarship

Background: Despite advances in anti-seizure medications (ASMs) for people with epilepsy (PWE), adverse outcomes, negative health events (NHEs), and breakthrough seizures remain common. Rescue medication (RM) can better manage repetitive seizures, but barriers to RM use persist. Self-management for PWE and a history of NHEs (SMART) is an evidence-based epilepsy self-management program aimed at reducing barriers and maximizing facilitators to self-care in high-risk PWE. Methods: This 2-phase, ongoing clinical trial adapts SMART to integrate RM support for PWE with repetitive seizures. Phase 1, now completed, used input from an advisory board (AB) of PWE, caregivers, and clinicians to adapt the …

The College Voice, Vol. 62, No. 7 [February 26, 2025], Connecticut College

2024-2025

No abstract provided.

Anterior Vocal Fold Scar., Arianne J Abreu, Omar Ramadan, Robert T Sataloff

Otolaryngology (ENT) Resident Research

No abstract available

Guide To Facilitate Service Learning, Yoshihiko Ariizumi

Learning, Teaching, & Researching Optimization

This guide contains the list of 10 links to richly useful information that I have accumulated spending hundreds of hours.

Evaluating The Health Performance Of Mass Housing Projects In Egypt Lighting Design Of Dar Masr Project, New Damietta, Hala Mohamed Raslan, Huda El-Baz M.

Mansoura Engineering Journal

The Egyptian government has recently established many governmental mass housing projects to meet the housing needs nationwide. These projects are characterized by their unified repetitive design that rarely consider geographic, climatic and social variations from one site to another. The study objectives are to examine the health performance of mass housing projects; “Dar Misr” as an example. Dar Misr consists of 150,000 units distributed over 15 different cities, and is fully finished with unified electrical installations and preinstalled luminaires. The study examines the health performance of the project’s lighting design, both natural and electrical light, using the “WELLV2 rating system …

Creative Ideas For Incorporating Service Learning In Biology And Chemistry Classes, Yoshihiko Ariizumi

Learning, Teaching, & Researching Optimization

The inspiration obtained by reading this article helps faculty members generate their own ideas to facilitate service learning in the courses they teach.

Ramadan: Community, Self-Reflection, Janna Azzam

University Libraries Blog Archive

Ramadan Mubarak! As we approach this blessed month, we take the time to reflect not only on ourselves, but on our contributions to our communities.

Humans In Africa’S Wet Tropical Forests 150 Thousand Years Ago, Eslem Ben Arous, James A. Blinkhorn, Sarah Elliott, Christopher A. Kiathipes, Charles D. N'Zi, Mark D. Bateman, Mathieu Duval, Patrick Roberts, Robert Patalano, Alexander F. Blackwood, Khady Niang, Eugénie Affoua Kouamé, Edith Lebato, Emily Hallett, Jacopo N. Cerasoni, Erin Scott, Jana Ilgner, Maria Jesús Alonso Escarza, Francois Yodé Guédé, Eleanor M.L. Scerri

Biological and Biomedical Sciences Department Faculty Journal Articles

Humans emerged across Africa shortly before 300 thousand years ago (ka)1,2,3. Although this pan-African evolutionary process implicates diverse environments in the human story, the role of tropical forests remains poorly understood. Here we report a clear association between late Middle Pleistocene material culture and a wet tropical forest in southern Côte d’Ivoire, a region of present-day rainforest. Twinned optically stimulated luminescence and electron spin resonance dating methods constrain the onset of human occupations at Bété I to around 150 ka, linking them with Homo sapiens. Plant wax biomarker, stable isotope, phytolith and pollen …

Leveraging Arginine Catabolism To Treat Metabolic Complications, Yiming Zhang

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

Fasting and caloric restriction are effective to treat patients with pre-diabetes or metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), previously known as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), but intensive lifestyle changes are difficult for many to implement and sustain. Therefore, by identifying and studying fasting-mediated signals, we hope to elicit and convey the therapeutic effects of fasting against MASLD without actual physiological fasting. We discovered a key pathway in the liver through unbiased transcriptomic screening in fasted mice, a novel glucose fasting-activated effector: the amino acid hydrolase, arginase 2 (ARG2). Our previously published data demonstrates that forced hepatocyte-specific Arg2 overexpression is …

Centering Black Resource-Poor Adolescent Voices: A Critical Phenomenological Study Of Lived Mental Health Struggles While Enduring The Covid-19 Pandemic, Paulette Dispagna

Counseling and Psychology Dissertations

There is a dearth of research in general and qualitative research specifically about the mental health experience of resource-poor Black adolescents living in Boston. This has implications for the field in terms of how adolescents experiencing mental health issues can be supported and how professionals can create more useful mental health treatment. Drawing from the theoretical lens of critical race theory and more specifically, intersectionality, this hermeneutic phenomenological inquiry examined the ways in which experiencing multiple levels of inequality, especially from racism and poverty, affected a Black adolescent’s mental health. Eleven adolescents were interviewed via Zoom. Six major findings included: …

Simplification Of Woody Plant Trait Networks Among Communities Along A Climatic Aridity Gradient, Camila D. Medeiros, Santiago Trueba, Christian Henry, Leila R. Fletcher, James A. Lutz, Rodrigo Méndez‐Alonzo, Nathan J. B. Kraft, Lawren Sack

Wildland Resources Faculty Publications

1. Plant ecological strategies are shaped by numerous functional traits and their trade-offs. Trait network analysis enables testing hypotheses for the shifting of trait correlation architecture across communities differing in climate and productivity.

2. We built plant trait networks (PTNs) for 118 species within six communities across an aridity gradient, from forest to semi-desert across the California Floristic Province, based on 34 leaf and wood functional traits, representing hydraulic and photosynthetic function, structure, economics and size. We developed hypotheses for the association of PTN parameters with climate and ecosystem properties, based on theory for the adaptation of species to low …

Human-Ai Collaboration In Writing: A Multidimensional Framework For Creative And Intellectual Authorship, James Hutson

Faculty Scholarship

The integration of AI technologies into the writing process has significantly altered traditional notions of authorship, creativity, and intellectual labor. Historically, writing was seen as a human-driven cognitive and creative exercise, but with the rise of generative AI tools such as ChatGPT and Claude, the line between human and AI contributions has become increasingly ambiguous. This paper addresses the limitations of the current sliding scale model, which views AI involvement as ranging from “none” to “complete”. In its place, we propose a new multidimensional framework that more accurately reflects the complexity of human-AI collaboration in writing. The model includes axes …

"Why Do Mushroom Farms In Pa Smell So Bad?", Lorenzo Cena, Daniel Engelbrecht, Jess Hampton, Victor Nwinee

Sustainability Research & Practice Seminar Presentations

Victor Nwinee, Daniel Engelbrecht, and Jess Hampton, students of Dr. Lorenzo Cena of Public Health Sciences, present "Why do mushroom farms in PA smell so bad?".

Qualitative Study Of Sexual Orientation In Law Enforcement, Ruby Nelson Brockenberry

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The experiences of LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer) persons working in law enforcement were examined in this qualitative research. While the workplace is often seen as a collaborative setting and efforts to accomplish shared objectives without discrimination or prejudice, this is not always true for LGBTQ law enforcement personnel. This research focused on gender identity and sexual orientation to highlight the difficulties as well as discrimination and harassment which can negatively impact LGBTQ officers’ general well-being. Data was collected using semi-structured interviews from a sample of 11 LGBTQ law enforcement officers in the Pee Dee Region. Date was …

Indiana Statewide Pfas Assessment, Tyler Hoskins, Carolyn Foley, Jason Hoverman, Amanpreet Kohli, Linda S. Lee, Daniele De Almeida Miranda, Graham Peaslee, Marisol Sepúlveda, Marta Venier, Chunjie Xia, Sarah Zack, Zhi Zhou, Lynne Dahmen

Institute for a Sustainable Future Documents

This report provides an overview of the current state of scientific knowledge concerning PFAS, as well as a concise assessment of current and potential impacts of its continued use. It discusses exposure pathways impacting the health of the people, organisms and environment in Indiana and the region. Also included are recommendations regarding pressing challenges and how individuals can work to reduce the presence of PFAS while also limiting exposure and negative impacts.

Of Cordial Ladies And Independent Women: An Analysis Of The Ceramic Assemblage Of The 19th Century Cooper-Frost-Austin House, Mikayla Roderick

Graduate Masters Theses

This thesis explores the transformation of Susan Austin’s (1807-1885) household in Cambridge, Massachusetts, from a private family home into a boardinghouse, challenging traditional distinctions between domestic and economic spaces. Using feminist and queer theoretical frameworks, it examines how Austin’s decisions blurred public and private boundaries, creating an intimate boardinghouse. Through ceramic analysis of two occupational phases and a documentary examination of the household members over time, this study identifies shifts in material culture that reflect changing household practices, social relationships, and status negotiation. Austin intentionally created an environment where commercial spaces took on a domestic appearance, integrating elements of familiarity …

A Review Of Gut Failure As A Cause And Consequence Of Critical Illness, Danielle E. Soranno, Craig M. Coopersmith, Jessica F. Brinkworth, Faith N. F. Factora, Julia H. Muntean, Monty G. Mythen, Jacob Raphael, Andrew D. Shaw, Vidula Vachharajani, Jeannette S. Messer

Department of Anesthesiology Faculty Papers

In critical illness, all elements of gut function are perturbed. Dysbiosis develops as the gut microbial community loses taxonomic diversity and new virulence factors appear. Intestinal permeability increases, allowing for translocation of bacteria and/or bacterial products. Epithelial function is altered at a cellular level and homeostasis of the epithelial monolayer is compromised by increased intestinal epithelial cell death and decreased proliferation. Gut immunity is impaired with simultaneous activation of maladaptive pro- and anti-inflammatory signals leading to both tissue damage and susceptibility to infections. Additionally, splanchnic vasoconstriction leads to decreased blood flow with local ischemic changes. Together, these interrelated elements of …

Inhibition Of Il-6 Trans-Signaling Promotes Post-Stroke Functional Recovery In A Sex And Dose-Dependent Manner, Cassandra Hall, Dustin T Nguyen, Kate Mendoza, Chunfeng Tan, Anjali Chauhan

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Introduction: Elevated circulating IL-6 levels are associated with poorer outcomes after stroke, and increased serum IL-6 levels are linked to a higher risk of stroke. IL-6 binds to soluble IL-6 receptors (sIL-6R) and subsequently to ubiquitously expressed gp130, initiating proinflammatory trans-signaling. This study tested the hypothesis that inhibiting IL-6 trans-signaling by administering soluble (s) gp130 improves long-term functional outcomes in young mice after stroke.

Methods: Recombinant mouse gp130Fc chimera (sgp130) was administered one hour after middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) followed by twice-weekly administration for 2 weeks in mice (8-15 weeks old). Behavioral assessments were done on days 7 and …

Exploring Predictive Modeling For Food Quality Enhancement: A Case Study On Wine, Cemil Emre Yavas, Jongyeop Kim, Lei Chen, Christopher Kadlec, Yiming Ji

Computing: Faculty Publications

What makes a wine exceptional enough to score a perfect 10 from experts? This study explores a data-driven approach to identify the ideal physicochemical composition for wines that could achieve this highest possible rating. Using a dataset of 11 measurable attributes, including alcohol, sulfates, residual sugar, density, and citric acid, for wines rated up to a maximum quality score of 8 by expert tasters, we sought to predict compositions that might enhance wine quality beyond current observations. Our methodology applies a second-degree polynomial ridge regression model, optimized through an exhaustive evaluation of feature combinations. Furthermore, we propose a specific chemical …

Fungi And Fungi-Like Entities, Claudia Pogoreutz, Miriam Reverter, Nathalia Delgadillo-Ordonez, Anna Roik

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

Coral microbiology research has long focused on the composition and functional roles of prokaryotic organisms, but microeukaryotic communities, including the enigmatic fungi remain a poorly understood “black box” within coral and other holobionts. Here, we summarise what is known and hypothesised about the diversity, functional traits and potential, and chemodiversity of coral- and reef-associated fungi and fungi-like organisms (FLOs). Finally, we briefly outline the challenges associated with the characterization of marine fungi and provide a perspective for future studies to elucidate the biology, chemical ecology, and organismal interactions of marine fungi and FLOs within coral reef holobionts and their potentially …

The Physics And Chemistry Of Phase Separation Of Prion-Like Low-Complexity Protein Domains, Mina Farag

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Biomolecular condensates are membraneless cellular compartments that arise via macromolecular phase separation. Condensates are involved in a variety of cellular functions, including trafficking, autophagy, ribosomal biogenesis, endocytosis, transcription, proteostasis, and stress response. In addition, condensates are associated with diverse pathologies, especially neurodegenerative and oncogenic processes. Given their physiological importance, much work has been done to characterize condensates via physical, chemical, and biological methods. It is now well-recognized that intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) are significant drivers of condensate formation. In particular, prion-like low-complexity domains (PLCDs), a subset of IDPs that share similar sequence compositions with yeast prion proteins, are often involved …

The Effects Of Imidacloprid And Polyester Microfibers On The Larval Development Of The Endangered Sunflower Star, Alexandra G. Tissot, Elise F. Granek, Fiona Curliss, Augustin Kalytiak-Davis, Jason Hodin, Michelle L. Hladik

Environmental Science and Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

Sea star wasting syndrome has affected numerous species of sea star, with populations of Pycnopodia helianthoides (Brandt, 1835) left most at risk. As their populations are struggling to recover, it is important to gain a better understanding of the impacts that the multiple stressors in their habitats can have on their populations. Contaminant stressors in particular are of increasing importance, because aquatic organisms can be exposed to a dynamic range of contaminants from nearby anthropogenic activity that may affect their future recovery efforts. This study is the first to quantify the effects of contaminant stressors on the larvae of P. …

Tau Oligomers Resist Phase Separation, Lathan Lucas, Phoebe S Tsoi, Josephine C Ferreon, Allan Chris M Ferreon

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Tau is a microtubule-associated protein that undergoes liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) to form condensates under physiological conditions, facilitating microtubule stabilization and intracellular transport. LLPS has also been implicated in pathological Tau aggregation, which contributes to tauopathies such as Alzheimer's disease. While LLPS is known to promote Tau aggregation, the relationship between Tau's structural states and its phase separation behavior remains poorly defined. Here, we examine how oligomerization modulates Tau LLPS and uncover key distinctions between monomeric, oligomeric, and amyloidogenic Tau species. Using dynamic light scattering and fluorescence microscopy, we monitored oligomer formation over time and assessed oligomeric Tau's ability to …

Accelerating Earlier Access To Anti-Tnf-Α Agents With Biosimilar Medicines In The Management Of Inflammatory Bowel Disease, Gionata Fiorino, Ashwin Ananthakrishnan, Russell D Cohen, Raymond K Cross, Parakkal Deepak, Francis A Farraye, Jonas Halfvarson, A Hillary Steinhart

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Data indicate that earlier initiation of anti-tumor necrosis factor alpha (anti-TNF-α) biologic medicines may prevent progression to irreversible bowel damage and improve outcomes for patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), particularly Crohn's disease. However, the high cost of such therapies may restrict access and prevent timely treatment of IBD. Biosimilar anti-TNF-α medicines may represent a valuable opportunity for cost savings and optimized patient outcomes by improving access to advanced therapies and allowing earlier anti-TNF-α treatment initiation. Biosimilar anti-TNF-α medicines have been shown to offer consistent therapeutic outcomes to their reference medicines, yet despite entering the IBD treatment armamentarium over 10 …

Jc Polyomavirus Pooled Seropositivity Prevalence In Healthy Subjects, Lenka J. Kimla

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

JC polyomavirus (JCV) causes progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy in immunocompromised individuals and has been linked to cancer development. To-date, no information is available about the JCV seroprevalence in the healthy (nondiseased) population or whether this virus is ecologically connected to humans. The aim of this systematic literature review and meta-analysis was to the estimate the overall seroprevalence of JCV in the healthy human population by age, region, and testing method. A meta-analysis conducted on 24 studies revealed a pooled JCV seroprevalence of 60% (95% CI, 55% - 65%) with statistically significant effect size (z = 32.93, p < 0.001). Meta-regression and subgroup analyses with STATA18 showed that age and region had a strong positive predictive value on prevalence (R = .578, R2 = 0.334, F(2,52) = 12.543, p < 0.001) whereas the testing method had no significant effect on prevalence. The theories that grounded this study were the ecological model and the systems theory, which support the study result that JCV appears to be ubiquitous in the human population with JCV being acquired very early in life. The results of the systematic literature review indicated that JCV is transmitted via fecal-oral and respiratory routes within and outside of families. Most infants are infected with JCV by the age of 6 months and JCV seronegativity may not be indicative of a lack of an underlying JCV infection. JCV seropositivity increases with age, which is most probably by viral reactivation due to immune senescence. These findings have positive social change implications with JCV treatment, screening, and vaccine development.