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Gc Minutes Sept 18, 2025, Graduate Council

Graduate Council Minutes

No abstract provided.

Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi As Key Drivers Of Plant Resilience: Mechanisms Of Stress Adaptation In Saline Environments, Rayna Elizabeth Koberstein

Dissertations and Theses

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) play a critical role in mediating plant responses to environmental stress, yet their ecological significance in saline wetland restoration remains underexplored. This greenhouse experiment investigated the effects of salinity, root-zone barrier type (solid, mesh, none), and neighboring species identity on AMF colonization and physiological responses in three native estuarine plants: Carex densa, Juncus patens, and Scirpus microcarpus. Results demonstrated species-specific physiological responses to salinity, with Juncus patens showing greater resilience in maintaining photosynthetic efficiency (Fv/Fm) and percent cover at higher salinity levels, while Scirpus microcarpus exhibited a significant decline. Mesh barriers, which permitted …

Integrated Mirna-Mrna Analyses Of Triple-Negative Breast Cancer In Black And White Patients With Or Without Obesity, Fokhrul Hossain, Martha I. Gonzalez-Ramirez, Jone Garai, Diana Polania-Villanueva, Li Li, Farzeen Nafees, Md Manirujjaman, Bolin Liu, Samarpan Majumder, Xiao Cheng Wu, Chindo Hicks, Luis Del Valle, Denise Danos, Augusto Ochoa, Lucio Miele, Jovanny Zabaleta

School of Graduate Studies Faculty Publications

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is an aggressive, heterogeneous subtype of breast cancer. miRNAs play an essential role in TNBC pathogenesis and prognosis. Obesity is linked with an increased risk for several cancers, including breast cancer. Obesity is also related to the dysregulation of miRNA expression in adipose tissues. However, there is limited knowledge about race- and obesity-specific differential miRNA expression in TNBC. We performed miRNA sequencing of 48 samples (24 tumor and 24 adjacent non-tumor tissues) and RNA sequencing of 24 tumors samples from Black (AA) and White (EA) TNBC patients with or without obesity. We identified 55 miRNAs exclusively …

The Grizzly, September 18, 2025, Renee Washart, Sidney D. Belleroche, Sophia Kumar, Adam Denn, Hadley Whitman, Jesse Cherone

Ursinus College Grizzly Newspaper, 1978 to Present

Talking Greek Life With Maggie Diaz '28 • Best Booth in Sports? Ursinus's! • Are Ursinus Bears Going Extinct? An Enrollment Analysis • APEX Hub Spotlight: Sports! • The Making of Out! Just Over the Line • Ursinus Does Got Talent • Place and Chase: The Ursinus Field Hockey Ball Boys • A Fanatical Visit to 97.5

Rapid Mapping Of Spinal And Supraspinal Connectome Via Self-Targeting Glucose-Based Carbon Dots, Yasin B. Seven, Elif S. Seven, Emel Kirbas Cilingir, Komal Parikh, Mehmet Aydin, Edward K. Luca, Jayakrishnan Nair, Roger M. Leblanc

Department of Physical Therapy Faculty Papers

The spinal cord is a highly dynamic network, playing significant roles in the vital functions of the brain. Disorders of the spinal cord, such as spinal cord injury and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), are associated with neurodegeneration, often resulting in morbidity and mortality. The blood-brain barrier (BBB) poses a major challenge to imaging and therapeutic agents because less than 2% of small-molecule drugs and almost no large-molecule drugs can cross the BBB. Furthermore, spatial spectroscopy studies have shown highly heterogeneous BBB crossing with significant accumulation at the unintended brain regions. Thus, targeting systems that can cross the BBB at the …

Development Of An Integrated Hydrothermal Liquefaction And Wet Oxidation Process, Patrick Biller, Giulia Zoppi, Guido Ceragioli, Carolin Schuck

PYROLIQ III – 2025: Pyrolysis and Liquefaction of Biomass and Wastes

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Solving The Vehicle Routing Problem Based On Deep Reinforcement Learning, Ming Jiang, Tao He

Journal of System Simulation

Abstract: The capacitated vehicle routing problem (CVRP) is a well-known combinatorial optimization challenge recognized as NP-hard due to its significant complexity. Building upon existing research, this paper introduces a novel end-to-end deep reinforcement learning approach based on a multi-pointer Transformer to tackle the CVRP. The proposed algorithm employs an invertible residual network in the encoder to encode input features, effectively reducing memory consumption. In the decoder, a multipointer network determines the probability distribution of solutions. To further enhance the performance of CVRP solutions, the algorithm leverages the symmetry in combinatorial optimization by implementing multi-trajectory parallel processing during both training …

Differential Effects Of Macrophage Subtype-Specific Cytokines On Fibroblast Proliferation And Endothelial Cell Function In Co-Culture System, Phillip Mcclellan, Thomas R. Wong, Sara Hijaz, David R. Fletcher, Ozan Akkus, Tracey L. Bonfield, James M. Anderson, Adonis Hijaz

Faculty Scholarship

Macrophages are involved in several critical activities associated with tissue repair and regeneration. Current approaches in regenerative medicine are focusing on leveraging the innate immune response to accelerate tissue regeneration and improve long-term healing outcomes. Of particular interest in this regard are the currently known, four main M2 macrophage subtypes: M2interleukin (IL)-4,IL-13, M2IC, M2IL-10, M2non-selective adenosine receptor agonists (NECA) (M2IL-4,IL-13 → M2(NECA). In this study, rat bone marrow-derived macrophages (M₀) were polarized to each of the four subtypes M2IL-4,IL-13 → M2NECA and cultured for 72 h in vitro. Luminex assay results highlighted increased production of tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases-1 (TIMP-1) …

Abnormal Invasive Hemodynamics In Heart Transplant Recipients, Navin Rajagopalan, Donna R. Dennis, Julia Akhtarekhavari, Kenneth Campbell

Physiology Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND Few studies have quantified invasive hemodynamic parameters in post heart transplant recipients. AIM To report the incidence of abnormal hemodynamics in heart transplant recipients at 1-year and 3-year post-transplant and determine if there was any correlation with recipient and donor characteristics. METHODS Data from 279 consecutive heart transplant recipients from 2007 through 2020 were analyzed. Clinical variables regarding both recipients and donors as well as hemodynamic variables obtained via right heart catheterization during 1-year and 3-year annual testing were recorded. Simple and multiple linear regression tests were used to determine how recipient and donor variables influenced hemodynamic parameters at …

Gc-Ms-Based Metabolomics For Understanding The Metabolite Profile Of Mopane Worm (Gonimbrasia Belina) And Sorghum (Sorghum Bicolor L), Mpho Sebabiki Maleke, Tumisi Beiri Jeremiah Molelekoa, Jonathan Wilkin, Xi Feng, Moira Ledbetter, Oluwafemi Ayodeji Adebo

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Edible insects are nutritious, having high levels of protein, essential amino acids, healthy fats, vitamins, and minerals. In areas where sorghum is a primary crop, mixing this gluten-free grain with protein-rich insect powder provides a novel approach to making nutrient-rich products. Understanding the sorghum and mopane worm flours' metabolomic changes during bioprocessing can however, enhance their nutritional value and food safety. The research investigated metabolite compounds that are found in raw and processed (fermented, malted (sorghum), and ultrasonicated) mopane worms and sorghum. In the study, sorghum grains were traditionally fermented and malted at 35°C for 48 h and ultrasonicated for …

Editorial: Wearable Technology: The New Ornament Of Network Physiology, Ankita Srivastava, Santosh Kumar Yadav

Department of Pathology, Anatomy, and Cell Biology Faculty Papers

Introduction: The landscape of personal health monitoring is rapidly transforming, driven by advances in wearable technology. These devices, designed to be worn comfortably on the body, can capture real-time physiological data often difficult to obtain in traditional clinical settings. What began as a simple device for activity trackers for walking steps, heart rate, and blood oxygen saturation has evolved to play a crucial role in monitoring more complex physiological parameters critical for chronic disease management and preventative health.

The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) is further expanding the potential of wearable devices, enabling deeper analysis and predictive modeling of the …

The Cowl - V. 89 N. 1 - September 18, 2025

The Cowl

The Cowl - student newspaper of Providence College. Vol. 89 No. 1 - September 18, 2025. 20 pages.

Semilunar Valve Replacement With A Telescoping Arterial Trunk Valve, Edo Bedzra, Herra Javed, James E. O'Brien, Taufiek Konrad Rajab

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

A bicuspid aortic valve, from autologous tissue, with growth potential can be constructed using the simple, and reproducible telescoping arterial trunk technique.

Bioresources And Bioproducts: A New Open Access Journal, Ronald C. Sims

Biological Engineering Faculty Publications

Greetings to the bioresource and bioproducts community! I will serve as the Editor-in-Chief to collaborate with you as we promote the aims and scope of this new MDPI journal [1], with the help of its distinguished Editorial Board, by publishing Special Issues, Topics, Topical Collections, and Editorials, and by providing high-impact scholarship through the outstanding published work of each of our contributors.

Cetuximab Increases Lgr5 Expression And Augments Lgr5-Targeting Antibody-Drug Conjugate Efficacy In Patient-Derived Colorectal Cancer Models, Peyton C High, Zhengdong Liang, Cara Guernsey-Biddle, Shraddha Subramanian, Yueh-Ming Shyu, Adela M Aldana, Yukimatsu Toh, Kendra S Carmon

The Brown Foundation: Institute of Molecular Medicine

Colorectal cancer (CRC) remains the second-leading cause of cancer-associated deaths, indicating an urgent need for improved therapeutic options. We previously generated antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) targeting the cancer stem-like cell marker leucine-rich repeat-containing G protein-coupled receptor 5 (LGR5). However, tumor relapse due to LGR5 downregulation and suboptimal payload selection warrants strategies to improve ADC efficacy. Here, we report that cetuximab, an epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-targeting monoclonal antibody indicated for RASWT metastatic CRC, augments LGR5 expression independent of RAS/PIK3CA mutation status and promotes EGFR-LGR5 interactions. Furthermore, we describe the development of LGR5 ADCs incorporating a camptothecin-derived payload that is well tolerated …

Connecting Innovation And Trust Through Translational Sciences – A Need For A Community Focus And Effective Education Strategiess, Filipa Godoy-Vitorino, Michelle Borrero, Josué Pérez-Santiago, Rubén García-García, Candelaria Gomez-Manzano

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Report of a conference held in Puerto Rico, this article highlights how interdisciplinary translational science-anchored in education, public trust, and equity-can accelerate innovation in cancer therapy while empowering underserved communities through inclusive training, collaboration, and research participation.

Efficacy And Safety Of Rigosertib In Patients With Recessive Dystrophic Epidermolysis Bullosa-Associated Advanced/Metastatic Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma, Martin Laimer, Andrew P. South, Elisabeth Mayr, Sophie Kitzmueller, Lauren Banner, Michael Alexander, Linda Hosler, Henry Yang, Matthew Parris, Meena Arora, Georg Zimmermann, Gregor Schweighofer-Zwink, Johann Bauer, Neda Nikbakht

Department of Dermatology and Cutaneous Biology Faculty Papers

BACKGROUND: Recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (RDEB) is an epithelial fragility disease primarily affecting the skin and is caused by variants in the COL7A1 gene. Individuals with RDEB are predisposed to develop highly aggressive cutaneous squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs) which are the most common cause of premature death. There is a lack of effective prevention or treatment options for patients with RDEB-SCC.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the antitumour activity and safety of the polo-like kinase-1 (PLK1) inhibitor, rigosertib, two investigator-initiated open-label, single-arm phase II studies were opened in Europe and the USA and enrolled five patients with RDEB diagnosed with locally advanced …

Addressing Food System Determinants Of Health Inequalities In Urban Environments:: Learnings From The Foodsequal And Foodsequal-Health Projects, Carol Wagstaff, Clare Pettinger

School of Health Professions

Diet is just one social determinant of health, with obesity and diet-related illness as leading causes of premature deaths and disability in the UK. People living in deprived areas of the UK are more likely to experience poor health outcomes, linked to many social determinants of health such as diet, housing, employment, education, power and discrimination and psycho-social factors such as isolation, quality of social network and perceived level of control. While socio-economic deprivation is a key risk for health inequalities, protected characteristics, vulnerable groups and geographical factors also indicate populations at risk of experiencing health inequalities. In this ‘opinion …

Disparities In Liver Transplantation For Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatohepatitis-Associated Hepatocellular Carcinoma, David W Victor, Sudha Kodali, Mazen Noureddin, Elizabeth W Brombosz, Analisa Lopez, Tamneet Basra, Edward A Graviss, Duc T Nguyen, Ashish Saharia, Ashton A Connor, Maen Abdelrahim, Yee Lee Cheah, Caroline J Simon, Mark J Hobeika, Constance M Mobley, R Mark Ghobrial

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Background: Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) is increasingly common, as is hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in the background of MASH. Liver transplantation (LT) provides superior long-term survival for patients with unresectable MASH-HCC, but not all patients have equal access to transplant. MASH-HCC disproportionately affects Hispanic patients, but minorities are less likely to undergo LT for HCC. Additionally, females also undergo LT at lower rates than males.

Aim: To investigate whether race/ethnicity and sex affect LT waitlist outcomes.

Methods: Records of adults with MASH-HCC in the United States Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network database listed for LT between 1/2015 and 12/2021 were analyzed. …

September 2025 Academic Affairs Minutes, University Of Nebraska At Kearney Academic Affairs Committee

Academic Affairs Committee Minutes

No abstract provided.

Rat Somatic Genome Editing Enables Er+ Breast Cancer Modeling, Wen Bu, Tobie Lee, Meenakshi Anurag, Yunfeng Ding, Ruixin Xu, Lillian He, Alexandria Z Bu, Chandandeep Nagi, Carolina Gutierrez, Susan Hilsenbeck, Chonghui Cheng, Bing Zhang, Shixia Huang, Jianming Xu, C Kent Osborne, Arun Sreekumar, Eric Chang, Chad J Creighton, Xiang Zhang, Yi Li

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Genetically engineered mouse models have advanced cancer research but often fail to capture key features of certain human tumors. Rats, with distinct physiology and tumor biology, offer a powerful alternative, yet their use has been constrained by technical barriers to genome editing. Here, we report efficient somatic genome editing in rats, enabling both Indel and substitution mutations. We then apply this approach to model estrogen receptor (ER)-positive breast cancer, which accounts for ~70% of human cases but remains poorly represented in mice. The resulting rat tumors reproduce hallmarks of human ER+ breast cancer, including ductal histology, hormone responsiveness, and immune-microenvironmental …

Validity Of Cephalosporin Skin Prick Testing In Children With Self-Reported Cephalosporin Allergy: A Cross-Sectional Study, Bashar Talib Huweidy, Bashar I. Mohammed, Jessar Saleem Hasan, Ghaith Wadhah Hamdoon

Al-Ameed Journal for Medical Research and Health Sciences

Background: A comprehensive study evaluated the risk of nonunion per fracture in a population of over four million adults and determined that rates vary depending on patients' risk factors, nonunion rates can reach in excess of 10%. This study aims to address the issue by scrutinizing the demographic characteristics of patients, pinpointing the biological risk factors for long bone nonunion and evaluating the nonunion management effectiveness. Methods: This analytical, observational retrospective cohort study used medical record data from a regional hospital in Surabaya, Indonesia (2020–2023), involving 147 eligible patients. Data were analyzed using logistic regression with a significance level of …

Do Tax Judges Favor The Tax Authority?, Orli Oren-Kolbinger

Florida Tax Review

Judges and judicial systems have become more specialized in response to increasing legal complexity. While the theoretical literature has discussed judicial specialization extensively, deliberating its pros and cons and its implications—arguably an appealing background for empirical investigation—few empirical studies have attempted to quantify the relationship between judicial specialization and case outcomes. This Article fills that lacuna. It analyzes a hand-coded dataset of tax cases in which rulings were made by both specialized tax judges and generalist judges in Israeli District Courts. Its main finding is that specialized tax judges are more inclined than generalist judges toward the Tax Authority. It …

Clinical Corner: Pearls From Local Dentists

West Michigan District Dental Society Bulletin

"Clinical Corner" is a section of the WMDDS Bulletin where local dentists share clinical pearls for fellow practitioners.

This edition's topics include canine impactions, pulpotomies, and general implant tips.

Stream Temperature Responses To Summer Urban Rain Events Along The Savannah River, Joseph E. Wermter, Vivian L. Turner, Max K. Appelbaum, James M. Shepherd, Jacob Z. Lott

Journal of South Carolina Water Resources

The hydrological urban heat island (HUHI) is a recent facet of the urban heat island (UHI), describing thermal enhancement of bodies of water in response to urbanization. Although the forefront of this work has been studied for large Metropolitan areas, this effect on developing cities is currently unknown. To locally measure and quantify HUHI effects in a developing city, we utilized Multi-Radar Multi Sensor (MRMS) radar-derived rainfall data to estimate rainfall in the Augusta Metropolitan Area (AMA) and the Savannah Metropolitan Area (SMA), two developing communities adjacent to the Savannah River. We analyzed mean temperature trends of two stream gauges …

Wmdds Bulletin Summer 2025

West Michigan District Dental Society Bulletin

In the Summer 2025 issue, the reader will find the following feature articles:

• Dr. Colette Rumann Smiley: A Life in Dentistry, Advocacy, and Reinvention
• Mothers, Dentists, Business Owners
• An Interfaith Dental Program Update
• Pearls from Local Dentists

Also included are your monthly tripartite update, news from West Michigan counties, the President's Message and Editor's Letter.

Development And Validation Of An Analytical Method For Determination Of Bongkrekic Acid In Biofluids For Toxin Monitoring, Ying-Tzu Shieh, Te-I Weng, Ju-Yu Chen, I-Ting Wang, Kevin Shu-Leung Lai, Chia-Mo Lin, Chu-Yun Teng, Guan-Yuan Chen

Journal of Food and Drug Analysis

Bongkrekic acid (BKA) poisoning is a severe foodborne illness with a high mortality rate. This study aimed to identifyBKA in postmortem tissues from poisoning victims in Taiwan and to develop a reliable analytical method for detectingBKA in biofluids to aid clinical diagnosis and treatment. BKA was identified in postmortem samples using high-reso-lution mass spectrometry (HRMS) and confirmed with an independent ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatographycoupled with tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS) method. To meet clinical needs, a UHPLC-MS/MS methodwas developed and validated for BKA detection in plasma and urine. Method optimization included adjustments to ionsource conditions for multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) transitions and …

The Economic Burden Of Covid-19 In A Region With Stringent Response Measures: A Case Study Of Taiwan, Elise Chia-Hui Tan, Fei-Yuan Hsiao, Ming-Chin Yang

Journal of Food and Drug Analysis

The COVID-19 pandemic has imposed a significant economic burden globally, particularly in regions with stringentresponse measures. This study aimed to assess the economic impact of COVID-19 in Taiwan, focusing on both directand indirect costs. A cost-of-illness analysis was conducted, utilizing data from the Taiwan Centers for Disease Control(CDC), national databases, epidemiological studies, and economic surveys. The analysis included both direct costs (e.g.,hospital admissions, outpatient care) and indirect costs (e.g., productivity losses due to long COVID, absenteeism, caregiving duties). The study encompassed Taiwan's population of 23.2 million, with particular attention to age-specific impacts on economic outcomes. The total economic burden of …

Nanovesicles Derived From Protocorm-Like Bodies Of Dendrobium Officinal Enhance Corneal Epithelial Repair And Reduce Inflammation In Dry Eye Disease Models, Bao Yuqing, Peng Chengyu, Zhang Fenglei, Zheng Yuqiang, Zhang Mingqi, He Wei

Journal of Food and Drug Analysis

Plant-derived nanovesicles (PDNVs) offer a promising, biocompatible therapeutic platform. In this study, we isolatednanovesicles from protocorm-like bodies of Dendrobium officinale (PLBs-NVs) and evaluated their efficacy in dry eyedisease (DED) models. PLBs-NVs protected human corneal epithelial cells against hyperosmotic stress, supportedwound repair, and inhibited inflammation in vitro. In a desiccating stress-induced DED mouse model, topical PLBs-NVstreatment significantly restored tear secretion, reduced corneal epithelial damage, and lowered levels of proinflammatorycytokines. These results suggest that PLBs-NVs are a safe, natural, and effective therapeutic strategy for DED, sup-porting their potential for future clinical translation in ocular surface disorders.

Anti-Neuroinflammatory Polyketides From The Medicinal Herb-Derived Fungal Strain Didymocyrtis Brachylaenae Km1530, Chia-Hao Chang, Yun-Rong Zhang, Shu-Jung Huang, George Hsiao, Wei-Chiung Chi, Andrea Gu, Yu-Wei Lai, Tzong-Huei Lee

Journal of Food and Drug Analysis

A series of chromatographic separation on the liquid-state fermented products of Didymocyrtis brachylaenae Km1530 derived from the littoral medicinal herb Atriplex maximowicziana Makino, resulted in the isolation of compounds 1—13. Their structures were determined by spectroscopic analysis as fivepreviously unreported C13 polyketides, namely brachylactones A—D (1—4) and brachic acid (5), along with eight known compounds 6—13. Among these, brachy-lactones A (1) and B (2) exhibited nitric oxide production inhibitory activity in lipopolysaccharide-induced murine BV- 2 microglial cells at a concentration of 20 μM without any cytotoxicity.