Digital Commons Network^™

Exposure-Inducible Genes May Contribute To Missingness In Rnaseq-Based Gene Expression Analyses, Olga Y Gorlova, Ivan P Gorlov, R Taylor Ripley, Chao Cheng, Yafang Li, Bo Peng, Yanhong Liu, Hee-Jin Jang, Sung Wook Kang, Claire Lee, Priyanka Ranchod, Bryan M Burt, Hyun-Sung Lee, Christopher I Amos

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Missing gene expression values are a common issue in RNAseq-based analyses of gene expression. However, an analysis of genetic and environmental factors contributing to data missingness in RNAseq-based assessment of gene expression has never been conducted. In this study we tried to identify factors in RNAseq data missingness. We used RNAseq data from 66 lung adenocarcinoma tumors and corresponding adjacent normal lung tissues. We found a strong negative association between the gene expression level and missingness, supporting the idea that the borderline expression level is a key contributor to missingness. In a more detailed analysis, the relationship between gene expression …

Counselor-In-Training Perceptions Of Artificial Intelligence: Implications For Counselor Education, Leo Gonzalez Jr., Deija Mccalla

Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

This study examined the perceptions of counselors-in-training (CIT) on artificial intelligence (AI) in counseling practice and training. 31 CIT responded to three open-ended questions about the benefits, drawbacks, and overall attitudes of integrating AI into counseling practice and education. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the responses. The findings showed that CIT perceive AI as a clinical support tool, especially for tasks such as diagnosis and treatment planning. Additionally, CIT voiced concerns of potential overreliance on AI, ethical risks, confidentiality concerns, and the possible loss of human connection. Furthermore, although several CIT expressed cautious optimism regarding AI's use in counselor …

Integrating Artificial Intelligence In A University Counseling Clinic, Donna S. Sheperis, Shiri Sharvit

Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly used in mental health care, yet counseling students receive little training in digital tool integration. This program evaluation describes the use of an ambient AI platform in a university telemental health clinic to support clinical training. The AI system tracked interventions, themes, talk ratios, and symptom changes across 175 sessions by 13 trainees with 93 clients. Most frequent interventions included validation (97.6%), CBT skills (52.1%), and action planning (63.1%). Counselor talk time averaged 43% of the session, with themes such as relationships and school being predominant in client talk time.. By session 7, clients showed …

Utilizing Artificial Intelligence Therapeutic Adjuncts To Support Autistic Adults Between Counseling Sessions, Carlos J. Castaneda Jr, Nicole Noble, Afroze N. Shaikh

Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into mental health care presents innovative opportunities for therapeutic interventions. This pilot study examined the use of a customized Artificial Intelligence Therapeutic Adjunct (AITA) as a supplementary counseling tool for adults with level one autism spectrum disorder who attended weekly counseling sessions. Using a Single Subject Design to review trends in mental health symptoms and perceptions of the AITA, participants engaged with the AITA over four weeks, completed weekly anxiety and depression assessments, and post-intervention and satisfaction surveys. Thematic Analysis identified common counseling concerns and the AITA’s use of counseling techniques. Although findings suggest …

I Refugee: Memories, Alicia Garza

Cuaderna Vía

No abstract provided.

Full Issue, Cuaderna Vía Editors

Cuaderna Vía

No abstract provided.

Research Synthesis Of Predicting Part 135 Accident Probability In Aviation: How The Bayesian Brain Ignores Declining Safety Standards, Jonathan R. Clarke

Journal of Aviation Technology and Engineering

Technological innovation has had an enormous effect on safety in aviation. However, in Part 135 operations, where technology is not as ubiquitous, the accident rates have plateaued. Human error is constantly misrepresented as being responsible for 70–80 percent of accidents, when it is clearly only one of several contributing factors. In commercial aviation, all accidents should be considered organizational failures, because by definition all defensive layers have been breached. Organizational failure, as it affects safety, should be identifiable and predictable from organizational behavior. Inevitably, in the aftermath of accidents the warning signs of poor behavior are seemingly obvious, yet there …

Contaminated Water And Health Inequities: A Review Of Disparities In Low-Income Populations, Esraa Hussein, Rachel Chung, Chelsea Kim, Jackie Lucas, Erica Kim, Kinsley Wilson, Jasmine Sholy, Rahma Fares, Sharon Ojo, Yashitha Teekaraman, Melane Pira, Bellana Schlosser

General Submissions: Community and Population-based Materials

What are the most reported healthcare disparities associated with exposure to contaminated water in low-income and under-resourced communities?

Objectives: To identify and analyze the most commonly reported healthcare disparities associated with exposure to contaminated water in low-income and under-resourced communities. This research aims to understand how environmental contamination disproportionately impacts healthcare access and outcomes in marginalized populations.

Background: Low-income and under-resourced communities are disproportionately affected by the ongoing global health threat of contaminated water exposure. Pollutants like heavy metals, pathogens, and industrial runoff cause preventable illnesses like skin infections, developmental disorders, and gastrointestinal disorders. Systemic healthcare disparities, such as limited …

In Silico Investigation Of The Anticancer Activity Of Natural Isoquinoline Alkaloids Targeting The Monoamine Oxidase A Enzyme, Reham A. Al-Anssari, Anwar H. Ali, Ola Adel Al-Saad, Shaker A.N. Al-Jadaan

AUIQ Complementary Biological System

Monoamine oxidase A (MAO-A) has recently been identified as a candidate for cancer therapy due to its roles in tumor development and growth. Conventional approaches for the discovery of MAO-A inhibitors are both costly and time-consuming. The objective of this work was to apply in silico methods to predict natural isoquinoline alkaloids capable of acting as potent MAO-A inhibitors, and to establish this class of compounds as potential sources of a cost-effective anticancer therapy. Twenty-one natural isoquinoline alkaloids were subjected to a multistep computer-aided drug discovery protocol. The compounds were initially screened for pharmacokinetic (ADME), toxicity, and drug-likeliness properties by …

To Protect And Survive: Acknowledging Adverse Childhood Experiences In Law Enforcement, Melanie Appleman

Master of Arts in Human Services

This literature review explores the influence Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) can have on choosing a helping profession as well as their effect on law enforcement personnel and their ability to cope with occupational trauma. Law enforcement officers are routinely exposed to high-stress, high-risk environments which can exacerbate underlying trauma stemming from early life experiences. Officers with a history of ACEs may be more vulnerable to emotional dysregulation, hyper-vigilance, burnout, and substance abuse which can influence their decision making, relationships, and professional conduct potentially resulting in negative outcomes. Key themes include the identification of risk factors, the development of screening tools, …

Assessing Cascaded Op-Amp And Pre-Current Amplifier Configurations In Transimpedance Amplifier Interfacing Circuits For Nano-Scale Current-Based Sensor Applications, Mohamed Mamdouh, Sameh O. Abdellatif

Electrical Engineering

This study provides a comprehensive analysis of two proposed configurations for current-to-voltage converters tailored for nano-scale current-based sensor applications, focusing on key performance metrics such as linearity, dynamic range, DC noise immunity, and power losses. The evaluation employed frequency-dependent analyses, including transient response, step response, input impedance, and frequency-dependent noise spectra, to compare a cascaded double output configuration with a pre-current amplifier design. The results indicate a trade-off between dynamic range and linearity, with the pre-current amplifier demonstrating a higher dynamic range but lower linearity compared to the cascaded configuration. Additionally, the current amplifier configuration exhibited advantages in power consumption …

Investigating Resilience Of Cyberattack Detection Using Lyapunov-Based Economic Model Predictive Control To Data Poisoning, Helen Durand, Akkarakaran Francis Leonard

Chemical Engineering and Materials Science Faculty Research Publications

Cyberattacks may be performed on process control systems due to their integration of networking and computing with physical systems. Prior work in our group has developed detection strategies for nonlinear systems under sensor, actuator, and combined sensor and actuator attacks which can ensure, under characterizable conditions, that attacks can be detected before they cause safety issues. However, this work did not take into account the potential that an attacker could attempt to provide data to a process that causes an attack to remain undetected but that also is consistent with different process dynamics than those which the process has. This …

Quantifying "Medical Renal Disease": A Pediatric Pilot Study Using Ultrasound Radiomics For Differentiating Acute Kidney Injury And Chronic Kidney Disease, Laura De Leon-Benedetti, Laith Sultan, Hansel Otero, Tatiana Morales-Tisnés, Joya Sims, Kate Fitzpatrick, Julie Fitzgerald, Susan Furth, Benjamin Laskin, Bernarda Viteri

SKMC Student Presentations and Publications

Background: Differentiating acute kidney injury (AKI) from chronic kidney disease (CKD) in children remains a critical unmet need due to the limitations of current clinical and biochemical markers. Conventional ultrasound lacks the sensitivity to discern subtle parenchymal alterations. This study explores the application of ultrasound radiomics—a novel, non-invasive, and quantitative image analysis method—for distinguishing AKI from CKD in pediatric patients. Methods: In this retrospective cross-sectional pilot study, kidney ultrasound images were obtained from 31 pediatric subjects: 8 with oliguric AKI, 14 with CKD, and 9 healthy controls. Renal parenchyma was manually segmented, and 124 advanced texture features were extracted using …

Riparian Restoration Increases Soil Microbial Biomass In Marin County Rangelands, But Soil Carbon Stock Is Less Responsive, Sherilyn Kathryn Reinhart

Master's Theses

Land use change has caused the degradation of 70% of the Earth’s soils, directly altering soil microbial communities and carbon cycling. Interest in carbon farming practices is growing, but studies that document the nuances of soil carbon flux in specific bioregions are still too few. In this study, I examined how one practice, riparian restoration, alters soil carbon stock and microbial community structure over time. Using a paired sampling time series design, I collected soil samples from twelve riparian forests and adjacent rangelands near Marin County, California. Young and mature sites ranged from five to 29 years since restoration, and …

Tracing Priming Effects In Palsa Peat Carbon Dynamics Using A Stable Isotope-Assisted Metabolomics Approach, Christian Ayala-Ortiz, Moira Hough, Elizabeth K. Eder, David W. Hoyt, Rosalie K. Chu, Jason Toyoda, Steven J. Blazewicz, Patrick M. Crill, Ruth Varner, Scott R. Saleska, Virginia I. Rich, Malak M. Tfaily

Michigan Tech Publications

Introduction: Peatlands store up to a third of global soil carbon, and in high latitudes their litter inputs are increasing and changing in composition under climate change. Although litter significantly influences peatland carbon and nutrient dynamics by changing the overall lability of peatland organic matter, the physicochemical mechanisms of this impact—and thus its full scope—remain poorly understood. Methods: We applied multimodal metabolomics (UPLC-HRMS, ¹H NMR) paired with ¹³C Stable Isotope-Assisted Metabolomics (SIAM) to track litter carbon and its potential priming effects on both existing soil organic matter and carbon gas emissions. Through this approach, we achieved molecule-specific tracking …

Re: Butte Priority Soils Operable Unit (Bpsou) Draft Final Bres No. 94 – Rialto Dump Reclamation Improvement (Ri) Field Sampling Plan (Fsp)., Mike Mcanulty

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

Green Synthesis Of Mgo Nanoparticles Via Two Different Methods And Studying Their Structural, Morphological, And Optical Properties, Athraa Hadi Obead, Nada K. Abbas

Baghdad Science Journal

Magnesium oxide nanoparticles (MgO NPs) have been prepared by a green synthesis using the leaves of Ficus carica extract, which can be easily used for various biomedical applications. Magnesium oxide nanoparticles (MgO NPs) prepared by a green synthesis are non-toxic, biocompatible, and environmentally friendly. Fig extract functions as a reducing and stabilizing agent. The precursors used for preparation are from Magnesium Nitrate MgO(n) and bulk magnesium oxide MgO(b) by two different methods. The MgO(n) prepared from Magnesium Nitrate and MgO(b) prepared from bulk magnesium oxide nanoparticles were characterized using UV-visible spectroscopy (UV-Vis) to analyze the absorption patterns, The energy band …

Decomposing Trends In The Gender Gap For Highly Educated Workers, Joseph G. Altonji, John Eric Humphries, Yagmur Yuksel, Ling Zhong

Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers

This paper examines the gender gap in log earnings among full-time, college-educated workers born between 1931 and 1984. Using data from the National Survey of College Graduates and other sources, we decompose the gender earnings gap across birth cohorts into three components: (i) gender differences in the relative returns to undergraduate and graduate fields, (ii) gender-specific trends in undergraduate field, graduate degree attainment, and graduate field, and (iii) a cohortspecific “residual component” that shifts the gender gap uniformly across all college graduates. We have three main findings. First, when holding the relative returns to fields constant, changes in fields of …

Covid-19 Crisis: Contemporary Trauma Theory And Clinical Social Workers’ Perspectives Of Work-Related Secondary Trauma Post-Pandemic, Dr. Veronica Y. Griffin

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The COVID-19 pandemic was an unprecedented global crisis that challenged clinical social workers’ traditional client-centered strategies and exposed some to secondary trauma. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore clinical social workers’ perspectives on work-related secondary trauma post-COVID-19 pandemic using the contemporary trauma theory as the theoretical framework. The research question involved exploring their perspectives of how this trauma affected their biopsychosocial functioning. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight participants who were clinical social workers between 28 and 36. Using thematic analysis, themes were identified and grouped into the three functioning groups: personal, relationships, and career. Twelve themes …

Re: Butte Priority Soils Operable Unit (Bpsou) Draft Final Insufficiently Reclaimed Sites Field Sampling And Investigation Plan (Fsp): Bres No. 91 – Robert Emmett Dumps, Mike Mcanulty

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

Statistical Analysis Of Multi-Endpoint Phenotypic Screening Increases Sensitivity Of Planarian Neurotoxicity Testing, Danielle Ireland, L. J. Word, Eva-Maria S. Collins

Biology Faculty Works

There is an urgent need for high-throughput screening (HTS) models to replace, refine, and/or reduce (“3Rs”) vertebrate toxicity testing. Replacing in vivo animal studies is challenging for neurotoxicity and developmental neurotoxicity (DNT), where the functional relevancy of adverse outcomes needs to be assessed on the whole organism. We previously screened the NTP 87-compound library (NTP87), consisting of known and suspected developmental neurotoxicants, and showed that planarian HTS can identify known (developmental) neurotoxicants. Because analysis methods can impact screening results, and our original analysis used the lowest-observed-effect-level (LOEL) only, we hypothesized that the use of state-of-the-art statistical analysis would increase the …

Association Of Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Receptor Agonists With Cancer Risk In Older Adults With Type 2 Diabetes, Ying Lu, Hao Dai, Huilin Tang, William T Donahoo, Thomas J George, Ramon C Sun, Sizun Jiang, Aik Choon Tan, Yi Guo, Jonathan D Licht, John M Allen, Kelvin P Lee, Jingchuan Guo, Jiang Bian

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Objective: The real-world evidence on the association between glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RAs) and cancer risk remains limited and mixed.

Methods: In 2013-2020 national Medicare claims data, we included cancer-naïve patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D). We identified those who initiated GLP-1 RA, sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitor (SGLT2i), or dipeptidyl peptidase 4 inhibitor (DPP4i) and conducted 1:1 propensity score matching for confounding adjustment. Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate hazard ratios (HR) of nine obesity-associated cancers (thyroid, pancreatic, bladder, colorectal, lung, kidney, breast, endometrial, and prostate cancer).

Results: In the matched GLP-1RA versus SGLT2i cohort (n = 21,362 …

Dclk1 Isoform (Dclk1-S) As A Critical Player In Promoting Inflammation, Tissue Remodeling, And Emt In Mouse Models Of Colitis., Kafayat Yusuf, Badal C. Roy, William L. Hauser, Mazin Al-Kasspooles, Sierra Sanchez, Thomas M. Attard, Dong Pei, Venkatesh Sampath, Shrikant Anant, Shahid Umar

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: The Doublecortin-like kinase-1 (DCLK1) plays a chemosensory role in the gut. It's role in the context of inflammatory diseases including inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), has not been thoroughly investigated. This study explored the role of the DCLK1 isoform (DCLK1-S) in promoting infectious/chemical colitis by utilizing high-throughput imaging mass cytometry (IMC).

METHODS: Transgenic mice were either infected with Citrobacter rodentium (CR) or received DSS and tissues/cells were processed via standard techniques. IMC workflow was adapted by Fluidigm (renamed Standard BioTools). Raw data was fed to Multiplexed Cell Dataset (MCD) Viewer for image generation and analyzed via histoCAT. Promoters …

Prefrontal Cortex Astrocytes Modulate Distinct Neuronal Populations To Control Anxiety-Like Behavior, Eunyoung Kim, Hairuo Du, Yanqi Tan, Brandon L Brown, Yaowen Chang, Blanca Díaz-Castro, Jonathan V Sweedler, Xinzhu Yu

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Accumulating evidence has supported diverse regulatory functions of astrocytes in different neural circuits as well as various aspects of complex behaviors. However, little is known about how astrocytes regulate different neuronal subpopulations that are linked to specific behavioral aspects within a single brain region. Here, we show that astrocytes in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) encode anxiogenic environmental cues in freely behaving mice. Silencing mPFC astrocyte Ca

Phase 1/2 Trial Of Encorafenib, Cetuximab, And Nivolumab In Microsatellite Stable Brafv600e Metastatic Colorectal Cancer, Van K Morris, Christine M Parseghian, Vahid Bahrambeigi, Nourhan Abdelfattah, Lianchun Xiao, Anjali Agrawal, Kangyu Lin, Kanwal P S Raghav, Robert A Wolff, Arvind Dasari, Ryan W Huey, Bryan K Kee, Michael J Overman, Jason A Willis, Phat H Le, Michelle Escano, Yunyu C Baig, Kelsey Pan, David Menter, Alda L Tam, Wai C Foo, Li Shen, Hey Min Lee, Thomas D Gallup, Cori Margain, Dave Gallup, Kimal I Rajapakshe, Paola A Guerrero, Jing Wang, Ryan B Corcoran, Anirban Maitra, Kyuson Yun, Scott Kopetz

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The BRAF inhibitor encorafenib and anti-epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) antibody cetuximab modestly improve survival for patients with microsatellite stable (MSS) BRAFV600E metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC), characterized by higher immune activation than MSS BRAFwild-type colorectal cancer (CRC). In this phase 1/2 study (NCT04017650) of 26 participants with MSS BRAFV600E mCRC who received encorafenib, cetuximab, and anti-PD-1 antibody nivolumab, we report an overall response rate of 50% (95% confidence interval [CI] 29–71) and median progression-free survival of 7.4 months (95% CI, 5.6–9.6). Transcriptomic profiling of pretreatment biopsies and extracellular vesicle RNA (evRNA) isolated from plasma show …

Molecular Identification Of Acinetobacter Baumannii Isolated From Clinical Samples In Iraq By Using Multiplex Pcr, Yaseen Ismael Mamoori, Ibrahim Abdulla Ahmed, May Ridha Jaafer, Ayat Muneam Ali, Sabreen Ali Hadi

Baghdad Science Journal

Acinetobacter baumannii is one of the most clinically significant pathogens that cause severe nosocomial infections. Rapid identification of this bacterial species is essential so that proper treatment can be provided and outbreaks can be controlled. In this study, a multiplex PCR was used to identify A. baumannii. Twenty clinical isolates of A. baumannii and three each of Gram+ve (Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus licheniformis, Micrococcus yunnanensis) and Gram−ve (Proteus mirabilis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae) bacterial isolates were subjected to singleplex and multiplex PCR reactions using three sets of species-specific primers (P-Ab-ITS-F, P-Ab-ITS-R; …

Determination Of Microplastic Compounds In Some Species Of Freshwater Snails In Brantas River, East Java, Indonesia, R Adharyan Islamy, Yuni Kilawati, Veryl Hasan, Fitri Sil Valen, Noorhidayah Mamat, Ahmad Syazni Kamarudin, Yunita Maimunah

Baghdad Science Journal

This research examines microplastic contamination patterns in three ecologically significant freshwater gastropods—Pomacea canaliculata, Filopaludina javanica, and Sulcospira testudinaria—in Indonesia's Brantas River system. Through systematic sampling at three downstream locations, we quantified and characterized microplastics within the digestive tracts of these molluscan species. The results demonstrate universal microplastic ingestion across all taxa, though with notable interspecific variation. The invasive P. canaliculata showed the highest contamination levels (4.5 microplastic particles per individual, average weight 15.2g), predominantly comprising textile fibers and plastic fragments. In contrast, F. javanica specimens (average 10.8g) contained primarily cosmetic microbeads and packaging films (2.7 particles/individual), …

Autonomous Driving Of A Guided Emergency Service Robot With Route Tracking Control, Saif Talib Abbas Albasrawi, Lamyaa Sabeeh Ashour Al-Lami

Baghdad Science Journal

This work presents a method for controlling the travel routes that tracked robots use to get around their environments. The algorithm utilized in model-predictive control could be implemented in a vehicle to make the vehicle capable of driving itself if an emergency arises. It is anticipated that soon, collaboration between edge clouds will become more commonly used to connect and control various pieces of rescue equipment. The Linear Model-Predictive Control algorithm, also known as LMPC, is an excellent choice for controlling the path that the rescue robots will take because it makes efficient use of the limited computational resources available …

The Influence Of Hunting Cooperation And Fear On The Dynamics Of The Eco-Epidemiological Model With Disease In Both Populations, Nabaa Hassain Fakhry, Raid Kamel Naji

Baghdad Science Journal

Predicting and controlling environmental dynamics requires an understanding of the intricate interaction between hunting cooperation, fear, and other biological elements in eco-epidemiological models. Studying these models is crucial for environmental sustainability and conservation, as seen by the rise in infectious diseases caused by population growth and interactions among organisms. The goal of this study is to create a novel mathematical model that takes into account contagious diseases that impact both predators and prey, as well as how cooperative hunting behavior on the part of predators causes anxiety in the prey population. Important features of the model are examined, including the …

Biogenic Synthesis And Characterization Of Metal Oxides Nanostructures Using Plant-Mediated Extracts Via Green Microwave-Assisted Method, Sahar Ismael Imran

Baghdad Science Journal

Two simple innovative green methods have been developed to synthesize precise phase of cobalt oxide nanostructures Co₃O₄; the first method included using cobalt hydroxide carbonate (extra pure) Co₂CO₃(OH)₂ with aqueous plants extract of syzygium aromaticum (clove) bud extract (SABE) once; then again with pomegranate peel extract (PPE) both samples were submitted to microwave irradiation for 5 minutes followed by discrete calcination at 500 ^oC and then 850 ^oC an interested shapes of doted semi-cubic of Co₃O₄-NPs was successfully obtained in both cases; the samples …