Digital Commons Network^™

Pregnancy Outcomes Among Women With And Without Hiv Infections Who Underwent Excisional Treatment For High-Grade Cervical Intraepithelial Neoplasia: A Retrospective Cohort Study In Low-Resource Settings, Poli Amubuomombe, Peter Itsura, Philiph Tonui, Elkanah Orang'o, Benjamin Odongo, Patrick Loehrer, Susan Cu-Uvin

Obstetrics and Gynaecology, East Africa

Objective The standard treatment for high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions is excisional involving the uterine cervix, while surveillance is an acceptable approach for low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions. There is controversy about excisional treatment on pregnancy outcomes. The objective of this study was to determine pregnancy outcomes in women living with and without HIV who underwent excisional treatment for high-grade cervical intraepithelial lesions.

Design This retrospective cohort study compared the pregnancy outcomes of women with and without HIV who were or were not treated for cervical intraepithelial lesions. A cohort of 488 women with and without HIV infection who did or did …

Architectural Engineering Programs In The United States, Sachi Goli

Architectural Engineering

This paper revises and presents the curriculum and demographic data for the 26 ABET accredited Architectural Engineering programs in the United States. It is an update to the 2007 paper: “Architectural Engineering Programs: Finding Common  Ground” in which the 17 existing ABET accredited programs were analyzed based on their course offerings, diversity of organization, and their common ground in the academic community. The courses offered by each university in this paper have been classified into 14 categories: Communication, Humanities, Math and Science, Engineering Science, Structural Engineering, Mechanical Systems, Construction, Electrical Systems, Other, Freshman Experience, Architecture, Senior Capstone experience, Co-op/intern experience, …

Responsible Ai In Teaching And Learning, Asa B. Stone, Mark C. Stone, Derek M. Heeren, Santosh Pitla

PRAIRIE: Pioneering Responsible AI for Research, Innovation, and Education

The rapid adoption of generative artificial intelligence (AI) in higher education presents both transformative opportunities and significant pedagogical risks. While AI tools are becoming embedded in academic and professional environments, their integration into teaching and learning raises critical questions about cognitive engagement, academic integrity, equity, and skill development. This white paper proposes a principled framework for the responsible integration of AI in higher education, grounded in the dual commitment to AI literacy and the cultivation of durable skills.

The framework articulates six core principles: purposefulness; transparency; integrity and attribution; critical AI literacy; equity and access; and privacy and data protection. …

Mechanistic Studies Of Aerobic Photochemistry: Gold Nanoclusters, Nanoparticles, And Solution-Phase Systems, Serah Essang

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This thesis comprises five chapters as enumerated below.

Chapter 1 describes our findings on the reactions of Au glutathione nanocluster (Au₂₀SG₁₆) with singlet oxygen (¹O₂) in D₂O. We noticed it underwent a self-photooxidation reaction. Leading us to mechanistic studies using photophysical, photochemical, theoretical, and indirect trapping methods. We found rapid total quenching of singlet oxygen (¹O₂) by ground-state Au₂₀(SG)₁₆, with evidence for dioxygen insertion into the nanocluster. Supported by analyses with IR, ESI-MS, and density functional theory, we propose the formation of …

4e-Bp1 Differentially Regulates Translation Of A Subset Of Human Mrnas, Mehreen Mahbub

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Elevated levels of eukaryotic initiation factor 4E-binding protein 1 (4E-BP1) influence cap-independent translation by forming a complex with eukaryotic initiation factor 4E (eIF4E) (eIF4E•4E-BP1). Certain mRNAs—including those encoding hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α), fibroblast growth factor-9 (FGF-9), and two isoforms of tumor suppressors, p53 (p53_A, and p53_B)—contain structured 5’untranslated regions (UTRs) that enable translation either via cap-independent translation enhancer (CITE)-like or internal ribosomal entry site (IRES)-like mechanisms. However, how 4E-BP1 modulates these mechanisms remains unclear. Using fluorescence-based anisotropy assays, we showed that the eIF4E•4E-BP1 binds more tightly to the 5’ m⁷G-cap of these mRNAs than eIF4E …

Computational And Functional Characterization Of Terebrid Venom Peptides, Favour T. Achimba

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Venom peptides represent a natural repertoire of bioactive compounds that are potent modulators of ion channels. Teretoxins, venom peptides from terebrid snails, remain underexplored despite their structural and functional diversity. This thesis is the first to comprehensively explore the structure and function of teretoxins using a comparative computational sequence and structure model followed by experimental assays. The majority of the functional focus has been on identifying the ion channel molecular targets of uncharacterized teretoxins. Teretoxins, like other venom peptides, are hypothesized to manipulate the cellular function of a diversity of ion channels. Dysregulation of ion channels leads to several …

Development Of Novel Anti-Cancer Colchicine Analogs: Synthesis And Configurational Studies, Orugbani S. Eli

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Colchicine, a naturally occurring alkaloid, has long been known as a potent therapeutic agent. Despite its efficacy treating gout and other inflammatory disorders, its severe toxicity, limited selectivity, and poor pharmacological profile have restricted its broader clinical application. Reported advantages of colchicine-site ligands as vascular-disrupting agents, including reduced susceptibility to multidrug resistance, have revived interest in the colchicine site on tubulin as a validated therapeutic target for cancer. This dissertation focuses on the development of new colchicine analogs, detailing the synthetic method to functionalized AC-ring derivatives, as well as the evaluation of their configurational stability and biological activity.

In Chapter …

Less Self, Less Fear: Manipulation Of The Self Using Virtual Out-Of-Body Experiences To Alter The Conscious And Unconscious Experience Of Emotion, Dillon Freed

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This study investigated whether adopting an out-of-body perspective in virtual reality (VR) reduces subjective and physiological emotional responses to vicarious pain stimuli compared to inhabiting a first-person embodied avatar. Twenty-four participants experienced two counterbalanced VR conditions: (1) Avatar Embodiment (AV), in which they inhabited a photorealistic avatar from a first-person perspective, and (2) a Virtual Out-of-Body Experience (vOBE), in which they observed their avatar from a displaced third-person perspective. In both conditions, participants viewed a standardized series of vicarious pain images while electrodermal activity was recorded and self-report measures of embodiment (AV) and disembodiment (the vOBE state), emotional intensity (a …

Protein Allostery Probed By Ligands Across Sites, Virgil A. Woods

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Allostery is a pervasive regulatory principle throughout biology, yet the structural pathways by which distal inputs alter active‑site chemistry within protein structures remain incompletely defined and exploited. This dissertation uses protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B (PTP1B) as a tractable model to map those pathways with complementary experimental and computational tools. I integrate high‑resolution hydrogen-deuterium exchange mass spectrometry (HDX-MS), room-temperature crystallography, NMR, steady-state kinetics, crystallographic pseudo-ensembles, and machine-learning-guided ligand discovery. The working premise is that regulation reflects redistribution within a conformational ensemble rather than a binary switch. That orthogonal perturbations by small molecules, mutations, and protein partners can be used to both …

Calculated Risks: The Power Of Predictive Risk Models To Regulate Families Of Color, Ashleigh Washington

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation examines predictive risk modelling (PRM) in New York City Administration for Children's Services (ACS), specifically exploring AI-enabled design features, practices, and encoded and racialized assumptions about risk in child welfare prevention services. Guided by Critical Race Theory and the Algorithmic Ecology framework, this study traces how PRM in ACS evolved from a service termination tool into a broader, largely internal surveillance apparatus that leverages families’ personal information, including health information, to assess risk of future maltreatment and to evaluate contracted service providers. Drawing on analysis of public records and in-depth interviews with Black parents, the findings describe how …

How To Search For The Engram: Optogenetics And Network Dynamics, Claudia Garcia Jou

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Memories are thought to be encoded by ensembles of neurons called "engram cells", because their artificial activation with optogenetics leads to the behavioral expression of a memory. However, the physiological mechanisms that mediate this process remain unknown. In this thesis, I investigate how optogenetic stimulation of memory-tagged cells changes neuronal firing, spatial coding, and the geometry of neural manifolds. I used an active place avoidance task and a foraging task to label engram cells in the dorsal hippocampus with Channelrhodopsin2 (ChR2). I then recorded the hippocampal activity response to optogenetic stimulation in mice under anesthesia, head-fixed, or freely moving. I …

Associations Of Child Amygdala Development With Borderline Personality Symptoms During Adolescence, Anna Constantino-Pettit, Kirsten Gilbert, Kiran Boone, Katherine Luking, Benjamin Geselowitz, Rebecca Tillman, Diana Whalen, Joan Luby, Deanna M Barch, Alecia Vogel

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: The current understanding of the neural correlates of borderline personality disorder (BPD) is limited, but some evidence suggests that alterations in limbic structures play a role in adult BPD. The developmental course of structural neural differences in BPD is unknown. Whether there is specificity for structural alterations in BPD compared to other psychiatric presentations, such as major depressive disorder (MDD), remains unexplored. In the current study, we examined childhood trajectories of 2 limbic regions that have been implicated in BPD, hippocampal and amygdala volume, as they relate to adolescent BPD symptoms compared to MDD symptoms.

METHODS: Participants (n = …

Dissolved Organic Matter Composition In The Laurentian Great Lakes Ice And Its Contribution To Spring Melt, Anthony J. Arsenault, Nolan J.T. Pearce, Ted Ozersky, Sarah C. D’Amario, Kirill Shchapov, Hunter J. Carrick, Trista Vick-Majors, Et Al.

Michigan Tech Publications

Dissolved organic matter (DOM) plays a vital role in lakes, but its behavior in winter is poorly understood. This study examined the differences in DOM between lake ice and the upper water column across 18 sites in the Laurentian Great Lakes, integrating in situ sampling and remotely sensed ice data to create a mass budget model to estimate basin-scale DOM storage and release from ice. We found that the composition of the DOM pool in ice varied based on ice thickness, water DOM composition, nutrients, and dissolved organic carbon concentrations. Calculations of protein-like, microbial humic-like, and terrestrial-like DOM storage in …

Ischemic Stroke As The Initial Presentation Of Advanced Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma: A Case Of Marantic Endocarditis., Micah Harris

Ambulatory and Primary Care Articles

Nonbacterial thrombotic endocarditis (NBTE), formerly known as marantic endocarditis, is a rare condition characterized by sterile vegetations on cardiac valves and is often associated with hypercoagulable states such as adenocarcinoma. We describe a patient who presented with multiple embolic cerebrovascular accidents, ultimately found to be secondary to NBTE, which served as the initial manifestation of previously undiagnosed advanced pancreatic adenocarcinoma. This case underscores the importance of considering NBTE in patients with multifocal embolic infarcts, particularly when blood cultures are negative, echocardiography reveals valvular abnormalities without evidence of infection, and clinical suspicion for an underlying malignancy is present.

Loss Of Beta-Cell Identity And Function As A Mechanism Of Secondary Failure Of Sulfonylurea Therapy In Diabetes, Sumit Patel, Zihan Yan, Maria S Remedi

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Sulfonylureas, commonly used to treat type 2 diabetes (T2D), often lose effectiveness over time when used as monotherapy; however, the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. To investigate the mechanisms of sulfonylurea failure, glibenclamide-releasing pellets were implanted in KK mice, a polygenic model that spontaneously develops T2D. KK mice receiving placebo pellets (KK-Placebo) developed hyperglycemia, hyperinsulinemia, glucose intolerance, and insulin resistance. Notably, KK mice implanted with glibenclamide (KK-Glib) showed improved blood glucose levels during the first 7 days, returning to KK-Placebo levels thereafter. KK-Glib mice exhibited reduced plasma insulin levels and insulin secretion in response to a glucose challenge compared with the …

Longitudinal Peripheral Blood Transcriptomics Reveal Novel Signatures During Cardiac Allograft Rejection., Rachad Ghazal, Min Wang, Akshatha N. Srinivas, Jenny J. Cao, Hridyanshu Vyas, Duan Liu, Asha Nair, Byron H. Smith, Li Wang, Daniel S. Yip, Parag C. Patel, David E. Steidley, Brian W. Hardaway, Alfredo L. Clavell, Sudhir S. Kushwaha, Walter D. Park, Mark D. Stegall, Howard Eisen, Naveen L. Pereira

Division of Cardiology Faculty Papers

Background: Acute cellularrejection (ACR) remains a major cause of morbidity afterhearttransplantation despite advances in immunosuppression. Whole genometranscriptomicprofiling offers a systems-based, unbiased approach to elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying ACR. However, noninvasive,longitudinal biomarker assessments capable of capturing the temporal dynamics ofrejection biology remain scarce.

Methods: RNA sequencing ofperipheralblood fromheart transplant recipients before, during, and after ACR was compared with nonrejection controls. Pathway analysis was conducted using differentially expressed genes (DEGs), and a machine learning approach was applied to assessgene-based prediction of ACR.

Results: A total of 235 rejection-specific significant DEGs and 863 postrejection DEGs (false discovery rate < 0.05) were identified. During ACR, DEGs were enriched for T-cell activation/differentiation, apoptosis, and B-cell receptor signaling pathways. By combining the 2 sets of DEGs, a panel of 71 common genes was identified that reflected the significant, longitudinal transcriptomic dynamics of ACR. In an elastic net machine learning-based classifier, DYNLL1 and SERF2 were …

Somatic Deficiency Of The Human E3 Ubiquitin Ligase Cbl In Leukocytes Impairs B Cell But Not T Cell Development And Function., Taja Vatovec, Anna-Lena Neehus, Katherine J L Jackson, Danielle T Avery, Ivan Bagarić, Lucia Erazo, Carlos A Arango-Franco, Masato Ogishi, Syed F Ahmed, Axel Cederholm, Amanda J Russell, Erika Della Mina, Dena Al-Rifai, Rowena Bull, Lori Buetow, Steicy Sobrino, Allison Zhang, Lara Wahlster, Marine Michelet, Nima Parvaneh, Jessica Peel, Federica Barzaghi, Davide Leardini, Quentin Philippot, Francesco Saettini, Jacques Dutrieux, Benedicte De Muylder, Francesca Vendemini, Francesco Baccelli, Albert Catala, Eleonora Gambineri, Marinella Veltroni, Vignesh Pandiarajan, Yurena Aguilar, Filomeen Haerynck, Michael Elliott, Stuart Turville, Fabienne Brillot, Taushif Khan, Filippo Consonni, Laureline Berteloot, William A Sewell, Geetha Rao, Laetitia Largeaud, Francesca Conti, Cecile Roullion, Cécile Masson, Francesco Pegoraro, Tianyi Ye, Samantha Joubran, Emily Villalpando, Boris Bessot, Yoann Seeleuthner, Tom Le Voyer, Jérémie Rosain, Hailun Li, Zarah Janda, Edoardo Muratore, Camille Soudée, Eric Delabesse, Claire Goulvestre, Mohammad Shahrooei, Anne Puel, Isabelle André, Christine Bole-Feysot, Laurent Abel, Miriam Erlacher, Vivien Béziat, Chantal Lagresle-Peyrou, Remi Cheynier, Emmanuelle Six, Nico Marr, Marlène Pasquet, Laia Alsina, Christopher C Goodnow, Nils Landegren, Alessandro Aiuti, Peng Zhang, Riccardo Masetti, Danny T Huang, Cindy S Ma, Jean-Laurent Casanova, Vijay G Sankaran, Jacinta Bustamante, Stuart G Tangye, Jonathan Bohlen

Faculty Research 2026

The E3 ubiquitin ligase Casitas B-lineage lymphoma (CBL) promotes positive selection and antigen responses in mouse T lymphocytes by ubiquitinating ZAP70. Conversely, mouse CBL and CBL-B mutually redundantly regulate SYK ubiquitination and B cell receptor signaling. Here we studied individuals with somatically homozygous CBL loss-of-function variants in leukocytes. Human CBL is largely redundant for the development and function of human T cells. Conversely, B cell development is altered at the immature stage, with a tenfold increase in transitional cells, enhanced survival of autoreactive clones and impaired tolerance manifested by autoantibody production. B cell maturation is intrinsically impaired by reduced apoptosis …

Coe Annual Technical Review 2025, Jianshun Zhang, Bing Dong

SyracuseCoE

No abstract provided.

The Role Of Spatial Abilities In Stem Learning And The Influence Of Individual Differences, Styliani Malkogeorgou

Masters

Students’ decisions to pursue education and careers in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) are shaped by an interplay of cognitive, social, and motivational factors. Spatial ability is among the most reliable predictors of STEM success, yet less is known about how it relates to students’ STEM attitudes and aspirations, and whether visuospatial working memory (VSWM) explains this relationship. This study tested the hypotheses that (a) stronger spatial abilities and VSWM would be associated with more positive STEM attitudes and stronger STEM aspirations, and (b) VSWM would mediate the relationship between spatial abilities and STEM attitudes/aspirations, while examining the influence …

Artificial Neural Network Model For Predicting Fatigue Endurance Limit Of Hot Mix Asphalt Using Uniaxial Tension–Compression Tests, Prashanta Kumar Acharjee, Mayzan Isied, Mena I. Souliman, Sameer Jung Karkl, Tanvir Ahmed, Gokhan Saygili

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Fatigue is one of the major distresses occurring in asphalt concrete pavement. Repeated traffic loading causes escalated structural damage which results in the formation of cracks. There is a strain level below which the Hot Mix Asphalt goes under fatigue failure, and it is called endurance limit. In this study, a predictive model is developed to predict endurance limit strain values by using artificial neural network. Uniaxial tension-compression fatigue test results conducted under NCHRP Project 9–44 A were utilized in the model development process. An equation is also extracted from the model along which gives the exact values as the …

Transcriptomics And Metabolomics Analysis Reveal Cell Subpopulations Of Trophoblast Cells Associated With Preeclampsia, Xiaojun Zhu, Ying Jiang, Lilin Wang, Peiyue Jiang, Zixing Zhong, Hetong Li, Caihong Zheng, Lujiao Chen, Juan Wei, Xishi Lin, Peng Ding, Zehua Dong, Xiaosheng Wang, Qiong Luo

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Placental abnormalities are central to preeclampsia (PE), yet the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying this dysfunction remain unclear. We applied a multi-layered, integrative approach to investigate placental tissue from patients with PE and matched controls. Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq; GSE173193) and bulk RNA sequencing (bulk RNA-seq; GSE203507) datasets were obtained from the Gene Expression Omnibus. The scRNA-seq dataset included two PE and two control samples, whereas the bulk RNA-seq dataset focused on eight early-onset PE and five uncomplicated term births. Trophoblast subpopulations were identified via scRNA-seq, and pseudotime analysis was used to trace differentiation trajectories. Differential expression and pathway enrichment …

Variation In Food Web Reliance On Green And Brown Energy Pathways Across Ecosystem Gradients, James W. Sturges, W. Ryan James, Ryan J. Rezek, Rolando O. Santos, Mack White, Gina A. Badlowski, Shakira Trabelsi, Jordan Massie, Justin S. Lesser, Joel C. Trexler, James Nelson, Jennifer S. Rehage

Marine Science

Aquatic food webs typically include highly coupled fast, ‘green’ energy pathways driven by algae or phytoplankton and slower, ‘brown’ energy channels driven by detritus and terrestrial plants. Quantifying how much energy biological communities obtain from each of these pathways is essential, particularly across multiple interconnected food webs over large areas, because energy dynamics are known to influence ecosystem structure and function. Despite their importance, few studies track variance in energy channel contributions to food webs across interconnected habitats during distinct hydrologic seasons. In this study, we used tri-isotope Bayesian mixing models to quantify seasonal contributions of energy pathways to consumers …

Genomic Comparisons And The Adaptive Basis Of Brain Size Plasticity And Chromosomal Instability In The Eurasian Common Shrew, William R. Thomas, Tanya M. Lama, Cecilia Baldoni, Laia Marín-Gual, Diana Moreno Santillán, Marta Farré, Linelle Abueg, Jennifer Balacco, Olivier Fedrigo, Giulio Formenti, Nivesh Jain, Jacquelyn Mountcastle, Tatiana Tilley, Ying Sims, Alan Tracey, Jo Wood, David A. Ray, Dominik Von Elverfeldt, John Nieland, Angelique P. Corthals, Aurora Ruiz-Herrera, Dina K.N. Dechmann, Erich Jarvis, Liliana M. Dávalos

Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Sorex araneus, the Eurasian common shrew, has seasonal brain size plasticity (Dehnel's phenomenon) and many intraspecific chromosomal rearrangements. Genomic contributions to these traits, however, remain unknown. We couple a chromosome-scale genome assembly with seasonal brain transcriptomes to discover relationships between molecular evolution and both traits. While Positively Selected Genes (PSGs) enriched the Fanconi anemia DNA repair pathway (FANCI, FAAP100), which is likely involved in chromosomal rearrangements by preventing the accumulation of chromosomal aberrations, genes under positive selection or showing seasonal differential expression in the brain implicate neurogenesis (PCDHA6, SOX9, Notch signaling) and metabolic regulation (VEGFA, SPHK2) as key mechanisms underlying …

February 2026 Library & Learning Newsletter, Minnesota State University, Mankato. Library & Learning Dean’S Office Communications Team

Library & Learning Newsletters

PDF version of the February 2026 (Volume 4, Issue 7) Library & Learning Newsletter.

Slp 640.00: Swallowing Disorders, Jane Salois

University of Montana Course Syllabi, 2026-2030

No abstract provided.

February 2026, Office Of Research

Research Update

No abstract provided.

Bioh 211n.Vh1: Human Anatomy And Physiology Ii / Hamilton, Eric Gren

University of Montana Course Syllabi, 2026-2030

No abstract provided.

Biob 170n.01; Principles Of Biological Diversity, Scott R. Miller

University of Montana Course Syllabi, 2026-2030

No abstract provided.

Biob 591.05: Ecological Models And Data, Robert O. Hall

University of Montana Course Syllabi, 2026-2030

No abstract provided.

Biom 450.01: Microbial Physiology, Christopher N. Vassallo

University of Montana Course Syllabi, 2026-2030

No abstract provided.