Digital Commons Network^™

Analysis Of The Atypical Temperature Dependence And Conformational Changes During Turnover Of A Lactobacillus Chlorogenic Acid Esterase, Nathaniel Carl, Yianni Tsigaris, Dan Ji, Nora K. Anpree, Kellie K. Omori, Cedric P. Owens

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Many bacterial chlorogenic acid esterases (ChlEs) exhibit atypical temperature behavior, featuring activities that barely change with temperature and activity maxima that fall below the thermal denaturation point. This work focuses on a ChlE from Lactobacillus helveticus (Lh–ChlE), which has a flat temperature dependence. First, it was determined that conformational changes during Lh–ChlE turnover are not rate-limiting and that the overall rate depends on the chemical step at all temperatures. Next, Lh–ChlE’s temperature dependence was investigated using a conformational equilibrium model that assumes the existence of a temperature-dependent equilibrium between an active and an inactive conformation and an activation heat capacity …

Integration Of Media Pedagogy In Teacher Education Classrooms, Author Information Removed

JMLE Submissions Open for Review

In an era where classrooms are increasingly influenced by media and socio-cultural dynamics, teacher education must evolve to incorporate critical dimensions like gender sensitization and media literacy. This study explores the role of media pedagogy in developing gender awareness among pre-service teachers in India. The study focuses on conceptualization of media pedagogy, intersectionality and teacher education classrooms and adopts an interdisciplinary approach for media and gender. A module was developed and then implemented with 30 preservice teachers, followed by focus group discussions and semi-structured interviews with 10 teacher educators. The research study is guided by Methodology for Interdisciplinary Research (MIR) …

Solvent-Dependent Cytotoxicity Of Peperomia Pellucida Leaf Extracts Against Mcf-7 Breast Cancer Cells, Ade Arsianti, Rafael Erlangga Bagas Pratama, Steven Gill, Diyah Kristanty

Indonesian Journal of Medical Chemistry and Bioinformatics

Background: Breast cancer remains a major global health burden. Particularly in Indonesia, limitations of conventional chemotherapy, such as severe side effect, toxicity, and high cost, indicating the necessitate the development of alternative therapeutic agents. Peperomia pellucida, a medicinal plant rich in bioactive phytochemicals, has shown promising anticancer potential; however, its cytotoxic activity against MCF-7 breast cancer cells and the influence of solvent polarity remains underexplored. This study aimed to evaluate the cytotoxic effects of P. pellucida leaf extracts which are prepared using different polarity of solvents (ethanol, ethyl acetate, and n-hexane).

Method: Dried leaf powder of P. pellucida was …

Environmental Dna For Endangered Freshwater Mussel Monitoring: A Review On Global Synthesis Of Edna Methods, Challenges, And Innovative Strategies, Mizanur Rahman, Md. Saydur Rahman, Richard J. Kline

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

Freshwater mussels (family Unionidae) are among the most endangered aquatic species worldwide, making effective monitoring vital for their conservation. Traditional surveys are laborious, time-consuming, and often miss rare or low-density populations. Environmental DNA (eDNA) is a highly sensitive, non-invasive approach for freshwater mussel detection and monitoring; however, uncertainties in ecological interpretation continue to limit its broader application in freshwater biodiversity monitoring. We conducted a systematic review of 49 peer-reviewed studies, identified through an extensive literature search, to assess temporal research trends, methodological advancements, ecological contexts, and regulatory readiness of freshwater mussel eDNA monitoring. Findings show that freshwater mussel eDNA research …

A Data-Driven Framework For Mitigating Breast Cancer Overdiagnosis: From Estimation To Risk-Adjusted Computer-Aided Diagnosis, William M. Brown Jr.

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

In Computer-Aided Diagnosis (CAD) of cancer, standard cost metrics (false-positives and false-negatives) fundamentally fail to account for overdiagnosis. Overdiagnosis is a critical scenario where a disease is correctly detected (true-positive) but is biologically indolent and would never have caused the patient harm or symptoms. While widely recognized in the medical community as a major healthcare crisis driving stressful and invasive overtreatment, overdiagnosis remains severely under-researched within computer science and engineering. This dissertation addresses this interdisciplinary gap by defining the three key computational challenges of overdiagnosis: (i) accurate estimation, (ii) harm quantification, and (iii) algorithmic mitigation. To overcome the estimation challenge, …

Stability Of The Apogee Galvanic Cell Sensors In The Utah State University Biological Oxygen Demand System, Tia Lawrence, Carson Richards, Bruce Bugbee

Techniques and Instruments

The Utah State University Crop Physiology Laboratory has developed a six-chamber biological oxygen demand (BOD) system to quantify respiration (Kusuma & Bugbee, 2020). Like all instruments, accuracy depends on the ability to get a zero in empty containers. Here we report the signal output and zero stability in empty containers over a five-day interval.

Incretin-Based Medications In Women And Reproduction: A Systematic Scoping Review And Consensus Guidelines For Clinical Practice, Kate Maslin, Jill Shawe, Sinead Blowers, Michael Ceulemans, Kathryn Hart

School of Nursing and Midwifery

Introduction: Pregnancy concurrent with incretin-based medications is contraindicated due to unknown risk of teratogenicity, as is breastfeeding. The aim of this systematic scoping review was to investigate potential risks and benefits of incretin-based medications in relation to preconception, pregnancy, and postnatal health, and to propose expert guidelines for clinical practice.Methods: An international expert multidisciplinary group was formed. Research questions relevant to women's reproductive health and incretin-based medications were refined collaboratively, utilizing a lifecourse approach. A systematic search was undertaken on July 23, 2025, across several databases and grey literature sources. Primary data from human studies were prioritized above animal studies. …

Exploring University Nursing Students’ Experiences Of Cross-Disciplinary Courses: A Qualitative Study, Hsueh-Wen Chung, Li-Yin Chien

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

Background: Cross-disciplinary education is increasingly emphasized in nursing programs to prepare students for complex professional roles, yet little is known about their actual learning experiences. This study aimed to evaluate the learning outcomes of cross-disciplinary education among undergraduate nursing students and explore how such experiences influence their professional perspectives and career development.

Methods: Using a semi-structured, in-depth interview design, this study purposively recruited 13 nursing students who had participated in cross-disciplinary programs at a top research university in Taiwan. Only those students with a GPA of >3.38 were allowed to apply for cross-disciplinary programs. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis. …

Normal Isn’T Neutral: How Health Education Shapes Body Bias In Future Nurses, Megan Spurlock

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

Pre-health and health students’ understanding of the human body is shaped by the curriculum used in anatomy and health education courses. These materials often present a narrow, idealized depiction of health and normalcy that does not reflect the diversity of real patient populations. Such portrayals can influence students’ perceptions of health, illness, and professional expectations in healthcare. Examining how educational materials construct the concept of a “normal” body is critical for fostering inclusive, equitable education and preparing providers to serve diverse populations effectively.

This study explores how pre-health and health education shape students’ perceptions of a healthy, normal body, focusing …

Acute Opioid Responses Are Modulated By Dynamic Interactions Of Oprm1 And Fgf12, Paige M Lemen, Alexander S Hatoum, Arpana Agrawal, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

We generated time-series data for 105 morphine- and naloxone-related traits across ~700 BXD mice (64 diverse strains for both sexes) for 3 hr after a single morphine injection. Variations in responses were mapped using genome sequencing-based genotypes. The locomotor responses to morphine mapped to the µ opioid receptor gene (

Investigating Tumor-Stromal Interactions That Drive Breast Cancer Angiogenesis And Metastasis, Alessandra Dimauro

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

Metastatic breast cancer remains one of the most difficult cancers to treat, with a five-year survival rate that drops from 99% for localized disease to just 33% once distant metastases are present. This disparity reflects a fundamental gap in our understanding of how breast tumors spread and highlights the urgent need to improve our understanding of breast cancer metastasis to aid in development of novel therapeutics. Emerging evidence establishes that metastasis requires interactions between tumor cells and non-tumor stromal cells within the tumor microenvironment. The first aim of this dissertation investigates the role of Discoidin Domain Receptor 2 (DDR2), a …

A Review Of International Surrogacy Arrangements From A Private International Law Prespective And China's Policy Response, Yingying Wu

Florida Journal of International Law

Surrogacy has risen on a global scale due to the development of medical technology. International surrogacy is intensive as a result of forum shopping out of the variety of national policies on surrogacy and laws on legal parentage, resulting in some private international law issues. For instance, the complexity of parentage in many international surrogacy cases in recent years often leads to parentless surrogate born children. To that end, the Hague Conference on Private International Law has been working on this affair in order to protect children and women in international surrogacy from a private international law perspective.

In light …

The Calculation Debate In A New Century: A Conversation Between An Austrian School Economist And A Socialist Philosopher, Tegan L. Truitt, Larry Alan Busk

Emancipations: A Journal of Critical Social Analysis

No abstract provided.

Planification Against Extractivism: Towards A Democratic Agroecological Planification Against Agrarian Capitalism In A Estrada (Galicia, Spain), Jacobo Rivas Sanmartín, Rubén Camilo Lois González, Paula Noya Vázquez

Emancipations: A Journal of Critical Social Analysis

This article analyses the expansion of vineyards in the parish of San Xiao de Vea, in the municipality of A Estrada (Galicia, Spain), as a concrete manifestation of extractive agrarian restructuring under contemporary capitalism. Drawing on land-use data, socio-metabolic indicators, and qualitative testimonies, it shows how financialization, speculative land practices, and state selectivity reorganize rural space, degrade mixed farming systems, and intensify contradictions between capital accumulation and the ecological and social conditions of reproduction. The article argues that existing green planning frameworks, shaped by market logics and technocratic indicators, are structurally incapable of confronting these dynamics. As an alternative, it …

Class Struggle And The Socialist Economic Calculation Debate, Tiago Camarinha Lopes

Emancipations: A Journal of Critical Social Analysis

The socialist economic calculation debate is often portrayed as a sharp and straightforward conflict between two opposing sides. While this characterization is valid given the ideological clash between defenders of capitalism and proponents of socialism, this paper offers a more nuanced perspective on the interaction between the main schools of economic thought involved in the debate, the Marxist and the Austrian. Drawing on the humanist approach of critical pedagogy developed by Brazilian philosopher Paulo Freire (1921–1997), the paper argues that the debate over socialist economic calculation is not only a clear expression of class struggle within economics. It also involves …

Democratic Economic Planning From And For Social Reproduction: Foundations For A Postcapitalist Research Agenda, Sophie Elias-Pinsonnault, Bengi Akbulut, Audrey Laurin-Lamothe

Emancipations: A Journal of Critical Social Analysis

As ecological and social crises render the transformation of capitalist economic organization increasingly urgent, the resurgence of interest in democratic economic planning confronts a foundational blind spot: the systematic neglect of social reproduction. This paper argues that any genuinely needs-based planned economy must extend its scope beyond formally recognized productive activities to encompass the full spectrum of reproductive labor through which human and non-human life is sustained and regenerated. Drawing on feminist political economy and the Marxist-feminist tradition, the authors argue that meeting needs requires more than reorganizing production: it demands confronting the question of who does reproductive work, at …

Scorpiops Walteri Sp. N. (Scorpiones: Scorpiopidae) From Myanmar, František Kovařík

Euscorpius

A new species Scorpiops walteri sp. n. (Scorpiopidae) is described from Myanmar, fully illustrated with color photos showing its morphology and habitus. Scorpiops walteri sp. n. is the only species of the genus with a combination of the following five characters: chelal trichobothrium Eb₃ located in middle of manus between trichobothria Dt and Est; patella of pedipalp with 11–12 ventral and 19 external trichobothria; fingers of pedipalps strongly undulate in male; pedipalp movable finger with ca. 47 IAD; and chela length to width ratio 2.8 in male.

Effects Of Cleaning Protocols On The Material Properties Of Clear Aligners And Retainers: A Systematic Review, I-Ta Lee

Articles in Press

No abstract provided.

Application Of Salivary Gland Scintigraphy Under Taiwan’S National Health Insurance System, Chun-Pin Chiang

Articles in Press

No abstract provided.

Topical Fluoride Treatment For Irradiated Head And Neck Cancer Patients Under Taiwan’S National Health Insurance System, Sheau-Jing Yu

Articles in Press

No abstract provided.

The Evolution Of Regulatory Architectures Underlying Phenotypic Plasticity, Shweta Agarwal

Biology ETDs

Phenotypic plasticity refers to a mechanism where a single genotype results in distinct phenotypes in response to distinct environments, making it a key mechanism for persistence under environmental change. Phenotypic plasticity can arise from two distinct regulatory architectures: epistatically regulated plasticity or environmentally sensitive loci. The evolutionary forces shaping these architectures remain unclear. I use the recombination modifier framework to explore how the regulatory architecture of plasticity evolves across a range of selection regimes, including the rate of environmental change and the costs and benefits of plasticity. I find that the evolution of the regulatory architecture of phenotypic plasticity requires …

Scale-Dependent Drivers Of Demographic Change For American Pikas (Ochotona Princeps) In Glacier National Park, Montana: Local Habitat Characteristics Vs. Regional Climate Trends, Danielle M. Owens

Biology ETDs

Climate change is shifting thermal environments globally, driving range contractions, upslope movement, and poleward shifts across taxa. However, these changes are not uniform: microclimates, shaped by topography, can amplify or decouple operative temperatures from regional trends. The American pika is an ideal model for studying climate-driven population change given its strong site fidelity and thermal sensitivities. We re-surveyed 173 sites in Glacier National Park, originally surveyed in 2007-2010, using an AIC-based model selection to test competing local and regional hypotheses driving three demographic processes: persistence, colonization, and within-patch density change. Pika occupancy increased over the 15-year period, with a net …

Finding Fish Families: Movement And Demography Of Loach Minnow (Tiaroga Cobitis) Inferred From Gt-Seq-Enabled Kinship Analysis, Patrick C. Baca

Biology ETDs

River fragmentation poses major threats to freshwater biodiversity by reducing connectivity and limiting persistence of imperiled desert fishes. Connectivity in streams is impaired by anthropogenic changes, including road crossings, prompting the installation of engineered fish passage structures at low-water road crossings and raising questions about the dispersal of aquatic species across these structures. This thesis investigates the movement of the threatened Loach Minnow (Tiaroga cobitis) by applying a close-kin mark-recapture (CKMR) framework in a restored stream (including a fish passage) and a stream without rehabilitation efforts. We developed and optimized a GT-seq panel for relatedness analysis and used it to …

Using Temporal Genomic Data To Uncover Patterns Of Genetic Diversity And Signatures Of Selection For Management Of A Threatened Minnow Species, Erika A. Dunn

Biology ETDs

The Little Colorado River (LCR) spinedace persists only in three isolated watersheds within the LCR Basin in Arizona. This imperiled minnow faces ongoing pressure from habitat alteration, climatic shifts, and invasive non-native predators. Over the past two decades, managers have translocated spinedace within watersheds to increase abundance and expand habitat occupancy. We sequenced a reference genome and analyzed single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) from 475 individuals over their geographic range. DNA samples were obtained from a previous study in the mid-1990s and compared with samples from 2024 and 2025, allowing us to track genetic diversity, effective population size, population structure, and …

Autotrophic And Heterotrophic Contributions To Soil Co2 Fluxes And Variability In A Chihuahuan Desert Grassland, Savannah B. Sanchez

Biology ETDs

Drylands are major drivers of interannual variability in the global terrestrial carbon sink, and their influence is expected to increase as climate change promotes the expansion of hotter and drier regions. Predicting the consequences of these shifts remains challenging because ecosystem models are largely developed for mesic systems, which differ from drylands in water and nutrient availability, decomposition rates, respiration dynamics, and microbial communities. Improving our understanding of carbon cycling in drylands is therefore critical. This research focuses on soil CO₂ efflux, a major pathway of terrestrial carbon release driven by plant root respiration and microbial decomposition. I investigated the …

How To Measure A Carnivore: Understanding The Scaling Of Cranial And Postcranial Elements With Body Mass, Marina Casiano Ruiz

Biology ETDs

Body size is a fundamental predictor of ecological function, life history, and population dynamics in mammals. However, direct measurements of body mass remain unavailable for many rare or extinct species, particularly within the order Carnivora. Allometric relationships between skeletal dimensions and body mass provide a tractable solution; however, previous studies have been limited in their taxonomic scope or trait diversity. Here, we quantify the scaling of 82 cranial and postcranial traits across 97 species from 11 carnivoran families spanning four orders of magnitude in body mass (20g to >500kg). Additionally, we examine the influence of phylogenetic relatedness, dietary specialization, and …

Boundary Integral Method For A Modified Mullins–Sekerka System, Ly Le

Mathematics & Statistics ETDs

This thesis develops a boundary integral method for a modified Mullins–Sekerka system arising as the sharp-interface limit of a nonreciprocal Cahn–Hilliard model. Nonreciprocal coupling changes the classical Cahn–Hilliard structure by introducing an additional conserved field, leading to coupled elliptic and parabolic dynamics at the interface. Using matched asymptotic expansions, we formally derive the modified Mullins–Sekerka model and then apply the boundary integral method to rewrite it on the moving interface. The elliptic component is represented using the periodic Green’s function for the Laplace equation, while the parabolic component is represented using the periodic heat kernel. This method reduces the bulk …

Mitigating Cancer Therapy-Related Cognitive Impairment By Targeted Activation Of Undruggable Phosphatase., Zhimeng Yao, Yuhua Meng, Huanyi Li, Yinhui Jiang, Xiaona Lin, Mengyuan Hu, Qing Liu, Xiaofu Qiu, Hongzheng Ren, Yunlong Pan, Bin Pan, Zexiong Guo, Shuyao Zhang, Dianzheng Zhang, Li Yang, Shegan Gao, Weijing Deng, Jianfan Chen, Hao Zhang

PCOM Scholarly Works

Cancer therapy-related cognitive impairment (CTRCI) is a debilitating neurotoxic condition adversely impacting cancer patients during and post-cancer treatments. The cancer treatments linked to CTRCI include chemotherapy, hormone therapy, targeted therapy, and immunotherapy. Despite CTRCI severely affecting the psychological and social, cognitive functions, and the overall quality of life of cancer survivors, no effective medications are available currently. Our prior studies have indicated hippocampal tyrosine phosphatase protein tyrosine phosphatase receptor type O (PTPRO) as a putative target for CTRCI. However, phosphatase is historically considered undruggable, and delivering drugs across the blood-brain barrier (BBB) is challenging. Here, we developed a novel delivery …

Book Review: A People Destroyed: New Research On The Roma Genocide, 1941–1945, Elizabeth Graham

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

No abstract provided.

Notch Signaling Regulates The Secretion Of Pro-Metastatic Factors In Extracellular Vesicles In Liposarcoma, Menchus Quan, Yi-Kai Liu, Ying Zhao, Madeline Kay, Kai Sun, Timothy P Gavin, Raphael E Pollock, W Andy Tao, Shihuan Kuang

The Brown Foundation: Institute of Molecular Medicine

Notch signaling is an emerging regulator of liposarcoma (LPS), but its role in mediating communication with the tumor microenvironment (TME) is unclear. Here, we investigate how Notch activation (NICD overexpression) alters the proteomes of LPS-derived extracellular vesicles (EVs). We used quantitative mass spectrometry to profile the EV proteome in multiple contexts: cultured LPS cells, LPS tumor, circulating EVs of LPS-bearing mice, and human LPS samples. We found that Notch signaling increases the secretion of EV proteins that favor tumor progression and metastasis but suppresses immune responses in murine LPS cells. Overlapping murine and human LPS data identifies 18 proteins that …