Digital Commons Network^™

The Beacon, February 20, 2025, Beacon Staff

The Beacon, 2024-2025

NW students go local for new SSP; Sickness spreading on campus; Lumineers leave fans automatically bored; Marvel introduces a brave new captain; Senior Spotlight on Brandon Englin; "The Little Prince" brings childlike wonder; This week in Beacon history; Local SSP provides chances to serve; Reasoning behind dropping classes; Unfortunate illness; Dance marathon: more than a party; My greatest love story; Raider track and field success at GPAC meet; NW cheer takes top spot at Concordia; Women's soccer preparing for Spain SSP; Controversy over USAID funding; ICE given deportation orders;

Marine Heatwave Conditions In Western Australia Marine Waters - 20 February 2025, Department Of Primary Industries And Regional Development, Western Australia

Marine Heatwave Notification Reports

Marine heatwave (MHW) conditions across all Bioregions of Western Australia have eased over the last two weeks. MHW status no longer applies to the majority of the North Coast and West Coast Bioregions. MHW conditions in the Gascoyne and South Coast Bioregion have eased to Category 1 - Moderate.

Luminescence Dating And Its Application To Anthropogenic Sedimentary Sequences:Tepecik-Çiftlik Prehistoric Settlement, Eren Şahi̇ner, Mehmet Korhan Erturaç

Turkish Journal of Earth Sciences

Luminescence dating is a fundamental technique in the field of earth sciences research, offering a reliable method fordetermining the age of sediments and artifacts. Applications of luminescence dating in archaeology include the dating of ancienthabitation sites, burial mounds, and artifacts such as pottery. This provides a chronological framework for understanding humanactivities and environmental changes over millennia. The capacity of luminescence dating to ascertain the age of events spanning a fewdecades to several hundred thousand years renders it an indispensable instrument for the construction of timelines and interpretationof the past. This study presents a concise overview of the various stages of …

The Current - Volume 35 Issue 9, Nova Southeastern University

Student Newspapers

No abstract provided.

Environmental And Cultural Impacts Of The 8.2 Ka Event In Yenikapı (İstanbul/Türkiye), Ayşi̇n Konak, M. Namik Yalçin

Turkish Journal of Earth Sciences

The Neolithic lifestyle, which began in the 12th millennium BP with the emergence of villages in the core region extendingfrom Iran to central and southeastern Anatolia and Syria, began to spread to neighboring geographies, such as the Marmara region,in the 9th millennium BP. During the 8.2 ka event that occurred between 8300 and 7900 BP, cold and dry conditions prevailed in thenorthern hemisphere. During the winter months, the humidity decreased and cooling of about 6 ± 2 °C was observed. In order totest whether the 8.2 ka event was also effective in the İstanbul region, a set of inorganic geochemical …

Photographs Tell The Story Of Bear Lake To Raise Awareness Of Its Importance To Utahns, Annora Madden, Kennedy Fry

Research on Capitol Hill

The work aims to create a visual record of Bear Lake's unique ecological, historical, agricultural, and recreational features.

An Attention-Based Model For Recognition Of Facial Expressions Using Cnn-Bilstm, Sushil Kumar Singh, Manish Kumar, Ikram Majeed Khan, A. Jayanthiladevi, Chirag Agarwal

Polytechnic Journal

In recent studies, computer vision and human-computer interaction have focused heavily on facial expression recognition (FER). Traditional deep learning algorithms have faced significant challenges when processing images with occlusion, uneven lighting, and positional inconsistencies and addressing dataset imbalances. These issues often result in low accuracy, unreliable recognition rates, and slow convergence. To address the challenges posed by non-frontal visual features, this study proposes a hybrid model that fusion of Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) and Bidirectional Long Short-Term Memory (BiLSTM), augmented with a point-multiplication attention model and Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA). Data preparation incorporates median filtering and global contrast normalization to …

Guardians Of Cyberspace: Censorship, Ai-Generated Child Imagery & The Role Of Online Platforms, Derick A. Kalt

Chicago-Kent Journal of Intellectual Property

No abstract provided.

Minero-Petrographic, Geochemical, And Multiisotopic Characterization Of The Ancientbanded Travertine Quarries Of The Lycus Valley (Denizli, Türkiye), Tamer Koralay, Nergi̇s İmre

Turkish Journal of Earth Sciences

The Lycus Valley in Western Anatolia has been the site of numerous civilizations since ancient times due to historical, geopolitical, and climatological characteristics. Banded travertine is a ubiquitous architectural stone observed in ancient settlements in the Lycus Valley. Banded travertines referred to as “Alabastro Fiorito,” “Alabastro Listato,” and “Alabastro Rossa” in archaeological bibliographies have been extracted from the ancient quarries of Çukurbağ, Hierapolis, Develi-Akköy, Gölemezli, and Tripolis in the Lycus Valley and are characterized by white, yellow, brown, red, and red-burgundy colored bands with thicknesses ranging from a few millimeters to centimeters. The banded travertines have similar mineral compositions and …

Effects Of Acute Pro-Inflammatory Stimulation And 25-Hydroxycholesterol On Hippocampal Plasticity And Learning Involve Nlrp3 Inflammasome And Cellular Stress Responses, Yukitoshi Izumi, Kazuko A O'Dell, Steven Mennerick, Charles F Zorumski

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Neuroinflammation is an increasingly important target for therapeutics in neuropsychiatry and contributes to cognitive dysfunction, disability and death across a range of illnesses. We previously found that acute effects of pro-inflammatory stimulation with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) on hippocampal long-term potentiation (LTP), a form of synaptic plasticity involved in learning and memory, requires synthesis of the oxysterol, 25-hydroxycholesterol (25HC) and exogenous 25HC mimics effects of LPS. However, downstream mechanisms engaged by LPS and 25HC remain uncertain. Here we use rat hippocampal slices and in vivo behavioral studies to provide evidence that acute modulation of synaptic plasticity by both LPS and 25HC requires …

The Important Role Of Pollinators In Sustainability Education, Bronwen Cowie, Paula Mildenhall

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

In this chapter we illustrate some of the ways the education sector can play a key role, not just in educating and activating students as advocates for and agents of sustainability but also in motivating and mobilising communities towards a sustainability agenda. Initially in this chapter it was important to look back and identify how important bees have been through the ages, noting that humans identified very early on that bees could enhance their lives. We then outline some of the contributions a focus on bees can make to sustainability education. One important contribution includes fostering a balanced perspective on …

Automated Detection Of Reduced Ejection Fraction Using An Ecg-Enabled Digital Stethoscope: A Large Cohort Validation, Ling Guo, Gregg S. Pressman, Spencer N. Kieu, Scott B. Marrus, George Mathew, John Prince, Emileigh Lastowski, Rosalie V. Mcdonough, Caroline Currie, John N. Maidens, Hussein Al-Sudani, Evan Friend, Deepak Padmanabhan, Preetham Kumar, Edward Kersh, Subramaniam Venkatraman, Salima Qamruddin

Einstein Health Papers

BACKGROUND: Asymptomatic left ventricular systolic dysfunction (ALVSD) affects 7 million globally, leading to delayed diagnosis and treatment, high mortality, and substantial downstream health care costs. Current detection methods for ALVSD are inadequate, necessitating the development of improved diagnostic tools. Recently, electrocardiogram-based algorithms have shown promise in detecting ALVSD.

OBJECTIVES: The authors developed and validated a convolutional neural network (CNN) model using single-lead electrocardiogram and phonocardiogram inputs captured by a digital stethoscope to assess its utility in detecting individuals with actionably low ejection fractions (EF) in a large cohort of patients.

METHODS: 2,960 adults undergoing echocardiography from 4 U.S. health care …

Incorporation Of Xai And Deep Learning In Biomedical Imaging: A Review, Sushil K. Singh, Bal Virdee, Saurabh Aggarwal, Abhilash Maroju

Polytechnic Journal

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Deep Learning (DL) technologies have revolutionized disease detection, particularly in Medical Imaging (MI). While these technologies demonstrate outstanding performance in image classification, their integration into clinical practice remains gradual. A significant challenge lies in the opacity of Deep Neural Network (DNN) models, which provide predictions without explaining their structure. This lack of transparency poses severe issues in the healthcare industry, as trust in automated technologies is critical for doctors, patients, and other stakeholders. Concerns about liability in autonomous car accidents are comparable to those associated with deep learning applications in medical imaging. Errors such as false …

Бадхызские Архивы. Том 2, Р. И. Горелова, В. Я. Фет

Open Access Books

Gorelova, RI, Fet V, editors. The Badkhyz Archives, Vol. 2. Huntington, WV: Marshall University Libraries; 2025. 387 p.

This book represents the second volume of the series started in 2021. It compiles memoirs and research information about the unique Badkhyz Natural Reserve, now in Turkmenistan, formerly at the southernmost point of the USSR. Established in 1941, the Reserve—nicknamed a Serengeti of Central Asia— housed many unique and endangered species, with an iconic wild ass, or kulan, preserved only there. The second volume includes unique and otherwise unavailable information about the workers of the Reserve in 1940s-1980s. We continuento publish …

Synergistic Effects Of Bacillus Coagulans And Β-Glucans: Potential Benefits Of Probiotic And Prebiotic Use On The Gastrointestinal Tract And Microbiome In Humans, Jennifer Bermudez

Annual Research Symposium

No abstract provided.

Membrane Lipids Augment Cell Envelope Stress Signaling Via The Madrs System To Defend Against Antimicrobial Peptides And Antibiotics In Enterococcus Faecalis, William R Miller, April Nguyen, Kavindra V Singh, Samie Rizvi, Ayesha Khan, Sam G Erickson, Stephanie L Egge, Melissa Cruz, An Q Dinh, Lorena Diaz, Philip C Thornton, Rutan Zhang, Libin Xu, Danielle A Garsin, Yousif Shamoo, Cesar A Arias

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Enterococci have evolved resistance mechanisms to protect their cell envelopes against bacteriocins and host cationic antimicrobial peptides (CAMPs) produced in the gastrointestinal environment. Activation of the membrane stress response has also been tied to resistance to the lipopeptide antibiotic daptomycin. However, the actual effectors mediating resistance have not been elucidated. Here, we show that the MadRS (formerly YxdJK) membrane antimicrobial peptide defense system controls a network of genes, including a previously uncharacterized 3-gene operon (madEFG) that protects the Enterococcus faecalis cell envelope from antimicrobial peptides. Constitutive activation of the system confers protection against CAMPs and daptomycin in the absence of …

Antibiotic-Induced Loss Of Gut Microbiome Metabolic Output Correlates With Clinical Responses To Car T-Cell Therapy, Rishika Prasad, Abdur Rehman, Lubna Rehman, Faezeh Darbaniyan, Viktoria Blumenberg, Maria-Luisa Schubert, Uria Mor, Eli Zamir, Sabine Schmidt, Tomo Hayase, Chia-Chi Chang, Lauren Mcdaniel, Ivonne Flores, Paolo Strati, Ranjit Nair, Dai Chihara, Luis E Fayad, Sairah Ahmed, Swaminathan P Iyer, Michael Wang, Preetesh Jain, Loretta J Nastoupil, Jason Westin, Reetakshi Arora, Joel Turner, Fareed Khawaja, Ranran Wu, Jennifer B Dennison, Meghan Menges, Melanie Hidalgo-Vargas, Kayla Reid, Marco L Davila, Peter Dreger, Felix Korell, Anita Schmitt, Mark R Tanner, Richard E Champlin, Christopher R Flowers, Elizabeth J Shpall, Samir Hanash, Sattva S Neelapu, Michael Schmitt, Marion Subklewe, Johannes Francois-Fahrmann, C K Stein-Thoeringer, Eran Elinav, Michael D Jain, Eiko Hayase, Robert R Jenq, Neeraj Y Saini

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Antibiotic (ABX)–induced microbiome dysbiosis is widespread in oncology, adversely affecting outcomes and side effects of various cancer treatments, including immune checkpoint inhibitors and chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapies. In this study, we observed that prior exposure to broad-spectrum ABXs with extended anaerobic coverage such as piperacillin-tazobactam and meropenem was associated with worse anti-CD19 CAR-T therapy survival outcomes in patients with large B-cell lymphoma (N = 422) than other ABX classes. In a discovery subset of these patients (n = 67), we found that the use of these ABXs was in turn associated with substantial dysbiosis of gut microbiome function, …

Aif3 Splicing Variant Elicits Mitochondrial Malfunction Via The Concurrent Dysregulation Of Electron Transport Chain And Glutathione-Redox Homeostasis, Mi Zhou, Shuiqiao Liu, Yanan Wang, Bo Zhang, Ming Zhu, Jennifer E Wang, Veena Rajaram, Yisheng Fang, Weibo Luo, Yingfei Wang

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Genetic mutations in apoptosis-inducing factor (AIF) have a strong association with mitochondrial disorders; however, little is known about the aberrant splicing variants in affected patients and how these variants contribute to mitochondrial dysfunction and brain development defects. We identified pathologic AIF3/AIF3-like splicing variants in postmortem brain tissues of pediatric individuals with mitochondrial disorders. Mutations in AIFM1 exon-2/3 increase splicing risks. AIF3-splicing disrupts mitochondrial complexes, membrane potential, and respiration, causing brain development defects. Mechanistically, AIF is a mammalian NAD(P)H dehydrogenase and possesses glutathione reductase activity controlling respiratory chain functions and glutathione regeneration. Conversely, AIF3, lacking these activities, disassembles mitochondrial complexes, increases …

Lowell Hardin: Mentor Extraordinaire, Larry L. Murdock, Thomas W. Hertel, Gebisa Ejeta

Purdue University Press Books

Lowell Stewart Hardin (1917–2015), an Indiana farm boy who became an enormously influential international agriculturalist, made the world a better place for the poor and the hungry on this earth. For seventeen years he led the Ford Foundation’s agricultural development efforts, contributing to the Green Revolution. He helped to found and guide international agriculture research centers in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. He inspired others to get involved and opened doors for them. He taught by example, gave others credit, and always stepped back, avoiding the limelight himself. In this volume, twenty-two people who knew him well share stories of …

Future Climate-Driven Habitat Loss And Range Shift Of The Critically Endangered Whitefin Swellshark (Cephaloscyllium Albipinnum), Kerry Brown, Robert Puschendorf

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

Climate change is driving many species to shift their geographical ranges poleward to maintain their environmental niche. However, for endemic species with restricted ranges, like the Critically Endangered whitefin swellshark (Cephaloscyllium albipinnum), endemic to southeastern Australia, such dispersal may be limited. Nevertheless, there is a poor understanding of how C. albipinnum might spatially adjust its distribution in response to climate change or whether suitable refugia exist for this species in the future. Therefore, to address this gap, this study utilised maximum entropy (MaxEnt) modelling to determine the potential distribution of suitable habitat for C. albipinnum under present-day (2010–2020) climate conditions …

Zika Virus Ns1 Drives Tunneling Nanotube Formation For Mitochondrial Transfer And Stealth Transmission In Trophoblasts, Rafael T Michita, Long B Tran, Steven J Bark, Deepak Kumar, Shay A Toner, Joyce Jose, Indira U Mysorekar, Anoop Narayanan

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Zika virus (ZIKV) is unique among orthoflaviviruses in its vertical transmission capacity in humans, yet the underlying mechanisms remain incompletely understood. Here, we show that ZIKV induces tunneling nanotubes (TNTs) in placental trophoblasts which facilitate transfer of viral particles, proteins, mitochondria, and RNA to neighboring uninfected cells. TNT formation is driven exclusively via ZIKV non-structural protein 1 (NS1). Specifically, the N-terminal 1-50 amino acids of membrane-bound ZIKV NS1 are necessary for triggering TNT formation in host cells. Trophoblasts infected with TNT-deficient ZIKV

Oral Inflammation And Microbiome Dysbiosis Exacerbate Chronic Graft-Versus-Host Disease, Yui Kambara, Hideaki Fujiwara, Akira Yamamoto, Kazuyoshi Gotoh, Shuma Tsuji, Mari Kunihiro, Tadashi Oyama, Toshiki Terao, Ayame Sato, Takehiro Tanaka, Daniel Peltier, Keisuke Seike, Hisakazu Nishimori, Noboru Asada, Daisuke Ennishi, Keiko Fujii, Nobuharu Fujii, Ken-Ichi Matsuoka, Yoshihiko Soga, Pavan Reddy, Yoshinobu Maeda

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

The oral microbiota, second in abundance to the gut, is implicated in chronic systemic diseases, but its specific role in graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) pathogenesis has been unclear. Our study finds that mucositis-induced oral dysbiosis in patients after hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) associated with increased chronic GVHD (cGVHD), even in patients receiving posttransplant cyclophosphamide. In murine HCT models, oral dysbiosis caused by bilateral molar ligatures exacerbated cGVHD and increased bacterial load in the oral cavity and gut, with Enterococcaceae significantly increasing in both organs. In this model, the migration of Enterococcaceae to cervical lymph nodes both before and after transplantation activated …

Wild Licorice (Glycyrrhiza Lepidota) Identification And Management In Pastures, Jacob Hadfield, Taun Beddes, Michael Caron, Corey Ransom

All Current Publications

Wild licorice, also known as American licorice, is a perennial legume native to North America, commonly found in the western United States. Wild licorice reproduces rapidly through seeds and rhizomes, leading to large infestations, particularly in pastures. The low preference of livestock for wild licorice results in overgrazing of other plant species, leaving them at a competitive disadvantage, further promoting the spread of wild licorice and contributing to pasture infestations. This fact sheet reviews the identification and management of wild licorice in pastures.

What Do Utahns Think About Global Warming And Climate Change?, Scott Hotaling, Kendall Becker, Lendel K. Narine, Jessica Ulrich-Schad, Roslynn Mccann, Peter D. Howe

All Current Publications

In Utah, there is widespread consensus that global warming is happening, and the strength of this consensus has been steadily rising since 2010. Over the last 14 years, some public opinion metrics have risen dramatically while others have been largely stable. The degree of climate impacts in Utah will depend on residents’ perceptions of climate change and support for implementing policies to help the state adapt to warmer temperatures, more extreme weather events, and other associated changes. In this fact sheet, we integrate multiple data sources to summarize the status and trends of Utahns’ opinions on climate change.

Shalom: A Judeo-Christian Response To Greed, Kwok Tung Cheung

Journal of Religion and Business Ethics

In my recent conceptual analysis of greed, I argue that there are three different conceptual aspects, namely, a consuming desire to acquire more and more (the psychological), an inordinate love for material possession and power (the metaphysical), and an action of acquiring more than one’s share by taking what belongs to one’s fellow citizens, essentially with a calculating indifference toward others (the socio-historical). The aim of that analysis, as a foundational work, is to make sense of the vice or the moral mistake of greed in the contemporary world, especially by reviving the socio-historical aspect which is about justice. Building …

The Future Of Higher Education: Reconciling Freedom Of Expression With Trauma-Informed Practices And Relationship-Building, Michael J. Kaufman, Jennifer R. Stukenberg

Widener Commonwealth Law Review

Our nation’s universities face significant challenges, including providing greater access and affordability, managing a business model heavily dependent on tuition revenue in an era of shifting demographics and declining enrollment, integrating technology and artificial intelligence, and mitigating serious enterprise risks.

The Dirty Work Of Faith-Washing In A Faith-Friendly Business, Cathy Driscoll

Journal of Religion and Business Ethics

Drawing on faith/spirituality at work and organizational legitimacy literatures, a case study of a large global meat company is used to deconstruct the concept of faith-friendly business and explore how faith-washing can provide a business with legitimacy and potentially distract stakeholders from irresponsible activities. In particular, I focus on the faith-friendly communications and initiatives in relation to treatment of non-salaried employees as a primary stakeholder of the company. I highlight a disconnect from religious social thought on meaningful and dignified work and many of the concepts found in the modern faith/spirituality at work literature, as well as societal expectations on …

Ischemia And Anatomy In The New 2024 European Guidelines For Chronic Coronary Syndromes: Update And Comparison Of Recommendations, Christian Adrián Caroli

Journal of the Saudi Heart Association

The new 2024 European guideline on chronic coronary syndromes is a pivotal document for clinical practice, updating the evidence and indications after five years, incorporating insights from the paradigm-shifting ISCHEMIA trial. This article explores the evolving role of functional and anatomical testing in assessing coronary artery disease, highlighting the introduction of a new risk probability score based on clinical and risk factors. Additionally, it provides a detailed comparison between these European recommendations and those from the most influential American guidelines, emphasizing key differences in the approach to risk stratification and diagnostic strategies. This comprehensive analysis provides valuable insights for optimizing …

A Long-Term Study Of Algal Blooms In Alexandria's Ecosystems: A Review, Samia K. Mikhail, Wagdy Labib

Blue Economy

Coastal ecosystems in Alexandria are facing significant stress, primarily due to the intrusion of discharged wastewaters of different origins. Over the past three decades, there has been a noticeable increase in the occurrence of harmful algal blooms (HABs) across Alexandria marine, brackish, and freshwater environments. Unfortunately, the situation is deteriorating, and HABs have become chronic issues characterized by frequent occurrences of various causative species. This phenomenon has spread widely affecting previously uninfected coastal areas with high frequency and diverse patterns of occurrence. This article provides an overview of the state of visible HABs associated with incidents of fish and/or invertebrate …

Exploring The Potential Of Oncolytic Viruses As A Novel Therapeutic Approach For Breast Cancer Treatment, Renad Alsayyad, Claudia M. Tellez Freitas

Annual Research Symposium

No abstract provided.