Digital Commons Network^™

Echoes Of Heritage: Understanding The Impact Of Subtractive Bilingualism On Emotional Well-Being And Bicultural Identity In First- And Second-Generation Immigrants, Anna Reszewicz

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The effects of emotional well-being and cultural identity have been widely examined, yet little research has examined these outcomes among subtractive bilinguals. This study aimed to fill the gap in the literature by exploring the relationship between emotional well-being and bicultural identity among first- and second-generation immigrants in the United States who were identified as subtractive bilinguals and non-subtractive bilinguals. Subtractive bilinguals are defined as individuals who learn a second language (L2) while experiencing a decline in proficiency or usage of their heritage language (L1). Using self-report measures, 170 participants were recruited and completed an eligibility survey that included the …

From Plumes To People: Constraining The Emissions, Chemistry, And Health Impacts Of Western U.S. Smoke, Lixu Jin

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Wildfires are a significant source of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the western U.S., emitting hundreds to thousands of species that play key roles in tropospheric oxidation, ozone production, and secondary organic aerosol formation. Many VOCs have only recently been identified and quantified in laboratory burning experiments, leaving uncertainties about their emission estimates from wildfires, their roles in plume OH oxidation chemistry, and their evolution during smoke aging. This dissertation aims to improve our understanding of the emissions, chemistry, and health impacts of VOCs in wildfire smoke using detailed in-situ measurements made during the summer 2018 Western Wildfire Experiment for …

Causes And Consecuences Of Gene Expression Divergence In The Rodent Placenta, Luis Fernando Rodriguez Caro

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Understanding the origin and diversification of reproductive traits is a central goal in evolutionary biology. In mammals, the placenta represents a key evolutionary innovation that reshaped developmental strategies and enabled the ecological success of the clade. Yet despite its importance, the genetic mechanisms and selective pressures driving placental evolution remain poorly understood, due in part to methodological challenges and the limited phylogenetic and genomic scope of prior studies. This dissertation research addresses these gaps by integrating comparative genomics, transcriptomics, and new analytical tools to investigate placental gene regulation across closely related rodent species. Chapter one presents an extensive comparison of …

Towards A Map Of The Immune System Manipulation Network By Trypanosoma Cruzi, Juan Cruz Gamba, Ana Rosa Pérez, Carolina Verónica Poncini, Cristina Poveda, Iván Marcipar, Gabriel Cabrera

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

No abstract provided.

Microbiota Dynamics During Ascaris Suum Larval Migration: Implications For Host Microbial Communities In A Murine Model, Sergio Castañeda, Cristina Poveda, Charlie Suarez-Reyes, Yifan Wu, Noah Haugen, Luz H Patiño, Jill E Weatherhead, Juan David Ramírez

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

The complex interactions between parasites, their hosts, and associated microbiota hold significant implications for host health and disease outcomes. Helminths like Ascaris lumbricoides and Ascaris suum can significantly alter the host's intestinal microbiota, affecting both parasite biology and host pathology. Despite extensive research on host-microbiota changes due to helminth infections, the study of helminth-associated microbiota remains limited. This study aims to characterize the microbiota associated with Ascaris larvae and surrounding host tissues at distinct developmental stages (day 4, day 8, day 14), during larval migration through the liver, lungs, and intestine, and its impact on the host's microbiota in a …

Sports Facilities, Trails, And Travel Cost: A Non-Market Valuation Case Study Of Parks In Montana, Clemens Walter Wilson

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This study applies the travel cost valuation method to urban parks in the State of Montana in an effort to determine whether parks with attributes related to exercise have greater value for recreationalists. By observing real recreation behaviour of urban park visitors through the use of cellphone mobility data, recreational demand for varying parks can be ascertained. To model recreational demand, the random utility model (RUM) and multinomial logit model (MNL) are leveraged to understand choice probabilities of parks, based on the attributes of parks, including sports facilities and trails. This study finds that there are positive and significant relationships …

Counselor Educators’ Understanding Of Ableism: A Mixed Methods Study, Cynthia Renee Boyle

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Ableism, defined as beliefs and practices that prioritize able-bodiedness and lead to disability discrimination, is a prevalent but often overlooked form of oppression rooted in the historical American legacy of other forms of prejudice, discrimination, and is foundationally rooted in higher education through eugenics. Despite the counseling profession's mandate for multicultural competence, disability issues and ableism are often excluded from mainstream curriculum, contributing to a knowledge gap among counselor educators. This convergent mixed methods study explored and analyzed counselor educators’ understanding of ableism using a cross-sectional questionnaire administered to 48 participants. Quantitative results indicated a positive correlation between more formal …

Enhancing School Counselor Preparedness: The Effect Of Emotional Regulation Training On Outcomes Of Emotional Regulation, Self-Efficacy, And Wellness Measures, Allison Lynn Bristow

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

School Counselors in Training (SCITs) face distinctive challenges while developing their clinical skills and managing the complexities of school counseling. These challenges can lead to emotional strain and burnout, making it essential for SCITs to cultivate strong emotional regulation skills. Counseling and education researchers have discussed various strategies to assist counselors in enhancing emotional regulation skills. However, limited research has assessed the effectiveness of specific trainings on emotion regulation, especially for SCITs. This quantitative study investigates the effectiveness of an emotional regulation (ER) training program offered to SCITs during their field placements in schools. The central research question is whether …

Primary Cardiac Osteosarcoma: Epidemiology, Diagnosis, And Management - A Narrative Review, Tommy Li, Eric Nguyen, Jamal Hasoon, Ali Khalifa, Anvinh Nguyen

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Primary cardiac sarcomas are exceedingly rare, with a very low incidence in the general population. A variety of sarcoma subtypes can originate in the heart, including angiosarcoma, rhabdomyosarcoma, leiomyosarcoma, fibrosarcoma, and osteosarcoma. These tumors are typically classified based on histological characteristics, most often determined following surgical excision or biopsy. Among them, primary cardiac osteosarcoma is one of the rarest forms, with fewer than 60 cases reported in the literature to date. This narrative review aims to provide an overview of primary cardiac osteosarcoma, including its epidemiology, clinical presentation, and current management strategies. Additionally, we highlight several remarkable case reports to …

The Hardheaded Got To Feel It To Believe It, Magdalene Eden Luna-Buckelew

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Memoire short stories about the author’s experiences in Southern California working as an artist, exotic dancer, and going through various 12 step recovery programs and therapies to heal from childhood trauma.

Histone Deacetylase 6 Inhibition Promotes Microtubule Acetylation And Facilitates Autophagosome-Lysosome Fusion In Dystrophin-Deficient Mdx Mice, Akanksha Agrawal, Erin L Clayton, Courtney L Cavazos, Benjamin A Clayton, George G Rodney

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Aim: Duchenne muscular dystrophy is a progressive muscle-wasting disease caused by mutations in the dystrophin gene. Despite progress in dystrophin-targeted gene therapies, it is still a fatal disease requiring novel therapeutics that can be used synergistically or alternatively to emerging gene therapy. Defective autophagy and disorganized microtubule networks contribute to dystrophic pathogenesis, yet the mechanisms by which microtubule alterations regulate autophagy remain elusive. The present study was designed to uncover possible mechanisms underpinning the role of microtubules in regulating autophagy in dystrophic mice.

Methods: Mdx mice were also supplemented with Tubastatin A, a pharmacological inhibitor of histone deacetylase 6, and …

Prevalence Of Abuse-Specific Injuries In Infants With Prior Injury Evaluated For Abuse, Nara Cho, Kristin G Crichton, Sara Helwig, Krista K Wheeler, Rachel M Stanley, Megan M Letson, Kristine A Campbell, Angela N Bachim, Colleen J Bressler, Carmen M Coombs, Lori Frasier, Nicole Johnson, Sara Kilbride, Jan Leonard, Daniel M Lindberg, Noelle T Tran, Joanne N Wood, Farah W Brink

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Background and objectives: Physical abuse is a common cause of morbidity in infants but is often missed in those with medically minor injuries, increasing the risk for escalating violence. Our objective was to compare the prevalence of abuse-specific injuries among infants with and without prior injuries.

Methods: This is a retrospective, multicenter study of infants (aged < 12 months) undergoing child abuse pediatrics provider (CAP) consultation for suspected physical abuse between 2/2021 and 12/2022 at 10 participating US centers. Encounters were dichotomized into those with and without history of prior injury. The groups were compared for rates of diagnostic screening and prevalence of abuse-specific injuries. The association of prior injuries with identification of abuse-specific injury was assessed using logistic regression controlling for demographics and presence of prior injury.

Results: We identified 2352 eligible encounters (median age: 4.2 months), of which 13% had a history of prior injury. In infants who underwent diagnostic testing, injury identification was significantly higher in those with prior injury (45% vs 22%, P < .05). Adjusting for patient characteristics, the presence of prior injury in infants was associated with higher odds of at least 1 type of abuse-specific injury being identified, compared with those without prior injury (adjusted odds ratio = 2.81, 95% CI = 2.10-3.76).

Conclusion: Infants with prior injury …

The Influence Of Ultra-Widefield Fluorescein Angiography On The Diagnosis And Management Of Diabetic Retinopathy, Nicole K Scripsema, Tala Al-Khaled, Amy Song, Joelle A Hallak, Rawan Allozi, Aziz A Khanifar, Thanos D Papakostas, Christina Y Weng, Ronald C Gentile, J Peter Campbell, Jessica G Lee, Gennady Landa, Felix Y Chau, William F Mieler, Meenakashi Gupta, Amani A Fawzi, Judy E Kim, Jennifer I Lim, Robison Vernon Paul Chan

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Purpose: To study the influence of ultra-widefield fluorescein angiography (FA) on the diagnosis and management of diabetic retinopathy (DR).

Methods: Ten experts in DR completed an online survey in which they were asked to diagnose and manage DR cases using different imaging modalities. Experts independently reviewed 20 cases of DR and provided a diagnosis and management plan for each case, first based on ultra-widefield color-free and red-free images alone and again with the corresponding ultra-widefield FA images. Experts were polled on their diagnostic confidence, use of FA in clinical practice, and opinions on the value of ultra-widefield FA. Based on …

In Response To Comment On "Older And Better: A Narrative Review Of Successful Aging And Adaptation To Pain In Late Life", Emanuel Narcis Husu

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

No abstract provided.

Primary Polydipsia In A Case Of Genetic Behavioral Variant Frontotemporal Dementia, Yesenia Cantu, Taryn White, Gabriela Austgen, Christine Rizk, Olaoluwa O Okusaga, Melissa B Jones

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

No abstract provided.

Feasibility And Impact Of Knowledge-Based Automated Radiotherapy Treatment Planning In Low- And Middle-Income Countries, Awusi Kavuma, Solomon Kibudde, Yao Hao, Baozhou Sun

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Background and purpose: A high-quality treatment planning process is crucial in advanced radiotherapy techniques to ensure adequate dose to the target volume (TV) and sparing of organs at risk (OARs). This process often requires intensive labor, creating barriers for deployment in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). We aimed to establish the feasibility of implementing knowledge-based auto-planning to facilitate clinical efficiency and increase patient throughput in an LMIC.

Materials and methods: We evaluated 60 randomly selected VMAT manual plans (VMPs), including 10 for each of the following sites: head and neck, oesophagus, breast, prostate, cervical, and rectal cancers. Using the same …

Cognitive Predictors Of Internalizing Symptoms In Clinically Anxious Youth, Dania Y Amarneh, Michael J Zvolensky, Eric A Storch, Andres G Viana

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Background: Internalizing disorders are the most common psychiatric disorders in youth and are associated with a host of deleterious outcomes (e.g., self-harm, substance use, interpersonal difficulties), highlighting the critical need for identifying risk factors that confer risk for these disorders. The present study investigated the unique and shared roles of two prominent cognitive biases-anxiety sensitivity and interpretation biases-as predictors of internalizing symptom severity in clinically anxious youth, above and beyond the effects of negative emotionality and after accounting for sociodemographic covariates.

Method: A diverse sample of clinically anxious youth (N = 105; Mage = 10.09 years, SD = 1.22; …

"How Can I Get Out Of This?": A Qualitative Study Of The Phenomenology And Functional Impact Of Misophonia In Youth And Families, Andrew Giles Guzick, Catherine Elizabeth Rast, Brenna Burns Maddox, Servando Rodriguez Barajas, Jane Clinger, Joseph Mcguire, Eric A Storch

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Introduction: Misophonia is an increasingly recognized disorder characterized by negative emotional and sensory reactions to specific noises. Although misophonia most often begins in childhood, there has been minimal research on its clinical presentation in youth. This qualitative study explored cognitive behavioral processes that are involved in misophonia and its associated functional impairment in young people and their families.

Methods: Focused interviews were conducted with 20 youth with misophonia (ages 10-17) and their parents. Thematic analyses of these interviews using a cognitive behavioral theoretical framework were conducted.

Results: A number of themes were identified, which included internalizing and externalizing cognitive behavioral …

Liver Disease And Transplantation In Telomere Biology Disorders: An International Multicenter Cohort, Sharon A Savage, Alison A Bertuch

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Rare germline pathogenic variants (GPVs) in genes essential in telomere length maintenance and function have been implicated in two broad classes of human disease. The telomere biology disorders (TBDs) are a spectrum of life-threatening conditions, including bone marrow failure, liver and lung disease, cancer and other complications caused by GPVs in telomere maintenance genes that result in short and/or dysfunctional telomeres and reduced cellular replicative capacity. In contrast, cancer predisposition with long telomeres (CPLT) is a disorder associated with elevated risk of a variety of cancers, primarily melanoma, thyroid cancer, sarcoma, glioma and lymphoproliferative neoplasms caused by GPVs in shelterin …

Tissue And Cellular Tropism Of Elephant Endotheliotropic Herpesvirus (Eehv)1a In Hemorrhagic Disease, Jennifer A Landolfi, Lauren Howard, Paul Ling

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Elephant endotheliotropic herpesviruses (EEHVs) cause EEHV hemorrhagic disease (EEHV-HD), an acute, multisystemic, often fatal hemorrhagic syndrome with profound implications for elephant population growth and sustainability. A greater understanding of the pathogenesis of EEHV-HD is essential to elucidate susceptibility and develop tools for disease management and prevention. This study utilized RNAscope® in situ hybridization (ISH) to detect EEHV1A DNA polymerase and terminase genes in archival tissues (heart, lung, tongue, spleen, liver, kidney, lymph node, stomach, small intestine, large intestine, salivary gland, and brain or spinal cord) from Asian elephants (Elephas maximus; n = 12) that died of EEHV-HD to determine and …

The Clinical Genome Resource (Clingen): Advancing Genomic Knowledge Through Global Curation, Clingen Consortium

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

The Clinical Genome Resource (ClinGen) is a National Institutes of Health-funded program founded 10 years ago that defines the clinical relevance of genes and variants for medical and research use. ClinGen working groups develop standards for data sharing and curating genomic knowledge. Expert panels, with >2500 active members from 67 countries, curate the validity of monogenic disease relationships, pathogenicity of genetic variation, dosage sensitivity of genes, and actionability of gene-disease interventions using ClinGen standards, infrastructure, and curation interfaces. Results are available on clinicalgenome.org and classified variants are also submitted to ClinVar, a publicly available database hosted by the National Institutes …

Folate Receptor Β Performs An Immune Checkpoint Function In Activated Macrophages, Fenghua Zhang, Md Yusuf Al-Amin, Sagar Utturkar, Rina Jiang, Gregory Cresswell, Rami Alfar, Ian Ophaug-Johansen, Gabriel Bachman, Madduri Srinivasarao, Richard Finnell, Amaya Puig-Kröger, Timothy Ratliff, Philip S Low

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Monocytes and macrophages are sentinels of the immune system that distinguish themselves from other cells by expressing the beta isoform of the folate receptor (FRβ). Because FRβ does not bind folate until the monocyte/macrophage is exposed to immunosuppressive cytokines, the question naturally arose whether FRβ might also perform an immune-related function. To examine this matter, we compared the properties of wild type (WT) and FRβ knockout mice. We observe that FRβ knockout (KO) mice display autoimmune symptoms that can include alopecia, enlarged spleens, and dermatitis, despite having normal cellular folate levels. We further demonstrate that syngeneic tumors (TRAMP C2, MC38) …

Med12 Loss-Of-Function Variants As A Cause Of Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia In Females With Hardikar Syndrome And Nonspecific Intellectual Disability, Eric C Kao, Elizabeth A Mizerik, Carlos A Bacino, Hongzheng Dai, Liesbeth Vossaert, Daryl A Scott

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Mediator complex subunit 12 (MED12) is required for the assembly of the kinase module of Mediator, a regulatory complex that controls the formation of the RNA polymerase II-mediated preinitiation complex. MED12-related disorders display unique gender-specific genotype-phenotype associations and include X-linked recessive Opitz-Kaveggia syndrome, Lujan-Fryns syndrome, Ohdo syndrome, and nonspecific intellectual disability in males predominantly carrying missense variants, and X-linked dominant Hardikar syndrome and nonspecific intellectual disability in females known to predominantly carry de novo nonsense/frameshift and nonsense/missense variants, respectively. MED12 was previously identified as a low-penetrance candidate gene for non-isolated congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH+). At the time, however, there was …

Id-Gba: Subgraph Extension With Information Distance Guilt By Association In Complex Networks, Predrag Obradovic, Vladimir Kovacevic, Aleksandar Milosavljevic, Varduhi Petrosyan

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Here, we introduce the ID-GBA (Information Distance Guilt By Association) method to expand highly connected sets of nodes by deploying a novel algorithm for subgraph extension based on the guilt-by-association principle and information distance. In this study, ID-GBA was utilized to expand disease clusters, and identify novel disease genes. We first validate its ability to expand related disease sets from disease/disease graphs built using Open Targets' gene association scores. We then analyze disease/control gene expression networks and show that ID-GBA recaptures known disease genes in nine disease/control graphs. Compared to existing methods such as Random Walk with Restarts and Personalized …

Epilepsy Clinic Analytics: Leveraging Emr Reporting Tools To Characterize Center Volume And Complexity, Vanuli Arya, Arindam Ghosh Mazumder, Muna Nnamani, Mark A Abboud, Samuel C Lee, Michael S Guzman, Vaishnav Krishnan

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Introduction: Epilepsy centers connect patients to multidisciplinary provider groups that can coordinate surgical interventions and/or investigational treatments. Automated techniques to cross-sectionally review patient volume and complexity may reveal objective metrics to assign appropriate personnel and resources. Here, we leveraged an electronic medical record (EMR) reporting tool to examine how patient and visit volumes, antiseizure medication (ASM) prescriptions and neuromodulation use evolved over an 11-year epoch at a single level 4 adult epilepsy center in Texas, USA.

Methods: Using Epic Workbench Reporting, we acquired the dates of (i) all clinic visits (office or telemedicine), (ii) CPT codes for neuromodulation interrogation/programming, and …

Internal Carotid Artery Sympathetic Plexus Neurofibroma – A Case Report, Pedram Daniel Maleknia, Victor Lara, Ailiang Zeng, Michael Benjamin Larkin, Vijay Nitturi, Diego Rojas, Sean Lau, Elizabeth Ledbetter, Akash J Patel

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Background: Neurofibromas are benign peripheral nerve sheath tumors most associated with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1 ). NF1 is an autosomal dominant disorder resulting from mutations in the NF1 gene located on chromosome 17. While neurofibromas frequently occur in cutaneous or plexiform forms, neurofibromas arising from the sympathetic plexus of the internal carotid artery (ICA) are rare. Only one case of an intracranial sympathetic plexus neurofibroma has been reported in the literature to date. Since most nerve sheath tumors arising from this region are schwannomas, and given the intimate association with the Internal carotid artery (ICA) and surrounding neurovascular structures of …

Cadherin 1 Germline Mutation Co-Occurs With Medullary Thyroid Cancer And Choroid Plexus Papilloma: A Case Report And Review Of Literature, Vijay Nitturi, Sricharan Gopakumar, Hsiang-Chih Lu, Akash J Patel

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Background: We describe the case of a 23-year-old woman with a history of medullary thyroid cancer (MTC) who presented with a choroid plexus papilloma (CPP) and review the literature regarding the co-occurrence of these two pathologies.

Case description: A 23-year-old woman with a history of MTC treated with thyroidectomy 3 months prior was referred to neurosurgery with an incidental fourth ventricular mass found on prior imaging of her neck. She presented to the clinic with intermittent headaches and underwent MRI which demonstrated a hyperintense, heterogeneously enhancing lobular mass at the obex of the fourth ventricle. She underwent suboccipital craniotomy and …

Finite Element Modeling In Obstetrics And Gynecology: Advances, Applications, And Challenges, Taylor Moseley, Ashley J Hicks, Elizabeth M Cosgriff-Hernandez, Manuel Karl Rausch, Julie Hakim

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Finite element modeling (FEM) is a critical tool in biomechanics and biomedical engineering, offering valuable insights where in vivo or ex vivo investigations are not possible. This review specifically highlights the diverse applications of FEM within obstetrics and gynecology through a comprehensive analysis of the literature. We explore the past use of FEM in analyzing complications affecting pelvic floor structures, urinary continence, and reproduction. The potential contributions of FEM in addressing these challenges are summarized and future directions for its application in obstetrics and gynecology are highlighted.

A Murine Model Of Gestational Diabetes Reveals Masld Risk And Alterations In Markers Of Hepatic Mitochondrial Metabolism, Grace E Shryack, Alexa A Krause, Simone Hernandez Ruano, Laura C Schulz, Kathleen A Pennington, R Scott Rector

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Introduction: Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM) impacts roughly 1 in 7 pregnancies and results in metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) in 30% of these women. Nonetheless, there exists a dearth of investigation into the relationship between GDM and MASLD. Here, we sought to investigate the potential role of hepatic mitochondrial function in GDM and MASLD.

Methods: One week prior to conception and throughout pregnancy, mice were fed either a low-fat control diet (CD) or a high-fat, high-sucrose (HFHS) diet to induce an established model of GDM. Maternal livers were collected at day 0, 6.5, 13.5 and 17.5 of pregnancy. Hepatic …

A New Interpolated Pseudodifferential Preconditioner For The Helmholtz Equation In Heterogeneous Media, Sebastian Acosta, Tahsin Khajah, Benjamin Palacios

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

This paper introduces a new pseudodifferential preconditioner for the Helmholtz equation in variable media with absorption. The pseudodifferential operator is associated with the multiplicative inverse to the symbol of the Helmholtz operator. This approach is well suited for the intermediate and high-frequency regimes. The main novel idea for the fast evaluation of the preconditioner is to interpolate its symbol, not as a function of the (high-dimensional) phase-space variables, but as a function of the wave speed itself. Since the wave speed is a real-valued function, this approach allows us to interpolate in a univariate setting even when the original problem …