Digital Commons Network^™

Onset And Exacerbation Of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder In The Perinatal Period, Jack Samuels, Mary Kimmel, Janice Krasnow, Rashelle Musci, Paul S Nestadt, Lauren M Osborne, Eric A Storch, Jonathan S Abramowitz, Gerald Nestadt

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Purpose: Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) can emerge during pregnancy and the postpartum and may adversely affect mother and newborn. However, little is known about potential risk factors for the onset of OCD in the perinatal period. Therefore, we investigated the onset of diagnosed DSM-5 OCD in women followed from the second trimester of pregnancy to 6-months postpartum.

Methods: We followed 256 women from the 20-24th week of pregnancy to 6-month postpartum. Participants had psychiatric diagnostic interviews at baseline and 6-month postpartum and completed self-report instruments. We compared women with and without incident OCD on sociodemographic characteristics and clinical features.

Results: Of …

Performance Forum - January 16, 2026 (Special Event), Calida Jones

Performance Forum

No abstract provided.

Rare Heterozygous De Novo Variants In Rapgef2 Are Associated With A Neurodevelopmental Disorder, Ali H Bereshneh, Kirkland A Wilson, Xueyang Pan, Shabab B Hannan, Megan A Cooper, Jullianne Diaz, Eyby Leon, Tiana M Moses, Mahshid S Azamian, Daryl A Scott, Ping Yee Billie Au, Juan Pablo Appendino, Ingrid E Scheffer, Antony Kaspi, Melanie Bahlo, Michael S Hildebrand, Angela T Morgan, Ekanem Ekure, Joshua M Shulman, Friedhelm Hildebrandt, Jennifer E Posey, Paul Kruszka, Eric Vilain, Shinya Yamamoto, Oguz Kanca, Seth Berger, Hugo J Bellen

Duncan NRI Faculty and Staff Publications

Purpose: RAPGEF2 encodes a guanine nucleotide exchange factor (GEF) that activates small GTPases and has not been linked to a Mendelian disorder. RAPGEF2 is highly intolerant to loss-of-function variants. We report 5 de novo heterozygous variants in RAPGEF2 in unrelated individuals with developmental delay, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, epilepsy, dysmorphic features, or other manifestations. We used a Drosophila model to assess the functional impact of the identified human variants.

Methods: We generated a Kozak-GAL4 null allele of the Drosophila ortholog of RAPGEF2, PDZ-GEF, and used the allele to determine the gene expression pattern as well as the loss-of-function phenotypes. We …

Effects Of Icosapent Ethyl On Risk And Duration Of Hospitalizations And Death In Reduce-It, Michael Szarek, Deepak L Bhatt, Michael Miller, Eliot A Brinton, Jean-Claude Tardif, Christie M Ballantyne, Steven B Ketchum, Mandeep R Mehra, Ph Gabriel Steg

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Aims: Among statin-treated participants with elevated triglycerides and known cardiovascular disease or with diabetes and other risk factors, icosapent ethyl reduced the risk of cardiovascular events in the REDUCE-IT study. In this post hoc analysis of REDUCE-IT, we quantified the effects of icosapent ethyl on total hospitalizations and days lost to hospitalization and death.

Methods: Randomization to treatment with 2 g twice daily of icosapent ethyl or matching placebo was performed among 8179 participants receiving statin therapy with established cardiovascular disease or age ≥50 years with diabetes and ≥1 additional risk factor, fasting triglyceride 1.69-5.63 mmol/L, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol …

Grow Your Own Microgreens, Stephen Beck

All Current Publications

This fact sheet reviews the steps and materials needed to grow microgreens, such as radish, broccoli, sunflower, or pea shoots. Microgreens are fast and easy to grow and a healthy addition to your diet.

Proposed Methodology For Correcting Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy Field-Of-View Scene-Change Artifacts, Kody A. Wilson, Michael L. Dexter, Benjamin F. Akers, Anthony L. Franz

Faculty Publications

Fourier-transform spectrometers are widely used for spectral measurements. Changes in the field of view during measurement introduce oscillations into the measured spectra known as scene-change artifacts. Field-of-view changes also introduce uncertainty about which target the measured spectrum represents. Though scene-change artifacts are often present in dynamic data, their significance is disputed in the current literature. This work presents a theoretical framework and experimental validation for scene-change artifacts. Field-of-view changes introduce variable interferogram offsets, which standard processing techniques assume are constant. The error between the interferogram offset and its estimate is Fourier-transformed, yielding scene-change artifacts, often confused with noise, in the …

Probability Cueing In Large-Scale Environmental Search: The Role Of Landmark Cues In Statistical Learning, Shaun Dordoy, Rory Baxter, Alastair Smith

School of Psychology

Efficient environmental search is an important and adaptive everyday skill. A particular feature of theoretical interest is whether large-scale search is informed by the spatial statistics of the environment - probability cueing is a robust effect in two-dimensional visual search tasks, but studies of large-scale search have generated equivocal findings. Here, we examined whether sensitivity to a statistical cue specified within an allocentric reference frame is modulated by the presence and location of environmental landmarks. Participants explored fully immersive virtual environments, wherein they were presented with an array of locations (columns) and required to search them for a hidden target …

Extra-Axial Cerebrospinal Fluid Volumes From 6 To 24 Months Of Age Are Associated With Poorer Executive Function At School-Age In Children With And Without Autism, Yichi Zhang, Robert C Mckinstry, Natasha Marrus, John R Pruett Jr., Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: Abnormally increased extra-axial cerebrospinal fluid (EA-CSF) volume is present as early as 6 months in infants later diagnosed with autism and is associated with symptom severity at the age of diagnosis, but it is unknown whether early EA-CSF enlargement has long-term impacts on other clinical domains. Executive function (EF) deficits are frequently observed in children with autism and are linked with worse academic outcomes, higher anxiety, and lower adaptive functioning. The current study examines the association between EA-CSF volume at infancy and EF at school age in a longitudinally phenotyped cohort of children with either high (HL) or low …

Considerations When Venturing Into Community Engagement With Those Who Struggle To Access Advice Or Care, Ruth Potterton, Abigail Nelder, Karen Burn

Peninsula Dental School

No abstract provided.

Attitudes Toward Patients' Safety Among Healthcare Professionals In The United Arab Emirates: A Cross-Sectional Study, Moien Khan, Amiri Sohrab, Iffat Elbarazi, Mohammed Salaheldin Elsayed, Reem Al Falasi, Debasish Kar

Peninsula Medical School

This research aims to investigate healthcare professionals’ (HCPs) attitudes towards patient safety and to explore the role ofvarious work-related factors that could be the barriers to safety-events reporting to modify these attitudes. A cross-sectionalsurvey was conducted, involving 629 HCPs who are working across health care sectors in the United Arab Emirates. HCPs in theUnited Arab Emirates, comprising 71.5% women and 27.8% men, displayed a generally positive attitude towards patient safety(mean score = 3.91). Sub-comparisons indicated high scores for team functioning (4.58 ± 0.62) and low scores for professionalincompetence as an error cause (2.86 ± 0.50). Common barriers to reporting safety …

Explaining Transformer-Based Classification Of Radiology Reports, M Courtman, G Abdelhalim, L Sun, E Ifeachor, S Mullin, M Thurston

Peninsula Medical School

ObjectivesDeep learning models developed for the classification of radiological reports have lacked explainability. We aimed to validate and explain a pretrained classification model by applying it to the removal of confounding data from a radiological dataset.MethodsTwo radiologists categorized 2038 anonymized MRI head free-text radiology reports for abnormality and for small vessel disease presence. Of these reports, 80% (n = 1630) were used to fine-tune pretrained transformer models to classify scans. Five-fold cross-validation was used in model development. The models were tested on the remaining 20% of the reports (n = 408). SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP) were used to explain the …

The Itrail Making Test (Itmt): An Evaluation Of Novel Testing Paradigms, Hidden Indices Of Measurement, And Diagnostic Accuracy In Parkinson’S Disease, Donnchadh Murphy, Jonathan Scott, Craig Newman, Rupert Noad

Peninsula Medical School

Introduction: The Trail Making Test (TMT) is an important test when assessing for cognitive difficulties in people with Parkinson’s Disease (PD). However, the pencil-and-paper format can be susceptible to administration and scoring errors and may disproportionately reflect motor impairments rather than cognitive performance. The current study sought to evaluate the reliability and diagnostic accuracy of two novel computerized versions of the TMT: iTMT-Tap and iTMT-Drag. Method: This study used a quasi-experimental diagnostic accuracy design, and included 34 healthy controls, 28 people with Parkinson’s disease with normal cognition (PD-NC), and 31 people with Parkinson’s disease mild cognitive impairment (PD-MCI). Participants were …

Exploring The Experience Of Co-Designing Mental Health Services In The National Health Service As An Expert By Experience, Annabelle Mccall, Peta Temple, River Rose, Pete Keohane, Lealah Hewitt-Johns

School of Psychology

PurposeThe number of Experts by Experience (EbE) working in mental health services has grown in recent years. The National Health Service (NHS) five-year plan states EbE should be used across different levels, including service delivery, design and commissioning. While current research explores the role of EbE in service delivery, little is known about their experiences of co-designing services. This study aims to explore EbE experiences of co-designing NHS mental health services.Design/methodology/approachThis research used qualitative semi-structured interviews with ten participants who had worked on projects focused on co-designing NHS mental health services as an EbE. Data were analysed using reflexive thematic …

Single-Cell Rna Sequencing Suggests Different Progenitor Lineages Between Idh Mutant And Idhwt Glioma, Iyad Alnahhas, Allison Kayne, Mehak Khan, Wenyin Shi

Department of Neurology Faculty Papers

Introduction Single-cell RNA sequencing has elucidated the heterogeneity in cancer. Single-cell glioblastoma (GBM) analyses have also proposed the resemblance of GBM cells to radial glia and outer radial glia (oRG) supporting the hypothesis that remnants of developmental tissue get reactivated in cancer. A recent study isolated neural progenitor cells (NPCs) from developing fetal human brain (gestational week 17-19) and classified NPCs based on their expression of THY1 (CD90), CD24 and EGFR. Ventricular radial glia are THY1⁻CD24⁻EGFR⁺ whereas oRG are THY1⁻CD24⁻EGFR⁻. Early neuron precursors are CD24⁺THY1⁻EGFR …

Open Access After Graduation, Wendy Walker, Megan Stark, Kate Zoellner, Karli Cotton

Navigating the Future Together: Student Success Symposium

Academic libraries have, for too long, built relationships with students around a single dimension: temporary access to paywalled scholarly materials. We believe this dimension is too narrow and short-term to honor the complexity of our students’ future goals and their lives beyond graduation.

Open Access (OA) scholarship helps us reimagine relationships with our students far longer than their institutional login credentials, and to empower them as lifelong information-literate individuals. Freely available to readers, OA research extends the benefits of scholarly knowledge beyond the academy and removes economic barriers to accessing information. OA invites us to engage the multiple, evolving, and …

Law & Morals: Creating A Tactile Map Of An Inaccessible Library, Kristin Peace, Ben Mendez

Navigating the Future Together: Student Success Symposium

Short Description:

Under the ADA, colleges are required to make all programs equally accessible to all students. In the Summer of 2025, the Technology & Makerspace Librarian and Social Sciences Librarian at Occidental College set out to create a tactile map of their library. This is their story.

Abstract:

Although legally required under the American Disabilities Act (1990), the Mary Norton Clapp Library at Occidental College lacks many basic accessibility accommodations. Not surprisingly, few students, faculty or staff with disabilities choose to become part of the Occidental College community. This past summer, the Technology & Makerspace Librarian and Social Sciences …

Playing Across Cultures: Building Community Through International Games Month At Southern Miss Libraries, Tisha M. Zelner, Courtney Kruzan

Navigating the Future Together: Student Success Symposium

Embracing diverse voices is part of the vision of the University of Southern Mississippi (USM) Libraries, which also includes a value statement to “embrace diversity by creating a welcoming environment and providing resources representative of the diverse university populations.” The library's strategic values also include collaboration, engagement, and outreach. The library created International Games Month (IGM) programming in 2023 in support of the library’s strategic goals and invited collaboration with the university’s International Student and Scholar Services as well as individual student organizations. The library hosted events where international students coached attendees through games from their home countries. Student representatives …

Disinformation Detox: Media Literacy As A Tool For Student Empowerment, Chereeka Garner

Navigating the Future Together: Student Success Symposium

Background

In an era of deepfakes, algorithmic manipulation, and viral misinformation, students face increasing challenges in discerning credible information. Media literacy has become a critical skill for academic success and informed citizenship.

Module Overview

Media Literacy Essentials is a newly launched pilot module designed to help students "detox" from disinformation by equipping them with foundational skills in evaluating sources, identifying bias, and understanding media production. The module is part of a first-year experience course and encourages active engagement with real-world media.

Preliminary Observations

Now in its first semester, the module has shown encouraging signs of student engagement and curiosity. While …

From Warning To Action: Evaluating The Effectiveness Of Conflict Early Warning And Early Response Systems In Nigeria, Chukwudi G. Njoku

Peace and Conflict Studies Journal Conference

Violent conflicts continue to persist and escalate, with frequently changing dynamics in Nigeria. This is notwithstanding the existence of active conflict early warning and early response (CEWER) systems. While some of the CEWER systems have recorded some successes, gaps have been identified in their effectiveness, especially around how the early warning information are utilized for prompt response to prevent and mitigate conflicts. The study also identified a dearth of literature on the subject, highlighting the need for research on the effectiveness of CEWER systems in Nigeria. The study adopts a mixed research method which combines qualitative, quantitative and geospatial approaches. …

Peaceful Change Management: Cultivating Empathy And Curiosity To Foster Resilience And Trust In Healthcare, Erica W. Martin, Anne Kampa

Peace and Conflict Studies Journal Conference

The ongoing evolution of healthcare, driven by technological advancements, necessitates equipping leaders with human-centered approaches to change management. This proposal examines the current responses to change within healthcare environments, addressing the underlying mechanisms that contribute to success or breakdown and emphasizes the imperative need for adaptive strategies from change leaders.

A human-centered approach incorporating emotional intelligence, the ADKAR change management model, and peace-focused leadership, can mitigate potential conflicts and foster a trust-based work environment. This research explores the theoretical framework of positive peace, underscoring the pivotal role of leadership in enhancing relational dynamics and addressing communication barriers. By focusing on …

Black Women And Natural Hairstyles In Workspaces, Darnella Mcguire-Nelson Ph.D., Darnella Mcguire-Nelson Ph.D.

Peace and Conflict Studies Journal Conference

No abstract provided.

Comity, Act Of State, And Interpretation Of Foreign Law: The Eleventh Circuit Missteps In Mcnab V. United States, Paul S. Vicary

Florida Journal of International Law

This Note will examine the conflict the Eleventh Circuit has created with other federal courts with regard to the degree of deference U.S. courts are to give to foreign countries’ interpretations of their own laws. Part II reviews the Lacey Act as well as the facts and decision in McNab v. United States. Part III reviews the act of state doctrine as well as the doctrine of international comity as the contexts for judicial deference. Part IV will analyze how courts have construed the degree of deference that is to given to other countries’ interpretations of their own laws. …

The Role Of International Law In The Abolition Of The Juvenile Death Penalty In The United States, Carly Baetz-Stangel

Florida Journal of International Law

No abstract provided.

The "Helping Hand" In Trade Agreements: An Analysis Of And Proposal For Labor Provisions In U.S. Free Trade Agreements, Marisa Anne Pagnattaro

Florida Journal of International Law

The purpose of this Article is not to argue in favor of protectionism or to shield domestic manufacturers and workers from foreign competition. Rather, it is to illustrate that the promotion of fundamental labor rights allows for fair competition for American workers and supports the right of international workers to enjoy the most basic threshold of workplace standards. U.S. workers and companies should not be pitted against foreign competitors who take advantage of their nation’s lack of or failure to enforce labor and employment laws—exploiting workers’ lack of bargaining power is not legitimate competition. If workers are not able to …

The Palestinian Constitution And The Geneva Accord: The Prospects For Palestinian Constitutionalism, Zaha Hassan

Florida Journal of International Law

The aim of this Article is to examine whether the provisions of the Geneva Accord, which for all practical purposes will likely determine the face and many of the structures and institutions of the State of Palestine, promotes the efforts at Palestinian constitutionalism, and by doing so, the cause of a just and lasting peace. In Part II, I will give a brief overview of the Palestine-Israel conflict in order to provide some context to the Palestinian draft constitution and the Geneva Accord. In Part III, I will analyze the provisions of the Gevena Accord that may impact upon Palestinian …

"The Technology Dog Ate My Job": The Dog-Eat-Dog World Of Offshore Labor Outsourcing, Mark B. Baker

Florida Journal of International Law

This Article specifically examines the legal implications of outsourcing, particularly in the high-technology sector. This Article will discuss the public debate on outsourcing and the relevant policy considerations in order to lay the groundwork for analysis of the legal aspects of this issue.

The inquiry at hand shall be as follows: first, recent legislation relevant to outsourcing at both the state and federal levels will be examined. Next, there will be a discussion on how far state legislators are permitted to regulate outsourcing without violating the Constitution, and the issue of implied and express preemption will also be analyzed. Next, …

Inconsistent Consistency: A Comment On Arrested Development Of The Federal Common Law Of Foreign Relations, Paul S. Ryerson

Florida Journal of International Law

No abstract provided.

Humanitarian Intervention: The Early Years, Nicholas Onuf

Florida Journal of International Law

No abstract provided.

Peace Innovation And Healing: A Design Justice Framework To Support Change Processes, Strengthen Relationships, Foster Trust, And Build Community, Michelle Helman

Peace and Conflict Studies Journal Conference

Many organizations aiming to achieve peace and health equity outcomes often focus their design processes and innovation efforts externally without addressing how their organizational culture can unintentionally reproduce the very harms they are trying to address. The purpose of this qualitative design research study is to explore the role of a design justice framework in piloting a Peace Innovation Project aimed at facilitating an organizational culture change process. Specifically, the study focuses on better understanding how integrating a design justice approach could support research collaborators to center equity and justice as core components in building a culture of peace and …

Discourse Markers In Conflict Management: A Literature Review, Erica W. Martin, Krystle L. Hunter

Peace and Conflict Studies Journal Conference

Discourse Markers in Conflict Management: A Literature Review

Discourse markers, often seen as fillers in conversation, are important for managing interpersonal conflicts. This literature review aims to show how these markers influence conflict dynamics, with implications for promoting peace and strengthening community relationships. By combining research from linguistics, communication studies, and conflict resolution, the review looks at how discourse markers function during three phases of conflict: initiation, escalation, and de-escalation. The authors aim to improve both theoretical understanding and practical approaches to engaging constructively in conflicts, enhancing cohesion within global and local communities through better communication.

Using a qualitative synthesis …