Digital Commons Network^™

Association Between Diabetes Mellitus, Hypertension, Obesity, And Diagnosis Of Covid-19 In Puerto Rico, Julian Rene Rivera Rodriguez

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The population of Puerto Rico has been heavily affected by chronic diseases; however, data remains limited on the influence of diabetes mellitus (DM), hypertension, and obesity on the probability of COVID-19 diagnosis. The purpose of this quantitative study was to evaluate the association between non-communicable diseases that included DM, obesity, hypertension, and COVID-19 diagnosis, controlling for age and sex and person exposure in Puerto Rico. The sample consisted of 1,463 participants who underwent a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test for COVID-19 from April 1, 2020, to March 31, 2021. Results from adjusted multivariable logistic regression analyses established that obesity OR …

Cep76 Impairment At The Centrosome-Cilium Interface Contributes To A Spectrum Of Ciliopathies, Kamal Khan, Erika Tavares, Katherine Bishara, Aysegul Ozanturk, Leila Qebibo, Stephan Frangakis, Daniel G Calame, Isabelle Meunier, Béatrice Bocquet, Rafal Ploski, Mohammad Ayman Al Khateeb, Dana Marafi, Luke Mansard, Lena Damaj, Richard A Lewis, Farid Ullah, Thomas Arbogast, Jackson P Ogden, Madeleine Harion, Marjolaine Willems, Maha S Zaki, Tobias Bartolomaeus, Anne-Françoise Roux, James R Lupski, Malgorzata Rydzanicz, Rami Abou Jamra, Francis Ramond, Elise Heon, Lydie Burglen, Erica E Davis

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Dysfunction at the centrosome-cilium interface underlies a broad range of ciliopathies. Here, we identify biallelic variants in CEP76, encoding a centrosomal protein, in eight unrelated individuals presenting with neurodevelopmental, ocular, and variable additional multisystem features. Proband-derived fibroblasts and CEP76-depleted RPE1 cells display ciliary deficits, including impaired cilium formation and length, disrupted transition zone architecture, and impaired IFT88-mediated anterograde intraflagellar transport. Zebrafish cep76 mutants recapitulate key clinical phenotypes, and in vitro complementation assays confirm pathogenicity for all tested human disease-associated variants. Proteomics analysis identifies CEP76 interactors, including known partners CCP110 and CEP97, and highlights clinically and functionally relevant candidates, including …

Regorafenib Pulmonary Toxicity: A Case Of Cavitary Lung Disease And Ards Treated With Infliximab, Michael Dong, Mackenzie Kramer, Tanmay Gandhi, Gautam George

Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care Medicine Faculty Papers

Regorafenib-induced pneumonitis and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) are rare and poorly characterized toxicities. We describe a 43-year-old male with metastatic colorectal cancer who developed hypoxic respiratory failure after two cycles of regorafenib. Imaging revealed cavitary lung lesions and diffuse ground glass opacities. Despite antibiotics and high-dose corticosteroids, his condition deteriorated, requiring ICU admission and mechanical ventilation. Bronchoalveolar lavage revealed bacterial pathogens, and he was treated for pneumonia. After multidisciplinary discussion, he was assessed to have regorafenib-induced pneumonitis as a major driver of his respiratory failure, and after limited steroid response, infliximab was administered with marked respiratory improvement. However, he …

Personalized Frontline Therapy In Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma: Integrating Circulating Tumor Dna For Real-Time Adaptive Treatment Stratification, Vasisht Karri, Samir Dalia

Student Publications

This review analyzed approximately 115 peer-reviewed studies published between 2010 and 2025, focusing on molecular subtyping and circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA)-guided approaches in Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma (DLBCL). Evidence was synthesized from retrospective cohorts, prospective clinical trials, and translational studies, highlighting how molecular heterogeneity, clonal evolution, and the tumor microenvironment complicate classification and treatment. While molecular subtypes such as MCD, BN2, EZB, A53, and ST2 have improved prognostication, their routine use in clinical practice remains limited due to cost, complexity, and restricted access to sequencing platforms. Tumor-informed ctDNA assays show promise for minimal residual disease (MRD) monitoring and adaptive therapy, …

Visualization Of Lysosomal Membrane Proteins By Cryo Electron Tomography, Bridget M Mcveigh, José J De Jesús-Pérez, Dirk H Siepe, Prerana Gogoi, Shrawan Kumar Mageswaran, Marian Kalocsay, Elaine M Mihelc, Vera Y Moiseenkova-Bell

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Lysosomes are essential organelles for cellular homeostasis and signaling, with dysfunction linked to neurological disorders, lysosomal storage diseases, and cancer. While proteomics has advanced our understanding of lysosomal composition, the structural characterization of lysosomal membrane proteins in their native environment remains a significant challenge. Here, we developed a cryo electron tomography workflow to visualize lysosomal membrane proteins within intact, native lysosomal membranes. We isolated endolysosomes by independently targeting two lysosomal membrane proteins, transient receptor potential mucolipin 1 and transmembrane protein 192, enriching organelles that exhibited the expected morphology and proteomic composition of the endolysosomal system. Sub-tomogram averaging enabled the structural …

A Metacognitive Strategy To Improve Lab Report Writing, Cassandra S. Korte, Melissa Lehman

Faculty and Staff Publications & Presentations

Laboratory report writing is an essential skill to the emerging STEM researcher. However, students report confusion regarding the structure of such reports and find the experience of writing to be frustrating. One mechanism to improve student success is through comparison and reflection— important metacognitive strategies. To that end, we implemented a pair of laboratory class assignments employing comparison and reflective strategies on lab report writing. In these assignments students are provided with examples of previous student writing and they compare the effectiveness of each report section for strengths and weaknesses. After completion of the comparison activity, students then examine their …

Field Test And Evaluation Of A Smart Sprayer For Precision Weeding, Boyang Deng, Yuzhen Lu, Mark Siemens, Daniel Brainard

Symposium of Digital Agriculture

Weeds remain a major biological threat to agriculture, reducing crop yields and causing substantial economic losses. Conventional blanket herbicide applications are costly, environmentally damaging, and accelerate the evolution of herbicide resistance. Machine vision–based precision weeding offers a sustainable alternative by enabling site-specific weed localization and removal. This study advances plant perception through YOLOv10 detection models and leverages a 1-cm nozzle array to achieve precise weed targeting that maximizes treatment efficacy while minimizing crop contact. A dedicated weed–crop dataset curated from vegetable fields further enhances model performance. Field testing was conducted in a lettuce field, and it achieved an average 80.0% …

Evaluating Different Soil Health Parameters For Edge-Of-Field Water Quality, Dipesh Giri, Siddhartho Shekhar Paul, Yichao Rui, Molly Meyers

Symposium of Digital Agriculture

Soil health indicators are increasingly used to guide conservation practice outcomes, but their vertical distribution and relationship to nutrient losses in surface runoff remain understudied. Since 2016, we have conducted multi-depth soil health assessments across agricultural fields in the Great Lakes Basin transitioning to conservation practices such as cover cropping and no-till. Our goal was to identify soil metrics that are predictive of edge-of-field (EOF) water quality outcomes. We assessed 21 biological, chemical, and physical soil indicators at 0–5 cm and 5–15 cm depths, calculating stratification ratios (SR = 0–5 cm ÷ 5–15 cm) for 57 site-years. Nine indicators met …

Advancing Soil Health Management Through Spatially Optimized Soil Sampling, Nelson O. Otieno, Keith Cherkauer, Shalamar Armstrong, Siddhartho S. Paul

Symposium of Digital Agriculture

Accurately monitoring soil health across farms requires sampling designs that capture spatial heterogeneity without excessive cost. Our systematic review of digital soil mapping approaches screened 181 articles and retained 31 for detailed analysis. Most studies either did not optimize sampling spatially or did not report doing so. Four designs dominated: simple random sampling (SRS), stratified random sampling (StRS), spatial coverage sampling (SCS), and conditioned Latin Hypercube Sampling (cLHS). Only 7% of papers explicitly evaluated spatial representativeness before modeling, typically using Bhattacharyya distance (BD) and Kullback–Leibler divergence (KLD).

We validated insights from the review with two case studies using grid soil …

Site-Specific Mechanical Weed Management For Specialty Crops Through Ai-Driven Robotics, Sandesh Poudel, Sunoj Shajahan

Symposium of Digital Agriculture

Weed management is one of the most urgent and unresolved challenges in specialty crops in most regions in the United States. For crops like horseradish, which are largely cultivated in Illinois and Wisconsin, the weed issue is magnified because of the crop’s long growing season and sensitivity to chemical applications. Farmers in these states are responsible for more than 80% of the US horseradish market. However, for the current weed control practice, they rely on expensive manual labor, which is in short supply, or repeated application of unlabeled herbicides that degrade soil and lead to a herbicide-resistant weed population. Therefore, …

Generalizing Yield Prediction And Evaluating The Common Factors Influencing The Models, Xiaoyu Zhang, Sunoj Shajahan

Symposium of Digital Agriculture

This study combines Sentinel-2 satellite images with yield monitoring data from fields to evaluate yield predictions from spatial, temporal, and modeling dimensions. Combining the Matern-Kriging method, vegetation index and machine learning models, four key aspects were studied: the influence of spatial resolution on ground truth interpolation, the influence of spatial proximity of training fields, single year and multi-year prediction performance, as well as the influence of spatial smoothing for yield map. Random forest is used as the main predictive model. The results show that a smaller Kriging grid size retains more spatial details, while larger grid leads to detail loss. …

A Simple Approach To Delineating Field Boundaries Using Satellite Imagery, Seth T. Van Hoveln

Symposium of Digital Agriculture

Accurate delineation of agricultural field boundaries is crucial for farm management, research, and policy development. However, publicly available boundary datasets are often limited in accuracy, very expensive, or use deep learning architectures that require extensive annotated data that are not available, limiting access. This project presents a simple, image-processing-based method for delineating field boundaries using openly available satellite images. Our method manipulates the images using a variety of image processing techniques and is able to generate an accurate boundary for a selected field. By providing a simple and accessible solution, this approach has the potential to transform boundary delineation practices, …

The Political Construction Of Anti-Transgender Policy: A Critical Policy Analysis Of North Carolina State Legislators' Discursive Strategies, David Osworth, Morgan Edlin

Journal of Queer and Trans Studies in Education

In recent year anti-LGBTQ policy has been cropping up at the state level across the United States. While these policies have been described as unprecedented, they signal a period of retrenchment for the rights of queer and transgender individuals in the United States. This critical policy analysis of North Carolina state legislation that is decidedly homophobic and transgender examines the discursive tactics of policy actors (i.e. North Carolina Legislators) as they argue these policies during legislative sessions. Through our analysis of legislators’ commentary during House of Representative sessions we identified discursive formations that were considered allied with the LGBTQ community …

Wayward Joy In Queer Femme-Inist Educational Research, Sarah Stapleton, Lindsay Cavanaugh, Jade Crimson Rose Da Costa

Journal of Queer and Trans Studies in Education

This article draws on our experiences with “Femme Educational Futurities,” a dream-mapping (Author 2, 2023), critical arts-based, participatory-informed project about softness in K–12 schools, to explore the boundaries of queer, femme-inist research. We trace how our attempts to enact research softly (Schwartz, 2020) led us towards wayward joy (Hartman, 2019): a messy affective terrain marked by connection, vulnerability, shame, and hope. For each author, we identify what Applebaum (1995) calls a “stop” moment and explore within each instance the convergence of softness, radical love (hooks, 2000) and tender failure (Halberstam, 2011), and discuss what joy means to us as a …

“It Has Made Me Stronger”: The Strengths Of Trans And Nonbinary Teachers, Heather K. Mcentarfer, Matthew D. Rice

Journal of Queer and Trans Studies in Education

This study draws from two data sets collected from interviews with trans and nonbinary (TGNB) teachers. It highlights the strengths related to gender identity and gender history that the teachers bring to schools and classrooms, as identified by the teachers and the researchers. Strengths identified included multiple ways of supporting LGBTQ+ students (especially TGNB students), connecting with all students, greater self-awareness, and seeing beyond “boxes.” The study adapts Pennell’s (2016a, 2016b) queer cultural capital, introducing and exploring TGNB cultural capital.

Myths And Magical Thinking: American Civil Religion, The Establishment Clause, And “Codified Irrationality” In Anti-Crt Measures, Kyle Reinhard

Journal of Civil Rights and Economic Development

(Excerpt)

In Part I, I preview some of the overlapping tensions in U.S. public schooling created by the occasionally competing mandates of education federalism and democratic theory; describe the current state of the law with respect to the constitutionality of state and local governments seeking to inculcate (allegedly) prosocial community values in curriculum; and consider how battles over the meaning of “patriotism” through the decades show that ideology and religion often blend—and still, inevitably, make it—into the public square broadly nonetheless.

In Part II, I describe how religion is a useful tool, both descriptively and as a constitutional jurisprudential framework, …

Polysaccharide From Schisandra Chinensis Alleviates Ulcerative Colitis By Improving Intestinal Microbiota Abundance And Inhibiting The Tlr4/P65/Iκbα Pathway In Dextran Sodium Sulfate-Induced Mice, Caihong Wu, Yang Yang, Peng Liu, Bin Zhang, Hui Lu

The Thai Journal of Veterinary Medicine

Schisandra chinensis polysaccharides (SCP) are isolated from Schisandra chinensis with a mean molecular weight of 32.401 kDa. Previous studies have demonstrated that Schisandra chinensis extract effectively prevented colitis and modulated gut microbiota in dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced mice. In this study, 3% DSS was used to induce acute ulcerative colitis in mice, and then the SCP with different doses (50 mg/kg, 100 mg/kg, 200 mg/kg) and 5- aminosalicylic acid (5-ASA) were used to treat mice by oral gavage for one week. Here, we report for the first time that SCP presents outstanding protective effects on colon damage induced by DSS …

Computational Analysis And Atom Wise Statistics Of Protein-Carbohydrate Interactions, Ahmad Firoz

The Journal of King Abdulaziz University: Science

Carbohydrates typically show an inclination to bind aromatic residues. Since it is extremely difficult to discriminate between carbohydrate binding and non-binding residues, therefore, in this work, we attempted to identify patterns that may affect carbohydrate binding. To accomplish this, we examined the amino acid residues from the 5^th preceding to the 5^th residue following each carbohydrate binding and non-binding site. The neighborhood environment of diverse types of experimentally determined protein-carbohydrate complexes was surveyed. The results revealed a notable tendency for non-polar or hydrophobic and polar-charged amino acids on either side of the carbohydrate binding sites. We also compiled …

Learning How To Practice Takes Practice, Micah Killion, Robert Duke

John J. Cali School of Music Scholarship and Creative Works

Effective music learning depends on effective music practice. Although time spent with teachers is an important component of young musicians’ development, time spent alone practicing is perhaps even more consequential. Researchers and teachers have offered many prescriptions about effective music practice, yet observations of young musicians’ actual practice reveal that their behavior in the practice room is often quite unlike what teachers envision. The most important aspects of effective practice are the thinking, perceiving, and decision-making that serve to organize how musicians spend their time. We discuss how to help students focus their attention in ways that lead to the …

Investigation Of Different Pretreatment Methods On Macroalgal Biomass For Efficient Biohydrogen Production Via Dark Fermentation, Abeer Dhafer S. Alqahtani, Bassam O. Aljohny, Arulazhagan Pugazhendi

The Journal of King Abdulaziz University: Science

Traditional fossil fuel sources cannot meet increasing energy demand and lead to rising health and global warming concerns. Biohydrogen is a promising alternative to fossil fuels in the zero-carbon economy of the future. The third generation of biofuel that microorganisms produce is biohydrogen. Dark fermentation is gaining attention, which needs little energy and has a higher production rate than other techniques. The biomass of macroalgae has excellent potential as a substrate through dark fermentation. Macroalgae, also known as seaweed, is a highly abundant, fast-growing, and renewable resource that can be sustainably harvested. Macroalgae with significant carbohydrate and no lignin content …

Physics 2425 Lecture Slides Volume 1, Chapter 14: Fluid Mechanics, Raji Kannampuzha Ph.D.

Physics

This page provides lecture slides for Calculus-based University Physics I (PHYS 2425). Chapters covered in the course are based on OpenStax Physics Volume I and Volume II from Rice University. These materials were created as part of Collin College’s CARES OER Development Grant in 2022. Materials were peer-reviewed by Collin faculty and administrators as part of the grant process.

This work, "University Physics I Lecture Slides," is adapted from "University Physics Volume 1" and “University Physics Volume 2” by William Moebs, Samuel J. Ling, Jeff Sanny, et al., used under CC BY 4.0.

A Pooled Sample Study Of Opioid Use Disorder Treatment Wait Time Among A Pregnant Population In New York, Stanley Nkemjika, Gulshan Begum, Bolaji Yoade, Vaibhav Vyas, Henry Onyeaka, Olubusola Olatunji, Olaniyi Olayinka, Ayana Jordan

Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior Faculty Papers

Background and Aim: Opioid use disorder (OUD) during pregnancy has become a major public health issue, with its prevalence rising significantly in recent years. The incidence of neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) has also surged, from 1.5 cases per 1000 hospital births in 1999 to 6.0 cases per 1000 in 2013. This study aims to identify and analyze the concerns faced by pregnant people in accessing OUD treatment on time, specifically focusing on New York. Methods: The pooled sample of 225,275 individuals represents pregnant patients with OUD who received treatment at substance use disorder (SUD) facilities across New York State between …

Montana Kaimin, October 16, 2025, Students Of The University Of Montana, Missoula

Montana Kaimin, 1898-present

Student newspaper of the University of Montana, Missoula.

Kenyon Collegian - October 16, 2025

The Kenyon Collegian

No abstract provided.

Per- And Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (Pfas) In Urban Stormwater Runoff: Insights From A Roadside Rain Garden, Hadeer Saleh, Dibyendu Sarkar, Zhiming Zhang, Michel Boufadel, Rupali Datta

Michigan Tech Publications

Urban stormwater runoff is increasingly recognized as a critical but underexplored pathway for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) to enter aquatic environments. This work investigated the occurrence and behavior of 40 PFAS compounds in stormwater runoff entering a roadside rain garden in Secaucus, New Jersey, during six storm events between August 2023 and July 2024. Total PFAS concentrations (Σ40 PFAS) ranged from 1437 to 1615 ng/L, with perfluorobutane sulfonate (PFBS, 239–303 ng/L) and perfluorohexanoic acid (PFHxA, 115–137 ng/L) consistently emerging as dominant species. Perfluorocarboxylic acids (PFCAs) and perfluorosulfonic acids (PFSAs) together accounted for over 70% of the total PFAS mass. …

Issue 474 October 16-30, 2025, The Local Voice

The Local Voice

Featured Articles: "Sarahfest Celebrates a Decade of Art, Music and Community."; "Rebel Hoops Returns to the Oxford Square. Annual Tip-Off Event is Monday, October 20."; "Locals Speak Out Against Location of Proposed Asphalt Plant."; "The View From The Balcony: Down Home Jesus Answers Your Questions."

Spectator 2025-10-16, Editors Of The Spectator

The Spectator

No abstract provided.

Design Of A Snp Panel For Highly Accurate Paternity Identification In Eşme Sheep, Onur Yilmaz, İbrahi̇m Cemal, Orhan Karaca, Cengi̇z Elmaci, Nezi̇h Ata

Turkish Journal of Veterinary & Animal Sciences

SNP paternity testing panels offer high-resolution capabilities for determining livestock paternity, thereby enhancing the reliability of genetic verification and ensuring pedigree record accuracy. In this study, we aimed to develop a SNP-based paternity test panel utilizing a 50K SNP chip for paternity testing and pedigree verification in the Eşme sheep breed. Additionally, the study sought to validate the paternity test panel. Based on data from 26 rams and 524 lambs of the Eşme sheep breed, the results indicated that the 50K SNP chip used demonstrated a very high genotyping rate, with the majority of its 53,738 SNPs exhibiting significant polymorphism. …

Optimizing Conditions For Bacillus Subtilis Ectopic Gene Expression And Delivery Via Seed Treatment, Abeer Alnasrawi, Jiamel Li, Payal Sanadhya, J. Alejandro Rojas, Fiona L. Goggins

Entomology and Plant Pathology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Bacillus subtilis is applied as a biofertilizer, biocontrol agent, and probiotic in agriculture, and is also used for industrial synthesis of proteins and peptides. These applications can be combined by using B. subtilis to synthesize plant health-promoting peptides in culture or to deliver them to roots via seed treatments. To facilitate the use of B. subtilis as a cell factory, we tested different media, temperatures, and growth phases to optimize ectopic expression of a Plant Elicitor Peptide from soybean (GmPEP3) that enhances seedling growth. Our results indicate that temperature, culture media, and growth phase have interactive effects, and that 30 …

System Barriers To Brokering School-Based Versus Community-Based Therapeutic Services From The Perceptions Of School Social Workers In Georgia, Jessica Ochei-Gilliam

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Barriers to brokering therapeutic services cause challenges for school social workers to address their students’ mental health needs, especially in Georgia, where students’ mental health needs are high. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore school social workers’ perceptions of the system barriers related to brokering these services. The research questions explored school social workers’ perceptions of brokering on-site versus community-based therapeutic services in the state of Georgia. In addition, this study inquired about the system barriers that school social workers face when brokering these services. This study was grounded in the ecological systems theory, which argues that …