Digital Commons Network^™

Per- And Polyfluoroalkyl Substance (Pfas) Degradation In Water And Soil Using Cold Atmospheric Plasma (Cap): A Review, Victor Somtochukwu Mbanugo, Boluwatife Stephen Ojo, Ta Chun Lin, Yue-Wern Huang, Marek Locmelis, Daoru Han

Biological Sciences Faculty Research & Creative Works

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) are persistent organic chemicals found in numerous industrial applications and everyday products. The excessive amounts of PFASs in water and soil, together with their link to severe health issues, have prompted substantial public concerns, making their removal from the environment a necessity. Existing degradation techniques are frequently lacking due to their low efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and potential for secondary contamination. Cold Atmospheric Plasma (CAP) technology has emerged as a promising alternative, utilizing energized reactive species to break down PFASs under ambient conditions. Therefore, this review examines the efficacy and effectiveness of CAP in degrading PFASs by …

Drug Targets Illumination: An Evidence-Based Data Analytics & Informatics Approach To Hypothesis Generation Through Clinical Trials And Genomic Variants, Jeremiah I. Abok

Chemistry and Chemical Biology ETDs

DRUG TARGETS ILLUMINATION: AN EVIDENCE-BASED DATA ANALYTICS & INFORMATICS APPROACH TO HYPOTHESIS GENERATION THROUGH CLINICAL TRIALS AND GENOMIC VARIANTS

Target Illumination Clinical Trial Analytics with Cheminformatics (TICTAC) introduces a scalable data integration pipeline that aggregates multivariate clinical trial evidence to systematically rank disease–target associations. By harmonizing metadata from AACT and employing confidence-scoring techniques, TICTAC facilitates hypothesis-driven target selection for drug discovery, enabling a data-driven approach to therapeutic development. In parallel, a bioinformatics-driven analysis of gnomAD exome mutations in the ZPR1 gene highlights the broader role of genetic variants in disease association. By employing variant effect predictors, protein stability modeling, and …

Spectrum, Volume 54, Issue 8, Sacred Heart University

Newspapers (Obelisk & Spectrum)

Highlights include: SHU’s Most Prestigious Event: The Pioneer Scholarship Gala - This Week in the White House - SHU Celebrates Founder’s Day - Respect the ABILITY and L.E.A.R.N Lab Confront Stereotypes -Sacred Heart Hosts Annual Social Justice Week - Star-Studded Duo Scheduled for Spring Concert - Club Sports are on the Road to Nationals

Bioinformatics Pipeline For Gene Regulatory Network Discovery: A Case Study With Exercise Response, Nadia Moore

Theses

Gene regulatory networks are at the core of many biological processes, dictating how a wide range of genes, and their products, interact with one another. Gaining further understanding on how these networks are structured and how they function within the body can aid in deriving meaningful insights on the body’s inner-workings when exposed to any number of conditions. Unfortunately, the information gathered within some studies may be lacking in, for example, sample size or measurements taken at multiple time-points. This work addresses these issues and outlines a pipeline which navigates these smaller collections of data in order to still extract …

Galerkin Finite Element Methods Error Estimates Analysis For [1+2] Equations Of Integro-Differential On Linear Triangular, Ali Kamil Al-Abadi, Shurooq Kamel Abd

Baghdad Science Journal

In this research, the two-dimensional parabolic integral-differential equation was solved using one of the numerical methods, which is the finite element method (Galerkin) on triangular elements. This method was chosen to make extensive use of finite elements because it has many high-quality numerical properties. The main benefit of finite elements is their ability to solve a wide range of problems in different computational fields in different forms, especially complex ones that cannot be solved by other numerical methods. Given the semi-discrete error estimates for the normal space H¹, the polynomial linear boundary element space defined in triangles was …

Topological And Hyper Topological Coindices Of Benzenoid Circumcoronene Series, Walid Yousef, Abdu Alameri, Mohammed Alsharafi, Noman Al-Naggar, Belal Al-Fuhaid

Baghdad Science Journal

Numerous applications in chemistry are enabled by chemical graph theory, which is a branch of graph theory. Numerical quantities derived from the chemical graphs of a molecule, known as topological indices and co-indices, are used to model the chemical and physical properties of molecules in quantitative Structure-Property relationships (QSPR) and quantitative structure-activity relationships (QSAR) research. Fortunately, chemical-based experiments have found a strong connection between Topological descriptors (topological indices and co-indices) of molecular structures and their Physicochemical Properties, such as boiling point, and toxicity of drugs. Although several research reports have contributed to the computation of topological indices of the benzenoid …

Draft Genome Data Including Functional Annotation Of An Emerging Fungal Pathogen (Neodothiora Populina) Causing A Canker Disease Of Trembling Aspen In Interior Alaska, Ursel M. E. Schütte, Mace Wages, Aaron Buechlein, Jorda P. Kovash, Danielle C. Wrenn, Tereza Smrhova, Andrea Zubrova, Doug B. Rusch, Loretta M. Winton, Gerard C. Adams, Roger W. Ruess, Mary Beth Leigh, Devin M. Drown

Aspen Bibliography

Neodothiora populina is a black yeast-like fungus in the family Dothioraceae. It causes an aggressive canker disease of trembling aspen that results in widespread mortality of aspen across the boreal forest of Interior Alaska. Here we report a high-quality draft genome including functional annotation of this emerging fungal pathogen based on Oxford Nanopore Technologies long-read sequences. Our initial genome assembly totaled 23,960,169 bp and contained 18 contigs, and we identified 7,343 genes. This resource announcement provides new genomic data that are useful long term for improving our understanding of forest health in Alaska.

The Lumberjack, March 26, 2025

Cal Poly Humboldt's Student Newspaper

The student newspaper of Humboldt State University.

Lifespan Of Male And Female App/Ps1 And Appnl-F/Nl-F Mouse Models Of Alzheimer's Disease, Hannah Roberts, Yimin Fang, Kathleen Quinn, Tiarra Hill, Mackenzie R Peck, Andrzej Bartke, Kevin N Hascup, Erin R Hascup

Articles

Alzheimer's disease (AD) disproportionately affects women, yet most preclinical research studies are male-centric. We performed lifespan analyses of male and female AD mouse models (APP/PS1 and APP^NL-F/NL-F) and their shared genetic background control (C57BL/6). Survival curves support significant sex differences between genotypes. Minimal longevity revealed increased age in male APP/PS1, and decreased age in male APP^NL-F/NL-F mice. Maximal longevity revealed an increased average age in males. Furthermore, median lifespan differed between sex and genotype. This study supports dimorphic survival in two mouse models of AD, emphasizing the need to examine mechanisms and treatments in both sexes.

Navigating The College-To-Career Transition: Social Capital And Career Readiness Of First-Generation College Students Participating In The Professional Skills Mentoring Program, Olivia T. Davis

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study investigates how first-generation college (FGC) students utilize social capital to navigate the challenging transition from college to career, addressing a critical gap in the literature given the increasing emphasis on post-graduation employment and the unique obstacles these students face. FGC students often lack the same access to professional networks and career resources as their peers, highlighting the need for targeted support programs. This research explores the impact of the Professional Skills Mentoring Program (PSMP) on FGC student career readiness.

Drawing on Yosso's (2005) Community Cultural Wealth framework, this qualitative case study examines how FGC students leverage their diverse …

Who’S Asking?: Perception, Success, And Negotiation Dynamics In Library Acquisitions, Amy Pham

Copley Library: Faculty Scholarship

“Women don’t ask.” The titular phrase of a groundbreaking work from Linda Babcock and Sara Laschever that cemented the popular belief that women are bad negotiators. But are women bad negotiators? Does the gender divide in negotiations intersect with a racial divide? In a field defined by its history of feminization and white women majority, how does this affect librarians? This presentation will draw a line through two decades of literature to examine trends of negotiation outcomes currently underrepresented in library research and share the results of an interview study exploring experiences in academic library acquisition negotiations.

In Situ Cavitation Bubble Manometry Reveals A Lack Of Light-Activated Guard Cell Turgor Modulation In Bryophytes, Craig R. Brodersen, Tim J. Brodribb, Uri Hochberg, N. Michele Holbrook, Scott A.M. Mcadam, Joseph Zailaa, Brett A. Huggett, Philippe Marmottant

All Faculty Scholarship

Diversification of plant hydraulic architecture and stomatal function coincides with radical changes in the Earth’s atmosphere over the past 400 my. Due to shared stomatal anatomy with the earliest land plants, bryophyte stomatal behavior may provide insights into the evolution of stomatal function, but significant uncertainty remains due to technical limitations of measuring guard cell turgor pressure in situ. Here, we introduce a method for monitoring cell turgor pressure by nucleating microbubbles within the guard cells of intact plant tissue and then examining microbubble growth and dissolution dynamics. First, we show that maximum microbubble radius decreases with increasing pressure as …

Effectiveness Of Intrapartum Azithromycin To Prevent Infections In Planned Vaginal Births In Low-Income And Middle-Income Countries: A Post-Hoc Analysis Of Data From A Multicentre, Randomised, Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Trial, Waldemar A. Carlo, Alan T.N. Tita, Janet L. Moore, Musaku Mwenechanya, Elwyn Chomba, Jennifer J. Hemingway-Foday, Avinash Kavi, Mrityunjay C. Metgud, Shivaprasad S. Goudar, Richard J. Derman, Adrien Lokangaka, Antoinette Tshefu, Melissa Bauserman, Jackie K. Patterson, Poonam Shivkumar, Manju Waikar, Archana Patel, Patricia L. Hibberd, Paul Nyongesa, Fabian Esamai, Osayame Austine Ekhaguere, Sherri Bucher, Saleem Jessani, Shiyam Sunder Tikmani, Sarah Saleem, Robert L. Goldenberg, Sk Masum Billah, Ruth Lennox, Rashidul Haque, William Petri, Manolo Mazariegos, Nancy F. Krebs, Denise C. Babineau, Elizabeth M. Mcclure, Marion Koso-Thomas, A-Plus Trial Group

Global Health Articles

Background

In 2023, the Azithromycin Prevention in Labor Use (A-PLUS) trial showed intrapartum azithromycin reduces maternal sepsis or death in women with planned vaginal delivery in low-resource settings, but whether it reduces maternal infection is unknown. We aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of intrapartum azithromycin in reducing maternal infection.

Methods

We performed a post-hoc analysis of the multicentre, facility-based, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled A-PLUS trial. This trial compared prophylactic intrapartum single oral dose of 2 g azithromycin versus placebo on maternal morbidity and mortality in low-resource settings in southeast Asia and Africa from Sept 9, 2020, to Aug 18, 2022. The …

Cost-Effectiveness Of Intrapartum Azithromycin To Prevent Maternal Infection, Sepsis, Or Death In Low-Income And Middle-Income Countries: A Modelling Analysis Of Data From A Randomised, Multicentre, Placebo-Controlled Trial, Jackie K. Patterson, Simon Neuwahl, Sydney Kirsch, Janet L. Moore, Alan T.N. Tita, Waldemar A. Carlo, Adrien Lokangaka, Antoinette Tshefu, Musaku Mwenechanya, Elwyn Chomba, Avinash Kavi, Mrityunjay C. Metgud, Shivaprasad S. Goudar, Richard J. Derman, Poonam Shivkumar, Manju Waikar, Archana Patel, Patricia L. Hibberd, Paul Nyongesa, Fabian Esamai, Osa A. Ekhaguere, Sherri Bucher, Saleem Jessani, Shiyam S. Tikmani, Sarah Saleem, Blair J. Wylie, Robert L. Goldenberg, Sk Masum Billah, Ruth Lennox, Rashidul Haque, William A. Petri, Manolo Mazariegos, Nancy F. Krebs, Jennifer J. Hemingway-Foday, Denise Babineau, Marion Koso-Thomas, Elizabeth M. Mcclure, Melissa Bauserman

Global Health Articles

BACKGROUND: Sepsis is one of the leading causes of maternal mortality globally. In 2023, the Azithromycin Prevention in Labor Use (A-PLUS) trial showed intrapartum azithromycin for women planning a vaginal birth reduced the risk of maternal sepsis or death and infection. We aimed to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of intrapartum azithromycin for pregnant people planning a vaginal birth in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) using A-PLUS trial data.

METHODS: We compared the benefits and costs of intrapartum azithromycin versus standard care across 100 000 model simulations using data from the A-PLUS trial and a probabilistic decision tree model that included 24 …

Perceptions Of Muslim Women On The 2019 Reforms To The Saudi Guardianship System, Isatu Jalloh

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In Saudi Arabia, the 2019 reforms to the guardianship system were implemented to grant women greater autonomy in areas such as education, employment, and travel. However, despite legal advancements, recent research shows that deeply ingrained cultural and societal norms continue to impact the full realization of gender equality, and a literature gap exists involving professional and educational contexts. The purpose of this research was to examine Saudi women’s perspectives on the 2019 guardianship reforms and explore how these changes have affected their higher education and employment opportunities. The study used Islamic feminist theory and the narrative policy framework as a …

Defining B Cell Responses To Emerging Viral Pathogens, Wafaa Al Soussi

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

The primary series of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) vaccines greatly reduced the burden of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and saved millions of lives. However, waning levels of circulating neutralizing antibodies and the continuous emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants with increasing numbers of mutations in the spike (S) protein have decreased vaccine effectiveness and led to a recommendation for booster immunizations. In addition, new vaccines based on circulating variants have been developed to enhance the ability of induced antibodies to combat such variants. However, a critical unanswered question was how prior exposure to the ancestral SARS-CoV-2 strain …

Exploring The Demographic And Psychological Predictors Of Willingness To Pay Taxes For The Environment Among Filipino Taxpayers In 2010 And 2020, Veniz Airylle M. Pili, Miriam Abigail L. Reveldez, Danika Rae C. Madrid, Bryan D. Daowan, John Jamir Benzon R. Aruta

Asia-Pacific Social Science Review

Society has a collective responsibility to preserve the natural environment, which is practiced in different ways, including paying taxes. However, little is known about factors contributing to people’s willingness to pay taxes for the environment. This exploratory study examined the demographic (age, gender, education, income, type of community) and psychological predictors (perceived socioeconomic status, environmental concern, environmental self-efficacy, environmental skepticism, governmental trust) of willingness to pay higher taxes for the environment by conducting a secondary analysis of two nationally representative datasets collected one decade apart, the Philippine datasets from International Social Survey Programme 2010 and 2020 Environment Modules. Based on …

Benefits Of Pineapples Promoted In Health Blogs And As Perceived By Malaysians, Su-Hie Ting, Nur Khairunnisa Padail

Asia-Pacific Social Science Review

Little is understood about what and how health blogs communicate about the benefits of pineapples and whether they make known scientific findings, such as the anti-cancer potential of pineapples, to the public. This study investigated the benefits of pineapples promoted in health blogs and as perceived by Malaysians. The objectives of the study are to (a) examine claims on the benefits of pineapples in blog articles and (b) describe the benefits of pineapples as perceived by Malaysians. A total of 30 blog articles with a total word count of 39,496 were analyzed to determine the types of claims on the …

Combined Targeting Of Glioblastoma Stem Cells Of Different Cellular States Disrupts Malignant Progression, Chenfei Lu, Tao Kang, Junxia Zhang, Kailin Yang, Yang Liu, Kefan Song, Qiankun Lin, Deobrat Dixit, Ryan C Gimple, Qian Zhang, Zhumei Shi, Xiao Fan, Qiulian Wu, Daqi Li, Danyang Shan, Jiancheng Gao, Danling Gu, Hao You, Yangqing Li, Junlei Yang, Linjie Zhao, Zhixin Qiu, Hui Yang, Ningwei Zhao, Wei Gao, Weiwei Tao, Yingmei Lu, Yun Chen, Jing Ji, Zhe Zhu, Chunsheng Kang, Jianghong Man, Sameer Agnihotri, Qianghu Wang, Fan Lin, Xu Qian, Stephen C Mack, Zhibin Hu, Chaojun Li, Michael D Taylor, Ning Liu, Nu Zhang, Ming Lu, Yongping You, Jeremy N Rich, Wei Zhang, Xiuxing Wang

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most lethal primary brain tumor with intra-tumoral hierarchy of glioblastoma stem cells (GSCs). The heterogeneity of GSCs within GBM inevitably leads to treatment resistance and tumor recurrence. Molecular mechanisms of different cellular state GSCs remain unclear. Here, we find that classical (CL) and mesenchymal (MES) GSCs are enriched in reactive immune region and high CL-MES signature informs poor prognosis in GBM. Through integrated analyses of GSCs RNA sequencing and single-cell RNA sequencing datasets, we identify specific GSCs targets, including MEOX2 for the CL GSCs and SRGN for the MES GSCs. MEOX2-NOTCH and SRGN-NFκB axes play important …

Protecting The Future Of Medical Innovation: Balancing Fiscal Responsibility With The Need For National Institutes Of Health And Federal Health Funding, Irina Petrache, Raed A. Dweik, Michelle N. Gong, Jesse Roman, M. Patricia Rivera, Karen J. Collishaw

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

No abstract provided.

Exploring Housing Instability Faced By Youth Aging Out Of Foster Care, Jerri Linda Malone

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Despite the well-documented prevalence of homelessness, past research primarily focused on post-emancipation housing experiences, often overlooking housing instability, including affordability, availability, and quality. The purpose of the study was to understand youth transitioning from foster care, focusing on housing instability while transitioning to independent living. This qualitative study used generic qualitative inquiry grounded in cumulative disadvantage theory. The study explored how early adversities in foster care led to compounded challenges, particularly during the transition to adulthood. The key research question that guided the study asked what are the lived experiences of youth who have aged out of foster care and …

Mindfulness In Action: A Critical Reflective Self-Study Exploring Mindfulness, Goal Attainment, And The Adult Learning And Development Experience, Michelle Yvette Catlin

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Through a Critical Reflective Self-Study, this dissertation explores adult learning and development with a focus on the psychological construct of mindfulness and its role in goal attainment. The self-study places me as the subject and centers on my reflections, insights, and lessons learned through my doctoral professional development journey at a large public research university. My experience began with a research focus on mindfulness and mindfulness training for cognitive performance and adult learning and development, and later in my doctoral program, I gained further insight into the facilitation of goal attainment when I studied, practiced, and worked in university student …

Barriers To Engagement Of Care For Patients Presenting With Comorbid Human Immunodeficiency Virus (Hiv) And Major Depression Or Anxiety Disorder Diagnoses, Rachel C. V. Kingsley

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Despite significant global advancements in HIV care, engagement in continuous HIV care remains a challenge, particularly for individuals living with comorbid HIV and mental health disorders. This dissertation examines the barriers to continuous HIV care for those individuals living with comorbid HIV and depression and/or anxiety in the Tampa Bay area. This dissertation argues that dual health challenges are dually challenging. This study highlights how structural vulnerabilities, how feelings of inclusion and exclusion impact engagement in care, and socioeconomic challenges intersect to shape patient experiences and impact adherence to treatment. Drawing on critical medical anthropology, structural violence, embodied belonging, and …

Defining B Cell Responses To Emerging Viral Pathogens, Wafaa Al Soussi

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

The primary series of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) vaccines greatly reduced the burden of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and saved millions of lives. However, waning levels of circulating neutralizing antibodies and the continuous emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants with increasing numbers of mutations in the spike (S) protein have decreased vaccine effectiveness and led to a recommendation for booster immunizations. In addition, new vaccines based on circulating variants have been developed to enhance the ability of induced antibodies to combat such variants. However, a critical unanswered question was how prior exposure to the ancestral SARS-CoV-2 strain …

Β-Catenin Drives The Foxc2-Mediated Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition And Acquisition Of Stem Cell Properties, Maria Castaneda, Petra Den Hollander, Steve Werden, Esmeralda Ramirez-Peña, Suhas V Vasaikar, Nick A Kuburich, Claire Gould, Rama Soundararajan, Sendurai A Mani

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Aggressive forms of breast cancer, such as triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), are associated with an increase in cancer cells that exhibit stem cell properties. The activation of the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) program, mediated by the transcription factor FOXC2, generates these stem-like cells. FOXC2 is linked to poor prognoses across various cancer types and is notably upregulated in TNBC, where it establishes and sustains these stem-like cells within the tumor population.

Methods: Here, we decode the pathways regulating FOXC2 activation using EMT-enriched cell line models. Stemness was assessed using mammosphere assays and mesenchymal markers by western blot. Expression …

Domain Communication In Bifunctional Proline Utilization A From Sinorhizobium Meliloti, Emma Bitterman

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

The reduction potential of flavin bound to Sinorhizobium meliloti proline utilization A (SmPutA) is beneficial in providing vital information on enzyme activity and the active site environment. Flavin is crucial in biological metabolism such as aerobic respiration and other important processes like oxygen activation that are catalyzed by flavin-dependent enzymes. (4). In this study, we seek to determine whether the redox potential of SmPutA-bound flavin can be used to characterize potential long-distance communication and analyze the possibilities of inactivation reversibility. SmPutA is a large bifunctional enzyme that catalyzes the overall oxidation of proline to glutamate via two catalytic domains (1). …

"Very Important Stuff For The Ladies": Examining Gender Differences In Celebrity Journalism, Payton E. Pingree

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores gender differences in celebrity journalism by analyzing 44 YouTube video interviews from the Oscars red carpet between 2014 and 2024. Using framing theory and feminist theory, the study examines how interviewers interact with male and female celebrities, focusing on four key behaviors: infantilizing, ambivalence, sexualization, and heteronormativity. Through qualitative thematic analysis of interview transcripts, the research reveals that female celebrities are often sexualized through questions about their appearance and subjected to heteronormative expectations when discussing their fashion choices and familial roles. These patterns suggest persistent sexism in celebrity journalism, potentially influencing public perceptions of women in the …

Improvement Of The Physical Properties Of Poly Vinyl Alcohol Nanofibers By Adding Carbon Nanotubes, Rusul Mohamed, Nardeen Adnan, Hanaa Jawad, Balqees Mohammed, Rana Mahdi

Baghdad Science Journal

In this study, nano textile fibers were prepared from poly vinyl alcohol (PVA) and multi wall carbon nano tubes (MWCNTs) via electro spinning method. Different proportions of the multi wall carbon nano tubes were used, including 2, 4, and 6 % weight percent. The optical, electrical, and thermal properties were studied. Scanning electron microscopy was used to study the morphology of samples. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis was used to study the bonds of the prepared samples. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) was used to investigate the thermal properties including the glass transition temperature and melting the point. Ultraviolet spectroscopy was …

Pmp2+ Schwann Cells Maintain The Survival Of Large-Caliber Motor Axons, Mikolaj M Kozlowski, Amy Strickland, Ana Morales Benitez, Robert E Schmidt, A Joseph Bloom, Jeffrey Milbrandt, Aaron Diantonio

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Neurodegenerative diseases of both the central and peripheral nervous system are characterized by selective neuronal vulnerability, i.e., pathology that affects particular types of neurons. While much of this cell type selectivity may be driven by intrinsic differences among the neuron subpopulations, neuron-extrinsic mechanisms such as the selective malfunction of glial support cells may also play a role. Recently, we identified a population of Schwann cells (SCs) expressing

Soil Health And Water Conservation, Tony Richards

Spring Runoff Conference

What are Healthy Soils? 

• Stable 
• Functional 
• Productive 
• Resilient