Digital Commons Network^™

2025 February 20 - From My Notepads Newsletter, Office Of The President, East Tennessee State University, Brian Noland

From My Notepads: A Newsletter from President Brian Noland

No abstract provided.

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

Polytechnic Journal

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

Leadership Strategies To Address Employee Turnover In Therapeutic Foster Care Within The Southeastern United States, Angelique Allen

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This study addresses the problem of low staff recruitment and retention rates in therapeutic foster care, resulting in staff burnout and reduced program performance and affecting the program’s targeted population and their communities. A case study allowed for a holistic view of the problem through the unique perspectives of behavioral health leaders within the program selected, which is based in the southeast United States and serves children within the foster care system. The study is grounded using the Baldrige excellence framework. Data were obtained through semi-structured interview with three of the program’s behavioral health leaders. The data were analyzed using …

Montana Kaimin, February 20, 2025, Students Of The University Of Montana, Missoula

Montana Kaimin, 1898-present

Student newspaper of the University of Montana, Missoula.

February 20, 2025, The Daily Mississippian

Daily Mississippian (all digitized issues)

No abstract provided.

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

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

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

A Protocol To Purify Human Mediator Complex From Freestyle 293-F Cells, Hui-Chi Tang, Kuang-Lei Tsai, Ti-Chun Chao

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The Mediator, a multi-subunit protein complex in all eukaryotes, comprises the core mediator (cMED) and the CDK8 kinase module (CKM). As a molecular bridge between transcription factors (TFs) and RNA polymerase II (Pol II), the Mediator plays a critical role in regulating Pol II-dependent transcription. Considering its large size and complex composition, conducting in vitro studies on the Mediator complex is challenging, especially when isolating the intact and homogeneous complex from human cells. Here, we present a method to purify the intact CKM-cMED complex from FreeStyle 293-F cells (293-F cells), which offers advantages for performing large-scale protein purification. To isolate …

Illinois State University Founding Celebration Program, February 20, 2025, Illinois State University

Founding Celebration Programs

Program for annual event celebrating the founding of Illinois State Normal University on February 18, 1857.

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

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

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

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

Turkish Journal of Earth Sciences

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

Characterization Of Stone Materials From The Roman Caracalla Bath In Ancyra, Zeynep Tanriverdi̇, Ali̇ Akin Akyol, Yusuf Kağan Kadioğlu

Turkish Journal of Earth Sciences

The Roman Caracalla Bath was built during the reign of Roman Emperor Caracalla (circa AD 200). Today it exists only inthe form of wall remnants at the foundation level and functions as an open-air museum. It is located on a mound approximately 2.5-mhigh along Ulus’s Çankırı Street in Ankara. This research paper aims to identify the characterization and implications for provenance ofthe stone materials used in the construction of the bath by using mineralogical, petrographic, and geochemical definitions. The resultsobtained from the stone materials also provide guidance for restoration and reinforcement of the bath. In this study, the 13 stone …

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

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

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

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

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

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

Enhancing Diagnostic Accuracy Of Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis On Chest X-Rays Using Data-Efficient Image Transformers, Joan Mnyambo, Amir Aly, Shang-Ming Zhou, Yinghui Wei, Stephen Mullin, Emmanuel Ifeachor

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

Tuberculosis is an infectious disease with increasing fatalities around the world. The diagnosis of the diseaseis a major challenge to its control and management due to the lack of adequate diagnostic tools, contributingsignificantly to the prevalence of drug-resistant tuberculosis. Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) modelshave recently been developed to detect drug-resistant tuberculosis by analyzing chest radiograph images fromthe TB portal, but the classification results are low. This is because CNNs struggle to capture complex globaland overlapping features in medical imaging, such as chest radiographs of drug-resistant tuberculosis. Incontrast, transformers excel in these areas by utilizing self-attention mechanisms that detect inherent subtle …

Media Through The Lens Of Scientific Reductionism: The Gene-Ius Of Genetic Determinism In Gattaca, Asmita Lehther

Kentucky Undergraduate Journal for the Health Humanities

This essay examines the construct of scientific reductionism within the framework established by Andrew Niccol’s film Gattaca, illustrating how genetic determinism shapes social hierarchies and opportunities. By analyzing Vincent's struggle as an "in-valid" in a society that equates genetic superiority with worth, the essay critiques the reduction of individual potential to biological labels, revealing the oppressive nature of such systems.

Effects Of A Sprint Post-Activation Performance Enhancement Stimulus On Discus Throw Performance In Collegiate Division I Throwers: A Pilot Study, Reagan Hulet, Mark Debeliso Phd, Marcus M. Lawrence

International Journal of Exercise Science

International Journal of Exercise Science 18(3): 251-262, 2025. No study has determined the impact a sprinting potentiating stimulus has on discus throwing performance in collegiate throwers. To test the hypothesis, that compared to a dynamic warm-up alone (DyWU), a dynamic warm-up with a multi-set sprinting potentiating stimulus (DyWU+SPR) would enhance discus throw performance. 12 NCAA Division I thrower athletes (18-25 year) randomly completed two sessions separated by at least 48 hours. One session involved a standardized dynamic warm-up (DyWU) and the other session involved a DyWU with multiple sets of a sprinting post-activation performance enhancement (PAPE) stimulus (DyWU+SPR), with both …

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

Widener Commonwealth Law Review

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

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

Blue Economy

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

From The Garden To The Lab, Harli Smith, Hannah Scruggs, Lindsey Whaley

JSU Student Symposium 2025

As a part of BY107 (Honors Introductory Biology Lab I), all students are tasked with creating a group presentation outlining the procedures conducted throughout the course. The purpose of the lab was to discover antibiotic producers in local, Alabama soil. Finding antibiotic producers is important due to the increasing prevalence of ESKAPE pathogens, or strains of bacterial infections that have evolved to be resistant to most mainstream antibiotics. By utilizing methods such as streaking for isolation, testing for zones of inhibition, gram staining, and Kirby Bauer Assays, we were able to prove that our soil sample, which was found in …

Is Spring Break Coming Early? Effects Of Climate Change On Alabama's Native Plant Phenology, Kathleen Madden, Madisyn Barksdale, Kelly Pruitt, Summer Zamora

JSU Student Symposium 2025

Please note: no video is available for this presentation.

Climate change has significantly impacted biodiversity, prompting many species to adapt by altering their phenology—the timing of life cycle events. Shifts in plant phenology can have far-reaching ecological consequences, particularly for species that rely on these plants directly or indirectly. One critical consequence is the temporal mismatch between plants and their pollinators, a phenomenon observed in multiple species. Studies using satellite imagery have documented advances in spring phenology across the United States, but species-specific data remain limited, especially in the biodiverse and ecologically vulnerable Southeastern region.

To address this gap, we …

Fs Agenda 2025-02-19, Northern Illinois University

Faculty Senate Archives

No abstract provided.

Modeling Covid-19 Spread And Effects Of Non-Pharmaceutical Interventions On A College Campus, Jakob Kotas, Priscilla Perey Ratonel

CODEE Journal

We consider an extension to the classical SIR compartmental model from mathematical epidemiology as applied to the spread of COVID-19 on a college campus. While the classical SIR model does not allow for recovered individuals to lose immunity, we alter the equations to allow for such (due to the rise of new variants), leading to a SIRS-type model. We study the system of ODEs analytically and through numerical simulation. Finally we discuss a quantitative approach for how college administrators can decide when to implement stricter non-pharmaceutical interventions (social distancing, mask mandates, quarantine, etc.) to eradicate the infection from the campus …

The Correlation Between Temporomandibular Disorder (Tmd) And Vitamin D Deficiency, Iris Kim, Claudia Freitas

Annual Research Symposium

No abstract provided.

Investigating Fetalgro Ex As An Alternative To Fetal Bovine Serum In Supplementing Cell Culture Growth, Porter Fife

Annual Research Symposium

No abstract provided.

Mir-125a-3p And Its Targets: Promising Biomarkers For Ovarian, Liver, And Breast Cancers, Offering A Beacon Of Hope For More Effective Diagnosis And Treatment Strategies, Eman Kamaleldien Anwer

Theses and Dissertations

Cancer is a worldwide health problem with various genetic and epigenetic alterations, resulting in disease heterogeneity. Effective diagnostic, therapeutic, and monitoring markers have been determined recently; however, new diagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutic markers are needed. MicroRNAs (miRNA), short non-coding RNAs, have a highlighted role in cancer progression, migration, and programmed cell death. Our study aims to investigate the significance of miR-125a-3p and its downstream targets in breast (BRCA), hepatocellular (HCC), and ovarian (OVCA) malignancies and their possibility as diagnostic biomarkers and targets for therapeutic agents. Bioinformatics and online tools were used to determine the miRNA-predicted downstream targets, analyze GEO datasets, …

1 Studying The Determinants Of Successful Aging: Diet, Lifestyle, And Social Relations In Egypt, Fayrouz Shaltout

Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

Background

The global population is aging rapidly, with projections indicating that by 2050, one in six people will be over the age of 65. In Egypt, the aging population, particularly those aged 60 and above, is expected to grow significantly, posing a growing public health concern. Unhealthful diets (that are associated with overweight and obesity), are one of the main reasons associated with non-communicable diseases (e.g., diabetes and cardiovascular diseases) are major risk factors for poor aging outcomes. Despite this, there is limited research on the specific determinants of successful aging (SA) in Egypt, especially among individuals aged 50 …

Terminator: A Software Package For Fast And Local Optimization Of His-Tag Placement For Protein Affinity Purification, Rokas Gerulskis, Shelley D. Minteer

Chemistry Faculty Research & Creative Works

Although the use of affinity tags can greatly improve purification of expressed enzymes, the placement of affinity tags can significantly impact the expression, solubility, and function of recombinant proteins. To facilitate the optimal design of 6xHis-tagged constructs for protein purification, we developed Terminator, a Python-based software package, which takes a UniProt ID or existing protein sequence as input, identifies related sequences, maps sequence conservation retrieved from ConSurf onto protein 3D structures retrieved from the PDB and SWISS-MODEL, and analyzes proximity to cavities and functional sites to recommend the N- or C-terminus for placement of 6xHis fusion tags 86-100% accuracy in …

In-Silico Modeling And Characterization Of Kcc2 Protein Interaction With A Small Molecule Direct Agonist Identifies Potential Binding Sites For Modulating Behaviors Associated With Substances Of Abuse, William Hai Dang Ho, Alfred Amendolara, Kenyon Mitchell, Jaden Miner, Ruth Northcott, Braxton Bingham, Andrew J. Payne

Annual Research Symposium

Purpose

KCC2 is a potassium-chloride cotransporter that plays a critical role in neuronal function by regulating GABAergic signaling via chloride gradients. Maintaining this concentration gradient is crucial for balancing excitation and inhibition in the brain. While KCC2 dysregulation has been implicated in epilepsy and seizures, recent studies suggest that KCC2 inhibition results in phenotypes mirroring those seen in chronic opioid dependence. As such, increasing evidence support KCC2 being a potential therapeutic target for modulating behaviors associated with substances of abuse. Currently, only a few direct small molecule agonists against KCC2 have been reported, and no definitive active site on the …

2025-02-19 Seattle U Students Survive Another Quarter Of Midterms, Dylan Berman

The Spectator Online

No abstract provided.

February 19, 2025 (Vol. 109, No. 19), Daily Eastern News

Daily Eastern News: 2024-2025

No abstract provided.