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Signal Analysis Of Calcium Dynamics In Pancreatic Cells, Abhidha Kunwar

2025 Fall Honors Capstones Projects - Archive

Calcium (Ca²⁺) signaling plays a critical role in insulin secretion from pancreatic βcells. Photo-biomodulation (PBM) of red or near-infrared wavelengths is applied to enhance cellular metabolism and Ca²⁺ activity in pancreatic cells. This study aims to rigorously analyze how PBM influences calcium dynamics in pancreatic cells by applying the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT), converting Ca²⁺ spiking patterns to the frequency domain to determine dominant oscillatory behaviors. Using a calcium-binding fluorophore, Ca²⁺ activity was acquired before and after PBM at 810 nm, processed with a machine learning algorithm, and further analyzed in MATLAB using FFT to assess changes in calcium signal …

Cdh-3/Cadherin, Yap-1/Yap And Egl-44/Tead Promote Syx-2/Syntaxin And Eff-1 Fusogen-Mediated Phagosome Closure, Alec Whited, Aladin Elkhalil, Ginger Clark, Piya Ghose

Biology Theses - Archive

Physical interactions between cells, such as cell-cell junctions, can profoundly impact cell fate. A vital cell fate for normal development and homeostasis is programmed cell death. Cells fated to die must be efficiently cleared away via phagocytosis, and defects are associated with a variety of diseased states. Whether cell-cell physical associations affect programmed cell elimination has not been well-explored. Here we describe, in vivo, a cell-cell adhesion-driven signaling pathway that ensures compartment-specific cell clearance during development. We previously described the specialized cell death program “Compartmentalized Cell Elimination” (CCE) in the C. elegans embryo. During CCE, the tail-spike cell (TSC), a …

The Impact Of Inter-Subunit Communication On F420h2:Nadp+ Oxidioreductase: A Kinetic Approach, Jamariya A. Howard

Chemistry & Biochemistry Dissertations - Archive

F₄₂₀H₂:NADP⁺ Oxidoreductase (Fno) catalyzes the reversible reduction of NADP⁺ to NADPH using reduced F₄₂₀ as the hydride donor. Both NADPH and the F₄₂₀ cofactor play significant roles in various metabolic pathways, including glycolysis and methanogenesis, particularly in methanogenic and sulfate-reducing archaea. These organisms play an essential role in global carbon cycling by converting carbon dioxide to methane through the methanogenic pathway, which is directly tied to energy production. This thesis investigates the hydride transfer mechanism of Fno from the extreme thermophile Archaeoglobus fulgidus, using fluorescence binding, steady-state and pre steady-state kinetics.

Chapter 1 outlines the structural and spectral characteristics …

Resveratrol Exerts Anti-Inflammatory Effects On Human Thp-1 Macrophages, Valeria B. Martinez

Chemistry & Biochemistry Theses - Archive

Inflammation is a natural biological response to harmful stimuli. It initiates a series of reactions that prompt defensive and curative mechanisms, ridding the body of offending agents and healing remaining injuries. Inflammation involves the intricate communication between cells, requiring complex signaling that mediates various pathways. This acute form of inflammation is vital for our survival, promoting a myriad of mechanisms that function to defend and heal. However, if this inflammatory response is not resolved, it results in a prolonged condition referred to as chronic inflammation. This persistent inflammatory state is incredibly harmful, damaging the host's healthy cells, tissues, and organs. …

Medical Ai: Solving Healthcare Challenges And Inspiring Ai Innovation, Xiaowei Yu

Computer Science and Engineering Dissertations - Archive

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming healthcare by enabling large-scale analysis of medical data and integrating multimodal information for more comprehensive diagnostics. I present my work addressing fundamental and challenging problems in developing state-of-the-art AI models for medical data analysis, including multimodal brain data and other medical datasets. Additionally, I design brain-inspired AI models by integrating insights from organizational principles of brain networks. Specifically, my research tackles three critical aspects: (1) AI in Computational Neuroscience, where I design deep learning models for brain network analysis to uncover the organizational principles of brain networks; (2) Brain-Inspired AI, where I integrate superior brain …

3d Perception, Mapping, And Navigation For Mobile Cobot, Tuan T. Dang

Computer Science and Engineering Dissertations - Archive

Service robots are migrating from tightly controlled factory lines into offices, hospitals, and homes, where they must perceive, remember, and act amid people, clutter, and perpetual change. Humans solve this daily by forming compact, task-relevant “cognitive maps”: we sample just enough sensory detail to guide the moment, stitch those snapshots into a sparse topological scaffold, and continuously refine it as we move. Guided by that insight, this dissertation proposes a biologically inspired mapping framework that turns partial RGB-D observations into a hybrid temporal-spatial memory—locally metric for centimeter-scale navigation yet globally topological for room-to-building navigation. The system first distills raw depth …

Impact Of Glufosinate On Soil Microbial Community Dynamics, Sarobi Das

Biology Dissertations - Archive

The increasing global regulations of glyphosate due to its possible carcinogenicity and environmental hazards have necessitated the search for alternative herbicides. Glufosinate-ammonium offers a sustainable attribute due to its low toxicity and limited reported herbicide resistance cases. Despite its increasing agricultural importance, very limited studies are done on its environmental impact, especially on the soil systems. This thesis examines the ecological behavior of glufosinate in soil, precisely focusing on its effect on the dynamics of soil microbiome and the potential use of Bradyrhizobium japonicum USDA110 for bioremediation by reversing the effect of microbial dysbiosis. A series of 30-day mesocosm studies …

How Individual Traits Predict Distribution Patterns And Community Convergence, Zachary K. Lange

Biology Dissertations - Archive

One of the fundamental questions in biology is whether natural conditions lead species and communities toward predictable outcomes. Answering this question requires understanding how traits of individual organisms are connected to species- and community-level patterns. In Chapter 2, I examined how thermal physiology and environmental temperatures interact to determine the distribution patterns of Anolis lizards on the Greater Antilles. I combined lab-measured thermal traits (critical thermal minimum: CT_min, critical thermal maximum: CT_max, thermal preference: T_pref) with occurrence and abundance data from 21 species of Anolis lizards collected from extensive mark-resight surveys of communities across …

Parsimony, Parallelism, And Presentation: The Impact Of Presentation On Evaluation, Peter Mclemore

Psychology Theses - Archive

In professional and academic settings, support for creative ideas often hinges on how effectively those ideas are communicated in writing. This study examined how two sentence-level rhetorical features—parsimony and parallelism—influence the evaluation, support, and recall of written proposals featuring creative restaurant concepts. Using a 2×2 within-subjects design, 211 undergraduates reviewed proposals manipulated to vary in parsimony (high vs. low) and parallelism (high vs. low). Participants rated each proposal on quality, originality, elegance, support, and completed a recall task. Contrary to expectations, proposals with low parsimony and low parallelism received the highest evaluations across all three creative indicators (i.e., quality, originality, …

Developing The Rural Older Adult Dementia Prevention-Health Behaviors (Road-Hb) Questionnaire: A Mixed Methods Approach To Instrument Development, Jessica Cassidy

Social Work Dissertations - Archive

Older adults living in rural communities are at heightened risk of dementia; however, preventative strategies can reduce these risks. To facilitate dementia prevention efforts in rural communities, this methodological study developed the Rural Older Adults Dementia prevention–Health Behaviors questionnaire (ROAD-HB) by applying a lifespan approach to the Health Belief Model (HBM). The questionnaire contained three embedded instruments and was constructed following a stage development design involving item pool processes with community and expert review panels. Convergent mixed methods were used to assess the ROAD-HB’s validity, including a pretest in 36 older adults from two rural Northeast Texas counties and cognitive …

Understanding The Sociodemographic Correlates Of Early Social Security Retirement, Erica D. Robinson

Social Work Dissertations - Archive

Using data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), a nationally representative sample of Americans aged 50 and older, this study employed logistic regression analysis guided by intersectionality theory and the Intersectionality-Based Policy Analysis (IBPA) framework to examine the influence of marital status, ever having children, educational attainment, self-reported health, and race/ethnicity on receiving Social Security retirement benefits early (before reaching the Social Security Administration’s full retirement age (FRA)) among women. Individuals’ monthly and total lifetime Social Security retirement amounts, as well as longevity, are influenced by when they begin receiving Social Security retirement payments. Findings revealed that reporting excellent/ …

Excitation And Polarization Of Isolated Neurons By High-Frequency Sine Waves For Temporal Interference Stimulation, Iurii Semenov, Vitalii Kim, Giedre Silkuniene, Andrei G. Pakhomov

Bioelectrics Publications

The capacity of temporal interference (TI) stimulation to target deep brain regions without affecting nearby surface electrodes remains uncertain. Using artifact-free optical recording, we compare excitation patterns and thresholds in hippocampal neurons stimulated by “pure” and amplitude-modulated sine waves, representing TI waveforms near electrodes and at the target, respectively. We show that pure 2- and 20-kHz sine waves induce repetitive firing at rates that increase up to 60–90 Hz with stronger electric fields. Beyond this limit, action potentials merge into sustained depolarization, resulting in an excitation block. Modulating the sine waves at 20 Hz aligns firing with amplitude “beats” and …

Personality And Victimization: The Relationship Between The Big Five Personality Traits And Victimization In Adulthood, Cameron Kan

Criminology & Criminal Justice Theses - Archive

Myriad risk factors have been found to predict victimization. Research, however, has yet to examine the impact of personality—if any—in the likelihood of victimization in adulthood. The current study attempts to fill this gap in the literature by being the first to examine the effects of the Big Five personality traits, also known as the Five Factor Model, on adult victimization in a nationally representative sample (Add Health). Results reveal that scoring high in extraversion is related to a 12 percent increase the in rate of victimization controlling for a host of temperamental and criminological covariates. Depressive symptoms, criminal behavior, …

Assessing Stress, Anxiety, And Burnout In Undergraduate Veterinary Technology Students, Dean Ann Daughaday-Provine

Murray State Theses and Dissertations

Academic stress, anxiety, and burnout can negatively impact the mental health and well-being of students pursuing degrees in veterinary medicine. This quantitative study was designed to investigate the effects of academic stress, anxiety, and burnout on undergraduate students enrolled in Veterinary Technology programs. This study gained critical insight from current students transitioning through a rigorous curriculum of standards designed by the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA). The AVMA Committee on Veterinary Technician Education and Activities (CVTEA) has established standards, outlined in policies and procedures, to ensure the quality of assessments and enhancements in veterinary education within accredited Veterinary Technology programs.

Autonomous Weapons Systems And The Need To Update International Humanitarian Law?, Milena Sterio

Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law

This Article discusses whether the relevant rules of International Humanitarian Law (IHL), and in particular, the 1949 Geneva Conventions and their 1977 Additional Protocols should be updated in order to develop a clearer framework regarding the permissibility and legality of the use of Autonomous Weapon Systems (AWS) in armed conflict. This Article first discusses the existing Geneva Conventions and Additional Protocols’ rules applicable to the use of all weapons, including AWS. Next, this Article discusses possible ways of reshaping and reconceptualizing IHL in order to adapt its current rules or to develop new rules that would better regulate the use …

New Treaty Law On Autonomous Weapons? An Opportunity To Reframe The Discourse, Laurie R. Blank

Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law

Calls for a new treaty for autonomous weapons—or for any other new technology—stem from a concern at the most basic level: the concern that LOAC’s existing treaties are not sufficient to fulfill their core purposes of protecting civilians and other vulnerable persons and regulating the conduct of hostilities. Could treaties drafted in 1949—when air power was new and space a distant dream, when the first operational computer ran its first program and navigation relied on the compass and sextant—be sufficient for the complexities and challenges of the electromagnetic spectrum, artificial intelligence, quantum mechanics, machine learning, cyber, anti-satellite weapons, and other …

Transcription Factors – Insights Into Abiotic And Biotic Stress Resilience And Crop Improvement, Roopali Bhoite, Olive Onyemaobi, Tanushree Halder, Manisha Shankar, Darshan Sharma

Grain and Other Field Crops Research Articles

Numerous crop traits are controlled by multiple gene-networks. These gene-networks play a crucial role in crop evolution, disease prevention, stress adaptation and other fundamental processes in different organisms. Transcription factors (TFs) are master regulators of gene-networks and therefore have been targets for genetic improvement in crops since the dawn of agriculture. Enhancement of quantitative traits through plant breeding often involves manipulation of several TF sites and altered RNA expression. Advancements in OMICS technology have significantly expanded our understanding of transcription factor (TF) binding sites in plants and their roles in various biological processes. This progress has facilitated the validation of …

Analysis Of Recreational Data On Nearby Rivers, Rachael Meyers, Tamara Johnstone-Yellin

ASPIRE 2025

In the 1980’s. DuPont of Waynesboro, VA, contaminated over 100 miles of river on the South Fork of the Shenandoah and the South River. As part of their settlement, creel surveys are completed routinely by the Department of Wildlife Resources to collect data on angler and recreational use of these rivers. This project uses the recreational data to determine; ‘where on the South Fork of the Shenandoah River is recreational access the heaviest?’ ‘what forms of recreational use are most popular, and is there a change from 2016 to 2023?’ and ‘are there differences in the demographics of recreational users …

An Overview Of Current Education Efforts Within The Ecological Society Of America, Kenneth M. Klemow, Christopher W. Beck, Loren B. Byrne, Carmen R. Cid, Et Al.

Arts & Sciences Faculty Publications

Education has been and remains an important focus within the Ecological Society of America (ESA). Since the late 1980s, the number of initiatives, sections, and committees devoted to education, especially at the undergraduate level, has increased greatly. The purpose of this article is to identify and describe the education-related initiatives and groups within ESA (as of May 2025), especially to provide information for new members. Education activities within ESA are coordinated by the Office for Education and Diversity Programs (OEDP). The Education Committee, which reports to ESA’s Governing Board, engages in various education-related activities on behalf of the Board. Three …

Forage News [2025-06], University Of Kentucky

Forage News

No abstract provided.

Predicting Biologic Nonadherence In Inflammatory Bowel Disease Using Machine Learning Models, Christian Rhudy

Theses and Dissertations--Clinical and Translational Science

Inflammatory bowel disease is a chronic relapsing-remitting disease of the intestinal tract affecting approximately 0.5% of the population in the US. Moderate to severe inflammatory bowel disease is managed with biologic therapies to induce and maintain remission, however nonadherence to biologics occurs in and estimated 16.9% and 45% of patients. Nonadherence to biologics can increase the risk of disease flares, emergent healthcare utilization, and surgical intervention. While numerous factors have been associated with biologic nonadherence, there are limited resources for prospectively assessing patient-specific risk of biologic nonadherence. Accordingly, objective of this work is to develop machine learning methods of predicting …

“A Safe Place”: Exploring Black Couples’ Perceptions Of Black Love And Relationship Coping In The Context Of Their Lived Experiences With Racism, Melinda Murdock

Theses and Dissertations--Family Sciences

Historically, Black couples have not been studied within the context of their lived experiences as it relates to the effects of racism on relationship health. Only in the last decade have relationship scholars begun to consistently link racism-related stressors to relationship processes and outcomes. Despite the growing literature, recent studies are primarily quantitative in method and rely on samples, theoretical models, and measures that predominantly represent White couples’ experiences. It remains unclear how Black couples’ perceptions of love and relationship coping lead to resilient outcomes despite the negative effects of racism.

Therefore, the goal of the present study is to …

The Independence And Impartiality Of The Court Of Arbitration For Sport, Gianna Flammini

Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business

This paper discusses the structure of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) and its process for adjudicating disputes by looking through the lens of the recent Jordan Chiles case. The intertwined history of CAS and the International Olympic Committee, CAS’s lack of structural independence, its policies that strongly favor one side in disputes, and its lack of sufficient conflict of interest procedures demonstrate that CAS is a flawed arbitral body that does not properly safeguard the interests of athletes. The landmark European Court of Human Rights case, Case of Mutu and Pechstein v. Switzerland, ruled that CAS was sufficiently …

Artesunate Enhances The Efficacy Of Enzalutamide In Advanced Prostate Cancer, Xinyi Wang, Jinghui Liu, Fengyi Mao, Yifan Kong, Qiongsi Zhang, Chaohao Li, Daheng He, Chi Wang, Yanquan Zhang, Ruixin Wang, Sally R. Ellingson, Qiou Wei, Zhiguo Li, Xiaoqi Liu

Toxicology and Cancer Biology Faculty Publications

Prostate cancer (PCa) is one of the leading causes of death among men worldwide. Treatments targeting the androgen receptor pathway remain the standard therapy for PCa patients. Enzalutamide (ENZ), a second-generation androgen receptor inhibitor, was developed to treat castration-resistant prostate cancer. However, while patients initially respond to ENZ, drug resistance typically develops within a few months. Artesunate (ART), a semisynthetic derivative of the Artemisinin plant, is approved for antimalaria treatment. In this study, we conducted an FDA-approved drug screening and identified ART as a potential candidate for overcoming ENZ resistance in PCa. Mechanistically, ART induces the degradation of c-Myc, enhancing …

Precipitation, Perceptions, And Participation: An Analysis Of Individual Perceptions Of Santa Ana Watershed Project Authority's Cloud Seeding Pilot Program And Suggestions For Public Outreach And Communications, Rachel A. Rowlee

Pitzer Senior Theses

Cloud seeding is a form of weather modification intended to increase the amount of precipitation by introducing a seeding agent. The Santa Ana Watershed Project Authority (SAWPA) has implemented a four-year cloud seeding pilot program utilizing silver iodide as a seeding agent during rain storm events. Over the last year, SAWPA received various feedback, much of which exists in the social media realm. This research consists of open-ended interviews with water resource managers, SAWPA employees, and individuals expressing disapproval of the program on social media and Instagram comment analyses. Interview and comment analyses are put into conversation with the theory …

Portable Multi-Parametric Microscopy For Noninvasive Metabolic And Vascular Imaging Of Orthotopic Tongue Cancer Models In Vivo, Pranto Soumik Saha, Jing Yan, Caigang Zhu

Markey Cancer Center Faculty Publications

Significance: Precise imaging of tumor metabolism with its vascular microenvironment becomes emerging critical for cancer research because increasing evidence shows that the key attribute that allows a tumor to survive therapies is metabolic and vascular reprogramming. However, there are surprisingly few imaging techniques available to provide a systems-level view of tumor metabolism and vasculature in vivo on small animals for cancer discoveries.

Aim: We aim to develop a new multi-parametric microscope that can faithfully recapitulate in vivo metabolic and vascular changes with a wide field of view and microscope-level resolution to advance cancer-related investigations. To maximize the ease and accessibility …

Clonal Variation In Effector Gene Expression As A Mechanism For Pathogenic Adaptation In Magnaporthe Oryzae, Rebekah J. Ellsworth

Theses and Dissertations--Plant Pathology

Magnaporthe oryzae is a filamentous fungal pathogen that causes destructive diseases in cereals, including rice blast, wheat blast, and gray leaf spot. It is responsible for 10–30% annual yield losses in rice (Nalley et al., 2016) and up to 100% loss in wheat under favorable conditions (Kohli et al., 2011). Disease management typically relies on the use of resistant cultivars, but M. oryzae rapidly overcomes host resistance by mutating or deleting avirulence (AVR) genes recognized by host immune receptors. This rapid adaptation, often occurring within one to two growing seasons, presents a major challenge to breeding for durable resistance.

The …

Effect Of Wildfire Smoke Pm2.5 On Preterm Birth Outcomes: A Generalized Synthetic Control Analysis Of Preterm Births In The Contiguous United States From 2006 To 2020, Alexandra Maria Nechaev

Public Health Theses

Wildfire activity has intensified across the United States due to climate change, contributing to rising levels of smoke-attributable fine particulate matter (PM2.5) in ambient air. Wildfire-specific PM2.5 is linked to adverse health outcomes, including increased risk of preterm birth, a leading cause of infant morbidity and mortality. Despite growing concern, few studies have applied quasi-experimental methods to evaluate the causal effects of wildfire-attributable PM2.5 on preterm birth across large, diverse populations and geographical areas. This study estimated the effect of wildfire-specific PM2.5 exposure on preterm birth rates across all counties in the contiguous United States from 2006 to 2020 using …

Cross-Sectional Study On The Distribution And Epidemiology Of Plasmodium Ovale Species In Asymptomatic And Symptomatic Individuals In Gulu, Uganda, Xiaohan Xu

Public Health Theses

Despite global progress in malaria control, Plasmodium ovale remains an under-recognized contributor tothe malaria burden in sub-Saharan Africa. Its ability to form dormant liver-stage hypnozoites enables silent, recurrent transmission that often escapes detection by routine diagnostics. This cross-sectional study investigated the prevalence, species distribution, and clinical profile of P . ovale infections in Gulu, Uganda, comparing asymptomatic individuals from the community to symptomatic patients presenting at Gulu Regional Referral Hospital. Molecular diagnostics, including qPCR, nested PCR, and hemi-nested PCR, were used to detect and differentiate P . ovale curtisi and P . ovale wallikeri. Geographic sampling was conducted across 33 …

From The Desk Of The Editor: Dr. Sara Withers, Sara Withers

Spectrum

No abstract provided.