Digital Commons Network^™

Role Of Nf2 Mutation In The Development Of Eleven Different Cancers, Shervin Hosseingholi Nouri, Vijay Nitturi, Elizabeth Ledbetter, Collin W English, Sean Lau, Tiemo J Klisch, Akash J Patel

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Background/Objectives: With the rise in prevalence of diagnostic genetic techniques like RNA sequencing and whole exome sequencing (WES), as well as biological treatment regiments for cancer therapy, several genes have been implicated in carcinogenesis. This review aims to update our understanding of the Neurofibromatosis 2 (NF2) gene and its role in the pathogenesis of various cancers. Methods: A comprehensive search of five online databases yielded 43 studies that highlighted the effect of sporadic NF2 mutations on several cancers, including sporadic meningioma, ependymoma, schwannoma, mesothelioma, breast cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma, prostate cancer, glioblastoma, thyroid cancer, and melanoma. Of note were key biological …

From Surviving To Thriving: Key Considerations For Weight Control Across Diverse Cancer Survivorship Populations, Justin C. Brown, Marlyn Allicock, Carmina G. Valle, Tanya Agurs-Collins

School of Medicine Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Obesity is a chronic, relapsing, progressive disease of excess adiposity that increases the risk of dying from at least 16 types of cancer. The prevalence of obesity has increased more rapidly in cancer survivors compared with the general population. Tailored weight management strategies are needed to improve prognosis and health outcomes in the growing population of cancer survivors. However, certain cancer survivor population subgroups require unique consideration when developing weight management strategies. METHODS: In a symposium convened by The Obesity Society during ObesityWeek 2023 titled "From Surviving to Thriving: Key Considerations for Weight Control Across Diverse Cancer Survivorship Populations," …

Chiropterophagy By The Siberian Weasel (Mustela Sibirica): The First Record In The Russian Far East, Valeriya E. Omelko, Mikhail P. Tiunov

International Journal of Speleology

Chiropterophagy is a widespread phenomenon, but only one case of bat consumption by sable has been documented in the Russian Far East. This study presents the first recorded instance of chiropterophagy by the Siberian weasel (Mustela sibirica) in the southern Russian Far East, based on excrement collected from the Solyanik Cave in the southern Sikhote-Alin Mountains in 2007. The excrement included bones from three bat species (Murina hilgendorfi, Myotis bombinus, Plecotus ognevi) and one vole species (Myodes rutilus). Our findings suggest that the Siberian weasel visits caves during the cold season, although …

Documentary On Floating Wetlands, Nazish Abro

MSJ Capstone Projects

I created this documentary on floating wetlands as part of a climate project led by the Student Society of Climate Change during my degree program. This project is a competition among South Asian countries to find solutions for climate change. My team, PK Team 22 from IBA Karachi, is among the top three teams in Pakistan and has reached the final round. The top two teams will receive a US fellowship and seed funding to continue their work.

We received $200 from the US Consulate to complete the second phase of our project. I chose this topic not only for …

Energy-Efficient Technologies For Drying Mulberry Silkworm Cocoons Using Infrared Radiation, Doston Ishmukhammat Ugli Samandarov

Technical science and innovation

The article presents the results of theoretical and experimental studies on drying of mulberry silkworm cocoons. Based on the analysis of drying efficiency and silk quality, the use of infrared radiation (IR) at a temperature of 70 °C was found to be optimal. The experimental data were tested on six mathematical models, among which the Midilli model most accurately described the drying process. The effective moisture diffusion coefficient was found to vary in the range of 1.847×10^-⁹-4.339×10^-⁹ m²/s, and the drying rate was found to be 0.32-0.79 kg of water/hour. IR radiation promotes accelerated evaporation of …

Folic Acid And Methyltetrahydrofolate Supplementation In The, Karen E Christensen, Marie-Lou Faquette, Daniel Leclerc, Vafa Keser, Yan Luan, Jeanna L Bennett-Firmin, Olga V Malysheva, Alaina M Reagan, Gareth R Howell, Marie A Caudill, Teodoro Bottiglieri, Rima Rozen

Faculty Research 2024

Background/Objectives: The MTHFR677C>T gene variant results in a thermolabile MTHFR enzyme associated with elevated plasma homocysteine in TT individuals. Health risks associated with the TT genotype may be modified by dietary and supplemental folate intake. Supplementation with methyltetrahydrofolate (methylTHF) may be preferable to folic acid because it is the MTHFR product, and does not require reduction by DHFR to enter one-carbon folate metabolism. In the Mthfr677C>T mouse model for this variant, female 677TT (TT) mice have an increased incidence of hepatic steatosis. The objective of this study was to compare the effects of methylTHF and folic acid supplementation …

Swimming Against The Tide: Resistance Strategies And Agentic Skills Used By Childfree Women, Carolina Rojas-Madrigal

Journal of Feminist Scholarship

In pronatalist societies, the decision to remain childfree creates a conflict-laden scenario. This article explores how childfree women confront social hostility and defend their reproductive autonomy through resistance strategies and tactics. With this aim, the results of a feminist research, positioned from feminist Standpoint theory and digital ethnography, are presented. The researcher conducted biographical-narrative interviews with sixteen voluntary childless women from Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Peru, Spain, and the United Kingdom, all of whom were members of a childfree Facebook group. This research revealed that there is a persistent tension between societal pressure placed on these women in pronatalist …

Energy Saving Technology For Drying Garlic (Allium Sativum), Jasur Esirgapovich Safarov, Shakhnoza Abduvaxitovna Sultanova, А M. Mirkomilov

Technical science and innovation

Food drying is a widely used preservation method aimed at reducing water content to extend shelf life, decrease weight, and enhance storage efficiency. This process, particularly in garlic, involves rapid initial moisture loss followed by a slower phase due to the increasing difficulty of extracting residual water. Drying methods include natural solar drying and advanced mechanical techniques such as hot air and vacuum drying, each influencing product quality, drying efficiency, and economic feasibility. Dehydrated garlic exhibits specific sensory, physico-chemical, and microbiological characteristics, making it suitable for various applications, including powder production. Advanced drying equipment optimizes air volume, temperature, and material …

Refinement Of An Algorithm To Detect And Predict Freezing Of Gait In Parkinson Disease Using Wearable Sensors, Allison M Haussler, Lauren E Tueth, David S May, Gammon M Earhart, Pietro Mazzoni

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Freezing of gait (FOG) is a debilitating symptom of Parkinson disease (PD). It is episodic and variable in nature, making assessment difficult. Wearable sensors used in conjunction with specialized algorithms, such as our group's pFOG algorithm, provide objective data to better understand this phenomenon. While these methods are effective at detecting FOG retrospectively, more work is needed. The purpose of this paper is to explore how the existing pFOG algorithm can be refined to improve the detection and prediction of FOG. To accomplish this goal, previously collected data were utilized to assess the prediction ability of the current algorithm, the …

Bayesian Semiparametric Inference In Longitudinal Metabolomics Data, Abhra Sarkar, Ornella Cominetti, Ivan Montoliu, Joanne Hosking, Jonathan Pinkney, Francois Pierre Martin, David B. Dunson

Peninsula Medical School

The article is motivated by an application to the EarlyBird cohort study aiming to explore how anthropometrics and clinical and metabolic processes are associated with obesity and glucose control during childhood. There is interest in inferring the relationship between dynamically changing and high-dimensional metabolites and a longitudinal response. Important aspects of the analysis include the selection of the important set of metabolites and the accommodation of missing data in both response and covariate values. With this motivation, we propose a flexible but parsimonious Bayesian semiparametric joint model for the outcome and the covariate generating processes, making novel use of nonparametric …

Parp Inhibition Radiosensitizes Brca1 Wildtype And Mutated Breast Cancer To Proton Therapy, Mariam Ben Kacem, Scott J Bright, Emma Moran, David B Flint, David K J Martinus, Broderick X Turner, Ilsa Qureshi, Rishab Kolachina, Mandira Manandhar, Poliana C Marinello, Simona F Shaitelman, Gabriel O Sawakuchi

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Aggressive breast cancers often fail or acquire resistance to radiotherapy. To develop new strategies to improve the outcome of aggressive breast cancer patients, we studied how PARP inhibition radiosensitizes breast cancer models to proton therapy, which is a radiotherapy modality that generates more DNA damage in the tumor than standard radiotherapy using photons. Two human BRCA1-mutated breast cancer cell lines and their isogenic BRCA1-recovered pairs were treated with a PARP inhibitor and irradiated with photons or protons. Protons (9.9 and 3.85 keV/µm) induced higher cell kill independent of BRCA1 status. PARP inhibition amplified the cell kill effect to both photons …

Cancer Organoids As Reliable Disease Models To Drive Clinical Development Of Novel Therapies, Giovanni Blandino, Ronit Satchi-Fainaro, Ingeborg Tinhofer, Giovanni Tonon, Sarah C Heilshorn, Yong-Jun Kwon, Ana Pestana, Carlotta Frascolla, Luca Pompili, Aurora Puce, Sara Iachettini, Annalisa Tocci, Sofia Karkampouna, Marianna Kruithof-De Julio, Piera Tocci, Nicla Porciello, Klizia Maccaroni, Daniela Rutigliano, Xiling Shen, Gennaro Ciliberto

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

On September 23-24 (2024) the 6th Workshop IRE on Translational Oncology, titled "Cancer Organoids as Reliable Disease Models to Drive Clinical Development of Novel Therapies," took place at the IRCCS Regina Elena Cancer Institute in Rome. This prominent international conference focused on tumor organoids, bringing together leading experts from around the world.A central challenge in precision oncology is modeling the dynamic tumor ecosystem, which encompasses numerous elements that evolve spatially and temporally. Patient-derived 3D culture models, including organoids, explants, and engineered or bioprinted systems, have recently emerged as sophisticated tools capable of capturing the complexity and diversity of cancer cells …

Dendrite-Free Strategies For Aqueous Zinc-Ion Batteries: Structure, Electrolyte, And Separator, Gang Wu, Wu-Hai Yang, Yang Yang, Hui-Jun Yang

Journal of Electrochemistry

Continued growth in energy demand and increased environmental pollution constitute major challenges that need to be addressed urgently. The development and utilization of renewable, sustainable, and clean energy sources, such as wind and solar, are crucial. However, the instability of these intermittent energy sources makes the need for energy storage systems increasingly urgent. Aqueous zinc-ion batteries (AZIBs) have received widespread attention due to their unique advantages, such as high energy density, cost-effectiveness, environmental friendliness, and safety. However, AZIBs face significant challenges, mainly the formation of zinc dendrites that seriously affect the stability and lifetime of the batteries, leading to battery …

Front Matter

Texas A&M Law Review

Front Matter.

Can I Get A Witness?, Richard F. Roadcap Dds

Virginia Dental Journal

Dr. Richard F. Roadcap reflects on the gaps in his dental education, highlighting four key areas: practice management, dental materials, pharmacology, and public service. He emphasizes the importance of these disciplines in real-world dentistry and suggests that modern dental education should better prepare students in these areas. Additionally, the document includes advice for dental practice owners on planning for their future, including exit strategies and financial planning.

Va Dent J July, August And September 2023

Virginia Dental Journal

The July-September 2023 issue of the Virginia Dental Journal (Vol. 100, No. 3) showcases diverse and timely topics in dentistry. Highlights include the launch of the Virginia Dental Academy’s Certified Dental Office Professional program, designed to elevate front office team members through specialized training and certifications. Advocacy efforts spotlight the ADA Dentist and Student Lobby Day and fundraising events for legislative priorities. Scientific discussions delve into oral pathology and periodontics, while practice management resources cover cybersecurity, insurance verification, and informed consent ethics. A standout feature is Tooth Sleuths, an engaging look at how dentists apply investigative skills to solve …

Seasonal Occupancy Of The Thermal Plume Of A Spring Tributary To The South Fork Roanoke River, Virginia., Steven L. Powers, Michael M. Calvert, Charlotte M. Spaulding

Southeastern Fishes Council Proceedings

Detection of temperate stream fishes varies widely across seasons as streams teeming with life in summer often appear empty during winter sampling efforts. While much literature documents the disproportionate use of the thermal plumes of spring tributaries by cold water fishes during summer, few studies have investigated occupancy of those habitats by warm water fishes in winter. We conducted quantitative snorkeling observations within the near uniform temperatures (10-14^oC) of the thermal plume of a spring tributary to the South Fork Roanoke River across seasons and compared number of fishes observed and species richness to control observations made just …

Muramyl Peptide Blend Ameliorates Intestinal Inflammation And Barrier Integrity In Caco-2 Cells, Dmytro M. Masiuk, Victor S. Nedzvetsky, Giyasettin Baydas

Karbala International Journal of Modern Science

Intestinal barrier function depends on epithelial adhesion, which restricts permeability and microbial invasion from the internal environment. Impairment of barrier integrity and gut function is closely linked to pro-inflammatory changes. Inflammation is often the primary factor that provokes gut function disorders. The anti-inflammatory potential of postbiotics has been reported in recent years. Muramyl peptides (MPs) are small signaling molecules that stimulate intracellular pathogen receptors and can regulate cell responses. However, the molecular mechanisms of MPs' effects on intestinal cells remain unknown. The study of MPs treatment on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-challenged Caco-2 intestinal cells aimed to investigate the postbiotic effects on intestinal …

U.S. Patented Medication Prices Too High To Warrant Affordable Costs By Patients, Kisa Mwenelupembe

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Optimal pricing of patent medicines is needed to ensure profitability of pharmaceutical companies while managing ease of access to these medicines for patients. The general problem that necessitated this study was that the prices of most patent medications in the United States are too high to warrant affordable costs by patients while simultaneously fostering drug innovation. The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore the best practices for ensuring equal access to patent medicines while maintaining profitability of pharmaceutical companies to pursue needed innovation and development of new drugs. This study was underpinned by Bandura’s social cognitive …

Shark Skin Riblet Microstructures: An Oceanic Solution To Reduce Shear Wall Stress And Skin Friction, Ashyln Veitz, Carson Running

Mechanical Engineering Student Publications

Minimizing energy consumption and its associated costs is a key priority in engineering. Potential solutions are found in nature, particularly the skin of the shortfin mako shark. The riblet microstructures have been shown to reduce drag, offering a promising method for energy reduction in various industries. This study investigates the effectiveness of riblet microstructures in reducing wall shear stress and skin friction in laminar flow. The flow over a flat plate is compared with flow over a riblet-structured surface, considering the impact of the temperature of the fluid. Results show that as temperature increases, shear wall stress and skin friction …

A River Of Resilience: Navigating Water Governance In The Colorado River Basin

Student Theses 2015-Present

This paper explores how climate change, the Southwestern North American megadrought, rapid population growth, the overallocation of water entitlements, and excessive consumption impact the Colorado River Basin’s water supply. The Colorado River basin will not be able to sustain its water supply for the forty million people depending on it across the seven basin states– Arizona, Colorado, California, Utah, New Mexico, Nevada, and Wyoming– in addition to the two Mexican states, Sonora and Baja California unless consumption is reduced to regulate the basin’s decreasing supply. Despite its critical role in supplying water to millions of people and the challenges posed …

Enriched Microbial Consortia From Natural Environments Reveal Core Groups Of Microbial Taxa Able To Degrade Terephthalate And Terphthalamide, Laura G. Schaerer, Sulihat Aloba, Emily Wood, Allison Olson, Isabel B. A. Valencia, Rebecca Ong, Stephen Techtmann

Michigan Tech Publications

Millions of tons of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) are produced each year, however only ~30% of PET is currently recycled in the United States. Improvement of PET recycling and upcycling practices is an area of ongoing research. One method for PET upcycling is chemical depolymerization (through hydrolysis or aminolysis) into aromatic monomers and subsequent biodegradation. Hydrolysis depolymerizes PET into terephthalate, while aminolysis yields terephthalamide. Aminolysis, which is catalyzed with strong bases, yields products with high osmolality, which is inhibitory to optimal microbial growth. Additionally, terephthalamide, may be antimicrobial and its biodegradability is presently unknown. In this study, microbial communities were enriched …

Weaving Our Kuwentos (Stories) Toward Ginhawa (Aliveness): Pilipinx American Social Work Motherscholars Enacting Praxes Of Survival And Thrivance In The Academy, Joanna C. La Torre, Lalaine Sevillano, Lisa Reyes Mason, Alma M. Ouanesisouk Trinidad, Cora De Leon

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Five Pilipina American (PA) social work MotherScholars, from a doctoral student to an interim dean, used kuwentuhan (Pilipinx methodology) to amplify their survivance and thrivance despite attempted exclusion, reduction, and distortion as Pilipinos by coloniality/modernity. Grounded in decolonial feminism (the view that oppressions such as sexism and racism co-constitute coloniality and that unsettling oppressions disrupts hegemony) and Pinayism (an integrated framework revaluing the labor, intellect, and nurturance of mothering through a cultural lens), the authors work coalitionally across their PA diversity to re-center ginhawa (aliveness or sense of ease and wellness). Together, they embarked on an iterative self-study process of …

Factors Affecting Waiting Times To Enter Opioid Use Disorder Treatment In The United States With A Particular Focus On Potential Biological Sex Disparity, Stanley Nkemjika, Kenneth Oforeh, Connie Olwit, Olaniyi Olayinka, Terence Tumenta

Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior Faculty Papers

AIM: Opioid use disorder (OUD) is the problematic use of licit or illicit opioids. Thus far, the literature on biological sex differences in accessing treatment is scarce. Hence, we hypothesize that biological sex has a moderating effect on OUD treatment accessibility. We aim to explore biological sex differences in treatment disparities and its role in wait time to enter OUD treatment.

METHOD: Using the 2018 Treatment Episode Data Set Discharge, the national sample representative of OUD patients in the substance use disorder treatment facilities within the 50 states of the United States was 382,547. Univariate and multivariable logistic analysis of …

A Network Analysis Of Social Determinants Of Health And Youth Suicidal Ideation And Suicide Attempts At The Neighborhood-Level In Houston, Tx, Tyler Hendley

LSU Master's Theses

Youth suicide is a complex, multi-faceted human phenomenon that has no singular cause but instead is theorized to be a result of an interplay of psychological, biological, and social risk and protective factors. To best identify youth suicide risk and possible avenues for intervention, a social-ecological model approach may prove beneficial. As community-level risk factors (i.e., social determinants of health (SDOH)) have shown to impact health outcomes, it is important to understand the association between community-level risk and youth suicide-related behaviors. Utilizing a network analytic approach, this study developed an estimated partial correlation network to understand the relationship between youth …

Love As A Commitment Device : Evidence From A Cross-Cultural Study Across 90 Countries, Marta Kowal, Adam Bode, Karolina Koszałkowska, S. Craig Roberts, Biljana Gjoneska, David Frederick, Anna Studzinska, Dmitrii Dubrov, Dmitry Grigoryev, Toivo Aavik, Pavol Prokop, Caterina Grano, Hakan Çetinkaya, Derya Atamtürk Duyar, Roberto Baiocco, Carlota Batres, Yakhlef Belkacem, Merve Boğa, Nana Burduli, Ali R. Can, Razieh Chegeni, William J. Chopik, Yahya Don, Seda Dural, Izzet Duyar, Edgardo Etchezahar, Feten Fekih-Romdhane, Tomasz Frackowiak, Felipe E. García, Talia Gomez Yepes

School of Psychology

Given the ubiquitous nature of love, numerous theories have been proposed to explain its existence. One such theory refers to love as a commitment device, suggesting that romantic love evolved to foster commitment between partners and enhance their reproductive success. In the present study, we investigated this hypothesis using a large-scale sample of 86,310 individual responses collected across 90 countries. If romantic love is universally perceived as a force that fosters commitment between long-term partners, we expected that individuals likely to suffer greater losses from the termination of their relationships—including people of lower socioeconomic status, those with many children, and …

The Defect Of Infertility And Its Impact On The Judicial Distinction Between Law And Jurisprudence Islamic, Walaa Adil Ajeel

Uruk Journal of Human Sciences

Marriage between a man and a woman is considered a sacred bond for the purpose of nurturing his family, but one of the spouses may become infertile, which disturbs the marital life and threatens its reunification Jurisprudence was divided into a direction that supported the request for separation due to the defect of infertility, and a direction opposed. The Iraqi legislator granted the right to the wife only to seek separation due to the defect of infertility, but not the husband. This is what distinguishes the Iraqi legislator, with evidence of the status of infertility in accordance with

The Poetics Of War Between Protest And Patriotism: A Comparative Study Of Siegfried Sassoon And Abdul Razzaq Abdul Wahid’S Selected War Poems, Rana Jaber Obaid

Uruk Journal of Human Sciences

War Poetry is a literary genre that proceeded during the ages as a way of transmitting human feelings and estimations about war. The nonstop wars all over history makes it part of human existence. Though it is the same severe war everywhere and every time, the pen of the poets and the etymology that is used to designate this serious subject is what makes it diverse. Each poet characterizes war according to his peculiar experiences, attitudes, or interpretations. This study is built on comparison between two contradicted poets who wrote about war; The English poet Siegfried Sassoon

Is Increased Mutation Driving Genetic Diversity In Dogs Within The Chornobyl Exclusion Zone?, Megan N. Dillon, Allison N. Dickey, Reade B. Roberts, Jennifer A. Betz, Timothy Mousseau, Norman J. Kleiman, Matthew Breen

Faculty Publications

Environmental contamination can have lasting impacts on surrounding communities, though the long-term impacts can be difficult to ascertain. The disaster at the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant in 1986 and subsequent remediation efforts resulted in contamination of the local environment with radioactive material, heavy metals, and additional environmental toxicants. Many of these are mutagenic in nature, and the full effect of these exposures on local flora and fauna has yet to be understood. Several hundred free-roaming dogs occupy the contaminated area surrounding the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant, and previous studies have highlighted a striking level of genetic differentiation between two geographically …

Is Increased Mutation Driving Genetic Diversity In Dogs Within The Chornobyl Exclusion Zone?, Megan N. Dillon, Allison N. Dickey, Reade B. Roberts, Jennifer A. Betz, Timothy Mousseau, Norman J. Kleiman, Matthew Breen

Faculty Publications

Environmental contamination can have lasting impacts on surrounding communities, though the long-term impacts can be difficult to ascertain. The disaster at the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant in 1986 and subsequent remediation efforts resulted in contamination of the local environment with radioactive material, heavy metals, and additional environmental toxicants. Many of these are mutagenic in nature, and the full effect of these exposures on local flora and fauna has yet to be understood. Several hundred free-roaming dogs occupy the contaminated area surrounding the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant, and previous studies have highlighted a striking level of genetic differentiation between two geographically …