Digital Commons Network^™

Wired For Degradation: How Post-Translational Control Of Inducible Camp Early Repressor Protein Influences Melanoma Fate, Melissa Rose Spigelman

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Melanoma is a highly aggressive form of skin cancer frequently driven by mutations in the BRAF gene, particularly the BRAFⱽ⁶⁰⁰ᴱ variant, which leads to sustained activation of the MAPK signaling cascade. Recent studies implicate the cyclic AMP (cAMP) signaling axis in melanoma progression and therapeutic resistance, highlighting the role of the Inducible cAMP Early Repressor (ICER), a transcriptional antagonist of CREB and CREM. ICER is downregulated during melanomagenesis and subject to post-translational regulation via phosphorylation and ubiquitin-mediated degradation. To investigate ICER’s functional relevance in vivo, e utilized a zebrafish melanoma model harboring brafⱽ⁶⁰⁰ᴱ, tp53−/−, and mitf−/−mutations, in which mitf expression …

Culture And Context: How Frames Of Teaching And Of Learning Mathematics Form And Change For Graduate Student Instructors, Johan Benedict Arroyo Cristobal

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

Why do instructors teach the way that they do? This question is key in understanding how and why asset-based or deficit-based practices are enacted in the classroom. In consequence, this question also gives insight into how the environment where students learn is shaped. Mathematics education research, in particular, has been concerned with how instructors respond to students’ contributions in the classroom and how these ways of responding can (dis)empower students.

One way to answer this question is to understand how instructors frame their own teaching and their students’ learning. Frames are mental constructs which help individuals filter details, interpret information, …

Interferon Regulatory Factor 3 In Interferon Gamma Receptor Signaling And Cancer Immunology, Zachary P. Guinn

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

Every year millions of people die from cancer throughout the world, and tens of millions of people are diagnosed with cancer worldwide. When surgery is not an option, treatment options commonly rely on the host immune system for optimal treatment efficacy. The expression of Interferon gamma (IFN-γ) by host immune cells is often associated with favorable antitumor immune responses. How IFN-γ is optimally induced in immune cells, and how IFN-γ promotes the transcription of genes downstream of the Interferon gamma receptor (IFNGR) is incompletely understood. Understanding how to induce immune cells to express optimal IFN-γ …

The American Lowrider As A Form Of Art, Chad Johnson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This paper argues that lowriders, a style of heavily customized vehicle deeply rooted in Chicano culture, ought to be recognized as a legitimate American art form. After establishing the historical and cultural background of lowriders, this paper identifies a cluster of essential aesthetic features which define lowriders, such as lowered suspension, custom wheels, elaborate paintwork, and opulent interiors. Several paradigmatic lowriders exhibiting these features are then examined against the background of various philosophical definitions of art. The analysis demonstrates that lowriders with their elaborate body modifications and paintwork do align with the essentialist views such as Clive Bell’s formalism and …

Menstrual Justice After Dobbs, Margaret E. Johnson

All Faculty Scholarship

This Article identifies and analyzes the category of state and private regulation that is invisible and subordinates women and other menstruators in ways that impact their privacy, liberty, and equality. Because this category of regulation is pervasive, bringing it to light is critical for considering how best to curb its harm. This Article considers potential legal strategies to counter such menstruation regulation and argues that Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization offers some promise—but more cause for pessimism—regarding the U.S. Constitution’s power to do so. This Article therefore explains how subconstitutional law offers greater potential, while cautioning that political science …

Antiracist Expert Evidence, Jasmine Gonzales Rose, Asees Bhasin, Spencer Piston

Faculty Scholarship

Since 2020, when mass protests against racism swept across the United States, scholars, lawyers, and the general public have become increasingly aware that racism permeates society and the criminal legal system, from overt racial animus to the nuanced effects of structural racism. Demonstrating the influence of racism is therefore vital to the practice of criminal defense, yet many attorneys do not know how to prove racism in court. We surveyed over seven hundred criminal-defense attorneys across the United States, and nearly half had never heard of expert witnesses testifying or submitting written reports on racism—what we call “antiracist expert evidence.” …

Do Bans On Conversion Therapy Impose A Governmental "Orthodoxy" About Sex And Gender?, Linda C. Mcclain

Faculty Scholarship

In Part I, this Essay evaluates how orthodoxy arguments featured in Mr. Tingley’s challenge to Washington’s ban on conversion therapy. Part II offers a preliminary analysis of Chiles v. Salazar, ⁴² which the Court will hear during its 2025-2026 Term. I illustrate how the arguments made against Washington’s law by Chiles and her amici draw from the anti-orthodoxy and marketplace of ideas rhetoric found not only in Justice Thomas’s Tingley dissent and his NIFLA opinion but also in Justice Gorsuch’s majority opinion in the 303 Creative decision.⁴³ Woven together with these speech arguments are appeals to the Court’s …

The Impact Of Dwell Time On The Contextual Effect Of Visual And Passive Lead-In Movements, Laura Alvarez-Hidalgo, David W. Franklin, Ian S. Howard

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

Contextual cues arising from distinct movements are crucial in shaping control strategies for human movement. Here, we examine the impact of visual and passive lead-in movement cues on unimanual motor learning, focusing on the influence of “dwell time,” where two-part movements are separated by the interval between the end of the first movement and the start of the second. We used a robotic manipulandum to implement a point-to-point interference task with switching opposing viscous curl fields in male and female human participants. Consistent with prior research, in both visual and passive lead-in conditions, participants showed significant adaptation to opposing dynamics …

An Electoral College Compromise Constitutional Amendment: Bridging Partisan Divides To Improve Presidential Elections, John Rogan

Fordham Law Review Online

Abolishing the Electoral College in favor of using a national popular vote to elect the president and vice president is unlikely to attract sufficient bipartisan support to reach the high thresholds for amending the U.S. Constitution. However, the Electoral College has flawed features that both Democrats and Republicans might support reforming because those defects can undermine either party’s candidates. This Essay highlights three such defects. First, contingent elections—a process by which Congress selects the president and vice president if no ticket wins a majority of electoral votes—are deeply unrepresentative of the American electorate while also being subject to unpredictable dysfunction …

Evaluating The Ncaa’S Responsiveness To Tampering In The Nil Era, Josh Lens

Fordham Law Review Online

Recent and significant changes in college athletics have led to an increase in the number of athletes who transfer between universities. This requires college coaches to expend significant effort retaining key athletes, especially in the face of widespread “tampering”—recruiting athletes enrolled at other universities who are not in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) transfer portal. Despite NCAA rules explicitly forbidding it, coaches have been outspoken regarding the prevalence of tampering, with some going so far as to publicly beg the NCAA to more strictly enforce its anti-tampering rules.

This Essay scrutinizes whether the oft-maligned NCAA has been responsive to …

Religious Freedom In The Ussr After The Russian Orthodox Church Restoration In September 1943: Us Viewpoint, Eduard Khodun

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

The article deals with the reaction of American society to changes in the religious policy of the Soviet Union during World War II. After the reestablishment of the Patriarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church in September 1943, assessments of the state of religious freedom in the USSR ranged from optimistic, which considered this event as a relaxation of restrictions or even the beginning of a new type of relationship between the regime and religious communities, to deep skepticism, which was determined by the awareness of the true motives and goals of the Soviet leadership. The Kremlin's decision was seen as …

Four Updates: A Collaborative Project Of Communication Research Trends And Facultad De Ciencias De La Información Universidad Complutense, Madrid, William E. Biernatzki S.J.

Communication Research Trends

This summer the Revista de Ciencias de la Informaci6n published by the Faculty of Information Sciences of Complutense University, in Madrid, is bringing out a special issue consisting of translations of four issues of Communication Research Trends with additional sections, mostly by Spanish or Latin American authors.

Communications, Computers And Networks, Gabriel Rodriguez, Soledad Robina

Communication Research Trends

There was a time when communication from computer to computer via satellite links. was the exclusive domain of the military, of highly specialized scientists, and of 'hackers'. That is no longer true. The serious scholar, even of the humanities, sometimes feels a bit 'out of it' when separated from his or her computer and modem.' Technical assistance is being provided to development workers in remote areas by means of relatively cheap ground stations and low-orbiting (non-geostationary) satellites. 'E-mail', using a bewildering array of special interest computer networks, generates whole new forms of society, united by electronics, rather than geography

A Rare Case Of Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma Of The Breast, Emiliya Apinova, Grace Markley, Jonathan Sedeyn, Jordon March, Alex Somerville

Marshall Journal of Medicine

Adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC) of the breast is an extremely rare subtype of triple-negative breast cancer, comprising less than 0.1% of all invasive breast cancers, yet it exhibits a favorable prognosis. This case details a 53-year-old female with a significant family history of breast cancer who presented with a left breast mass. The patient reported that the mass had been present for over 30 years but had only recently become tender. She also began to have brown-green discharge from the left nipple. Imaging revealed a breast imaging-reporting and data system (BI-RADS) category 4 lesion, leading to a mastectomy and sentinel …

Siga Technologies Investment Pitch, Katharine Keith

Undergraduate Research and Engagement Symposium

This is a comprehensive investment pitch for the company Siga Technologies. Siga Technologies is a drug manufacturing company that specializes in researching, developing and manufacturing antiviral medication for orthopoz viruses. This pitch dives into their current position both within the industry, financially, and within the market and provides a recommendation based on the given research.

Representation Styles Amongst Establishment And Non-Establishment Parties In Germany, Nicco T. Elie-Pierre

Binghamton University Undergraduate Journal

The question of representation and its typology is still an ongoing discussion in the literature. There has, however, been a seminal approach, first posited by Hanna Pitkin, discussing a polysematic view of representation. There has, however, been a lack of coverage of how political parties utilize the different forms of representation Pitkin describes. This project studies political posters around the city of Leipzig, Germany, categorizing them based on their displayed messages into the three applicable types of representation (Symbolic, Descriptive, and Substantive). Through this lens, we will analyze how the political parties in Germany use these differing representation styles, and …

Comparative Assessment Of Land Surface Temperature In Urbanized Areas Of The Saudi Arabia, Rauf Khan, Syed Ilyas, Ziaul Haq Doost

AUIQ Technical Engineering Science

Land Surface Temperature (LST) has become a critical urban climate concern due to rapid urbanization and land cover transformation in Saudi Arabian cities. This study aimed to analyze the spatial and temporal variability of LST in three climatically distinct cities encompassing Riyadh (hot desert), Dhahran (hot humid), and Abha (cold desert) over the summer months (May to September) from 2017 to 2021. LST was retrieved through the RSLab Landsat LST web application. A total of 80 samples per year were compiled for each city using a structured sampling approach, and results were aggregated using the RS-LST Aggregation Framework (RSLAF). The …

Distal Weight-Bearing Implants Design Featuring An Integrated Groove Or Thread, Muntadher Saleh Mahdi, Dunya Abdulsahib Hamdi

AUIQ Technical Engineering Science

The distal weight-bearing implant was selected from a pool of approximately 17 implant systems that utilize the osseointegration mechanism currently available globally. It stands out due to its modernity, rarity, and creative concept, offering amputees with ``above-knee amputation'' a range of options that ensure their satisfaction and fulfill their requirements. However, this implant requires additional refinement and adaptation to achieve the highest level of perfection. This research implemented various modifications to the mechanical design of the implant, which were subsequently evaluated using the finite element analysis software ``ANSYS.'' Modifications included substituting the threads along the femoral stem with a groove …

Wide Band Single-Mode Optical Fiber Design For Decreasing Bending Loss, Zahraa M. Kassem Alasady, Ahmed Al-Amiery

AUIQ Technical Engineering Science

Radiation loss due to fiber curving or bending is a major challenge in advanced technical applications like fiber-optic sensing or biomedical applications. This study focuses on the basic features that characterize a single-mode fiber (SMF) and its critical parameters in view of the recent improvements made. The planned design of SMF is, however, intended to resolve these problems by proposing minimizing bend loss by adopting a five-layer fiber structure designed to keep the optical field within the fiber core. The proposed SMF design exhibit ultra-low bending sensitivity, with estimated bending loss of 2×10-3 dB/turn for bending radius of 5 mm. …

Generative Ai In South African Healthcare: Navigating Challenges And Harnessing Opportunities For Industry And Research, Linda Paul, Ravinder Rena

Management Dynamics

This research seeks to evaluate how Generative Artificial Intelligence (GAI) can be used to disrupt and revolutionise the South African healthcare sector in addressing anomalies and utilising opportunities. This study employed a qualitative approach using secondary data analysis, drawing on policies formulated from the years 2015-2024, the study combines findings from published literature, institutional reports, and reputable databases to explore the potential opportunities, applications, and challenges of integrating generative artificial intelligence (AI) in South Africa's healthcare system. Thematic analysis and trend mapping were used to investigate GAI in diagnostics, drug discovery, personal medicine, data clerking, and medical training. The results …

Method And System For Managing Micropayments Leveraging Blockchain Technology, Daos, And Stablecoins, Nandit Khosa

Defensive Publications Series

The present disclosure provides a method and system for processing micropayments to address the inefficiencies and high costs associated with traditional payment systems. The method involves creating Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs) for each individual or user that joins the network. Blockchain technology underpins the creation and operation of DAOs.Each DAO issues stablecoin tokens, which represent a stable value of assets or services, for the user to perform payment transactions. Whenever a user wishes to make a micropayment, the user sends the required number of stablecoin tokens to a smart contract. The smart contract automatically executes the transaction by transferring the …

Regenerative Voice Coil

Defensive Publications Series

In implementations of the disclosure, the elastic energy is recovered from a spring of a VCM. There may be a low mechanical damping and friction of the VCM design that reduces the energy waste while using the VCM regenerative mode as a magnetic damper. The recovered energy can be stored temporarily and used to drive the actuator again when needed (short term energy recovery and storage). An energy recovery circuit, such as a rectifier circuit, can be retrofitted to the existing VCM driver or integrated in a new VCM driver. The recovered energy can be sent back to the battery …

“Silence Is Golden:” Explaining The Silent Majority Based On Fatalism, Culture, And National Attachments, Ali Mashuri, Sukma Nurmala, Esti Zaduqisti

Psychological Research on Urban Society

Why do citizens tend to be silent about a country’s social, political, or economic problems? The silent majority refers to most members of society not support or engage in collective action to protest injustice. This study aimed to explain the silent majority’s psychosocial dynamics and fill the research gaps in the psychology literature that focuses on collective action and its determining factors. The study’s participants (N = 349), recruited using convenience sampling, were undergraduate and graduate students from several universities in Indonesia. In our study, the psychosocial characteristics of the silent majority included fatalism, cultural dimensions (i.e., power distance, …

Analytic Hierarchy Process Based Interpretable Decision-Making Structure Of Gpt In Unified Developer Efficiency Modeling, Fuming Guo, Biju Abraham

Defensive Publications Series

The present disclosure relates to a method and a system for Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) based interpretable decision-making structure of Generative Pre-trained Transformer (GPT) in unified developer efficiency modeling. The method includes receiving and preprocessing a plurality of metrics from one or more data sources. The method further generates pairwise comparison scores for each metric of the plurality of metrics. Additionally, an AHP comparison matrix is constructed based on the generated comparison scores. The method further includes performing a consistency check on the comparison matrix to confirm the reliability of the pairwise comparisons. When inconsistencies are identified, the method includes …

Voices From The Journey: Exploring Rehabilitation Experience Of Individuals With Disabilities In A South African Province, Senzelwe M. Mazibuko, Thayananthee Nadasan Dr, Pragashnie Govender

Patient Experience Journal

Background: Globally, 16% of the population is affected by disabilities, with increasing prevalence due to non-communicable diseases and longer lifespans. This group often faces shorter lifespans, poorer health, and greater challenges than non-disabled peers. Rehabilitation services are essential for improving independence, health, and quality of life by facilitating participation in education, work, and social roles. However, in South Africa, particularly in rural areas, providing these services is difficult. Methods: This qualitative study explored the experiences of people with disabilities in KwaZulu-Natal regarding their interactions with rehabilitation services. Six participants were recruited from a private facility using purposive sampling to …

Patient Similarity Analysis And Decision Support Dashboards In Cancer Care: Patients' And Other Stakeholders' Perspectives, Karol Jan Czuba Dr, Te Hao Apaapa-Timu Mrs, Rachel B. Owens, Robert Matthew Strother Dr, Ryan P. Radecki Dr

Patient Experience Journal

Patient Similarity Analysis can be used to develop personalised aids for patients and clinicians making complex healthcare decisions, including those encountered in the oncology domain. However, little is known about patients’ views on how insights derived through Patient Similarity Analysis may be incorporated into decision making at the point of care. In this study, we developed a set of Patient Similarity-based dashboard mock-ups and consulted oncology stakeholders in Aotearoa New Zealand regarding acceptability. Aim: To explore oncology stakeholders’ (patients, clinicians, researchers and advocates) perspectives on the acceptability of using Patient Similarity-based decision dashboards to guide decision making. Methods: This is …

Patient Perspectives On Implementing A Person-Centered Care System: Experiences From The U.S. Veterans Health Administration's Whole Health System Of Care, Ekaterina Anderson, Renda S. Wiener, Brianne Molloy-Paolillo, Megan Mccullough, Bo Kim, J. Irene Harris, Seppo T. Rinne, Barbara G. Bokhour

Patient Experience Journal

Objectives. Replacing the disease-centered, paternalistic approach in healthcare with a person-centered model has become a widely recognized imperative. However, patients' perspectives on and experiences with real-life efforts to implement this approach to care are rarely studied. We examined this issue at a health system with a prominent record of commitment to implementing person-centered care on the system level – the U.S. Veterans Health Administration (VHA). For over a decade, VHA has been transforming itself into a Whole Health (WH) system of care that is person-centered, holistic, and empowering. Methods. We conducted semi-structured qualitative interviews with 19 patients recruited from a …

A Qualitative Study: Patients' Expectation Of Private Hospitals, Sarah Jada, Jessy Jacob, Ahmad Nasrallah

Patient Experience Journal

Objectives: This study was conducted to explore patients' expectations and perceptions of private healthcare facilities, understand the key factors influencing their choice of such facilities, also identify elements that enhance patient satisfaction and loyalty, enabling the development of actionable recommendations to improve patient-centered care in private healthcare settings. Method: A qualitative study using thematic analysis was conducted with 29 patients from various nationalities and backgrounds who received services in private hospitals in Kuwait, including Dar Al Shifa Hospital. Insights were gathered through semi-structured interviews. Results: The study delved into the significant correlation between patients' experience of their healthcare encounters and …

Patient Perspectives On Health Care Utilization At Two Free Clinics – A Qualitative Study, Patrick Fagan, Danny Guillen Perez, Roberta D. Baer, John Petrilli

Patient Experience Journal

Millions of uninsured Americans access health care through free clinics, but their experience with the medical system is understudied. This study sought to understand patterns in free clinic patients' experience with healthcare utilization through qualitative and descriptive analyses. Data were collected through face-to-face, open-ended interviews at two free clinics in an urban Florida community. The clinics included one student-run free clinic and one community-based free clinic. Survey questions were developed based on prior literature and validated through expert consensus and pilot interviews. The interviewers conducted 74 interviews between May 7 and June 10, 2022. Responses were coded by the authors, …

Ua12/2/2 Talisman: Connection, Wku Student Affairs

WKU Administration Documents

Spring 2025 Talisman:

• Alali, Cecilia & Ragan Harrington. Connection
• Hardesty, Emma. On a Roll – Dungeons & Dragons
• Muscutt, Carson. Grinding Through Life – Molotov Skateshop
• Cox, Kate. Stopwatch
• Harrington, Ragan. 1 Campus, 7 Strangers – Logan Hesse, Nicholas Basile, Spencer Winterbottom, Alliyah Jones, Alex Gehring, Annie McClurg, Rowan Finley
• Vickers, Abigail. Forged in Combat – Mixed Martial Arts
• Wood-Morris, Oli. Survivors to Neighbors – Bosnian Refugees
• Jordan, Shylin. Severed Roots
• Bivens, Emily. Behind the Screen – Social Media
• Dean, Clarissa. Shear Talent – Shake Rag Barbershop
• Sutton, Avery. For the Love of the Old – Thrift Shopping
• Phelps, Maggie. …