Digital Commons Network^™

Neutrosophic E-Open Sets In A Neutrosophic Topological Spaces, Thangaraja P, Vadivel A, Bobin A, Thayalan S, John Sundar C, Manivannan P

Neutrosophic Sets and Systems

No abstract provided.

Properties Of Quadripartitioned Neutrosophic Interval-Valued Set To The Reciprocal Fraction Function Via Various Operators, M. Palanikumar, Nasreen Kausar, Cuauhtemoc Samaniego

Neutrosophic Sets and Systems

No abstract provided.

A Novel Approach In Heptapartitioned Neutrosophic Sets With Its Weighted Arithmetic Averaging Operator, Sudharani R, Chitra Devi D, Mahimairaj P, Thirunavukkarasu J, Jeyanthi L, Nagalakshmi T

Neutrosophic Sets and Systems

No abstract provided.

Assessing The Educational Effectiveness Of Party-Building Activities In Universities Under Neutrosophic Confidence Cubic Sets Within Contemporary Higher Education Environments, Qi Jiang

Neutrosophic Sets and Systems

No abstract provided.

Pentapartitioned Neutrosophic Pythagorean Connectedness, R. Radha, Annapoorna M. S, S. Vasundhara, Parul Arora, Ankita Tiwari, R. Prema

Neutrosophic Sets and Systems

No abstract provided.

Neutrosophic Sets And Systems, Vol. 83,2025, Florentin Smarandache, Mohamed Abdel-Basset, Maikel. Leyva Vazquez

Neutrosophic Sets and Systems

No abstract provided.

The Obviousness Paradox: Should Design And Utility Patents Play By The Same Rules?, Brooks W. Fleischmann

Missouri Law Review

The standard American grading system recognizes an A as the best possible grade, while an F represents failure. To achieve an A, the typical benchmark is anywhere above 90%. Falling well below this mark, any grade below 60% constitutes failure. Accordingly, a higher percentage in class equates to a better GPA. Following this same logic in the world of sports, the greatest free-throw shooter in NBA history holds the record at 91%. The greatest field goal kicker in NFL history holds the record at 89.1%. However, the highest batting average in MLB history sits at .366, or 36.6%. According to …

Removing “Black Marks”: How States Can Preserve Wrongful Birth Suits Without Reliance On “Eugenic” Rhetoric, Paul J. Wuennenberg

Missouri Law Review

“[L]ebensunwertes Leben—Life Unworthy of Life.” Those words, used by the National Socialist (Nazi) Party in Germany to describe people with genetic disorders, ring throughout world history as a moral indictment of the Nazi German state and all those who collaborated with it. Unfortunately, Germany was not alone in its designation of some people as unworthy of life; the United States has also, throughout its history, given the same designation to portions of its population. From Japanese-Americans during the Second World War to people with disabilities in the era of eugenics, the American government has frequently singled out those whom it …

Watersmart Farms - Desalination: Inventory And Analysis, Ela Wendell, Abdulla Rasheed, Sharmina Begum, Vaibhav Patel, Goruck Soubans, John K. Ruprecht

Natural resources commissioned reports

A drying climate means traditional water supply resources of farms in southern Western Australia are frequently unable to meet agricultural production demands. However, extensive, untapped sources of brackish or moderately saline water ( <   20,000mg/L total dissolved solids (TDS) are present in nearly all agricultural areas experiencing water shortages. In response, a small, yet increasing, number of farms have privately financed and installed small-scale desalination units to treat locally sourced, salt-impaired water. This approach not only provides a new source of freshwater to the farm portfolio, but is unaffected by changing climatic and weather conditions. Since the majority of the early adopters of on-farm desalination draw the salt-impaired water from groundwater bores, the technology implementation also mitigates local salinization of agricultural land due to groundwater rise, while decreasing reliance on the heavily subsidized, centralized water supply schemes operated by Water Corporation (WC).

The WaterSmart Farms Desalination (WSFD) project was undertaken to assess the nature and performance of existing, small-scale, on-farm desalination systems, including their economics, sustainability, availability, and weaknesses; and to assess these decentralized systems’ applicability and uncertainties for broader application on farms throughout southern Western Australia. The project was undertaken by three major partners, WA Department of Primary Industries and Region Development (DPIRD), WC, and the Harry Butler …

Sustainable Disposal Of Pecan Shells, Jose Carlos Carrasco

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Urbanization acceleration has increased the consumption of natural resources and carbon footprint, pushing the need for sustainable development. Even though various construction materials are needed for infrastructure development, the most commonly used material is Ordinary Portland Cement for strength (OPC) and durability, while sand is used as a filler in the mixes prepared with OPC. The main goal of this study is to find a sustainable substitute for sand, which is locally available and currently being placed in landfills. One such material is pecan shells, and a thorough analysis of the literature led us to investigate the possible use of …

Bispecific Antibodies In Hematologic And Solid Tumors: Current Landscape And Therapeutic Advances, Lorenzo Guidi, Julian Etessami, Carmine Valenza, Augusto Valdivia, Funda Meric-Bernstam, Enriqueta Felip, Giuseppe Curigliano

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Bispecific antibodies (bsAbs) have emerged as a novel class of therapeutics, offering a dual-targeting strategy to enhance the therapeutic efficacy of monoclonal antibodies, which is often limited by tumor heterogeneity and the occurrence of resistance mechanisms. By simultaneously engaging two distinct antigens or pathways, bsAbs disrupt multiple signaling cascades simultaneously, preventing escape mechanisms and offering a more durable response. Furthermore, they can optimize immune activation, improving immune cell recruitment strategies. In particular, T-cell engager bsAbs facilitate immune cell-mediated tumor destruction by linking T cells to tumor antigens. Instead, dual immune checkpoint inhibitors (CPIs) enhance immune activation by blocking inhibitory signals. …

A Gut-On-A-Chip Incorporating Human Faecal Samples And Peristalsis Predicts Responses To Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors For Melanoma, Mattia Ballerini, Serena Galiè, Punit Tyagi, Carlotta Catozzi, Hariam Raji, Amir Nabinejad, Angeli D G Macandog, Alessandro Cordiale, Bianca Ionela Slivinschi, Karol K Kugiejko, Martina Freisa, Paola Occhetta, Jennifer A Wargo, Pier F Ferrucci, Emilia Cocorocchio, Nicola Segata, Andrea Vignati, Andrey Morgun, Michela Deleidi, Teresa Manzo, Marco Rasponi, Luigi Nezi

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Patient responses to immune checkpoint inhibitors can be influenced by the gastrointestinal microbiome. Mouse models can be used to study microbiome-host crosstalk, yet their utility is constrained by substantial anatomical, functional, immunological and microbial differences between mice and humans. Here we show that a gut-on-a-chip system mimicking the architecture and functionality of the human intestine by including faecal microbiome and peristaltic-like movements recapitulates microbiome-host interactions and predicts responses to immune checkpoint inhibitors in patients with melanoma. The system is composed of a vascular channel seeded with human microvascular endothelial cells and an intestinal channel with intestinal organoids derived from human …

Therapeutic Hurdles In Acute Myeloid Leukemia: Leukemic Stem Cells, Inflammation And Immune Dysfunction, Bofei Wang, Patrick K Reville, Hussein A Abbas

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is an aggressive and highly heterogeneous hematological malignancy characterized by clonal expansion and differentiation arrest in myeloid progenitor cells. Despite advancements in chemotherapy, allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, and post-remission maintenance therapies, the long-term survival remains unsatisfactory with high rates of relapse and refractory. These therapeutic challenges are mediated by multiple factors, including the complexity of the cellular hierarchies in AML, the interaction of leukemic stem cells (LSCs) with the bone marrow niche, inflammation, and immune evasion mechanisms. Further, the absence of specific surface markers that distinguish LSCs from normal hematopoietic stem cells, together with LSCs' …

Trem2 Depletion In Pancreatic Cancer Elicits Pathogenic Inflammation And Accelerates Tumor Progression Via Enriching Il-1Β+ Macrophages, Daowei Yang, Xinlei Sun, Hua Wang, Ignacio I Wistuba, Huamin Wang, Anirban Maitra, Yang Chen

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background & aims: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) has a complex tumor microenvironment enriched with tumor-associated macrophages. Triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells 2 (TREM2) is highly expressed by a subset of macrophages in PDAC. However, the functional role of TREM2 in PDAC progression remains elusive.

Methods: We generated a novel transgenic mouse model (KPPC;Trem2-/-) that enables the genetic depletion of TREM2 in the context of spontaneous PDAC development. Single-cell RNA-sequencing analysis was used to identify changes in the tumor immune microenvironment on TREM2 depletion. We evaluated the impacts of TREM2 depletion on the tumor immune microenvironment to elucidate the functions …

Nlrp3 Inflammasome Activation Expands The Immunosuppressive Myeloid Stroma And Antagonizes The Therapeutic Benefit Of Sting Activation In Glioblastoma, Spencer T Lea, Chao-Hsien Chen, Jun Wei, Ivana William, Inés Lopez Del Castillo, Michael A Curran

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most common and deadly primary brain malignancy and is clinically refractory to immunotherapy. Active NLRP3 inflammasome signaling and IL-1β secretion have been observed in GBM, and NLRP3-driven myeloid-derived suppressor cell (MDSC) recruitment can mediate cancer immune evasion. Agonists of the cytosolic double-stranded DNA-sensing stimulator of IFN gene (STING) pathway can mediate proinflammatory conversion of cancer MDSCs; however, secretion of the NLRP3 products IL-1β and IL-18 has also been observed in certain myeloid populations following STING activation. In this study, we aimed to determine both the potential mechanistic synergy between STING and NLRP3 agonists, and the effects …

Egfr Controls Transcriptional And Metabolic Rewiring In Krasg12d Colorectal Cancer, Dana Krauß, Veronica Moreno-Viedma, Emi Adachi-Fernandez, Cristiano De Sá Fernandes, Jakob-Wendelin Genger, Ourania Fari, Bernadette Blauensteiner, Dominik Kirchhofer, Nikolina Bradaric, Valeriya Gushchina, Georgios Fotakis, Thomas Mohr, Ifat Abramovich, Inbal Mor, Martin Holcmann, Andreas Bergthaler, Arvand Haschemi, Zlatko Trajanoski, Juliane Winkler, Eyal Gottlieb, Maria Sibilia

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Inhibition of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) shows clinical benefit in metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC) patients, but KRAS-mutations are known to confer resistance. However, recent reports highlight EGFR as a crucial target to be co-inhibited with RAS inhibitors for effective treatment of KRAS mutant CRC. Here, we investigated the tumor cell-intrinsic contribution of EGFR in KRASG12D tumors by establishing murine CRC organoids with key CRC mutations (KRAS, APC, TP53) and inducible EGFR deletion. Metabolomic, transcriptomic, and scRNA-analyses revealed that EGFR deletion in KRAS-mutant organoids reduced their phenotypic heterogeneity and activated a distinct cancer-stem-cell/WNT signature associated with reduced cell size …

Targeted Sting Activation Using Modified Ultrasound-Responsive Microbubbles Enhances Immune Checkpoint Blockade Against Melanoma, Sina Khorsandi, Kristin Huntoon, Yifan Wang, Adam Woodward, Abin Antony, Connor Endsley, Nazia Hafeez, Jared L Edwards, Nicole Mccuen, Prasanna G Alluri, Betty Y S Kim, Wen Jiang, Jacques Lux

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Despite the recent successes of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) in treating advanced melanoma, durable clinical responses still remain limited. To boost immune responses, agents that target immune regulators, such as the Stimulator of Interferon Genes (STING) agonist cyclic GMP-AMP (cGAMP), are being investigated. However, their clinical translation is impeded by poor serum stability, rapid tissue clearance, and T-cell death due to off-target activation. Recently, a novel strategy termed Microbubble-assisted UltraSound-guided Immunotherapy of Cancer (MUSIC) has been reported to selectively deliver cGAMP directly into the cytosol of antigen-presenting cells with spatiotemporal control. The resulting activation of STING and downstream proinflammatory pathways …

Deck Reinforcement Detailing And Concrete Mix Additives To Reduce Bridge Deck Cracking, Brock D. Hedegaard

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

Despite recent changes to MnDOT mix designs, transverse cracking has still been observed shortly after the bridge deck is poured. The goal of this research was to determine the causes of this cracking and to propose deck reinforcement or mix design practices that efficiently mitigate the problem. Initial investigations focused on synthesizing existing research relating to crack mitigation in concrete bridge decks, and how these practices aligned with current Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) design and construction practices. This was followed by laboratory testing of high-performance bridge deck mixes to test alterations to the accepted mix specifications, and computational modeling …

"Touch&Play" Wood Typification By The Masspec Pen, Adriano Reis, Caroline Pais Carvalho, Iasmim Lopes De Lima, Felipe R P Mansoldo, Alane Beatriz Vermelho, Rosineide Costa Simas, Livia S Eberlin, Marcos N Eberlin

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

We have investigated the ability of a MasSpec Pen (MSPen) "three-in-one" (extraction, transfer, and ionization) device coupled to a mass spectrometer to provide instantaneous chemical profiles that could promptly characterize wood samples from the mahogany (Meliaceae) family. For that, we selected a set of five representative wood species, that is, Brazilian mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla, also known as Honduran mahogany), two African mahoganies (Khaya ivorensis and Khaya senegalensis), and two "nongenuine" ("fake") mahogany woods: cedar (Cedrela odorata) and andiroba (Carapa guianensis). By simply touching the superficially polished wood surface and after 3 s of automatic extraction, profiles of highly characteristic markers …

Biomolecular Condensates In Immune Cell Fate, Srikanth Kodali, Caroline M Sands, Lei Guo, Yun Huang, Bruno Di Stefano

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Fate decisions during immune cell development require temporally precise changes in gene expression. Evidence suggests that the dynamic modulation of these changes is associated with the formation of diverse, membrane-less nucleoprotein assemblies that are termed biomolecular condensates. These condensates are thought to orchestrate fate-determining transcriptional and post-transcriptional processes by locally and transiently concentrating DNA or RNA molecules alongside their regulatory proteins. Findings have established a link between condensate formation and the gene regulatory networks that ensure the proper development of immune cells. Conversely, condensate dysregulation has been linked to impaired immune cell fates, including ageing and malignant transformation. This Review …

Graphage: Unleashing The Power Of Graph Neural Network To Decode Epigenetic Aging, Saleh Sakib Ahmed, Nahian Shabab, Abul Hassan Samee, M Sohel Rahman

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

DNA methylation is a crucial epigenetic marker used in various clocks to predict epigenetic age. However, many existing clocks fail to account for crucial information about CpG sites and their interrelationships, such as co-methylation patterns. We present a novel approach to represent methylation data as a graph, using methylation values and relevant information about CpG sites as nodes, and relationships like co-methylation, same gene, and same chromosome as edges. We then use a graph neural network (GNN) to predict age. Thus our model, GraphAge leverages both the structural and positional information for prediction as well as better interpretation. Although, we …

Injectable Ionic Hydrogel Conductors: Advancing Material Design To Transform Cardiac Pacing, Gabriel J Rodriguez-Rivera, Allison Post, Mathews John, Derek Bashe, Fei Xu, Trace Larue, Abbey Nkansah, Megan Wancura, Malgorzata Chwatko, Christina Waldron, Nikhith Kalkunte, Janet Zoldan, Mathieu Arseneault, Abdou Elgalad, Manuel K Rausch, Mehdi Razavi, Elizabeth Cosgriff-Hernandez

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Direct pacing of the mid myocardium where re-entry originates can be used to prevent ventricular arrhythmias and circumvent the need for painful defibrillation or cardiac ablation. However, there are no pacing electrodes small enough to navigate the coronary veins that cross these culprit scar regions. To address this need, we have developed an injectable ionically conductive hydrogel electrode that can fill the epicardial coronary veins and transform them into flexible electrodes. A new hydrogel chemistry based on a polyether urethane diacrylamide macromer was developed that matches myocardial stiffness and is resistant to hydrolysis. Conductivity was imparted using ionic precursor solutions …

Linking Symptom Inventories Using Semantic Textual Similarity, Eamonn Kennedy, Shashank Vadlamani, Hannah M Lindsey, Kelly S Peterson, Kristen Dams O'Connor, Ronak Agarwal, Houshang H Amiri, Raeda K Andersen, Talin Babikian, David A Baron, Erin D Bigler, Karen Caeyenberghs, Lisa Delano-Wood, Seth G Disner, Ekaterina Dobryakova, Blessen C Eapen, Rachel M Edelstein, Carrie Esopenko, Helen M Genova, Elbert Geuze, Naomi J Goodrich-Hunsaker, Jordan Grafman, Asta K Håberg, Cooper B Hodges, Kristen R Hoskinson, Elizabeth S Hovenden, Andrei Irimia, Neda Jahanshad, Ruchira M Jha, Finian Keleher, Kimbra Kenney, Inga K Koerte, Spencer W Liebel, Abigail Livny, Marianne Løvstad, Sarah L Martindale, Jeffrey E Max, Andrew R Mayer, Timothy B Meier, Deleene S Menefee, Abdalla Z Mohamed, Stefania Mondello, Martin M Monti, Rajendra A Morey, Virginia Newcombe, Mary R Newsome, Alexander Olsen, Nicholas J Pastorek, Mary Jo Pugh, Adeel Razi, Jacob E Resch, Jared A Rowland, Kelly Russell, Nicholas P Ryan, Randall S Scheibel, Adam T Schmidt, Gershon Spitz, Jaclyn A Stephens, Assaf Tal, Leah D Talbert, Maria Carmela Tartaglia, Brian A Taylor, Sophia I Thomopoulos, Maya Troyanskaya, Eve M Valera, Harm Jan Van Der Horn, John D Van Horn, Ragini Verma, Benjamin S C Wade, Willian C Walker, Ashley L Ware, J Kent Werner, Keith Owen Yeates, Ross D Zafonte, Michael M Zeineh, Brandon Zielinski, Paul M Thompson, Frank G Hillary, David F Tate, Elisabeth A Wilde, Emily L Dennis

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

An extensive library of symptom inventories has been developed over time to measure clinical symptoms of traumatic brain injury (TBI), but this variety has led to several long-standing issues. Most notably, results drawn from different settings and studies are not comparable. This creates a fundamental problem in TBI diagnostics and outcome prediction, namely that it is not possible to equate results drawn from distinct tools and symptom inventories. Here, we present an approach using semantic textual similarity (STS) to link symptoms and scores across previously incongruous symptom inventories by ranking item text similarities according to their conceptual likeness. We tested …

Cumulative Effect Of Targeted Interventions On Radiologist Recommendations For Additional Imaging, Nooshin Abbasi, Neena Kapoor, Ronilda Lacson, Jeffrey P Guenette, Sonali Desai, David Lucier, Sanjay Saini, Rachel Sisodia, Ali S Raja, David W Bates, Ramin Khorasani

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Background Ambiguous or unnecessary radiologist recommendations for additional imaging (RAIs) can lead to excessive imaging use and diagnostic errors. Purpose To determine the cumulative impacts of multifaceted technology-enabled interventions aimed at optimizing RAI on RAI rate, actionability, and resolution over an 8-year period. Materials and Methods In this retrospective cohort study, conducted from January 2015 to December 2022, radiology reports from two tertiary hospitals (study site and control site) were analyzed. A series of quality improvement interventions, including radiologist education, electronic communication tools for tracking RAIs, and performance reports, were implemented at the study site but not at the control …

Nurturing The Student Voice And Its Creative Power In Mathematics Teaching And Learning: Research With Students On Emotion, Imagination, And Understanding., Luis Adolfo Zambrano

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This research in mathematics education explores the teaching and learning of mathematics at the high school and community college levels, integrating diverse research methods to examine how educators can cultivate a dynamic, collaborative, and responsive classroom climate. Framed by K. Tobin and K. Alexakos’s authentic inquiry education research framework (2020), the methodology actively engages students as co-researchers, valuing their insights and experiences as integral to the learning process. This approach fosters a meaningful dialogue on managing emotional and cognitive challenges faced by students of mathematics while identifying strategies to support and enhance students’ innate imaginative and creative capacities.

Grounded in …

Nonlinear Physics Of Parity-Broken Fluids, Sudheesh Srivastava

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This thesis explores parity-breaking mechanisms, nonlinear wave phenomena, and localization transitions across different physical contexts. First, we examine modulation instability in parity-breaking systems, deriving modified nonlinear Schr¨odinger equations that reveal direction dependent instabilities. Next, we investigate wave turbulence, demonstrating numerically that parity-breaking dispersion significantly alters turbulent cascades and modifies their statistical properties. Lastly, we analyze localization in quasiperiodic tight- binding model based on polariton condensate lattice. Collectively, these studies illustrate the universal role of symmetries and nonlinear interactions in shaping macroscopic behaviors, facilitating interdisciplinary insights.

Self-Reported Audiological And Vestibular Symptoms Associated With Lyme Disease, Daniella A. Bryan

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Background:

Lyme disease, an infectious vector-borne illness, is carried by the deer tick, Ixodes scapularis, which harbor the spirochete, Borrelia burgdorferi, affecting hundreds of thousands of people in the United States annually. Lyme disease has a multitude of clinical presentations and overlaps with other complex illnesses, making diagnosis and treatment a medical challenge. This distinct bacterium can migrate into any organ system through the mediums of soft tissue, the lymphatic system, and the circulatory system. Despite its prevalence and range in symptomatology, minimal research has been conducted to identify distinct audiological and vestibular symptoms associated with a Lyme …

The Long Arm Of The Law: The Far-Reaching Effects Of The Carceral State On Families, Madison Squiers

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This thesis investigates the extended consequences of mass incarceration in the United States, focusing on the social, economic, and psychological impacts on the nuclear families of incarcerated individuals. Through a comprehensive literature review of peer-reviewed studies published between 2000 and 2024, this study highlights how female partners and children of imprisoned men face significant hardships, including emotional trauma, financial instability, and social stigma. These burdens are most acutely experienced by low-income families and communities of color, reflecting broader patterns of structural inequality. The findings underscore how punitive criminal justice policies—especially mandatory minimum sentencing and the War on Drugs—have created ripple …

Problems And Paradigms In The Central Sahel Of Africa, Georgia Graham

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

In Africa’s Central Sahel region—comprising of the countries of Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso—environmental hardship, historical trauma, and contemporary conflict intersect with profound challenges of nation-building, state construction, and economic development. Situated in the semi-arid transitional zone between the Sahara Desert and sub-Saharan Africa, these landlocked states suffer from extreme geographical vulnerability. From the colonial period through to the present, these nations have experienced recurring droughts, persistent food insecurity, and entrenched poverty. Population growth has dramatically outpaced economic development; youth unemployment, limited educational opportunities, and scarce resources fuel social tension and potential conflict. Islamist insurgencies and increasingly violent ethnic conflicts …

Agents Of Alignment: Political Realignment As Social Movement Strategy, Matthew Miles Goodrich

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The fields of social movement studies and political realignment theory do not often overlap in political science. But by conceiving of realignment as a strategy of social movements, this paper reveals terrain in the political struggle that conventional scholarship can miss. I draw from two historical case studies – the industrial labor movement in the 1930s and the civil rights movement in Mississippi the 1960s – to explore how social movement strategists fought to shape the contours of emerging political orders to achieve their goals. I find that the labor movement pursued a reciprocal strategy of alignment with the Democratic …