Digital Commons Network^™

Inhibition Of Osteosarcoma Lung Metastases By Β-Glucan And Cd40 Agonist Is Mediated By Activation Of Macrophages And Nk Cells, Pradeep Shrestha, Rejeena Shrestha, Eugenie S Kleinerman

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Osteosarcoma (OS) lung metastases remain a significant therapeutic challenge. Innate immune activation is a promising therapeutic approach. Innate immune agonists can modulate the tumor immune microenvironment and improve therapeutic response.

Methods: Using an experimental syngeneic OS lung metastasis BALB/c mouse model with K7M3-luc OS cells, we evaluated the antitumor effects of yeast-derived particulate β-glucan in prevention and therapeutic settings. We then assessed whether the CD40 agonist (CD40a) in combination with β-glucan increased therapeutic response in two different immune-competent mouse models of OS lung tumor burden.

Results: In the pretreatment settings, mice treated with β-glucan prior to OS cell infusion …

Between Sound And Theology: Timbral Performativity In Brazilian Religious Musicking, Marcell Silva Steuernagel

Yale Journal of Music & Religion

This article explores the performativity of timbre, summarizing key perspectives from the English-language scholarship on the topic and setting them in conversation with Latin American perspectives on timbre. In addition, it examines a performance of “500 Graus” (500 degrees), a song performed by Brazilian Pentecostal artists Cassiane and Shirley Carvalhaes, to demonstrate how the performativity of timbre unfolds within a particular expression of Latin American religious musicking. In doing so, it investigates the phenomenon of timbre between music and sound studies, and theology and church music studies, providing insights relevant to the study of timbre and the study of religious …

Timbre — A Transcendent Paradox?, Eugenia Siegel Conte

Yale Journal of Music & Religion

Timbre, as ethnomusicologist Cornelia Fales writes, is “paradoxical” precisely because it is one of the most exacting processes in which the human body may sense and comprehend the source of a sound even as that comprehended sound is impossible to describe outside of metaphor or comparison. As one of the more recognizable qualities of sound but the most difficult to describe, timbre allows us to consider physical/emotional (affective) experiences of sound as a key aspect of faith and meditation. In this article, I examine physical-affective intersections of faith and meditation that often are key to praxes of worship, and show …

Singing A Wide Heart: Timbre And Sung Prayer In Senegal’S Layène Community, Margaret L. Rowley

Yale Journal of Music & Religion

Layène sung prayer (called sikkar) is embedded within the religious practices of the Layène community, a minority Sufi order in Dakar, Senegal. This article explores the functions of Layène sung prayer, focusing especially on its loud, vibrational timbre. Both men and women vocalists in call-and-response sing loudly, using wide vibrato and electronic amplification to ensure that the sikkar reaches the inhabitants—both human and non-human—in the surrounding community. This article demonstrates that the distinctive timbre of Layène sung prayer serves the spiritual functions of binding the community together in spiritual and social cohesion, increasing individual and collective generosity, and demarcating …

Live Wires: The Angelus Temple And The Timbre Of Power, Catherine Provenzano

Yale Journal of Music & Religion

This article is a media history and contemporary case study of The Angelus Temple in Los Angeles, founded by Aimee Semple McPherson in 1923. My analysis of the Angelus insists upon the centrality of a hyperaudible paradigm of worship that uses media to maximize the legibility of a Christian message, and, more than this, imagines that media itself as a living soul in need of redemption. Many contemporary megachurches employ savvy applications of sound and sound transmission as instruments of belonging as well as action, and these rely on high-budget investments in church infrastructure, software and personnel. I argue that …

Performing "Manly" Worship Music: Gender And Timbre At Mars Hill Church, Maren Haynes Marchesini

Yale Journal of Music & Religion

Ten years ago, Mars Hill boasted fifteen campuses and 15,000 members. Amid mounting allegations of abuse and mismanagement leveled against founding pastor Mark Driscoll, the church famously collapsed, closing its doors at the end of 2014. Driscoll had built Mars Hill’s core brand around his opposition to the perceived feminization of the Christian mainstream, and appointing himself the “leader of a heterosexual male backlash” in the church and broader culture. While Driscoll’s muscular Christianity stands in a wide historical stream, Mars Hill long led the charge in establishing a youth-oriented, hipster brand of hypermasculine Calvinism. And while rhetoric and theology …

A Sunlit Ambience: How Reverb Pedals Influence The Contemporary Worship Music Imagination, Dylan Crosson

Yale Journal of Music & Religion

With the recent proliferation of scholarship on the musical elements of Contemporary Worship Music (CWM) in addition to ethnographies exploring the tradition’s inner machinations, readers now enjoy unprecedented levels of insight into the actions of human actors and their music. But what of CWM’s non-human actors? Could the instruments and musical equipment used by CWM practitioners, for example, impact evangelical piety? In this article, I entertain this question by arguing that the materiality of reverb pedals—devices used by guitarists to add artificial reverberation to their sound—influences how evangelicals conceptualize elements of their faith by introducing new imagery or enriching pre-existing …

From The Heaviest, Dirtiest Depths To The Washy Ambient Clouds: Guitar Timbre In/As Schismogenesis In North American Christianity, Joshua K. Busman, Nathan Myrick

Yale Journal of Music & Religion

This essay argues that within the socio-cultural context of North American Christianity, the timbral qualities of electric guitar, with its long lineage as a site of cultural values conflict and identity negotiation, serves a theological function in the emerging and cohering sonority of digital worship. Using as comparative case studies the timbral qualities of delay and ambience as promoted and sold by Worship Tutorials as representing normative sonic values for these Christians, on the one hand, and the dialectic and schismatic deployment of distortion by the band My Epic on the other, we suggest that these timbral qualities become important …

Sounds Like 'Saudade': Eschatological Echoes In Brazilian 'Gospel' Music, Fernando Berwig Silva

Yale Journal of Music & Religion

This paper analyzes the song “Saudade” by the Brazilian gospel singer Stella Laura. In the song, I argue that Stella Laura uses Brazilian timbral markers from the Sertanejo and Gospel Brazilian music genres to articulate a unique perspective on eschatology, one that is based on the affective structure of the Lusophone word ‘saudade.’ Furthermore, I contend that the song, rooted in the Brazilian nostalgic sertanejo music tradition, leans on stylistic and timbral tools to communicate the idea of saudade from heaven. Beyond lyrics that feature theological notions of origin, identity, and nostalgia, Stella Laura’s song employs timbral, poetic, …

Introduction: The Power Of Timbre In Religion, Bo Kyung Blenda Im, Nathan Myrick

Yale Journal of Music & Religion

How might attending to timbre shift the boundaries of the experiences and practices that come under the analytical purview of religion? What timbral qualities render prayer efficacious and invite divine encounter? What cosmological claims and social relations are forwarded through sounds invoked in religious rituals and gatherings? How do marginalized voices and instruments shape worshipping communities? On the other hand, how are dominant identities and attendant structures reified through religiously marked timbre? Such questions about the character of sounds and their implications for religion animate this issue of the Yale Journal of Music & Religion.

Urine Cmv Pcr Positivity And Wheezing In Children Under Two Years Old: Implications For Management And Public Health, Jing Wang, Zhaocheng Zeng, Dushuang Zuo, Xiaoyan Zhang, Zehong Su

Journal of Pediatric Infectious Diseases

Objective: Wheezing in infants and toddlers poses a challenge to clinical management due to its multifaceted etiology, including viral infections. Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection has been implicated in respiratory conditions, mostly in immunocompromised individuals, but its potential role in wheezing in young children remains understudied. Methods: A total of 82 children under two years of age with wheezing were enrolled in this study, including 61 infants (<12 months) and 21 toddlers (12 to 24 months). Children were categorized into CMV-positive (n=49) and CMV-negative (n=33) groups based on urine PCR tests. Hematological profiles were examined on admission in all children. For CMV positive children, additional hematological evaluations were conducted at 2 weeks and 4 weeks following initiation of antiviral therapy. These children received a ganciclovir regimen (Induction: 5 mg/kg IV, q12h for 2 weeks; Maintenance: 5mg/kg IV q24h, 24 weeks). Results: On admission, CMV-positive children had significantly higher white blood cell (WBC) counts (12.16 vs. 8.39 ×109/L, P=0.004), leukocyte counts (6.92 vs. 4.49 ×109/L, P=0.010), and platelet counts (341.02 vs. 258.27 ×109/L, P=0.002) compared to CMV-negative children. During ganciclovir treatment, the elevated WBC, leukocyte, and platelet levels in CMV-positive children showed significant reductions by the second week, with further notable decreases by the fourth week (P<0.05). Notably, wheezing symptoms in CMV-positive children significantly improved after ganciclovir treatment, with subsequent negative CMV test results, indicating a favorable clinical response to antiviral therapy. Conclusion: Considering the multifaceted etiology of wheezing in children under two years of age, this study suggests that CMV infection may be one of the potential causes of wheezing symptoms. These findings highlight the importance of including CMV testing as part of the diagnostic evaluation for wheezing in this population to ensure more comprehensive management.

Risk Factors For The Development Of Bronchiolitis Obliterans Following Adenovirus Infection In Children And Its Association With The Covid-19 Pandemic: Five Years Of Data From A Single Center, Fatih Ercan, Sevgi Pekcan, Nefise B. Ercan, Abdullah Akkuş, Hanife T. Çağlar, Ahmet Çağlar, Gökçen Ünal, Aslı İ. Yılmaz, Suat Savaş, Fatma N. Ayman, Özge M. Akcan, Mehmet Özdemir, Mustafa Genceli, Bahar E. Tokdemir, Ahsen N. Saylık, Sinan Saylık

Journal of Pediatric Infectious Diseases

Objective: Post-infectious bronchiolitis obliterans (PIBO) is a common form of bronchiolitis obliterans in children. It can arise from various respiratory tract infections, including adenovirus. This study aimed to identify risk factors for the development of PIBO in pediatric patients following confirmed adenovirus infection. In addition, to review if the COVID-19 pandemic altered the frequency this occurred. Methods: This retrospective study included 516 pediatric patients (age 0-17 years) with confirmed adenovirus infection, who subsequently developed PIBO. For each patient demographic data, clinical characteristics (including oxygen supplementation, mechanical ventilation, ICU admission, duration of hospitalization), laboratory parameters (complete blood count, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, …

Clinical Characteristics And Antimicrobial Resistance Trends In Neonatal Urinary Tract Infections: A Four-Year Retrospective Analysis And Clinical Implications, Bo Jiang, Xiuyi Gao

Journal of Pediatric Infectious Diseases

Objective: To investigate the clinical characteristics, pathogen distribution, and antibiotic resistance trends of neonatal urinary tract infections (UTIs), providing a basis for clinical diagnosis and treatment. Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted on the clinical data of 82 neonates diagnosed with UTI in the NICU, including clinical manifestations, laboratory findings, and pathogen distribution. Results: Among 82 neonates with UTI, 59 were male and 23 were female, yielding a male-to-female ratio of 2.57:1. Of these, 9 were early neonatal infections and 73 were late neonatal infections; 65 were full-term and 17 were preterm. The main clinical manifestations included fever (52 cases), …

The Effects Of Non-Pharmacological Interventions During The Covid-19 Pandemic On Viral Respiratory Infections In Neonates During And Just After The Pandemic Era, Sevde N. Menemen, Ümit A. Tandırcıoğlu, Ayşegül Tuna, Serdar Alan

Journal of Pediatric Infectious Diseases

Objective: During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, these globally implemented nonpharmacological interventions (NPIs) have altered the circulation of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) as well as other respiratory viruses in the community. To evaluate the impact of NPIs on the incidence and severity of viral respiratory tract infection (RTI) in newborns during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: The study was performed as a retrospective design between 2020-2023. Newborns with signs of upper or lower RTI who had undergone real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) testing were included. The study was divided into 3 periods by considering the …

Entecavir Long-Term Treatment In Nucleoside/Nucleotide-Naïve Young Children With Perinatally-Acquired Hbeag-Positive Chronic Hepatitis: A Single Center Study, Hanan Fouad, Magda Sabry, Hany Abd Elaziz, Mohamed Rabea, Shaimaa El Abrak

Journal of Pediatric Infectious Diseases

Objective: We aimed to estimate Entecavir's long-term on-treatment safety and efficacy in young children with HBeAg-positive chronic hepatitis, who acquired perinatally Methods: This is an observational study of 14 nucleoside/nucleotide-naïve children with HBeAg-positive chronic hepatitis who were candidates for Entecavir. Treatment eligibility included persistent elevation of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) for at least 6 months, high HBV viremia, and moderate to severe hepatic inflammation and/or fibrosis. Results: Participants received Entecavir for up to 5 years (2-5). Their ages at baseline were 5.1 ± 1.6 years (range, 3-8), and they had an equal gender distribution. None had coinfection with hepatitis C or …

Shortened Treatment Regimens In Paediatric Tuberculosis: Results From The First Uk Survey Of Clinical Practice, Ezgi Seager, Carrie Gillespie, Steven Welch, Jonathan Cohen, Anna Turkova, Laura F. Antolin

Journal of Pediatric Infectious Diseases

N/A

Empirical Methods For Support System Design In Deep Serpentinite Excavations: A Critical Evaluation, Anas Driouch, Redouane Oubah, Abdelaziz Lahmili, Latifa Ouadif

Journal of Sustainable Mining

Underground mining excavations in fragile serpentinite rock masses represent a significant challenge today. The complicated features of these rock formations, especially at great depths, make it difficult to classify them using commonly employed methods. This paper focuses on the application of empirical methods for the classification of serpentinite rock masses and the design of support systems in underground mining excavations. Specifically, it concerns an access tunnel excavated entirely in serpentinite at a depth of 460 m. Geomechanical classification systems indicate that the Tunnelling Quality Index (Q-system) and Rock Mass Rating (RMR) evaluate serpentinites as rock masses of exceptionally poor to …

Combatting Road Accidents And Fatalities : The Colonial State, Voluntary Organisations, And Road Safety In Northern Rhodesia, 1940s-1964, Mbozi Santebe

Zamani: A Journal of African Historical Studies

Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia) experienced an increase in the use of motor vehicles from the late 1920s. Consequently, there was a rapid increase in the occurrence of road accidents from the 1940s onwards. The rise in cases of accidents attracted attention of the colonial state and other stakeholders that embarked on measures to improve road safety. Using a corpus of archival sources, this article examines the measures that the colonial state and voluntary organisations undertook to improve road safety in Northern Rhodesia from the 1940s to 1964. It contributes to scholarly works on the use of motor vehicles in Africa …

Dynamics Of Infanticides Among The Ngoni Of Tanzania, 1850s-1916, Andrew S. Kasambala, Oswald J. Masebo

Zamani: A Journal of African Historical Studies

Infanticide is one of the key factors in explaining changes in human populations since the antiquity. This paper examines dynamics of infanticide practices among the Ngoni of Tanzania from the late pre- colonial to the end of German colonial rule in 1916. Relying on primary and secondary sources, it argues that while infanticide remained a critical problem in Songea from the 19th century to the end of German colonialism in 1916, the context in which it was practiced and the interventions devised to alleviate it changed over time. While it was primarily practiced in Songea by pre-Ngoni communal based clans …

Criteria For Rejecting Ideas In African Philosophy : A Historical And Epistemological Analysis, Eric C. Mgalula

Zamani: A Journal of African Historical Studies

The rejection of African ideas remains a pivotal debate in African philosophy, centring on tensions between universalist epistemologies and culturally specific criteria. This study synthesizes fragmented discussions into a cohesive framework, interrogating when and why African ideas may be deemed inadequate. It critiques contemporary African scholarship that rigidly adheres to indigenous traditions under decolonial and nationalist imperatives, advocating instead for a balanced approach that harmonizes intellectual rigor with cultural authenticity. Through a historical analysis of key thinkers—from Tempels and Hountondji to Wiredu and Oyewumí—this article historicizes the evolution of evaluative criteria in African philosophy, challenging colonial legacies and romanticized traditionalism. …

Mediation Partiality And The East African Community’S ‘Quiet Diplomacy’ In The Kenyan Post-Election Crisis Of 2007/2008, Rasul A. Minja

Zamani: A Journal of African Historical Studies

This article examines the role of East African Community (EAC) in mediating the 2007/2008 Kenyan post-election crisis, analysing its engagement in regional conflict resolution. Despite its mandate to promote peace, the EAC's response was constrained by institutional weaknesses, political dynamics, and reliance on quiet diplomacy. The African Union-backed Panel of Eminent African Personalities, led by Kofi Annan, ultimately led the mediation, sidelining the EAC. Through the analysis of primary and secondary sources, the article indicates that EAC lacked a binding conflict management framework and faced decision-making delays that hindered swift intervention. The partiality of key figures, particularly President Yoweri Museveni …

Beyond Christianity : German Missionaries’ Heritage In Colonial Mbeya, Tanzania, 1880s-1918, Ashura Jackson Ngoya, Edward Simon Mgaya

Zamani: A Journal of African Historical Studies

This article examines the history of German missionaries in the colonial Mbeya, a southwest region of Tanzania, from the 1880s to 1918. It explores how missionaries influenced political, social, and economic changes that had a profound impact on the lives of the local population. The article investigates the secular roles of missionaries, which, although they supported evangelisation, they were not directly non- secular aspects. In doing so, the article considers missionaries' efforts in education, health, agriculture, trade, and tax collection, which sometimes led to them working as colonial intermediaries in certain areas of Mbeya. Based on primary and secondary sources, …

Engineering Inefficiencies And Technical Dependency : A Vital Lens In Understanding Power Outages In Postcolonial Tanzania, 1960s-1990s, Emanuel L. Mchome

Zamani: A Journal of African Historical Studies

This article examines how the construction of power infrastructure in the 1960s-1980s shaped the future functioning of the Tanzanian power grid from the 1990s. The article is based on oral sources and archival material collected from the Swedish National Archives in Stockholm, the Tanzania National Electric Supply Company Limited (TANESCO), the East Africana Section of the Wilbert Chagula Library at University of Dar es Salaam, the Rufiji Basin Development Authority (RUBADA) and the World Bank online sources. The article argues that engineering inefficiencies of some Western planners and builders of TANESCO’s power grid who failed to consider local ecological issues …

Bifusenet: A Multimodal Network For Estimating Blood Alcohol Concentration Via Bidirectional Hierarchical Fusion, Abdullah Tariq, Arooba Maqsood, Martin Masek, Syed Zulqarnain Gilani

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Drunk driving remains a significant public safety challenge, demanding innovative alternatives to conventional methods such as field sobriety tests and breathalysers. Estimating a driver's level of intoxication through facial cues is particularly challenging due to the subtle and person-specific nature of alcohol-induced behaviours. In this paper, we present BiFuseNet, a 3D spatio-temporal multi-modal network designed to classify alcohol impairment levels into three categories: sober, moderate, and severe. Unlike prior approaches that rely on either uni-modal RGB video or hand-crafted facial features, our method exploits complementary physiological cues from RGB and infrared (IR) facial videos. We introduce a Bi-directional Hierarchical Fusion …

Anesthesia Management Of A Patient With Chronic Pain, Susceptibility To Malignant Hyperthermia, Difficult Airway, Undergoing Temporomandibular Joint Surgery, Kishori Dhaku Bawdane, Trina Sircar, Ned Nasr, Nebojsa Nick Knezevic

Advocate GME

No abstract provided.

Functional Roles Of The Complement Immune System In Cardiac Inflammation And Hypertrophy, Kathryn D Hok, Haydn E Rich, Anthony Shadid, Lavanya Gunamalai, Tingting Weng-Mills, Rajarajan A Thandavarayan, Nirmal K Banda, Marie-Francoise Doursout, Marcos I Restrepo, Pooja Shivshankar

The Brown Foundation: Institute of Molecular Medicine

Cardiac inflammation and hypertrophy develop as a pathologic response to an array of insults, such as myocardial infarctions, chronic systemic hypertension, and valvular defects. Due to the high prevalence of such conditions, there is an increasing need to prevent and halt cardiac hypertrophy. Because cardiac damage and subsequent remodeling can lead to arrhythmias, heart failure, and even sudden cardiac death, inhibition of cardiac hypertrophy is key to reducing cardiovascular-related mortality. The immune system is the driving force behind inflammatory reactions. All three pathways of complement system activation-classical, lectin, and alternative-are implicated in developing cardiac damage, inflammation, and hypertrophy due to …

Designing Assignments For Non-Traditional Students In Higher Education Using Andragogical Principles, Ajit Bhattarai, Beixi Li

Online Journal for Workforce Education and Development

This conceptual paper explores assignment design for non-traditional students in higher education, guided by andragogical principles. Recognizing the increasing presence of adult learners, the paper emphasizes the need for tailored educational strategies. Drawing upon Malcolm Knowles' assumptions of andragogy, it highlights self-directed learning, practical application, and relevance as key considerations. The paper discusses how assignments can be designed to engage adult learners by acknowledging their prior experiences and fostering a sense of ownership in their learning. This study contributes to the ongoing conversation on improving educational practices for non-traditional students, advocating for approaches that recognize them as students who bring …

Exploring Customer Satisfaction Drivers In The Automotive Sector: A Study Of Volkswagen In Chennai, Sridhar M, Karthik Rajan C S

Management Dynamics

This study examines the key drivers of customer satisfaction among Volkswagen car owners in Chennai, a major metropolitan market within India’s rapidly evolving automotive sector. As competition intensifies and consumer expectations shift, understanding the multidimensional aspects of satisfaction spanning product quality, performance, after-sales service, brand perception, and pricing has become essential for enhancing customer retention and loyalty. Employing a structured questionnaire administered to 100 Volkswagen customers, the study uses both descriptive and inferential statistical tools to identify significant satisfaction determinants. Findings reveal that while customers express high satisfaction with product performance and driving experience, concerns persist regarding service accessibility, mechanical …

Enhancing Urban Transit Oriented Development: Investigating Passenger Loyalty, Attitudes, And Perceived Usefulness On Jabodetabek Kai Commuter, Hermeilia Megawati, Roza Alifia Aegista, Liza Yudhita Widyastuti, Alifa Syamantha Putri

Psychological Research on Urban Society

This study explores the psychological factors that influence applying a technology acceptance model to KAI Commuter Jabodetabek. The model focuses on the primary variables of perceived usefulness and attitude toward the service, with passenger loyalty serving as the key indicator of successful public transportation acceptance. Data was collected via surveys from 352 purposively selected commuter workers in the Greater Jakarta area using a cross-sectional, quantitative design. The measurement tools used are adaptations of the Passenger Loyalty Measure to Public Transportation Modes, the Attitude Measure to Public Transportation, and the Perceived Usefulness Measure. The results indicate that attitude toward KAI Commuter …

Soundscapes, Pioneers, And Practices: Laying The Foundations Of The Russian Guitar, Wojciech Gurgul

Soundboard Scholar

A review of The Seven-String Guitar in Russia: Its Origins, Repertoire, and Performance Practice, 1800–50, by Oleg Timofeyev (Cambridge Scholars, Newcastle upon Tyne, 2023), Worldcat, publisher's website