Digital Commons Network^™

Alcohol And The Endocrine System: A Critical Review Of Disruptions, Potential Mechanisms, And Health Implications, Patricia E. Molina, Liz Simon

School of Graduate Studies Faculty Publications

The endocrine system coordinates and integrates cellular activity throughout the body by regulating cellular and organ function and maintaining homeostasis. Homeostasis, the dynamic maintenance of internal balance despite changing external or internal conditions, is essential for proper cellular function. The endocrine system achieves this through a complex regulatory network of hormone-mediated signaling among multiple endocrine organs, relying on precisely regulated synthesis and release of hormones and specific hormone-receptor interactions. Endocrine-mediated actions coordinate critical physiological processes, including growth, metabolism, reproduction, stress adaptation, and circadian rhythms throughout the lifespan. Endocrine glands—such as the hypothalamus, pituitary, thyroid, parathyroid glands, pancreas, adrenal glands, and …

Mindset Moderation Manager, Dawn Atkinson

Writing

No abstract provided.

Evaluating Sources With The Craap Test, Dawn Atkinson

Writing

No abstract provided.

Adaptable Psychopathic Traits: Military And Para-Military Organizations, Mariana Ramirez

Student Theses

Although culturally distinct, both military and law enforcement careers demand individuals to operate effectively in high-risk environments; a characteristic shaped through processes of military and para-military occupational socialization, reinforced by an adaptable personality. Understanding the distinctions between military and law enforcement cultures provides a foundation for examining individual-level factors such as personality, behavior, and mental health. Recent research (e.g. Anestis et al., 2019; Batastini et al., 2023; Falkenbach et al., 2017; Falkenbach et al., 2018; McKinley & Verona, 2023; Patton et al., 2018; Preston et al., 2020; Roșca et al., 2021) has increasingly applied a psychopathic framework to study these …

Long-Term Trends Of Satellite Sea Surface Temperature And Chlorophyll-A In South Florida, L. Robinson, Digna Rueda Roa, L. Verill, F. Muller-Karger

Making Waves REU

This project examined long-term trends in satellite Sea Surface Temperature (SST) and Chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) in southern Florida. The analyses utilized anomalies of these variables, effectively eliminating the seasonal cycle to prevent a skew in the results. The longterm trends in SST revealed a significant increase over time across the entire region, with spatial variations in intensity ranging from 0.03°C/year in Florida Bay to 0.06°C/year offshore in the Gulf of Mexico. The long-term trends in Chl-a exhibited minimal variation over time, with an exception of the north lower Florida Keys, which experienced a notable increase of 0.02 mg m-2/year. The spatial …

A New Tax Shelter Wave, Reuven S. Avi-Yonah

Articles

There have been two tax shelter waves in recent memory: The first one ended in 1986, and the second in 2006. We are now amid a third one. The first wave lasted from around 1970 to 1986. It was based on mass marketed shelters sold to individuals with nonwage ordinary income like lawyers, accountants, physicians, and dentists, who were subject to high tax rates. The basic structure of the first wave of tax shelters depended on the Supreme Court’s misguided opinions in Crane and Tufts, which held that the amount realized from the sale of encumbered property included nonrecourse debt.2 …

Excess Risk Of Fracture In Incident Parkinson's Disease Medicare Beneficiaries, Alejandra Camacho-Soto, Irene M Faust, Brittany Krzyzanowski, Jordan A Killion, Kassu M Beyene, Edward F Ellerbeck, Jacob J Sosnoff, Brad A Racette

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: Parkinson's disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disease, characterized by both motor and non-motor symptoms. Falls and fractures are common in advanced PD but the risk of fractures in newly diagnosed people with PD and the impact of treatment with levodopa is understudied.

METHODS: We investigated the risk of fractures among Medicare beneficiaries with incident PD age ≥ 67 compared to controls. Among PD cases only with continuous Part D medication coverage, we examined the effect of levodopa treatment on fracture risk. We identified incident PD cases (N = 68,150) within a population-based sample of 2017 Medicare …

Lindenwood Renames Football Field, Truman Griessel

Lindenlink (2012- )

No abstract provided.

Dynamic Fib-4 Score Changes And Hcc Risk In Patients With Masld And Elevated Liver Enzymes: A Nationwide Cohort Study, Teng-Yu Lee, Ju Dong Yang, George Cholankeril, Chien-Jen Chen, Hawi-I Yang, Chuen-Fei Chen, Hung-Chuen Chang, Chun-Ying Wu

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Introduction: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) can develop in individuals with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) without cirrhosis, especially in those with elevated liver enzymes. However, there is currently no low-cost, scalable screening tool for this population. To address this need, we investigated the association between serial changes in FIB-4 (fibrosis-4) scores over a 3-year period and the risk of developing HCC in a large, diverse cohort of patients with MASLD without cirrhosis.

Methods: This study utilized a nationwide cohort from the National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD), including 810,698 patients with MASLD who had demographic and laboratory data at baseline …

Social Prescribing Within Five European Countries: A Protocol Of A Cross-Country Qualitative Analysis, Stephanie Tierney, Debra Westlake, Farhad Rezvani, Daniela Rojatz, Juliane Köberlein-Neu, Trutz Bommhardt, Sónia Dias, Maria João Marques, Donata Kurpas, Hendrik Napierala, Wolfram Herrmann, K Husk

Peninsula Medical School

Introduction Social prescribing is an approach to addressing non-medical issues affecting people’s health and well-being (eg, loneliness, housing or financial problems). It has gained international traction over recent years as complementary to medical care. A larger research project, comparing social prescribing across European countries, is considering how to tailor provision for the following groups: (a) LGBTIQ+persons, (b) refugees and first-generation immigrants and (c) older adults living alone. As part of this research, a qualitative study will address the question: What are the enabling and limiting factors associated with implementing social prescribing, across different European countries, from the perspective of key …

Densest Subgraph Discovery On The Cpu, Hunter Gerard Gareau

Theses and Dissertations

The Densest Subgraph Discovery (DSD) problem is a prevalent problem in the field of graph mining, aiming to find the cohesive subgraph. Given a graph �� = (��,��) and an integer �� ≥ 2, the goal is to find a vertex sub- set �� ⊆ �� whose induced subgraph �� (��) maximizes the ��-clique density, defined as the number of ��-cliques per vertex. Larger val- ues of �� capture higher-order connectivity patterns beyond edges, enabling the discovery of more cohesive structures. There have been many solutions to this problem. However, one avenue that other graph mining problems have gone down …

Comparative Evolution Of Caenorhabditis Hermaphrodites, James Francis Kennedy

Theses and Dissertations

The Caenorhabditis genus produced three independently-evolved hermaphroditic species, C. elegans, C. briggsae, and C. tropicalis. This convergence happened by the independent co-option of male programs for use in a female body. This required two distinct steps: (1) mutations in the sex-determination pathway that activated spermatogenesis in XX animals, and (2) mutations that expressed one of the redundant sperm activation signals in XX animals. My project focused on characterizing how sex-determination genes work in C. briggsae and C. tropicalis. Loss-of-function alleles were used to compare the core sex-determination pathway to that of C. elegans. I found that the somatic sex-determination pathway …

The Six-Course Guitar In Spain: Some Considerations Of Repertoire And Musical Practice, Thomas Schmitt

Soundboard Scholar

The six-course guitar is still a little-known instrument. One need only look at books on the history of music to verify that claim: there is hardly any mention of it, nor are its composers or repertoire often cited. In fact, researchers have given far more attention to other plucked-string instruments than to the six-course guitar—whether for reasons of tradition or ideology—leading to a major gap in the literature. The repertoire of the Spanish Golden Age, to take one example, has been thoroughly explored, in the domains of both vocal and instrumental music (as in the vihuela). Similarly, there is quite …

Play-Based Curriculum, Marina E. Prawdzik

Masters Projects

This project addresses the drastic decline of play and play-based learning in public education early childhood settings. Kindergarten classrooms have shifted their focus more to academics in the form of lecture based learning and lessons, rather than play based learning techniques. Because of this, children are lacking in cognitive development, physical development and social and emotional development and growth. This project includes research from within the state of Michigan, research within the United States as a whole, and research about play based learning from other countries such as Nigeria, Mexico, South Africa, Kenya, Finland, and Germany.

2026-01-12 Message From The President, Morehead State University. Office Of The Provost.

Staff Congress Records

Message sent on January 12, 2026 by the President to the campus community regarding upcoming dates of importance, congratulatory recognitions, and the New Carnegie Designation.

Report On A Self-Directed Pilot Study (For Students), Yoshihiko Ariizumi

Spiritual Proficiency

Level Up Your Life: The Science of Spiritual Growth

Ever feel like you're stuck in "mental noise" or struggling to stay focused? This study explores how a simple 4-week routine can literally "accelerate" your brain and emotional resilience. By using checklists and specific mental "switches," I found that we can turn daily frustrations into moments of gratitude and even boost our ability to learn complex subjects. This isn't just about faith; it's about a practical "system" to help you stay calm, sharp, and connected to your higher purpose in a busy world.

Report On A Self-Directed Pilot Study (For Researchers), Yoshihiko Ariizumi

Spiritual Proficiency

Strategic Self-Regulation for Spiritual and Cognitive Enhancement

This pilot study investigates the impact of structured spiritual interventions on cognitive processing and emotional regulation. By integrating meta-cognitive tools—such as narrative accountability, systematic scripture application, and "mental toggles" via hymns—the research demonstrates a significant acceleration in learning efficiency and a reduction in emotional recovery time. The findings suggest that spiritual experiences are not merely random occurrences but "probability-controllable phenomena" that can be systematically cultivated through intentional environmental settings and habitual reflection.

7th Annual Alexander C. Cushing International Law Conference, Stockton Center For International Law

Cushing International Law Conference

The Institute for Maritime Affairs and Law of the Sea (IMLOS), in collaboration with the Stockton Center for International Law (SCIL) of the U.S. Naval War College (USNWC) and Amador Research Services, hosted the 7th Annual Alexander C. Cushing International Law Conference, “Security at Sea,” on May 13–14, 2025, at the University of the Philippines (UP) College of Law Bonifacio Global City (BGC) Campus in Manila, Philippines. The annual Alexander C. Cushing International Law Conference brings together world-renowned scholars and practitioners in international law and oceans law and policy to address pressing and emerging issues in maritime law, governance, and …

Self-Efficacy Change Among Diverse Family Caregivers In Dementia Care, Rafael Samper-Ternent, Jeff D Williamson, Arun S Karlamangla, Debra Saliba, David B Reuben

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Objectives: To determine whether changes in caregiver self-efficacy (beliefs about one's ability to manage dementia-related problems and access help) differed by caregiver race and ethnicity across all participants enrolled in a large pragmatic trial of comprehensive dementia care.

Methods: In the Dementia Care Study (D-CARE), community-dwelling older adults with dementia and their unpaid family caregivers were randomized to receive usual care, community-based, or health system-based comprehensive dementia care. Caregiver self-efficacy was assessed at baseline, 6 months, and 18 months using a 4-item scale (range 4-20, higher scores indicate greater self-efficacy). Among all caregivers, we compared least squares means for overall …

Reformulation Of The Protein Databank For Real-Time Search Of Geometrical Attributes Of Protein Structures, Musa Azeem, Christopher Lee, Aaron Hein, Christopher Ott, Homayoun Valafar

Faculty Publications

Introduction:

In this study, we introduce the design and implementation of PDBMine, a large-scale, queryable platform for mining sequence-structure statistics from the Protein Data Bank (PDB). PDBMine enables rapid analysis of local conformational trends across proteins by extracting dihedral angles and sequence patterns at scale. In addition to the design and implementation of PDBMine, we also present results validating its ability to return structurally meaningful information.

Methods:

We first assess the accuracy of its dihedral angle distributions by comparing them to established Ramachandran space and verifying expected behaviors of residues such as glycine and proline. We then use PDBMine to …

Lanthorn, Vol. 60, No. 09, January 12, 2026, Grand Valley State University

Volume 60, August 4, 2025 – April 20, 2026

Lanthorn is Grand Valley State's student newspaper, published from 1968 to the present.

Message From The President, Georgia Southern University

Messages from the President

No abstract provided.

The George-Anne Daily, Georgia Southern University

George-Anne Media Group: Newsletters & Magazines

No abstract provided.

A Comparison Of Modeled Daytime E Regions From E-Probed And Pyiri With Ionosonde Observations, Daniel J. Emmons, Cornelius C. J. H. Salinas, Dong L. Wu, Nimalan Swarnalingam, Eugene V. Dao, Jorge L. Chau, Yosuke Yamazaki, Kyle E. Fitch, Victoriya V. Forsythe

Faculty Publications

While the F region is the primary focus of many ionospheric models because it contains the peak electron density, the E region is an important region for ionospheric conductivities and high-frequency radio propagation. This study analyzes modeled E regions from the newly developed PyIRI and E-PROBED models. A long-term comparison of E region predictions from E-PROBED and PyIRI with ionosonde observations is performed for three sites spanning low- (Fortaleza, Brazil), mid- (El Arenosillo, Spain), and high-latitudes (Gakona, Alaska). Modeled foE and hmE trends are compared against a combination of manually-scaled and automatically-scaled ionograms using ARTIST-5 for the period 2009–2024 for …

Germline Hla Heterozygosity Is Associated With Decreased Lung Cancer Risk, Hyun-Sung Lee, Younghun Han, Yafang Li, Rayjean J Hung, David C Christiani, Xin-An Wang, Mattias Johansson, Xiangjun Xiao, David Zaridze, Stig Egil Bojesen, Sanjay Shete, Demetrios Albanes, Melinda C Aldrich, Adonina Tardon, Guillermo Fernandez-Tardon, Loïc Le Marchand, Gad Rennert, Heike Bickeböller, H-Erich Wichmann, Angela Risch, John K Field, Michael Davies, Penella Woll, Lambertus A Kiemeney, Aage Haugen, Shanbeh Zienolddiny, Stephen Lam, Mikael Johansson, Kjell Grankvist, Matthew B Schabath, Angeline Andrew, Philip Lazarus, Susanne M Arnold, Dakai Zhu, Maria Teresa Landi, James Mckay, Christopher Amos, Chao Cheng

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Heterozygosity at human leukocyte antigen (HLA) loci may improve lung cancer immunosurveillance by increasing recognition of the tumor by the immune system. Previous studies utilizing data from population-level biobanks, such as the United Kingdom Biobank and FinnGen, have identified an association between germline HLA class-II heterozygosity and reduced lung cancer risk in smokers. In the present study, we evaluate the association between HLA heterozygosity and lung cancer in a large case-control study (15,302 cases; 14,580 controls) with imputed HLA allele-type information, comparing differences in HLA heterozygosity between smokers and non-smokers, amongst lung cancer subtypes, and at 2- and 4-digit HLA …

Chek2 Loss Endows Chemotherapy Resistance To Hematopoietic Stem Cells, Sanming Li, Minhua Li, Xiangguo Shi, Daisuke Nakada

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Individuals with history of chemo- or radiotherapy frequently exhibit somatic mosaicism in the blood, often involving mutations in genes responsible for DNA damage responses (DDR), such as CHEK2. However, the mechanisms by which CHEK2 mutations promote the expansion of mutant cells following chemo- or radiotherapy remain poorly understood. Here, we demonstrate that loss of CHEK2 confers resistance to chemotherapy in hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs). Through a CRISPR-based screen, we identified CHEK2 as a gene whose loss enhances resistance to cytotoxic chemotherapies. A complementary drug screen revealed that CHEK2-mutant cells are also resistant to DNA hypomethylating agents. Chek2-deficient HSPCs …

Changes In Phenology Mediate Vertebrate Population Responses To Temperature Globally, Viktoriia Radchuk, Carys V. Jones, Nina Mclean, Anne Charmantier, Céline Teplitsky, Ray Alisauskas, Sergio Ancona, Tycho Anker-Nilssen, Peter Arcese, Karl S. Berg

School of Integrative Biological & Chemical Sciences Faculty Publications

Phenotypic responses to climate affect individual fitness, but the extent to which this translates into effects on population dynamics remains poorly understood. We assemble 213 time series on phenotypes and population sizes of wild vertebrates globally and match them with local climate data. Our meta-analysis shows that morphological traits are mostly climate insensitive. However, phenology is earlier in warmer-than-average years, which contributes positively to population growth in most species. At lower latitudes, temperature has weaker effects on phenology but stronger direct negative effects on population growth, likely because these populations are less capable of tracking climate via plasticity. Variation in …

Adipose Stromal Cell-Derived Cancer-Associated Fibroblasts Promote Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma Progression Through Sfrp4 Signaling, Joseph Rupert, Lingyi Cai, Alexes C Daquinag, Dimitris Anastassiou, Mikhail G Kolonin

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background/objectives: Progression of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) and other carcinomas relies on cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs). A subset of CAFs is derived from adipose stromal cells (ASCs) recruited by tumors and the ASC-CAF conversion has been associated with invasiveness and poor prognosis.

Methods: To explore the underlying molecular mechanisms, we used a model based on primary ASCs derived from human visceral adipose tissue co-cultured with human PDAC cell line Capan-1. To investigate cancer progression in vivo, we also used mice orthotopically grafted with mouse KPC cells.

Results: Genomic analysis revealed that Capan-1 co-culture induces Wnt and TGFβ signaling and extracellular matrix …

Arrhythmia Following Congenital Heart Disease Surgery In Oman: Incidence And Risk Factors – A Prospective Study, Shamsa Al Kaabi, Eslam Mohammed, Tamer Abosalem, Hilal Al Riyami, Ismail Al Abri, Mohammed Al Ghafri

Sultan Qaboos University Medical Journal

Objectives: This study aimed to determine the incidence, outcomes and risk factors of arrhythmia in children undergoing congenital heart disease (CHD) surgery in Oman. Methods: This prospective cohort study was conducted between 2023 and 2024 at the National Heart Centre, Muscat, Oman. Paediatric patients who underwent CHD surgery were included; those with preoperative arrhythmia or permanent pacemakers were excluded. Demographic, intraoperative and postoperative variables were collected. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to identify independent predictors of postoperative arrhythmia. Results: A total of 346 patients were included in this study, of which 49 (14.2%, 95% confidence …

自己に対するパイロットスタディ・レポート（研究者用）, Yoshihiko Ariizumi

Spiritual Proficiency

霊的成長における戦略的自己調整：認知と情動への影響 本パイロットスタディは、構造化された霊的介入が個人の認知プロセスおよび情動調整にいかなる影響を及ぼすかを検証したものである。叙述的報告（アカウンタビリティ）、聖典の主体的適用、および賛美歌を用いた「認知的スイッチ」といったメタ認知的ツールを導入した結果、学習効率の飛躍的な向上と、負の情動からの回復時間の短縮が実証された。本研究の結論として、霊的体験は単なる偶発事ではなく、意図的な環境設定と内省の習慣化によって「生起確率を制御可能な現象」であることが示唆された。