Digital Commons Network^™

Formulation Development Of Topical Inserts Containing Doxycycline And Doxycycline Combined With Tenofovir Alafenamide And Elvitegravir For The Prevention Of Sexually Transmitted Infections, Vivek Agrahari, M. Melissa Peet, Jasmin Monpara, Rijo John, Sriramakamal Jonnalagadda, Pardeep K. Gupta, Meredith R. Clark, Gustavo F. Doncel

CONRAD Publications

Despite advances in oral and injectable HIV prevention options and oral prophylaxis for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) of bacterial origin, there remains a critical need for effective on-demand topical (vaginal and rectal) products for pre- and post-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP and PEP). To fill this gap, we have developed single and first-in-kind multi-active topical inserts for bacterial STIs and HIV/STIs prevention. We have formulated two different inserts, one containing doxycycline (DOX) at 10, 50, and 100 mg doses for bacterial STI prevention, and a multipurpose prevention product (TED insert) that combines DOX (10 mg) with the antiretrovirals tenofovir alafenamide (TAF; 20 …

Artificial Intelligence And Machine Learning In Smart Vaginal Formulation Development, Deborah A. Ogundemuren, Vivek Agrahari, Andrew P. Wong, Carolina Herrera, Margaret O. Ilomuanya, Gustavo F. Doncel

CONRAD Publications

Vaginal drug delivery in women's health remains underutilized and insufficiently studied, largely due to the complexity and dynamic nature of the vaginal microenvironment. Variations in vaginal pH, hormonal levels, and microbiota composition introduce significant biological variability, complicating formulation design and contributing to inconsistent therapeutic outcomes and poor patient adherence. Conventional vaginal formulations often fail to account for these individual differences, highlighting the need for more adaptive and predictive approaches. Emerging advances in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) offer promising strategies to address these challenges by enabling multi-parameter, data-driven formulation development that explicitly considers biological variability. Despite their transformative …

Partial Post-Exposure Protection By Topical Inserts Containing Tenofovir Alafenamide Fumarate/Elvitegravir In A Macaque Model Of Rectal Simian Hiv (Shiv) Infection, Natalia Makarova, Tyana Singletary, M. Melissa Peet, Kristen Kelley, Ryan Johnson, Vivek Agrahari, Maria Mendoza, Yi Pan, Walid Heneine, Meredith R. Clark, J. Gerardo García Lerma, Gustavo F. Doncel, James W. Smith

CONRAD Publications

On-demand topical inserts for HIV prevention may be a good option for people who have a low frequency of sexual activity. We recently demonstrated in a preclinical macaque model that rectal application of inserts containing tenofovir alafenamide fumarate (TAF) and elvitegravir (EVG) conferred protection against SHIV infection (93% efficacy) when applied as pre-exposure prophylaxis 4 hours before SHIV exposure. Here, we show that the same inserts provide significant postexposure protection (82.9% efficacy) when applied 4 hours after SHIV exposure. Our findings further support the ongoing clinical development of TAF/EVG inserts for on-demand HIV prevention.

Micrornas Regulated By Pregnancy Target Antiviral And Cancer Immunity Overlapping With The Hiv Interactome, Paula F. T. Cezar-De-Mello, Jonathan M. Dreyfuss, Pai-Lien Chen, Hidemi Yamamoto, Xiaoming Gao, Hui Pan, Charles Morrison, Gustavo F. Doncel, Robert L. Barbieri, Raina N. Fichorova

CONRAD Publications

Innate immunity predictors of HIV-1 risk and pathogenesis vary with reproductive hormones, pregnancy, and lactation, yet the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. We hypothesized that pregnancy-associated physiological adaptations alter systemic microRNA (miRNA) expression, thereby regulating immunity, pathogenesis and susceptibility to infection. We analyzed 174 serum samples from 88 participants in a longitudinal cohort from Uganda and Zimbabwe across pre-pregnancy (PP), pregnancy (P), and postpartum breastfeeding (BF). Cell-free peripheral blood miRNAs (n = 2083) were profiled using HTG EdgeSeq. Pregnancy-specific miRNAs were identified by intersecting differentially expressed (DE) miRNAs from P vs. PP and P vs. BF comparisons. miRNA targets and pathways …

2026 Viewbook, Office Of Admissions

Viewbook

At IMSA, you will be part of a community of over 650 diverse students passionate about learning. Located in suburban Aurora, IMSA’s campus consists of seven residence halls spread across 97 acres. While living and learning on campus, you’ll make new friends, encounter new ideas, and learn to live independently. You will also have the opportunity to explore over 85 clubs, organizations, and IHSAsponsored co-curricular and athletic programs. IMSA provides a safe, nurturing environment. Professional Resident Counselors (RCs) live in each hall and will help you navigate your home away from home through the Residential Life Curriculum. Through this curriculum, …

Carceral Schools: Black Geographies Of Confinement, Surveillance, And Policing, M. Alex Evans

FIU Law Review

This Article charts the deeply entrenched traditions of policing, containing, and surveilling blackness throughout this Nation’s history, with particular focus on Black students and schools. It provides school discipline data demonstrating the perpetual racial, gender, and ability disparities that Black students face decade after decade. It employs Black Geography as a theoretical framework to analyze school as a spatial and racial experience for all youth. This reading of carceral schools as Black geographic terrains of struggle expands the notion of school policing beyond dominant ideations which are largely limited to law enforcement officers in schools. It highlights the extent to …

Prenatal Exposure To Nicotine And Postpartum Depression: A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis, Reem Sharaf-Alddin, May Salama, Denise Mckinney, George Saade, Qi Zhang

Health Behavior, Policy & Management Faculty Publications

Purpose: Postpartum Depression (PPD) is the most common mental health complication of childbirth, and has short-term and long-term consequences for mother, child, and the entire family. PPD is a function of several factors. Prenatal exposure to nicotine (PEN) by Active Tobacco Smoking (ATS), Secondhand Smoking (SHS), or Electronic Nicotine Products (ENPs) is a major potential risk factor. This systematic review and meta-analysis aim to summarize and evaluate all evidence regarding the association between PEN and PPD.

Methods: We searched the following databases, PubMed, Medline, Cochrane, EMBASE, and CINHAL, for studies published between Jan.1st ,2000&Sep.19th ,2024, with the outcome PPD. Studies …

Impact Of Contraceptive Initiation On The Cervicovaginal Mucosa: Results From The Umpala Multicentre Partially Randomized Patient-Preference Interventional Trial, Betty Njoroge, Nelly Mugo, Carolina Herrera, Karen Dominguez, Louise A. Ouattara, Nazita Yousefieh, Neelima Chandra, Agnieszka Kurczewska, Stephanie Nartey, Julie Lewis, Andrea R. Thurman, Matilda Saina, Raina N. Fichorova, Jacques Ravel, Reem Sharaf Alddin, Nicola Richardson-Harman, Kenneth Ngure, Gustavo F. Doncel

CONRAD Publications

Background: Long-acting contraceptives are widely used, providing superior efficacy and systemic safety; however, the impact of contraceptive initiation on female genital tract function and health has been understudied.

Methods: Non-pregnant, HIV-uninfected women aged 18–50 years were enrolled in a dual-centre partially randomized patient-preference interventional trial (NCT04814927) and allowed to choose one of four contraceptive options, etonogestrel contraceptive implant, depot medroxyprogesterone acetate subcutaneous injection, levonorgestrel intrauterine device, and copper IUD, with a minimum target of 12 participants per arm and site. Sampling took place at baseline, 1 and 3 months after contraceptive initiation, and 1 month post-contraceptive discontinuation. Primary outcomes focused …

Data Breaches, Causation, And Constitutional Standing, Anthony Palermo

FIU Law Review

This Article examines the causation requirement of Article III standing in modern data breach litigation. It argues that federal courts have systematically diluted constitutional limits on judicial power by presuming traceability where none exists. While data breaches are ubiquitous and alarming, the Article contends that the mere occurrence of a breach—and even an injury—should not itself establish a justiciable case or controversy. Drawing on foundational separation-of-powers principles, the Article situates the standing doctrine as an essential mechanism of judicial self- restraint—one that prevents courts from reflexively adjudicating societal fears untethered from any fair attribution to the defendant before the court. …

Efficacy Of Induced After Death Communication Therapy For Grief: A Single-Group Wait-List Controlled Trial, Thomas J. Nehmy, John Daniels, Paul Williamson, Sarah E. Stegall-Rodriguez

Psychological Science Faculty Publications

Induced After-Death Communication (IADC) therapy, which uses bilateral stimulation derived from EMDR, is an emerging approach to reducing grief symptoms in bereaved individuals. The present study evaluated the IADC protocol, consisting of two 90-min sessions, in 43 bereaved adults with assessments at four time points including a one-month waitlist period to provide control data. Large reductions in grief symptoms were observed from baseline to follow-up (global grief severity d = 1.56; average daily sadness d = 1.33). Two-thirds of participants who exceeded the clinical cutoff score for prolonged grief at baseline scored below this threshold at follow-up. Treatment effects were …

Factors Influencing Vaping Behaviors Based On Social Cognitive Theory: A Qualitative Study Among Mexican-American College Students, Bara S. Bataineh, Liza Talavera-Garza, Alexandra Loukas, David J. Badillo, Sherman Chow, Geronimo B. Cardenas, Erika Garza, Anna Wilkinson

Psychological Science Faculty Publications

Background: Vaping rates among Mexican-American college students are high, yet the contributing personal and environmental factors remain understudied. The current qualitative study applies Social Cognitive Theory to examine how personal factors (e.g., self-efficacy, beliefs, and outcome expectations) and environmental influences (e.g., social norms and social media) shape vaping behaviors in this vulnerable population. Methods: We conducted semi-structured interviews with 19 Mexican-American college students (ages 18–25 years), 68% of whom were female, and all were current vapers. Participants discussed the personal and social contexts of their vaping experiences, with questions exploring their beliefs and outcome expectations. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, and …

Stem-Fit And Soil-Fit: Integrated Plant And Soil Nitrogen-Hormone Sensing With Machine Learning-Based Forecasting For Next-Generation Precision Agriculture, Nafize I. Hossain, Mohammad Solaiman, A.K.M. Ahsanul Habib, Md Al Mahmud Hossain Al Hadi, Shawana Tabassum

Electrical Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Inefficient fertilizer application in agriculture leads to reduced crop productivity, nutrient losses, and reduced crop resilience, highlighting the urgent need for real-time monitoring of plant–soil nutrient and stress dynamics. This research aims to develop and validate a multiplexed sensing platform for real-time, in-situ measurement of key soil nutrients (Soil-FIT) and plant phytohormones (Stem-FIT) involved in nitrogen signaling and stress regulation. The proposed sensor suite integrates 3D-printed modules for continuous monitoring of nitrate, ammonium, and pH in both soil and plant sap, along with salicylic acid (SA), indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), methyl jasmonate (MeJA), and ethylene (ET) in plant sap. The sensors, …

Development Of Feature Tokenizer Deep Learning Model For Fault Diagnosis In Marine Propulsion System, Pratik Anand Deshpande, J. Preetha Roselyn, Prabha Sundaravadivel

Electrical Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

The fault diagnostics in Brushless Direct Current (BLDC) motor drive system is critical for operational safety and system lifespan in propulsion system applications. However, signature parameters such as currents, voltages, speed, and torque have provided nonlinear behavior, which limits the usefulness of traditional model-based approaches. This research provides a deep learning based intelligent system to monitor the failures in marine propulsion system. Each signal feature is represented as a structured token, with a specific class token used to collect global contextual information. The proposed model captures both local temporal dynamics and global inter-feature interdependence multi-layer self-attention processes, allowing for the …

Música Y Nacionalismo, Kristina F. Nielsen, Jessie M. Vallejo

World Music Textbook

Este artículo ofrece una visión general del nacionalismo en contextos musicales.

Música Y Nacionalismo: Selección De Música Con Comentarios, Kristina F. Nielsen, Jessie M. Vallejo

World Music Textbook

Esta es una selección musical sobre el tema del nacionalismo y la música. Puede usarse para acompañar el artículo “Música y Nacionalismo” de World Music Textbook.

Early Sound Recording Technologies, Peter James Verdin

World Music Textbook

This chapter recounts the history of early sound recording technologies, their development up until the early 20th century, and the commercial pressures and colonial legacies that shaped how these technologies were used.

An Augmented Reality-Based Simulator For Enhancing Surgical Training And Skill Acquisition, Mohammed Hazim Alkawaz, Younis Al-Arbo, Meaad Mohammed Salih

Mesopotamian Journal of Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare

Conventional surgical training systems are hampered by restricted case exposure, expense, and patient safety, whereas VR simulators often lack contextual and tactile realism. In this paper, an optical see-through AR simulator that overlays 3D anatomical guidance and instrument trajectory cues onto a physical phantom and provides real-time multimodal feedback and automated scoring are developed. A prospective controlled study (n=30 residents) compared AR training with a VR simulator and conventional model-based practice for a standardized orthopedic drilling task. The results were scores on completion time, placement deviation, error count, Objective Structured Assessment of Technical Skill (OSATS) global rating, confidence, decision-making accuracy, …

Cover Art, Emma Kudelka

Res Publica - Journal of Undergraduate Research

No abstract provided.

Table Of Contents

Res Publica - Journal of Undergraduate Research

No abstract provided.

Letter From The Department Chair, William Munro

Res Publica - Journal of Undergraduate Research

No abstract provided.

Author Biographies

Res Publica - Journal of Undergraduate Research

No abstract provided.

The 2025 Michigan Supreme Court Ruling On Lwop Protections: Morally Justifiable?, Asa Smith

Res Publica - Journal of Undergraduate Research

This paper examines the moral permissibility of the 2025 Michigan Supreme Court ruling that found life-without-parole (LWOP) sentences for 19- and 20-year-olds to be unconstitutional under Michigan state law. The paper supports its argument on whether the ruling was morally permissible by drawing on neuroscientific data as well as moral frameworks such as a rehabilitative theory of punishment and John Rawls’s ‘veil of ignorance’ thought experiment for the application of justified principles in society. The paper considers and replies to potential objections to its argument and to alternative interpretations of the moral frameworks it deploys. It concludes by contending that …

Ideological Narratives In Literacy Reform, Maya Mcgrew

Res Publica - Journal of Undergraduate Research

This paper assumes a discourse analysis approach to examining if partisan control has influenced why red states have demonstrated faster gains in early literacy than blue states. This is done by investigating whether ideological presence in political framing, and particularly crisis-oriented rhetoric, drives reform adoption as much as policy design. Recognizing the ongoing discourse surrounding the continual improvement of pedagogy and programming, especially in areas of foundational skills such as reading, writing, comprehension, and oral communication. The research employs a systematic coding methodology, and the analysis combines a qualitative review of media narratives and state reform histories with a small-sample …

Between Motherhood And The Motherland: Navigating Challenges To Rank Advancement Of Women In The U.S. Army, Valeria Suarez

Res Publica - Journal of Undergraduate Research

Female officers remain a minority in the U.S. Army. Motherhood, dependent care, and sexual assault are some of the reasons why they decide to give up on their Army careers. The following study intends to examine how the impact of policy changes to accommodate female Army officers’ increased retention and consequently promoted the rank advancement of women to the rank of major, or O4 and above. Through conversations with 14 armed forces officers, both men and women, it is evident that the gender neutral culture of the Army proves to be detrimental to women’s rank advancement. For them to be …

Ranked Choice Voting At The State And Local Level, Khel Gordhan

Res Publica - Journal of Undergraduate Research

Many people across the political spectrum are frustrated with many of the problems that come with simple plurality voting, also known as first-past-the-post, which is implemented in the lion’s share of elections across the United States. To solve many of these problems, some activists and other political organizations advocate for cities and states to adopt Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) as a viable alternative. However, many people, both Republicans and Democrats, claim that implementing this system would be too complicated for people to understand. Due to this, there would be high rates of ballot exhaustion, which would disenfranchise vulnerable minorities who …

Little Saigon Vote: The Mobilization Of Vietnamese Voters Through Ethnic News Media, Vân Lê

Res Publica - Journal of Undergraduate Research

Informed inspectors suspect Vietnamese Americans associate with the Republican Party because of the model minority mindset and their bond over the anti-Communist attitude. These two components created a sense of Vietnamese American nationalism in the refugee community. A way this Vietnamese American nationalism sustains is through ethnic media, which comes in many forms. The most prominent one is YouTube, where many Vietnamese voters (specifically the older generation) gain their political information from. This research seeks to explore how Vietnamese voters make their voting decisions based on the information that they consume by analyzing the content of the four most popular …

From Idea To Implementation: Evaluating The Influence Of Large Language Models In Software Development—An Opinion Paper, Sargam Yadav, Asifa Mehmood Qureshi, Abhishek Kaushik, Shubham Sharma, Roisin Loughran, Subramaniam Kazhuparambil, Andrew Shaw, Mohammed Sabry, Niamh St John Lynch, Nikhil Singh, Padraic O'Hara, Pranay Jaiswal, Roshan Chandru, David Lillis

Research Outputs: 2025-Present

The introduction of transformer architecture was a turning point in natural language processing (NLP). Models based on the transformer architecture, such as bidirectional encoder representations from transformers (BERT) and generative pretrained transformer (GPT), have gained widespread popularity in various applications such as software development and education. The availability of large language models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT and Bard to the general public has showcased the tremendous potential of these models and encouraged their integration into various domains such as software development, for tasks such as code generation, debugging, and documentation generation. In this study, opinions from 11 experts regarding their …

Editorial: Antimicrobial Resistance In Aquatic Environments — Bridging Surveillance, Ecology, And One Health Action, Jean O'Dwyer, Paul D. Hynds, Brigid Hooban, Michael Ryan, Liam P. Burke

Research Outputs: 2025-Present

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is widely recognised as a majorglobal threat, with health and economic consequences extending acrossand overlapping with human, animal, and environmental systems [1].Perhaps the best example of a One Health challenge, the so-called AMR“silent pandemic” is a complex problem driven by anthropogenic activities, which must be tackled across the three realms [2]. Efforts toaddress AMR have historically focused on clinical and agricultural settings, however, there is increasing recognition that environmentalpathways play a critical role in the emergence, persistence, anddissemination of antimicrobial resistant organisms (AROs) and antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs) [3,4]. Aquatic environments are ofparticular importance as they receive …

Toward Secure Complex Uav Cyber-Physical Systems: A Unified Threat Taxonomy And Cross-Layer Survey Of Cybersecurity Challenges, Muhammad Iftikhar Umrani, Bernard Butler, Aisling O’ Driscoll, Steven Davy

Research Outputs: 2025-Present

Autonomous Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are employed for a variety of purposes in civil and military applications, such as package delivery, disaster management, and more. Within the last decade, three characteristics, namely enhanced autonomy, onboard intelligence and situational awareness, have enabled UAVs to navigate their surroundings, make intelligent decisions, and perform tasks, either independently, or with limited direct human control. Therefore, such UAVs can be considered as complex cyberphysical systems. Whilst these developments enhance UAV capabilities, they also introduce unique cybersecurity challenges by expanding the attack surface through which adversaries can seek to disrupt missions, thereby compromising confidentiality, integrity, availability, …

Myopia And Eye Disease: From Correlation To Causation, James Loughman, Mark A. Bullimore, Daniel Ian Flitcroft

Research Outputs: 2025-Present

Myopia is increasingly recognised as a risk factor strongly linked to visual impairment and sight-threatening ocular disease rather than a simple refractive state. The assumption of causality to these secondary effects underpins myopia control and its long-term public health value. This review considers epidemiologic, longitudinal, mechanistic, interventional, natural-experiment, and genetic evidence to evaluate causality based on Bradford Hill's nine criteria: strength, consistency, specificity, temporality, biological gradient, plausibility, coherence, experiment, and analogy. The graded dose-response relationship between myopia and visual impairment has been demonstrated across multiple populations. Similar patterns are shown for a range of myopia-related ocular diseases. Risks for myopic …