Digital Commons Network^™

Spatial Multiomics Of Acute Myocardial Infarction Reveals Immune Cell Infiltration Through The Endocardium, Florian Wünnemann, Junedh M Amrute, Kory J Lavine, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Myocardial infarction (MI) continues to be a leading cause of death worldwide. Even though it is well established that the complex interplay between different cell types determines the overall healing response after MI, the precise changes in the tissue architecture are still poorly understood. In this study, we generated an integrative cellular map of the acute phase after murine MI using a combination of imaging-based transcriptomics (Molecular Cartography) and antibody-based highly multiplexed imaging (Sequential Immunofluorescence). This enabled us to evaluate cell type compositions and changes at subcellular resolution over time. We observed the recruitment of leukocytes to the infarcted heart …

Eliminating The Ai Digital Divide By Building Local Capacity, Freya Gulamali, Thomas M. Maddox, Philip Payne, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Over the past few years, health delivery organizations (HDOs) have been adopting and integrating AI tools, including clinical tools for tasks like predicting risk of inpatient mortality and operational tools for clinical documentation, scheduling and revenue cycle management, to fulfill the quintuple aim. The expertise and resources to do so is often concentrated in academic medical centers, leaving patients and providers in lower-resource settings unable to fully realize the benefits of AI tools. There is a growing divide in HDO ability to conduct AI product lifecycle management, due to a gap in resources and capabilities (e.g., technical expertise, funding, data …

Identification Of Surrogate Outcome Biomarkers In Lung Allograft Recipients With Bronchiolitis Obliterans: Implications For Randomized Controlled Trials, Derek E. Byers, Suresh Vedantham, Mary Clare Derfler, Paul Commean, Andrew Atkinson, Jeff Atkinson, Alexey Prokudin, John Mccarthy, George Despotis, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: We developed a prospective, multicenter "registry" to evaluate the effect of extracorporeal photopheresis for lung transplant recipients who develop chronic lung allograft dysfunction (CLAD) with the bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome (BOS) phenotype (CLAD/BOS) and who are refractory to conventional standard-of-care therapy.

METHODS: Data from 258 lung transplant recipients enrolled in the Registry between April 2015 and April 2022 were included in this analysis. All recorded parameters (eg, demographics), including forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV

RESULTS: Mortality at 6 and 12 mo after CLAD/BOS diagnosis was 5% and 14%, whereas mortality at 6 and 12 mo after enrollment was …

Peroxisomal Metabolism Of Branched Fatty Acids Regulates Energy Homeostasis, Xuejing Liu, Anyuan He, Dongliang Lu, Donghua Hu, Min Tan, Parniyan Goodarzi, Bilal Ahmad, Brian Kleiboeker, Brian N Finck, Mohamed Zayed, Jonathan R Brestoff, Ali Javaheri, Fong-Fu Hsu, Clay F Semenkovich, Irfan J Lodhi, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Brown and beige adipocytes express uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1), a mitochondrial protein that dissociates respiration from ATP synthesis and promotes heat production and energy expenditure. However, UCP1

Recent Advances In The Identification And Quantification Of Xylazine And Medetomidine In Biological Specimens, Bridgit O Crews

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Xylazine is a veterinary sedative that is frequently detected in the illicit drug supply, often found mixed with illicitly manufactured fentanyl (IMF). It has been detected in the blood of overdose victims and patients who use illicit drugs. Xylazine is not approved for use in humans. It is an alpha-2-adrenergic receptor agonist that causes deep sedation that is non-responsive to naloxone, the antidote for opioid overdose. Chronic exposure to xylazine has been linked to severe wounds that can progress to amputation. Medetomidine is another related veterinary sedative that has more recently emerged as an adulterant in IMF. Medetomidine is also …

Upper And Lower Airway Microbiota Across Infancy And Childhood, Ariel J Hernandez-Leyva, Anne L Rosen, Christopher P Tomera, Elaina E Lin, Elikplim H Akaho, Allison M Blatz, William R Otto, Joey Logan, Lisa R Young, Rebecca M Harris, Samantha A Whiteside, Andrew L Kau, Audrey R Odom John

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: The upper and lower respiratory tracts feature distinct environments and responses affecting microbial colonization but investigating the relationship between them is technically challenging. We aimed to identify relationships between taxa colonizing the nasopharynx and trachea across childhood.

METHODS: We employed V4 16S rRNA gene sequencing to profile nasopharyngeal swabs and tracheal aspirates collected from 172 subjects between 20 weeks and 18 years of age. These samples were collected prior to elective procedures over the course of 20 weeks in 2020 from subjects enrolled in a cross-sectional study. After extraction, sequencing, and quality control, we studied the remaining 147 of …

Family Income And Polygenic Scores Are Independently But Not Interactively Associated With Cognitive Performance Among Youth Genetically Similar To European Reference Populations, S E Paul, N M Elsayed, S M C Colbert, R Bogdan, A S Hatoum, D M Barch

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Cognitive abilities are heritable and influenced by socioeconomic status (SES). It is critical to understand the association between SES and cognition beyond genetic propensity to inform potential benefits of SES-based interventions and to determine if such associations vary across (i) cognitive domains, (ii) facets of SES, and/or (iii) genetic propensity for different aspects of cognition. We examined the contributions of neighborhood socioeconomic advantage, family income, and polygenic scores (PGS) for domains of cognition (i.e., general cognitive ability, executive function, learning and memory, fluid reasoning) in a sample of children (ages 9-10;

Mitochondrial Dysfunction And Lipid Dysregulation In Yeast Lacking Phosphatidylserine, Alaumy Joshi, Zakery N Baker, Rachel A Stanfield, Dimitris T Kalafatis, David J Pagliarini, Vishal M Gohil

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Mitochondrial membrane phospholipids impact mitochondrial structure and function by influencing the assembly and activity of membrane proteins. Although the specific roles of the three most abundant mitochondrial phospholipids, phosphatidylcholine (PC), phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), and cardiolipin (CL), have been extensively studied, the precise function of less abundant phosphatidylserine (PS) is not yet determined. Here, we used genetic and nutritional manipulation to engineer a set of yeast mutants, including a mutant completely devoid of PS, to assess its role in mitochondrial bioenergetics and lipid homeostasis. To circumvent the confounding effect of downstream PS products, PE and PC, we exogenously supplied ethanolamine that allows …

Cell Autonomous Microglia Defects In A Stem Cell Model Of Frontotemporal Dementia Tau, Abhirami K Iyer, Farzaneh S Mirfakhar, Miguel Minaya, Mariana Acquarone, Rama Krishna Koppisetti, Arun Renganathan, Shih-Feng You, Emma P Danhash, Kylie J Schache, Anthony Verbeck, Grant Galasso, Scott M Lee, Guangming Huang, Katherine J Miller, Jacob Marsh, Chihiro Sato, Celeste M Karch, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Neuronal dysfunction has been extensively studied as a central feature of neurodegenerative tauopathies. However, across neurodegenerative diseases, there is strong evidence for active involvement of immune cells like microglia in driving disease pathophysiology. Here, we demonstrate that MAPT mRNA and tau protein are expressed in microglia in human brains and in human induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived microglia like cells (iMGLs). Using iMGLs harboring the MAPT IVS10 + 16 mutation and isogenic controls, we demonstrate that a tau mutation is sufficient to alter microglial transcriptional states. We discovered that MAPT IVS10 + 16 microglia exhibit cytoskeletal abnormalities, stalled phagocytosis, disrupted …

Motivations, Facilitators, And Barriers Of Donation-Based Interventions In Hiv And Sexually Transmitted Infection Research: A Systematic Review, Dorian Ho, Ye Liu, Jamie Conklin, Thomas Fitzpatrick, Jiayu Wang, Suzanne Day, Takhona G Hlatshwako, Rohit Ramaswamy, Ruby Congjiang Wang, Eneyi E Kpokiri, Weiming Tang, Elvin Geng, Joseph D Tucker

2020-Current year OA Pubs

IMPORTANCE: Donation-based prosocial interventions involve someone receiving a free health service and then distributing or donating to support health services for others; examples within the HIV and sexually transmitted infection (STI) literature include secondary distribution of HIV self-tests, secondary syringe exchange, and pay it forward for STI testing. These interventions answer research and policy recommendations to incorporate prosocial behaviors into HIV/STI services.

OBJECTIVE: To describe motivations, facilitators, and barriers of donation-based interventions in HIV and STI research using data from qualitative studies.

EVIDENCE REVIEW: In this systematic review, 5 databases (PubMed, CINAHL, Embase, PsycInfo, and Scopus) and references were searched …

Succinate Dehydrogenase B (Sdhb) Overexpression With Enzymatic Dysfunction Defines A Distinct Subtype Of Undifferentiated Pleomorphic Sarcoma, Miguel Esperança-Martins, Brian A Van Tine, Alliny C S Bastos, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

UNLABELLED: Undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma (UPS) remains one of the most clinically aggressive and poorly characterized soft-tissue sarcoma subtypes. To uncover distinctive molecular traits for UPS, a multiomics analysis of UPS compared with leiomyosarcoma (LMS) and liposarcoma (LPS) was performed. Transcriptomic profiling revealed that UPS exhibits overexpression of genes encoding succinate dehydrogenase (SDH) subunits, particularly SDHB, SDHC, and SDHD, distinguishing it from LMS and dedifferentiated LPS. This finding was validated using The Cancer Genome Atlas Sarcoma dataset. High SDHB expression in UPS was significantly associated with shorter overall survival, shorter recurrence-free survival, and shorter overall survival from the date of first …

Leads Data Insights: Affinity Core Value Metrics Summary — Fall 2025, University Of North Dakota

LEADS Implementation Documents

Summary and analysis of Fall 2025 metrics for the AFFINITY core value of UND LEADS. The document reviews levels of achievement and changes since Spring 2025 for Affinity strategic priorities, including campus environments, workforce retention, first-year experience, athletic excellence, global engagement, and military-friendly initiatives.

Leads Data Insights: Affinity — Fall 2025, University Of North Dakota

LEADS Implementation Documents

Presentation of Fall 2025 data insights for the AFFINITY core value of UND LEADS. The slides summarize Activity Inventory and UND Today story coverage, compare Affinity progress between April 2025 and January 2026, and review outcome measures connected to belonging, workforce retention, first-year experience, athletics, global engagement, and military-affiliated students.

Dominant Negative Atp5f1a Variants Disrupt Oxidative Phosphorylation Causing Neurological Disorders, Sara M Fielder, Jessie R Zhang, Liana M Valin, Tara Samson, Sarah Govert, Sara Dacunha, Weimin Yuan, Jian Chen, Jacob Lesinski, Hieu Hoang, Stephanie A Morrison, Eric Tycksen, Dustin Baldridge, Gary A Silverman, Lisa Emrick, William J Craigen, Stephen M Sykes, Tim Schedl, Stephen C Pak, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

ATP5F1A encodes the α-subunit of complex V of the respiratory chain, which is responsible for mitochondrial ATP synthesis. We describe 6 probands with heterozygous de novo missense ATP5F1A variants that presented with developmental delay, intellectual disability, and movement disorders. All variants were located at the contact points between the α- and β-subunits. Functional studies in C. elegans revealed that the variants were damaging via a dominant negative genetic mechanism. Biochemical and proteomics studies of proband-derived cells showed a marked reduction in complex V abundance and activity. Mitochondrial physiology studies revealed increased oxygen consumption, yet decreased mitochondrial membrane potential and ATP …

Editor's Preface, Leo-Martin Angelo R. Ocampo

Loyola Papers

No abstract provided.

In Praise Of Limits: A Reading Of The Creation Accounts, Lorenzo Zura

Loyola Papers

This paper critiques the modern culture of omnipotence that equates power with limitless freedom, arguing instead that limits are essential for life’s flourishing. Drawing on the biblical narrative—especially Book of Genesis—it presents God not as dominating but self-limiting, as seen in creation and Shabbat. Through key texts, it reinterprets limits as enabling human fulfillment and reframes “original sin” within this perspective, proposing limitation as a foundational condition for authentic life.

Glimpses Of Joy In The Beginning Of The Lucan Gospel: A Narrative-Critical Reading Of Lk 1:5-2:52, Jieqi Huang

Loyola Papers

This paper explores the theme of joy in Luke 1:5–25 through a narrative-critical approach, focusing on how Luke presents joy as a theological motif grounded in God’s redemptive initiative. By analyzing the chiastic structure and literary techniques of the passage, the paper highlights how the interplay of story and discourse conveys profound theological meaning. Through extensive intertextual allusions, particularly to the Old Testament, Luke frames this episode in Luke as both a continuation and fulfillment of Israel’s salvation history. Ultimately, the paper argues that Luke’s narrative invites readers to encounter a faithful God who brings joy in unexpected ways and …

The Mandate For Accountability And The Rule Of Law: A Theological-Ethical Analysis Of The House Of Representatives’ Role After Duterte V. House Of Representatives, Kerr Nell S. Deliva

Loyola Papers

This article offers a theological-ethical analysis of Duterte v. House of Representatives, interpreting the tension between the House of Representatives of the Philippines and the Supreme Court of the Philippines as a kairos that clarifies their institutional vocations. It examines impeachment as a moral duty rooted in popular sovereignty and public accountability, while highlighting challenges to fides publica arising from judicial intervention. Drawing on moral theology, the article underscores the need to balance justice and legal order, proposing pathways for responsible governance and deeper civic engagement.

Full Issue, Volume 6, Issue 2

Loyola Papers

No abstract provided.

Strategies To Help Older English Learners Succeed In An Adult Classroom Setting, Juana M. Matos

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

Matos, J. (2025) Strategies to help Older English Learners Succeed in an Adult Classroom Setting

There are older English language learners who experience difficulties advancing to the next level of instruction. This project is about how to help these older learners. The project has the objective of finding solutions to the research question: Which contextual factors for learning can best support teachers to help older adult ESL learners to retain content to acquire a second language? Through a review of literature, I found information about characteristics of older learners, strategies and accommodations for supporting older learners, and technology that teachers …

Building Fluency: A Toolkit For Supporting English Learners In Reading, Monica Turner

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

Many multilingual learners in US schools face significant hurdles in reading achievement, especially in rural and under-resourced districts. This capstone project addresses the question, How can a teacher-created toolkit enhance existing curriculum to improve reading fluency for English learners? Reading fluency, which serves as a bridge between decoding and comprehension, is an essential component of the science of reading. This project focuses on designing a research-based reading fluency toolkit that supports the Geodes® curriculum through hands-on activities that strengthen accuracy, speed, expression, pacing, prosody, word recognition, and comprehension. While the toolkit has not yet been formally implemented, analysis will include …

Threading Hmong Culture Into Math: Supporting Hmong Elementary Students Through Integrative Practices, Lisa Vang

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

The research question answered in this capstone paper is: “How can educators integrate Hmong culture into their math instruction in ways that support both academic growth and cultural identity?” This paper focuses on the need for culturally responsive teaching in mathematics for elementary Hmong students and the convergence of cultural identity, student engagement, and meaningful learning experiences. This capstone paper includes a literature review that explores culturally responsive pedagogies and practices in classrooms, the importance of cultivating mathematical identity in Hmong students, and the integration of Hmong culture into elementary math instruction. The results of this capstone paper lead to …

Advocating For Social Justice In 4th Grade Ela Curriculum And Standards: Culturally Responsive Fidelity Frameworks For Leadership And Educators, Sélah F. Mcclain

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

This Capstone Project examines how the alignment of Minnesota English Language Arts standards and curriculum merged with a culturally responsive teaching fidelity framework will influence student engagement, academic rigor, and intentional academic discourse among Black fourth-grade scholars in an urban learning community. It is grounded in Ladson-Billings’(1995) and (2009) culturally relevant pedagogy, Hammond’s (2021) culturally responsive teaching with connection to the science of learning and development, as well as Falk and Blumenreich’s (2005) theory regarding cognitive constructivism. This research explores the role of leadership and educators in the implementation of culturally responsive pedagogy with fidelity to create coherence between standards, …

Effective Genre-Based Pedagogy In Co-Taught Literacy Classes For Dual-Identified Students, Khaulah Nik Rushdi

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

The research question addressed in this project is : “How can multilingual teachers successfully co-teach with special education teachers in delivering effective genre-based pedagogy in literacy?” This capstone project addresses the critical educational gap facing dual-identified students–English learners (ELs) with significant disabilities–who require specialized support for both language development and disability-related needs. Despite federal mandates requiring both services, over 832,000 dual-identified students enrolled in U.S. public schools often fall through academic gaps due to fragmented services and deficit-based approaches that fail to recognize their intersectionalities. Teachers report feeling underprepared at ensuring these students have equal access to classroom curriculum. The …

Teaching With Nature: Place-Based Learning And Outdoor Education Toward Healing In The K-2 Setting, Isaac Hart

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

Outdoor education and place-based learning hold rich histories and futures. This project at large set out to explore the stories and possibilities of outdoor education and place-based learning within the K-2 landscape. The research question being addressed in this project is: How can we use meaningful place-based learning and outdoor education in the K-2 setting as a means of healing relationships with schooling and with the rest of the natural world? Through personal and professional framing, an exploratory literature review, an educator resource toolkit project, and a reflective conclusion, this work presents outdoor education and place-based learning as having myriad …

Establishing Healthy And Sustainable Esl-Mainstream Co-Teaching Partnerships, Gina Dabruzzi

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

As the number of English Language Learners continues to increase, the need for successful co-teaching practices between English as a Second Language (ESL) and mainstream teachers has become a necessity. Yet, despite this high demand, there continues to be a lack of training around co-teaching, and inadequate consideration and support in creating and fostering strong co-teaching partnerships. Aside from the challenges of co-teaching, such as compatibility and power dynamics, the partnership with ESL teachers adds another dimension to the challenge of co-teaching: that being, the misconception that ESL as strategies based rather than a content, and insufficient training around explicit …

Integrating Environmental Education: A Continuing Professional Development For Minnesota Educators In Weaving Local Indigenous Knowledge Systems And Western Science, Sarah Genet

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

As of 2021, Minnesota’s updated academic standards in science for all grade levels include local Indigenous cultures, histories, and perspectives. The Minnesota Department of Education provides limited content and professional development guiding the implementation of these requirements, leaving educators to design and update their curriculum with little formal guidance. This capstone explores integrating Indigenous and Western knowledge systems to help answer the research question: ‘What must be included in environmental education curriculum interwoven with Indigenous and Western perspectives in science to provide a holistic learning experience?’ This capstone presents continuing professional development designed for upper-level secondary science and environmental educators …

Restorative Justice: How Can It Be Effectively Implemented In Schools To Resolve Conflicts And Improve Student Behavior And School Culture?, Aaron Melander

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

Schools have addressed student misbehavior and conflict resolution in many ways. Historically, many interventions have been punitive and have done little to help students develop healthy conflict resolution skills. Restorative justice is an approach that seeks to empower students to participate constructively in the conflict-resolution process. This capstone project is a professional development series that addresses the research question: Restorative Justice: How Can It Be Effectively Implemented in Schools to Resolve Conflicts and Improve Student Behavior and School Culture? Research concludes that restorative justice can benefit students, teachers, and school communities by actively teaching skills such as reflection, empathy, self-awareness, …

Supporting Somali- And Hmong-Speaking English Language Learners’ Acquisition Of Morphological Awareness, Danna Bergantine

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

Education research has consistently found that supporting students’ understanding of morphology leads to positive literacy outcomes. Students who are English Language Learners may need differentiated support than their English-only peers in this area. Currently, the majority of resources for morphology instruction with ELL students reference Spanish-speakers and rely on cognates between Spanish and English. After Spanish, Somali and Hmong represent the next largest language groups of Minnesota’s ELL population and it is difficult to find resources to support speakers of these languages’ understanding of morphology. Research was conducted to find morphology best practices which do not rely on cognates and …

Divergent Sensory Transcriptomic Profiles In Positive And Negative Learning In Bicyclus Anynana Butterflies, Yi Ting Ter, Erica L. Westerman

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Mate preference learning, where individuals learn to prefer or avoid specific phenotypes during mate selection, is pervasive across animal taxa and influences reproductive isolation and trait evolution. Despite its significance, the genetic basis underlying the associated valence attribution (whether to prefer or avoid) remains largely unclear. Both in terms of what genes are associated with attributing valence, and whether valence attribution is associated with transcriptional changes in both sensory tissues and neural circuits in the brain, or is restricted to the brain. Here, we investigate the neurogenomic basis of positive and negative mate preference learning using Bicyclus anynana butterflies. We …