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Deciphering Immune Suppression Mechanisms Of Primary And Metastatic Breast Cancer, Seunghyun Lee

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

Immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) has revolutionized cancer treatment, receiving FDA approval for various previously incurable cancers. In breast cancer, the combination of pembrolizumab (an anti-PD-1 antibody) with chemotherapy has become the standard-of-care for early-stage (Keynote-522) and advance-stage (Keynote-355) triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). Unfortunately, over 30% of TNBC patients fail to respond to the combined chemo-immune therapy treatment, and the causes are unknown. Furthermore, ICB has demonstrated poor results in hormone-receptor positive breast cancer. While it is well-established that breast cancer cells can evade immune responses, the specific mechanisms driving immune evasion remain unclear. Thus, deciphering the immune system's role in …

Board Of Directors Meeting Minutes (December 9, 2024), Dmacc

Board of Directors Meeting Minutes

This file contains the minutes from the Des Moines Area Community College Board meeting held on December 9, 2024.

The Echo: December 9, 2024, Taylor University

2024-2025 (Volume 112)

No abstract provided.

A Multifactorial Fall Prevention Program, Virale Patel, Zeida Gutierrez

Fall 2024 OTD Capstone Symposium

Falls among older adults are a pressing public health concern, leading to significant physical, psychological, and economic consequences. This capstone project aimed to design and implement a multifactorial fall prevention program to address unmet occupational needs and enhance safety and occupational participation among long-term care residents at a skilled nursing facility. The six-week program included targeted weekly sessions focusing on behavior modification, footwear safety, adaptive equipment training, strength and balance exercises, toileting strategies, and environmental modifications. Pre- and post-program assessments utilized the Fall Efficacy Scale International (FES-I) and participant surveys to evaluate changes in confidence, fear of falling, and satisfaction …

Training Staff Members And Caregivers On Utilizing Allen Cognitive Levels To Aid Individuals Living With Alzheimer's And Dementia To Maintain Activities Of Daily Living, Kristy Boyd, Cassandra Nelson, Jennifer Summers

Fall 2024 OTD Capstone Symposium

This capstone project is about training staff members and caregivers on utilizing the Allen's cognitive levels to aid individuals living with Alzheimer's and dementia to maintain their activities of daily living by creating a program that consists of modules, physical demonstration, and a deliverable for staff members and caregivers as well as therapeutic activities and sensory regulation activities for the participants.

Itaconate Transporter Slc13a3 Impairs Tumor Immunity Via Endowing Ferroptosis Resistance, Heng Lin, Kole Tison, Yuheng Du, Paul Kirchhoff, Chan Kim, Weichao Wang, Hannah Yang, Michael Pitter, Jiali Yu, Peng Liao, Jiajia Zhou, Linda Vatan, Sara Grove, Shuang Wei, Thomas Vigil, Yatrik M Shah, Richard Mortensen, Ilona Kryczek, Lana Garmire, Jwala P Sivaccumar, Ashwin Kumar Ramesh, Ningyan Zhang, Zhiqiang An, Shaomeng Wang, Weiping Zou

The Brown Foundation: Institute of Molecular Medicine

Immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) triggers tumor ferroptosis. However, most patients are unresponsive to ICB. Tumors might evade ferroptosis in the tumor microenvironment (TME). Here, we discover SLC13A3 is an itaconate transporter in tumor cells and endows tumor ferroptosis resistance, diminishing tumor immunity and ICB efficacy. Mechanistically, tumor cells uptake itaconate via SLC13A3 from tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs), thereby activating the NRF2-SLC7A11 pathway and escaping from immune-mediated ferroptosis. Structural modeling and molecular docking analysis identify a functional inhibitor for SLC13A3 (SLC13A3i). Deletion of ACOD1 (an essential enzyme for itaconate synthesis) in macrophages, genetic ablation of SLC13A3 in tumors, or treatment with SLC13A3i …

Latinas In Law Enforcement: Tokenism, Barriers And Changes Along The Narrow Bridge To Promotion, Saturnino Velazquez

College of Education Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative study was to better understand and analyze themes and patterns shared among the lived experiences of 12 female Latina Law Enforcement Officers (LEOs) in male-dominated police departments in the Midwest (Illinois and Minnesota). The researcher chose to adopt a basic interpretive qualitative research methodology for this study because it provides a flexible and useful research tool, and provided a broader approach to interpreting meaning from rich and detailed data, yet complex, and account of semi-structured interviews that served as a data collection instrument. This study was guided by the theoretical framework of Kanter’s research on …

Sharing Our Screens, Katie Day Good

University Faculty Publications and Creative Works

No abstract provided.

Money Laundering Transactions Chronology Analysis Using Artificial Intelligence, Marwan Alawadhi

Theses

Money laundering is one of the most significant threats for the financial systems of the world, as it promotes other crimes and destabilizes the economy. This thesis presents an enhanced analysis of AI and ML on financial transaction data for the identification of patterns that relate to money laundering. It uses techniques like the Isolation Forest for the identification of outliers and clustering techniques like K-means and DBSCAN for identification of unusual transaction patterns across the four high risk countries that include United States, United Kingdom, Japan and Italy. The preprocessed dataset included different types of transactions like cross-border transactions, …

Adipocyte-Derived Small Extracellular Vesicles Exacerbate Diabetic Ischemic Heart Injury By Promoting Oxidative Stress And Mitochondrial-Mediated Cardiomyocyte Apoptosis, Lu Gan, Jianli Zhao, Peng Yao, Theodore A. Christopher, Bernard Lopez, Wayne B. Lau, Walter Koch, Erhe Gao, Xin-Liang Ma, Yajing Wang

Department of Emergency Medicine Faculty Papers

BACKGROUND: Diabetes increases ischemic heart injury via incompletely understood mechanisms. We recently reported that diabetic adipocytes-derived small extracellular vesicles (sEV) exacerbate myocardial reperfusion (MI/R) injury by promoting cardiomyocyte apoptosis. Combining in vitro mechanistic investigation and in vivo proof-concept demonstration, we determined the underlying molecular mechanism responsible for diabetic sEV-induced cardiomyocyte apoptosis after MI/R.

METHODS AND RESULTS: Adult mice were fed a high-fat diet (HFD) for 12 weeks. sEV were isolated from plasma or epididymal adipose tissue. HFD significantly increased the number and size of plasma- and adipocyte-derived sEV. Intramyocardial injection of an equal number of diabetic plasma sEV in nondiabetic …

Greenmind: A Climate-Positive News Portal, Surabhi Singh

Theses

Greenmind is a website that promotes positive climate narratives for environmentally conscious individuals seeking hope and actionable solutions. It redefines how we approach climate change narratives by focusing on hope and progress. Unlike traditional media that often rely on fear to grab attention, Greenmind delivers stories showcasing actionable solutions and positive impacts already happening across the globe. Its core mission is to empower individuals to see themselves as agents of change, fostering collective action rather than promoting fear as a tactic for change. Greenmind’s approach to climate narratives is supported by research emphasizing the power of positive storytelling. Studies from …

Sd-Weat: Towards Robustly Measuring Bias In Input Embeddings For Artificial Intelligence Language Models, Magnus Gray

Theses and Dissertations

Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming industries and markets, from healthcare to entertainment, revolutionizing decision-making processes. However, as AI grow more influential, they also risk amplifying existing biases, potentially leading to harmful consequences. Recent advancements in large language models (LLMs), such as GPT-4 and Llama, have heightened concerns about bias in natural language processing (NLP) tasks, driving the need for robust methods to detect and mitigate bias. Current approaches, such as the Word Embedding Association Test (WEAT) and its sentence-level extension the Sentence Encoder Association Test (SEAT) often fall short in capturing the nuances of biases in the input embeddings …

Financial Strategies Nonprofit Organizations Use For Sustainability, Charlena Young

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Nonprofit organizations play a crucial role in providing essential resources to communities. However, research indicates that many nonprofit leaders lack the financial strategies needed to generate sustainable revenue for their organizations. Grounded in the resource dependence theory, the purpose of this qualitative single-case study was to explore the financial strategies that three nonprofit leaders used for revenue generation to sustain the organization. Data were collected from the literature review, semistructured interviews, and public documents. The thematic analysis included data coding and theme identification. The three key themes identified were revenue diversification, relationship-building, and internal financial processes. The key recommendations for …

When Help Hurts: Workplace Instrumental Support And Employee Emotional Exhaustion Within-Person, Jensine Paoletti-Hatcher, Anthony T. Misisco, Eden B. King

Psychology Faculty Publications and Presentations

The social support paradox describes mixed findings on the effects of social support on well-being. An application of the person-environment fit perspective can address the paradox by reasoning that similar quantities of social support needs and social support supplies should result in optimal well-being outcomes. We integrate a person-environment fit perspective with self-determination theory in an examination of the relationship between workplace instrumental support and emotional exhaustion through a two-week experience sampling method study. Fifty-nine participants responded to questions about desired quantities of work-related help from their colleagues (coworkers and supervisors) and their perceived quantities of work-related help after work …

Bowen’S Disease Mimicking Lichen Simplex Chronicus In A 56-Year-Old Filipino Man: A Case Report, Cynthia Angela Karim, Elisabeth Ryan, Reynaldo Ugalde

Journal of General - Procedural Dermatology and Venereology Indonesia

Background: Bowen's disease (BD) is a chronic skin condition presenting clinically as erythematous plaques with scales on sun-exposed areas. BD is generally regarded as a squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) in situ. In contrast, lichen simplex chronicus (LSC), also known as neurodermatitis, is a chronic skin disorder characterized by extreme pruritus. In LSC, lichenified plaques form primarily on accessible body parts due to repeated scratching or rubbing.

Case Illustration: A 56-year-old male presented with a solitary chronic plaque with a central ulcer and erosions on his left upper thigh. Dermoscopy findings were glomerular vessels and a scaly surface, which are …

Algorithmic Reconstruction Of High-Fidelity Synthetic Sird Data, Dylan Mack

Electrical and Systems Engineering Undergraduate Student Research

During infectious disease outbreaks, epidemiologists are faced with problems similar to those of state estimation. Often, only population-level measures of the outbreak are available, such as infection counts per week or test positivity rates. However, these aggregate statistics yield little insight into the individual-level dynamics of an epidemic. Further, empirical data does not directly measure transmission network structure and producing this information via contact tracing is extremely resource-intensive and scales poorly. In this poster, I present an algorithm that produces synthetic, individual-level disease state measurements that both obey the mechanics of an SIRD model and, in aggregate, match empirical infection …

Mems 411: Electrostatic Precipitator Design For Washu Racing Composites Team, Robert J. Wild, Takato Muro, Jackson Ford, David Wiggin

Mechanical Engineering Design Project Class

The objective of this paper is to develop an effective method to remove carbon fiber particulates from the air in the WashU Racing garage using electrostatic precipitation.

Mems 411: Talking Goniometer, Jeffrey Reinhold, Matthew Ren, Corin Riahi, Moises Rodriguez

Mechanical Engineering Design Project Class

Our project is about designing a goniometer that will aid Rachel Apter, an occupational therapy graduate student, more easily determine the angles created by limbs bending about a joint. A goniometer is essentially a protractor designed to affix its base arm to a stationary limb and it’s rotating arm to a moving limb. The moving arm follows the moving limb, measuring the coupled limb’s range of motion. The main complaint centering around goniometers is that they are hard to read due to the small tick marks that indicate the angle. To fix this problem, the goniometer will be edited to …

Mems 411: The Ball Bearing Sorter Group N, Jack Zhao, Anri Cifuentes, Shawn Xiong, Richard Li

Mechanical Engineering Design Project Class

The challenge was to design and develop an automated device capable of sorting and packaging six types of ball bearings—varying in size (1/4 inch and 1/2 inch) and material (stainless steel, brass, and nylon). The device needed to meet strict performance and design constraints, including fitting within a compact 20x20x20-inch footprint, weighing no more than 15 pounds, and sorting bearings with high speed and accuracy.

This problem represents a practical scenario in automated manufacturing, where efficient and precise sorting is crucial for streamlining assembly line operations. The solution required integrating innovative engineering mechanisms, such as size differentiation, material separation, and …

Mems 411: Mailbox Assistant, Peter Scholl, Benjamin Cortes, Garbiel Arcas, Colin Zeiss

Mechanical Engineering Design Project Class

Oftentimes elderly people struggle with reaching into their curbside mailbox from their car, especially if the mail is pushed all the way to the back. With the Mailbox Assistant, sore shoulders can be saved through a drawer that slides out from the mailbox. This modification can be made to any mailbox without altering the outside appearance thus keeping it within HOA standards.

Mems 411: Hydroponic Gardening System, Tiger Lu, Aj Shanahan, Jaquelin Guzman, Brandon Lacy

Mechanical Engineering Design Project Class

This report summarizes the engineering design process undertaken for the development of a hydroponic gardening system. The project began with selecting a concept, as a team, we decided to focus on designing a system tailored to community gardening needs. The report is organized into five main sections: Problem Understanding, Concept Generation, Concept Selection, Concept Embodiment, and Design Refinement. In the Problem Understanding phase, the team conducted extensive research on patents, codes and standards, user needs, design metrics, and project management. This foundational research was critical to ensure all aspects were considered before beginning the building process. User needs were identified …

Mems 411: Diving Surface Breaker, Chandler Gartner, Freddy Phillips, Maya Sumra, Olivia Slemmer

Mechanical Engineering Design Project Class

We have been recruited by the WashU diving team to design and construct a surface breaker for the Millstone Pool so the divers can have an affordable way to stay safe while practicing dives.

Mems 411: Timed Mosquito Egg Container Design Project, Paige Warren, Witt Ciesla, Ethan Sobel

Mechanical Engineering Design Project Class

The goal of this project is to design and construct a device that allows for the controlled study of mosquito egg-laying behavior in response to artificial light and temperature variations. Specifically, the device will limit access to cups of standing water, which serve as egg-laying sites, to preprogrammed times of day over a 7-day period.
The device should ensure the following:

• Control Access: The container should be open and closed at predetermined intervals, allowing mosquitoes to access the cups of standing water only during these times.
• Programmability: It should be easy for a novice to specify the opening and closing …

Mems 411: Ball Bearing Sorter, Abdissa Effa, Juliet Whitehead, Ayub Shifa

Mechanical Engineering Design Project Class

The challenge is to design and fabricate a compact device capable of autonomously sorting and transporting ball bearings of varying materials (chrome steel, brass, nylon) and sizes (¼” and ½”) into designated packaging stations. The device must operate efficiently, accurately, and within the constraints of a 20x20x20-inch enclosure, meeting industrial assembly line standards of speed and precision while minimizing human intervention. It aims to address the need for high-rate sorting systems in manufacturing environments, ensuring accurate material identification and classification for streamlined operations.

Mems 411: Asme Ball Bearing Sorter, Ryan Lively, Joseph Huster, Wil Collins

Mechanical Engineering Design Project Class

The ASME Student Design Competition focused on the design and construction of a ball bearing sorter. This ball bearing sorter must be capable of sorting 2 sizes of ball bearings, being 1/2 inch and 1/4 inch. For each size, there are 3 different bearing materials, brass, steel, and acetal plastic. The device is intended to have the bearings fed into a hopper, and then fully autonomously sort the bearings. The autonomous sorting was to transport the various bearings into 6 different packing stations, one for each size and material bearing. These packing stations must be easily removable. This design project …

Mems 411: Automated Assistive Toilet, Alex Scaff, Kenna Mcgahren, Daniel Sibley

Mechanical Engineering Design Project Class

How do we make toilets more accessible for all people - regardless of physical, mental, emotional impediments - while also ensuring simplicity and cost-effectiveness? Utilizing sensors, our toilet device is designed to automatically open and close the toilet lid upon approach, increasing ease of use and general hygiene of the user while being friendly to those who struggle with certain disabilities or impairments.

Mems 411: Adjustable Desk, Catryn Cattoor, Natalia Pilpil, Jamie Burgasser, Adam Wong

Mechanical Engineering Design Project Class

Design and create a desk for a special education classroom of kindergarteners to third graders. The desk needs slanting capabilities, wheel chair accessibility, raising/lower capabilities, distraction prevention capabilities, and light board capabilities. These capabilities need to be configurable for students with different needs. This desk also needs to be very durable, safe, and mobile. The main motivation for this project is the desire to provide the teacher and her students with a single, cost-effective product that is safe, easy to use, and meets their desired needs.

Mems 411: Group V Ball Bearing Sorter, Matthew Hernandez, Sean Huffert, Ethan Delair

Mechanical Engineering Design Project Class

After a semester of hard work, Team V is proud to unveil its finished prototype for the 2024-2025 ASME Student Design Competition. The theme of this challenge was "Assembly Line Sorting and Packaging." The goal of this challenge was to make a device able to satisfy the criteria of sorting between six different bearings of different sizing and material properties, and meeting spatial and time limitations. This device needed to be fast, accurate, compact, and able to sort in bulk. Team V feels like we have met most of these requirements with our final design prototype. For this project, a …

Mems 411: Rc Plane Mount For Cfd Validation, Jake Schwartz, Margot Jay, Ian Torres, Sam Ehrman

Mechanical Engineering Design Project Class

Washington University in St. Louis’ Design/Build/Fly team (WashU DBF) participates in an annual international competition with over 100 teams where they create a Remote Control (RC) plane that can perform various missions. One of the difficulties in developing a plane each year is testing the forces on the plane. Currently, Ansys and XFLR5 are used to create computational fluid dynamics (CFD) models for the plane. CFD modeling simulates air flow over the plane’s wings to analyze how to optimize the aircraft’s aerodynamics. While this is a useful strategy to predict the plane’s theoretical performance, WashU DBF Technical President, Eleni Kambouris, …

Mems 411: Mini Syringe Pump, Rachel Foulk, Braxton Hart, Camilo Hernandez

Mechanical Engineering Design Project Class

In many research and medical settings, small amounts of liquids are dispensed using syringes. Very often, syringe pumps like those shown in the left image, are used to control the amount (i.e., flow rate) of dispensed/collected fluid. There are single- or multi-style syringe pumps; the one shown is single-style; multi-style have 2-8 parallel syringes that are all pushed/pulled at the same flow rate. However, these syringe
pumps are bulky and heavy, making them impractical for many experimental setups. Commercial alternatives include very expensive syringe pumps with remote dispensers. Furthermore, it is often necessary to have two syringe pumps operate in …