Digital Commons Network^™

Epigenetic Regulation By Tet1 In Gene-Environmental Interactions Influencing Susceptibility To Congenital Malformations, Wannes Brangers, Qiuying Chen, Mariana Schroiff, Colin Custers, Harm H M Kwak, Rita Khoueiry, Robert Cabrera, Steven S Gross, Richard H Finnell, Yunping Lei, Kian Peng Koh

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

The etiology of neural tube defects (NTDs) involves complex gene-environmental interactions. Folic acid (FA) prevents NTDs, but the mechanisms remain poorly understood and at least 30% of human NTDs resist the beneficial effects of FA supplementation. Here, we identify the DNA demethylase TET1 as a nexus of folate-dependent one-carbon metabolism and genetic risk factors post-neural tube closure. We determine that cranial NTDs in Tet1−/− embryos occur at two to three times higher penetrance in genetically heterogeneous than in homogeneous genetic backgrounds, suggesting a strong impact of genetic modifiers on phenotypic expression. Quantitative trait locus mapping identified a strong NTD …

The Role Of Placental Kisspeptin In Trophoblast Invasion And Migration: An Assessment In Kiss1r Knockout Mice, Bewo Cell Lines And Human Term Placenta, E. N. Panting, J. H. Weight, J. A. Sartori, D. A. Coall, J. T. Smith

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Context: There is mounting evidence implicating kisspeptin signalling in placental development and function. Aims: This study aimed to elucidate kisspeptin's role in trophoblast invasion and migration using three experimental models. Methods: First, we examined the mouse fetus and placenta in a kisspeptin receptor (Kiss1r) knockout (KO) model. Fetal/placental weights and gene expression (quantitative polymerase chain reaction) were assessed. Second, we determined kisspeptin effects on a human trophoblast (BeWo) cell line in vitro. Third, we examined KISS1 and KISS1R gene expression in human placenta from term and pre-Term pregnancies. Key results: No difference was found in fetal or placental weight between …

Mapping Capital Ratios To Bank Lending Spreads: The Role Of Efficiency And Asymmetry In Performance Indices, Ali Golbabaei Pasandi, Mahmoud Botshekan, Abolhasson Jalilvand, Mohammad Ali Rastegar, Mojtaba Rostami Noroozabad

School of Business: Faculty Publications and Other Works

Beyond the 2007–2008 financial crisis, the collapse of the Silicon Valley Bank and the acquisition of Credit Suisse by the Swiss investment bank UBS Group AG in 2023 have brought fresh attention to the need for new regulatory capital, liquidity risk management, and leverage requirements. To meet tightened capital requirements, banks have to increase their capital ratios either by increasing equity or by decreasing risk-weighted assets. Both options lead to banks’ performance deterioration. One remedy for banks to recover is raising their lending spread. A critical question is how much the lending spread should be increased to offset the drop …

Intouch Week Of July 8, 2024, New York Medical College

InTouch

• The 2024 Issue of Chironian is Available
• Founder's Dinner 2024
• NYMC Receives $900,000 HECap Award
• NYMC and TU Hosts “Ninety Minutes: The Medical Magazine of the Web”
• Student Spotlight: Medical Student and Aspiring Entrepreneur: Nadia Ambarsom Pursues Dual Dreams
• Alumni Spotlight: Dr. Williamson Transforms Health Care as Nurse and Public Health Advocate

Ndls Communicator: Week Of 07.08.24, Notre Dame Law School

NDLS Communicator

The Latest News

• Notre Dame Law School grants tenure to two professors
• Notre Dame Law School announces Class of 2024 Top Academic Awards
• Notre Dame Law School’s Global Human Rights Clinic Helps Free Imprisoned Ukrainian Priests from Russian Captivity
• Notre Dame Law School announces significant expansion of Loan Repayment Assistance Program
• Notre Dame Law School Eviction Clinic gives students hands-on experience representing families facing eviction in St. Joseph County
• From Nairobi to Notre Dame: Strathmore Law School students pursue internships at ND Law's Exoneration Justice Clinic
• St. Catherine’s Circle Advances Catholic Legal Education in Central & Eastern Europe
• International Jurist …

Computational Insights Into Sars-Cov-2 Main Protease Mutations And Nirmatrelvir Efficacy: The Effects Of P132h And P132h-A173v, Zhi-Bi Zhang, Ke-Qin Zhang, Shu-Qun Liu

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Nirmatrelvir, a pivotal component of the oral antiviral Paxlovid for COVID-19, targets the SARS-CoV-2 main protease (Mpro) as a covalent inhibitor. Here, we employed combined computational methods to explore how the prevalent Omicron variant mutation P132H, alone and in combination with A173V (P132H-A173V), affects nirmatrelvir’s efficacy. Our findings suggest that P132H enhances the noncovalent binding affinity of Mpro for nirmatrelvir, whereas P132H-A173V diminishes it. Although both mutants catalyze the rate-limiting step more efficiently than the wild-type (WT) Mpro, P132H slows the overall rate of covalent bond formation, whereas P132H-A173V accelerates it. Comprehensive analysis of noncovalent and covalent contributions to the …

Rna 2′-O-Methylation Promotes Persistent R-Loop Formation And Aid-Mediated Igh Class Switch Recombination, Eric J Brown

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: RNA-DNA hybrids or R-loops are associated with deleterious genomic instability and protective immunoglobulin class switch recombination (CSR). However, the underlying phenomenon regulating the two contrasting functions of R-loops is unknown. Notably, the underlying mechanism that protects R-loops from classic RNase H-mediated digestion thereby promoting persistence of CSR-associated R-loops during CSR remains elusive.

RESULTS: Here, we report that during CSR, R-loops formed at the immunoglobulin heavy (IgH) chain are modified by ribose 2'-O-methylation (2'-OMe). Moreover, we find that 2'-O-methyltransferase fibrillarin (FBL) interacts with activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID) associated snoRNA aSNORD1C to facilitate the 2'-OMe. Moreover, deleting AID C-terminal tail impairs …

Self-Explainable Graph Neural Network For Alzheimer Disease And Related Dementias Risk Prediction: Algorithm Development And Validation Study, Yifang Dang, Fang Li, Jingna Feng, Evan Yu, Cui Tao

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Alzheimer disease and related dementias (ADRD) rank as the sixth leading cause of death in the United States, underlining the importance of accurate ADRD risk prediction. While recent advancements in ADRD risk prediction have primarily relied on imaging analysis, not all patients undergo medical imaging before an ADRD diagnosis. Merging machine learning with claims data can reveal additional risk factors and uncover interconnections among diverse medical codes.

Objective: The study aims to use graph neural networks (GNNs) with claim data for ADRD risk prediction. Addressing the lack of human-interpretable reasons behind these predictions, we introduce an innovative, self-explainable method …

Trends In Heart Failure Costs For Commercially Insured Patients In The United States (2006–2021), Jianwei Zheng, Islam Abudayyeh, Cyril Rakovski, Louis Ehwerhemuepha, Ahmad Rezaie Mianroodi, Jay N. Patel, Alomari Ihab, Chizobam Ani

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

Background

Although prior research has estimated the overarching cost burden of heart failure (HF), a thorough analysis examining medical expense differences and trends, specifically among commercially insured patients with heart failure, is still lacking. Thus, the study aims to examine historical trends and differences in medical costs for commercially insured heart failure patients in the United States from 2006 to 2021.

Methods

A population-based, cross-sectional analysis of medical and pharmacy claims data (IQVIA PharMetrics^® Plus for Academic) from 2006 to 2021 was conducted. The cohort included adult patients (age > = 18) who were enrolled in commercial insurance plans and …

Pulsed Secondary Electron Yield Measurements Of Metallic And Dielectric Materials Of Interest For High Power Vacuum Electron Devices, Bilal Ahmed Malik

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

Secondary electron emission (SEE) from conductors is thought to play an important role in the initiation of Multipactor breakdown in vacuum electron devices. The SEE of dielectric materials plays a crucial role in numerous scientific and technological applications, including particle accelerators, spacecraft charging, and plasma diagnostics. Additionally, the SEE of an insulator may depend on its electrical stress history. In both cases, SEE strongly depends on any conditioning of the material surface. We present measurements on both conducting and insulating materials of interest in these applications. Measurements are being made in an existing test stand, recently modified to enable measurements …

How Can Interventions More Directly Address Drivers Of Unprofessional Behaviour Between Healthcare Staff?, Justin A Aunger, Ruth Abrams, Russell Mannion, Johanna I Westbrook, Aled Jones, Judy M Wright, Mark Pearson, Jill Maben

School of Nursing and Midwifery

Unprofessional behaviours (UBs) between healthcare staff are widespread and have negative impacts on patient safety, staff well-being and organisational efficiency. However, knowledge of how to address UBs is lacking. Our recent realist review analysed 148 sources including 42 reports of interventions drawing on different behaviour change strategies and found that interventions insufficiently explain their rationale for using particular strategies. We also explored the drivers of UBs and how these may interact. In our analysis, we elucidated both common mechanisms underlying both how drivers increase UB and how strategies address UB, enabling the mapping of strategies against drivers they address. For …

Examining Teacher Attrition And The Contemporary Educator Shortage In The United States: A Quantitative Study Of Herzberg's Two-Factor Theory, Joycelyn Wesley

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

In many educational systems across the world, teacher attrition has become a major problem. As the student population in America continues to grow, one problem plaguing policymakers and school districts is staffing schools with quality educators. This national shortage of educators has been plaguing the United States for almost a decade. It brings one to question why there is such a shortage of qualified educators available to effectively instruct and academically prepare America’s youth. The main goal of this quantitative study is to investigate the reasons for teacher attrition in a large urban school district in the southeastern region of …

Efficient Computation Using Near-Memory Processing And High-Level Synthesis, Chenfeng Zhao

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

With the diminishing of Moore’s law and the end of Dennard scaling, alongside the explosion of data, the need for efficient computation—both in terms of performance and energy consumption—has become paramount. This is particularly crucial for processing large-scale data across various workloads. While a universal computation method is highly desirable, the inherent unique characteristics of different applications and datasets preclude a one-size-fits-all solution. It is usually the case that an appropriate computation technology choice could benefit a particular set of workloads and vice versa. Addressing this challenge requires designers to possess profound knowledge and insights into both hardware and software. …

A Splash Of Color: A Dual Dive Into The Effects Of Evo On Decision-Making With Goal Models: Supplemental Material, Alicia M. Grubb, Yesugen Baatartogtokh, Irene Foster

Computer Science: Faculty Publications

Supplemental material for the paper: "A Splash of Color: A Dual Dive into the Effects of EVO on Decision-Making with Goal Models" doi.org/10.1007/s00766-024-00422-5

Establishing Silphids In The Invertebrate Dna Toolbox: A Proof Of Concept, Katherine E. Higdon, Kristin Brzeski, Melanie A. Ottino, Tara Bal

Michigan Tech Publications

Environmental DNA (eDNA) analyses are an increasingly popular tool for assessing biodiversity. eDNA sampling that uses invertebrates, or invertebrate DNA (iDNA), has become a more common method in mammal biodiversity studies where biodiversity is assessed via diet analysis of different coprophagous or hematophagous invertebrates. The carrion feeding family of beetles (Silphidae: Coleoptera, Latreille (1807)), have not yet been established as a viable iDNA source in primary scientific literature, yet could be useful indicators for tracking biodiversity in forested ecosystems. Silphids find carcasses of varying size for both food and reproduction, with some species having host preference for small mammals; therefore, …

Smokejumper Obituary: Jones, Henry L. “Hank” (Missoula 1953), National Smokejumper Association

Smokejumper Obituaries

No abstract provided.

Smokejumper Obituary: Verbeck, Richard L. (North Cascades 1953), National Smokejumper Association

Smokejumper Obituaries

No abstract provided.

Prelicensure Baccalaureate Nursing Faculty’S Experiences Of Providing Incivility Awareness Education To Students, Emily Vanessa Pappa

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This study investigated prelicensure baccalaureate nursing faculty’s lived experiences of providing incivility awareness education to students. The problem was that previous research regarding incivility awareness education to prelicensure baccalaureate nursing students focused on pilot studies to find effective strategies and students’ receptiveness to educational approaches, but it lacked the nurse educators’ experiences of delivering the education. The purpose was to explore the lived experiences of nurse educators providing incivility awareness education to prelicensure baccalaureate nursing students. with at least 1 year of teaching experience in prelicensure baccalaureate nursing programs and had taught the topic of incivility awareness. Using the qualitative …

Examining Psycho-Social Factors Of Foster Parents Who Engage In Contact Sexual Abuse, Heather Lee Manning

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Previous work has been done to identify psych-social factors of criminals, although no work currently exists to identify the specific type of sexual offender identified within this study- foster parents who sexually offend foster children. This qualitative study focused on pre-determined psycho-social factors of both male and female offenders. The study reviewed nine cases which met the inclusion criteria and where sufficient data was able to be collected. Results of the study revealed that most offenders were male, most were married or in an otherwise committed relationship with a consenting adult during the time of their offending behaviors. These finding …

Impact Of Parental Attachment On Family Communication Patterns About Sex And Intimacy, Trish Mook

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Risky sexual behaviors in adolescence continue to be a social problem that impacts individuals, families, and communities across the United States. Previous research showed that parents who actively talk with their adolescents about sex and intimacy topics reduce their likelihood of engaging in these behaviors. Still, less is known about what motivates a parent to engage in these discussions. This correlational quantitative research study aimed to apply Bowlby’s attachment theory and McLeod and Chaffee’s family communication patterns theory to identify if a relationship exists between parental attachment style and the family communication patterns that a parent employs when discussing sex …

07/08/2024 Meeting, Varina A. Kosovich

Meeting Minutes

No abstract provided.

Deep Sequence-Coupled Biopanning And Vaccine Development, Julianne Peabody

Biomedical Sciences ETDs

Virus-like particles (VLPs) are nanoparticles comprised of viral structural proteins. They physically resemble the virus from which they are derived but lack genomic material. They are non-infectious, non-replicating, and have a favorable safety profile. VLPs are highly immunogenic with a dense, repetitive structure that is strongly activating for B cells. VLPs can be utilized to develop vaccines and can be used either as direct immunogens or platforms for the display of heterologous antigens. The display of foreign peptides on VLPs can be used to elicit high-titer antibodies against the displayed peptide. A virus-like particle based on the RNA bacteriophage MS2 …

Phytoplankton Community Dynamics In The Northern California Current System, Kristin E. Forgrave

Dissertations and Theses

The Northern California Current system is a productive coastal ecosystem encompassing a variety of temporal and spatial features. The photosynthetic microbial community plays a crucial role in supporting the rich ecosystem and its economically important fisheries. My research integrates data across location and two years to investigate the community composition of two major phytoplankton groups in this system: picocyanobacteria and photosynthetic picoeukaryotes (PPE). The abundances and sizes of the phytoplankton were measured using flow cytometry. I found PPE present at similar concentrations in both summer and winter seasons. Abundances of both PPE and picocyanobacteria were comparable in the winter, but …

Leadership Strategies For Small Business’ Sustainability, Abhay Arora

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Small business leaders are concerned with the lack of effective leadership strategies for sustaining their businesses, which can jeopardize their long-term operational and financial success. Grounded in systems theory, the purpose of this qualitative pragmatic inquiry was to explore leadership strategies small business leaders use to sustain their financial performance. The participants were comprised of four business leaders operating businesses in local malls in Manchester, Connecticut who implemented successful leadership strategies for sustainability. Data were collected using semistructured interviews. Five key themes emerged from the thematic analysis: (a) customer focus and service, (b) community engagement, (c) employee collaboration and engagement, …

Exploring Teacher Perceptions On The Effectiveness Of The Freshman Academy, Renee C. Goode-Boyd

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

A Southeastern school district created freshman academies to assist freshman students with strategies and support they need to combat ninth-grade failure successfully, but little change was observed. The purpose of the study was to explore teachers' perceptions of the freshman academy's transition program structure, benefits, challenges, and effectiveness. The conceptual framework for this study encompassed elements of constructivist theory, which explains how children adapt to their environments and learn how to process information successfully. The research questions examined teachers' perceptions regarding the benefits, challenges, and perceived effectiveness of the freshman academy intervention program. The data for this basic qualitative study …

Daratumumab In Transplant-Eligible Patients With Newly Diagnosed Multiple Myeloma: Final Analysis Of Clinically Relevant Subgroups In Griffin, Ajai Chari, Jonathan L Kaufman, Jacob Laubach, Douglas W Sborov, Brandi Reeves, Rebecca Silbermann, Larry D Anderson, Nitya Nathwani, Nina Shah, Naresh Bumma, Sarah A Holstein, Caitlin Costello, Andrzej Jakubowiak, Tanya M Wildes, Robert Z Orlowski, Kenneth H Shain, Andrew J Cowan, Huiling Pei, Annelore Cortoos, Sharmila Patel, Thomas S Lin, Peter M Voorhees, Saad Z Usmani, Paul G Richardson

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The randomized, phase 2 GRIFFIN study (NCT02874742) evaluated daratumumab plus lenalidomide/bortezomib/dexamethasone (D-RVd) in transplant-eligible newly diagnosed multiple myeloma (NDMM). We present final post hoc analyses (median follow-up, 49.6 months) of clinically relevant subgroups, including patients with high-risk cytogenetic abnormalities (HRCAs) per revised definition (del[17p], t[4;14], t[14;16], t[14;20], and/or gain/amp[1q21]). Patients received 4 induction cycles (D-RVd/RVd), high-dose therapy/transplant, 2 consolidation cycles (D-RVd/RVd), and lenalidomide±daratumumab maintenance (≤ 2 years). Minimal residual disease–negativity (10−5) rates were higher for D-RVd versus RVd in patients ≥ 65 years (67.9% vs 17.9%), with HRCAs (54.8% vs 32.4%), and with gain/amp(1q21) (61.8% vs 28.6%). D-RVd showed a …

Predictors Of Aneurysm Obliteration In Patients Treated With The Web Device: Results Of A Multicenter Retrospective Study, Panagiotis Mastorakos, Kareem El Naamani, Nimer Adeeb, Mathews Lan, James Castiglione, Omaditya Khanna, Ritam Ghosh, Jose Danilo Bengzon Diestro, Mahmoud Dibas, Rachel M Mclellan, Oktay Algin, Sherief Ghozy, Nicole M Cancelliere, Assala Aslan, Hugo H Cuellar-Saenz, Sovann V Lay, Adrien Guenego, Leonardo Renieri, Joseph Carnevale, Guillaume Saliou, Eimad Shotar, Kevin Premat, Markus Möhlenbruch, Michael Kral, Justin E Vranic, Charlotte Chung, Mohamed M Salem, Ivan Lylyk, Paul M Foreman, Jay A Vachhani, Hamza Shaikh, Vedran Župančić, Muhammad U Hafeez, Joshua Catapano, Muhammad Waqas, Vincent M Tutino, Mohamed K Ibrahim, Marwa A Mohammed, James D Rabinov, Yifan Ren, Clemens M Schirmer, Mariangela Piano, Maria Bres Bullrich, Michael Mayich, Anna L Kühn, Caterina Michelozzi, Stéphanie Elens, Robert M Starke, Ameer E Hassan, Mark Ogilvie, Anh Nguyen, Jesse Jones, Waleed Brinjikji, Marios Psychogios, Christian Ulfert, Julian Spears, Brian T Jankowitz, Jan-Karl Burkhardt, Ricardo A Domingo, Thien Huynh, Rabih G Tawk, Boris Lubicz, Marie T Nawka, Pietro Panni, Ajit S Puri, Guglielmo Pero, Erez Nossek, Eytan Raz, Monika Killer-Oberpfalzer, M Ozgur Ozates, Giyas Ayberk, Robert W Regenhardt, Christoph J Griessenauer, Hamed Asadi, Adnan Siddiqui, Andrew F Ducruet, Felipe C Albuquerque, Nirav J Patel, Christopher J Stapleton, Peter Kan, Vladimir Kalousek, Pedro Lylyk, Srikanth Boddu, Jared Knopman, Mohammad A Aziz-Sultan, Frédéric Clarençon, Nicola Limbucci, Mario Zanaty, Juan Carlos Martinez-Gutierrez, Sunil Sheth, Gary Spiegel, Rawad Abbas, Abdelaziz Amllay, Stavropoula I Tjoumakaris, Michael R Gooch, Nabeel A Herial, Robert H Rosenwasser, Hekmat Zarzour, Richard F Schmidt, Vitor Mendes Pereira, Aman B Patel, Pascal M Jabbour, Adam A Dmytriw

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background and purpose: Despite the numerous studies evaluating the occlusion rates of aneurysms following WEB embolization, there are limited studies identifying predictors of occlusion. Our purpose was to identify predictors of aneurysm occlusion and the need for retreatment.

Materials and methods: This is a review of a prospectively maintained database across 30 academic institutions. We included patients with previously untreated cerebral aneurysms embolized using the WEB who had available intraprocedural data and long-term follow-up.

Results: We studied 763 patients with a mean age of 59.9 (SD, 11.7) years. Complete aneurysm occlusion was observed in 212/726 (29.2%) cases, and contrast stasis …

Frequency & Severity Modeling Of Cyber Risk, Vilma Yayra Mensah Ofori

Theses and Dissertations

In an era where cyber risks are escalating at an unprecedented rate, understanding andmitigating data breach risks has become critical for organizations. This paper proposes a novel frequency-severity model to assess hacking data breach risks at the individual company level, focusing on the Finance, Healthcare, and Technology sectors. Our anal- ysis reveals significant heterogeneity in breach frequencies and severities across sectors and individual companies within those sectors. To model breach frequency, we employ a Zero-Inflated Poisson (ZI-Poisson) model with random effects, capturing unobserved heterogeneity and within-firm correlations over time. Breach severity is modeled using a log-normal regression, given the symmetrical …

Redefining The Scope Of The Curtius Reaction Via A Dehomologation Of Carboxylic Acids Bearing An Alpha Leaving Group. Determining The Stereoelectronic Limitations Of The Crimmins Anti-Selective Asymmetric Glycolate Aldol Addition Reaction., Joy Odeh

Theses and Dissertations

The Curtius rearrangement is an important synthetic transformation in organic chemistry and is named in honor of Theodore Curtius who developed this reaction in the late 19th century. The rearrangement involves the conversion of a carboxylic acid into a primary amine through an isocyanate intermediate. The isocyanate is formed by the thermal decomposition of an acyl azide intermediate formed from the carboxylic acid starting material. The thermal decomposition is accompanied by the migration of the substituent bound to the carboxyl group of the acyl azide. When exposed to different nucleophiles, these isocyanates can then be converted to the corresponding amines, …

Reducing Recidivism At Daep With Social Emotional Learning And Character Education In Restorative Circles, William Alex Robinson

Education Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines the impact of integrating social-emotional learning (SEL) and character education (CE) in restorative circles on recidivism rates in district alternative education programs (DAEP). It also explores how comprehensive training influences teachers' perceptions of teaching SEL and CE within restorative circles. With an increasing number of students returning to DAEPs, there is concern over the insufficient SEL/CE skills necessary for success in their regular school environments. A mixed-method approach was utilized, incorporating quantitative data on student attendance, discipline, and a Likert survey on teacher perceptions, alongside qualitative data from open-ended questions. Recidivism was measured by tracking the number …