Digital Commons Network^™

Abortion, Buddhism, And The Middle Way: What A Buddhist View Of Abortion In Japan Can Teach Us In The United States Following The Overturn Of Roe V. Wade, Anna Grace Kalvelage

Say Something Theological: The Student Journal of Theological Studies

This paper takes up the question of whether there is a “middle way” approach in addressing the issue of abortion, particularly in light of the overturning of Roe v. Wade in the United States. It explores this question through examining how schools of Buddhism have addressed the issue of abortion in Japan, especially considering Japan’s unique history with abortion issues and the mizuko kuyo rituals, and what initially appears to be a gap in theory and practice when it comes to Buddhism and abortion. It further explores how some of the central tenets of Buddhism including karma, rebirth, and compassion …

Purchasing The Practice: How The World Of Wellness Sells Yoga As The Ultimate Self-Care, Serafina Blake

Say Something Theological: The Student Journal of Theological Studies

Yoga has the potential to bring a healing paradigm into the world and re-awaken the practitioner’s infinite capacity for love and compassion. Unfortunately, Western yoga carries many stereotypes in opposition to this understanding. In the US, yoga is more closely associated with fitness, whiteness, wealth, and youth than it is connected to a deeply complex spiritual tradition that has spanned centuries. The Westernization and industrialization of yoga has the potential to be spiritually harmful to practitioners who participate in yoga as a product to be consumed, rather than a practice to be engaged in. In addition to the Western values …

How Release Informs Practice: Nonattachment As A Key To The Yogic Techniques Of Patañjali’S Yoga Sūtra, Dana Tarasavage

Say Something Theological: The Student Journal of Theological Studies

This paper explores the relationship between practice and nonattachment in Patañjali’s Yoga Sūtra (YS). I examine these concepts in their original context and then view them through a modern lens, arguing that the application of nonattachment alongside yogic practices holds the key to fruitful spiritual exploration. My research shows that nonattachment is more than a secondary consideration to the main element of practice; instead, the intentionally paradoxical pairing offers nuance and grounding for a holistic Yoga practice. I begin by establishing the goal of the YS, explore the context of practice and nonattachment within it, consider how …

Ocean Carbon From Space: Current Status And Priorities For The Next Decade, Robert J.W. Brewin, Shubha Sathyendranath, Gemma Kulk, Marie Hélène Rio, Javier A. Concha, Thomas G. Bell, Astrid Bracher, Cédric Fichot, Thomas L. Frölicher, Martí Galí, Dennis Arthur Hansell, Tihomir S. Kostadinov, Catherine Mitchell, Aimee Renee Neeley, Emanuele Organelli, Katherine Richardson, Cécile Rousseaux, Dustin Carroll, For Full Author List, See Comments Below

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

The ocean plays a central role in modulating the Earth's carbon cycle. Monitoring how the ocean carbon cycle is changing is fundamental to managing climate change. Satellite remote sensing is currently our best tool for viewing the ocean surface globally and systematically, at high spatial and temporal resolutions, and the past few decades have seen an exponential growth in studies utilising satellite data for ocean carbon research. Satellite-based observations must be combined with in-situ observations and models, to obtain a comprehensive view of ocean carbon pools and fluxes. To help prioritise future research in this area, a workshop was organised …

Quantifying Annual Spatial Consistency In Chick-Rearing Seabirds To Inform Important Site Identification, Martin Beal, Paulo Catry, Richard A. Phillips, Steffen Oppel, John P.Y. Arnould, Maria I. Bogdanova, Mark Bolton, Ana P.B. Carneiro, Corey Clatterbuck, Melinda Conners, Francis Daunt, Karine Delord, Kyle Elliott, Aymeric Fromant, José Pedro Granadeiro, Jonathan A. Green, Lewis Halsey, Keith C. Shaffer, For Full Author List, See Comments Below

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Animal tracking has afforded insights into patterns of space use in numerous species and thereby informed area-based conservation planning. A crucial consideration when estimating spatial distributions from tracking data is whether the sample of tracked animals is representative of the wider population. However, it may also be important to track animals in multiple years to capture changes in distribution in response to varying environmental conditions. Using GPS-tracking data from 23 seabird species, we assessed the importance of multi-year sampling for identifying important sites for conservation during the chick-rearing period, when seabirds are most spatially constrained. We found a high degree …

Semejanzas Y Diferencias Entre El Español Canario Y El Dominicano, Orlando Alba

Faculty Publications

Esta presentación intenta destacar similitudes y discrepancias entre el español de Canarias, especialmente el de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, y el de la República Dominicana. En otras palabras, el objetivo consiste en hacer una descripción parcial de la identidad de ambos modos de hablar con el apoyo, cuando es posible, de ilustraciones orales. En la exposición se comentan, en plan divulgativo, rasgos fonéticos (principalmente la variación de la /s/), algunos hechos sintácticos, y datos del léxico disponible en varios centros de interés.

Utilization Patterns Of Telehealth: New Realities In Post-Covid Children's Behavioral Health Care In Louisiana, Evidence To Practice, Cep Briefs, Sonita Singh, Brian Bumbarger, Willandra Whiting, Stephen Phillippi

Policy & Position Papers

No abstract provided.

Face-To-Face With Scorching Wildfire: Potential Toxicant Exposure And The Health Risks Of Smoke For Wildland Firefighters At The Wildland-Urban Interface, Jooyeon Hwang, Ngee-Sing Chong, Mengliang Zhang, Robert J Agnew, Chao Xu, Zhuangjie Li, Xin Xu

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

As wildfire risks have elevated due to climate change, the health risks that toxicants from fire smoke pose to wildland firefighters have been exacerbated. Recently, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has reclassified wildland firefighters' occupational exposure as carcinogenic to humans (Group 1). Wildfire smoke contributes to an increased risk of cancer and cardiovascular disease, yet wildland firefighters have inadequate respiratory protection. The economic cost of wildland fires has risen concurrently, as illustrated by the appropriation of $45 billion for wildfire management over FYs 2011-2020 by the U.S. Congress. Occupational epidemiological studies of wildland firefighters are crucial for …

Predictors Of Hiv Molecular Cluster Membership And Implications For Partner Services, Camden J Hallmark, Charles Luswata, Natascha Del Vecchio, Christina Hayford, Ricardo Mora, Michelle Carr, Marlene Mcneese, Nanette Benbow, John A Schneider, Joel O Wertheim, Kayo Fujimoto

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Public health surveillance data used in HIV molecular cluster analyses lack contextual information that is available from partner services (PS) data. Integrating these data sources in retrospective analyses can enrich understanding of the risk profile of people in clusters. In this study, HIV molecular clusters were identified and matched to information on partners and other information gleaned at the time of diagnosis, including coinfection with syphilis. We aimed to produce a more complete understanding of molecular cluster membership in Houston, Texas, a city ranking ninth nationally in rate of new HIV diagnoses that may benefit from retrospective matched analyses between …

Self-Powered Triboelectric Mems Accelerometer, Mohammad Alzgool, Yu Tian, Benyamin Davaji, Shahrzad Towfighian

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Scholarship

A self-powered triboelectric accelerometer miniaturized to the micro-scale is presented. This micro triboelectric accelerometer (MTEA) was fabricated using CMOS-compatible processes. The design followed the triboelectric nanogenerators made in meso-scale and operates in the contact-separation mode. The scaled-down, multilayer design enabled fabrication using microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) technology. The MTEA was made using an aluminum and polyimide triboelectric pair that generated charges on the contact. A square movable plate that is 2 mm x 2 mm was fabricated with 1 μm thickness. Then, the fabricated MTEA was excited by a mini-shaker at known frequencies (0.1–7 kHz) and accelerations (1–10 g), and the …

Environment Influence On Interaction Outcomes, Kaley Lambert

Comm-entary

In tandem with other interactional elements, the body plays a substantial role in communicative interactions with companions and oneself. This research compares environmental differences between spaces from two different reality television program environments (Love is Blind and Love Island) which are specified as having the same interaction-goal, observes how the spaces may influence the types of interpersonal interactions they are built for, and compares data regarding the outcomes of said interactions within these spaces so as to provide support for the argument that environments may influence interpersonal interaction outcomes.

Investigating The Roles Of Lung Epithelial Stat3 In Therapeutically Inducible Resistance To Acute Bacterial Pneumonia., Vikram V. Kulkarni, Vikram V. Kulkarni

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Investigating the roles of lung epithelial STAT3 in therapeutically inducible resistance to acute bacterial pneumonia.

Vikram Vitthal Kulkarni, M.S.

Advisory Professor: Scott Evans, MD.

The lung epithelium is a dynamic tissue capable of displaying structural and functional plasticity in response to pathogenic challenges. Our lab has demonstrated that it is possible to therapeutically exploit the lung epithelium’s versatility by inducing resistance to lethal pneumonias caused by viruses, bacteria and fungi. An inhaled combination of a TLR2/6 agonist and a TLR9 agonist (Pam2ODN) results in robust protection against otherwise lethal pneumonia caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Pam2ODN-mediated protection requires key signaling …

P53 Dimers Elicit Unique Tumor Suppressive Activities Through An Altered Metabolic Program, Jovanka Gencel-Augusto

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

p53 is the most frequently mutated tumor suppressor in human cancer. As a tetrameric transcription factor, mutation of the p53 Tetramerization Domain (TD) is a mechanism by which cancers abrogate wild-type (WT) p53 function. p53 TD mutations result in a protein that preferentially forms monomers or dimers. These are also normal p53 states under basal cellular conditions. Although it is accepted that tetrameric p53 is required for full tumor suppressive activities, the physiological relevance of monomeric and dimeric states of p53 is not well understood. We have established in vivo models for monomeric and dimeric p53 which model Li-Fraumeni Syndrome …

Gene Expression–Based Algorithms For The Identification Of Drug Combinations In Personalized Medicine, Lon Fong

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Three of the major problems facing cancer therapeutics are 1) drug resistance, the intrinsic or acquired ability of cancer cells to evade the effect of the therapies used to treat them; 2) heterogeneity among individual patients’ disease at the molecular level and the resulting variability in therapeutic response; and 3) the limitations of genomics biomarkers in matching patients to the most effective therapy. One possible solution to drug resistance is the use of combination therapies rather than monotherapies. Use of multiple drugs, each with a different mechanism of action, lowers the chances that the cancer cells will develop or have …

The Cx3cl1-Cx3cr1 Chemokine Axis Contributes To Tumor Immune Evasion And Its Blockade Enhances Responses To Anti-Pd-1 Immunotherapy, Apoorvi Chaudhri

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

CX3CL1 secreted in the tumor microenvironment serves as a chemoattractant playing a critical role in metastasis of CX3CR1 expressing cancer cells. While CX3CR1 can be expressed in both cancer and immune-inhibitory myeloid cells to facilitate their migration, the mechanisms employed by this axis on these cells to mediate immune suppression remain poorly understood. Here, we explore the immune evasion strategies implemented by this axis and find that it initiates a resistance program in cancer cells that results in 1) facilitation of tumor cell migration, 2) secretion of soluble mediators to generate a pro-metastatic niche, 3) secretion of mediators to attract …

Uncovering Molecular Targets To Overcome Immunosuppression In Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer With Acquired Tki Resistance, Sonia A. Patel

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) remains the leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Targeted therapeutic agents, such as epidermal-like growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) or monoclonal antibodies targeting vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF/R), can effectively inhibit upregulated signaling pathways driving tumorigenesis in NSCLC and many other cancers. Unfortunately, however, resistance to such targeted therapies inevitably arise in most patients and can occur through a variety of resistance mechanisms including genomic alterations and upregulation of bypass pathways. Additionally, patients who have acquired resistance to these targeted agents typically have tumors characterized by an immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment and thus …

Kir-Based Inhibitory Cars Overcome Car-Nk Cell Trogocytosis-Mediated Fratricide And Tumor Escape, Ye Nmn Li

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Trogocytosis is an active process that transfers surface material from targeted to effector cells. Using multiple in vivo tumor models and clinical data, we report that chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) activation in natural killer (NK) cells promoted the transfer of the CAR-cognate-antigen from tumor to NK cells, resulting in (1) lower tumor antigen density, thus impairing the ability of CAR-NK cells to engage with their targets, (2) induced self-recognition and continuous CAR-mediated engagement, resulting in fratricide of trogocytic antigen expressing NK cells (NK^TROG+) and NK cell hyporesponsiveness. This phenomenon could be offset by a dual-CAR system incorporating both …

Adipocytes And Innate Immunity In Systemic Sclerosis, Nancy Wareing

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Systemic sclerosis (SSc; scleroderma) is a chronic systemic autoimmune and connective tissue disorder characterized by vasculopathy, autoimmune phenomena, and widespread fibrosis. Skin thickening and tightening is the cardinal feature of SSc and is responsible, in part, for the considerable morbidity of this disease. There are currently no targeted treatments for skin manifestations in SSc, primarily due to our fragmented understanding of its pathophysiologic mechanisms. In PART I, we report a previously unappreciated link between aberrant expression of the developmental gene sine oculis homeobox homolog 1 (SIX1) in skin-associated adipocytes in SSc skin and the early loss of dermal white adipose …

Reconstructing Mutational Lineages In Breast Cancer By Multi-Patient-Targeted Single Cell Dna Sequencing, Jake Leighton

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) is an aggressive subtype of breast cancer with high rates of metastasis and recurrence, where TNBC patients have a poor 5-year survival and ~50% are non-responsive to chemotherapy. Aneuploidy is a cancer hallmark that is pervasive in over 90% of breast cancer patients and is indicative of complex genomic rearrangements that are acquired during tumor initiation. Although copy number aberrations have been extensively studied in relation to aneuploidy and TNBC initiation, little is currently known regarding the timing and impact of single nucleotide variants (SNVs) contributing to these early transformative genomic events. Paramount to novel …

The Diagnostic Odyssey Of Hypermobile Eds Patients: Diagnosis, Clinical Expectations, And Psychosocial Concerns, Madeline Alpar

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Background: Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS) is a highly variable, heritable connective tissue disorder. Hypermobile EDS (hEDS) is the most common subtype of EDS and has no identifiable underlying genetic etiology. Patients with clinical features of hEDS face a long diagnostic odyssey due to lack of genetic testing and wide clinical heterogeneity. Additionally, recent research has shown that genetic institutions limit evaluations for suspected hEDS, adding another barrier to care.

Methods: We developed an online patient survey to explore the diagnostic odyssey of hEDS for those who were diagnosed with or suspicious for hEDS. This survey included sections on demographics, diagnostic information …

Improving Dose-Response Correlations For Locally Advanced Nsclc Patients Treated With Imrt Or Pspt, Yulun He

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

The standard of care for locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is concurrent chemo-radiotherapy. Despite recent advancements in radiation delivery methods, the median survival time of NSCLC patients remains below 28 months. Higher tumor dose has been found to increase survival but also a higher rate of radiation pneumonitis (RP) that affects breathing capability. In fear of such toxicity, less-aggressive treatment plans are often clinically preferred, leading to metastasis and recurrence. Therefore, accurate RP prediction is crucial to ensure tumor coverage to improve treatment outcome. Current models have associated RP with increased dose but with limited accuracy as they …

Targeting Metabolic Alterations Associated With Smooth Muscle Α-Actin Pathogenic Variant Attenuates Moyamoya-Like Cerebrovascular Disease, Anita Kaw

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Heterozygous pathogenic variants in ACTA2, encoding smooth muscle α-actin (α-SMA), predispose to thoracic aortic aneurysms and dissections. De novo missense variants disrupting ACTA2 arginine 179 (p.Arg179) cause a multisystemic disease termed smooth muscle dysfunction syndrome (SMDS), which is characterized by early onset thoracic aortic disease and moyamoya disease-like (MMD) cerebrovascular disease. The MMD-like cerebrovascular disease in SMDS patients is marked by bilateral steno-occlusive lesions in the distal internal carotid arteries (ICAs) and their branches. To study the molecular mechanisms that underlie the ACTA2 p.Arg179 variants, a smooth muscle-specific Cre-lox knock-in mouse model of the heterozygous Acta2 R179C variant, termed …

Investigation Of Teratogenic Concerns In The Covid-19 Era, Emily Daykin

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

In the United States, Coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) has disproportionately impacted vulnerable populations, including pregnant people, who were shown to be at higher risk of severe illness from COVID-19 infection and pregnancy complications. Research on the teratogenicity of COVID-19 is still ongoing, but overall neither COVID-19 infection nor vaccination appear to increase the risk of birth defects. Numerous studies have investigated healthcare providers’ opinions on whether and when pregnant people should get vaccinated, as well as pregnant people’s perceptions of COVID-19 vaccines and psychosocial impacts of the pandemic. However, more research is needed to identify the most common concerns regarding …

Y Chromosome Gene Kdm5d Epigenetically Drives Sex Differences In Colorectal Cancer, Jiexi Li

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Sex exerts a profound impact on cancer incidence, spectrum and outcomes, yet the molecular genetic bases of such sex differences are ill-defined and presumptively ascribed to X-chromosome genes and sex hormones. Such sex differences are particularly prominent in colorectal cancer (CRC) where men experience higher metastases and mortality. A murine CRC model, engineered with an inducible transgene encoding oncogenic mutant KRAS^G12D and conditional null alleles of Apc and Trp53 tumor suppressors (designated iKAP), revealed higher metastases and worse outcomes specifically in males with oncogenic mutant KRAS (KRAS*) CRC. Integrated cross-species molecular and transcriptomic analyses identified Y-chromosome gene histone demethylase …

Multiparametric Magnetic Resonance Imaging Artificial Intelligence Pipeline For Oropharyngeal Cancer Radiotherapy Treatment Guidance, Kareem Wahid

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Oropharyngeal cancer (OPC) is a widespread disease and one of the few domestic cancers that is rising in incidence. Radiographic images are crucial for assessment of OPC and aid in radiotherapy (RT) treatment. However, RT planning with conventional imaging approaches requires operator-dependent tumor segmentation, which is the primary source of treatment error. Further, OPC expresses differential tumor/node mid-RT response (rapid response) rates, resulting in significant differences between planned and delivered RT dose. Finally, clinical outcomes for OPC patients can also be variable, which warrants the investigation of prognostic models. Multiparametric MRI (mpMRI) techniques that incorporate simultaneous anatomical and functional information …

P120-Catenin Subfamily Members Have Distinct As Well As Shared Effects On Dendrite Morphology During Neuron Development In Vitro, Maxsam Donta

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Proper dendrite morphology is essential for neuronal connectivity and function, and abnormal dendrite morphology is seen in many neurological pathologies. This study characterizes and compares the effects of a group of four proteins – the p120-catenin subfamily – that regulate cytoskeletal remodeling and dendrite morphology. To do this, I tracked the endogenous localization of each p120-subfamily catenin during neuron development, and I determined how altering the expression of each p120-subfamily catenin affects dendrite morphology. I find that all catenins are expressed in dendritic processes and the soma, ARVCF-catenin is expressed at relatively high proportions in the nucleus, and p120-catenin and …

Impact Of Personal, Familial, And Socioeconomic Factors On The Return Of Remotely Collected Samples For Genetic Testing, Jordan Zeiger

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

There are a multitude of barriers known to impact access to medical care in the United States. COVID-19 has changed and compounded these barriers and led to a shift in the setting of the genetic counseling (GC) appointment, and in sample types used for genetic testing, specifically with use of telemedicine and remotely collected saliva kits. Previous studies have described lack of patient follow-through in returning these kits. Though the understanding of barriers to medical care, including access to genetics services, is well described, there is little in the literature for how these barriers impact the return of remotely collected …

Uncovering Novel Mechanism Of Immune Modulation Of Invariant Natural Killer T Cells By Liposomal Α-Galactosylceramide, Alexandra S. Flegle

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Invariant Natural Killer T cells (iNK-T cells) are a powerful regulatory immune cell that can recruit both innate and adaptive immune cells. Unlike conventional T cells (CD4⁺ and CD8α⁺), they recognize glycolipid antigens via the MHC-class-I like molecule, CD1d. A synthetically derived glycolipid from the marine sponge, Agelas mauritianus, alpha-Galactosylceramide (α-GalCer) potently activates iNK-T cells. Within a few hours after activation, iNK-T cells produce high quantities of T_H1 and T_H2 type cytokines, thus shape subsequent adaptive immunity towards inflammation (T_H1) or immune-suppression (T_H2). Structural modification of α-GalCer’s phytosphingosine …

Treatment Planning Automation For Rectal Cancer Radiotherapy, Kai Huang

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Background

Rectal cancer is a common type of cancer. There is an acute health disparity across the globe where a significant population of the world lack adequate access to radiotherapy treatments which is a part of the standard of care for rectal cancers. Safe radiotherapy treatments require specialized planning expertise and are time-consuming and labor-intensive to produce.

Purpose:

To alleviate the health disparity and promote the safe and quality use of radiotherapy in treating rectal cancers, the entire treatment planning process needs to be automated. The purpose of this project is to develop automated solutions for the treatment planning process …

Deephtlv: A Deep Learning Framework For Detecting Human T-Lymphotrophic Virus 1 Integration Sites, Johnathan Jia, Johnathan Jia

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

In the 1980s, researchers found the first human oncogenic retrovirus called human T-lymphotrophic virus type 1 (HTLV-1). Since then, HTLV-1 has been identified as the causative agent behind several diseases such as adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATL) and a HTLV-1 associated myelopathy or tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP). As part of its normal replication cycle, the genome is converted into DNA and integrated into the genome. With several hundreds to thousands of unique viral integration sites (VISs) distributed with indeterminate preference throughout the genome, detection of HTLV-1 VISs is a challenging task. Experimental studies typically use molecular biology …