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Quantifying Lattice Cryptosystem Security in the Presence of Side Information
No full textGemstone Team QCryptLattice-based cryptosystems are promising candidates for secure, quantum-
resistant encryption. We studied how their security is affected by additional
”side information” about system secrets. Building on prior geometric models,
we implemented algorithms to compute a maximally inscribed ellipsoid, provid-
ing a more conservative estimate of side information’s impact. We also inves-
tigated and quantified a novel technique for embedding lattice cryptosystems
into this geometric state space. Additionally, our team applied this improved
mathematical framework towards two concrete lattice cryptosystems, CKKS
and Kyber. For CKKS, the team investigated the tradeoff in concrete secu-
rity versus message precision for various levels of noise flooding. For Kyber,
we analyzed power consumption data to infer information about the secret key.
Overall, our research provides more information about the overall security of
the algorithms that protect people’s privacy in an increasingly interconnected
world
Using Precision Therapies to Protect the Developing Brain from Viral Infection and Injury
No full textPrenatal viral infections can cause severe damage to the developing brain. Among the most threatening, Zika virus can cause microcephaly, ocular abnormalities, seizures, and fetal demise. Currently, there is no prenatal standard of care or treatment for Zika infection. Preliminary data and existing literature suggest that autophagy and the lysosome are crucial modifiers of injury and, thus, potential avenues for therapy. In this work, we will determine the effect of three drugs that manipulate autophagy in unique ways on the outcomes of prenatal viral infection; Trehalose, a lysosomal flux activator; Metformin, which induces AMPK signaling; and PD146176, an activator of the cells’ degradative machinery independent of mTORC1 through selective 12/15-lipoxygenase inhibition. Chloroquine, a lysosomal inhibitor known to mitigate the adverse outcomes of prenatal viral infections, serves as our positive control. Here, we infect humanized (hSTAT2 KI/KI), immunocompetent mice at a time point analogous to the first trimester in humans and perform comprehensive prenatal and postnatal analysis. Thus far, we have found that Metformin significantly rescues postnatal survival. In addition to identifying prenatal therapies, future work may also include testing postnatal treatments to account for infected infants not identified prenatally. These findings may also be clinically translatable for other prenatally transmitted viruses, such as Oropouche and cytomegalovirus.Children's National Research Institute, NIH, Do Good Institute of the University of Maryland, University Libraries, LaunchUM
Ready, Set, Primo!: Re-envisioning Exisiting Library Instruction Lesson Plans
No full textWhen the University of Maryland migrated to Primo in summer 2024, Teaching & Learning Services (TLS) saw this as an opportunity to redesign library instruction for ENGL101 students. This resulted in removing database demonstrations from instruction, replaced by a student-led, discussion-based lesson about our discovery system. In this session, we will discuss the process of revamping our library instruction lesson plan to match our new discovery tool's capabilities, examine the conversations we had with stakeholders, introducing the lesson plan to graduate students and faculty librarians, and how we re-evaluated our student engagement methods and our learning outcomes
Sampling Respiratory Viruses in Exhaled Breath Using the Gesundheit-II (G-II)
No full textFrom COVID-19 to the emerging H5N1 “bird flu,” many diseases are airborne and can cause infection through inhalation. In this study, we are using the Gesundheit-II (G-II) machine, an exhaled breath (EB) sampler, to better understand the transmission of respiratory infections such as influenza, COVID-19, and RSV. By analyzing the viral shedding among infected individuals, we aim to determine how humans shed common respiratory viruses through their EB.
We sampled from a cohort of 70-75 University of Maryland dormitory roommate pairs to provide a mid-turbinate (MT) swab and 30-minute EB samples using the Gesundheit-II bioaerosol sampler. Study participants were selected based on self-reported onset of symptoms. MT swabs and EB samples were screened for common respiratory viruses using Cepheid, and TaqMan Array Cards (TAC). Samples were cultured for influenza A virus using TCID₅₀ assay.
Thus far, we have collected a total of seven MT swabs and seven G-II fine aerosol (≤5 µm) samples. Testing using TAC identified various pathogens in five of the MT swabs (influenza A virus, coronavirus OC43, S. aureus, and M. catarrhalis). Among the MT swabs cultured for influenza A virus, three yielded positive results. The influenza A Cepheid test results for MT swabs aligned with these TCID₅₀ findings. For fine aerosol samples, TAC results are pending and viable virus has not been detected.
These data can provide insight into the airborne spread of various respiratory pathogens to better inform public health interventions needed to control outbreaks and mitigate future airborne virus pandemics by setting new standards for infection control.This research is funded by the NIH: NIAID Centers of Excellence for Influenza Research & Response (0258D5044609), Evaluating Modes of Influenza Transmission using Innovative Technologies and Designs in Controlled Environments (U19AI162130A)
Using CRISPR-Cas9 to Modify gyrA to Remove Nalidixic Acid Resistance in Clinically Important Pathogens
No full textGemstone Team SUPERBUGDiseases caused by drug resistant bacteria are one of the leading causes of death in the
United States, and they are becoming a pressing public health concern due to the lack of new
antibiotics and the evolution of multidrug resistance. Drug resistance is an inequitable quandary,
disproportionately affecting minorities and people of lower socio-economic status. Here, we
propose to use CRISPR-Cas9-based gene editing to restore antibiotic susceptibility in resistant
Escherichia coli. Recent studies have used CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing to successfully target and
modify resistance genes to increase antibiotic susceptibility. We chose this system to test
proof-of-principle due to the implications towards treatment of nalidixic acid resistant E. coli
urinary tract infections in women, which are a growing clinical problem. Potentially, the results
of this study could then be applicable to other drug-resistant infections. We bioinformatically
designed a CRISPR-Cas9 construct that could revert gyrA mediated nalidixic acid resistance in
E. coli, resulting in cells sensitive to antibiotics. Our goal is to develop a proof-of-concept
antimicrobial strategy utilizing a CRISPR-Cas9 system delivered via bacteriophage M13 to edit a
point mutation in the gyrA gene of nalidixic acid-resistant E. coli, thereby restoring antibiotic
sensitivity and contributing to the broader effort to combat antimicrobial resistance. We isolated
a series of mutants resistant to nalidixic acid, characterized them, and determined that our target
was a single D87G point mutation in gyrA. The following thesis describes the progress made
towards building, transforming, and testing this construct
Disrupting Glutamate Metabolism: Exploring the Role of gdhA in E. Coli Growth and Bacteriophage Replication
No full textGlutamate metabolism plays a central role in linking carbon and nitrogen utilization in Escherichia coli, yet its contribution to bacteriophage replication remains poorly understood. Bacteriophages are viruses that specifically infect and replicate within bacteria. The enzyme glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH), encoded by ΔgdhA, converts glutamate into α-ketoglutarate, a key TCA cycle intermediate that supports energy production and stress responses. This project aimed to determine how deletion of the ΔgdhA gene affects E. coli growth and T4 bacteriophage infection, and whether disrupting this pathway alters host susceptibility to viral replication.
To address this question, we compared the growth of the ΔgdhA knockout strain to its parent strain using OD₆₀₀ growth curves in LB and M9 media. We also performed plaque assays and lysis curves experiments to analyze T4 phage replication across both strains.
Our results show that the ΔgdhA knockout grows more slowly than the parent strain, especially in M9 media, suggesting deficient energy metabolism when glutamate cannot be efficiently converted into α-ketoglutarate or reduced availability of glutamate. In the phage experiments, the knockout displayed slower and weaker lysis than the parent strain, indicating reduced susceptibility to T4-induced cell death. Plaque formation with the addition of T4 phage was inconsistent across dilutions but generally showed lower replication in the knockout strain. Together, these findings suggest that GDH activity contributes not only to bacterial growth but also to phage replication.
Our future directions will involve repeating the growth and lysis experiments, as well as attempting a two-time point phage titer experiment to strengthen data accuracy, as well as investigating how disruptions to the TCA cycle influence phage infection. Therapies that combine phage treatment with metabolic inhibitors may be developed with an understanding of how bacterial metabolism affects phage susceptibility. Enhancing particular metabolic pathways may increase the susceptibility of resistant bacteria to phage therapy if altering glutamate metabolism decreases phage replication. This is an important factor to consider as antibiotic resistance increases
How Do You Explain Our Work in Digital Collections with Your Colleagues in the Library?
No full textSession at Best Practices Exchange 2025 Conference - "Behind the Scenes: People and Practice."Discussion around the often behind the scenes work of sharing the niche job of digitization and digital collections with our colleagues in other units of the library. Speakers will provide examples from their work including successes and challenges, and then lead a discussion on strategies to conduct internal outreach for promoting understanding of digitization services and the digital collection workflow. While the speakers will focus on their area of digitization projects, participation will be welcomed from practitioners across the spectrum of the digital information field and attendees will be encouraged to share strategies for educating others in our organizations about our different areas of niche digital work broadly
1925 Chesapeake Bay Report Card
No full textThe 1925 Chesapeake Bay Report Card was produced to celebrate the UMCES Centennial. Inspired by 1920s design, this report card offers a glimpse of what a Chesapeake Bay Report Card might have been like in 1925, when UMCES was founded. The state of the Bay in 1925 is not an accurate scientific assessment, but an estimation based on informed opinions and broad historical generalizations. The document is meant to highlight the region's history, including the founding of the Chesapeake Biological Laboratory by Dr. Reginald Truitt, and show how things have changed for the Chesapeake Bay and watershed in the last 100 years.https://ian.umces.edu/site/assets/files/32680/1925-chesapeake-bay-report-card.pd
Ingestible Capsule Technologies to Study and Treat Gastrointestinal Disorders
No full textThe gastrointestinal (GI) tract contains different organs that pose broad implications for overall health. Advances in systems integration and miniaturization have allowed for the growth of ingestible capsules—non-invasive devices capable of a myriad of applications, including sensing specific biomarkers, performing biopsies, and locally delivering drugs—for patients suffering from GI disorders. However, current technologies lack low-power, remotely triggerable mechanisms to collect tissue samples for clinical relevance or the precision to release drugs into specific parts of the body. Further, no ingestible capsules exist that can quantify the spatiotemporal dynamics of neurotransmitters, including serotonin (5-HT), in real-time. Another gap in ingestible capsules development is packaging, which needs to be designed to prevent leaks and preserve isolation between internal and external environments. To address these issues, we aim to improve ingestible capsules by leveraging additive manufacturing, microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), and mesoscale systems, like linear actuators, 3D printed tissue collectors, and cantilevers, to simultaneously achieve more adaptable and robust prototypes as well as more rigorous in vitro testing methods. To validate the ingestible devices, several test setups were completed: a precise sensor to measure motor force, a load cell test to characterize actuator force, sealing tests to evaluate reliability and integrity, and a “lab-on-a-chip” to simulate the GI epithelium. Through the implementation of these mesoscale designs, clinicians can better diagnose and monitor GI disorders, enabling more efficient interventions and therapeutics.MEMS Sensors and Actuators Laboratory, University of Maryland, College Park
MATRIX Lab, University System of Maryland at Southern Marylan