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Mitigating melanin-induced bias in pulse oximetry: Optical, algorithmic, engineering, hardware and modeling tools
No full textMelanin, the primary determinant of skin pigmentation, absorbs light at wavelengths that can have significant impact on the accuracy of pulse oximetry and other optical biosensing methods. This narrative review examines key factors influencing melanin-dependent pulse oximetry inaccuracies, including optical interference in transmission and reflectance modes. These inaccuracies further highlight the need for use of standardized skin tone metrics in device testing and design such as the Monk Skin Tone scale and Individual Typology Angle for performance stratification. There are several approaches in development that hope to address the errors in pulse oximetry measurements on melanin-rich skin. These include algorithmic and engineering approaches such as multi-wavelength sensing, regression-based correction, and machine learning models demonstrating significant reductions in melanin-induced error. Advances in pulse oximeter hardware and testing are also considered, including tissue-mimicking phantoms, optimized light sources, sensor design, and wearable innovations. Modeling tools, particularly Monte Carlo simulations, are also reviewed for their role in sensor design, spectral optimization, and algorithm training. Finally, evolving regulatory and equity frameworks are discussed, highlighting the January 2025 US FDA guidance on skin tone subgroup reporting. These findings underscore the need for skin-aware calibration and integrated modeling to ensure equitable pulse oximetry performance across diverse populations
Item 5: Assignment 2: Integrated Final Assignment – Analyzing the 2024 Election Analysis Through a Civic Lens
No full textThis assignment invites students to analyze the 2024 US election as a civic and political event. Students will use real-world data, media sources, and course concepts to evaluate election outcomes and their broader civic significance. The activity replaces a traditional final exam and centers evidence-based thinking, civic identity, and democratic reflection. It is designed for use in political science, civic engagement, or interdisciplinary general education courses
Item 1: Syllabus
No full textThis syllabus critically examines, interrogates, and engages with anti-Black racism. Anti-Black racism is a distinct kind of racial oppression and discrimination against, imposed upon, and experienced by African Americans and Black people (i.e., people of African ancestry). Dr. kihana miraya ross describes it as a “theoretical framework that illuminates society’s inability to recognize our [black people’s] humanity—the disdain, disregard and disgust for our existence.” Consequently, anti-Black racism underscores and attends to the pervasiveness of anti-Blackness across time, contexts, cultures, communities, and societies, and is an ever-present ideological and epistemological system that is inextricable from white supremacy. This syllabus is organized into curriculum units that reflect the ways anti-Black racism informs different institutions, systems, and practices that characterize US American society
Item 4: Activity 2:Thinking, Reflection, Communication
No full textIn small work groups, students will begin research on the environmental topics of water, urban-living, food, creating connections between what they know and what they wonder about. The goal of these discussions is to give the small groups an opportunity to understand one another and develop their ideas further in relation to the environmental subject matter
Responding to the Needs of Early Literacy Teachers: Designing Online Professional Development to Improve Writing Instruction for Multilingual Learners
Get PDFWhile the population of multilingual learners (MLs) in the United States has grown rapidly in recent years, many teachers feel unprepared to teach them. The professional development (PD) teachers receive is often misaligned with their particular needs and experiences. This design-based research study examined the development and impact of online PD designed with teacher input to improve writing instruction for young MLs. Data were collected over twelve months from 25 teachers in six Southeastern U.S. school districts. Researchers evaluated the impact of the PD on teachers’ knowledge and self-efficacy for teaching writing to MLs. Findings highlight how teachers made instructional moves to support the linguistic assets of their students and shifted their beliefs toward more culturally responsive perspectives. These shifts were facilitated by the core PD elements of content focus, active learning, coherence, and duration. The study highlights a need for soliciting iterative feedback on PD from teachers themselves, revising PD based on ongoing feedback, and providing practical opportunities to apply new learning
Development of Polymer Nanocomposite for Magnetic Hyperthermia to Treat Triple Negative Breast Cancer
No full textAbout 10–15% of all instances of breast cancer are triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). TNBCs are not responsive to hormonal or anti-HER2 treatments since they lack estrogen and progesterone receptors and have low levels of HER2. TNBC is a highly aggressive subtype of breast cancer and has a prognosis often worse than that of other subtypes. Usually, chemotherapy and surgery are combined since this is a very efficient way to remove tumors. Chemotherapy medications that effectively remove cancer cells may adversely affect healthy cells and have severe repercussions, which can impair patients\u27 psychological and quality of life (QOL). To reduce adverse effects, enhance patient quality of life, and preserve therapeutic efficacy, a more targeted therapy approach for TNBC should be investigated.
Magnetic hyperthermia (MHT) is a passive-targeting, minimally-invasive treatment for TNBC that minimizes the requirement for other severe well-established therapies having both short- and long-term toxicities for patients. MHT involves heating magnetic nanoparticles in an alternating magnetic field (AMF) to heat local tissues/cells without killing normal epithelial cells since they show better resistance to temperature than the tumor ones. The magnetic nanoparticles used must meet many criteria to be effective in the treatment: they must be small, weakly agglomerated, and possess particular superparamagnetic behavior. Considering these criteria, superparamagnetic polymer nanocomposite (PNC) was synthesized by the thermal decomposition method and coated with nirtroDOPA-modified polyethylene glycol (PEG) that will efficiently heat up, resulting in self-controlled magnetic hyperthermia and the death of the cancer cells under the influence of an alternating magnetic field.
The aim of this study was to find the optimal dosage of polymer nanocomposite for magnetic hyperthermia therapy of the TNBC cell line, MDA-MB-231, with the least amount of harm to the human breast epithelial cell line, MCF10A. Prussian blue staining suggests 30 minutes is an adequate time for PNC to get internalized in the cell cytoplasm, and the particles are retained by cells for up to 72 hours. Magnetic hyperthermia treatment was carried out by treating cells with polymer nanocomposite and then applying an alternating magnetic field (AMF) at a frequency of 205 kHz and a field intensity of 24 kA/m for 30 minutes. Following statistical analysis of cell counts and MTT assay, polymer nanocomposite concentrations 0.025 µg/ml and 0.1μg/ml were found to be the most effective in treating TNBC via magnetic hyperthermia treatment. These concentrations were the least cytotoxic for both cell lines and effectively resulted in cell mortality exceeding 50% during magnetic hyperthermia therapy. Annexin V-FITC/PI staining confirmed early apoptosis to be the mode of cell death triggered by magnetic hyperthermia treatment. Co-cultures further prove that magnetic hyperthermia treatment is more effective against TNBC cells, while normal breast epithelial cells show better resistance to heat. In conclusion, the investigated polymer nanocomposite has shown strong anticancer activity and satisfactory performance under alternating magnetic fields in vitro, making it deserving of more research as a potential alternative therapy for triple-negative breast cancer
Small Stream Restoration in the Piedmont of South Carolina: Comparison of Evaluation Tools and Water Quality’s Effects on Salamanders
Get PDFFor many years, the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) used the Guidelines for Preparing a Compensatory Mitigation Plan worksheets to guide pre-restoration evaluation and determine post-restoration mitigation credits in South Carolina. Recently, the USACE in South Carolina transitioned to the Stream Quantification Tool (SQT), which provides a more comprehensive assessment framework. Our first objective was to compare these assessment methodologies across different landscape types to determine what the SQT adds to mitigation calculations that were not considered in prior worksheets. We evaluated 16 streams in the Piedmont of South Carolina, with four replicates each of forested, suburban, urban, and agricultural land use types. I calculated Pearson correlation coefficients between the raw SQT and USACE scores, finding strong positive correlation when analyzing all streams collectively (r=0.756, p\u3c 0.001). However, landscape-specific analysis revealed distinct patterns. Forested streams showed strong correlation between methods (r=0.740, p\u3e0.1), confirming both tools similarly assess minimally impaired systems. In contrast, developed landscapes showed weak or negative correlations: urban streams (r=0.178), suburban streams (r=-0.297), and agricultural streams (r=-0.295), with no statistical significance due to small sample sizes but consistent patterns. A consistent pattern emerged across more developed landscapes: the USACE worksheet frequently assigned relatively higher scores to more developed streams compared to the SQT. These differences can be attributed to the SQT\u27s more comprehensive measurement approach and inclusion of parameters not assessed by the USACE methodology, particularly those related to water quality, macroinvertebrates, and detailed hydrological measurements. To isolate the influence of methodological differences, I compared SQT geomorphology scores with total USACE scores, focusing on similar parameter categories. The correlation remained weak and non-significant (r=0.392, p\u3e0.05), with notable outliers including Hunnicutt Creek (urban) and George Creek (urban) that deviated substantially from the expected relationship. This finding suggests that fundamental differences between quantitative measurements and visual assessment persist even when comparing similar parameter categories. Our second objective examined how the physicochemical parameters of the SQT relate to salamander abundance as potential bioindicators of stream health. Some salamanders are sensitive to pollution, with populations flourishing in healthy environmental conditions and declining in the presence of environmental stressors. We sampled salamanders in the same 16 streams where the SQT was implemented, identifying 6 species across 14 streams for a total of 394 individuals. We used N-mixture models to analyze factors influencing abundance while accounting for detection probability. Contrary to my hypothesis that composite SQT physicochemical scores would best predict salamander abundance, individual parameters proved more reliable. Turbidity was the strongest single predictor, with the next best model having a delta AIC of 2.82 and showing significant negative effects. Summer daily maximum temperature also negatively affected abundance. For two-lined salamanders specifically, the combination of nitrogen and turbidity formed the best-supported model. When I removed Three & Twenty Creek (a consistently turbid agricultural stream) from analysis, model rankings changed substantially. The null model became top-ranked, followed by nitrogen, total SQT physicochemical score, and temperature, with much more even support across parameters. This demonstrated how extreme values can drive overall patterns and highlighted the importance of multiple water quality factors when extreme turbidity is absent. Our findings have significant implications for stream assessment and restoration practices. The differences observed between assessment tools suggest that reliance solely on visual assessment methodologies might underestimate restoration needs or mitigation requirements, particularly in developed watersheds. The SQT\u27s greater sensitivity to impairment in human-altered landscapes provides more comprehensive evaluation of stream quality. For salamander conservation, management practices should prioritize erosion control, sedimentation reduction, and preservation of riparian shading to maintain suitable conditions. We recommend that stream assessment method selection be context-dependent, based on land use type and application of results. For salamander monitoring as part of the SQT\u27s biology component, we suggest focusing particularly on turbidity and temperature as critical parameters affecting salamander abundance. As human modification of landscapes continues to increase, the ability to accurately assess stream conditions across diverse settings becomes increasingly critical for effective environmental management and conservation
Human-Tiger Spatial and Temporal Overlap and Perceptions of Camera Trap Surveillance in the Kanha-Pench Corridor of Central India
No full textHuman-tiger conflict (HTC) is a growing problem in India as tiger populations rebound and human populations expand further into tiger habitats. The Kanha-Pench Corridor (KPC) is a wildlife corridor in Central India that experiences high densities of HTC. TrailGuard AI is a camera trap-based alert system deployed in the KPC to provide early warnings of tiger presence near villages in order to help reduce and prevent HTC. Over 1000 images from 6 TrailGuard cameras deployed in the KPC were utilized to identify spatial and temporal variables that influenced length of time between captures of human images and tiger images. Variables associated with smaller time intervals between human and tiger detections were dense vegetation, high livestock attack density, location near or far from villages and roads, low village density, location far from water sources, low or high prey density, and medium or high tiger density. Eight structured interviews were conducted with 11 villagers and 3 forest department staff members about their perceptions, experiences, and observations of TrailGuard AI camera traps. Participants’ perceptions of TrailGuard cameras were overwhelmingly positive, and all participants wanted more cameras to be deployed in the forests of the corridor. Some participants believed that TrailGuard cameras were helping to reduce human-tiger conflict and illegal activities such as poaching and tree felling. Social trust, education and outreach, perceived benefits, and tolerance for tigers were factors that contributed to villagers’ support for TrailGuard cameras
Investigating the Impact of Adaptive Sports and Recreation Involvement for Veterans
Get PDFAdaptive sports and recreation programs offer a promising complementary recreation-based treatment option for veterans with service-connected disabilities and health conditions, and these programs can positively impact veterans’ lives. The many biopsychosocial benefits of veteran adaptive sport and recreation participation have been researched, but studies focused on measuring the broader impact of these programs are new. The Experience Type Framework (ETF) and its associated measures, the Experience Impact Scale (EIS) and Experience Type Scale (ETS), offer options for measuring that broader impact. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of adaptive sports and recreation experiences for veterans, explore the characteristics of these experiences for veterans, and contribute to the ongoing validation and development of the measures associated with the ETF. This study utilized a multimethod design, employing quantitative measures in one portion of the study (n = 57) to measure the impact of these experiences and qualitative data collection in the other section of the study (n = 48) to explore the characteristics that contributed to the impact of these experiences for veterans. Findings from the quantitative section revealed that adaptive sports and recreation experiences were overwhelmingly extraordinary (94.8% EIS and 78.9% ETS), with over half of those experiences identified as transformative (50.9% EIS and 59.6% ETS). The qualitative findings were similar, with 95.8% indicating an extraordinary experience and 43.7% of those having a transformative experience. Five categories with 11 embedded themes explored the many aspects of adaptive sports and recreation experiences for veterans that contribute to their impact and confirm the hierarchical structure of the ETF and offer a rich narrative of their experiences