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“Blessings from the North Star”: A Life History of Japanese Charms in the Oberlin College Ethnographic Collection
No full textSocial Determinants of Health of Healthcare Associated Infections: A Literature Research of Case Studies in the US
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Methylene Blue Attenuates 3-Nitropropionic Acid-Induced Oxidative Stress and Mitochondrial Dysfunction in Striatal Cells: Therapeutic Implications in Huntington’s Disease Neuropathology
No full textThere are no disease-modifying treatments available for Huntington’s disease (HD), a neurodegenerative disease caused by a genetic mutation in the Huntingtin gene. Previous research suggests that disruptions in the bioenergetics of the mitochondria and increased oxidative stress are potential inducers of HD. Therapies that enhance antioxidant pathways intend to target and attenuate the overproduction of reactive oxygen species associated with mitochondrial dysfunction. We have investigated the effect of Methylene Blue (MB) as a potential therapy for HD. MB is a small molecule demonstrated to exhibit neuroprotective effects in other neurodegenerative disease models, including Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s, by attenuating the oxidative stress pathways implicated in their pathophysiology. We used an established striatal cell model of HD expressing wild-type (STHdhQ7/Q7) or mutant (STHdhQ111/Q111) HTT and a chemical inducer of HD, 3-Nitropropionic acid (3-NPA), to determine the HD-specific mechanisms regulated by 3 h of MB pre-treatment. Upon 24 h of exposure to 3-NPA, mutant HD cells exhibited a significant concentration-dependent decrease in cell survival and a concomitant increase in cell death compared to wild-type, confirming that 3-NPA exacerbates mutant HTT neurotoxicity. Examination of mitochondrial membrane potential and mitochondrial function in the striatal cells by JC-1 and ATP assays, respectively, revealed MB mediated neuroprotection against 3-NPA-induced reduction in mitochondrial activity. Immunoblotting analysis revealed that MB restores baseline expression of oxidative-stress-related proteins, including HO1 and p62, in both wild-type and mutant cells exposed to 3-NPA. Our findings establish a novel neuroprotective role of MB in both genetic and pharmacological models of HD, suggesting that MB might be a promising therapeutic candidate for altering the underlying pathophysiology of HD by improving mitochondrial function
Causal predictive modeling of survival of lung and bronchus cancer patients diagnosed during 2010–2011 in Texas
No full textBackground: Lung and Bronchus cancer is the most fatal type of cancer in the United States. According to the American Cancer Society, there were more than 127,000 deaths from lung cancer in 2023. Lung cancer care cost 23.8 billion dollars in 2020. In Texas, only 22.8% of lung cancer patients survived 5 years or more past diagnosis based on 2012–2018 data.
Aim: This study evaluates the survival length of lung and bronchus cancer patients in Texas using advanced statistical and machine learning methods applied to an 11-year cohort study from Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program. It also quantifies the causal effect of early (localized) versus late (distant) stage at diagnosis on survival time of those patients. Additionally, it explores the influence of demographic and available clinical factors to assess disparities in survival across different groups.
Methodology: We performed classical survival analyses, followed by causal survival analysis to study the average years lost among different patient groups. Additionally, we performed survival random forest and survival neural network modeling. Finally, we conducted causal inference and causal survival random forest to estimate and predict the average treatment effect of early-stage diagnosis on lung cancer patient survival.
Results: Stage and age are the two most important factors in predicting the survival of patients with lung and bronchus cancer. Lung cancer patients diagnosed with the regional stage have about twice the risk of dying as those in the localized stage at any time, and this risk increases as the stage advances. We also find that the average extended lifetime of the localized stage group was about 4 years compared to survivors diagnosed with the distant stage. It can also extend the probability of survival by up to 50%.
Conclusion: Our study underscores the need for early screening, diagnosis and improving equity in lung cancer patients care, which could lead to improved outcomes and reduced mortality in this high-risk population.
Impact: Understanding lung and bronchus cancer survival using advanced causal inference and predictive modeling techniques, highlights the critical importance of early-stage diagnosis, showing that patients diagnosed at localized stages have a substantially higher survival probability. This research underscores the necessity of promoting early screening and equitable cancer care to improve survival rates and healthcare outcomes for lung and bronchus cancer patients
Honorary Degree Recipients and Commencement Speakers 1851-2025
Full text linkhttps://digitalcommons.oberlin.edu/commencement_programs/1189/thumbnail.jp
The reliability of gas-phase metallicities immediately adjacent to non-star-forming spaxels in MaNGA
No full textIn this work, we use gas phase metallicities calculated from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Mapping Nearby Galaxies at Apache Point (MaNGA) Data Release 17 (DR17) to assess the extent of potential biases in spaxels which are spatially adjacent to spaxels identified as non-star forming (non-SF) on a BPT diagram. We identify a sample of such spaxels with calculable metallicities from the full metallicity catalogue (1.57 million), representing a small fraction ( percent) of the full metallicity sample. 23 percent of all galaxies with at least one spaxel with a calculable metallicity also contain at least one spaxel with a calculated metallicity adjacent to a non-SF spaxel, with a typical galaxy hosting 9 non-SF-adjacent spaxels. From our suite of 6 different metallicity calibrations, we find that only the metallicity calibrations based entirely on the [NII]/Hα ratio are affected, showing systematic offsets to higher metallicities by up to 0.04 dex if they are located adjacent to a non-SF flagged spaxel, relative to a radially matched control sample. The inclusion of additional diagnostic diagrams (based on [OI] and/or [SII]) is insufficient to remove the observed offset in the [NII]/Hα based calibrations. Using a stricter diagnostic line on the BPT diagram removes 94 percent of identified bordering spaxels with metallicities for all metallicity calibrations, and removes the residual offset to higher metallicity values seen in [NII]/Hα calibrations. If science cases demand an exceptionally clean metallicity sample, we recommend either a stricter BPT cut, and/or a non-[NII]/Hα based metallicity calibration