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Sweetbitter: The Literary Legacies and Afterlives of Sappho
No full textCatalog of an exhibition, 19 September 2025 through May 2026 at The Rare Book & Manuscript Library University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Recording of the opening celebration performances: https://youtu.be/IRsGWvykPlE?si=z9VdlfBTg1YmkjO
Leakage of the blood-borne neuroinflammatory molecule fibrinogen correlates with microglial immunofluorescence in the fetal brain during maternal immune activation
No full textBackground: Influenza A virus (IAV) infection during gestation is associated with an increased risk of neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) in offspring, like schizophrenia and autism spectrum disorders. The pathophysiological mechanisms underpinning this association remain a subject of investigation. We posit that maternal immune activation (MIA) precipitated by IAV infection may disrupt selective permeability at the maternal-fetal interface, consequently compromising the integrity of the fetal blood-brain barrier (BBB). This compromised barrier function could lead to aberrant trafficking of neuroinflammatory blood-borne molecules into the fetal compartment, predisposing offspring to neuroinflammatory insults implicated in NDD etiology. Our study aims to: (1) investigate whether fibrinogen, a neuroinflammatory mediator, breaches the placental and fetal brain barriers (vascular or ventricular) during MIA, and (2) determine if this correlates with microglial immunofluorescence.
Methods: C57Bl/6NTac pregnant mice were inoculated with mouse-adapted IAV (103 or 104 TCID50) or saline at gestational day 9.5. Expression of tight junction proteins (TJPs) and CD31+ endothelial cells in placentas and fetal brains was assessed via qPCR and immunohistochemistry. Co-staining of fibrinogen and Iba1+ cells (microglia/macrophages) was assessed in the subventricular zone (SVZ) of the lateral ventricle in fetal brains.
Results: No statistical differences were seen regarding TJPs and CD31+ quantification in placentas or fetal brains. A significant increase in fibrinogen levels was noted in fetal brains exposed to 104 TCID50 IAV versus other groups. Moreover, a positive correlation between fibrinogen and Iba1+ staining at the SVZ was noted.
Conclusion: Large neuroinflammatory glycoprotein fibrinogen can reach the fetal brain during IAV infection. We detected increased correlation in fibrinogen leakage and Iba1+ cell immunofluorescence mainly at the SVZ. Ongoing experiments will determine potential origin and trafficking of other blood-borne molecules that might be implicated in fetal neuroinflammation upon MIA
GeoAI collapse? Ethical implications of synthetic geospatial data use
No full textAs synthetic data become increasingly embedded in GeoAI workflows, the long-term risks of recursive training on AI-generated inputs remain insufficiently understood. This study introduces and empirically examines the concept of GeoAI collapse – a degenerative process in which repeated reliance on synthetic geospatial data leads to progressive performance degradation. Focusing on semantic segmentation of street-level imagery, we simulated multigenerational training cycles using a conditional generative adversarial network pix2pix. Results demonstrated substantial declines in both visual fidelity and quantitative performance metrics, with rare place-based features exhibiting near-total collapse by later generations. These findings reveal structural vulnerabilities in GeoAI pipelines and highlight the ethical risks posed by unscreened, synthetic data entering public geospatial datasets. Beyond technical degradation, the study situates these risks within a broader phenomenon of digital placelessness – the erosion of geographic specificity and contextual meaning as AI-generated representations progressively abstract the lived realities of place. To address these challenges, we propose provenance-aware evaluation protocols that emphasize resilience, spatial fairness, and transparency. This work calls for a critical reframing of synthetic data practices in GeoAI to safeguard the integrity of geographic knowledge production
Gestational influenza A virus disrupts downstream maternal and fetal immune profiles in a dose- and time-dependent manner
No full textEpidemiological studies link neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) with exposure to maternal viral infection in utero. The hypothesized mechanism governing this link comes from animal models that initiate maternal inflammation with a non-pathogenic viral mimic to induce an acute immune response. These studies indicate that maternal intestinal T helper 17 (TH17) cells are activated to produce interleukin (IL)-17, and this pro-inflammatory cytokine is implicated as a major driver of fetal brain abnormalities. Priming of TH17 cells is also observed following respiratory influenza A virus (IAV) infection; however, whether these TH17 cells might be driving fetal brain abnormalities during gestational IAV infection has never been examined. We aim to determine how IAV infection during pregnancy impacts maternal intestinal immune cells and if IAV-mediated activation of these cells is sufficient to result in aberrant brain development. To test our hypothesis, we inoculated pregnant C57BL/6NTac mice on gestational day (GD)9.5 with H3N2 IAV strain X31. Maternal serum, lungs, and intestine, placentas and fetal brains were collected on GD11.5 and 16.5, two- and seven-days post inoculation (dpi) to evaluate peak innate and adaptive immunity, respectively. Pregnant dams received 104 TCID50 X31 (X31hi; n=12, n=10), 103 TCID50 X31 (X31mod; n=14, n=9), or a mock-inoculation with saline (control; n=13, n=10) across three identical replicates per end point. Lung histopathology scores, viral expression, and inflammatory genes were upregulated in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Respiratory IAV infection led to colonic shortening at both time points despite no detection of virus in the intestine. Morphological changes were accompanied by upregulation of TH17 cell gene markers in the intestine at the high viral titer only. This includes genes encoding RORγt and IL-6, indicating priming of naïve T cells into TH17 cells. Flow cytometric analyses of intestinal TH17 cells at 2 and 7 dpi revealed a complex dose-dependent phenotypic shift. Placental immune transcripts were altered in a dose-dependent manner, demonstrating possible sequestering of adaptive immune cells and recruitment of neutrophils at the maternal-fetal interface. Immunohistochemistry revealed no changes in fetal microglial colonization patterns or proliferative capacities at GD11.5. Ongoing studies will analyze the fetal brain at GD16.5. So far, our data show that a higher infectious dose of gestational IAV is necessary to induce downstream immune changes, confirming the use of live pathogens in NDD modeling to evaluate the complete immune response and improve translation to the clinic
Development of Equipment Rental Schedule for Illinois
No full textDuring highway construction, the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) resident engineer commonly adds “extra work” to the contract as needed for satisfactory completion of the project. One of the formats for contractor reimbursement requires establishing an hourly compensation rate for contractor-owned equipment used to perform the extra work and similar equipment owned by local agencies eligible for Motor Fuel Tax funding. Construction equipment rental rates vary widely according to factors, including equipment age, type, overhaul labor and parts, field labor and parts, capacity, estimated operating costs, availability, the geographic and climatic conditions at the job site, etc. It is critical that each highway agency, including IDOT, establish specific policies and standard guidelines to deal with construction equipment reimbursement in force account work in a fair manner to contractors. This project develops a comprehensive equipment rate schedule model to establish hourly compensation rates for contractor-owned equipment used in performing extra work. The model incorporates ownership costs—such as depreciation, overhead, and overhaul costs—and operating costs, including fuel, tire, and lubrication expenses. A methodology for annual rate updates is also developed. Additionally, the project delivers a user-friendly, web-based tool that can be operated and maintained by IDOT.IDOT-R27-25
Repairing the Narrative at UTA Libraries
No full textSlides for 2023 presentation for the Society of American Archivists Visual Materials Section Annual Meetin
Breaking Down Stigmas: Ways Academic Libraries Can Address Menstrual Insecurity
No full textPeriod poverty, which is the lack of access to menstrual products, is a public health issue and impacts one in ten college students. Not having access to necessary products results in consequences like missing classes or job shifts and can also lead to an increase in depression and anxiety. However, despite this being a prominent issue on college campuses, there is little awareness and support offered to students experiencing this challenge. This column addresses why it is critical that more awareness is brought to this issue, why academic libraries should play an important role in addressing this issue and discuss different ways library administration can show support for this public health issue
Beyond the traditional metrics: Understanding student success from the perspective of undergraduate students
No full textStudent success is a growing focus in higher education, reflected in academic libraries through the creation of student success librarian positions and the enhancement of library student success services. However, a standard definition of ‘student success’ remains an open question in academic conversations, with a notable absence of student input in these discussions. This study seeks to address this gap by exploring how undergraduate students define ‘student success’ through qualitative semi-structured interviews. The findings provide valuable insights into how academic libraries can better align their services with student needs and offer recommendations for improving library student success services. The results of this study underscore the critical need to include students in discussions about student success, ensuring that their voices are integral to defining what success means
Long Term Resource Monitoring (LTRM) electrofishing techniques: An addendum to the methods outlined in Ratcliff et al. (2014)
No full textThis document provides clarifications related to field procedures for the fisheries component of the Long Term Resource Monitoring (LTRM) element of the Upper Mississippi River Restoration (UMRR) program. Our goal is to clarify procedural field nuances for day electrofishing methods and sampling under LTRM fish component procedures and protocols (Ratcliffe et al. 2014). The need to document such nuances was realized at the 2023 UMRR LTRM fish component field practicum, held in May 2023 at Western Illinois University’s Kibbe Biological Station in Warsaw, Illinois, following cross agency field training and practice. As such, this document should be considered an addendum to the existing standardized field procedures for the UMRR LTRM fish component (Ratcliffe et al. 2014). Moreover, this content should be incorporated into the next update to the fisheries procedure manual
