37495 research outputs found
Sort by
How Bipartisan Framing of Bitcoin Policy can Facilitate Pro-Bitcoin Policies
No full textIn an era of profound political polarization, this study investigates how ideological framings of Bitcoin influence voter support for pro-Bitcoin lawmakers across party lines. This addresses a gap in understanding how non-partisan appeals can bridge divides in voter priorities. This research utilizes Cygnal survey data from June 2025, consisting of 800 voters. By exploring cross-tabulations of priorities and developing a logistic regression model, the analysis reveals Bitcoin\u27s broad appeal when framed ideologically, with positive attitudes towards these framings significantly predicting support for pro-Bitcoin lawmakers across partisanship. The full analysis is posted in an article on the Bitcoin Policy Institute
A Molecular Mechanism of Epithelial to Mesenchymal Transition (EMT): An Evidence Based Lesson Applying Molecular Biology Through the Lens of Cancer
No full textThis lesson aims to strengthen students’ critical thinking and molecular biology data analysis skills as well as their understanding of concepts related to the hallmark of cancer: tissue invasion and metastasis. Students begin by learning about the invasion of cancer cells, Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition (EMT), and an important protein involved in EMT: E-cadherin. They then apply molecular biology knowledge to analyze data from multiple papers to infer the relationship between Snail and E-cadherin in different types of cancers. Next, they continue to interpret data from many papers to determine that a repressor transcription factor is present during EMT in cancer cells to reduce the rate of transcription of E-cadherin. Throughout this process, they review some important molecular biology laboratory techniques, including but not limited to: qRT-PCR, Northern Blot, Western Blot, stable transfections, and orthotopic mouse models. Knowledge of the central dogma of molecular biology helps students understand how expression of E-cadherin is regulated during EMT in the context of cancer. Overall, this lesson allows students to think critically and apply foundational molecular biology knowledge to synthesize real data. In this lesson, students organically discover the relationship between two proteins involved in EMT. This lesson empowers students, encouraging positive attitudes about science as they draw exciting conclusions from their hard work and focus during complex data analysis.
Primary Image: A molecular mechanism of Epithelial to Mesenchymal Transition (EMT): An evidence-based lesson applying molecular biology through the lens of cancer. Cancer cells undergo many cellular changes during the Epithelial to Mesenchymal Transition (EMT), which promotes one of the hallmarks of cancer: tissue invasion and metastasis. One mechanism of EMT involves the proteins E-cadherin and Snail.https://digitalcommons.chapman.edu/oer/1004/thumbnail.jp
Longitudinal Pharmacokinetic and Safety Studies of an Antibody-Erythropoietin Fusion Protein for Alzheimer\u27s Disease
No full textErythropoietin (EPO) shows promise for Alzheimer\u27s disease (AD) but has poor brain penetration, necessitating high doses that cause hematopoietic side effects. To improve brain delivery, EPO was fused to a transferrin receptor monoclonal antibody (TfRMAb), and this study evaluated the pharmacokinetics (PK), safety, and efficacy of repeated TfRMAb-EPO dosing in mice to further its preclinical development. C57BL/6J male mice (10 weeks old, n = 4–5/dose) received subcutaneous (SQ) low (1 mg/kg), mid (3 and 6 mg/kg), or high (20 mg/kg) TfRMAb-EPO doses for 4 weeks. The 1 mg/kg dose showed no adverse effects and resulted in sustained brain and plasma exposure, making it suitable for longitudinal dosing. Paradoxically, higher doses reduced plasma and brain exposure, and altered hematocrit, TfR expression, and spleen weight; these changes were largely reversible. Anti-drug antibodies and TfR expression changes likely contributed to reduced plasma exposure at higher doses. Subsequently, 5.5-month-old APPSAA knock-in (KI) mice (n = 6) received 1 mg/kg TfRMAb-EPO SQ for 14 weeks. Controls included vehicle-treated APPSAA KI and APP wild-type mice (n = 4–5/group). Despite the low dose, TfRMAb-EPO showed profound brain Aβ-lowering effects measured by immunostaining (70–80 % reduction, p \u3c 0.001) and improved spatial memory in the Y maze (p \u3c 0.05). These findings offer important preclinical data to guide dose optimization in longitudinal studies using TfRMAb-based therapeutics, specifically TfRMAb-EPO, given the movement of TfRMAb-based therapeutics into clinical trials for AD, and show the robust therapeutic potential of low-dose TfRMAb-EPO in APPSAA KI AD mice
Evaluating the Effectiveness of Clinical Practice Guideline Adherence for Patellofemoral Pain (knEE-CAPP): Protocol for a Multisite, Parallel-Arm Randomized Clinical Trial in the Military Health System
No full textImportance
Patellofemoral pain (PFP) frequently affects military personnel, caused by the physical demands of duty-related training. Clinical practice guidelines (CPG) can guide PFP management, yet physical therapist practice patterns vary and often exclude CPG-recommended, evidence-based interventions. Objective
The Evaluating the Effectiveness of Clinical practice guideline Adherence for Patellofemoral Pain (knEE-CAPP) trial assesses whether a CPG-adherent physical therapy approach more significantly reduces pain, disability, health care utilization, and analgesic medication prescription in Service members with PFP as compared to usual physical therapist care. Design
This is a multisite, parallel arm randomized controlled trial. Setting
The study will be conducted at 4 outpatient military physical therapist clinics. Participants
Male and female active-duty Service members (n = 440) ages 18 years or older with PFP will be included. Intervention
Participants will be randomized to receive CPG-adherent or usual physical therapist care. CPG-adherent care includes a standardized examination and treatment protocol based on the 2019 American Physical Therapy Association’s PFP CPG Decision Tree Model. This model subcategorizes impairments to guide targeted interventions. Usual care encompasses care delivered by outpatient physical therapist providers without research team directives. Main Outcomes and Measures
Anterior Knee Pain Scale (a patient-reported measure of knee-specific function) and Numeric Pain Rating Scale (a patient-reported measure of knee pain intensity). Results
Changes in Anterior Knee Pain Scale and Numeric Pain Rating Scale scores at 3-month follow-up will be compared between arms. Secondary outcomes (perceived duty- and deployment-related confidence, knee–related health care utilization, and analgesic medication prescription) will be compared up to 12-months post-randomization. Conclusions
This trial will determine the effectiveness of a standardized, CPG-adherent approach to PFP management for optimizing function, reducing long–term health care costs, and improving readiness for duty. Relevance
A protocolized, CPG-adherent approach that can be implemented across health care settings is proposed
Experimental and Anharmonic Theoretical Spectroscopic Benchmarks of Nitrogenated and Doubly-Nitrogenated Polycyclic Heterocycles
No full textIn this study, we report the first high-resolution gas-phase infrared absorption spectra and anharmonic vibrational simulations for three nitrogenated aromatic molecules, namely indole (C8H7N), 1,5-diazabicyclo[4.3.0]non-5-ene (DBN; C7H12N2), and 1,8- diazabicyclo[5.4.0]undec-7-ene (DBU; C9H16N2) with excellent agreement between measurement and computation. Anharmonic cascade emission spectra (2–8 eV) of the three systems show that nitrogen substitution strongly modifies the emission spectra: indole reproduces the unidentified 3.3 μm emission in Titan’s atmosphere, while DBN and DBU exhibit redshifted aliphatic C–H stretches. In the 5–10 μm region, indole shows shifted C–H and C–C modes compared to its non-substituted analogue indene, complicating the estimates of the aliphatic to aromatic ratio. These results demonstrate the sensitivity of infrared emission spectra to nitrogen substitution and provide the first anharmonic spectroscopic benchmarks for singly- and doubly-nitrogenated heterocycles. They establish a foundation for interpreting upcoming astronomical observations and point to the need to extend such studies to larger nitrogenated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons to evaluate their astrophysical relevance and potential role as precursors to biorelevant molecules
Her Hideous Progeny: \u3cem\u3eFrankenstein\u3c/em\u3e\u27s Legacy, Adaptability, and Contemporary Prominence to Critical Story Telling
No full textThis thesis situates the narrative of Frankenstein by Mary Shelley with two contemporary adaptations Get Out (2017) by Jordan Peele and Poor Things (2023) by Yorgos Lanthimos. The original 1818 Frankenstein text is composed of different discourses about race, gender, monstrosity, and what it means to be an abject other. As a text full of critical discourse, it has reached great popular culture legacy and has become adapted numerous times over the past two centuries. This thesis explores and acknowledges instances where the text has been adapted and applied to harmful discourses, such as British Prime Minister George Canning’s use of the narrative in 1824 to argue against the abolishment of slavery. Conversely, the claim of this thesis is that the narrative has carried a cultural relevance and plasticity across multiple generations and is a narrative with powerful allegorical nature for contemporary adaptors to explore and tell empowered narratives of oppressed identities. The concept of abjection explored by Julia Kristeva and the monstrous feminine by Barbara Creed, are two themes found across the horror genre, and they are applied to the contemporary narratives to demonstrate how once harmful ideologies may be subverted to reposition power and deconstruct oppressive hegemonic structures such as white supremacy and the patriarchy. The last two sections of this thesis explore Get Out as a Frankenstein adaptation that centers the Black experience in twenty-first century America, and Poor Things controversial yet important exploration of a female Frankenstein creature finding her personal agency in a patriarchal world
In Memoir and Memory: US Servicewomen Narrating 21st Century Combat
Get PDFOver twenty years after the initial invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 and Iraq in 2003, much work remains to uncover the stories of US servicewomen. As the collection of oral histories continues and in the absence of letters, postcards, and other mail for analysis, their memoirs provide some of the first glimpses of the ways 21st century warfare impacted their experiences in the US military. With shifting “front lines,” the prevalence of improvised explosive devices, and the need for new search tactics, women participated in high rates of combat. Nevertheless, the combat exclusion policy remained in place until 2015.
This study examines how servicewomen memoirists challenged public knowledge about their experiences by publishing about their encounters with combat. It asks what these memoirs tell us about the realities of women who served in the US military from 2001 to 2014. Their stories contextualize the push to eliminate combat exclusion and reveal several truths at the heart of their experiences. In an institution with a history of ideological masculinity, these women faced episodes of discrimination, harassment, and assault. They also recount intense experiences of comradery, romance, and self-discovery.
By analyzing a wide variety of memoirs, this work seeks to capture the many different elements of experience that 21st century servicewomen faced in the US military and society. It finds that while some general patterns emerge, no singular story encapsulates all participants. Instead, it argues that individual identities, circumstances, and desires informed life under the combat exclusion policy. Practices and personalities varied from unit to unit, creating unique situations for each woman. With their range of authors, memoirs demonstrate this variance and emphasize the importance of seeking numerous perspectives as we craft the narrative of modern war. Ultimately, their limitations as a source base also speak to this necessity, as well as the work that needs to be done to uncover a wider pool of participants. Dismantling myths about women at war requires a conceptualization of each story and its complex series of relationships and encounters as part of the soldier experience
Variance in Heart Rate Variability Between Healthy and Concussed Individuals
Get PDFHeart-Rate Variability (HRV) is the interval between each individual heartbeat, from p-wave to p-wave on an electrocardiogram (ECG). In general, a high HRV indicates that a person has a healthy heart with effective stress management skills. This value means that one branch of the nervous system is not overpowering the other, sympathetic vs parasympathetic–for example. Generally, HRV is related to vagal tone, the ability for your body to activate the parasympathetic system and relax when imminent danger is not present. However, when someone is concussed, the entirety of their autonomic regulation can be affected such that their HRV is altered. A meta-analysis conducted by Arakaki et al. suggests that “high HRV links with better executive function, decision-making ability, and emotional regulation that benefit health and wellbeing” (Arakaki et al, 2023). This study suggests that there is a strong bidirectional relationship between the heart and brain, thus it is important to understand what the physiologic effects on the cardiovascular system and the rest of the body are when a patient has been concussed. Therefore, our experiment aims to evaluate autonomic nervous system (ANS) function by analyzing HRV parameters in individuals with and without a history of concussion. We will analyze the data collected from wearable devices that capture PPG (Photoplethysmography) ECG signals to identify ANS dysfunction, potential biomarkers for concussion recovery, and implications for physiological and cognitive rehabilitation strategies
Identity, Migration, and Folklore in Jamaican Postcolonial Literature: A Reading of Paulette Ramsay’s “Aunt Jen”
Get PDFThis project examines the formation of identity in “Aunt Jen,” a coming-of-age novel set in post-independence Jamaica, by exploring how colonialism, migration, and folklore shape the protagonist’s sense of self. Centering on the character Sunshine, the novel unfolds during Jamaica’s political and economic upheavals of the 1970s, including the rise of Michael Manley and the People’s National Party, depicting both the hopes and disillusionments of a young nation. Sunshine’s story parallels these challenges as she navigates her fractured self-image, intensified by the absence of her mother, Aunt Jen, who emigrated to England to escape Sunshine’s father and her internalized colonial ideals. Drawing from scholars such as Stuart Hall, this analysis situates Sunshine’s journey within the broader Caribbean experiences of migration and colonial identity loss. I highlight how Sunshine’s identity is shaped not only by historical forces but also by folkloric tradition, as figures like Anansi and River Mumma serve as both narrative devices and psychological tools that help Sunshine cope with abandonment and reclaim her agency. By blending folklore with postcolonial themes, this project contributes to broader discussions on identity, migration, and the transformative power of storytelling in Caribbean literature