Quantifying Phosphatidylethanol from Dried Blood Spots by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry​

Phosphatidylethanol (PEth) is a phase II biomarker formed in the walls of red blood cells that shows excellent sensitivity and specificity as a screening biomarker for chronic alcohol use and abuse. The goal was to develop a “point of care” means of detection and quantitation of PEth to identify alcohol misuse by patients in a clinical setting. This new method is effective at measuring the total amount of ethanol incorporated into the blood phospholipids in whole, dried, and potentially decomposed blood (ex. postmortem). This work is based on US patent 11,085,939 B2 titled “Quantifying Phosphatidylethanol from Blood Samples” published in 2021

Distribution of microplastics within stream habitats by polymer type

Rivers are sources of microplastics (i.e., particles 1 um - 5 mm) to oceans, but their distribution within river habitats is unknown. We measured microplastics in 3 habitats (surface water, water column, benthic zone) at 4 sites in the Chicago River. We predicted a higher number and density of microplastics would occur in the benthic zone and farthest downstream. However, microplastics showed high variation habitats and sites, by abundance and polymer. Assessments of microplastic distribution are needed to better quantify microplastics movement and retention. These data will inform watershed models of microplastic dynamics in rivers, and global plastic budgets

Understanding Mesoamerican Life Cycles and Rituals Through Figurines

Children of ancient times are frequently overlooked within the archaeological record. For this presentation, I examined different aspects of Mesoamerican culture in order to identify two figurines discovered at the Postclassic site of Tzunun, Mexico. These figurines shine light onto ritualistic objects and ceremonies regarding childbirth as well as aiding to clarify the roles and expectations of Mesoamerican children. They allow us to investigate the past and in turn to reconstruct Maya life cycles and how children progressed into adulthood in Mesoamerican, and more specifically, Maya society

ADDRESSING ABSENTEEISM DISPARITY AMONG BLACK AND HISPANIC STUDENTS IN HIGH SCHOOL

ADDRESSING ABSENTEEISM DISPARITY AMONG BLACK AND HISPANIC STUDENTS IN HIGH SCHOO

DISRUPTING THE CYCLE: ADDRESSING DISPROPORTIONALITY IN OFFICE DISCIPLINARY REFERRALS FOR GULLAH GEECHEE STUDENTS AT JOHN MOORE MIDDLE SCHOOL

DISRUPTING THE CYCLE: ADDRESSING DISPROPORTIONALITY IN OFFICE DISCIPLINARY REFERRALS FOR GULLAH GEECHEE STUDENTS AT JOHN MOORE MIDDLE SCHOO

Identification and Analysis of the Spread of {Mis}information on Social Media

With unfolding crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic, it is essential that factual information is dispersed at a rapid pace. One of the major setbacks to mitigating the effects of such crises is misinformation. Advancing technologies such as transformer-based architectures that can pick up underlying patterns and correlational information that constitutes information provide tools that can be used to identify what is misinformation/information. To identify and analyze the spread of misinformation, this work performs a quantitative analysis that uses X (previously Twitter) as the data source and a BERT-based model to identify misinformation. The information of the posts, users, and followers was collected based on hashtags and then processed and manually labeled. Furthermore, we tracked the spread of misinformation related to COVID-19 during the year 2021 and determined how communities that spread information and/or misinformation on social networks interact from an analytical perspective. Our findings suggest that users tend to post more misinformation than information, possibly intentionally spreading misinformation. Our model showed good performance in classifying tweets as information/misinformation, resulting in an accuracy of 86%

Cyclobutanone Inhibitors of Diaminopimelate Desuccinylase (DapE) as Potential New Antibiotics

Based on our previous success in using cyclobutanone derivatives as enzyme inhibitors, we have designed and prepared a 37-member library of α-aminocyclobutanone amides and sulfonamides, screened for inhibition of the bacterial enzyme diaminopimelate desuccinylase (DapE), which is a promising antibiotic target, and identified several inhibitors with micromolar inhibitory potency. Molecular docking suggests binding of the deprotonated hydrate of the strained cyclobutanone, and thermal shift analysis with the most potent inhibitor (3y, IC50 = 23.1 µM) enabled determination of a Ki value of 10.2 +/− 0.26 µM and observed two separate Tm values for H. influenzae DapE (HiDapE)

Insights from the Halls: Reflection in School Nursing

In the Spring 2024 semester, Luz-Angelica completed her engaged learning opportunity at Irving Middle School (IMS), in Maywood, a village in Proviso Township, Cook County, Illinois. During her internship at IMS, she had the opportunity to work closely with the school nurse to address the complex challenges faced by students, including absenteeism, bullying, and physical altercations. It was evident that these issues were interconnected and often stemmed from underlying social and economic factors. Having a hands-on role in assessing and partaking in therapeutic communication alongside the school nurse and other staff members, helped foster valuable insights into the importance of a holistic approach to supporting students in underserved communities and the critical role that healthcare professionals play in promoting student well-being and academic success

Diet Reconstruction of El Sidrón Neandertals Using ART, an Experimental Approach

The study aims to experimentally examine the diet of the El Sidrón Neandertals. Previous dental microwear research suggests these individuals relied on Physcomitrella patens (forest moss), Schizophyllum commune (split-gill mushrooms), and Pinus koraiensis (pine nuts); however, the formation processes of microwear have recently been debated. Due to the lack of meat found in the calculus, it has been suggested that these ancestors were vegetarian. This experiment will create dental microwear using Artificial Resynthesis Technology using the foods aforementioned, shedding light on both the formation processes of microwear and the diet of these hominins

2023 Celebration of Faculty Scholarship

A bibliography of works featured in the 2023 Celebration of Faculty Scholarship event sponsored by Loyola University Chicago Libraries. The event featured articles, books, and other materials created by Loyola faculty members in the academic year 2022-2023