Effect of Antibiotics in Preventing Borrelia burgdorferi Biofilm Formation

Lyme disease, caused by the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi, is the most prevalent tick-borne illness in the United States, with approximately 500,000 annual diagnoses. Despite antibiotic treatment, B. burgdorferi can persist in the host, often leading to relapses. Its treatment is further complicated by this pathogen’s ability to form biofilms, a morphological form that enhances antibiotic resistance and serves as a defense mechanism. Previous studies have shown that established biofilms are highly resistant to eradication, even at high antibiotic concentrations. While recent therapeutic strategies advocate administering antibiotics after a tick bite to prevent B. burgdorferi biofilm formation, supporting research data remain lacking. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of various antibiotics (doxycycline, dapsone, azithromycin, and hygromycin A) in inhibiting biofilm formation in vitro using crystal violet biofilm assays, LIVE/DEAD staining, and subculture assays. The results showed that doxycycline, the most commonly prescribed antibiotic for Lyme disease, and azithromycin, widely used in Europe, demonstrated limited efficacy both against established biofilms and in preventing biofilm formation. Hygromycin A, a B. burgdorferi-specific antibiotic, showed moderate efficacy as a monotherapy but achieved significant results in dual therapy, particularly when combined with dapsone. The combination of hygromycin A and dapsone reduced biofilm mass by nearly 50% and prevented biofilm recovery in subculture assays. These findings suggest that antibiotics used for Lyme disease treatment may be inadequate for addressing B. burgdorferi biofilm formation. This research underscores the importance of early, targeted interventions and highlights the potential of non-standard antibiotics and combination therapies as innovative strategies to combat B. burgdorferi biofilm formation. This study adds to the expanding body of research on Lyme disease treatment, highlighting the urgent need for innovative strategies to address the challenges presented by the bacteria’s adaptive defense mechanisms

Religiosity and the Use of Performance-Based Compensation

This study examines how a firm’s religious culture affects the structure of CEO compensation. I consider two characteristics of religious cultures that are likely to have implications on executive compensation structure – the sensitivity of economic agents to financial rewards (extrinsic motivation) and the extent to which agents’ actions can affect future outcomes (locus of control). I hypothesize that religious cultures’ attitudes toward both characteristics will lead to less use of performance-based compensation in religious cultures and show evidence consistent with the hypothesis. Further tests show that the relationship is primarily driven by religious cultures’ perception of extrinsic motivation. Using corporate headquarters relocations as a shock to a firm’s culture, I show that the relationship is causal

Fruto de Borínken (Vase Close-Up)

This piece is a heartfelt homage to the incredible women in my family and the rich culture of Puerto Rico. It captures my deep love for the natural beauty, vibrant music, and passionate spirit that flows through their veins—expressed in our delicious food, lively attitudes, and the immense love they have shared with me. It also evokes the powerful warmth of the midday sun in Puerto Rico, reflecting the essence of our cherished heritage. This work of art is acrylic on canvas.https://digitalcommons.newhaven.edu/digital-exhibits/1014/thumbnail.jp

Susurros de Borinken

Title translated to, Whispers of Puerto Rico. Created 2025. This work of art is acrylic on canvas, 36” by 24”.https://digitalcommons.newhaven.edu/digital-exhibits/1059/thumbnail.jp

Strategy as What a Business Should Do Over Time to Succeed: A Case Study of Tesla, Inc

Why businesses succeed or fail is a central question in strategy. Extant literature is well developed in explaining the relative success of firms at a point in time. There is not as much known, however, about what a business should do over time to succeed. We begin to address this gap with a study of Tesla, Inc. Following recommendations to ensure reliability and validity (Gibbert et al., 2008), we study how Tesla succeeded as a startup in the capital and scale intensive industry, when the relevant technology and supporting infrastructure were nonexistent. We contrast Tesla with its competitors to draw conclusions. We then articulate strategy insights from the study including for a preliminary theory of strategy as what a business should do over time to succeed

Connectedness Between Music Tokens and Major Asset Classes: Implications for Hedging and Investments Strategies

This study examines the dynamic connectedness between four music tokens, that is, Audius, CEEK, ROCKI and Viberate and major asset classes, namely, equity, bond, crude oil, Gold, Bitcoin and USD. We used daily data from December 23, 2020, to August 30, 2024. We measure the connectedness using the quantile VAR method and the wavelet quantile correlation approach. The quantile VAR method reveals that assets play receiver and transmitter roles. However, the assets hold a weak relationship, indicating the opportunity for portfolio diversification. Further, the results of wavelet quantile correlation also discovered negative or no relationship among major assets, revealing the existence of the portfolio diversification opportunity. The economic, geopolitical, and other related factors partially drive the connectedness of the selected assets. We measured the portfolio performance using the minimum variance portfolio, minimum correlation portfolio, recently developed minimum connectedness portfolio, equally weighted portfolio and risk-parity portfolio techniques. The minimum variance portfolio has low Sharpe and also does not include any music token due to the risky nature of the music token. However, the minimum connectedness and minimum correlation portfolios consider the addition of music tokens to a significant level, which also improves portfolio diversification. Both equally weighted portfolios and risk-parity portfolios include the music token as an asset and also give a significant Sharpe ratio. Music token serves as a hedging tool for all major asset classes. The other assets also give the hedging benefit to music tokens. However, the inclusion of the music token in the portfolio results in an increase in volatility of major asset classes, indicating a limited degree of advantage of the music token. Our study provides important implications for investors, portfolio managers, policymakers and artists

Assessing Time Varying Interconnectedness Between Clean Energy Market and Financial Stress in USA

This study examined the time-varying relationship of the USA’s clean energy stock market under the financial stress scenarios. We have employed the empirical mode decomposition-wavelet windowed cross-correlation technique to gauge interconnectivity. According to our study, the USA investors would not hedge clean energy stocks over the long term during severe financial stress

Fuerza de Vida

Title translated to Life Force. This work of art is acrylic on canvas, 14.5” by 20.5”. For as long as I can remember, my family’s strong and resilient women have profoundly influenced my perspective and journey through life. For many years, I found it difficult to comprehend my mother’s heart-wrenching decision to leave me behind with my grandfather as a child in the vibrant yet challenging landscape of Puerto Rico. However, her actions became apparent as I delved deeper into her story. I envisioned a young woman fiercely reclaiming her agency, bravely standing against a cycle of abuse, and making the agonizing choice to sacrifice her child in pursuit of her freedom and dignity.https://digitalcommons.newhaven.edu/digital-exhibits/1053/thumbnail.jp

Fruto de Borínken

This piece is a heartfelt homage to the incredible women in my family and the rich culture of Puerto Rico. It captures my deep love for the natural beauty, vibrant music, and passionate spirit that flows through their veins—expressed in our delicious food, lively attitudes, and the immense love they have shared with me. It also evokes the powerful warmth of the midday sun in Puerto Rico, reflecting the essence of our cherished heritage. This work of art is acrylic on canvas.https://digitalcommons.newhaven.edu/digital-exhibits/1013/thumbnail.jp

Emotion Analysis and Topic Modelling of Supply Chain Discussion during the COVID-19 Pandemic

This study aims to investigate the supply chain discussion during the COVID-19 pandemic using the supply chain tweets collected between March 2020 and May 2022 globally. The findings reveal an evolving sentiment trajectory: while the users’ sentiment remained neutral in 2020 and 2021, a negative sentiment surged starting in January 2022. Moreover, an emotion analysis indicates a mix of sadness and optimism among Twitter users, with anger gradually intensifying from June 2021 onward. Furthermore, topic modeling reveals distinct themes discussed each year. In 2020, major topics centered around the government’s response to COVID-19, food and medical supply chain crises. By 2021, discussions shifted to inflation/gas prices, government handling of supply chain crisis, and vaccination/recovery efforts. The first half of 2022 witnessed dominant discussions on the war in Ukraine, inflation and human rights, the US election and border crossing issues. The implications of these findings were discussed at the end