Utilizing osteocyte derived factors to enhance cell viability and osteogenic matrix deposition within IPN hydrogels

Many bone defects arising due to traumatic injury, disease, or surgery are unable to regenerate, requiring intervention. More than four million graft procedures are performed each year to treat these defects making bone the second most commonly transplanted tissue worldwide. However, these types of graft suffer from a limited supply, a second surgical site, donor site morbidity, and pain. Due to the unmet clinical need for new materials to promote skeletal repair, this study aimed to produce novel biomimetic materials to enhance stem/stromal cell osteogenesis and bone repair by recapitulating aspects of the biophysical and biochemical cues found within the bone microenvironment. Utilizing a collagen type I-alginate interpenetrating polymer network we fabricated a material which mirrors the mechanical and structural properties of unmineralized bone, consisting of a porous fibrous matrix with a young's modulus of 64 kPa, both of which have been shown to enhance mesenchymal stromal/stem cell (MSC) osteogenesis. Moreover, by combining this material with biochemical paracrine factors released by statically cultured and mechanically stimulated osteocytes, we further mirrored the biochemical environment of the bone niche, enhancing stromal/stem cell viability, differentiation, and matrix deposition. Therefore, this biomimetic material represents a novel approach to promote skeletal repair

Lake Rudolph

Volume: I

Some notes on the haunts and habits of the Elephant on the Guas Ngishu plateau

Volume:

Topophilia or Topophobia? Environment and Health in West Virginia

This paper explores existential tension between two radically opposed experiences of environment where West Virginia stands as a landscape that simultaneously promotes attachment and alienation. We may think of different locales as on a continuum from the potentially therapeutic to essentially pathogenic. What has been called a therapeutic landscape necessarily represents only one possible dimension of our relationship with place or, in this case, what geographer Yi-fu Tuan referred to as topophilia as the basis for positive affective attachment between person and place born of comfort and subjective well-being. A landscape of fear—captured in Tuan’s topophobia—establishes an essentially negative, or at least ambivalent, relationship between people and place that may ultimately induce anxiety, dread, and depression. In her work on the emotional development of children, in particular, the environmental psychologist Louise Chawla suggests that the places we inhabit, at all times, have the potential for either light or darkness as there is always a “shadow side” to our relationship. While Chawla’s concept evokes the relative darkness, it nevertheless opens the possibility of change in our relationship to any given place. That is to say, this relationship is dynamic. After a long history of environmental catastrophe with direct impact on human health in West Virginia—most recently punctuated by a chemical spill that affected over 300,000 people—I take up the challenge to view Appalachia from a fresh perspective as I consider what’s next for West Virginia through illustrations of creative, dynamic forces for change now at work

Inclusive Excellence in Honors Education

This manuscript investigates the integration of values and practices of inclusive excellence in honors education. It discusses the evolution of honors education, highlighting the shift from traditional selectivity to inclusivity. The author critiques the elitism in honors programs and proposes strategies for inclusivity, emphasizing holistic admissions and diverse student engagement.Key approaches include broadening admissions criteria beyond standardized tests, integrating transfer students, and ensuring retention through supportive initiatives. The author argues for aligning honors education with institutional missions of equity, positioning honors programs as exemplars of inclusive excellence. Finally, the author advocates for reimagining honors education to reflect diverse global societies, suggesting a paradigm shift towards accessible, equitable honors programs that focus on promoting honorable action.https://mds.marshall.edu/honorspublications/1002/thumbnail.jp

Strategic Plan for the Honors College at Marshall University, 2023

Beginning with a consideration of our broader institutional and communal contexts and informed by wide-ranging internal and external data collection and analysis, the first five-year strategic plan of the Honors College at Marshall University sets overarching priorities and defined goals that together are intended to deepen community connections, expand recruitment efforts, support greater access and inclusion while increasing retention, develop a more engaging, flexible, and valuable curriculum, and through securing greater material and human resources, to raise the college’s ability to serve as an equal partner in the provision of service to other units on campus. Our overarching goal is to build a successful future for the college that aligns most productively with institutional priorities.https://mds.marshall.edu/honorspublications/1001/thumbnail.jp

“From sweet potatoes to God Almighty”: Roy Rappaport on being a hedgehog

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/71618/1/ae.2007.34.3.581.pd