Advancement of Detection and Treatment for Triple-Negative Breast Cancer and Infectious Disease

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) continues to be one of the leading causes of death in women, making up 7% of all cancer deaths. Tumor-treating electric fields (TTFields) are low-energy, low-frequency oscillating electric fields (OEF) that have been shown to induce an anti-proliferative effect on mitotic cells in glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), and ovarian cancer. Currently, tumor-treating field (TTField) therapy utilizes “optimal” frequencies of electric fields to achieve maximal cell death by cell line. However, because of differences in cell size, shape, and ploidy during mitosis, optimal electric field characteristics for maximal cell death may not exist. Finally, radio- and chemosensitization by TTFields have been observed in vitro. Current radiation treatment regimens for triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) therapy use high-energy radiation with potentially life-threatening toxicities in order to eradicate large deposits of metastatic breast cancer cells but also induce negative effects in healthy surrounding tissue. To address these issues, we developed an in-house field delivery device capable of high levels of customization to explore a much wider variety of electric field and treatment parameters. First, this study will investigate the selectivity of TTField treatment between TNBC and epithelial cells. We show a clear therapeutic window for TTField delivery to TNBC between 1 and 3 V/cm. This study will also investigate the anti-mitotic effects of modulating electric field frequency as compared to previously used uniform oscillating electric fields (OEF). We show that frequency-modulated (FM) TTFields are as selective at treating triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) as uniform TTFields while having a greater efficacy for preventing disease progression in cancer. Finally, with the goal of eliminating associated potentially life-threatening toxicities, we investigated the anti-mitotic effects of conjunctive TTField and fractionated ionizing radiation (IR) or chemotherapy treatment to show that disease progression was further inhibited by the addition of TTFields. We show that, when combined with TTFields, a lower effective dose of IR or chemotherapy can be used to achieve the same efficacy of TNBC cell death as higher doses of individual treatments. SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (VOCs) continue to pose a public health threat which necessitates a real-time monitoring strategy to complement whole genome sequencing. Thus, we investigated the efficacy of competitive probe RT-qPCR assays for six mutation sites identified in SARS-CoV-2 VOCs and, after validating the assays with synthetic RNA, performed these assays on positive saliva samples. When compared with whole genome sequence results, the S∆69-70 and ORF1a∆3675-3677 assays demonstrated 93.60 and 68.00% accuracy, respectively. The SNP assays (K417T, E484K, E484Q, L452R) demonstrated 99.20, 96.40, 99.60, and 96.80% accuracies, respectively. Lastly, we screened 345 positive saliva samples from 7 to 22 December 2021 using Omicron-specific mutation assays and were able to quickly identify rapid spread of Omicron in Upstate South Carolina. Our workflow demonstrates a novel approach for low-cost, real-time population screening of VOCs

Inclusive Education: Adapting the Learning Partnerships Model for Preservice Teachers

Inclusion is an integral part of the public school system and has a significant impact on classroom teachers. As a result, the majority of teacher education programs are intentional in incorporating inclusive education within their curricula. Research has shown that inclusion coursework does increase preservice teachers’ positive attitudes towards inclusion, but it does not increase feelings of preparedness to serve in an inclusive classroom. To address such concerns, this action research presents an intensive inclusion project that was structured around the Learning Partnerships Model, created by Baxter-Magolda & King (2004), to increase the development of self-authorship. The components of the Learning Partnerships Model have been adapted and implemented to create an inclusion project that was applied in an introduction to exceptionalities course. The paper discusses the project’s conceptual framework, the associated components, provides student learning outcomes, and presents future implications

Career Cruising impact on the self efficacy of deciding majors

The purpose of this study was to analyze the impact of Career Cruising© on self-efficacy of deciding majors in a university setting. The use of the self-assessment instrument, Career Cruising©, was used with measuring the career-decision making self-efficacy in a pre and post-test with deciding majors. The independent variables are the Career Cruising ©, self-assessment instrument, gender, age, ethnic background, year in college, GPA, generation of education, and involvement. The dependent variables are the levels of self-efficacy in the five subscales of pre and post-test results. Those subscales include Accurate Self-appraisal, Gathering Occupational Information, Goal Selection, Planning for the Future, and Problem Solving. The study involved 73 deciding majors through the Office of Academic Advising at the University of Northern Iowa. The theoretical framework used was academic advising, student development theory, self-efficacy and career decision making self-efficacy. The instrument was the Career Decision Self-Efficacy- Short Form (CDSE-SF) used in a pre and post-test methodology. The treatment of a data was analyzed using a paired t-test and independent t-test to measure any differences in mean scores. The results of the study indicated a slight increase in self-efficacy for students who took Career Cruising© combined with academic advising. Academic advisors including discovery majors like recreation may consider using Career Cruising© when advising. The results of this study have continued to build on the body of knowledge associated with deciding majors, Career Cruising©, and career decision self-efficacy. Further research on the topic of Career Cruising© and deciding majors should be conducted

A report of an investigation of folk-stories orally transmitted among the Negroes of the present day

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Kansas, English, 1927

Midwest Technology Assistance Center for Small Public Water Systems Final Report

The Midwest Technology Assistance Center (MTAC) was established October 1, 1998 to provide assistance to small public water systems throughout the Midwest via funding from the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) under section 1420(f) of the 1996 amendments to the Safe Drinking Water Act. This report summarizes progress made under USEPA Grant# 832591-01 for funds received in Federal Years (FY) 05 and 06. MTAC is a cooperative effort of the 10 states of the Midwest (congruent with USEPA regions 5 and 7), led by the Illinois State Water Survey and the University of Illinois. The director of their Water Resources Institute (WRI) coordinates the participation of each state in MTAC. Dr. Richard Warner (WRI director) and Kent Smothers were the principal investigators for this project. Kent Smothers serves as the managing director of the center, and is responsible for conducting routine activities with the advice and counsel of Dr. Richard Warner.published or submitted for publicationis peer reviewe

Determination of alkalies in Portland cement by the dropping mercury electrode method

In many industries whose product or products contain alkalies, the determination of the amount present is very essential from a control standpoint. This present investigation is concerned with a method for quantitative determination of sodium and potassium as accurately as by customary chemical methods and which will require less time in its operation. Portland cement is a product in which the amount of sodium and potassium present is of prime importance. This importance of the alkalies upon the behavior of concrete was first noticed in California where, after numerous tests, it was definitely shown that with certain aggregates there was a reaction between the aggregates and with cements having comparatively high alkali contents. In the summary of the above paper, the failure of the artificial stone in Los Angeles was attributed to the use of an unsuitable aggregate, and altered lime-soda feldspar. It was shown that the altered feldspar (plagiolase) contained a large quantity of the zeolite, laumontite, which was primarily responsible for the disintegration; also kaolin, which tended to hasten the process of disintegration after it had started; also calcite, which, though relatively stable, tends to dissolve rapidly when finely divided and in contact with water. However, feldspar aggregate free from serious alteration when quarried, will, under any conditions, undoubtedly outlast any cement matrix which binds it together in the form on concrete --Introduction, page 1

The Dynamin-like Protein Vps1 Stimulates Endosome-to-Golgi Fusion in Vitro

Intracellular membrane fusion events can be reconstituted by exploiting isolated organelles from cellular hosts or artificial membranes made of purified phospholipid components. Artificial construction of membranes provides two significant advantages. First, cellular isolation of the endosome-derived vesicles and TGN (trans-Golgi Network) compartments needed for the fusion assay would be extremely challenging. Second, reconstituting the membranes provides the added benefit of controlling size and lipid compositions to functionally mimic the individual membrane architectures and introduce only the purified proteins that are under investigation. For these reasons, I have developed the first simultaneous lipid and content mixing fusion assays that measures the efficacy of endosome-to-TGN fusion and its promoted fusion capability with the dynamin-like protein Vps1 for the purposes of recapitulating the fusion. To quantify lipid mixing between the donor and recipient membrane fluorescent lipids (Rhodamine-PE and NBD-PE) were used, while content mixing was assessed by analyzing the increase of FRET between Cy5- streptavidin and PhycoE-biotin

Reinventing the Wheel: Examining the Antecedents, Moderators, and Outcomes of the Innovation Process

This study extends research on the innovation process at the individual-level by examining antecedents, moderators, and outcomes associated with the generation, promotion, and implementation of innovative ideas in the workplace. In a sample of 667 working adults, this study found that high leader-member exchange was positively related to cognitive and behavioral learning strategies focused towards generating innovative ideas. Employees with proactive personalities were more likely to engage in the innovation process, and a sense of psychological safety in regard to the climate for innovation facilitated the implementation of innovative ideas. This study indicates that the successful implementation of an innovative idea strengthens employees\u27 relationship with the firm in regard to job satisfaction, organization commitment, and reduced turnover intentions. Furthermore, this research provides a unifying theoretical framework, namely social cognitive theory, to individual innovation and extends the phenomenological generalizability of social cognitive theory by applying it to the innovation process