Gene expression patterns following unilateral traumatic brain injury reveals a local pro-inflammatory and remote anti-inflammatory response.

BackgroundTraumatic brain injury (TBI) results in irreversible damage at the site of impact and initiates cellular and molecular processes that lead to secondary neural injury in the surrounding tissue. We used microarray analysis to determine which genes, pathways and networks were significantly altered using a rat model of TBI. Adult rats received a unilateral controlled cortical impact (CCI) and were sacrificed 24 h post-injury. The ipsilateral hemi-brain tissue at the site of the injury, the corresponding contralateral hemi-brain tissue, and naïve (control) brain tissue were used for microarray analysis. Ingenuity Pathway Analysis (IPA) software was used to identify molecular pathways and networks that were associated with the altered gene expression in brain tissues following TBI.ResultsInspection of the top fifteen biological functions in IPA associated with TBI in the ipsilateral tissues revealed that all had an inflammatory component. IPA analysis also indicated that inflammatory genes were altered on the contralateral side, but many of the genes were inversely expressed compared to the ipsilateral side. The contralateral gene expression pattern suggests a remote anti-inflammatory molecular response. We created a network of the inversely expressed common (i.e., same gene changed on both sides of the brain) inflammatory response (IR) genes and those IR genes included in pathways and networks identified by IPA that changed on only one side. We ranked the genes by the number of direct connections each had in the network, creating a gene interaction hierarchy (GIH). Two well characterized signaling pathways, toll-like receptor/NF-kappaB signaling and JAK/STAT signaling, were prominent in our GIH.ConclusionsBioinformatic analysis of microarray data following TBI identified key molecular pathways and networks associated with neural injury following TBI. The GIH created here provides a starting point for investigating therapeutic targets in a ranked order that is somewhat different than what has been presented previously. In addition to being a vehicle for identifying potential targets for post-TBI therapeutic strategies, our findings can also provide a context for evaluating the potential of therapeutic agents currently in development

Youth-Friendly, Person-Centered Contraceptive Care for Adolescents: Exploring the Capacity of Safety-Net Clinics in Alabama and South Carolina

Introduction: In recent years, high quality contraceptive care for adolescents has shifted away from tiered effectiveness counseling and toward youth-friendly, patient-centered counseling (YFPCCC). YFPCCC is essential in the South, which has higher rates of sexual activity, lower rates of contraception use, and higher teen birth rates. This study examined Southern clinics’ characteristics which support YFPCCC and youth’s perceptions of the contraceptive care they receive. Methods: This mixed methods study examined secondary data collected in two surveys and primary data collected through key-informant interviews. The first survey examined clinic characteristics impacting YFPCCC, and the second survey examined adolescents’ (aged 16-24) perspectives of their care. For each survey, outcome measures were dichotomized and examined through logistic regression models. Lastly, interviews with administrators at FQHCs and HDs in AL and SC and examined the facilitators and barriers to providing YFPCCC in these clinics. Results: FQHCs were 89% less likely to notify youth of their right to confidentiality (aOR 0.11, 95% CI (0.05, 0.26)) and 80% less likely to notify youth of their right to consent to care (aOF 0.20, 95% CI (0.10, 0.40)). Non-Hispanic Black youth were 47% less likely to receive patient-centered contraceptive care (aOR 0.53, 95% CI (0.40, 0.70)). Minor youth (ages 16-17) were 34% less likely to receive patient-centered contraceptive care (ages 20-24) (aOR 0.66, 95% CI (0.45, 0.98)). Clinic administrators noted the continued use of tiered effectiveness counseling. SC administrators noted that minor youth were allowed to consent to receiving the implant but could not consent to removing it. Discussion: Overall, clinic capacity to provide YFPCCC varied by clinic type, with FQHCs less likely to have notify youth of their rights to consent to and receive confidential contraceptive care. The receipt of YFPCCC varied by youth’s age and race/ethnicity, with minors and non-Hispanic Black youth being less likely to report YFPCCC. Clinic administrators noted that they continue to use the tiered effectiveness model of counseling, which may inadvertently pressure or coerce youth. To improve their capacity to provide YFPCCC, clinics should enhance their policies protecting consent and confidentiality and ensure that their providers are trained in patient-centered contraceptive care for youth

Epileptic Seizure Classification Using Image-Based Data Representation

Epilepsy is a recurrence of seizures caused by a disorder of the brain in over 3.4 million people nationwide. Some people are able to predict their seizures based off prodrome, which is an early sign or symptom that usually resembles mood changes or a euphoric feeling even days to an hour before occurrence. Consequently, the natural instincts of the body to react to an upcoming attack lends credence to the existence of a pre-ictal state that precedes seizure episodes. Physicians and researchers have thus sought for an automated approach for predicting or detecting seizures. In this research, we evaluate the image-based representation of EEG as a basis for classification and training of machine learning algorithms. We explore only the raw EEG data for images in lossless image file formats, though there are other forms including symbolized and noise-filtered that can be explored. Furthermore, we evaluate different color mapping schemes (symbolized, default, chromatic, and binned) that assign EEG data values to Red-Green-Blue (RGB) pixel values. We report the performance of machine learning algorithms such as Random Forest to accurately classify EEG-based images as either event (with a seizure) or non-event (without a seizure)

Bridging Cognitive Psychology and Natural Language Processing: A Bias-Detection Framework for Large Language Models

Bias in large language models (LLMs) poses substantial risks to fair and accurate information processing, particularly in high-impact contexts such as news dissemination and content moderation. These models often learn and unintentionally amplify systematic biases, ranging from confirmation and negativity to anchoring and partisanship, present in the data on which they are trained, thereby distorting public discourse and potentially fueling misinformation. Building upon theories in cognitive psychology and AI-decision-making, the Cognitive Bias in Artificial Intelligence Theory (CoBAIT) becomes the interdisciplinary theoretical foundation of this work. Drawing on both cognitive bias theory and a design science approach, this dissertation develops a novel CoBAIT-Informed Fine-Tuning (CIFT) bias-detection artifact that integrates short, text-based “context snippets” during LLM fine-tuning. The framework is empirically evaluated using the BABE dataset, which contains over 3,700 sentences from politically oriented news articles annotated by expert raters. By prepending domain specific cognitive bias language known to evoke those heuristics in humans, such as confirmation or negativity bias, to each sample, the LLM gains a clearer “mental model” of what constitutes biased language. When compared to a baseline DistilBERT model, results show an approximate 1–2% improvement in F1 score and a notable reduction in false positives, indicating that the enhanced models are more effective at discerning biased and neutral content. Although the number of false negatives increases, this trade-off proves beneficial in domains where the cost of overclassifying bias far outweighs the risk of occasionally missing biased text, such as where impartiality is particularly important. Beyond demonstrating technical feasibility, this dissertation contributes to the literature by bridging psychological theory, design science methodology, and advanced Natural Language Processing (NLP) practices, showcasing how explicit cognitive bias frameworks can yield measurable improvements. The findings have implications for large-scale platforms such as social media networks, where small percentage gains can translate into thousands or even millions of accurately identified biased posts, and for smaller, specialized communities, where higher precision and transparency are critical to sustaining trust. Future directions include extending these techniques to multilingual contexts, more complex bias typologies, or otherLLM architectures (e.g., GPT or Llama), thereby refining how cognitive principles are harnessed to build more equitable and reliable AI-driven content analysis systems

Letter to Leah Chanin regarding SEAALL meeting at the AALL Annual Meeting, June 26, 1972

A letter from Richard Surles, Jr. to Leah Chanin informing Chanin that Surles will likely be unable to attend the SEAALL meeting at the AALL Annual Meeting

Letter to William Younger regarding SEAALL membership, September 6, 1972

A letter from Richard Surles, Jr. to William Younger asking Younger if Surles is up-to-date on his membership dues payments

INTERACTIONS BETWEEN STRUCTURES IN THE APPALACHIAN AND OUACHITA FORELAND BENEATH THE GULF COASTAL PLAIN

In Alabama, the Paleozoic Appalachian thrust belt plunges southwest beneath the Mesozoic-Cenozoic Gulf Coastal Plain. In Arkansas, the Paleozoic Ouachita thrust belt plunges southeast beneath the Coastal Plain. The strikes of the exposed thrust belts suggest an intersection beneath the Coastal Plain. Well data and seismic reflection profiles confirm the strike and intersection of the thrust belts, and provide information to determine the structure and general stratigraphy of each thrust belt. In east-central Mississippi, the Appalachian thrust belt curves from the regional northeast trace to westward at the intersection with the southeastern terminus of the Ouachita thrust belt, to northwest where Ouachita thrust sheets are in the Appalachian footwall, and farther west, to a west-southwest orientation. At the intersection, the frontal Appalachian fault truncates the Appalachian thrust sheets. The Appalachian thrust sheets are detached in Lower Cambrian strata and contain a distinctive Cambrian-Ordovician passive-margin carbonate succession. The Ouachita thrust sheets are detached above the carbonate succession and contain a thick Carboniferous clastic succession. The Appalachian thrust sheets east of the intersection rest on an autochthonous footwall with a thin Lower Cambrian sedimentary cover above Precambrian crystalline basement. To the west, the Appalachian thrust sheets rest on an allochthonous footwall of thick Ouachita thrust sheets. The top of Precambrian crystalline basement rocks dips southwestward beneath the Ouachita thrust belt; large-magnitude down-to-southwest basement faults enhance the deepening. Appalachian thrust sheets on the northeast are detached above relatively shallow basement, but to the west, are detached above thick Ouachita thrust sheets, which overlie deeper basement. The structure of the basement reflects the Iapetan rifted margin, where the northwest-striking Alabama-Oklahoma transform bounds the southwest side of the Alabama promontory. The trends of basement structures and subsidence toward the Ouachita thrust belt parallel the Alabama-Oklahoma transform. Shallower basement and synrift basement grabens underlie the northeast-striking Appalachian thrust belt. The curves in strike and along-strike change in footwall structure of the Appalachian thrust belt reflect controls by basement structure and by the structure of the Ouachita thrust belt

Letter to Pearl Von Allmen regarding SEAALL Annual Meeting, September 12, 1972

A letter from Richard Surles, Jr. to Pearl Von Allmen regarding a panel discussion at the SEAALL Annual Meeting

Letter to Pearl Von Allmen regarding SEAALL Annual Meeting, September 6, 1972

A letter from Richard Surles, Jr. to Pearl Von Allmen regarding a panel discussion at the SEAALL Annual Meeting

Letter to Leah Chanin regarding SEAALL Annual Meeting, March 29, 1972

A letter from Richard Surles, Jr. to Leah Chanin discussing a potential panel discussion for the SEAALL Annual Meeting