The Thread of Ariadne: A Collection of Essays by the Faculty of the Cooperative Research Center in the Humanities Dominican College of San Rafael

This volume is a Festschrift with a difference: a collection of essays written by colleagues to honor students -- past, present, future -- rather than an aged academic kindred spirit. the end-product of a \u27Great Conversation\u27 which extended over two years (1985-1987), the volume contains ten essays by nine Dominican College faculty members. Each essay has been developed in the context of inter-disciplinary discussions to which specialists in art history, history, literature, and philosophy contributed their knowledge and insights. Lest that statement suggest placid armchair soliloquies. let me quickly add that the discussions were frank and vigorous, and served to focus, refine, and sometimes change altogether the final topics of the essays. ~ from the Introduction by Sister M. Samuel Conlan, O.P.https://scholar.dominican.edu/books/1097/thumbnail.jp

Global Health Partnerships During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Perspectives and Insights from International Partners

Global health partnerships (GHPs) have encountered many challenges during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. New perspectives and insights are needed to guide GHPs when navigating current and future collaborations. This study aimed to understand perspectives and insights of international partners regarding how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted their GHPs with institutions in the United States. We performed a cross-sectional qualitative study conducted through virtual semi-structured interviews performed between June 12, 2020 and July 22, 2020. We queried academic institutions based in the United States to refer individuals from their corresponding international GHP organizations. We invited these individuals to participate in virtual interviews that were audio-recorded and transcribed. We analyzed data qualitatively to identify themes. Eighty-four United States partners provided e-mail addresses for international partners. Ten individuals from these GHPs completed the interview. Participants reported overall positive experiences with their United States-based partners during the pandemic. The following themes emerged: imbalanced decision-making; worry about partnership continuity; opportunity to optimize communication within partnerships; interest in incorporating technology to facilitate engagement; and a desire for increased bilateral exchanges. Several challenges appeared to exist before COVID-19 and were highlighted by the pandemic. Most respondents were optimistic regarding the future of their GHPs. However, concerns were expressed regarding the implications of fewer in-person international experiences with United States trainees and the desire for stronger communication. Although our results do not represent the perspectives and insights of all GHPs, they provide considerations for the future. We urge institutions in the United States to re-examine and strive for equitable relationships with their international partners

Predicting breast cancer response to neoadjuvant treatment using multi-feature MRI: results from the I-SPY 2 TRIAL.

Dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE) MRI provides both morphological and functional information regarding breast tumor response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC). The purpose of this retrospective study is to test if prediction models combining multiple MRI features outperform models with single features. Four features were quantitatively calculated in each MRI exam: functional tumor volume, longest diameter, sphericity, and contralateral background parenchymal enhancement. Logistic regression analysis was used to study the relationship between MRI variables and pathologic complete response (pCR). Predictive performance was estimated using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC). The full cohort was stratified by hormone receptor (HR) and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) status (positive or negative). A total of 384 patients (median age: 49 y/o) were included. Results showed analysis with combined features achieved higher AUCs than analysis with any feature alone. AUCs estimated for the combined versus highest AUCs among single features were 0.81 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.76, 0.86) versus 0.79 (95% CI: 0.73, 0.85) in the full cohort, 0.83 (95% CI: 0.77, 0.92) versus 0.73 (95% CI: 0.61, 0.84) in HR-positive/HER2-negative, 0.88 (95% CI: 0.79, 0.97) versus 0.78 (95% CI: 0.63, 0.89) in HR-positive/HER2-positive, 0.83 (95% CI not available) versus 0.75 (95% CI: 0.46, 0.81) in HR-negative/HER2-positive, and 0.82 (95% CI: 0.74, 0.91) versus 0.75 (95% CI: 0.64, 0.83) in triple negatives. Multi-feature MRI analysis improved pCR prediction over analysis of any individual feature that we examined. Additionally, the improvements in prediction were more notable when analysis was conducted according to cancer subtype

Ruthenium triphos complexes [Ru(X(CH2PPh2)3-κ3-P)(NCCH3)3](OTf)2; X = H3C-C, N) as catalysts for the conversion of furfuryl acetate to 1,4-pentanediol and cyclopentanol in aqueous medium

The ruthenium complexes [Ru(H3CC(CH2PPh2)3-κ3-P)(NCCH3)3](OTf)2 (1, (H3CC(CH2PPh2)3 = triphos) and [Ru(N(CH2PPh2)3-κ3-P)(NCCH3)3](OTf)2 (2, N(CH2PPh2)3 = N-triphos) have been evaluated as homogeneous ionic hydrogenation catalysts for the catalytic hydrodeoxygenation of furfuryl alcohol and furfuryl acetate to 1,4-pentanediol and cyclopentanol in aqueous media reaction mixtures. For furfuryl alcohol, only marginal yields of 1,4-pentanediol could be achieved with mass balance deficiencies due to humin formation ranging from 67% to 90%. Attempts to improve the catalytic activity of 2 by enhancing its water solubility by nitrogen protonation and (or) methylation failed. Employing the less self-reactive furfuryl acetate as the substrate substantially diminishes humin formation, yielding up to 43% of 1,4-pentanediol and 19% of cyclopentanol (via Piancatelli rearrangement) with 1 and up to 33% of 1,4-pentanediol and 5% of cyclopentanol with 2. A design of experiments study was used to determine and compare the yield responses of the multiple parallel reaction channels with 1,4-pentanediol, cyclopentanol, and humins as a function of reaction temperature, time, catalyst load, and substrate concentration. This explores the correlations between these parameters and their impact on the reaction outcome and suggests an extremely complex overall reaction cascade of interdependent pathways of both acid- and metal-catalyzed steps with some significant differences emerging between the two catalysts.The accepted manuscript in pdf format is listed with the files at the bottom of this page. The presentation of the authors' names and (or) special characters in the title of the manuscript may differ slightly between what is listed on this page and what is listed in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript; that in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript is what was submitted by the author