Texas Womans University

EMERGENCY INSTITUTIONAL FUNDS UNDER THE CORONAVIRUS AID, RELIEF, AND ECONOMICSECURITY (CARES) ACTS

EMERGENCY FINANCIAL AID GRANTS TO STUDENTS UNDER THE CORONAVIRUS AID, RELIEF, AND ECONOMIC SECURITY (CARES) ACTS

TWU CARES ACT MINORITY SERVING INSTITUTIONS

SCHOLARSHIPS FOR DISADVANTAGED STUDENTS

CAPACITY BUILDING FOR STUDENTS AND FACULTY THROUGH PARTNERSHIPS, RESEARCH, INNOVATION, MENTORING, AND ENGAGEMENT

SCHOLARSHIPS FOR DISADVANTAGED STUDENTS

PROJECT ACCESS: ACCELERATING COMPLETION AND CAREER EDUCATION IN THE SCHOOL OF THE SCIENCES

ENGLISH LANGUAGE ACQUISITION: NATIONAL PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM

ENGLISH LANGUAGE ACQUISITION: NATIONAL PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM

SCHOLARSHIPS AND CO-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES LEADING TO EXCELLENCE IN THE BIOTECHNOLOGY WORKFORCE

ENGLISH LANGUAGE ACQUISITION: NATIONAL PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM

ADVANCED EDUCATION NURSING TRAINEESHIP

TRIO STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES STEM

TRIO STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES CLASSIC

UNDERSTANDING THE ROLE OF TDP43 IN NEURODEGENERATION AND ITS DEGRADATION BY THE N-END RULE PATHWAY

PROJECT NEXUS: INTERDISCIPLINARY PREPARATION OF SPECIAL EDUCATORS AND ADAPTED PHYSICAL EDUCATORS TO SERVE CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES WITH HIGH-INTENSITY NEEDS

UPLIFTING SCHOOL-BASED MENTAL HEALTH

REIMAGINING AND IMPROVING STUDENT EQUITY (RISE) IN NURSING

NURSE FACULTY LOAN PROGRAM

PROJECT EPIC: EQUIPPING PERSONNEL THROUGH INTERDISCIPLINARY COLLABORATION

RISK ASSESSMENT AND INTERVENTION STRATEGIES FOR THE EMERGING FOOD SAFETY THREAT OF OCHRATOXIN IN THE UNITED STATES

ENGLISH LANGUAGE ACQUISITION: NATIONAL PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM

CAREER: DECIPHERING THE ROLES OF NODULE-SPECIFIC PLAT DOMAIN GENES IN THE NITROGEN-FIXING SYMBIOSIS AND HOST-STRAIN SPECIFICITY -THIS AWARD IS FUNDED IN WHOLE OR IN PART UNDER THE AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN ACT OF 2021 (PUBLIC LAW 117- 2) ALTHOUGH NITROGEN IS THE MOST ABUNDANT GAS IN THE EARTH?S ATMOSPHERE, IT CANNOT BE ASSIMILATED BY PLANTS AND ANIMALS UNLESS IT IS REDUCED TO AMMONIUM AND OTHER BIOAVAILABLE FORMS, IN A PROCESS CALLED NITROGEN FIXATION. THE CONVENTIONAL WAY OF GROWING MOST OF THE WORLD?S CROPS IS TO APPLY REDUCED FORMS OF NITROGEN AS FERTILIZER. ALTHOUGH IT PROMOTES CROP YIELDS, MUCH OF THE FERTILIZER LEACHES OUT INTO GROUNDWATER, STREAMS, AND OCEANS, CAUSING SEVERE ECOLOGICAL DISTURBANCES, INCLUDING OVERGROWTH OF PLANT LIFE, OXYGEN DEPLETION, AND DEATH OF ANIMAL LIFE. DUE TO OVERUSE, MORE THAN 500 SITES OF COASTAL WATERS WORLDWIDE ARE NOW DECLARED ?DEAD ZONES?. A GROUP OF SOIL BACTERIA COLLECTIVELY KNOWN AS RHIZOBIA CAN REDUCE (FIX) NITROGEN. LEGUMES ESTABLISH MUTUALLY BENEFICIAL ASSOCIATIONS (SYMBIOSES) WITH COMPATIBLE RHIZOBIA, BY ALLOWING THEIR SELECTIVE ENTRY INTO NEWLY DEVELOPED ORGANS (ROOT NODULES), THUS ACQUIRING AN INTERNAL SOURCE OF FERTILIZER. NITROGEN FIXATION EFFICIENCY VARIES IN DIFFERENT LEGUME-RHIZOBIA ASSOCIATIONS; THEREFORE, FOR HIGH YIELDS, FERTILIZER NITROGEN NEEDS TO BE APPLIED ON LEGUME CROPS. THIS SHUTS DOWN SYMBIOTIC NITROGEN FIXATION (SNF). THE PROJECT SEEKS TO UNCOVER NEW MECHANISMS OF HOST-STRAIN SPECIFICITY TO IMPROVE SNF EFFICIENCY, INFORMING THE DEVELOPMENT OF CROP VARIETIES AND ENGINEERED BACTERIAL STRAINS THAT CAN ENHANCE THE ECONOMIC POTENTIAL OF SNF FOR LOW-INPUT, SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE. RESEARCH ACTIVITIES FROM THIS PROJECT WILL BE INTEGRATED INTO AN INQUIRY- AND PROJECT-BASED REVAMPED GRADUATE COURSE-LAB, AND INTO VARIOUS EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES INCLUDING TRAINING OF UNDERGRADUATE AND GRADUATE STUDENTS, A POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCHER, AND TRAINING DISADVANTAGED MIDDLE- AND HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS FROM RURAL TEXAS. AN INTRIGUING ASPECT OF SNF IS HOST-STRAIN SPECIFICITY, CRITICAL FOR EFFICIENT NITROGEN FIXATION, BUT, STILL, POORLY UNDERSTOOD AT THE GENETIC AND THE MOLECULAR LEVEL. BECAUSE THE RHIZOSPHERE CONTAINS MULTIPLE RHIZOBIAL STRAINS AT ANY TIME, IT IS CRITICAL FOR A LEGUME HOST TO DISTINGUISH BETWEEN FRIEND AND FOE, AND, ALSO, TO DISTINGUISH BETWEEN EFFICIENT AND LESS EFFICIENT FRIENDS, FOR OPTIMAL NITROGEN FIXATION. THE PROPOSED RESEARCH BUILDS ON THE HYPOTHESIS THAT THE MEDICAGO TRUNCATULA MTNPD1 GENE (NODULE-SPECIFIC POLYCYSTIN-1, LIPOXYGENASE, ALPHA-TOXIN DOMAIN-CONTAINING PROTEIN) ORCHESTRATES RHIZOBIAL SELECTION IN ORDER TO MAINTAIN EFFECTIVE NITROGEN FIXATION IN ROOT NODULES. THE HOST-STRAIN SPECIFIC PHENOTYPE OF THE NPD1 MUTANT IMPLIES THAT MTNPD1 MAY BE INTERACTING WITH CERTAIN BACTERIAL FACTORS TO PROMOTE SURVIVAL AND NORMAL FUNCTION OF COMPATIBLE STRAINS INSIDE ROOT NODULES. AN ASSORTMENT OF MOLECULAR, GENETIC, PROTEOMIC, GENOMIC, AND MICROSCOPIC APPROACHES WILL BE USED TO DECIPHER THE BIOLOGICAL ROLES OF MTNPD1 AND THE OTHER FOUR MEMBERS OF THIS NODULE-SPECIFIC GENE FAMILY. THE MAIN GOALS OF THE PROJECT ARE TO IDENTIFY PLANT AND/OR BACTERIAL PROTEIN PARTNERS OF MTNPD1, REFINE INTRACELLULAR MTNPD1 LOCALIZATION IN A STRAIN-DEPENDENT MANNER, AND IDENTIFY BACTERIAL FACTORS LINKED TO THE NPD1 GENE FUNCTION AND HOST-STRAIN SPECIFICITY USING PAN-GENOME ANALYSIS AND GENOMIC LIBRARY SWITCHING BETWEEN STRAINS WITH CONTRASTING FATE IN NPD1 NODULES. ALTOGETHER, THE PROPOSED WORK IS POISED TO ENHANCE OUR UNDERSTANDING OF HOW M. TRUNCATULA SELECTS FAVORABLE SYMBIOTIC PARTNERS, THUS OPTIMIZING SNF WITH SPECIFIC RHIZOBIAL STRAINS. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.

MOLECULAR MECHANISMS REGULATING INTERCELLULAR TRANSIT OF TGF-BETA

DEVELOPING UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS' SCIENCE IDENTITY THROUGH SCHOLARSHIPS, TEAMS, AND RESEARCH

COMBINED PRIORITY FOR PERSONNEL DEVELOPMENT

TEXAS WOMAN'S UNIVERSITY’S MCNAIR PROPOSAL

REDUCED LORDOSIS BEHAVIOR AFTER INTRACEREBRAL 8-OH-DPAT

SCHOLARSHIPS FOR DISADVANTAGED STUDENTS

ELUCIDATING THE ROLE OF MECP2 IN THE PATHOPHYSIOLOGY OF OBESITY - PROJECT SUMMARY OBESITY IS A SEVERELY DEBILITATING DISEASE STATE THAT AFFLICTS 650 MILLION PEOPLE WORLDWIDE. THE INCREASED PREVALENCE OF OBESITY IS ASSOCIATED WITH A NUMBER OF OTHER DISEASES SUCH AS DIABETES, CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE, AND HYPERTENSION. GIVEN ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR HEALTH CARE, IT IS NOW CONSIDERED A GLOBAL EPIDEMIC BY THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION. THESE ALARMING STATISTICS CALL FOR A NEED TO UNDERSTAND NEUROBIOLOGICAL MECHANISMS THAT UNDERLIE THE DEVELOPMENT OF OBESITY. THE GOAL OF THE CURRENT PROPOSAL IS TO UNDERSTAND THE ROLE THAT METHYL- CPG-BINDING PROTEIN 2 (MECP2) PLAYS IN THE ETIOLOGY OF OBESITY. RECENT STUDIES IMPLICATE A ROLE OF THIS NEUROEPIGENETIC REGULATOR IN PRECIPITATING OBESITY IN MOUSE MODELS AND IN CHILDREN DIAGNOSED WITH PRADER-WILLI SYNDROME, A NEURODEVELOPMENTAL DISORDER CHARACTERIZED BY HYPERPHAGIA AND MARKED OBESITY. THE CURRENT PROPOSAL WILL UTILIZE TRANSGENIC MOUSE MODELS IN WHICH MECP2 IS KNOCKED OUT IN ORDER TO UNDERSTAND THE NEUROBIOLOGICAL CONSEQUENCES OF CRE-LOX MEDIATED KNOCK OUT OF THIS EPIGENETIC FACTOR IN HYPOTHALAMIC PRO- OPIOMELANOCORTIN (POMC) NEURONS. ANOTHER GOAL OF THIS PROPOSAL IS TO UNDERSTAND HOW POMC-SPECIFIC KNOCKOUT OF MECP2 CAN ALTER BEHAVIORAL RESPONSES TO FOOD. THE DATA FROM THIS PROPOSAL WILL ELUCIDATE THE ROLE THAT MECP2 PLAYS ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF OBESITY AND MAY ULTIMATELY LEAD TO THERAPEUTIC STRATEGIES WITH WHICH TO COMBAT THE OBESITY EPIDEMIC.

ADVANCED NURSING EDUCATION GRANTS

SEX DIFFERENCES IN SEROTONERGIC MODULATION OF TRIGEMINAL PAIN

NURSE EDUCATION PRACTICE AND RETENTION

CULTIVATING SAFE COLLEGE CAMPUSES: A COLLEGE SEXUAL ASSAULT POLICY AND PREVENTION CONSORTIUM

SCHOLARSHIPS FOR DISADVANTAGED STUDENTS

SUCCEED USING CHILD CARE AND EDUCATIONAL STUDENT SERVICES (SUCCESS) CCAMPIS

ADVANCED EDUCATION NURSING GRANTS

INTEGRATED STRATEGIES TO REDUCE FOODBORNE ILLNESS AND FOOD ALLERGIC REACTIONS ASSOCIATED WITH INDEPENDENTLY OPERATED RESTAURANTS

QUANTITATIVE AND ANALYTICAL SCIENCES FOR ACADEMIC REINFORCEMENT AND SUCCESS (QUASARS)

COMBINED PRIORITY FOR PERSONNEL DEVELOPMENT

SCHOLARSHIPS FOR UNDERGRADUATES: FOCUS ON COMPUTATIONAL BIOLOGY

NORTH TEXAS TRANSITION PROGRAM IN BIOMEDICAL SCIENCE

SPECIAL EDUCATION-PERSONNEL PREPARATION TO IMPROVE SERVICES AND RESULTS FOR CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES - COMBINED PRIORITY FOR PERSONNEL PREPARATION

HSI IMPLEMENTATION AND EVALUATION PROJECT: GREEN CHEMISTRY: ADVANCING EQUITY, RELEVANCE, AND ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE -WITH SUPPORT FROM THE IMPROVING UNDERGRADUATE STEM EDUCATION: HISPANIC-SERVING INSTITUTIONS (HSI PROGRAM), THIS TRACK 2: IEP AT TEXAS WOMAN?S UNIVERSITY FOCUSES ON BUILDING 1) GREEN CHEMISTRY CONTENT KNOWLEDGE AND 2) CHEMISTRY INTEREST. THIS PROJECT SEEKS TO INCREASE THE RELEVANCE OF STEM EDUCATION TO UNDERSERVED STUDENTS BY INCORPORATING GREEN CHEMISTRY PRACTICES ACROSS THE INTRODUCTORY CHEMISTRY CURRICULUM INCLUDING INTRODUCTORY CHEMISTRY, GENERAL CHEMISTRY AND PRINCIPLES OF CHEMISTRY. THE PROJECT WILL ENSURE STUDENTS HAVE THE KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS NEEDED TO MARKET THEMSELVES IN JOB FIELDS, ADVOCATE FOR GREEN CHEMISTRY AND SUSTAINABILITY, AND POSITIVELY IMPACT THEIR COMMUNITIES WHILE RESPONDING TO AND ADDRESSING ISSUES OF ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE. THE PROJECT TEAM IS A TRANSDISCIPLINARY TEAM OF ACADEMICS, NONPROFITS, AND AN ADVISORY BOARD OF EXPERTS, WITH A TRACK RECORD OF EDUCATIONAL TRANSFORMATION AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, TO CO-CONSTRUCT OUR CURRICULUM IN THE CONTEXT OF A MINORITY-SERVING INSTITUTION. THE ADVANCING EQUITY, RELEVANCE, AND ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE (G-CHEM) PROJECT WILL 1) DEVELOP INTRODUCTORY GENERAL CHEMISTRY UNDERGRADUATE CURRICULA THAT INCORPORATES GREEN CHEMISTRY AND ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE PRINCIPLES; 2) CONTRIBUTE TO A LIBRARY OF GREEN CHEMISTRY EXPERIMENTS FOR USE IN THE INTRODUCTORY CHEMISTRY CURRICULUM; 3) ASSESS STUDENT CHEMISTRY-RELATED CONTENT KNOWLEDGE AND CHEMISTRY INTEREST; 4) TRAIN OTHER HSI FACULTY TO IMPLEMENT GREEN-CHEMISTRY CURRICULA. THERE ARE TWO PRIMARY MEASURES THAT WILL BE USED TO DETERMINE IMPACT, CHEMISTRY KNOWLEDGE AND CHEMISTRY INTEREST. IT IS ANTICIPATED THAT THE SCAFFOLDED PROGRAM WILL ENSURE THAT STUDENTS HAVE SUBSTANTIAL AND SUSTAINED LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES THROUGH MODIFIED LABS AND REAL-WORLD EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING ACTIVITIES. THE PROJECT WILL ENSURE STUDENTS HAVE THE KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS NEEDED TO MAKE INFORMED DECISIONS BASED ON THEIR KNOWLEDGE OF GREEN CHEMISTRY WHILE IMPACTING THEIR COMMUNITIES BY IDENTIFYING AND ADDRESSING ISSUES OF ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE. THE HSI PROGRAM AIMS TO ENHANCE UNDERGRADUATE STEM EDUCATION AND BUILD CAPACITY AT HSIS. PROJECTS SUPPORTED BY THE HSI PROGRAM WILL ALSO GENERATE NEW KNOWLEDGE ON HOW TO ACHIEVE THESE AIMS. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.- SUBAWARDS ARE PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.

SCHOLARSHIPS FOR DISADVANTAGED STUDENTS

PROJECT HELP (HISPANIC EDUCATORS LEADING THE PROFESSION)

**AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** CUCUMBER IS AN ECONOMICALLY IMPORTANT VEGETABLE CROP IN THE US, AND A FAVORITE COMPONENT OF HEALTHY DIET FOR PEOPLE. KEY FLAVOR-RELATED AROMA COMPOUNDS FROM CUCUMBER ARE ALSO HIGHLY VALUABLE FOR INDUSTRY USE. CONSUMER DISSATISFACTION FOR CUCUMBER FRUIT IS HIGH DUE TO ITS POOR TASTE. MOLECULAR BREEDING IS PROVIDING EXCITING OPPORTUNITIES TO IMPROVE CUCUMBER FLAVOR AND DEVELOP VALUE-ADDED VARIETIES; HOWEVER, OUR KNOWLEDGE ON CUCUMBER FLAVOR IS LIMITED. THE LONG-TERM GOAL OF THIS RESEARCH IS TO UNDERSTAND THE GENETIC BASIS OF CUCUMBER FLAVOR AND DEVELOP VARIETIES WITH ENHANCED FLAVOR FOR FRESH CONSUMPTION AND INCREASED ACCUMULATION OF TARGET COMPOUNDS AS NATURAL INGREDIENTS FOR INDUSTRY USE. THIS PROJECT HAS FOUR OBJECTIVES: (1) INVESTIGATING VOLATILE COMPONENTS ASSOCIATED WITH CUCUMBER FLAVOR AND SENSORY PREFERENCES, (2) UNDERSTANDING GENETIC BASIS OF VARIATION OF FLAVOR-ENHANCING TRAITS THROUGH QTL MAPPING, (3) DEVELOPING GERMPLASM WITH ENHANCED FLAVOR, AND (4) EVALUATING THE POTENTIALOF CUCUMBER VOLATILES FOR USE IN INDUSTRY.TO FULFIL THESE RESEARCH OBJECTIVES, LABORATORY APPROACHES WILL INCLUDE: (1) USING SENSORY PANEL AND INSTRUMENTAL ANALYSIS TO INVESTIGATE SENSORY QUALITY AND CONSUMER PREFERENCE AND ASSOCIATED FLAVOR CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS AND PHYSICAL PROPERTIES; (2) USING MOLECULAR BIOLOGY TECHNIQUES TO FIND GENES UNDERLYING FLAVOR VARIATION IN CUCUMBER; (3) USING MOLECULAR GENETIC TECHNIQUES TO DEVELOP GERMPLASM ENHANCED WITH KEY FLAVOR COMPOUNDS IN CUCUMBERS; AND (4) USING DISTILLATION TECHNIQUES TO DEVELOP VOLATILE EXTRACTS FROM FLAVOR-ENHANCED CUCUMBERS.EXPECTED OUTCOME FROM THIS RESEARCH INCLUDES (1) ESTABLISH THE RELATIONSHIP OF CONSUMER PREFERENCES WITH AROMA, TASTE, AND TEXTURE PROFILES; (2) UNDERSTAND THE GENETIC AND BIOCHEMICAL BASIS TO FLAVOR CHEMICAL ACCUMULATION IN CUCUMBER FRUIT; (3) DEVELOP NOVEL CUCUMBER GERMPLASM WITH ENHANCED FLAVOR; (4) DEVELOP METHODS FOR EXTRACTION OF KEY FLAVOR COMPOUNDS AND ECONOMIC ANALYSIS; (5) ACADEMIA PRESENTATIONS ANDPEER REVIEWED PUBLICATIONS; AND (6) TRAINING OF GRADUATE STUDENTS IN FOOD SCIENCE AND PLANT GENETICS/BREEDING.THIS WORK WILL INCREASE KNOWLEDGE ON THE GENETICS OF CUCUMBER FLAVOR, CONSEQUENTLY INCREASING CUCUMBER FRESH CONSUMPTION MARKET AND PROFIT FOR INDUSTRY. ADDITIONALLY, THE PROJECT WILL DELIVER CUCUMBER GERMPLASM WITH IMPROVED FLAVOR OR INCREASED VALUABLE NATURAL CHEMICALS FOR INDUSTRY USE. THE INTERDISCIPLINARY TEAM MEMBERS ARE WELL PREPARED FOR THIS COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH.

CC*DNI NETWORKING INFRASTRUCTURE: TEXAS WOMAN'S UNIVERSITY SCIENCE RESEARCH NETWORK

OVW FY 06 GRANTS TO REDUCE VIOLENT CRIMES AGAINST WOMEN ON CAMPUS

LIBRARIANS FOR THE 21ST CENTURY

MITIGATING THE SPREAD OF MISINFORMATION AND DISINFORMATION ABOUT COVID-19 PREVENTION AND TREATMENT INITIATIVES AMONG HISPANICS - CONSIDERABLE EVIDENCE EXISTS ON THE ROLE MISINFORMATION AND DISINFORMATION HAS PLAYED ON COVID-19 VACCINATION HESITANCY AND REFUSAL AT THE GENERAL POPULATION LEVEL. THERE IS LESS RESEARCH ON HOW MISINFORMATION AND DISINFORMATION ON SOCIAL MEDIA AFFECTS COVID-19 PERCEPTIONS BY DIFFERENT ETHNIC GROUPS, PARTICULARLY HISPANICS. THIS GROUP HAS BEEN THE MOST AFFECTED BY COVID-19 IN THE US, AND INCLUDES A COMMUNITY WHERE HEALTH DISPARITIES AND INEQUITABLE GAPS IN SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH PREVAIL. SINCE HISPANICS RELY MORE ON SOCIAL MEDIA TO OBTAIN INFORMATION ON COVID-19 THAN ANY OTHER ETHNIC GROUP, IT IS IMPERATIVE TO EXPAND RESEARCH ON MITIGATING THE EFFECT OF MISINFORMATION AND DISINFORMATION THROUGH THESE COMMUNICATION CHANNELS.THE GENERAL OBJECTIVE OF THIS PROPOSAL IS TO EXPAND ON EARLIER STUDIES COMPLETED BY THE PI AND CO-INVESTIGATORS ON APPROPRIATE, CULTURALLY SENSITIVE, STRATEGIES TO DISSEMINATE ACCURATE INFORMATION ON COVID-19 PREVENTION AND TREATMENTS. WE WILL PURSUE THE OVERALL OBJECTIVE THROUGH THESE SPECIFIC AIMS: (1) DEVELOP A SOCIAL NETWORK ANALYSIS MODEL TO ESTIMATE DEGREE OF COVID-19 MISINFORMATION AND DISINFORMATION CONSUMED BY THE HISPANIC COMMUNITY; (2) CONDUCT FOCUS GROUP SESSIONS WITH REPRESENTATIVE HISPANIC COMMUNITY MEMBERS; AND (3) COMPLETE AN ECONOMIC IMPACT ANALYSIS OF PROPOSED INFORMATIONAL STRATEGIES FOR HISPANICS. THE STUDY WILL TAKE PLACE IN EL PASO, TEXAS, AND INTRODUCES SEVERAL KEY INNOVATIONS. FIRST, DEVELOPMENT OF A SOCIAL NETWORK MODEL TO EVALUATE SOCIAL MEDIA DATA IN BOTH ENGLISH AND SPANISH, AND CONSIDERING SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS IN THE US AND MEXICO. WE BELIEVE THAT MEXICAN SOCIAL MEDIA TRAFFIC INFLUENCES HISPANIC POPULATIONS IN THE US. SECOND, DEVELOPMENT OF A LONGITUDINAL MISINFORMATION/DISINFORMATION INDEX, WHICH WILL ALLOW ESTIMATING DEGREES OF MISINFORMATION AND DISINFORMATION IMPACT OVER TIME AND BETWEEN ETHNIC GROUPS. THIRD, IMPLEMENT A COMBINATION OF FOCUS GROUPS ACROSS DIFFERENT HISPANIC DEMOGRAPHIC GROUPS WHICH WILL: A) COMPLEMENT FINDINGS FROM THE SOCIAL NETWORK ANALYSIS MODEL; B) OBTAIN IN-DEPTH DATA ON RELEVANT SOCIAL MEDIA CHANNELS; C) ESTIMATE CHANGES ON RISK PERCEPTION OF COVID-19 EMERGENCIES; D) DEFINE RISK ATTITUDES POST-VACCINE; E) PROVIDE A SCALE ON THE DEGREE OF COVID-19 INFECTION AND PREVENTION LITERACY; AND F) FORECAST POTENTIAL HEALTH ATTITUDE AND BEHAVIOR CHANGES. SPECIFIC INTEREST WILL BE ON INCLUDING SESSIONS TARGETING HISPANIC WOMEN, ELDERLY, AND PERSONS WITH CHRONIC DISEASES, DISABILITIES, AND SUBSTANCE USE DISORDERS. LASTLY, AN ECONOMIC IMPACT ANALYSIS WILL PROVIDE PROGRAM EVALUATION ESTIMATES BASED ON POTENTIAL INTERVENTION HEALTHCARE COST SAVINGS, AND QUALITY OF LIFE CHANGES. THIS PROPOSAL PROVIDES INNOVATIVE QUANTITATIVE APPROACHES TO MEASURE THE EFFECT OF COVID-19 MISINFORMATION AND DISINFORMATION AMONG HISPANICS, AND TO HELP DEFINE APPROPRIATE, CULTURALLY SENSITIVE, STRATEGIES TO ELIMINATE HEALTH DISPARITIES IN THIS COMMUNITY. OUR RESEARCH TEAM INCLUDES BILINGUAL AND BI-CULTURAL SPECIALISTS WITH PROFOUND KNOWLEDGE OF THE HISPANIC POPULATION IN EL PASO, AND OTHER SIMILAR COMMUNITIES IN THE COUNTRY. THIS EXPERTISE WILL ALLOW US TO PROPOSE RESEARCH MODELS TRANSFERABLE TO DIFFERENT REGIONS AND GROUPS IN THE US, AND OTHER COUNTRIES.

RISK ASSESSMENT AND INTERVENTION STRATEGIES FOR THE EMERGING FOOD SAFETY THREAT OF OCHRATOXIN IN THE UNITED STATES

GRADUATE ASSISTANCE IN AREAS OF NATIONAL NEED - GRADUATE ASSISTANCE IN AREAS OF NATIONAL NEED

DEVELOPMENT OF OFFICE OF RESEARCH& SPONSORED PROGRAMS AT TEXAS WOMAN'S UNIVERSITY

REGULATION OF ESSENTIAL MURINE CYTOMEGALOVIRUS GENES M142 AND M143

TRANSITION TO TEACHING PROGRAM - TRANSITION TO TEACHING PROGRAM -- LOCAL

IN THIS EARLY CAREER RESEARCH DEVELOPMENT PROJECT, DR. TARA ZIMMERMAN OF TEXAS WOMAN’S UNIVERSITY WILL INVESTIGATE AND STRENGTHEN SCHOOL LIBRARIES’ ROLE IN EDUCATING STUDENTS ABOUT THE DANGERS OF ONLINE MISINFORMATION, HOW TO DETECT IT, AND AVOID IT. THE RESEARCH PROJECT WILL START WITH A SURVEY AND INTERVIEWS TO FIND OUT WHAT K-5 SCHOOL LIBRARIANS ARE TEACHING STUDENTS REGARDING DETECTING AND AVOIDING MISINFORMATION. BASED ON THESE FINDINGS, THEY WILL DEVELOP A CURRICULUM TO ADDRESS INFORMATION LITERACY AND OBSERVE SCHOOL LIBRARIANS AS THEY IMPLEMENT THE NEW CURRICULUM FOR ONE SCHOOL YEAR. THEY WILL GATHER FEEDBACK FROM THE SCHOOL LIBRARIANS AND THEIR STUDENTS ABOUT THE CURRICULUM, ASSESS ITS IMPACT ON STUDENTS’ UNDERSTANDING OF HOW TO AVOID AND DETECT MISINFORMATION, AND THEN REFINE THE CURRICULUM BASED ON THIS FEEDBACK. THE RESEARCH WILL RESULT IN A CURRICULUM AND TRAINING MATERIALS TO BUILD THE INFORMATION LITERACY TEACHING SKILLS OF SCHOOL LIBRARIANS WHILE ALSO PROVIDING STUDENTS CRITICAL SKILLS THEY NEED TO BE THOUGHTFUL CONSUMERS OF INFORMATION.

ASTHMA SELF-MANAGEMENT BEHAVIORS AND COGNITIVE AUTONOMY: DEVELOPING AN ADOLESCENT QUESTIONNAIRE - BACKGROUND AND RATIONALE: ASTHMA IS A SUBSTANTIAL PUBLIC HEALTH PROBLEM WITH ADOLESCENTS HAVING SUBSTANTIAL ASTHMA-RELATED MORBIDITY. ADOLESCENCE IS A CRITICAL PHASE OF TRANSITION TO ADULTHOOD, MARKED BY THE DEVELOPMENT OF COGNITIVE AND AUTONOMOUS SKILLS REQUIRED TO ASSUME GREATER RESPONSIBILITY FOR ASTHMA CARE. ASTHMA SELF-MANAGEMENT, WHICH PLAYS A PIVOTAL ROLE IN ACHIEVING ASTHMA CONTROL, IS SUBOPTIMAL AMONG ADOLESCENTS. INVESTIGATING ASTHMA SELF-MANAGEMENT BEHAVIOR DURING THIS PERIOD IS PARTICULARLY CRUCIAL, TO HELP THEM MANAGE THEIR ASTHMA. DESPITE THIS, THERE IS A DEARTH OF VALIDATED MEASURES ASSESSING ASTHMA SELF- MANAGEMENT SKILLS TAILORED SPECIFICALLY FOR ADOLESCENTS. OBJECTIVE: THIS STUDY AIMS TO FILL THIS GAP BY DEVELOPING AND A RELIABLE AND VALID ASTHMA SELF-MANAGEMENT QUESTIONNAIRE SPECIFICALLY DESIGNED FOR ADOLESCENTS WITH ASTHMA AGED 12-21. METHOD: THE ASTHMA SELF-MANAGEMENT BEHAVIOR FRAMEWORK WILL UNDERPIN THE DEVELOPMENT OF A NOVEL ADOLESCENT SELF-MANAGEMENT QUESTIONNAIRE. WE WILL FOLLOW THE SEVEN-STEP APPROACH OUTLINED IN PUBLISHED GUIDELINES TO COMPOSE AND VALIDATE QUESTIONNAIRE ITEMS. TO COMPOSE QUESTIONNAIRE ITEMS, WE WILL DRAW ON OUR TEAM’S PRIOR CLINICAL AND RESEARCH EXPERIENCES WITH ADOLESCENTS, ASTHMA, SELF-MANAGEMENT, AND QUESTIONNAIRE DEVELOPMENT, INCLUDING OUR QUALITATIVE STUDY AND RECENTLY PUBLISHED SYSTEMATIC REVIEW. WE WILL INTEGRATE TWU STUDENT RESEARCHERS INTO ALL PHASES OF OUR STUDY THROUGHOUT THE THREE-YEAR GRANT PERIOD. WE WILL EMPLOY A PARTICIPATORY RESEARCH APPROACH THROUGH ACTIVE INVOLVEMENT OF ADOLESCENTS WITH ASTHMA IN ITEM WRITING. THE ITEMS FACE AND CONTENT VALIDITY WILL BE ESTABLISHED BY HAVING EXPERTS (N= 8) ASSESS THE CLARITY AND RELEVANCE OF QUESTIONNAIRE ITEMS WITH RESPECT TO THE CONSTRUCT OF INTEREST. COGNITIVE INTERVIEWS WILL BE CONDUCTED WITH ADOLESCENTS WITH ASTHMA (N=10) TO ENSURE THE RESPONDENTS INTERPRET ITEMS IN THE MANNER THAT RESEARCHERS INTENDED. WE WILL ESTABLISH THE QUESTIONNAIRE’S PSYCHOMETRIC PROPERTIES BY EVALUATING THE QUESTIONNAIRE'S FACTORIAL VALIDITY USING A SAMPLE OF 300 ADOLESCENTS (12-21 YEARS OLD) LIVING WITH ASTHMA (N=150 EACH IN EXPLORATORY AND CONFIRMATORY FACTOR ANALYSIS) RECRUITED FROM SCHOOLS, CLINICS, AND NATIONAL ASTHMA ORGANIZATIONS USING PURPOSIVE AND SNOWBALLING TECHNIQUES. CONSTRUCT VALIDITY WILL BE ESTABLISHED BY EXAMINING ITS RELATIONSHIPS WITH RELEVANT VARIABLES, SUCH AS QUALITY OF LIFE AND SELF-EFFICACY, WHILE QUESTIONNAIRE RELIABILITY WILL BE ASSESSED THROUGH INTERNAL CONSISTENCY AND TEST-RETEST RELIABILITY TESTS. SIGNIFICANCE: ADOLESCENTS ARE AT A VULNERABLE YET OPPORTUNE STAGE TO LEARN ASTHMA SELF-MANAGEMENT. THE NEWLY DEVELOPED AND VALIDATED QUESTIONNAIRE WILL HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO FACILITATE ASSESSMENT AND FEEDBACK IN MULTIDISCIPLINARY CLINICAL SETTINGS AND OFFER A RESEARCH TOOL TO MORE ACCURATELY UNDERSTAND ADOLESCENT ASTHMA SELF-MANAGEMENT.

GENOMIC SIGNATURES OF INFLAMMATION: PATHWAYS OF RACIAL DISCRIMINATION, DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS, VITAMIN D STATUS WITH PRETERM BIRTH AMONG BLACK WOMEN - NON-HISPANIC BLACK WOMEN ARE 1.5 TIMES MORE LIKELY TO HAVE PRETERM BIRTH (PTB; < 37 WEEKS GESTATION) COMPARED WITH NON-HISPANIC WHITE WOMEN (14% VS 9%). PRETERM BIRTH IS THE LEADING CAUSE OF NEONATAL MORBIDITY AMONG BLACK INFANTS. PREGNANT BLACK WOMEN ARE ALSO MORE LIKELY TO EXPERIENCE RACIAL DISCRIMINATION AND DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS AND HAVE HIGHER RISK FOR VITAMIN D DEFICIENCY [PLASMA 25(OH)D CONCENTRATION <20 NG/ML] COMPARED WITH WHITE WOMEN. RACIAL DISCRIMINATION, DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS AND VITAMIN D DEFICIENCY HAVE BEEN ASSOCIATED WITH INCREASED PRO-INFLAMMATORY CYTOKINES (E.G.,TNF-A, IL-6), BUT RESEARCH HAS NOT EXAMINED THE GENE EXPRESSION OF IMMUNE-RELATED GENES AS POTENTIAL PATHWAYS OF THESE FACTORS WITH PTB. PERIPHERAL MONONUCLEAR CELLS (PBMCS) CONTAIN LYMPHOCYTES, MONOCYTES AND DENDRITIC CELLS ALL OF WHICH ARE IMPORTANT FOR IMMUNE FUNCTION AND CAN EXPRESS BOTH PRO- AND ANTI-INFLAMMATORY CYTOKINES. BY EXAMINING THE GENE EXPRESSION PATTERN OF PBMCS IN A COHORT OF BLACK PREGNANT WOMEN, IT COULD ELUCIDATE DISTINCT OR OVERLAPPING PATHWAYS BY WHICH PSYCHOSOCIAL FACTORS (E.G. RACIAL DISCRIMINATION, DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS) AND VITAMIN D STATUS INCREASE RISK FOR PTB. USING DATA FROM 168 PREGNANT BLACK WOMEN PARTICIPATING IN DR. GIURGESCU'S (MENTOR) R01 STUDY, I WILL EXAMINE THE ASSOCIATIONS AMONG RACIAL DISCRIMINATION, DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS, VITAMIN D BINDING PROTEIN (VDBP) GENOTYPE, PLASMA 25(OH)D CONCENTRATION, GENE EXPRESSION OF IMMUNE CELL GENES, SYSTEMIC INFLAMMATION, AND GESTATIONAL AGE (GA) AT BIRTH. WOMEN COMPLETED QUESTIONNAIRES AND HAD BLOOD DRAWN AT 8- 18 WEEKS GESTATION. QUESTIONNAIRE DATA, PLASMA CYTOKINE (TNF-A, IL-6, IL-8, IL-4, IL-10, INF-) LEVELS, AND GA AT BIRTH WILL BE AVAILABLE FROM THE PARENT STUDY. FROZEN PLASMA AND PBMC SAMPLES ARE STORED IN MENTOR'S LABORATORY. PLASMA 25(OH)D CONCENTRATION WILL BE MEASURED FROM FROZEN SAMPLES USING LIQUID CHROMATOGRAPHY/ MASS SPECTROMETRY. VDBP GENOTYPE WILL BE ASSESSED BY TAQMAN ASSAYS USING DNA EXTRACTED FROM NUCLEI ISOLATED FROM PBMCS. UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF DR. KRAUS (CO-MENTOR), I WILL CONDUCT BULK RNA SEQUENCING (RNA-SEQ) ON FROZEN PBMCS. I AIM TO: (AIM 1) EXPLORE DIFFERENTIAL GENE EXPRESSION OF IMMUNE CELL GENES BETWEEN (1) WOMEN WITH PTB AND WOMEN WITH TERM BIRTH; AND (2) WOMEN WITH VITAMIN D DEFICIENCY AND WOMEN WITH VITAMIN D SUFFICIENCY; AND (AIM 2) EXAMINE THE PATHWAYS BY WHICH RACIAL DISCRIMINATION, DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS, PLASMA 25(OH)D, VDBP GENOTYPE, DIFFERENTIALLY EXPRESSED GENES (IDENTIFIED IN AIM 1), AND SYSTEMIC INFLAMMATION RELATE TO GA AT BIRTH. THE PROPOSED, RIGOROUS TRAINING PLAN AND HIGHLY EXPERIENCED MENTORSHIP TEAM WILL ACCELERATE MY PATH TO INDEPENDENT INVESTIGATOR, ALLOWING ME TIME TO LEARN CUTTING-EDGE RESEARCH USING GENOMICS AND TRANSCRIPTOMICS, DEVELOP COMPETENCY IN ANALYSIS AND BIOINFORMATICS OF OMICS DATA, AND GAIN TEAM LEADERSHIP SKILLS. THE RESULTS FROM THIS STUDY WILL PROVIDE THE PRELIMINARY DATA FOR A NIH R01 STUDY TO IDENTIFY PREDICTIVE BIOMARKERS FOR PTB.

TEXAS WOMAN'S UNIVERSITY WILL RECRUIT 20 STUDENTS FROM RURAL TEXAS WITH RECRUITMENT EMPHASIS ON THOSE FROM AREAS PARTICIPATING IN E-RATE TO THE MLIS DEGREE PROGRAM WITH A FOCUS ON COMMUNITY INFORMATICS. THE PROJECT TEAM WILL COMBINE EXPERTISE IN COMMUNITY INFORMATICS WITH EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING TO EDUCATE FUTURE LEADERS IN RURAL LIBRARIES. IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE TEXAS LIBRARY ASSOCIATION, THE TEAM WILL BUILD UPON THE EXISTING MLS DEGREE PROGRAM TO CREATE A COMPREHENSIVE AND SUSTAINABLE MASTER'S IN LIBRARY SCIENCES' COMMUNITY INFORMATICS CURRICULUM. THE ADDITION OF COMMUNITY INFORMATICS EXTENDS TRADITIONAL LIBRARY ROLES BY GETTING LIBRARIANS OUT INTO THEIR COMMUNITIES, WORKING WITH COMMUNITY LEADERS AND OTHER RESIDENTS TO FACILITATE NEEDED AND WANTED CHANGE. COURSES WILL INCLUDE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, NEEDS ASSESSMENT, DATA AND TECHNOLOGY IN COMMUNITIES, PROJECT DESIGN, AND GRANT WRITING AND MANAGEMENT OF COMMUNITY-FOCUSED PROJECTS. THEY WILL CULMINATE IN A SUPERVISED CAPSTONE EXPERIENCE IN A RURAL COMMUNITY.

SIRPGAMMA: A NOVEL CHECKPOINT REGULATOR OF EFFECTOR RESPONSES FROM HUMAN T-CELLS - ABSTRACT A KEY UNRESOLVED QUESTION IN IMMUNOLOGY IS: WHY DO SOME INDIVIDUALS MOUNT A BALANCED IMMUNE RESPONSE THAT ELIMINATES INFECTION WITH NO HARM TO HOST CELLS, WHEREAS OTHERS HAVE EXAGGERATED IMMUNE RESPONSES THAT CAN CAUSE SIGNIFICANT TISSUE INJURY AND PRECIPITATE AUTOIMMUNITY? THIS QUESTION RAISES AN UNPRECEDENTED NEED TO BETTER UNDERSTAND THE HOST MECHANISMS INVOLVED IN FINE-TUNING IMMUNE RESPONSES IN HUMANS. T CELLS PLAY A CRITICAL ROLE IN SHAPING A BALANCED IMMUNE RESPONSE TO ANTIGENS BY DIRECTLY RECOGNIZING MOLECULES EXPRESSED ON THE CELL SURFACE AND SECRETING FACTORS THAT DRIVE OR DAMPEN THE INFLAMMATORY RESPONSES. SIGNAL REGULATORY PROTEIN GAMMA (SIRP) IS AN IMMUNOMODULATORY PROTEIN THAT IS UNIQUELY EXPRESSED ON THE CELL SURFACE OF HUMAN T CELLS. VARIANTS IN THE SIRPG GENE HAVE BEEN ASSOCIATED WITH TYPE 1 DIABETES, RELAPSING REMITTING MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS AND MAINTAINING A VACCINE RESPONSE LONG-TERM. HOWEVER, HOW SIRP MECHANISTICALLY CONTRIBUTES TO INFLAMMATION REMAINS UNCLEAR BECAUSE WE DO NOT FULLY UNDERSTAND ITS FUNCTION IN THE IMMUNE SYSTEM. THE OVERALL GOAL OF THIS RESEARCH IS TO UNDERSTAND WHETHER INTER-INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES IN SIRP EXPRESSION REGULATES THE EFFECTOR RESPONSES IN HUMAN T CELLS. PREVIOUSLY WE FOUND THAT AN AUTOIMMUNITY RISK VARIANT IN SIRP CORRELATES WITH REDUCED EXPRESSION OF SIRP ON THE T-CELLS, AND THAT T CELLS WITH LESS SIRP ON THE CELL SURFACE EXHIBIT HEIGHTENED EFFECTOR STATUS. THIS EXCITING DISCOVERY SUGGEST THAT PERTURBATIONS IN SIRP LEVELS MAY LEAD TO IMMUNE DYSREGULATION DURING INFECTIONS AND AUTOIMMUNITY. TO TEST THIS WE WILL INVESTIGATE WHETHER INTRINSIC DYSREGULATION IN SIRP EXPRESSION ON NAÏVE T CELLS ACCELERATES THEIR CONVERSION INTO TERMINAL EFFECTORS, THUS DRIVING HYPER- PROINFLAMMATORY RESPONSES. THESE STUDIES WILL DETERMINE IF SIRP PLAYS A CAUSATIVE ROLE IN DETERMINING THE MAGNITUDE AND NATURE OF EFFECTOR RESPONSES FROM T CELLS. GIVEN THE ASSOCIATION OF SIRP WITH MULTIPLE AUTOIMMUNE DISEASES AND VACCINE RESPONSE, UNDERSTANDING THE ROLE OF SIRP IN IMMUNE REGULATION COULD SIGNIFICANTLY IMPACT TREATMENT IN INFECTION AND AUTOIMMUNITY.

BEHAVIORAL AND NEURAL CORRELATES OF POST-STROKE FATIGUE - PROJECT SUMMARY UP TO 85% STROKE SURVIVORS EXPERIENCE POST-STROKE FATIGUE (PSF) DEFINED AS INTENSIFIED PERCEIVED EFFORT DURING ACTIVITIES. PSF IS A SIGNIFICANT BARRIER TO FULL PARTICIPATION IN REHABILITATION AND NEGATIVELY AFFECTS QUALITY OF LIFE AFTER STROKE. DESPITE ITS WELL-KNOWN IMPACTS, THERE ARE VERY FEW TARGETED INTERVENTIONS FOR PSF LARGELY DUE TO UNCLEAR UNDERLYING MECHANISMS. A FEW BRAIN STIMULATION STUDIES HAVE SUGGESTED A RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PRIMARY MOTOR CORTEX (M1) EXCITABILITY AND PSF. RECENT CLINICAL TRIALS USING ANODAL TRANSCRANIAL DIRECT CURRENT STIMULATION (TDCS) TO MODULATE BRAIN EXCITABILITY REPORTED MIXED CLINICAL EFFICACY IN REDUCING PSF WITH UNCLEAR MECHANISMS OF ACTION. THE PROPOSED RESEARCH WILL ADDRESS THE GAPS IN OUR KNOWLEDGE BY DETERMINING THE BEHAVIORAL AND NEURAL CORRELATES OF PSF USING AN EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN AND MULTIMODAL APPROACH. THIRTY-TWO INDIVIDUALS WITH SIGNIFICANT FATIGUE DUE STROKE WILL BE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED TO RECEIVE FIVE CONSECUTIVE SESSIONS OF ANODAL OR SHAM TDCS. BEFORE AND AFTER INTERVENTION, PARTICIPANTS WILL COMPLETE CLINICAL AND BEHAVIORAL ASSESSMENTS OF PSF, BRAIN EXCITABILITY ASSESSMENT USING TRANSCRANIAL MAGNETIC STIMULATION, AND BRAIN CONNECTIVITY ASSESSMENT USING RESTING STATE FUNCTIONAL MRI. IN AIM 1, WE WILL DETERMINE IF UPREGULATING M1 EXCITABILITY VIA TDCS WILL REDUCE PSF ASSESSED BY CLINICAL AND BEHAVIORAL MARKERS. AIM 2 WILL UTILIZE BRAIN STIMULATION AND BRAIN IMAGING TECHNIQUES TO PROBE THE NEUROPHYSIOLOGICAL EFFECT OF TDCS ON PSF. AIM 3 WILL EXPLORE THE CORRELATION BETWEEN BEHAVIORAL CHANGES AND NEUROPHYSIOLOGICAL CHANGES TO PROVIDE FURTHER INSIGHTS INTO THE NEURAL CORRELATES OF PSF. OUR LONG-TERM GOAL IS TO DEVELOP EVIDENCE BASED, THEORY-DRIVEN INTERVENTIONS TO MANAGE PSF. THE PROPOSED STUDY IS INNOVATIVE IN THAT IT INVESTIGATES A RELATIVE NOVEL INTERVENTION TO MITIGATE PSF AND ADOPTS A MULTIMODAL APPROACH TO EXAMINE THE UNDERLYING MECHANISMS. THE COMPREHENSIVE RESEARCH WILL GUIDE THE DEVELOPMENT OF TREATMENT TARGETED THE UNDERLYING MECHANISMS OF PSF. IN ADDITION TO ITS SCIENTIFIC AND CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCES, THE PROPOSED RESEARCH WILL ACHIEVE ITS EDUCATIONAL GOALS BY FOSTERING A GROUP OF STUDENT RESEARCHERS AND PROMOTING RIGOROUS RESEARCH CULTURES WITHIN OUR INSTITUTE.

PEER VICTIMIZATION: CHILD AND PARENTAL HEALTH AND ADJUSTMENT

** AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** THE GOALS OF THIS STUDY ARE CONSISTENT WITH THE USDA&#39;S FOOD AND HUMAN HEALTH AREA. CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE (CVD) IS A LEADING CAUSE OF DEATH, ACCOUNTING FOR 30% OF ANNUAL GLOBAL MORTALITY. AS IS THE CASE FOR MANY CHRONIC DISEASES, INFLAMMATION, OXIDATIVE STRESS, AND CHANGES IN GUT MICROBIOTA ARE KEY CONTRIBUTORS TO CVD. POLYPHENOLS HAVE ANTIOXIDANT, ANTI-INFLAMMATORY, AND LIPID-LOWERING PROPERTIES AFFECTING HOST GUT MICROBIOTA; HOWEVER, THEIR BIOAVAILABILITY IS VERY LOW. AMONG THESE, RED WINE POMACE (RWP) IS A WINE BIO-RESIDUE RICH IN ANTHOCYANIN (ACN), OTHER POLYPHENOLS, AND FIBER WITH HIGH ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITIES. RECENTLY, WE SUCCESSFULLY SEPARATED AND DETECTED GLYCOL-MACRO-PEPTIDES (GMP) FROM WHEY PROTEIN. WE SHOWED THAT THE RESULTING ENCAPSULATED PRODUCT IMPROVED POLYPHENOL RELEASE INTO THE INTESTINAL TRACT (&GT;80%). FOR THIS PROPOSED STUDY, WE HYPOTHESIZED THAT MICROENCAPSULATION OF RWP WITH GMP USING ELECTROSPINNING WILL ENHANCE ACN BIOAVAILABILITY IN RWP, LEADING TO BENEFICIAL CHANGES IN GUT MICROBIAL DIVERSITY AND IMPROVING CVD IN AN OBESE MOUSE MODEL. SPECIFICALLY, WE WILL OPTIMIZE THE BIOAVAILABILITY OF MICROENCAPSULATED RWP, USING GMP, VIA ELECTROSPINNING AND GASTRIC SIMULATION SYSTEM, FOLLOWED BY EVALUATING THE BIOAVAILABILITY AND GUT MICROBIOTA-MODULATING EFFECTS OF ENCAPSULATED RWP ON CHOLESTEROL EFFLUX (CE) IN DIET-INDUCED OBESE B6 MICE. OUR NOVEL APPROACHES WILL GENERATE NEW KNOWLEDGE BY INTRODUCING A COST-EFFECTIVE, ADDED-VALUE SOURCE OF ACN FROM RWP, WITH HIGH BIOAVAILABILITY AND BENEFICIAL EFFECTS ON GUT MICROBIOTA FOR OPTIMAL HUMAN NUTRITION AND HEALTH. MOREOVER, THIS GRANT IS VERY TIMELY AND A STEPPING STONE FOR THE PD&#39;S CAREER DEVELOPMENT IN NUTRITION, FOODS AND AGRICULTURE AREAS.

HEALTH CARE AND OTHER FACILITIES

SCHOLARSHIPS FOR DISADVANTAGED STUDENTS

THE ROLE OF ALDOSTERONE IN MEDIATING DEPRESSIVE-LIKE BEHAVIOR IN A RAT MODEL OF HEART FAILURE

TEXAS WOMAN'S UNIVERSITY-STEM SSS

TEXAS WOMAN'S UNIVERSITY-REGULAR SSS

LEAPS-MPS: REVOLUTIONIZING WATER TREATMENT WITH SMART METAL-ORGANIC-FRAMEWORKS FOR ENHANCED ADSORPTION AND INTELLIGENT ADSORBENT EXPLORATION -NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY ACCESS TO CLEAN WATER IS A CRUCIAL GLOBAL CHALLENGE IMPACTING HEALTH, BIODIVERSITY, AND GEOPOLITICS. APPROXIMATELY HALF A BILLION PEOPLE LACK SUFFICIENT ACCESS TO CLEAN WATER, EMPHASIZING THE NEED FOR IMPROVED WATER TREATMENT METHODS. TRADITIONAL TECHNIQUES, SUCH AS USING ACTIVATED CARBON AND ION EXCHANGE RESINS, ARE INEFFECTIVE AGAINST CERTAIN POLLUTANTS LIKE SILOXANES. THIS PROJECT AIMS TO DEVELOP ADVANCED MATERIALS CALLED METAL-ORGANIC-FRAMEWORKS (MOFS) THAT CAN EFFICIENTLY REMOVE THESE HARMFUL SILOXANES FROM WATER. OUR APPROACH INVOLVES USING CUTTING-EDGE COMPUTER SIMULATIONS AND MACHINE LEARNING TO IDENTIFY THE BEST MOFS FOR SILOXANE REMOVAL. THE CUMULATIVE INSIGHTS FROM THIS PROJECT AND ITS EXTENSIONS WILL PAVE THE WAY FOR THE LARGE-SCALE REMOVAL OF MULTIPLE POLLUTANTS FROM WATER, CONTRIBUTING SIGNIFICANTLY TO THE PRODUCTION OF CLEAN AND PORTABLE WATER ON A GLOBAL SCALE. THIS INNOVATIVE RESEARCH WILL NOT ONLY ENHANCE WATER PURIFICATION BUT ALSO PROVIDE VALUABLE HANDS-ON EXPERIENCE FOR STUDENTS, PARTICULARLY THOSE FROM UNDER-REPRESENTED MINORITY GROUPS. BY INTEGRATING ADVANCED RESEARCH INTO EDUCATION, THE PROJECT WILL FOSTER THE DEVELOPMENT OF FUTURE SCIENTISTS AND ENGINEERS, PROMOTING DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION IN STEM FIELDS. FURTHERMORE, THIS INITIATIVE WILL ESTABLISH A ROBUST COMPUTATIONAL CHEMISTRY GROUP AT TEXAS WOMAN?S UNIVERSITY, CREATING OPPORTUNITIES FOR COLLABORATION AND ENHANCING THE EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCE FOR STUDENTS IN CHEMISTRY, BIOCHEMISTRY, AND ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE. THESE EFFORTS WILL CREATE A SUSTAINABLE IMPACT BY PREPARING FUTURE SCIENTISTS AND ENGINEERS AND BY CONTRIBUTING TO THE LONG-TERM GOAL OF PROVIDING CLEAN AND PORTABLE WATER ON A GLOBAL SCALE. TECHNICAL SUMMARY CLEAN WATER SCARCITY REPRESENTS A GLOBAL CRISIS WITH FAR-REACHING IMPLICATIONS FOR HUMAN HEALTH, BIODIVERSITY, AND GEOPOLITICS. APPROXIMATELY HALF A BILLION PEOPLE WORLDWIDE LACK ACCESS TO CLEAN WATER, UNDERSCORING THE URGENT NEED FOR EFFICIENT WATER TREATMENT TECHNIQUES. HIGH-PERFORMANCE ADSORBENTS OFFER A LOW-COST, ENERGY-EFFICIENT, AND ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY SOLUTION FOR REMOVING TARGET POLLUTANTS FROM WATER. HOWEVER, COMMONLY EMPLOYED ADSORBENTS SUCH AS ACTIVATED CARBON, ZEOLITES, ION EXCHANGE RESINS, AND WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANTS FALL SHORT OF EFFECTIVELY ADDRESSING SILOXANES, A PROBLEMATIC CLASS OF ORGANIC POLLUTANTS IN WATER. RECOGNIZING THIS GAP, OUR PROJECT AIMS TO ASSESS METAL-ORGANIC-FRAMEWORKS (MOFS) AS PROMISING ADSORBENTS FOR SILOXANE REMOVAL. THE RESEARCH PLAN COMPRISES THREE KEY TASKS: SCREENING OVER 100 REPRESENTATIVE MOFS AGAINST FOUR LINEAR AND THREE CYCLIC SILOXANES USING FORCEFIELD-BASED GRAND CANONICAL MONTE CARLO (GCMC) SIMULATIONS; STUDYING THE ADSORPTION MECHANISMS OF THE IDENTIFIED MOFS THROUGH DENSITY FUNCTIONAL THEORY (DFT) COMPUTATIONS TO UNDERSTAND MOLECULAR-LEVEL INTERACTIONS BETWEEN MOFS AND SILOXANES; AND LEVERAGING ADVANCED MACHINE LEARNING (ML) CLASSIFICATION ALGORITHMS TO UNVEIL STRUCTURE-PERFORMANCE RELATIONSHIPS WITHIN MOFS, ENABLING THE PREDICTION OF MOFS WITH OPTIMAL ADSORPTION CAPABILITIES FOR EFFECTIVELY REMOVING MULTIPLE SILOXANES IN WATER TREATMENT. THIS PROJECT ESTABLISHES THE GROUNDWORK FOR OUR OVERARCHING OBJECTIVE: THE DEVELOPMENT OF A RELIABLE AND AUTOMATED METHOD FOR DISCOVERING ADSORBENTS CAPABLE OF EFFECTIVELY REMOVING DIVERSE POLLUTANTS FROM WATER, THUS ADDRESSING CRITICAL GLOBAL WATER CRISIS CHALLENGES. THE PREDICTIONS GENERATED FOR PROMISING MOFS NOT ONLY OFFER VALUABLE GUIDANCE BUT ALSO SERVE AS A BASIS FOR EXPERIMENTAL VERIFICATION. THE INNOVATIVE GCMC-DFT-ML STRATEGY, ALONG WITH MACHINE LEARNING PREDICTIONS, ACTS AS A CORNERSTONE FOR SUBSEQUENT INVESTIGATIONS. THESE INCLUDE THE SELECTION OF FORCEFIELDS FOR MOF STRUCTURES, EXAMINATIONS OF SOLVENT EFFECTS, AND EXPLORATIONS OF ADSORPTION PERFORMANCE FOR VARIOUS POROUS MATERIALS TARGETING A SPECTRUM OF WATER POLLUTANTS. THE CUMULATIVE INSIGHTS FROM THIS PROJECT AND ITS EXTENSIONS WILL PAVE THE WAY FOR THE LARGE-SCALE REMOVAL OF MULTIPLE POLLUTANTS FROM WATER, CONTRIBUTING SIGNIFICANTLY TO THE PRODUCTION OF CLEAN AND PORTABLE WATER ON A GLOBAL SCALE. ADDITIONALLY, THIS PROJECT WILL SIGNIFICANTLY CONTRIBUTE TO LEAPS (LAUNCH OF EARLY-CAREER ACADEMIC PATHWAYS IN STEM) GOALS BY PROVIDING EXTENSIVE RESEARCH TRAINING FOR STUDENTS, PARTICULARLY THOSE FROM UNDERREPRESENTED MINORITY GROUPS. THIS TRAINING WILL ENHANCE THEIR SKILLS AND CAREER PROSPECTS IN SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING, FOSTERING DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION IN STEM FIELDS. ESTABLISHING A ROBUST COMPUTATIONAL CHEMISTRY GROUP AT TEXAS WOMAN?S UNIVERSITY WILL PROMOTE INTERDISCIPLINARY COLLABORATION AND INTEGRATE RESEARCH WITH UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION. THESE EFFORTS WILL NOT ONLY PREPARE FUTURE SCIENTISTS AND ENGINEERS BUT ALSO CONTRIBUTE TO THE LONG-TERM GOAL OF PROVIDING CLEAN AND PORTABLE WATER ON A GLOBAL SCALE. STATEMENT OF MERIT REVIEW THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.- SUBAWARDS ARE NOT PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.

ARRA - SCHOLARSHIPS FOR DISADVANTAGED STUDENTS

TESTING THE SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION OF RIGHTS AND MEDIA COVERAGE IN AN AGE OF JUDICIALIZATION

ADVANCED EDUCATION NURSING TRAINEESHIP

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: CISE CROSSCUTTING SMALL: SCH: TOWARDS AUTO-PROMPT TEXTUAL ANNOTATIONS GENERATION WITH DOMAIN KNOWLEDGE FOR MULTIMODAL MEDICAL IMAGE SEGMENTATION -MEDICAL IMAGE SEGMENTATION IS ESSENTIAL FOR CLINICAL DECISION MAKING AND DISEASE MONITORING, YET CURRENT DEEP-LEARNING APPROACHES ARE LIMITED BY THEIR RELIANCE ON IMAGING DATA ALONE AND LACK OF CONTEXTUAL UNDERSTANDING. VISION-LANGUAGE MODELS (VLMS) OFFER A PROMISING ALTERNATIVE BY GENERATING TEXTUAL ANNOTATIONS, BUT THEIR DEPENDENCE ON MANUALLY CRAFTED PROMPTS AND POOR ADAPTATION TO SEGMENTATION TASKS CONSTRAIN THEIR CLINICAL UTILITY. MOREOVER, THESE MODELS STRUGGLE TO GENERALIZE ACROSS IMAGING MODALITIES AND ANATOMICAL REGIONS. THIS PROJECT DEVELOPS AN AUTOMATED FRAMEWORK THAT GENERATES SEGMENTATION-SPECIFIC TEXTUAL DESCRIPTIONS WITHOUT HUMAN-CREATED PROMPTS, IMPROVING ANNOTATION EFFICIENCY AND SEGMENTATION QUALITY. IT FURTHER INTEGRATES DYNAMIC KNOWLEDGE-GRAPH REASONING TO EMBED EVOLVING MEDICAL EXPERTISE INTO THE ANNOTATION PROCESS, ENHANCING ADAPTABILITY ACROSS DIVERSE IMAGING CONTEXTS. THE APPROACH AIMS TO CREATE ROBUST AND GENERALIZABLE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI) TOOLS FOR REAL-WORLD CLINICAL USE. BROADER-IMPACT ASPECTS OF THE PROJECT INCLUDE THE ENGAGEMENT OF STUDENTS THROUGH HANDS-ON RESEARCH, INTERDISCIPLINARY COLLABORATION, AND OPEN-ACCESS TOOLS THAT ADVANCE SCIENCE AND EDUCATION AS WELL AS CLINICAL RELEVANCE THAT IS ENSURED THROUGH CLOSE COLLABORATION WITH MEDICAL EXPERTS, ALLOWING THE RESEARCH TO ADDRESS REAL-WORLD HEALTHCARE NEEDS AND SUPPORT TRANSLATIONAL IMPACT. THE PROJECT INTRODUCES A MULTIMODAL FRAMEWORK THAT LEVERAGES THE BIDIRECTIONAL RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN IMAGES AND TEXT TO REFINE SEGMENTATION. KEY COMPONENTS INCLUDE: (1) AN AUTO-PROMPTING MECHANISM DRIVEN BY GRAPH-BASED REASONING TO PRODUCE TASK-SPECIFIC TEXTUAL DESCRIPTIONS; (2) A KNOWLEDGE-GRAPH MODULE THAT ENCODES AND UPDATES DOMAIN EXPERTISE TO IMPROVE GENERALIZATION; (3) A MULTI-LEVEL FEATURE-ALIGNMENT STRATEGY WITH ASYNCHRONOUS FUSION AND BIDIRECTIONAL ENCODING TO ENHANCE MULTIMODAL LEARNING; AND (4) A CLOSED-LOOP LEARNING PARADIGM WHEREIN SEGMENTATION AND ANNOTATION MUTUALLY REFINE EACH OTHER. TOGETHER, THESE COMPONENTS ESTABLISH A COMPREHENSIVE SYSTEM FOR AUTOMATED AND ADAPTIVE MEDICAL IMAGE SEGMENTATION WITH HIGH CLINICAL RELEVANCE. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.- SUBAWARDS ARE NOT PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.

SUBUNIT INTERACTIONS AND FUNCTIONS IN ALLOSTERIC ENZYMES: GLUTATHIONE SYNTHETASE

NSF SHOWCASE FOR DUE PROJECTS AT THE ACM SIGCSE SYMPOSIUM -THE TECHNICAL SYMPOSIUM ON COMPUTER SCIENCE EDUCATION ORGANIZED BY THE ASSOCIATION FOR COMPUTING MACHINERY (ACM) SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP ON COMPUTER SCIENCE EDUCATION (SIGCSE) IS ONE OF THE OLDEST ACM CONFERENCES AND IS SIGCSE?S FLAGSHIP CONFERENCE. THE SYMPOSIUM IS HELD ANNUALLY, IN NORTH AMERICA, AND IS THE PREMIER VENUE FOR COMPUTING EDUCATION RESEARCHERS TO MEET AND DISSEMINATE THEIR WORK. THE NSF SHOWCASE AT THE SIGCSE TECHNICAL SYMPOSIUM PROVIDES AN OPPORTUNITY FOR NSF GRANT RECIPIENTS TO SHOWCASE AND DISSEMINATE THE RESULTS OF THEIR WORK. THE NSF SHOWCASE PROVIDES GRANT RECIPIENTS THE OPPORTUNITY TO CIRCULATE THEIR IDEAS, OBTAIN FEEDBACK, RECRUIT COLLABORATORS AND ADOPTERS, AND CONSULT WITH PROGRAM OFFICERS MUCH EARLIER IN THE PROJECT CYCLE, PROVIDING CRUCIAL INSIGHTS THAT IMPROVE THE LIKELIHOOD OF THE PROJECTS SUCCEEDING AND THE FINDINGS BEING DISSEMINATED. THE NSF SHOWCASE WILL ALSO INCLUDE OPPORTUNITIES FOR MEMBERS OF THE COMPUTING EDUCATION COMMUNITY TO CONNECT WITH NSF PROGRAM OFFICERS TO EXPLORE GRANT PROGRAMS AND TO RECEIVE FEEDBACK ON PROPOSAL IDEAS. THE NSF SHOWCASE WILL FACILITATE A DISCUSSION AMONG THE AFFINITY GROUPS WHO COLLECTIVELY PARTICIPATE IN COMPUTING EDUCATION RESEARCH, SPECIFICALLY TARGETING ISSUES RELATED TO PREPARING STUDENTS WHO ARE COMPUTATIONALLY FLUENT, AND BUILDING AND ENHANCING THE COMPUTING PROFESSIONAL WORKFORCE, WHICH INCLUDES RESEARCH SOFTWARE ENGINEERS, RESEARCH DATA SCIENCE PROFESSIONALS, ADVANCED CYBERINFRASTRUCTURE SYSTEMS PROFESSIONALS, AND OTHERS. THE NSF SHOWCASE PROVIDES A WAY FOR MANY COMPUTING EDUCATORS TO SEE NSF PROJECTS IN PROGRESS, TO INTERACT WITH NSF PROGRAM OFFICERS, TO LEARN ABOUT NSF PROGRAMS, AND DISCUSS POTENTIAL PROJECTS FOR FUNDING. THE SIGCSE TECHNICAL SYMPOSIUM IS REGULARLY ATTENDED, WITH PRE-PANDEMIC ATTENDANCE AT 1,900 ATTENDEES. THE CONFERENCE PRIMARILY SERVES A US AUDIENCE WITH AROUND 90% OF THE ATTENDEES BEING FROM THE US WITH AN ADDITIONAL 5% FROM CANADA AND OTHER ATTENDEES FROM EUROPE, ASIA, AND AUSTRALASIA PRIMARILY. THE NSF SHOWCASE IS FUNDED BY THE NSF IUSE: EHR PROGRAM, WHICH SUPPORTS RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS TO IMPROVE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF STEM EDUCATION FOR ALL STUDENTS. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.

NSL - BACCALAUREATE NURSING - PD CHANGES

MRI: ACQUISITION OF A CIRCULAR DICHROISM SPECTROPHOTOMETER

DIRECTED GRANTS

NURSE FACULTY LOAN PROGRAM

THE IMPACT OF D-DELTA-TOCOTRIENOL ON OSTEOCLASTS AND OSTEOBLASTS

BONE-PROTECTIVE MECHANISM OF BLUEBERRY POLYPHENOLS

PALATABILITY-NUTRIENT CONGRUENCY OF MUSHROOM EGG WHITE BLENDS AND THEIR PROMOTION OF SATIETY

EARMARKS

ADVANCED EDUCATION NURSING TRAINEESHIPS

CHROMATIN CONDENSATION AS A DNA PROTECTIVE RESPONSE TO UV RADIATION IN HUMAN MELANOCYTES AND AGING C. ELEGANS

MULTI-ELECTRODE ARRAY SYSTEM FOR MAPPING NEURAL NETWORK DYNAMICS FROM HUMAN CEREBRAL ORGANOIDS FOLLOWING EXPOSURE TO FORCES ASSOCIATED WITH BLAST AND BLUNT TRAUMA

QUAKERTOWN STORIES [QUAKERTOWN STORIES IS AN INTERDISCIPLINARY CURRICULAR PROJECT WITH THREE MAJOR GOALS: 1) TO FOSTER CIVIC ENGAGEMENT BY CREATING A SERIES OF COURSES THAT IMPLEMENT PLACE-BASED RESEARCH ASSIGNMENTS FOCUSED ON QUAKERTOWN, A DISPLACED FREEDMEN COMMUNITY IN DENTON, TX; 2) TO FACILITATE DIALOGUE BETWEEN THE UNIVERSITY AND DENTON COMMUNITY ABOUT QUAKERTOWN AND HOW IT HAS SHAPED PRESENT DAY DENTON THROUGH PANEL DISCUSSIONS AND A STUDENT-LED PUBLIC TOWN HALL; 3) TO BUILD ON PREVIOUS PROGRAMS TO ESTABLISH AN ONGOING WORKING GROUP TO SUPPORT FACULTY IN DESIGNING COURSES THAT INTEGRATE PLACE-BASED RESEARCH AND OTHER EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES INTO THEIR CLASSES.]

PROBLEM: THE LIMITED NUMBER OF APPROVED ANTHELMINTIC (ANTI-WORM) DRUGS ARE BECOMING LESS EFFECTIVE AS EVIDENCED BY THE RISE IN DRUG RESISTANCE OF PARASITIC ROUNDWORMS. FINDING NEW DRUGGABLE TARGETS THAT ARE MORE EFFECTIVE, CONFER LESS RESISTANCE, AND HAVE A BETTER SAFETY PROFILE TO FIGHT AGAINST PARASITIC ROUNDWORM WORMS IN ANIMALS, PLANTS, AND HUMANS HAS BECOME AN IMPORTANT AGRICULTURAL AND ONE HEALTH ISSUE. FOR EXAMPLE, ONE HIGHLY PREVALENT ROUNDWORM PARASITE,ASCARIS SUUM,THE LARGE ROUNDWORM PARASITE OF PIGS THAT SECONDARILY INFECTS HUMANS WHO EAT INFECTED PORK, CAUSED A REPORTED $77.6 MILLION OF LOSSES IN 2001 IN THE US ALONE. ROUNDWORMS COVER THEMSELVES IN A FAT- AND WAX-RICH "SURFACE COAT" THAT SERVES AS A PROTECTIVE BARRIER FROM POTENTIALLY DAMAGING AGENTS, INCLUDING ANTHELMINTIC DRUGS. SURPRISINGLY, NOT MUCH IS KNOWN ABOUT THIS PROTECTION FOR ANY ROUNDWORM.BECAUSE OF ITS IMPORTANCE TO THE ROUNDWORM&#39;S DRUG RESISTANCE AND SURVIVAL, THIS SURFACE COAT REPRESENTS AN IDEAL TARGET TO FIGHT AGAINST PARASITIC ROUNDWORMS.QUESTION: WHAT ARE THE COMPONENTS OF THE ROUNDWORM&#39;S PROTECTIVE SURFACE COAT? DOES IT DIFFER BETWEEN ROUNDWORMS THAT ARE FREE-LIVING AND ANIMAL PARASITES? AND HOW DO ROUNDWORMS MAKE IT?APPROACHES: WE WILL REMOVE THE SURFACE COATS FROM DIFFERENT TYPES OF ROUNDWORMS AND IDENTIFY THEFATS AND WAXES COMPRISING THESE SURFACE COATSUSING EQUIPMENT CALLED GAS CHROMATOGRAPHY-MASS SPECTROMETRY (GC-MS).GOALS: IDENTIFY FATS AND WAXES IN FREE-LIVING AND PARASITE (A. SUUM) SURFACE COATS. DETERMINE HOW THIS SURFACE BARRIER LAYER IS MADE.POTENTIAL BENEFIT: BY BETTER UNDERSTANDING HOW ROUNDWORMS PROTECT THEMSELVES FROM DRUGS AND OTHER ENVIRONMENTAL ATTACKS, WE CAN EXPLOIT THAT UNDERSTANDING TO CRIPPLE THE ROUNDWORM DEFENSE MECHANISMS TO MAKE EXISTING ANTHELMINTIC DRUGS WORK BETTER AND IDENTIFY NOVEL TARGETS FOR DRUG DEVELOPMENT TO BETTER PROTECT CROPS AND LIVESTOCK FROM ROUNDWORM INFECTION.

BUILDING GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES IN THE HUMANITIES

THE SPECIFIC OBJECTIVE OF THE PROPOSED RESEARCH IS TO STUDY PLANT-POLLINATOR INTERACTIONS THROUGH OUTREACH TO THE LOCAL COMMUNITY AND PROVIDE SCIENCE-BASED ADVICE TO LAND MANAGERS AND STATE AND LOCAL POLICY MAKERS FOR THE PURPOSE OF CROP IMPROVEMENT AND BIODIVERSITY.

PROVIDING ADAPTIVE SPORT ACTIVITIES DESIGNED TO ENHANCE THE REHABILITATIVE AND THERAPEUTIC HEALTH OF VETERANS AND SERVICEMEMBERS

JACOB JAVITS FELLOWSHIP

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: SPATIAL SKILLS AND SUCCESS IN INTRODUCTORY COMPUTING

I-CORPS: MOBILE APP FOR NURSING HANDOFF FOR USE IN EDUCATION AND PRACTICE

I-CORPS: RELIEVING FOOT PAIN FOR NURSES AND IMPROVING MUSCLE RECOVERY FOR ATHLETES USING AN ELECTROSTIMULATION SOCK

SEX DIFFERENCES IN STRESS EXACERBATED OROFACIAL PAIN IN A RAT MODEL OF TEMPOROMANDIBULAR JOINT DISORDER - ABSTRACT PSYCHOLOGICAL STRESS IS REPORTED TO BE A TRIGGER AND A RESULT OF TEMPOROMANDIBULAR JOINT DISORDER (TMJD) PAIN, CREATING A VICIOUS CYCLE THAT CAN EXACERBATE PAIN IN BOTH MEN AND WOMEN. FOR REASONS UNCLEAR, TMJD AND STRESS ARE REPORTED TO BE MORE PREVALENT IN WOMEN. PRECLINICAL RESEARCH INDICATES THAT SUBCHRONIC TO CHRONIC STRESS CAN EXACERBATE PAIN IN MALE AND FEMALE SUBJECTS, HOWEVER THE ROLE OF STRESS ON OCCLUSIVE TMJD PAIN AND ITS UNDERLYING MECHANISMS IS UNCLEAR. IT REMAINS POSSIBLE THAT THERE ARE UNDETECTED SEX DIFFERENCES IN THE EFFECTS OF STRESS ON TRIGEMINAL NEUROBIOLOGY WHICH MAY CONTRIBUTE TO THE DIMORPHIC PREVALENCE OF TMJD PAIN. ONE POSSIBLE MECHANISM UNDERLYING STRESS EXACERBATED TMJD PAIN MAY BE ATTRIBUTED TO DIMORPHIC NEURAL ORGANIZATION AND/OR FUNCTION OF THE TRIGEMINAL GANGLIA (TG) SENSORY NEURON AFFERENTS TO THE PARABRACHIAL NUCLEUS (PBN). ADDITIONALLY, OR ALTERNATIVELY, GLIAL CELLS MAY PLAY A ROLE IN THE SEXUALLY DIMORPHIC MODULATION OF THESE CIRCUITS DURING TMJD PAIN. AS MICROGLIA IN THE PBN ARE ACTIVATED DURING BOTH STRESS AND OROFACIAL PAIN AND CONTRIBUTE TO INFLAMMATION, THE ROLE OF MICROGLIA IN STRESS EXACERBATED TMJD PAIN IN THE PBN OF MALES AND FEMALES REMAINS UNKNOWN. A SEXUALLY DIMORPHIC EFFECT OF STRESS ON TMJD PAIN MAY BE ONE FACTOR UNDERLYING THE GREATER PREVALENCE OF TMJD IN WOMEN AND FILLING GAPS IN OUR KNOWLEDGE OF THE NEUROBIOLOGICAL MECHANISMS IN THE TRIGEMINAL SYSTEM CONTRIBUTING TO PAIN IS CRITICAL TO ULTIMATELY IMPROVING PAIN MANAGEMENT. OUR OVERARCHING HYPOTHESIS IS THAT SEX DIFFERENCES IN PBN FUNCTION CONTRIBUTE TO STRESS EXACERBATED PAIN BEHAVIORS IN A RAT MODEL OF OCCLUSIVE TMJD. THE GOALS FOR THIS F31 WILL TEST OUR WORKING HYPOTHESIS ACROSS TWO SPECIFIC AIMS: SPECIFIC AIM 1 WILL DETERMINE WHETHER NEURAL ACTIVITY OF PBN NEURONS RECEIVING SENSORY INPUT FROM THE TMJ CONTRIBUTE TO SEX DIFFERENCES IN STRESS EXACERBATED PAIN BEHAVIORS. SPECIFIC AIM 2 WILL DETERMINE WHETHER PBN MICROGLIA CONTRIBUTE TO SEX DIFFERENCES IN STRESS EXACERBATED PAIN BEHAVIORS IN A RAT MODEL OF OCCLUSIVE TMJD. EXPERIMENTS DESIGNED UNDER THESE AIMS WILL UTILIZE A COMBINATION OF BEHAVIORAL ASSAYS, IMMUNOHISTOCHEMISTRY, CONFOCAL MICROSCOPY, FLOW CYTOMETRY, MULTIPLEX PROTEOME PROFILER ARRAYS, AND GENE SEQUENCING TO TEST THE ROLE OF THE PBN IN STRESS EXACERBATED OROFACIAL PAIN. OUR PRELIMINARY DATA PROVIDE STRONG SUPPORT FOR THE HYPOTHESIS AND OUR RESULTS HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO FILL A MAJOR GAP IN KNOWLEDGE ON THE DELETERIOUS EFFECTS OF STRESS AS A SIGNIFICANT TRIGGER AND RESULT OF TMJD PAIN.

CONFERENCE: RESEARCH RESULTS BY MATHEMATICIANS FROM THE ENHANCING DIVERSITY IN GRADUATE EDUCATION PROGRAM -THIS AWARD SUPPORTS THE PARTICIPATION OF GRADUATE STUDENTS, POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCHERS, AND EARLY-CAREER FACULTY IN THE SPECIAL SESSION TITLED RESEARCH RESULTS BY MATHEMATICIANS FROM THE ENHANCING DIVERSITY IN GRADUATE EDUCATION (EDGE) PROGRAM AT THE 2025 JOINT MATHEMATICS MEETINGS (JMM). THE 2025 JMM WILL BE HELD JANUARY 8-11, 2025 IN SEATTLE, WASHINGTON. THE EDGE PROGRAM WAS FOUNDED IN 1998 TO IMPROVE RETENTION AND COMPLETION RATES FOR WOMEN AND MINORITIES IN GRADUATE PROGRAMS AND INCREASE DIVERSITY IN THE MATHEMATICS COMMUNITY. THE 2025 SESSION WILL SHOWCASE THE RESEARCH OF INDIVIDUALS AFFILIATED WITH THE EDGE PROGRAM. THE SESSION PROVIDES A PLATFORM FOR THOSE IN ALL AREAS OF MATHEMATICS AND STATISTICS TO PRESENT THEIR RESEARCH FINDINGS AND GENERATE IDEAS FOR NEW RESEARCH TECHNIQUES AND DIRECTIONS. OPPORTUNITIES TO STRENGTHEN PARTICIPANTS' NETWORK OF MATHEMATICIANS AND ESTABLISH NEW MENTORING RELATIONSHIPS WITH OTHERS AFFILIATED WITH THE EDGE PROGRAM ARE PROVIDED. THE SESSION BENEFITS THE LARGER MATHEMATICS COMMUNITY BY INCREASING THE VISIBILITY OF WOMEN AND MINORITIES IN MATHEMATICS BY HIGHLIGHTING THEIR RESEARCH WORK, THEREBY CREATING OPPORTUNITIES FOR RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION OF MORE PEOPLE INTO MATHEMATICS. FURTHER INFORMATION CAN BE FOUND HERE: HTTPS://WWW.EDGEFORWOMEN.ORG/EDGE-SESSION-JMM/ THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.- SUBAWARDS ARE NOT PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.

PURPOSE: TO SUPPORT A MIXED-METHODS EVALUATION STUDY OF A DANCE INTERVENTION AIMED AT IMPROVING THE SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL HEALTH OF ADOLESCENTS IN DETENTION.

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: SATC: EDU: A SCALABLE PLATFORM FOR REMOTE HARDWARE SECURITY EDUCATION -HANDS-ON TRAINING HELPS STUDENTS BRIDGE THEORETICAL KNOWLEDGE WITH PRACTICAL APPLICATION IN CYBERSECURITY. WHILE REMOTE PLATFORMS OFFER EXCELLENT OPPORTUNITIES FOR LEARNING SOFTWARE SECURITY, NO COMPARABLE RESOURCES EXIST FOR HARDWARE SECURITY EDUCATION. KEY TOPICS IN HARDWARE SECURITY REQUIRE ACCESS TO PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT BOARDS, CREATING A SIGNIFICANT BARRIER FOR LEARNERS WITHOUT THESE RESOURCES. IN THIS INTERDISCIPLINARY PROJECT, A REMOTE PLATFORM WILL BE DESIGNED TO PROVIDE OPEN ACCESS TO PHYSICAL HARDWARE FOR BEGINNERS TO ADVANCED-LEVEL HARDWARE SECURITY EXPERIMENTS. BY PROVIDING A SCALABLE, ACCESSIBLE, AND INNOVATIVE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCE, THIS TOOL WILL ADVANCE HARDWARE SECURITY EDUCATION, SUPPORT THE DEVELOPMENT OF SKILLED PRACTITIONERS IN THIS FIELD, AND RESPOND TO NATIONAL SECURITY NEEDS. THE REMOTE PLATFORM WILL CONSIST OF AN ARRAY OF HARDWARE SECURITY DEVELOPMENT BOARDS, COMPRISING MICROCONTROLLERS, FIELD PROGRAMMABLE GATE ARRAYS (FPGAS), BUILT-IN POWER SIDE-CHANNEL MEASUREMENT AND FAULT INJECTION HARDWARE. THE SOFTWARE WILL INCLUDE A USER-FRIENDLY FRONT-END BASED ON JUPYTERLAB AND AN OPEN-SOURCE BACKEND FOR C AND FPGA DEVELOPMENT. THE PROJECT WILL ALSO DEVELOP EXTENSIONS FOR COLLECTING IMPORTANT EDUCATIONAL BENCHMARKS AND USAGE STATISTICS, ENABLING THE EVALUATION OF PEDAGOGICAL STRATEGIES FOR REMOTE HARDWARE LABS. STUDENTS WILL DESIGN AND CONDUCT COMPLEX HARDWARE SECURITY EXPERIMENTS ON REMOTE PHYSICAL BOARDS USING PYTHON TO CONTROL THE HARDWARE AND ANALYZE OUTPUTS. BY COMBINING INNOVATIVE HARDWARE TOOLS WITH SCALABLE SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS, THE PLATFORM WILL ENHANCE BOTH THE ACCESSIBILITY AND EFFECTIVENESS OF HARDWARE SECURITY EDUCATION AND FOSTER ADVANCEMENTS WITH TEACHING AND LEARNING IN THE FIELD. THIS PROJECT IS SUPPORTED BY THE SECURE AND TRUSTWORTHY CYBERSPACE (SATC) PROGRAM, WHICH FUNDS PROPOSALS THAT ADDRESS CYBERSECURITY AND PRIVACY, AND IN THIS CASE, CYBERSECURITY EDUCATION. THE SATC PROGRAM ALIGNS WITH THE FEDERAL CYBERSECURITY RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIC PLAN AND THE NATIONAL PRIVACY RESEARCH STRATEGY TO PROTECT AND PRESERVE THE GROWING SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC BENEFITS OF CYBER SYSTEMS WHILE ENSURING SECURITY AND PRIVACY. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.- SUBAWARDS ARE NOT PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.

THIS PROJECT AIMS TO INCREASE AWARENESS AND PROVIDE LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES FOR BOTH STUDENTS AND LOCAL RESIDENTS ON HOW TO CONSERVE WATER AND ENHANCE

PURPOSE: TO SUPPORT SPACE+DANCE+DIGITAL (S+D2), A DANCE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PROJECT CREATING DANCES TO BE ACCESSED THROUGH AUGMENTED REALITY (AR).

GUARD AND MILITARY RESERVISTS' REINTEGRATION AFTER CARING FOR WOUNDED WARRIORS

MBRS PROGRAM AT TEXAS WOMAN'S UNIVERSITY

GRANTS FOR ADAPTIVE SPORTS PROGRAMS FOR DISABLED VETERANS AND DISABLED MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES.

BONE-PROTECTIVE MECHANISM OF BLUEBERRY POLYPHENOLS

THE IMPACT OF D-DELTA-TOCOTRIENOL ON OSTEOCLASTS AND OSTEOBLASTS

FOOD SAFETY RISK ASSESSMENT AND DEVELOPMENT OF EDUCATION PROGRAM FOR EVACUATION SHELTERS OPERATED BY FAITH-BASED ORGANIZATIONS

INTEGRATED STRATEGIES TO REDUCE FOODBORNE ILLNESS AND FOOD ALLERGIC REACTIONS ASSOCIATED WITH INDEPENDENTLY OPERATED RESTAURANTS

RISK ASSESSMENT AND INTERVENTION STRATEGIES FOR THE EMERGING FOOD SAFETY THREAT OF OCHRATOXIN IN THE UNITED STATES

RISK ASSESSMENT AND INTERVENTION STRATEGIES FOR THE EMERGING FOOD SAFETY THREAT OF OCHRATOXIN IN THE UNITED STATES