{"data":[{"id":"10.13023/etd.2026.359","type":"dois","attributes":{"doi":"10.13023/etd.2026.359","identifiers":[],"creators":[{"nameType":"Personal","affiliation":[{"affiliationIdentifier":"https://ror.org/02k3smh20","schemeUri":"https://ror.org","name":"University of Kentucky","affiliationIdentifierScheme":"ROR"}],"givenName":"Sarah Najafzadeh","familyName":"Khoei","name":"Khoei, Sarah Najafzadeh","nameIdentifiers":[]}],"titles":[{"titleType":null,"lang":null,"title":"Essays in Consumer Credit Markets"}],"publisher":"University of Kentucky Libraries","container":{},"publicationYear":2026,"subjects":[{"classificationCode":"5.2","schemeUri":"https://web-archive.oecd.org/2012-06-15/138575-38235147.pdf","subject":"FOS: Economics and business","subjectScheme":"Fields of Science and Technology (FOS)"}],"contributors":[],"dates":[],"language":null,"types":{"schemaOrg":"Thesis","resourceTypeGeneral":"Dissertation","citeproc":"thesis","bibtex":"phdthesis","ris":"THES"},"relatedIdentifiers":[],"relatedItems":[],"sizes":[],"formats":[],"version":null,"rightsList":[],"descriptions":[{"descriptionType":"Abstract","description":"This dissertation studies how technology, market structure, and contract design shape outcomes in consumer credit markets, with a particular focus on auto lending and leasing. In the first chapter, I investigate the performance of automated underwriting systems relative to human underwriters in the auto loan market. While prior studies document the advantages of automated underwriting, I show that its performance deteriorates under conditions of heightened data uncertainty. Exploiting the COVID-19 pandemic as an exogenous shock and using a combination of difference-in-differences and regression discontinuity designs, I find that automated underwriting performs significantly worse than human underwriting during this period, particularly for higher-risk borrowers whose income and employment were more likely to be disrupted. These findings highlight the limitations of algorithmic decision-making in environments that fall outside the scope of historical training data.In the second chapter, I examine how tax subsidies are passed through to consumers in the auto lease market using a novel dataset and a tax policy change in the state of Georgia. I find that auto dealers capture a substantial share of the subsidy, while consumers use about half of their tax savings to upgrade to more expensive vehicles. In contrast to prior work in consumer credit markets, I find no evidence that borrower characteristics, including credit scores and past experience, explain heterogeneity in passthrough. Instead, the results suggest that market structure in the auto lease market is the primary determinant of subsidy incidence.In the third chapter, I study the causal effect of interest rates on ex-post default in the indirect auto loan market. Using lender-specific discontinuities in loan pricing as a source of quasi-exogenous variation, I find that a 100-basis-point increase in interest rates raises the auto loan default rate by 41 basis points. This effect is concentrated among liquidity-constrained borrowers. I find no evidence that the relationship is driven by lower default costs or stronger strategic default motives. The results indicate that borrowers’ ability to pay, rather than their incentive to default, is the main mechanism linking higher interest rates to default.","lang":null},{"descriptionType":"Other","description":"© 2026 Sarah Najafzadeh Khoei","lang":null}],"geoLocations":[],"fundingReferences":[],"url":"https://uknowledge.uky.edu/finance_etds/18/","contentUrl":null,"metadataVersion":0,"schemaVersion":"http://datacite.org/schema/kernel-4","source":"fabricaForm","isActive":true,"state":"findable","reason":null,"viewCount":0,"downloadCount":0,"referenceCount":0,"citationCount":0,"partCount":0,"partOfCount":0,"versionCount":0,"versionOfCount":0,"created":"2026-07-28T14:52:18Z","registered":"2026-07-28T14:52:18Z","published":null,"updated":"2026-07-28T14:52:18Z"},"relationships":{"client":{"data":{"id":"uky.lib","type":"clients"}}}},{"id":"10.13023/etd.2026.352","type":"dois","attributes":{"doi":"10.13023/etd.2026.352","identifiers":[],"creators":[{"nameType":"Personal","affiliation":[{"affiliationIdentifier":"https://ror.org/02k3smh20","schemeUri":"https://ror.org","name":"University of Kentucky","affiliationIdentifierScheme":"ROR"}],"givenName":"Micah","familyName":"Crawford","name":"Crawford, Micah","nameIdentifiers":[]}],"titles":[{"titleType":null,"lang":null,"title":"Unveiling the Shadows"},{"titleType":"Subtitle","lang":null,"title":"An Exploratory Study on Ghostwriting, Gray Markets, and the Ethics of Contract Cheating"}],"publisher":"University of Kentucky Libraries","container":{},"publicationYear":2026,"subjects":[{"classificationCode":"5.3","schemeUri":"https://web-archive.oecd.org/2012-06-15/138575-38235147.pdf","subject":"FOS: Educational sciences","subjectScheme":"Fields of Science and Technology (FOS)"}],"contributors":[],"dates":[],"language":null,"types":{"schemaOrg":"Thesis","resourceTypeGeneral":"Dissertation","citeproc":"thesis","bibtex":"phdthesis","ris":"THES"},"relatedIdentifiers":[],"relatedItems":[],"sizes":[],"formats":[],"version":null,"rightsList":[],"descriptions":[{"descriptionType":"Abstract","description":"Contract cheating has become an increasingly complex challenge for higher education, particularly as digital platforms, global academic labor markets, and generative artificial intelligence reshape the production and detection of academic work. While much of the existing literature examines contract cheating from the perspectives of students, faculty, and institutions, less attention has been given to the individuals who produce ghostwritten academic work. This dissertation addresses that gap by exploring how shadow scholars understand their roles, ethical boundaries, and participation within the academic integrity ecosystem.\n\nUsing an exploratory qualitative design, this study draws on twelve semi-structured narrative interviews with six freelance academic writers who had experience with compensated academic labor, including work that crossed into contract cheating. The study is informed by sociocultural theory, institutional theory, neutralization theory, consequentialist ethics, and scholarship on gray markets and moralized exchange. Data were analyzed through iterative thematic and narrative coding to examine how participants described their work, justified their participation, interpreted student demand, and anticipated the effects of artificial intelligence on academic labor.\n\nFindings indicate that participants did not generally frame their work as simple deviance or moral indifference. Instead, they described ghostwriting as a form of structural adaptation shaped by credential inflation, labor-market instability, product-oriented assessment, institutional inconsistency, and student pressure. Participants also constructed distinct ethical boundaries around authenticity, transparency, authorship, cognitive engagement, and professional responsibility. Across cases, they complicated individualistic explanations of academic misconduct by locating responsibility across students, shadow scholars, institutions, technologies, and broader credentialing systems. Artificial intelligence emerged as a central disruptive force, not because it created academic dishonesty, but because it exposed existing weaknesses in assessment design, authorship norms, and the assumption that polished academic artifacts reliably demonstrate learning.\n\nThe study argues that contract cheating should be understood not only as student misconduct, but as a hidden academic labor market embedded in larger institutional, technological, and economic systems. These findings have implications for academic integrity policy, assessment design, credentialing, AI governance, and institutional accountability in higher education.","lang":null},{"descriptionType":"Other","description":"© 2026 Micah Crawford","lang":null}],"geoLocations":[],"fundingReferences":[],"url":"https://uknowledge.uky.edu/epe_etds/128/","contentUrl":null,"metadataVersion":0,"schemaVersion":"http://datacite.org/schema/kernel-4","source":"fabricaForm","isActive":true,"state":"findable","reason":null,"viewCount":0,"downloadCount":0,"referenceCount":0,"citationCount":0,"partCount":0,"partOfCount":0,"versionCount":0,"versionOfCount":0,"created":"2026-07-28T14:49:19Z","registered":"2026-07-28T14:49:19Z","published":null,"updated":"2026-07-28T14:49:19Z"},"relationships":{"client":{"data":{"id":"uky.lib","type":"clients"}}}},{"id":"10.13023/ktc.rr.2026.22","type":"dois","attributes":{"doi":"10.13023/ktc.rr.2026.22","identifiers":[],"creators":[{"nameType":"Personal","affiliation":[{"affiliationIdentifier":"https://ror.org/02k3smh20","schemeUri":"https://ror.org","name":"University of Kentucky","affiliationIdentifierScheme":"ROR"}],"givenName":"Jeeyen","familyName":"Koo","name":"Koo, Jeeyen","nameIdentifiers":[]},{"nameType":"Personal","affiliation":[{"affiliationIdentifier":"https://ror.org/02k3smh20","schemeUri":"https://ror.org","name":"University of Kentucky","affiliationIdentifierScheme":"ROR"}],"givenName":"Andrew","familyName":"Martin","name":"Martin, Andrew","nameIdentifiers":[]},{"nameType":"Personal","affiliation":[{"affiliationIdentifier":"https://ror.org/02k3smh20","schemeUri":"https://ror.org","name":"University of Kentucky","affiliationIdentifierScheme":"ROR"}],"givenName":"Jennifer","familyName":"Walton","name":"Walton, Jennifer","nameIdentifiers":[]}],"titles":[{"titleType":null,"lang":null,"title":"Kentucky CDL Adjudication Pilot and Compliance Needs Study"}],"publisher":"University of Kentucky Libraries","container":{},"publicationYear":2026,"subjects":[{"classificationCode":"2.1","schemeUri":"https://web-archive.oecd.org/2012-06-15/138575-38235147.pdf","subject":"FOS: Civil engineering","subjectScheme":"Fields of Science and Technology (FOS)"}],"contributors":[],"dates":[],"language":null,"types":{"schemaOrg":"Report","resourceTypeGeneral":"Report","citeproc":"report","bibtex":"misc","ris":"RRPT"},"relatedIdentifiers":[],"relatedItems":[],"sizes":[],"formats":[],"version":null,"rightsList":[],"descriptions":[{"descriptionType":"Abstract","description":"This report examines trends in how Kentucky District Courts have adjudicated charges related to commercial driver’s license (CDL) and commercial motor vehicles (CMVs). Using court data, researchers evaluated historical patterns in charge filing volumes as well as conviction, dismissal, amendment, and diversion rates. Between 2002 and 2024, conviction rates declined and dismissals increased. Convictions peaked in the mid-70% range in the early 2000s, but fell to the mid-50% range by 2024. Speeding and other serious traffic violations — many of which are advanceable offenses — were dismissed or amended at rates that could have substantively affected the integrity of CDL holder driving records. Building on this evaluation, researchers completed an in-depth case study of the Hardin County District Court’s adjudication practices and surveyed local law enforcement agencies about inspection and citation practices, knowledge of state and federal regulations, and the availability and effectiveness of equipment and training. Based on the findings of these analyses, researchers propose several recommendations to strengthen the adjudication process. These include holding annual trainings for local law enforcement focused on state and federal requirements for CDL holders, development of guidance for judges and county attorneys that describes different types of CDL- and CMV-related violations and their impacts on safety, updating the state’s uniform citation form so it more clearly indicates whether an offender holds a CDL, and expanding representation on the state’s CDL Advisory Committee to include local law enforcement officers as well as judges and county attorneys from rural areas.","lang":null}],"geoLocations":[],"fundingReferences":[],"url":"https://uknowledge.uky.edu/ktc_researchreports/1842/","contentUrl":null,"metadataVersion":0,"schemaVersion":"http://datacite.org/schema/kernel-4","source":"fabricaForm","isActive":true,"state":"findable","reason":null,"viewCount":0,"downloadCount":0,"referenceCount":0,"citationCount":0,"partCount":0,"partOfCount":0,"versionCount":0,"versionOfCount":0,"created":"2026-07-28T14:46:33Z","registered":"2026-07-28T14:46:33Z","published":null,"updated":"2026-07-28T14:46:33Z"},"relationships":{"client":{"data":{"id":"uky.lib","type":"clients"}}}},{"id":"10.13023/ktc.rr.2024.19b","type":"dois","attributes":{"doi":"10.13023/ktc.rr.2024.19b","identifiers":[],"creators":[{"nameType":"Personal","affiliation":[{"affiliationIdentifier":"https://ror.org/02k3smh20","schemeUri":"https://ror.org","name":"University of Kentucky","affiliationIdentifierScheme":"ROR"}],"givenName":"Chris","familyName":"Van Dyke","name":"Van Dyke, Chris","nameIdentifiers":[]},{"nameType":"Personal","affiliation":[{"affiliationIdentifier":"https://ror.org/02k3smh20","schemeUri":"https://ror.org","name":"University of Kentucky","affiliationIdentifierScheme":"ROR"}],"givenName":"Bryan","familyName":"Gibson","name":"Gibson, Bryan","nameIdentifiers":[]},{"nameType":"Personal","affiliation":[],"givenName":"Sarah","familyName":"McCormack","name":"McCormack, Sarah","nameIdentifiers":[]},{"nameType":"Personal","affiliation":[{"affiliationIdentifier":"https://ror.org/02k3smh20","schemeUri":"https://ror.org","name":"University of Kentucky","affiliationIdentifierScheme":"ROR"}],"givenName":"Merl","familyName":"Hackbart","name":"Hackbart, Merl","nameIdentifiers":[]},{"nameType":"Personal","affiliation":[{"affiliationIdentifier":"https://ror.org/02k3smh20","schemeUri":"https://ror.org","name":"University of Kentucky","affiliationIdentifierScheme":"ROR"}],"givenName":"Doug","familyName":"Kreis","name":"Kreis, Doug","nameIdentifiers":[]}],"titles":[{"titleType":null,"lang":null,"title":"Best Practices for Recruitment and Retention of Transportation Professionals"}],"publisher":"University of Kentucky Libraries","container":{},"publicationYear":2024,"subjects":[{"classificationCode":"2.1","schemeUri":"https://web-archive.oecd.org/2012-06-15/138575-38235147.pdf","subject":"FOS: Civil engineering","subjectScheme":"Fields of Science and Technology (FOS)"}],"contributors":[],"dates":[],"language":null,"types":{"schemaOrg":"Report","resourceTypeGeneral":"Report","citeproc":"report","bibtex":"misc","ris":"RRPT"},"relatedIdentifiers":[],"relatedItems":[],"sizes":[],"formats":[],"version":null,"rightsList":[],"descriptions":[{"descriptionType":"Abstract","description":"Many public sector agencies, including state departments of transportation (DOTs), have long found recruiting and retaining staff a daunting challenge. Lured by the promise of higher salaries in the private sector, many people are reluctant to sacrifice their long-term earnings potential to pursue public service. And with the quality of fringe benefits (e.g., retirement plans, health insurance) offered by public agencies having declined gradually, it is even more difficult to persuade prospective employees to accept a lower salary. Many studies over the past 15—20 years have looked at methods for solving the problem of recruitment and retention within the context of state DOTs. This study contributes to the burgeoning literature on recruitment and retention best practices by examining what strategies are most appropriate for the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC), an agency coping with long-term reductions in staff at the same time as revenues and project delivery demands have increased. Based on extensive interviews with and surveys of Cabinet staff, this report advances a recruitment and retention playbook that outlines evidenced-based strategies for building a workplace that is appealing to a broad range of prospective employees. Recommendations put forward by the playbook focus on simplifying and shortening the hiring process, improving scheduling flexibility to foster a better work-life balance, proactively working with K-12 schools and post-secondary educational institutions to establish a talent pipeline, strengthening professional development opportunities, and creating a fair and welcoming workplace in which people have the opportunity to fulfill their career goals. Bringing about organizational change can be a fraught process, however, the long-term benefits of KYTC refreshing its approach to employee recruitment and retention will pay significant dividends for the agency and residents of Kentucky.","lang":null}],"geoLocations":[],"fundingReferences":[],"url":"https://uknowledge.uky.edu/ktc_researchreports/1841/","contentUrl":null,"metadataVersion":0,"schemaVersion":"http://datacite.org/schema/kernel-4","source":"fabricaForm","isActive":true,"state":"findable","reason":null,"viewCount":0,"downloadCount":0,"referenceCount":0,"citationCount":0,"partCount":0,"partOfCount":0,"versionCount":0,"versionOfCount":0,"created":"2026-07-28T14:44:21Z","registered":"2026-07-28T14:44:21Z","published":null,"updated":"2026-07-28T14:44:21Z"},"relationships":{"client":{"data":{"id":"uky.lib","type":"clients"}}}},{"id":"10.13023/etd.2026.339","type":"dois","attributes":{"doi":"10.13023/etd.2026.339","identifiers":[],"creators":[{"nameType":"Personal","affiliation":[{"affiliationIdentifier":"https://ror.org/02k3smh20","schemeUri":"https://ror.org","name":"University of Kentucky","affiliationIdentifierScheme":"ROR"}],"givenName":"Maggie","familyName":"Richardson","name":"Richardson, Maggie","nameIdentifiers":[{"nameIdentifierScheme":"ORCID","schemeUri":"https://orcid.org","nameIdentifier":"https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7317-8596"}]}],"titles":[{"titleType":null,"lang":null,"title":"HALLUCINOGEN USE AMONG PARENTS OF CHILDREN IN THE UNITED STATES"},{"titleType":"Subtitle","lang":null,"title":"ASSOCIATIONS WITH MENTAL HEALTH AND SUBSTANCE USE"}],"publisher":"University of Kentucky Libraries","container":{},"publicationYear":2026,"subjects":[{"classificationCode":"5.1","schemeUri":"https://web-archive.oecd.org/2012-06-15/138575-38235147.pdf","subject":"FOS: Psychology","subjectScheme":"Fields of Science and Technology (FOS)"}],"contributors":[],"dates":[],"language":null,"types":{"schemaOrg":"Thesis","resourceTypeGeneral":"Dissertation","citeproc":"thesis","bibtex":"phdthesis","ris":"THES"},"relatedIdentifiers":[],"relatedItems":[],"sizes":[],"formats":[],"version":null,"rightsList":[],"descriptions":[{"descriptionType":"Abstract","description":"Hallucinogen use has reemerged in the United States amid expanding clinical research and shifting social and policy contexts. However, population-based evidence remains limited regarding hallucinogen use among adults living with children and its relationship with mental health impairment severity in caregiving environments. Therefore, this study’s objective was to examine associations between past-year hallucinogen use and past-year mental health impairment among U.S. adults, and to test whether associations differ by parental status and number of children in the household. A secondary aim examined correlates of co-occurring substance use among those reporting hallucinogen use.\n\nData were drawn from the 2023 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH; analytic sample n = 45,115). Survey weights and complex design features were applied to generate nationally representative estimates. Parental status was defined as having at least 1 child under age 18 residing in the household. Mental health impairment severity (none, mild, moderate, serious) reflected past-year psychological distress and functional impairment using an NSDUH composite indicator informed by Kessler-6 and WHODAS measures. Weighted descriptive analyses characterized hallucinogen use prevalence among the sample and across covariates, separated by parental status. Multinomial logistic regression models estimated adjusted associations between hallucinogen use and mental health impairment severity, including interactions for parental status and number of children, and adjusting for key sociodemographic, health, and substance use. Among hallucinogen users, additional models examined parenting and co-occurring substance use.\n\nPast-year hallucinogen use was reported by 3.23% of adults, including 0.85% of adults living with children. Use was concentrated among younger adults and was more common among males, unmarried adults, and those living in large metropolitan areas. In adjusted models, hallucinogen use was associated with higher odds of serious impairment versus none (OR=1.35, 95% CI: 1.01–1.81), but not mild or moderate impairment. Parenting status alone was not associated with impairment severity; however, parents who used hallucinogens had elevated odds of serious impairment compared with nonparents who did not use hallucinogens (OR=1.91, 95% CI: 1.18–3.09). By number of children, the strongest interaction was observed among adults with exactly one child (OR=3.12, 95% CI: 1.74–5.58). Co-occurring licit, cannabis, and other illicit substance use was common among hallucinogen users, and parenting status was not significantly associated with co-use in this subgroup.\n\nIn this nationally representative sample, past-year hallucinogen use was associated with serious (but not mild or moderate) mental health impairment, with stronger associations among adults living with children, particularly those with one child. Co-occurring substance use was prevalent among hallucinogen users. Longitudinal research is needed to clarify the direction of these relationships, contextual factors surrounding use, and potential implications for family functioning and child wellbeing.","lang":null},{"descriptionType":"Other","description":"© 2026 Maggie K. Richardson","lang":null}],"geoLocations":[],"fundingReferences":[],"url":"https://uknowledge.uky.edu/edp_etds/137/","contentUrl":null,"metadataVersion":0,"schemaVersion":"http://datacite.org/schema/kernel-4","source":"fabricaForm","isActive":true,"state":"findable","reason":null,"viewCount":0,"downloadCount":0,"referenceCount":0,"citationCount":0,"partCount":0,"partOfCount":0,"versionCount":0,"versionOfCount":0,"created":"2026-07-28T14:35:01Z","registered":"2026-07-28T14:35:01Z","published":null,"updated":"2026-07-28T14:35:01Z"},"relationships":{"client":{"data":{"id":"uky.lib","type":"clients"}}}},{"id":"10.13023/etd.2026.338","type":"dois","attributes":{"doi":"10.13023/etd.2026.338","identifiers":[],"creators":[{"nameType":"Personal","affiliation":[{"affiliationIdentifier":"https://ror.org/02k3smh20","schemeUri":"https://ror.org","name":"University of Kentucky","affiliationIdentifierScheme":"ROR"}],"givenName":"Zachary","familyName":"Wedding","name":"Wedding, Zachary","nameIdentifiers":[{"nameIdentifierScheme":"ORCID","schemeUri":"https://orcid.org","nameIdentifier":"https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4124-8814"}]}],"titles":[{"titleType":null,"lang":null,"title":"The Development of a Simplified Numerical Modeling for Estimating Groundwater Inflow for Longwall Mines Undermining Aquifers, Abandoned Flooded Seams, and Other Sources of Groundwater"}],"publisher":"University of Kentucky Libraries","container":{},"publicationYear":2026,"subjects":[{"classificationCode":"2.11","schemeUri":"https://web-archive.oecd.org/2012-06-15/138575-38235147.pdf","subject":"FOS: Other engineering and technologies","subjectScheme":"Fields of Science and Technology (FOS)"}],"contributors":[],"dates":[],"language":null,"types":{"schemaOrg":"Thesis","resourceTypeGeneral":"Dissertation","citeproc":"thesis","bibtex":"phdthesis","ris":"THES"},"relatedIdentifiers":[],"relatedItems":[],"sizes":[],"formats":[],"version":null,"rightsList":[],"descriptions":[{"descriptionType":"Abstract","description":"In underground coal mines, water inflow can provide significant operational challenges and safety risks to miners. Full panel excavation mining methods, including longwall mining, create pathways for water to enter the mine. Operators must be able to identify potential former mines that may contain pooled water and assess the hazard to the operation, while regulatory agencies approve the mine operator’s permit to mine under abandoned, flooded mines.\n\nThe hydrogeological and geotechnical impacts of longwall excavation have been characterized through a series of conceptual models. These conceptual models are often paired with empirical equations that estimate the impacts of longwall excavation, as well as the heights of the depressurized zone and the fractured and caved zones. Although groundwater inflow cannot be estimated from conceptual models, these models serve as a basis for understanding groundwater and overburden behavior.\n\nThe research presented in this dissertation aims to develop a simplified numerical modeling methodology for estimating groundwater inflow into longwall mines. This methodology is applied to longwalls undermining aquifers, abandoned flooded seams, and other sources of groundwater. This methodology was applied to a case study from the literature to validate and calibrate the model. A parametric analysis was performed to assess potential inflow under variations in hydrogeologic and mining parameters, including hydraulic conductivity, porosity, interburden distance, and fractured zone height. In addition, a number of numerical models of multiple-seam mining scenarios were formulated. Results show that the groundwater inflow is primarily impacted by the characteristics of the fractured zone or gob. Thus, groundwater inflow mainly depends on the hydraulic conductivity enhancement, while the height of the fractured zone becomes critical when it intersects a water bearing unit in the overburden.","lang":null},{"descriptionType":"Other","description":"© 2026 Zachary Wedding","lang":null}],"geoLocations":[],"fundingReferences":[{"funderIdentifierType":"Other","funderName":"Central Appalachian Educational Research Center","funderIdentifier":null,"awardTitle":"Grant","awardNumber":"6T42OH010278","awardUri":null}],"url":"https://uknowledge.uky.edu/mng_etds/99/","contentUrl":null,"metadataVersion":0,"schemaVersion":"http://datacite.org/schema/kernel-4","source":"fabricaForm","isActive":true,"state":"findable","reason":null,"viewCount":0,"downloadCount":0,"referenceCount":0,"citationCount":0,"partCount":0,"partOfCount":0,"versionCount":0,"versionOfCount":0,"created":"2026-07-28T14:32:41Z","registered":"2026-07-28T14:32:42Z","published":null,"updated":"2026-07-28T14:32:42Z"},"relationships":{"client":{"data":{"id":"uky.lib","type":"clients"}}}},{"id":"10.13023/etd.2026.325","type":"dois","attributes":{"doi":"10.13023/etd.2026.325","identifiers":[],"creators":[{"nameType":"Personal","affiliation":[{"affiliationIdentifier":"https://ror.org/02k3smh20","schemeUri":"https://ror.org","name":"University of Kentucky","affiliationIdentifierScheme":"ROR"}],"givenName":"Hyeeun","familyName":"Shin","name":"Shin, Hyeeun","nameIdentifiers":[{"nameIdentifierScheme":"ORCID","schemeUri":"https://orcid.org","nameIdentifier":"https://orcid.org/0009-0001-5026-4552"}]}],"titles":[{"titleType":null,"lang":null,"title":"Understanding Resilience in Children in Out-of-Home Care"},{"titleType":"Subtitle","lang":null,"title":"Using Person-Centered Health Services Research"}],"publisher":"University of Kentucky Libraries","container":{},"publicationYear":2026,"subjects":[{"classificationCode":"5.1","schemeUri":"https://web-archive.oecd.org/2012-06-15/138575-38235147.pdf","subject":"FOS: Psychology","subjectScheme":"Fields of Science and Technology (FOS)"}],"contributors":[],"dates":[],"language":null,"types":{"schemaOrg":"Thesis","resourceTypeGeneral":"Dissertation","citeproc":"thesis","bibtex":"phdthesis","ris":"THES"},"relatedIdentifiers":[],"relatedItems":[],"sizes":[],"formats":[],"version":null,"rightsList":[],"descriptions":[{"descriptionType":"Abstract","description":"Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), which refer to exposure to traumatic life events before age 18, and instability in caregiving experiences contribute to poor physical, mental, behavioral, and developmental health outcomes for both children and adults. Previous research shows that these experiences can have negative effects both in the short term and throughout a person’s life. However, children’s strengths, which are the internal and external assets that support their development, can help protect against the impact of ACEs. Effective parenting, positive social support, and self-regulation skills are essential factors that build resilience, helping individuals adapt to challenges that may affect their well-being and development. In this study, I used a hierarchy of needs framework, well known in the context of children’s development, to understand the needs of children who have experienced ACEs or have been removed from their families. At the same time, by examining their strengths within the same framework, I emphasized the importance of building resilience to handle adversity and promoting recovery. As children grow and gain experience, their needs and strengths may change, impacting their development.\n\nTherefore, to fully understand children who have experienced ACEs while they are in or are out-of-home care (OHC), I conducted three studies from a strength-based perspective, focusing on children’s assets to promote their resilience rather than their deficits and problems.\n\nStudy 1 identifies the unmet needs of caregivers at the time of child reunification and examines whether these needs are associated with the likelihood and timing of re-entry into OHC within one year. This study examines the association between various caregiver factors and the risk of children re-entering the system. Identifying caregivers’ needs helps prevent re-entry and promote stability by addressing children’s safety and psychological needs.\n\nStudy 2 explores the impact of cumulative ACEs and positive childhood experiences (PCEs) on mood challenges in youth within OHC. It also examines how the impacts of ACEs and PCEs vary across demographic groups. PCEs refer to children’s experiences of safe, stable, and nurturing relationships and environments that address their psychological needs.\n\nStudy 3 examines the role of spiritual/religious strength in influencing the behavioral and emotional health of children who have experienced multiple ACEs. A higher level of spirituality or religiosity is identified as a protective factor associated with resilient functioning, which can help mitigate the long-term mental health impacts of ACEs and support self-fulfillment needs.\n\nThe results of this study offer valuable insights into the role of strengths as children’s assets in recovery from traumatic experiences and into possible interventions that capitalize on children's strengths after adversity. Through the use of real-world populations of children and families currently in the child welfare service delivery system, my results are generalizable to all children in the child welfare system and can be used for designing and/or improving systems of care for them. By supporting caregivers and fostering positive relationship experiences within child welfare systems, interventions can be designed to enhance the social ecologies of children and promote their development.","lang":null},{"descriptionType":"Other","description":"© 2026 Hyeeun K. Shin","lang":null}],"geoLocations":[],"fundingReferences":[],"url":"https://uknowledge.uky.edu/hsr_etds/3/","contentUrl":null,"metadataVersion":0,"schemaVersion":"http://datacite.org/schema/kernel-4","source":"fabricaForm","isActive":true,"state":"findable","reason":null,"viewCount":0,"downloadCount":0,"referenceCount":0,"citationCount":0,"partCount":0,"partOfCount":0,"versionCount":0,"versionOfCount":0,"created":"2026-07-28T14:28:48Z","registered":"2026-07-28T14:28:48Z","published":null,"updated":"2026-07-28T14:28:48Z"},"relationships":{"client":{"data":{"id":"uky.lib","type":"clients"}}}},{"id":"10.13023/etd.2026.354","type":"dois","attributes":{"doi":"10.13023/etd.2026.354","identifiers":[],"creators":[{"nameType":"Personal","affiliation":[{"affiliationIdentifier":"https://ror.org/02k3smh20","schemeUri":"https://ror.org","name":"University of Kentucky","affiliationIdentifierScheme":"ROR"}],"givenName":"Pranto Soumik","familyName":"Saha","name":"Saha, Pranto Soumik","nameIdentifiers":[]}],"titles":[{"titleType":null,"lang":null,"title":"Portable Optical Spectroscopy and Imaging Platforms for Rapid Quantification of Key Vascular and Metabolic Parameters in Orthotopic Tongue Tumor Models"}],"publisher":"University of Kentucky Libraries","container":{},"publicationYear":2026,"subjects":[{"classificationCode":"3.5","schemeUri":"https://web-archive.oecd.org/2012-06-15/138575-38235147.pdf","subject":"FOS: Other medical sciences","subjectScheme":"Fields of Science and Technology (FOS)"}],"contributors":[],"dates":[],"language":null,"types":{"schemaOrg":"Thesis","resourceTypeGeneral":"Dissertation","citeproc":"thesis","bibtex":"phdthesis","ris":"THES"},"relatedIdentifiers":[],"relatedItems":[],"sizes":[],"formats":[],"version":null,"rightsList":[],"descriptions":[{"descriptionType":"Abstract","description":"Radiotherapy remains a primary treatment modality for several cancers, including head and neck cancers (HNC). Its efficacy, however, is frequently constrained by the emergence of radiation resistance in certain tumors. Tumor hypoxia and rapid reoxygenation are recognized as principal contributors to this resistance. Additionally, metabolic reprogramming is a critical factor in radiotherapy failure in HNC. Comprehensive and longitudinal characterization of the interplay between vascular and metabolic factors is therefore essential for improved prediction of treatment outcomes and informed therapeutic decision-making. Current methodologies are limited in their ability to enable rapid and repeated monitoring. For instance, assays such as Seahorse and metabolomics are inherently destructive, precluding repeated measurements on the same sample. Imaging modalities, including PET and MRI, typically assess a limited number of endpoints per session and are often costly, require specialized expertise, and are confined to core facilities, restricting their accessibility for frequent assessments. In contrast, optical spectroscopic and imaging techniques provide a non-destructive and cost-effective means to rapidly quantify multiple metabolic and vascular endpoints simultaneously. This dissertation advances the development of a low-cost, portable, multiparametric microscopy platform (Chapter 2) that integrates dark-field and fluorescence microscopy. The system enables imaging of metabolic parameters, such as glucose uptake and mitochondrial function, using exogenous fluorescent probes, including 2-NBDG and TMRE. A spectral image-processing algorithm was also developed to quantify tissue oxygenation and total hemoglobin content from dark-field-based diffuse reflectance spectral images. The platform's in vivo feasibility was demonstrated in an orthotopic tongue tumor model of HNC (SCC-61). Accurate quantification of vascular and metabolic parameters, however, requires precise measurement of tissue optical properties, as absorption and scattering can distort measured signals. Furthermore, the clinical applicability of exogenous probes (e.g., 2-NBDG and TMRE) is limited by regulatory and safety considerations. To address these challenges, Chapter 3 details the development of a portable diffuse reflectance spectroscopy system to quantify tissue optical properties and vascular parameters in orthotopic HNC (SCC-61) tongue tumor models. This system employs a gold-standard Monte Carlo inversion model for parameter estimation and was used to characterize tumors at various developmental stages, including early and advanced. Chapter 4 introduces a combined diffuse reflectance spectroscopy and autofluorescence spectroscopy platform. Autofluorescence spectroscopy was used to estimate the optical redox ratio, which reflects the balance between glycolytic and mitochondrial metabolism, based on the endogenous coenzymes NADH and FAD. Notably, this method does not require external fluorescent probes. Additionally, robust spectral algorithms were developed to rapidly quantify tissue oxygenation, total hemoglobin content, and the distortion-free optical redox ratio. Finally, a matched HNC model using radiation-sensitive (SCC-61) and radiation-resistant (rSCC-61) cell lines was established in orthotopic tongue tumor models for comparative analysis. Collectively, these optical technologies offer significant potential for longitudinal monitoring of therapeutic response and treatment outcomes in HNC patients.","lang":null},{"descriptionType":"Other","description":"© 2026 Pranto Soumik Saha","lang":null}],"geoLocations":[],"fundingReferences":[{"funderIdentifierType":"Crossref Funder ID","funderName":"National Institutes of Health","funderIdentifier":"https://doi.org/10.13039/100000002","awardTitle":null,"awardNumber":"R01 DE031998","awardUri":null},{"funderIdentifierType":"Other","funderName":"University of Kentucky Startup","funderIdentifier":null,"awardTitle":null,"awardNumber":null,"awardUri":null}],"url":"https://uknowledge.uky.edu/cbme_etds/92/","contentUrl":null,"metadataVersion":0,"schemaVersion":"http://datacite.org/schema/kernel-4","source":"fabricaForm","isActive":true,"state":"findable","reason":null,"viewCount":0,"downloadCount":0,"referenceCount":0,"citationCount":0,"partCount":0,"partOfCount":0,"versionCount":0,"versionOfCount":0,"created":"2026-07-28T14:25:54Z","registered":"2026-07-28T14:25:54Z","published":null,"updated":"2026-07-28T14:25:54Z"},"relationships":{"client":{"data":{"id":"uky.lib","type":"clients"}}}},{"id":"10.5061/dryad.1g1jwsvb3","type":"dois","attributes":{"doi":"10.5061/dryad.1g1jwsvb3","identifiers":[],"creators":[{"nameType":"Personal","affiliation":[{"affiliationIdentifier":"https://ror.org/02k3smh20","schemeUri":"https://ror.org","name":"University of Kentucky","affiliationIdentifierScheme":"ROR"}],"name":"Duncan, Marilyn","nameIdentifiers":[]},{"nameType":"Personal","affiliation":[{"affiliationIdentifier":"https://ror.org/02k3smh20","schemeUri":"https://ror.org","name":"University of Kentucky","affiliationIdentifierScheme":"ROR"}],"name":"Hawkins, Margaret","nameIdentifiers":[]},{"nameType":"Personal","affiliation":[{"affiliationIdentifier":"https://ror.org/02k3smh20","schemeUri":"https://ror.org","name":"University of Kentucky","affiliationIdentifierScheme":"ROR"}],"name":"Bytyqi, Leke","nameIdentifiers":[]},{"nameType":"Personal","affiliation":[{"affiliationIdentifier":"https://ror.org/02k3smh20","schemeUri":"https://ror.org","name":"University of Kentucky","affiliationIdentifierScheme":"ROR"}],"name":"Whitlock, Haleigh","nameIdentifiers":[]},{"nameType":"Personal","affiliation":[{"affiliationIdentifier":"https://ror.org/02k3smh20","schemeUri":"https://ror.org","name":"University of Kentucky","affiliationIdentifierScheme":"ROR"}],"name":"Shepard, Savannah","nameIdentifiers":[]},{"nameType":"Personal","affiliation":[{"affiliationIdentifier":"https://ror.org/02k3smh20","schemeUri":"https://ror.org","name":"University of Kentucky","affiliationIdentifierScheme":"ROR"}],"name":"Cox, MaKayla","nameIdentifiers":[]},{"nameType":"Personal","affiliation":[{"affiliationIdentifier":"https://ror.org/02k3smh20","schemeUri":"https://ror.org","name":"University of Kentucky","affiliationIdentifierScheme":"ROR"}],"name":"Drinkard, Esther","nameIdentifiers":[]},{"nameType":"Personal","affiliation":[{"affiliationIdentifier":"https://ror.org/02k3smh20","schemeUri":"https://ror.org","name":"University of Kentucky","affiliationIdentifierScheme":"ROR"}],"name":"Macheda, Teresa","nameIdentifiers":[]},{"nameType":"Personal","affiliation":[{"affiliationIdentifier":"https://ror.org/02k3smh20","schemeUri":"https://ror.org","name":"University of Kentucky","affiliationIdentifierScheme":"ROR"}],"name":"Roberts, Kelly","nameIdentifiers":[]},{"nameType":"Personal","affiliation":[{"affiliationIdentifier":"https://ror.org/02k3smh20","schemeUri":"https://ror.org","name":"University of Kentucky","affiliationIdentifierScheme":"ROR"}],"name":"Kohler, Katharina","nameIdentifiers":[]},{"nameType":"Personal","affiliation":[{"affiliationIdentifier":"https://ror.org/02k3smh20","schemeUri":"https://ror.org","name":"University of Kentucky","affiliationIdentifierScheme":"ROR"}],"name":"Schmidt, Mary-Claire","nameIdentifiers":[]},{"nameType":"Personal","affiliation":[{"affiliationIdentifier":"https://ror.org/02k3smh20","schemeUri":"https://ror.org","name":"University of Kentucky","affiliationIdentifierScheme":"ROR"}],"name":"Johnson, Carrie","nameIdentifiers":[]},{"nameType":"Personal","affiliation":[{"affiliationIdentifier":"https://ror.org/02k3smh20","schemeUri":"https://ror.org","name":"University of Kentucky","affiliationIdentifierScheme":"ROR"}],"name":"Sunderam, Sridhar","nameIdentifiers":[]},{"nameType":"Personal","affiliation":[{"affiliationIdentifier":"https://ror.org/02k3smh20","schemeUri":"https://ror.org","name":"University of Kentucky","affiliationIdentifierScheme":"ROR"}],"name":"O'Hara, Bruce","nameIdentifiers":[]},{"nameType":"Personal","affiliation":[{"affiliationIdentifier":"https://ror.org/02k3smh20","schemeUri":"https://ror.org","name":"University of Kentucky","affiliationIdentifierScheme":"ROR"}],"name":"Murphy, Michael","nameIdentifiers":[]},{"nameType":"Personal","affiliation":[{"affiliationIdentifier":"https://ror.org/02k3smh20","schemeUri":"https://ror.org","name":"University of Kentucky","affiliationIdentifierScheme":"ROR"}],"name":"Bachstetter, Adam","nameIdentifiers":[{"nameIdentifierScheme":"ORCID","schemeUri":"https://orcid.org","nameIdentifier":"https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4646-6757"}]}],"titles":[{"title":"Data for: Dim light at night impacts circadian rhythms and Alzheimer’s disease-like pathology in APP SAA knock-in mice"}],"publisher":"Dryad","container":{},"publicationYear":2026,"subjects":[{"schemeUri":"https://web-archive.oecd.org/2012-06-15/138575-38235147.pdf","subject":"FOS: Biological sciences","subjectScheme":"fos"},{"schemeUri":"https://github.com/PLOS/plos-thesaurus","subject":"Alzheimer's disease","subjectScheme":"PLOS Subject Area Thesaurus"},{"subject":"Circadian"},{"schemeUri":"https://github.com/PLOS/plos-thesaurus","subject":"Sleep","subjectScheme":"PLOS Subject Area Thesaurus"},{"schemeUri":"https://github.com/PLOS/plos-thesaurus","subject":"Inflammation","subjectScheme":"PLOS Subject Area Thesaurus"},{"schemeUri":"https://github.com/PLOS/plos-thesaurus","subject":"Microglial cells","subjectScheme":"PLOS Subject Area Thesaurus"}],"contributors":[],"dates":[{"date":"2025-10-22T15:30:59Z","dateType":"Created"},{"date":"2026-04-22T12:09:47Z","dateType":"Submitted"},{"date":"2026-07-28T00:00:00Z","dateType":"Issued"},{"date":"2026-07-28T00:00:00Z","dateType":"Available"}],"language":"en","types":{"schemaOrg":"Dataset","resourceTypeGeneral":"Dataset","citeproc":"dataset","bibtex":"misc","ris":"DATA","resourceType":"dataset"},"relatedIdentifiers":[{"relationType":"IsCitedBy","relatedIdentifier":"10.1101/2025.10.02.680043","relatedIdentifierType":"DOI"},{"relationType":"IsCitedBy","relatedIdentifier":"10.1093/sleep/zsag041","relatedIdentifierType":"DOI"}],"relatedItems":[],"sizes":["52638 bytes"],"formats":[],"version":"4","rightsList":[{"rightsIdentifierScheme":"SPDX","rightsUri":"https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/legalcode","schemeUri":"https://spdx.org/licenses/","rights":"Creative Commons Zero v1.0 Universal","rightsIdentifier":"cc0-1.0"}],"descriptions":[{"descriptionType":"Abstract","description":"Dim light at night (dLAN) is increasingly recognized as an environmental\n factor that disrupts circadian rhythms and may contribute to\n neurodegenerative disease risk. We investigated the effects of chronic\n dLAN exposure on circadian activity patterns, amyloid-beta (Abeta)\n pathology, glial reactivity, and neuroinflammation in humanized APP\n knock-in mice carrying either wild-type APP (hAPP WT KI, JAX Stock #033013\n (RRID: IMSR_JAX:033013)) or APP mutations associated with Alzheimer’s\n disease (hAPP SAA KI, JAX Stock #034711 (RRID: IMSR_JAX:034711)). Male and\n female mice, 12–13 months of age, were housed for 8 weeks under either a\n standard 12:12 light-dark cycle or a cycle in which the dark phase was\n replaced with dim light at approximately 5 to 8 lux. Circadian\n rest-activity rhythms were assessed using piezoelectric actigraphy, and\n multiple measures were extracted including amplitude, MESOR, interdaily\n stability, intradaily variability, light and dark phase activity counts,\n and light:dark ratios at baseline and at weeks 2, 4, 6, and 8. Brains were\n evaluated for Abeta pathology by immunohistochemistry (6E10 percent area\n and plaque counts by size) and ELISA (PBS-, detergent-, and formic\n acid–soluble Abeta fractions). Astrocytic and microglial responses were\n quantified using GFAP, CD45, and MHCII staining with cell size\n distributions, and inflammatory cytokines and chemokines (IL-1b, IL-6,\n TNFa, IL-10, IL-17A, CCL2, CCL3, CXCL1, CXCL2, CXCL10) were measured in\n cortex and hippocampus. The dataset contains subject-level data for 39\n animals across four genotype-by-lighting groups and is provided with a\n comprehensive data dictionary. These data allow exploration of the\n interaction between circadian disruption and Alzheimer’s-like\n neuropathology and provide a resource for replication, meta-analysis, and\n integrative studies in circadian biology and neurodegeneration."},{"descriptionType":"TechnicalInfo","description":"# Data for: Dim light at night impacts circadian rhythms and\n Alzheimer's disease-like neuroinflammation and neuropathology in\n humanized APP SAA knock-in mice **Citation** This dataset accompanies the\n manuscript: Duncan MJ, Hawkins MR, Bytyqi L, Whitlock HR, Shepard SM, Cox\n MF, Drinkard EG, Macheda T, Roberts KN, Kohler K, Schmidt MC, Johnson CE,\n Sunderam S, O'Hara BF, Murphy MP, Bachstetter AD. Dim light at night\n impacts circadian rhythms and Alzheimer's disease-like\n neuroinflammation and neuropathology in humanized APP SAA knock-in mice.\n Sleep. 2026 Jun 15;49(6):zsag041. doi: 10.1093/sleep/zsag041. PMID:\n 41717780. A preprint version is available at bioRxiv, DOI:\n 10.1101/2025.10.02.680043. **Author Affiliations** 1. Department of\n Neuroscience, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA 2. Spinal Cord\n and Brain Injury Research Center, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY,\n USA 3. Georgetown College, Georgetown, KY, USA 4. Department of Molecular\n \u0026amp; Cellular Biochemistry, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA 5.\n Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Kentucky, Lexington,\n KY, USA 6. Department of Biology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY,\n USA 7. Sanders-Brown Center on Aging, University of Kentucky, Lexington,\n KY, USA **Overview** This dataset contains source data corresponding to\n results presented in the manuscript. The study investigated the effects of\n dim light at night (dLAN) on circadian rhythms, amyloid-beta (Aβ)\n pathology, glial reactivity, and neuroinflammation in humanized APP\n knock-in mice. **Experimental Design** Species: Mus musculus Strains:\n hAPPWT knock-in, hAPPSAA knock-in Sex: Male and female Age: 12–13 months\n Light conditions: LD = 12:12 light:dark cycle (200 lux light, complete\n darkness at night) dLAN = 12:12 cycle with dim light (~5–8 lux) during the\n dark phase Duration: 8 weeks exposure Groups: hAPPWT-LD, hAPPWT-dLAN,\n hAPPSAA-LD, hAPPSAA-dLAN In the data file, lighting condition is recorded\n in the tx column, where Dark = LD and Dim = dLAN. Genotype is recorded in\n the geno column, where WT = hAPPWT knock-in and SAA = hAPPSAA knock-in.\n **Data Files** 1. `Duncan2025_dLAN_APP-SAA_dataset.csv` * Subject-level\n data for all figures in the manuscript * Includes circadian measures, Aβ\n immunohistochemistry, Aβ ELISA, GFAP, CD45, MHCII, and cytokine/chemokine\n concentrations * 39 animals (rows) by 96 variables (columns) 2.\n `Duncan2025_dLAN_APP-SAA_dataset_DataDictionary.csv` * Detailed data\n dictionary defining each variable, units, permitted values, and notes *\n One row per variable in the data file; variable names match exactly **Key\n Variables** * Column names below are as they appear in the data file.\n Pathology, glial, and inflammatory measures carry a cortex or hippo suffix\n indicating brain region. * Identifiers: exp_id (animal ID), tx (lighting\n condition), sex, geno (genotype), RRID (strain RRID) * Circadian metrics,\n each measured at baseline and weeks 2, 4, 6, and 8 (suffixes baseline,\n wk2, wk4, wk6, wk8): amp* (amplitude), mesor (MESOR), iv (intradaily\n variability), is (interdaily stability), darkcount and lightcount\n (activity counts by phase), ldratio (light:dark ratio) * Amyloid-beta\n pathology: abeta6e10_area_percent\\_ (6E10+ percent area),\n abeta6e10_number_plaques\\_ (plaque counts by size bin),\n abeta_fmol_per_mg_pbs_, abeta_fmol_per_mg_tper_, abeta_fmol_per_mg_fa\\_\n (PBS-, detergent-, and formic acid-soluble Aβ, fmol/mg protein) * Glial\n reactivity: gfap_area_percent_, cd45_area_percent_, cd45_cluster_count_,\n mhcii_area_percent_, mhcii_count\\_ * Inflammatory markers: il1b_, il6_,\n tnf_, il10_, il17a_, il33_, ccl2_, ccl3_, cxcl1_, cxcl2_, cxcl10\\_ **Reuse\n Notes** * All values are reported at the individual-animal level * Sex was\n included in analysis; no significant sex effects observed * Data were\n collected and analyzed blind to group * Group sizes differ slightly due to\n animal availability * In the abeta6e10_number_plaques\\_ columns, 0\n indicates that no plaques were detected. All hAPPWT animals have counts of\n 0, consistent with the absence of amyloid pathology in this genotype.\n **Missing Data** Empty cells have been replaced with \"NA\". NA\n denotes not available: data were not obtained for that animal and measure.\n It does not indicate a value of zero, a value below the limit of\n detection, or a measure that was not applicable to that animal. Seven of\n 39 animals have missing values, distributed across both genotypes, both\n lighting conditions, and both sexes. For six animals, immunohistochemical\n measures (6E10, GFAP, CD45, MHCII) are missing because sections were\n damaged during processing and were excluded from quantification rather\n than analyzed. Because these markers were quantified from separate stained\n section series, missingness is specific to the affected series and does\n not propagate to other markers for the same animal. For one animal, the\n hippocampal Aβ ELISA and hippocampal cytokine/chemokine measures are\n missing because insufficient hippocampal tissue remained for homogenate\n assays. Missing values are unrelated to the magnitude of the measurement\n and were identified before group unblinding. All statistical analyses used\n the available cases for each measure; no values were imputed. Group sizes\n therefore differ modestly among measures, as noted under Reuse Notes.\n Columns containing NA values: cd45_area_percent_cortex,\n cd45_area_percent_hippo, cd45_cluster_count_large_cortex,\n cd45_cluster_count_medium_cortex, cd45_cluster_count_small_cortex,\n cd45_cluster_count_total_cortex, cd45_cluster_count_large_hippo,\n cd45_cluster_count_medium_hippo, cd45_cluster_count_small_hippo,\n cd45_cluster_count_total_hippo, mhcii_area_percent_hippo,\n mhcii_count_large_cortex, mhcii_count_medium_cortex,\n mhcii_count_small_cortex, mhcii_count_large_hippo,\n mhcii_count_medium_hippo, mhcii_count_small_hippo,\n abeta6e10_area_percent_hippo, abeta6e10_number_plaques_large_hippo,\n abeta6e10_number_plaques_medium_hippo,\n abeta6e10_number_plaques_small_hippo, gfap_area_percent_cortex,\n gfap_area_percent_hippo, abeta_fmol_per_mg_pbs_hippo,\n abeta_fmol_per_mg_tper_hippo, abeta_fmol_per_mg_fa_hippo, il10_hippo,\n il1b_hippo, il6_hippo, cxcl1_hippo, tnf_hippo, il33_hippo, cxcl10_hippo,\n ccl2_hippo, ccl3_hippo, cxcl2_hippo, il17a_hippo. **File Formats** CSV\n (.csv) for tabular data and variable mapping"}],"geoLocations":[],"fundingReferences":[{"funderIdentifierType":"ROR","funderName":"National Institute on Aging","funderIdentifier":"https://ror.org/049v75w11","awardTitle":"Sleep Fragmentation and Alzheimer’s 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Ewa","nameIdentifiers":[{"nameIdentifierScheme":"ORCID","nameIdentifier":"0000-0001-5106-503X"}]},{"nameType":"Personal","affiliation":[{"affiliationIdentifier":"https://ror.org/00rs6vg23","name":"The Ohio State University","affiliationIdentifierScheme":"ROR"}],"givenName":"Amy","familyName":"Connolly","name":"Connolly, Amy","nameIdentifiers":[{"nameIdentifierScheme":"ORCID","nameIdentifier":"0000-0003-0049-5448"}]},{"nameType":"Personal","affiliation":[{"name":"Temple Universtiy"}],"givenName":"Huanmei","familyName":"Wu","name":"Wu, Huanmei","nameIdentifiers":[{"nameIdentifierScheme":"ORCID","nameIdentifier":"0000-0003-0346-6044"}]},{"nameType":"Personal","affiliation":[{"affiliationIdentifier":"https://ror.org/03tzaeb71","name":"University of Hawaii System","affiliationIdentifierScheme":"ROR"}],"givenName":"Sean","familyName":"Cleveland","name":"Cleveland, 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Attribution 4.0 International","rightsIdentifier":"cc-by-4.0"}],"descriptions":[{"descriptionType":"Abstract","description":"Advancements in Artificial Intelligence (AI) continue to propel arevolution in academic research computing. As academics turn toAI to make fundamental strides in their research, they refine andexpand existing techniques to create new models and algorithms, AI-ready datasets, AI-relevant cyberinfrastructure, and more. However,with AI techniques and computing resources evolving rapidly, bothacademia and industry must ensure that a trained workforce ofcapable researchers is poised to make continued advancements inthe AI sphere.\n\nThe NSF Center of Excellence for Science Gateways (SGX3) con-vened an initiative called the AI Blueprint Factory to ascertain theAI needs of research communities that use national-scale computinginfrastructure, and to make 5 to 10 year forecasts of needed fea-tures and resources. Its study team interviewed researchers acrossdisciplines and seniority levels to determine perceived needs, op-portunities, and gaps in AI research support. With this study, SGX3seeks to identify the evolving scientific needs for AI capabilities,in order to foster the utilization of AI techniques in domain sci-ence research. In this paper, we describe the study’s conclusions,including concerns and recommendations, relating to workforcedevelopment for AI in scientific research."}],"geoLocations":[],"fundingReferences":[{"funderIdentifierType":"Crossref Funder ID","funderName":"U.S. National Science Foundation","funderIdentifier":"10.13039/100000001","awardTitle":"CI CoE: SGX3 - A Center of Excellence to Extend Access, Expand the Community, and Exemplify Good Practices for CI Through Science Gateways","awardNumber":"2231406"}],"url":"https://zenodo.org/doi/10.5281/zenodo.21538241","contentUrl":null,"metadataVersion":0,"schemaVersion":"http://datacite.org/schema/kernel-4","source":"api","isActive":true,"state":"findable","reason":null,"viewCount":0,"downloadCount":0,"referenceCount":1,"citationCount":0,"partCount":0,"partOfCount":0,"versionCount":0,"versionOfCount":1,"created":"2026-07-24T19:02:18Z","registered":"2026-07-24T19:02:18Z","published":null,"updated":"2026-07-24T19:02:18Z"},"relationships":{"client":{"data":{"id":"cern.zenodo","type":"clients"}}}},{"id":"10.5281/zenodo.21538240","type":"dois","attributes":{"doi":"10.5281/zenodo.21538240","identifiers":[],"creators":[{"nameType":"Personal","affiliation":[{"affiliationIdentifier":"https://ror.org/0168r3w48","name":"University of California, San Diego","affiliationIdentifierScheme":"ROR"}],"givenName":"Jeanette","familyName":"Sperhac","name":"Sperhac, Jeanette","nameIdentifiers":[{"nameIdentifierScheme":"ORCID","nameIdentifier":"0000-0003-0436-9318"}]},{"nameType":"Personal","affiliation":[{"affiliationIdentifier":"https://ror.org/0168r3w48","name":"University of California, San Diego","affiliationIdentifierScheme":"ROR"}],"givenName":"Sandra","familyName":"Gesing","name":"Gesing, Sandra","nameIdentifiers":[{"nameIdentifierScheme":"ORCID","nameIdentifier":"0000-0002-6051-0673"}]},{"nameType":"Personal","affiliation":[{"affiliationIdentifier":"https://ror.org/02k3smh20","name":"University of Kentucky","affiliationIdentifierScheme":"ROR"}],"givenName":"Robert","familyName":"Quick","name":"Quick, Robert","nameIdentifiers":[]},{"nameType":"Personal","givenName":"Joe","familyName":"Stubbs","name":"Stubbs, Joe","nameIdentifiers":[{"nameIdentifierScheme":"ORCID","nameIdentifier":"0000-0002-8644-0300"}],"affiliation":[]},{"nameType":"Personal","affiliation":[{"affiliationIdentifier":"https://ror.org/00hj54h04","name":"The University of Texas at Austin","affiliationIdentifierScheme":"ROR"}],"givenName":"Christian","familyName":"Garcia","name":"Garcia, Christian","nameIdentifiers":[]},{"nameType":"Personal","affiliation":[{"affiliationIdentifier":"https://ror.org/03m2x1q45","name":"University of Arizona","affiliationIdentifierScheme":"ROR"}],"givenName":"Chi-kwan","familyName":"Chan","name":"Chan, Chi-kwan","nameIdentifiers":[{"nameIdentifierScheme":"ORCID","nameIdentifier":"0000-0001-6337-6126"}]},{"nameType":"Personal","affiliation":[{"name":"University of Southern California"}],"givenName":"Ewa","familyName":"Deelman","name":"Deelman, Ewa","nameIdentifiers":[{"nameIdentifierScheme":"ORCID","nameIdentifier":"0000-0001-5106-503X"}]},{"nameType":"Personal","affiliation":[{"affiliationIdentifier":"https://ror.org/00rs6vg23","name":"The Ohio State University","affiliationIdentifierScheme":"ROR"}],"givenName":"Amy","familyName":"Connolly","name":"Connolly, Amy","nameIdentifiers":[{"nameIdentifierScheme":"ORCID","nameIdentifier":"0000-0003-0049-5448"}]},{"nameType":"Personal","affiliation":[{"name":"Temple Universtiy"}],"givenName":"Huanmei","familyName":"Wu","name":"Wu, Huanmei","nameIdentifiers":[{"nameIdentifierScheme":"ORCID","nameIdentifier":"0000-0003-0346-6044"}]},{"nameType":"Personal","affiliation":[{"affiliationIdentifier":"https://ror.org/03tzaeb71","name":"University of Hawaii System","affiliationIdentifierScheme":"ROR"}],"givenName":"Sean","familyName":"Cleveland","name":"Cleveland, Sean","nameIdentifiers":[{"nameIdentifierScheme":"ORCID","nameIdentifier":"0000-0002-7130-3434"}]},{"nameType":"Personal","givenName":"Roderick","familyName":"Tabalba","name":"Tabalba, Roderick","nameIdentifiers":[{"nameIdentifierScheme":"ORCID","nameIdentifier":"0000-0002-6175-0353"}],"affiliation":[]}],"titles":[{"title":"Considering Workforce Development for AI in Scientific Research"}],"publisher":"Zenodo","container":{},"publicationYear":2026,"subjects":[],"contributors":[],"dates":[{"date":"2026-07-28","dateType":"Issued"}],"language":null,"types":{"schemaOrg":"ScholarlyArticle","resourceTypeGeneral":"Text","citeproc":"article-journal","bibtex":"article","ris":"RPRT","resourceType":"Presentation"},"relatedIdentifiers":[{"relationType":"References","resourceTypeGeneral":"Report","relatedIdentifier":"10.5281/zenodo.19892854","relatedIdentifierType":"DOI"},{"relationType":"References","resourceTypeGeneral":"Text","relatedIdentifier":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4dItF7U6g-U","relatedIdentifierType":"URL"},{"relationType":"IsVersionOf","relatedIdentifier":"10.5281/zenodo.21538240","relatedIdentifierType":"DOI"}],"relatedItems":[],"sizes":[],"formats":[],"version":null,"rightsList":[{"rightsIdentifierScheme":"SPDX","rightsUri":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode","schemeUri":"https://spdx.org/licenses/","rights":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International","rightsIdentifier":"cc-by-4.0"}],"descriptions":[{"descriptionType":"Abstract","description":"Advancements in Artificial Intelligence (AI) continue to propel arevolution in academic research computing. As academics turn toAI to make fundamental strides in their research, they refine andexpand existing techniques to create new models and algorithms, AI-ready datasets, AI-relevant cyberinfrastructure, and more. However,with AI techniques and computing resources evolving rapidly, bothacademia and industry must ensure that a trained workforce ofcapable researchers is poised to make continued advancements inthe AI sphere.\n\nThe NSF Center of Excellence for Science Gateways (SGX3) con-vened an initiative called the AI Blueprint Factory to ascertain theAI needs of research communities that use national-scale computinginfrastructure, and to make 5 to 10 year forecasts of needed fea-tures and resources. Its study team interviewed researchers acrossdisciplines and seniority levels to determine perceived needs, op-portunities, and gaps in AI research support. With this study, SGX3seeks to identify the evolving scientific needs for AI capabilities,in order to foster the utilization of AI techniques in domain sci-ence research. In this paper, we describe the study’s conclusions,including concerns and recommendations, relating to workforcedevelopment for AI in scientific research."}],"geoLocations":[],"fundingReferences":[{"funderIdentifierType":"Crossref Funder ID","funderName":"U.S. National Science Foundation","funderIdentifier":"10.13039/100000001","awardTitle":"CI CoE: SGX3 - A Center of Excellence to Extend Access, Expand the Community, and Exemplify Good Practices for CI Through Science Gateways","awardNumber":"2231406"}],"url":"https://zenodo.org/doi/10.5281/zenodo.21538240","contentUrl":null,"metadataVersion":0,"schemaVersion":"http://datacite.org/schema/kernel-4","source":"api","isActive":true,"state":"findable","reason":null,"viewCount":0,"downloadCount":0,"referenceCount":1,"citationCount":0,"partCount":0,"partOfCount":0,"versionCount":2,"versionOfCount":1,"created":"2026-07-24T19:02:18Z","registered":"2026-07-24T19:02:18Z","published":null,"updated":"2026-07-24T19:02:18Z"},"relationships":{"client":{"data":{"id":"cern.zenodo","type":"clients"}}}},{"id":"10.13023/etd.2026.349","type":"dois","attributes":{"doi":"10.13023/etd.2026.349","identifiers":[],"creators":[{"nameType":"Personal","affiliation":[{"affiliationIdentifier":"https://ror.org/02k3smh20","schemeUri":"https://ror.org","name":"University of Kentucky","affiliationIdentifierScheme":"ROR"}],"givenName":"Alex","familyName":"Pettey","name":"Pettey, Alex","nameIdentifiers":[{"nameIdentifierScheme":"ORCID","schemeUri":"https://orcid.org","nameIdentifier":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6433-2464"}]}],"titles":[{"titleType":null,"lang":null,"title":"A Tale of Two Serpins"},{"titleType":"Subtitle","lang":null,"title":"Pathologic and Protective Roles of AGT and PAI-1 in Metabolic and Cardiovascular Disease"}],"publisher":"University of Kentucky Libraries","container":{},"publicationYear":2026,"subjects":[{"classificationCode":"3.5","schemeUri":"https://web-archive.oecd.org/2012-06-15/138575-38235147.pdf","subject":"FOS: Other medical sciences","subjectScheme":"Fields of Science and Technology (FOS)"}],"contributors":[],"dates":[],"language":null,"types":{"schemaOrg":"Thesis","resourceTypeGeneral":"Dissertation","citeproc":"thesis","bibtex":"phdthesis","ris":"THES"},"relatedIdentifiers":[],"relatedItems":[],"sizes":[],"formats":[],"version":null,"rightsList":[],"descriptions":[{"descriptionType":"Abstract","description":"Metabolic and cardiovascular diseases are leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Conditions such as metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), aortic aneurysm, and cardiac fibrosis have limited pharmacological therapies, underscoring the need for deeper mechanistic investigations. Serine protease inhibitors (serpins) have been implicated in these pathologies and represent potential therapeutic targets. Despite structural homology, serpins regulate diverse physiological processes through both protease inhibition and non-inhibitory mechanisms. This dissertation examines the roles of two serpins, angiotensinogen (AGT) and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1), in preclinical models of metabolic and cardiovascular disease to identify novel mechanisms that may inform future therapeutic strategies. AGT, a non-inhibitory serpin, is the unique substrate of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS). While hepatocyte-specific AGT deficiency prevents diet-induced liver steatosis, this protection is not recapitulated by inhibition of canonical RAS signaling. Conversely, presence of des(AngI)AGT, which lacks the substrate for angiotensin peptide production, restored steatosis in hepatocyte-specific AGT-deficient mice, suggesting a RAS-independent role for AGT. To identify the underlying mechanisms, integrated transcriptomic analyses were performed in a mouse model of diet-induced steatosis. This approach revealed that hepatic AGT deficiency downregulates key genes related to cell division at the initiation phase of liver steatosis, providing a novel mechanistic link between AGT and MASLD. PAI-1 is the primary inhibitor of plasminogen activation, regulating fibrinolysis and extracellular matrix degradation. While PAI-1 deficiency often protects against organ fibrosis in experimental models, PAI-1 deficient mice and humans develop spontaneous cardiac fibrosis. Furthermore, PAI-1 is markedly elevated prior to the development of ascending thoracic aortic aneurysm (ATAA), yet its functional role remains unclear. This dissertation found that PAI-1 deficiency did not alter angiotensin II (AngII)-induced ATAA, but, consistent with prior reports, augmented cardiac fibrosis. Temporal and spatial characterization revealed that cardiac hemorrhage and cardiomyocyte injury preceded fibrosis in PAI-1 deficient mice. These findings were reproduced by infusion of a pressor dose of norepinephrine, suggesting that mechanical stress, rather than hormonal signaling, initiates the pathology. Finally, mice harboring loss-of-function point mutations demonstrated that the plasmin-inhibitory domain of PAI-1 is essential for preventing hemorrhage and fibrosis under hemodynamic stress. Collectively, this dissertation demonstrates that AGT and PAI-1 occupy distinct pathological niches. While hepatic AGT deficiency suppressed cell division-associated genes at the initiation of steatosis, PAI-1 deficiency promoted hypertension-induced cardiac injury through its plasmin-inhibitory function. These findings advance our understanding of serpin biology and highlight context-dependent therapeutic implications for targeting AGT and PAI-1 in metabolic and cardiovascular diseases.","lang":null},{"descriptionType":"Other","description":"© 2026 Alex C. Pettey","lang":null}],"geoLocations":[],"fundingReferences":[{"funderIdentifierType":"Crossref Funder ID","funderName":"National Institutes of Health","funderIdentifier":"https://doi.org/10.13039/100000002","awardTitle":null,"awardNumber":"R01HL139748","awardUri":null},{"funderIdentifierType":"Crossref Funder ID","funderName":"National Institutes of Health","funderIdentifier":"https://doi.org/10.13039/100000002","awardTitle":null,"awardNumber":"R35HL155649","awardUri":null},{"funderIdentifierType":"Crossref Funder ID","funderName":"National Institutes of Health","funderIdentifier":"https://doi.org/10.13039/100000002","awardTitle":null,"awardNumber":"TL1TR001997","awardUri":null},{"funderIdentifierType":"Crossref Funder ID","funderName":"American Heart Association","funderIdentifier":"https://doi.org/10.13039/100000968","awardTitle":"MERIT award","awardNumber":"23MERIT1036341","awardUri":null}],"url":"https://uknowledge.uky.edu/physiology_etds/79/","contentUrl":null,"metadataVersion":0,"schemaVersion":"http://datacite.org/schema/kernel-4","source":"fabricaForm","isActive":true,"state":"findable","reason":null,"viewCount":0,"downloadCount":0,"referenceCount":0,"citationCount":0,"partCount":0,"partOfCount":0,"versionCount":0,"versionOfCount":0,"created":"2026-07-24T14:44:11Z","registered":"2026-07-24T14:44:11Z","published":null,"updated":"2026-07-24T14:44:11Z"},"relationships":{"client":{"data":{"id":"uky.lib","type":"clients"}}}},{"id":"10.13023/etd.2026.345","type":"dois","attributes":{"doi":"10.13023/etd.2026.345","identifiers":[],"creators":[{"nameType":"Personal","affiliation":[{"affiliationIdentifier":"https://ror.org/02k3smh20","schemeUri":"https://ror.org","name":"University of Kentucky","affiliationIdentifierScheme":"ROR"}],"givenName":"Kristen","familyName":"Buford","name":"Buford, Kristen","nameIdentifiers":[{"nameIdentifierScheme":"ORCID","schemeUri":"https://orcid.org","nameIdentifier":"https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0608-9539"}]}],"titles":[{"titleType":null,"lang":null,"title":"A MIXED METHOD INVESTIGATION ON THE EFFECTS OF INFORMATION AND MOTIVATION ON SELF-REGULATION SKILLS AND FRUIT AND VEGETABLE CONSUMPTION"}],"publisher":"University of Kentucky Libraries","container":{},"publicationYear":2026,"subjects":[{"classificationCode":"5.1","schemeUri":"https://web-archive.oecd.org/2012-06-15/138575-38235147.pdf","subject":"FOS: Psychology","subjectScheme":"Fields of Science and Technology (FOS)"}],"contributors":[],"dates":[],"language":null,"types":{"schemaOrg":"Thesis","resourceTypeGeneral":"Dissertation","citeproc":"thesis","bibtex":"phdthesis","ris":"THES"},"relatedIdentifiers":[],"relatedItems":[],"sizes":[],"formats":[],"version":null,"rightsList":[],"descriptions":[{"descriptionType":"Abstract","description":"Introduction: The purpose of this research study is to understand the interplay between health information and health motivation on eating behaviors in African American emerging adults. Greater knowledge of nutrition is linked to healthier eating outcomes, but the motivations that individuals possess about their ability to improve their health also play a pivotal role. However, the joint effect of such constructs (i.e., information and motivation) on eating behaviors is unknown. Emerging adults are still developing their capacities to exercise their health autonomy, and this developmental period represents an opportunity to intervene before the onset of age-related chronic diseases in middle adulthood. In addition, given widening racial gaps in health outcomes in the United States (National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion [NCCDPHP],2022), it is critical to examine the factors contributing to eating behaviors in the African American community which suffers disproportionate levels of obesity-related diseases (Braveman, 2010).\n\nMethods: This study utilized a three-aim mixed-methods approach to enhance self-regulation skills and fruit and vegetable consumption among African American emerging adults. Aim 1 used qualitative thematic analysis to identify cognitive and psychological factors influencing fruit and vegetable consumption. Aim 2 drew on these findings to develop culturally and developmentally sensitive video interventions and used thematic analysis to examine participant feedback on intervention storyboards prior to video production. Aim 3 employed an experimental design to examine the causal impact of different video interventions (information-only, motivation-only, combined, and control) across three time points (baseline, one week post-intervention, and six weeks post-intervention) on self-regulation skills and fruit and vegetable consumption.\n\nResults: Aim 1 thematic analysis revealed several factors influencing fruit and vegetable consumption. Participants emphasized convenience as a primary concern due to college-related demands. More broadly, increased autonomy was associated with greater responsibility for food-related tasks (e.g., grocery shopping, cooking, and meal preparation), and the effort required for these activities was perceived as a barrier to consumption. Participants also demonstrated a gap in nutrition knowledge, particularly regarding recommended fruit and vegetable intake for optimal health. From a motivational perspective, intrinsic value and effort cost emerged as key factors underlying participants’ lack of engagement in fruit and vegetable consumption. Self-regulation of dietary behaviors was influenced by mood, emotional state, the college food environment, and childhood eating patterns. Aim 2 outlined the structured development of the intervention, including mapping Aim 1 themes and typical eating patterns onto preproduction materials (e. g., scripts and storyboards), standardizing video components to isolate manipulated variables, obtaining participant feedback, revising materials, and completing video production (filming, recording, narration, and assembly). Aim 3 results indicated that the intervention did not meaningfully impact most of the targeted information and motivation constructs, including dietary quality knowledge of vegetables, intrinsic value, and effort cost. The only notable change was an improvement in dietary knowledge of fruit, particularly among participants in the motivation condition compared to baseline. Further, the intervention did not meaningfully influence self-regulation or fruit and vegetable consumption, and there was no evidence that changes differed by condition over time. However, vegetable consumption increased over time across participants, regardless of condition.\n\nDiscussion: The present study contributes to the literature on self-regulation, dietary behavior, and intervention development. Consistent with prior research, participants reported consuming fewer than the recommended servings of fruits and vegetables (approximately 1–2 servings total) among emerging adults. Also, in line with existing literature, intrinsic value, effort cost, and accessibility emerged as key factors influencing fruit and vegetable consumption. Building on this foundation, the study extends the Information–Motivation–Behavioral Skills (IMB) model by highlighting the role of motivational constructs, particularly effort cost and intrinsic value, as key drivers of behavior, drawing on principles from Situated Expectancy-Value Theory within a health context. Additionally, the findings emphasize that broader environmental, structural, and contextual influences (e.g., food environments, stress, childhood habits, and accessibility) shape dietary patterns. The results further underscore that self-regulation is a dynamic process influenced by the interaction of internal states and external conditions, making it difficult to modify through brief, low-intensity interventions. Collectively, these findings offer a more comprehensive and contextually grounded framework for designing effective interventions to improve self-regulation and fruit and vegetable consumption. Additionally, while my original hypotheses were not supported, the results suggest that short, low-dose interventions may be insufficient to influence both underlying mechanisms and behavioral outcomes. This highlights the need for greater intervention dosage, repetition, and multi-component designs. Finally, this work provides a more nuanced, strengths-based understanding of African American emerging adults by acknowledging both the structural constraints they face and the assets they bring. Using an interdisciplinary lens, these findings inform the development of future culturally and developmentally sensitive interventions aimed at enhancing self-regulation and fruit and vegetable consumption.","lang":null},{"descriptionType":"Other","description":"© 2026 Kristen Buford","lang":null}],"geoLocations":[],"fundingReferences":[{"funderIdentifierType":"Crossref Funder ID","funderName":"University of Kentucky","funderIdentifier":"https://doi.org/10.13039/100007472","awardTitle":"Graduate Student Research Funds","awardNumber":null,"awardUri":null}],"url":"https://uknowledge.uky.edu/psychology_etds/308/","contentUrl":null,"metadataVersion":0,"schemaVersion":"http://datacite.org/schema/kernel-4","source":"fabricaForm","isActive":true,"state":"findable","reason":null,"viewCount":0,"downloadCount":0,"referenceCount":0,"citationCount":0,"partCount":0,"partOfCount":0,"versionCount":0,"versionOfCount":0,"created":"2026-07-24T14:38:31Z","registered":"2026-07-24T14:38:31Z","published":null,"updated":"2026-07-24T14:38:31Z"},"relationships":{"client":{"data":{"id":"uky.lib","type":"clients"}}}},{"id":"10.13023/etd.2026.351","type":"dois","attributes":{"doi":"10.13023/etd.2026.351","identifiers":[],"creators":[{"nameType":"Personal","affiliation":[{"affiliationIdentifier":"https://ror.org/02k3smh20","schemeUri":"https://ror.org","name":"University of Kentucky","affiliationIdentifierScheme":"ROR"}],"givenName":"Oluwatobi","familyName":"Ogunsola","name":"Ogunsola, Oluwatobi","nameIdentifiers":[{"nameIdentifierScheme":"ORCID","schemeUri":"https://orcid.org","nameIdentifier":"https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8924-1705"}]}],"titles":[{"titleType":null,"lang":null,"title":"WET AGING AND INTERNAL ENDPOINT COOKING TEMPERATURE INFLUENCE COLOR OF LAMB LONGISSIMUS LUMBORUM MUSCLE"}],"publisher":"University of Kentucky Libraries","container":{},"publicationYear":2026,"subjects":[{"classificationCode":"4.2","schemeUri":"https://web-archive.oecd.org/2012-06-15/138575-38235147.pdf","subject":"FOS: Animal and dairy science","subjectScheme":"Fields of Science and Technology (FOS)"}],"contributors":[],"dates":[],"language":null,"types":{"schemaOrg":"ScholarlyArticle","resourceTypeGeneral":"Text","citeproc":"article-journal","bibtex":"article","ris":"RPRT","resourceType":"Master's Thesis"},"relatedIdentifiers":[],"relatedItems":[],"sizes":[],"formats":[],"version":null,"rightsList":[],"descriptions":[{"descriptionType":"Abstract","description":"Color is a critical quality attribute that influences consumer purchase decisions for fresh and cooked lamb and is governed by myoglobin's redox chemistry. Wet aging is commonly used to enhance lamb tenderness, while endpoint cooking temperature is the primary determinant of internal cooked color. However, the combined effects of these factors on the color stability of the lamb longissimus lumborum (LL) muscle during refrigerated storage remain unclear. The objective of this thesis was to evaluate the effect of wet aging duration on the color attributes and lipid oxidation of fresh lamb LL chops and endpoint cooking temperature and refrigerated storage on the internal cooked color and myoglobin (Mb) concentration of lamb LL chops. In the first experiment, the influence of wet aging duration on the color attributes and lipid oxidation of lamb LL muscle was evaluated during refrigerated storage. LL muscles were excised 24 h postmortem from both sides of twelve (n = 12) Polypay ram lamb carcasses. The LL muscles were divided into two equal-length sections, vacuum packaged, and randomly assigned to wet aging for 0 (A0), 10 (A10), 20 (A20), or 30 (A30) days at 2 °C. Following aging, muscle sections were fabricated into 2.5-cm-thick chops, overwrapped with oxygen-permeable polyvinyl chloride (PVC) film, and stored under refrigeration (2 °C) for 0, 3, 6, or 9 days. Myoglobin concentration, pH, instrumental color, color stability (R630/580), and lipid oxidation (TBARS) were analyzed. Non-aged chops (A0) exhibited greater (P \u003c 0.05) myoglobin concentration on day 0 than aged chops. Myoglobin concentration decreased (P \u003c 0.05) during storage in A0 and A10, increased (P \u003c 0.05) in A20, and remained stable (P \u003e 0.05) in A30. Chops aged for 10 days exhibited greater (P \u003c 0.05) redness (a* value) and R630/580 than A0 and longer-aged treatments at multiple storage times, although R630/580 decreased (P \u003c 0.05) across all treatments during storage. Lipid oxidation increased with aging, and A30 exhibited greater (P \u003c 0.05) TBARS values throughout storage. These findings suggest that 10 days of wet aging may optimize surface redness and color stability of lamb LL chops. In the second experiment, LL muscles were excised 24 h postmortem from both sides of eight (n = 8) Polypay ram lamb carcasses, vacuum-packaged, and wet-aged for 10 days at 2 °C. After aging, muscles were fabricated into 2.5-cm-thick chops and randomly assigned to refrigerated storage (2 °C) for 0, 3, 6, or 9 days. On each day of storage, chops were cooked to internal endpoint temperatures of 54 °C (C54), 63 °C (C63), or 72 °C (C72). Cooked samples were cooled, sectioned parallel to the cooking surface, and evaluated for instrumental color, color stability (R630/580), and Mb concentration. Endpoint cooking temperature and storage duration influenced (P \u003c 0.05) Mb concentration, L*, a*, b*, and R630/580. There was a progressive decrease in Mb concentration, a*, b*, and R630/580 with increasing endpoint cooking temperature, whereas C63 exhibited greater L* than C54 and C72. Storage affected color parameters, decreasing (P \u003c 0.05) a* and R630/580 from day 3 of storage. Myoglobin concentration and b* remained overall steady over 9 days of storage. These findings suggest that endpoint cooking temperature is the primary determinant of internal cooked color and myoglobin concentration of lamb LL chops, whereas refrigerated storage exerted a more limited influence.","lang":null},{"descriptionType":"Other","description":"© 2026 Oluwatobi M. Ogunsola","lang":null}],"geoLocations":[],"fundingReferences":[{"funderIdentifierType":"Crossref Funder ID","funderName":"Agricultural Research Service","funderIdentifier":"https://doi.org/10.13039/100007917","awardTitle":"National Program 101, Food Animal Production, ARS Project","awardNumber":"5042 32630-003-00D","awardUri":null}],"url":"https://uknowledge.uky.edu/animalsci_etds/158/","contentUrl":null,"metadataVersion":0,"schemaVersion":"http://datacite.org/schema/kernel-4","source":"fabricaForm","isActive":true,"state":"findable","reason":null,"viewCount":0,"downloadCount":0,"referenceCount":0,"citationCount":0,"partCount":0,"partOfCount":0,"versionCount":0,"versionOfCount":0,"created":"2026-07-24T14:33:01Z","registered":"2026-07-24T14:33:02Z","published":null,"updated":"2026-07-24T14:33:02Z"},"relationships":{"client":{"data":{"id":"uky.lib","type":"clients"}}}},{"id":"10.13023/etd.2026.348","type":"dois","attributes":{"doi":"10.13023/etd.2026.348","identifiers":[],"creators":[{"nameType":"Personal","affiliation":[{"affiliationIdentifier":"https://ror.org/02k3smh20","schemeUri":"https://ror.org","name":"University of Kentucky","affiliationIdentifierScheme":"ROR"}],"givenName":"Seth","familyName":"Thompson","name":"Thompson, Seth","nameIdentifiers":[{"nameIdentifierScheme":"ORCID","schemeUri":"https://orcid.org","nameIdentifier":"https://orcid.org/0009-0000-8343-6667"}]}],"titles":[{"titleType":null,"lang":null,"title":"IDENTIFICATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF TORNADO SEISMIC SIGNALS IN THE CENTRAL U.S."}],"publisher":"University of Kentucky Libraries","container":{},"publicationYear":2026,"subjects":[{"classificationCode":"1.5","schemeUri":"https://web-archive.oecd.org/2012-06-15/138575-38235147.pdf","subject":"FOS: Earth and related environmental sciences","subjectScheme":"Fields of Science and Technology (FOS)"}],"contributors":[],"dates":[],"language":null,"types":{"schemaOrg":"ScholarlyArticle","resourceTypeGeneral":"Text","citeproc":"article-journal","bibtex":"article","ris":"RPRT","resourceType":"Master's Thesis"},"relatedIdentifiers":[],"relatedItems":[],"sizes":[],"formats":[],"version":null,"rightsList":[],"descriptions":[{"descriptionType":"Abstract","description":"Tornadoes cause extensive property damage and endanger lives. While Doppler radar can indicate the potential for tornado development, it cannot confirm that a tornado is in contact with the ground unless a debris signature is present. While on the ground, a significant amount of a tornado’s energy may be transferred into the earth as seismic vibrations. Thus, seismometers have the potential to detect on-the-ground tornadoes. Since 1960, only five papers have published seismic recordings from tornadoes. These studies have mostly reported on seismic waves generated by tornadoes at a relatively large range, from 0.01-2.5 Hz, representing uncertainty in the dominant tornado seismic frequency. Furthermore, no previous work has attempted to validate previous findings through the analysis of the same tornado. To build on these previous studies and fill current knowledge gaps, this study’s primary objectives were (1) to identify tornado seismic signals (TSS) and characterize them by their dominant frequencies, (2) determine the dominant wave-types and forcing mechanisms; and (3) to quantify the thresholds at which TSS can be recorded based on distance and EF rating. In this study, seismic data from five tornadoes including one EF1, three EF4s, and one EF5 were analyzed, each passing within 10 km of at least one broadband seismic station. Seismograms were analyzed alongside meteorological data to isolate TSS from broader storm activity. Spectral methods, including spectrograms and power spectral densities (PSD), were used to identify dominant TSS frequency bands, and particle motion and polarization analyses were used to infer wave types and ground motion characteristics. Signal attenuation and detectability thresholds were assessed using PSDs calculated at various tornado-seismometer distances. Results showed that tornado passage consistently produced broadband seismic signals spanning 0.005–45 Hz. The most distinct band for TSS propagation was concentrated in the 0.5–10 Hz band, where the 1–6 Hz range showed enhanced coherency with infrasound, suggesting acoustic-ground coupling, and the 1-3 Hz band showed evidence of Rayleigh waves. Lower frequencies (0.005-0.01 Hz) were apparently dominated by pressure-induced ground tilt, while intermediate frequencies (0.01-0.05 Hz) reflected mixed contributions from tilt and possible surface-wave excitation. Detection limits were strongly dependent on both distance and EF rating, with measurable TSS generally confined within ~4-7 km for an EF1 tornado but possibly extending to 20 km for an EF5 tornado.","lang":null},{"descriptionType":"Other","description":"© 2026 Seth Thompson","lang":null}],"geoLocations":[],"fundingReferences":[{"funderIdentifierType":"Crossref Funder ID","funderName":"Federal Emergency Management Agency","funderIdentifier":"https://doi.org/10.13039/100008464","awardTitle":"Grant","awardNumber":"DR-4630-KY","awardUri":null}],"url":"https://uknowledge.uky.edu/ees_etds/127/","contentUrl":null,"metadataVersion":0,"schemaVersion":"http://datacite.org/schema/kernel-4","source":"fabricaForm","isActive":true,"state":"findable","reason":null,"viewCount":0,"downloadCount":0,"referenceCount":0,"citationCount":0,"partCount":0,"partOfCount":0,"versionCount":0,"versionOfCount":0,"created":"2026-07-24T14:26:31Z","registered":"2026-07-24T14:26:31Z","published":null,"updated":"2026-07-24T14:26:31Z"},"relationships":{"client":{"data":{"id":"uky.lib","type":"clients"}}}},{"id":"10.13023/etd.2026.303","type":"dois","attributes":{"doi":"10.13023/etd.2026.303","identifiers":[],"creators":[{"nameType":"Personal","affiliation":[{"affiliationIdentifier":"https://ror.org/02k3smh20","schemeUri":"https://ror.org","name":"University of Kentucky","affiliationIdentifierScheme":"ROR"}],"givenName":"Sara","familyName":"Yamini","name":"Yamini, Sara","nameIdentifiers":[{"nameIdentifierScheme":"ORCID","schemeUri":"https://orcid.org","nameIdentifier":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6605-4365"}]}],"titles":[{"titleType":null,"lang":null,"title":"INDIVIDUAL AND CONTEXTUAL RISK FACTORS IN ADOLESCENT ADJUSTMENT"}],"publisher":"University of Kentucky Libraries","container":{},"publicationYear":2026,"subjects":[{"classificationCode":"5.1","schemeUri":"https://web-archive.oecd.org/2012-06-15/138575-38235147.pdf","subject":"FOS: Psychology","subjectScheme":"Fields of Science and Technology (FOS)"}],"contributors":[],"dates":[],"language":null,"types":{"schemaOrg":"Thesis","resourceTypeGeneral":"Dissertation","citeproc":"thesis","bibtex":"phdthesis","ris":"THES"},"relatedIdentifiers":[],"relatedItems":[],"sizes":[],"formats":[],"version":null,"rightsList":[],"descriptions":[{"descriptionType":"Abstract","description":"Adolescents are at heightened risk for engaging in a number of problem behaviors, including substance use. Conversely, and related to this, they are also at greater risk for being victimized, due to bullying behaviors, for instance. Therefore, it is paramount to better understand whether and how individual differences, school contextual factors, and country-level factors might interact to explain both risks for problem behaviors as well as victimization. The present dissertation includes three studies which focused on individual, school, and culture contextual factors in understanding adolescent substance use as well as bullying victimization.\n\nStudy 1 sought to test whether country level contextual factors (aggregated low self-control, prison population, poverty rate, and migration rates) explain variability in two measures of substance use, namely both soft and hard drugs (recent and lifetime use) among adolescents, net the effects by known individual-level correlates, school-level correlates and country-level correlates across thirty-five countries. The current study employed multilevel or hierarchical linear modeling (MLM/HLM) and to address missing data problems in the random slopes model, a multilevel, multiple imputation with 20 imputed datasets was completed using Blimp. Results showed that at the country level, higher poverty rates were positively associated with lifetime and recent soft drug use, whereas higher immigration rates were associated with lower levels of both hard and soft drug use. However, size of the prison population and aggregated low self-control were unrelated to either soft or hard drug use. At the individual level, higher respondent's age, sex (being male), students with low self-control, parental closeness, ones experiencing more traumatic life events and discrimination were positively associated with both lifetime and recent soft drug use. On the other hand, SES and parental monitoring were negatively associated with lifetime and recent soft drug use. At school level, the results showed that a positive school climate was negatively associated with both soft and hard drugs (recent and lifetime use). Moreover, high levels of disorganization at school and attending a public school were positively associated with both soft and hard drugs (recent and lifetime use).\n\nStudy 2 tested the longitudinal, bidirectional relationships between three school environment characteristics, namely school attachment, school climate, and feelings of safety at school, and bullying victimization in a sample of Czech adolescents. Data were collected as part of the Brno Longitudinal Study of Youth (BLSY), which followed N = 570 adolescents 6th and 7th grade students (mean age = 12.43 years, SD=0.66) over two years, with four waves of data collection. A cross-lagged panel model was tested for potential reciprocal effects between school environmental factors and bullying victimization. Results from longitudinal predictive models indicated that higher levels of school attachment and more positive school climate at Time 1 consistently predicted lower levels of bullying victimization at subsequent waves. Feelings of safety at school also predicted lower victimization, although this association was less consistent across time points. Overall, findings showed that school attachment and school climate primarily functioned as protective antecedents of bullying victimization, whereas perceived feeling of safety demonstrated stable bidirectional associations, acting as both a cause and consequence of bullying victimization.\n\nStudy 3 tested the longitudinal associations between low self-control and substance use, and the extent to which school environmental factors (school attachment, school climate, and feelings of safety) directly or indirectly influence this relationship among Czech adolescents, as a potential mediator or moderator. Data were collected as part of the Brno Longitudinal Study of Youth (BLSY), which followed 6th and 7th grade Czech adolescents (N = 570; Mean age = 12.43 years, SD = .66) over two years. Using structural equation modeling, the study tested the longitudinal associations between low self-control and adolescent substance use, both as direct as well as indirect effects by low self-control, and as mediated by school attachment, positive school climate, and perceived safety. Results indicated that low self-control and school-based social bonds functioned as largely independent and direct predictors of substance use, rather than operating through mediation or moderation processes. Specifically, higher levels of self-control, stronger school attachment, and more positive school climate were consistently associated with lower levels of subsequent substance use, whereas perceived school safety showed positive association with substance use.","lang":null},{"descriptionType":"Other","description":"© 2026 Sara Yamini","lang":null}],"geoLocations":[],"fundingReferences":[],"url":"https://uknowledge.uky.edu/agecon_etds/120/","contentUrl":null,"metadataVersion":0,"schemaVersion":"http://datacite.org/schema/kernel-4","source":"fabricaForm","isActive":true,"state":"findable","reason":null,"viewCount":0,"downloadCount":0,"referenceCount":0,"citationCount":0,"partCount":0,"partOfCount":0,"versionCount":0,"versionOfCount":0,"created":"2026-07-24T14:22:41Z","registered":"2026-07-24T14:22:42Z","published":null,"updated":"2026-07-24T14:22:42Z"},"relationships":{"client":{"data":{"id":"uky.lib","type":"clients"}}}},{"id":"10.5061/dryad.wwpzgmt13","type":"dois","attributes":{"doi":"10.5061/dryad.wwpzgmt13","identifiers":[],"creators":[{"nameType":"Personal","affiliation":[{"affiliationIdentifier":"https://ror.org/017zqws13","schemeUri":"https://ror.org","name":"University of Minnesota","affiliationIdentifierScheme":"ROR"}],"name":"Alonso Caraballo, Yanaira","nameIdentifiers":[{"nameIdentifierScheme":"ORCID","schemeUri":"https://orcid.org","nameIdentifier":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7553-4408"}]},{"nameType":"Personal","affiliation":[{"affiliationIdentifier":"https://ror.org/01kta7d96","schemeUri":"https://ror.org","name":"McLean Hospital","affiliationIdentifierScheme":"ROR"}],"name":"Li, Yan","nameIdentifiers":[]},{"nameType":"Personal","affiliation":[{"affiliationIdentifier":"https://ror.org/02k3smh20","schemeUri":"https://ror.org","name":"University of Kentucky","affiliationIdentifierScheme":"ROR"}],"name":"Constantino, Nicholas","nameIdentifiers":[]},{"nameType":"Personal","affiliation":[{"affiliationIdentifier":"https://ror.org/01kta7d96","schemeUri":"https://ror.org","name":"McLean Hospital","affiliationIdentifierScheme":"ROR"}],"name":"Neal, Megan","nameIdentifiers":[]},{"nameType":"Personal","affiliation":[{"affiliationIdentifier":"https://ror.org/009avj582","schemeUri":"https://ror.org","name":"Oregon Health \u0026 Science University","affiliationIdentifierScheme":"ROR"}],"name":"Driscoll, Gillian","nameIdentifiers":[]},{"nameType":"Personal","affiliation":[{"affiliationIdentifier":"https://ror.org/01kta7d96","schemeUri":"https://ror.org","name":"McLean Hospital","affiliationIdentifierScheme":"ROR"}],"name":"Manasian, Yunona","nameIdentifiers":[]},{"nameType":"Personal","affiliation":[{"affiliationIdentifier":"https://ror.org/01kta7d96","schemeUri":"https://ror.org","name":"McLean Hospital","affiliationIdentifierScheme":"ROR"}],"name":"Cai, Grace","nameIdentifiers":[]},{"nameType":"Personal","affiliation":[{"affiliationIdentifier":"https://ror.org/02cpjkp59","schemeUri":"https://ror.org","name":"Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital","affiliationIdentifierScheme":"ROR"}],"name":"Mavrikaki, Maria","nameIdentifiers":[]},{"nameType":"Personal","affiliation":[{"affiliationIdentifier":"https://ror.org/01kta7d96","schemeUri":"https://ror.org","name":"McLean Hospital","affiliationIdentifierScheme":"ROR"}],"name":"Bolshakov, Vadim","nameIdentifiers":[]},{"nameType":"Personal","affiliation":[{"affiliationIdentifier":"https://ror.org/01kta7d96","schemeUri":"https://ror.org","name":"McLean Hospital","affiliationIdentifierScheme":"ROR"}],"name":"Chartoff, Elena","nameIdentifiers":[]}],"titles":[{"title":"Thalamo-accumbal circuit adaptations following extended oxycodone abstinence"}],"publisher":"Dryad","container":{},"publicationYear":2026,"subjects":[{"schemeUri":"https://web-archive.oecd.org/2012-06-15/138575-38235147.pdf","subject":"FOS: Biological sciences","subjectScheme":"fos"},{"schemeUri":"https://github.com/PLOS/plos-thesaurus","subject":"Behavioral neuroscience","subjectScheme":"PLOS Subject Area Thesaurus"},{"schemeUri":"https://github.com/PLOS/plos-thesaurus","subject":"Electrophysiology","subjectScheme":"PLOS Subject Area Thesaurus"},{"schemeUri":"https://github.com/PLOS/plos-thesaurus","subject":"Neuronal morphology","subjectScheme":"PLOS Subject Area Thesaurus"}],"contributors":[],"dates":[{"date":"2026-06-05T21:16:47Z","dateType":"Created"},{"date":"2026-06-15T15:04:58Z","dateType":"Submitted"},{"date":"2026-07-08T00:00:00Z","dateType":"Issued"},{"date":"2026-07-08T00:00:00Z","dateType":"Available"}],"language":"en","types":{"schemaOrg":"Dataset","resourceTypeGeneral":"Dataset","citeproc":"dataset","bibtex":"misc","ris":"DATA","resourceType":"dataset"},"relatedIdentifiers":[{"relationType":"IsCitedBy","relatedIdentifier":"10.1101/2024.08.01.605459","relatedIdentifierType":"DOI"},{"relationType":"IsCitedBy","relatedIdentifier":"10.7554/elife.102189","relatedIdentifierType":"DOI"},{"relationType":"IsCitedBy","relatedIdentifier":"10.7554/elife.102189.1","relatedIdentifierType":"DOI"}],"relatedItems":[],"sizes":["178888 bytes"],"formats":[],"version":"5","rightsList":[{"rightsIdentifierScheme":"SPDX","rightsUri":"https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/legalcode","schemeUri":"https://spdx.org/licenses/","rights":"Creative Commons Zero v1.0 Universal","rightsIdentifier":"cc0-1.0"}],"descriptions":[{"descriptionType":"Abstract","description":"Opioid use disorder is characterized by compulsive drug seeking and\n heightened relapse vulnerability following abstinence, a phenomenon known\n as incubation of craving. Although preclinical data suggest similar\n behavioral expression of opioid use between sexes, conclusive evidence on\n sex differences in craving and relapse across abstinence periods remains\n lacking. Here, we investigated the effects of abstinence from oxycodone\n self-administration on neurotransmission in the paraventricular thalamus\n (PVT) to nucleus accumbens shell (NAcSh) pathway in male and female rats.\n Using optogenetics and ex vivo electrophysiology, we assessed synaptic\n strength, glutamate release probability, and intrinsic excitability of\n NAcSh medium spiny neurons (MSNs) following 1 (acute) or 14 (prolonged)\n days of forced abstinence. No sex differences were observed in oxycodone\n self-administration or somatic withdrawal. However, females exhibited\n greater cue-induced relapse after prolonged but not acute abstinence.\n Prolonged abstinence produced comparable increases in PVT-NAcSh synaptic\n strength and presynaptic glutamate release probability in both sexes,\n while inhibitory transmission and MSN excitability were largely unaltered.\n The dissociation between comparable circuit-level plasticity and\n sex-specific relapse vulnerability suggests that PVT-NAcSh strengthening\n represents a shared neuroadaptation to oxycodone abstinence, while\n mechanisms driving heightened relapse in females likely involve additional\n circuit elements that remain to be identified."},{"descriptionType":"Methods","description":"\u003cem\u003eSubjects\u003c/em\u003e Adult male\n (250-275g; Total N = 42) and female (200-225g; Total N = 45) Sprague\n Dawley rats (Charles River Laboratory, Wilmington, MA) were used in this\n study. Upon arrival, rats were group housed (4 rats per cage) and were\n habituated for 1 week to the animal colony kept on a 12-h light/dark cycle\n (lights on 7:00AM) with food and water \u003cem\u003ead libitum\u003c/em\u003e.\n Following surgeries, rats were singly-housed for the rest of the\n experiment. All animal procedures were conducted in accordance with the\n guidelines of the National Institutes of Health and were approved by the\n Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) at McLean\n Hospital/Harvard Medical School (Protocol #2017N0000277, #2018N000090\n \u0026amp; #2017N000125).\u003cstrong\u003e \u003c/strong\u003e\n \u003cem\u003eSurgeries\u003c/em\u003e\n \u003cem\u003eStereotaxic surgery and viral\n injections\u003c/em\u003e All surgeries were performed\n according to AAALAC guidelines. Rats were first anesthetized with ketamine\n and xylazine (80 mg/kg and 8 mg/kg, respectively, I.P.). A craniotomy was\n made to target the PVT using the following stereotaxic coordinates, based\n on Paxinos and Watson 6th edition rat brain atlas (Paxinos \u0026amp;\n Watson, 2006): AP: -2.6mm from Bregma, ML: +2.0mm from Bregma (20° angle\n ML), and DV: -6.3mm from skull surface at injection site.  A total of 1μL\n of the AAV5 vector carrying CaMKIIα-ChR2(H143R)-eYFP was injected\n unilaterally into PVT at a rate of 125 nl/min using a 10μl Hamilton\n syringe with a 29-gauge needle under the control of a micro-syringe pump\n (Harvard Instruments). Viral vectors (titers, ~10.0 x\n 10\u003csup\u003e12\u003c/sup\u003e particles/ml) were purchased from the\n University of North Carolina viral vector facility.\n \u003cem\u003eIntravenous catheter implantation\n surgery\u003c/em\u003e After recovery from stereotaxic\n surgery (~7 days), rats were implanted with indwelling silastic\n intravenous jugular catheters (SAI infusions; RSB-SA-7.5CF and\n RSB-SA-7.5CM), as described in Mavrikaki, Pravetoni, et al. (2017),\n Mavrikaki, Lintz, et al. (2021), and Thomsen (2025). Rats were\n anesthetized with ketamine and xylazine (80 mg/kg and 8 mg/kg,\n respectively, I.P.), and catheters were implanted into the right jugular\n vein, secured to the vein with non-absorbable suture thread and passed\n subcutaneously through the rat’s back. All rats received an injection of\n ketofen (5mg/kg; S.C.) and gentamicin (0.1ml; 10mg/ml, I.V.) during\n catheter implantation. Catheters were flushed daily with 0.2ml of\n heparinized saline (30 units/ml; I.V.) and once a week with 0.2ml of\n gentamicin (10 mg/ml I.V.). Catheter patency was checked once per week\n using methoexital (Brevital; 0.1 ml females; 0.2 males of 10 mg/ml\n I.V.). \u003cem\u003eBehavioral\n methods\u003c/em\u003e \u003cem\u003eOxycodone\n self-administration\u003c/em\u003e Med Associates operant\n conditioning chambers (30.5 (\u003cem\u003el\u003c/em\u003e) × 24.1\n (\u003cem\u003ew\u003c/em\u003e) × 29.2 (\u003cem\u003eh\u003c/em\u003e) cm), kept within\n soundproofed outer chambers with ventilation fans, were equipped with two\n retractable levers, each with a cue light above them, a house light, a\n counterbalance swivel and tether, and an infusion pump. Rats (males: n =\n 15 saline, 27 oxycodone; females: n= 22 saline, 23 oxycodone) underwent 8\n days of short access (ShA) oxycodone self-administration training\n (0.06mg/kg/infusion; 1h/day) followed by 14 days of long access (LgA)\n regimen (0.06 mg/kg/infusion; 6h/day), similar to Mavrikaki et al. (2019).\n Self-administration sessions were run 7 days/week, at approximately 9:00\n am each day. All self-administration was conducted during the light phase\n of a 12:12 light/dark cycle (lights on at 7:00am; lights off at 7:00pm). A\n fixed-ratio 1 (FR1) schedule of reinforcement was used such that a press\n on the active lever resulted in a 4-s oxycodone infusion (100 µl) followed\n by a 6-s time out period where a press on the active lever produced no\n consequences. \u003cem\u003eAssessing oxycodone\n dependence\u003c/em\u003e To demonstrate that our oxycodone\n self-administration protocol induced dependence in both male and female\n rats, we measured spontaneous somatic withdrawal signs 24-h after the last\n oxycodone self-administration session. After removal from\n self-administration chambers and catheter flushing, rats were placed back\n in their home cages and brought to a quiet, temperature-maintained (20°C)\n room and allowed to habituate for ~15-min. Rats were then individually\n placed into clear, 65-cm-high by 25-cm-diameter Plexiglas cylinders that\n contained a small amount of bedding. Rats were allowed to habituate to the\n cylinders for ~15 min. At this point, a digital video system (Swann\n Communications, Sante Fe, CA) was used to record the rats in the cylinders\n for 20 minutes. Upon completion of recording, somatic withdrawal behaviors\n were scored for the first 15 min of the recording by a researcher who was\n unaware of the treatments. Every 15 seconds, the following behaviors were\n marked as either present or absent: diarrhea, ptosis, jumping, walking,\n rearing, digging, flat posture, “wet dog shakes,” grooming and teeth\n chattering (Mavrikaki et al., 2021; Chartoff et al., 2006). The number of\n occurrences of each behavior was summed. In addition, a Total Withdrawal\n Score was calculated by summing weighted frequencies of those behaviors\n most commonly and specifically observed in opioid withdrawal: Total\n Withdrawal = Grooming (x1.0) + Wet Dog Shakes (x1.5) + Ptosis (x1.2)\n (Chartoff, Mague, et al., 2006; Chartoff, Barhight, et al., 2009). Wet Dog\n Shakes and Ptosis were multiplied by previously determined weighting\n factors to account for their high importance, but low prevalence, to\n withdrawal signs.   \u003cem\u003eForced abstinence and\n cue-induced oxycodone-seeking\u003c/em\u003e a) \n \u003cem\u003e1-day abstinence\u003c/em\u003e (acute abstinence): From the total\n rats above, male (Saline, N = 9; Oxycodone, N = 18) and female (Saline, N\n = 13; Oxycodone, N = 15) rats underwent 1d of forced abstinence (rats\n returned to the vivarium in their home cages for 24-h) from oxycodone\n self-administration. A subset of 1d abstinence male (Saline, N=5;\n Oxycodone N=10) and female (Saline, N=7; Oxycodone N=7) rats were used to\n measure somatic withdrawal signs, and another subset of males (Saline,\n N=4; Oxycodone, N=8) and females (Saline, N=6; Oxycodone, N=8) was used to\n measure cue-induced oxycodone-seeking after the 1d abstinence period.\n After 1d of abstinence, rats were reintroduced to the operant chamber for\n a 2-h relapse test. The cues associated with oxycodone were presented, but\n no drug was delivered. b) \u003cem\u003e14-day\n abstinence\u003c/em\u003e (prolonged abstinence): From the total rats above,\n male (Saline, N=6; Oxycodone N=8) and female (Saline, N=8; Oxycodone, N=7)\n rats underwent 14d of abstinence from oxycodone self-administration. After\n 14d of abstinence, rats were reintroduced to the operant chambers for a\n 2-h relapse test as described above. The number of\n active and inactive lever presses were recorded during incubation/\n cue-induced oxycodone-seeking testing following acute and prolonged\n abstinence periods. Active lever presses were compared between saline and\n oxycodone groups for cue-induced oxycodone-seeking. Rat brains were\n extracted thirty minutes to one hour following the cue-induced\n oxycodone-seeking test, such that electrophysiological recordings reflect\n synaptic properties associated with relapse after acute or prolonged\n abstinence. \u003cem\u003eEx-vivo electrophysiology and\n optogenetic stimulation\u003c/em\u003e Coronal slices (300\n µm in thickness) containing the NAc were obtained using a vibratome in\n cold cutting solution containing the following in mM: 252.0 sucrose, 1.0\n CaCl\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003e, 5.0 MgCl\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003e, 2.5 KCl,\n 1.25 NaH\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003ePO\u003csub\u003e4\u003c/sub\u003e, 26.0\n NaHCO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e and 10.0 glucose and equilibrated with 95%\n O\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003e and 5% CO\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003e. Slices were\n then incubated in artificial cerebrospinal fluid (ACSF) containing the\n following in mM: 125 NaCl, 2.5 KCl, 2.5 CaCl\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003e, 1.0\n MgSO\u003csub\u003e4\u003c/sub\u003e, 1.25\n NaH\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003ePO\u003csub\u003e4\u003c/sub\u003e, 26.0\n NaHCO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e, and 10.0 glucose at room temperature for at\n least 1 hr before recordings started. Whole-cell recordings were obtained\n from the NAcSh neurons with patch electrodes (3-5 MΩ resistance)\n containing the following in mM: 135.0 Cs-methane-sulfonate, 5.0 NaCl, 1.0\n MgCl\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003e, 10.0 BAPTA, 10.0 HEPES, 2.0 ATP and 0.20 GTP\n adjusted to pH 7.2 with CsOH. Neurobiotin (0.2%; Vector Laboratories) was\n also added to the internal solution before the recordings to allow\n subsequent histochemical localization of the recorded neurons in the\n NAcSh. Synaptic responses were induced by\n photostimulation of ChR2-expressing PVT projecting terminals in the NAcSh\n with a LED light source (excitation wavelength: 470 nm, 5 ms in duration,\n Thorlabs).  Whole-cell recordings were accepted if the access resistance\n was ≤20 MΩ and remained stable throughout the recording period (defined as\n \u0026lt;20% change from baseline). Recordings that exceeded these\n thresholds were excluded from analysis. All recordings were performed at\n 30-32°C. After recordings, slices were placed in PBS containing 4%\n paraformaldehyde and kept in the refrigerator until histological\n processing. The pharmacological reagents used in\n electrophysiological experiments included NBQX disodium salt, D-AP5, NBQX,\n and (-)-bicuculline methobromide, which were prepared as stock solutions\n in water at 1000- to 5000-fold concentrations and stored at\n -20°C. \u003cem\u003eMorphological\n analysis\u003c/em\u003e \u003cem\u003eHistology for\n Neurobiotin-filled cells\u003c/em\u003e Brain slices\n containing Neurobiotin-filled neurons in NAcSh were washed in PBS for 20\n min x 3 times and incubated with Streptavidin Alexa 568 conjugate (10-20\n µg/ml, catalog number: S11226, Molecular Probes) in PBS containing 0.2%\n Triton X-100 at room temperature for 24 hours. The slices were then washed\n with PBS for 20 min x 3 times and mounted on gelatinized slides. The\n anti-fading mounting media with DAPI (Vectashield, Vector Laboratories)\n was applied to slices. \u003cem\u003eAnalysis of dendritic\n morphology of NAcSh-MSNs\u003c/em\u003e Acquisition of\n imaging data of Neurobiotin-stained neurons was performed using a Leica\n SP8 TCS confocal microscope under a 40X/1.30 NA oil-immersion objective\n lens. The image resolution (1024 X 1024 pixels) and z step (0.5 μm) of\n optical planes were kept constant throughout the study. To image entire\n dendritic trees of NAcSh neurons, the zoom was adjusted in a range of 0.75\n – 1.0, which corresponds to the voxel size between 0.284 X 0.284 X 0.5 μm\n and 0.379 X 0.379 X 0.5 μm. Three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction of\n dendritic trees was conducted in stacked confocal images in the program\n NeuronStudio (version 0.9.92, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New\n York, NY; Rodriguez et al., 2003). We used the manual\n tracing tool to reconstruct dendrites starting from the soma.\n Specifically, we started the manual tracing from the beginning of each\n primary dendrite and moved one node at a time to form an entire path along\n a branch through the views at XY, ZY and XZ orientations. The program\n provides numerical measurements of the reconstructed dendritic trees,\n including dendritic length, surface area, volume, number of branch points,\n and Sholl analysis. Soma size was estimated by measuring the maximal\n projection area of a neuron soma in a single optical coronal section\n (1.038 µm thick) using ImageJ. The spatial organization of the dendritic\n field was characterized by the ratio of the long axis to the short axis of\n the dendritic field at the coronal plane. The long axis of the dendritic\n field was defined as the distance from the soma to the most distal\n dendritic process, and the short axis as the distance from the soma to the\n most distal dendritic point located 90° from the long axis (O'Donnell\n \u0026amp; Grace, 1993). The measurements were performed on stacked images\n of MSNs using the Leica Application Suite X (LAS X, Leica Microsystems CMS\n GmbH, version 3.5.5). The Neurobiotin-stained neurons were primarily\n obtained from the medial division of NAcSh in two adjacent slices of\n caudal nucleus accumbens, corresponding to the bregma levels between 10.08\n and 10.56 mm (Paxinos \u0026amp; Watson, 2006).\n \u003cem\u003eStatistical analysis\u003c/em\u003e Male\n and female rats were randomly assigned to either saline or oxycodone\n groups. In electrophysiological experiments, ~2-3 neurons were recorded\n per animal. The numbers of rats and recorded neurons for the analysis of\n the different experiments are indicated in the results section of the\n associated article. Data are reported as mean +/- SEM. All\n electrophysiology data were collected using Patch Master (Heka systems).\n We used Prism 9 (GraphPad) for statistical analysis using Two-tailed\n t-tests, Mixed effects model (Restricted Maximum Likelihood/REML), and\n Two- or Three-way ANOVAs with Sidak’s multiple comparisons, as\n appropriate. For analyses of intrinsic excitability\n based on spike count–current relationships, spike output (number of action\n potentials per current step) was analyzed using nested hierarchical\n Poisson generalized linear mixed-effects models (GLMMs), fitted separately\n for each sex and abstinence duration. Each model included injected current\n (mean-centered), drug condition (Saline vs. Oxycodone), and their\n interaction as fixed effects. Random effects included random intercepts\n and slopes for injected current at the animal level, and random intercepts\n for cells nested within animals, to account for the non-independence of\n repeated current steps within cells and of multiple cells recorded from\n the same animal. Unique identifiers were assigned to each animal and cell\n by concatenating condition labels with animal and cell IDs, ensuring that\n animals across treatment conditions were treated as independent subjects.\n Models were fitted using maximum likelihood estimation with Laplace\n approximation. Overdispersion was assessed using the Pearson chi-squared\n statistic divided by the residual degrees of freedom; when this ratio\n exceeded 1.5, a dispersion correction was applied within the Poisson\n framework. Statistical significance of fixed effects was assessed using\n marginal F-tests with residual degrees of freedom. Sex comparisons among\n oxycodone-treated animals were conducted as separate analyses using\n identical model structures, with sex as the grouping condition. For\n visualization, marginal model-predicted values were overlaid on each plot\n as dashed lines, representing the population-level fixed-effects\n predictions from the fitted GLMM with random effects set to zero,\n back-transformed from the log scale to spike counts. To assess statistical\n power, a posthoc power analysis was conducted for each comparison using a\n two-sample t-test approximation at the rat level, with rat-level mean\n spike output as the unit of analysis and the pooled between-rat standard\n deviation as the denominator for effect size estimation (Cohen's d).\n This approach was used to estimate the number of animals per group\n required to achieve 80% and 90% statistical power, given the observed\n effect sizes. All analyses were performed in MATLAB (R2025b).\n IPSC amplitudes were analyzed using linear mixed-effects models\n (LMEs) to account for the hierarchical structure of the data, with\n repeated measurements across light intensities nested within animals and\n multiple cells recorded per animal. Unique identifiers were assigned to\n each rat and cell by concatenating condition labels with animal and cell\n IDs, ensuring that animals across treatment conditions were treated as\n independent subjects. Models included fixed effects of light intensity\n (mean-centered across the six stimulation levels: 0.5, 1.3, 2.0, 4.7, 7.6,\n and 10.4 mW), treatment condition (Saline vs. Oxycodone), and their\n interaction. Random effects included random intercepts and light intensity\n slopes for individual animals, and random intercepts for cells nested\n within animals, capturing both between-animal variability in baseline\n responses and sensitivity to light, as well as within-animal variability\n across cells. Model parameters were estimated using restricted maximum\n likelihood (REML). Statistical significance of fixed effects was assessed\n using marginal F-tests with residual degrees of freedom, applied\n consistently across male and female datasets. Data are presented as mean ±\n SEM, computed from rat-level averages, in which responses from multiple\n cells within the same animal were first averaged to yield one value per\n animal per light intensity, consistent with the animal-level inference of\n the LME. Male and female datasets were analyzed separately using identical\n model structures to assess sex-specific effects. All analyses were\n performed in MATLAB (R2025b). The number of animals and\n cells used per experiment, as well as the results of all statistical\n analyses, are reported in the text and figure legends.\n References Chartoff, E. H., Barhight, M. F.,\n Mague, S. D., Sawyer, A. M., \u0026amp; Carlezon Jr, W. A. (2009).\n Anatomically dissociable effects of dopamine D1 receptor agonists on\n reward and relief of withdrawal in morphine-dependent rats.\n Psychopharmacology, 204(2), 227-239. Chartoff, E. H.,\n Mague, S. D., Barhight, M. F., Smith, A. M., \u0026amp; Carlezon Jr, W. A.\n (2006). Behavioral and molecular effects of dopamine D1 receptor\n stimulation during naloxone-precipitated morphine withdrawal. The Journal\n of neuroscience, 26(24), 6450-6457. Mavrikaki, M.,\n Anastasiadou, E., Ozdemir, R. A., Potter, D., Helmholz, C., Slack, F. J.,\n \u0026amp; Chartoff, E. H. (2019). Overexpression of miR-9 in the nucleus\n accumbens increases oxycodone self-administration. International Journal\n of Neuropsychopharmacology, 22(6), 383-393. Mavrikaki,\n M., Lintz, T., Constantino, N., Page, S., \u0026amp; Chartoff, E. (2021).\n Chronic opioid exposure differentially modulates oxycodone\n self‐administration in male and female rats. Addiction biology, 26(3),\n e12973. Mavrikaki, M., Pravetoni, M., Page, S., Potter,\n D., \u0026amp; Chartoff, E. (2017). Oxycodone self-administration in male\n and female rats. Psychopharmacology, 234(6), 977-987.\n O'Donnell, P., \u0026amp; Grace, A. A. (1993). Physiological\n and morphological properties of accumbens core and shell neurons recorded\n in vitro. Synapse, 13(2), 135-160. Paxinos, G.,\n \u0026amp; Watson, C. (2006). The rat brain in stereotaxic coordinates:\n hard cover edition. Elsevier. Rodriguez, A.,\n Ehlenberger, D., Kelliher, K., Einstein, M., Henderson, S. C., Morrison,\n J. H., ... \u0026amp; Wearne, S. L. (2003). Automated reconstruction of\n three-dimensional neuronal morphology from laser scanning microscopy\n images. Methods, 30(1), 94-105. Thomsen, M., \u0026amp;\n Caine, S. B. (2005). Chronic intravenous drug self‐administration in rats\n and mice. Current Protocols in Neuroscience, 32(1), 9-20."},{"descriptionType":"TechnicalInfo","description":"# Thalamo-accumbal circuit adaptations following extended oxycodone\n abstinence Dataset DOI:\n [10.5061/dryad.wwpzgmt13](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.wwpzgmt13) ##\n Description of the data and file structure These datasets were collected\n to examine the effects of oxycodone self-administration and abstinence on\n paraventricular thalamus to nucleus accumbens shell (PVT–NAcSh) synaptic\n transmission and on cue-induced drug-seeking behavior (relapse test) in\n male and female rats. Animals underwent intravenous oxycodone or saline\n self-administration under long-access conditions, followed by either\n 24-hour or 14-day forced abstinence. Electrophysiological recordings were\n obtained from NAcSh neurons to assess changes in synaptic strength and\n release probability at PVT inputs across abstinence timepoints. Active\n lever presses during cue-induced reinstatement testing were recorded to\n quantify drug-seeking behavior. Morphological reconstructions of NAcSh\n medium spiny neurons (MSNs) were analyzed to assess structural plasticity.\n Data are provided for both sexes to assess sex differences in synaptic\n plasticity and relapse behavior. All data are provided as plain-text\n comma-separated values (.csv) files with no formatting, formulas, or\n embedded objects. Files can be opened in any spreadsheet application\n (e.g., Microsoft Excel, LibreOffice Calc, Google Sheets) or read directly\n into statistical software (e.g., R, Python, MATLAB, Prism). ### Files and\n variables ### File: Somatic_Withdrawal_Total_Score.csv Somatic withdrawal\n scores assessed at 24 hours of forced abstinence in male and female rats.\n Each row is one animal. The withdrawal score is a composite index of\n opioid somatic withdrawal signs (e.g., wet dog shakes, ptosis, teeth\n chattering, writhing) summed across an observation period; higher scores\n indicate greater withdrawal severity. | Column | Description | |\n :--------------- |\n :------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | Animal ID | Numeric identifier for each animal within a sex × drug group (restarts at 1 for each group) | | Sex | Biological sex of the animal (Female / Male) | | Drug | Self-administered substance during the prior operant phase (Saline / Oxycodone) | | Withdrawal Score | Composite somatic withdrawal score (arbitrary units; continuous, non-negative) | ### Files: Self-Admin_Infusions.csv and Self-Admin_Active.csv Operant self-administration data from short-access (ShA) and long-access (LgA) sessions. Each row is one animal per session day. Both files share an identical column structure. Self-Admin_Infusions.csv contains the number of drug or saline infusions earned per session. Sessions are organized by phase: ShA (1-hour sessions, Days 1–8) followed by LgA (6-hour sessions, Days 1–14). Empty cells indicate the animal was not yet enrolled on that day. Self-Admin_Active.csv contains the number of active lever presses per session. Active presses include both rewarded presses (which result in an infusion) and non-rewarded presses during the timeout period. | Column | Description | | :--------------- | :--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Animal ID | Numeric identifier for each animal within a sex × drug group (restarts at 1 for each group) | | Sex | Biological sex of the animal (Female / Male) | | Drug | Self-administered substance (Saline / Oxycodone) | | ShA D1 – ShA D8 | Short-access phase sessions, Days 1–8 (1-hour sessions); values are infusion counts or active lever press counts | | LgA D1 – LgA D14 | Long-access phase sessions, Days 1–14 (6-hour sessions); values are infusion counts or active lever press counts | ### File: Cue_induced_relapse_ActiveLeverPresses.csv Active lever presses during a 2-hour cue-induced reinstatement test session. Lever-associated cues were presented but no drug was delivered. Each row is one animal. | Column | Description | | :------------------------ | :------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | Animal ID | Numeric identifier for each animal within a sex × drug × abstinence day group (restarts at 1 for each group) | | Sex | Biological sex of the animal (Female / Male) | | Drug | Drug previously self-administered (Saline / Oxycodone) | | Abs Day | Abstinence day on which the reinstatement test was conducted (1 = 24-hour abstinence; 14 = 14-day abstinence) | | # of Active Lever Presses | Total number of active lever presses during the 2-hour test session (count; non-negative integer) | ### Files: Electrophysiology_Data__[measurement].csv (4 files) Whole-cell patch-clamp recordings from NAcSh neurons in ex vivo brain slices. Optogenetic stimulation of PVT terminals (channelrhodopsin-2) was used to evoke synaptic currents. Each row is one recorded cell. Data from all sexes and abstinence timepoints are combined within each file; **Sex** (Female / Male) and **Abstinence_Day** (1 or 14) columns identify the group each cell belongs to. **Condition** refers to the drug self-administered by the rat from which the cell was recorded, **RatID** identifies the animal, and **CellID** identifies the recorded cell within that animal (multiple cells may be recorded per animal). | File | Measurement type | Contents | | :----------------------------------------------- | :---------------------------------- | :-------------------------------------------------------------- | | Electrophysiology\\_Data\\_\\_IO\\_curves.csv | eEPSC and eIPSC input–output curves | Both sexes; abstinence days 1 and 14; eIPSC data at day 14 only | | Electrophysiology\\_Data\\_\\_PPR.csv | Paired-pulse ratio | Both sexes; abstinence days 1 and 14 | | Electrophysiology\\_Data\\_\\_Excitability.csv | Membrane excitability | Both sexes; abstinence days 1 and 14 | | Electrophysiology\\_Data\\_\\_AMPA\\_NMDA\\_ratio.csv | AMPA/NMDA receptor current ratio | Both sexes; abstinence days 1 and 14 | #### Electrophysiology_Data__IO_curves.csv IO = input/output Optogenetically-evoked excitatory (eEPSC) or inhibitory (eIPSC) postsynaptic current amplitudes across a range of light intensities. The **Current_Type** column distinguishes eEPSC from eIPSC recordings. Each intensity column gives the peak amplitude at that light level. | Column | Description | | :-------------- | :-------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Sex | Biological sex of the source animal (Female / Male) | | Abstinence\\_Day | Abstinence duration at time of recording (1 = 24 hours; 14 = 14 days) | | Current\\_Type | Type of synaptic current recorded (eEPSC / eIPSC) | | Condition | Drug self-administered by the source animal (Saline / Oxycodone) | | RatID | Animal identifier (integer) | | CellID | Cell identifier within that animal (integer) | | x0.5mw/mm2 | Peak current amplitude (pA) at 0.5 mW/mm² light intensity | | x1.3mw/mm2 | Peak current amplitude (pA) at 1.3 mW/mm² | | x2mw/mm2 | Peak current amplitude (pA) at 2.0 mW/mm² | | x4.7mw/mm2 | Peak current amplitude (pA) at 4.7 mW/mm² | | x7.6mw/mm2 | Peak current amplitude (pA) at 7.6 mW/mm² | | x10.4mw/mm2 | Peak current amplitude (pA) at 10.4 mW/mm² (maximum intensity used) | #### Electrophysiology_Data__PPR.csv PPR is the amplitude of the second evoked response divided by the amplitude of the first, measured at four interpulse intervals. A PPR \u0026gt; 1 indicates short-term synaptic facilitation; PPR \u0026lt; 1 indicates depression. PPR serves as an index of presynaptic release probability. Not all interpulse intervals were tested for every cell; empty cells indicate that interval was not tested. | Column | Description | | :-------------- | :-------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Sex | Biological sex of the source animal (Female / Male) | | Abstinence\\_Day | Abstinence duration at time of recording (1 = 24 hours; 14 = 14 days) | | Condition | Drug self-administered (Saline / Oxycodone) | | RatID | Animal identifier (integer) | | CellID | Cell identifier within that animal (integer) | | x50ms | PPR at 50 ms interpulse interval (dimensionless ratio) | | x70ms | PPR at 70 ms interpulse interval (dimensionless ratio) | | x100ms | PPR at 100 ms interpulse interval (dimensionless ratio) | | x200ms | PPR at 200 ms interpulse interval (dimensionless ratio) | #### Electrophysiology_Data__Excitability.csv Action potential firing was measured in current-clamp mode by injecting a series of depolarizing current steps from 0 to 300 pA. Each current-step column reports the number of action potentials fired during a 1-second injection at that amplitude. Empty cells indicate the recording ended before reaching that current step. | Column | Description | | :-------------- | :----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Sex | Biological sex of the source animal (Female / Male) | | Abstinence\\_Day | Abstinence duration at time of recording (1 = 24 hours; 14 = 14 days) | | Condition | Drug self-administered (Saline / Oxycodone) | | RatID | Animal identifier (integer) | | CellID | Cell identifier within that animal (integer) | | x0pA – x300pA | Number of action potentials fired at the indicated current injection amplitude (0, 30, 60, 90, 120, 150, 180, 210, 240, 270, 300 pA) | #### Electrophysiology_Data__AMPA_NMDA_ratio.csv AMPA/NMDA receptor current ratio, an index of postsynaptic synaptic strength. AMPA currents were recorded at −70 mV and NMDA currents at +40 mV; the ratio was calculated from peak amplitudes at those holding potentials. | Column | Description | | :-------------- | :------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Sex | Biological sex of the source animal (Female / Male) | | Abstinence\\_Day | Abstinence duration at time of recording (1 = 24 hours; 14 = 14 days) | | Condition | Drug self-administered (Saline / Oxycodone) | | RatID | Animal identifier (integer) | | CellID | Cell identifier within that animal (integer) | | AN Ratio | AMPA/NMDA receptor current ratio (dimensionless; continuous, non-negative) | ### Files: Female_morphology_[group]**[type].csv and Male_morphology_[group]**[type].csv (16 files) Morphological data from 3D reconstructions of biocytin-filled NAcSh MSNs using Neurolucida software. The original data were organized as multi-table Excel sheets; they have been restructured here into flat CSV files for accessibility. Each experimental group produces two files: one for Sholl analysis data (__sholl.csv) and one for soma-level variables (__soma.csv). Each file contains raw individual neuron values only; no group summary statistics are included. The 16 files are: * Female_morphology_female-oxy_24h_WD_sholl.csv * Female_morphology_female-oxy_24h_WD_soma.csv * Female_morphology_female-saline_14d_WD_sholl.csv * Female_morphology_female-saline_14d_WD_soma.csv * Female_morphology_female-saline_24h_WD_sholl.csv * Female_morphology_female-saline_24h_WD_soma.csv * Male_morphology_male-saline_14d_WD_soma.csv * Male_morphology_male-oxy_14d_WD_sholl.csv * Male_morphology_male-oxy_14d_WD_soma.csv * Male_morphology_male-oxy_24h_WD_sholl.csv * Male_morphology_male-oxy_24h_WD_soma.csv * Male_morphology_male-saline_14d_WD_sholl.csv * Male_morphology_male-saline_24h_WD_sholl.csv * Male_morphology_male-saline_24h_WD_soma.csv * Female_morphology_female-oxy_14d_WD_sholl.csv * Female_morphology_female-oxy_14d_WD_soma.csv | File | Sex | Drug | Abstinence | | :---------------------------------------------------- | :----- | :-------- | :--------- | | Female\\_morphology\\_female-saline\\_24h\\_WD\\_sholl.csv | Female | Saline | 24 hours | | Female\\_morphology\\_female-saline\\_24h\\_WD\\_soma.csv | Female | Saline | 24 hours | | Female\\_morphology\\_female-oxy\\_24h\\_WD\\_sholl.csv | Female | Oxycodone | 24 hours | | Female\\_morphology\\_female-oxy\\_24h\\_WD\\_soma.csv | Female | Oxycodone | 24 hours | | Female\\_morphology\\_female-saline\\_14d\\_WD\\_sholl.csv | Female | Saline | 14 days | | Female\\_morphology\\_female-saline\\_14d\\_WD\\_soma.csv | Female | Saline | 14 days | | Female\\_morphology\\_female-oxy\\_14d\\_WD\\_sholl.csv | Female | Oxycodone | 14 days | | Female\\_morphology\\_female-oxy\\_14d\\_WD\\_soma.csv | Female | Oxycodone | 14 days | | Male\\_morphology\\_male-saline\\_24h\\_WD\\_sholl.csv | Male | Saline | 24 hours | | Male\\_morphology\\_male-saline\\_24h\\_WD\\_soma.csv | Male | Saline | 24 hours | | Male\\_morphology\\_male-oxy\\_24h\\_WD\\_sholl.csv | Male | Oxycodone | 24 hours | | Male\\_morphology\\_male-oxy\\_24h\\_WD\\_soma.csv | Male | Oxycodone | 24 hours | | Male\\_morphology\\_male-saline\\_14d\\_WD\\_sholl.csv | Male | Saline | 14 days | | Male\\_morphology\\_male-saline\\_14d\\_WD\\_soma.csv | Male | Saline | 14 days | | Male\\_morphology\\_male-oxy\\_14d\\_WD\\_sholl.csv | Male | Oxycodone | 14 days | | Male\\_morphology\\_male-oxy\\_14d\\_WD\\_soma.csv | Male | Oxycodone | 14 days | #### Sholl analysis files (_sholl.csv) Each row is one Sholl radius bin for one dendritic metric. Sholl analysis bins dendrites into concentric 20 µm radius shells centered on the soma; values represent the dendritic quantity within each shell. Four metrics are present in each file, distinguished by the Metric column. Each remaining column contains the raw value for one individually reconstructed neuron, identified by rat and neuron ID in the column header (e.g., \"Rat 26 MSN 1\", \"OX14 MSN 1\"). | Column | Description | | :--------------------------- | :------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Metric | Dendritic metric being measured (DEND-LENGTH / DEND-SA / DEND-VOLUME / BRANCH-POINTS; see units below) | | Radius\\_um | Distance from the soma center defining the outer edge of the Sholl shell (µm; values: 20, 40, 60, … 320) | | \\[Individual neuron columns] | Raw reconstructed value for each individual neuron; column headers identify the rat and neuron | Units by metric: | Metric | Description | Units | | :------------ | :------------------------------------------------------- | :-------------- | | DEND-LENGTH | Total dendritic length within the Sholl shell | µm | | DEND-SA | Total dendritic surface area within the Sholl shell | µm² | | DEND-VOLUME | Total dendritic volume within the Sholl shell | µm³ | | BRANCH-POINTS | Number of dendritic branch points within the Sholl shell | count (integer) | #### Soma-level variable files (_soma.csv) Each row is one soma-level morphological variable. Each column after Variable contains the raw value for one individually reconstructed neuron. | Column | Description | | :--------------------------- | :------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Variable | Name of the morphological variable (see list below) | | \\[Individual neuron columns] | Raw value for each individual neuron; column headers identify the rat and neuron | Soma-level variables: | Variable | Description | Units | | :----------------------------------------- | :------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | :------------------------------------------------- | | soma area / soma size | Maximal projection area of the soma | µm² | | # of primary dendrite(s) | Number of primary dendrite branches emerging directly from the soma | count | | dendritic field\\_long axis | Length of the long axis of the dendritic field bounding ellipse | µm | | dendritic field\\_short axis | Length of the short axis of the dendritic field bounding ellipse | µm | | ratio (long axis/short axis) | Aspect ratio of the dendritic field | dimensionless | | identification of axon and axon collateral | Whether the axon, an axon collateral, or neither was identified in the reconstruction | categorical: axon / axon collateral / ?? (unknown) | --- ## Code/software Statistical analyses reported in the associated manuscript were performed using **Prism 9 (GraphPad)** and **MATLAB R2025b**. Analysis scripts are not included in this deposit but are available from the corresponding author upon request. All data files are plain-text CSV and can be opened without any specialized software. Compatible applications include Microsoft Excel, LibreOffice Calc (free; [www.libreoffice.org](http://www.libreoffice.org)), Google Sheets, and standard data analysis environments such as R, Python, and MATLAB."}],"geoLocations":[],"fundingReferences":[{"funderIdentifierType":"ROR","funderName":"National Institute on Drug Abuse","funderIdentifier":"https://ror.org/00fq5cm18","awardNumber":"7K00DA053527-05","awardUri":"https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10598209"},{"funderIdentifierType":"ROR","funderName":"National Institute of Mental Health","funderIdentifier":"https://ror.org/04xeg9z08","awardTitle":"Neurobiological mechanisms of prescription opioid withdrawal","awardNumber":"5R01DA045000-02","awardUri":"https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9564863"},{"funderIdentifierType":"ROR","funderName":"National Institute of Mental Health","funderIdentifier":"https://ror.org/04xeg9z08","awardTitle":"\n        Cell Type Specific Genomic and Functional Dissection of Fear-Off\n        Amygdala Pathways\n      ","awardNumber":"5R01MH108665-08","awardUri":"https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10662389"},{"funderIdentifierType":"ROR","funderName":"National Institute of Mental Health","funderIdentifier":"https://ror.org/04xeg9z08","awardTitle":"\n        Synaptic and neuronal mechanisms of fear control: the role of\n        hippocampal-amygdalar interactions\n      ","awardNumber":"5R01MH123993-05","awardUri":"https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10809756"}],"url":"https://datadryad.org/dataset/doi:10.5061/dryad.wwpzgmt13","contentUrl":null,"metadataVersion":6,"schemaVersion":"http://datacite.org/schema/kernel-4","source":"mds","isActive":true,"state":"findable","reason":null,"viewCount":0,"downloadCount":0,"referenceCount":0,"citationCount":4,"partCount":0,"partOfCount":0,"versionCount":0,"versionOfCount":0,"created":"2026-07-08T21:19:41Z","registered":"2026-07-08T21:19:42Z","published":null,"updated":"2026-07-22T10:56:52Z"},"relationships":{"client":{"data":{"id":"dryad.dryad","type":"clients"}}}},{"id":"10.5281/zenodo.21486756","type":"dois","attributes":{"doi":"10.5281/zenodo.21486756","identifiers":[],"creators":[{"nameType":"Personal","affiliation":[{"affiliationIdentifier":"https://ror.org/02k3smh20","name":"University of Kentucky","affiliationIdentifierScheme":"ROR"}],"givenName":"Eirini","familyName":"Stavropoulou","name":"Stavropoulou, Eirini","nameIdentifiers":[{"nameIdentifierScheme":"ORCID","nameIdentifier":"0000-0002-0312-5584"}]},{"nameType":"Personal","affiliation":[{"affiliationIdentifier":"https://ror.org/02k3smh20","name":"University of Kentucky","affiliationIdentifierScheme":"ROR"}],"givenName":"Nikiforos","familyName":"Stamatiadis","name":"Stamatiadis, Nikiforos","nameIdentifiers":[{"nameIdentifierScheme":"ORCID","nameIdentifier":"0000-0003-3842-2682"}]},{"nameType":"Personal","affiliation":[{"name":"Kentucky Transportation Center"}],"givenName":"William","familyName":"Staats","name":"Staats, William","nameIdentifiers":[{"nameIdentifierScheme":"ORCID","nameIdentifier":"0000-0002-0616-7843"}]},{"nameType":"Personal","affiliation":[{"name":"Kentucky Transportation Center"}],"givenName":"TENG","familyName":"WANG","name":"WANG, TENG","nameIdentifiers":[{"nameIdentifierScheme":"ORCID","nameIdentifier":"0000-0002-0585-0042"}]},{"nameType":"Personal","affiliation":[{"affiliationIdentifier":"https://ror.org/02k3smh20","name":"University of Kentucky","affiliationIdentifierScheme":"ROR"}],"givenName":"Reginald","familyName":"Souleyrette","name":"Souleyrette, Reginald","nameIdentifiers":[{"nameIdentifierScheme":"ORCID","nameIdentifier":"0000-0002-3240-7943"}]}],"titles":[{"title":"A scoring approach for evaluating and ranking Complete Street projects"}],"publisher":"Zenodo","container":{},"publicationYear":2025,"subjects":[],"contributors":[],"dates":[{"date":"2025-02-11","dateType":"Issued"}],"language":null,"types":{"schemaOrg":"ScholarlyArticle","resourceTypeGeneral":"JournalArticle","citeproc":"article-journal","bibtex":"article","ris":"JOUR","resourceType":""},"relatedIdentifiers":[{"relationType":"IsVersionOf","relatedIdentifier":"10.5281/zenodo.21486756","relatedIdentifierType":"DOI"},{"relationType":"IsPartOf","resourceTypeGeneral":"Collection","relatedIdentifier":"1824-5463","relatedIdentifierType":"ISSN"}],"relatedItems":[],"sizes":[],"formats":[],"version":null,"rightsList":[{"rightsIdentifierScheme":"SPDX","rightsUri":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode","schemeUri":"https://spdx.org/licenses/","rights":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International","rightsIdentifier":"cc-by-4.0"}],"descriptions":[{"descriptionType":"Abstract","description":"Complete Streets (CS) is an approach for planning and designing streets that can accommodate all types ofusers safely and equitably to share the roadway. Several agencies in the US have developed CS policies as avital strategy to create more inclusive, accessible, and multimodal environments for all road users. TheKentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) recently developed its Complete Streets, Roads, and HighwaysManual and an accompanying Policy, aiming to enhance a safe and equitable transportation system throughout the state. This generated the need to develop an approach to evaluate and assess potential CS projects. The primary objective of this study is to develop an assessment tool that KYTC can use in the planning stage to assess a project’s compliance with the CS Policy and to further facilitate decision-making and implementation. A scorecard was developed to evaluate a project's ability to meet the CS goals KYTC has established. The scorecard contains metrics focused on different user types (i.e., pedestrians, bicyclists, transit users) allowing project teams to determine the adequacy of CS policy compliance and identify potential areas for improvement in the subsequent project development process."}],"geoLocations":[],"fundingReferences":[],"url":"https://zenodo.org/doi/10.5281/zenodo.21486756","contentUrl":null,"metadataVersion":0,"schemaVersion":"http://datacite.org/schema/kernel-4","source":"api","isActive":true,"state":"findable","reason":null,"viewCount":0,"downloadCount":0,"referenceCount":0,"citationCount":0,"partCount":0,"partOfCount":0,"versionCount":2,"versionOfCount":1,"created":"2026-07-22T08:17:42Z","registered":"2026-07-22T08:17:43Z","published":null,"updated":"2026-07-22T08:17:43Z"},"relationships":{"client":{"data":{"id":"cern.zenodo","type":"clients"}}}},{"id":"10.5281/zenodo.21486757","type":"dois","attributes":{"doi":"10.5281/zenodo.21486757","identifiers":[{"identifier":"oai:zenodo.org:21486757","identifierType":"oai"}],"creators":[{"nameType":"Personal","affiliation":[{"affiliationIdentifier":"https://ror.org/02k3smh20","name":"University of Kentucky","affiliationIdentifierScheme":"ROR"}],"givenName":"Eirini","familyName":"Stavropoulou","name":"Stavropoulou, Eirini","nameIdentifiers":[{"nameIdentifierScheme":"ORCID","nameIdentifier":"0000-0002-0312-5584"}]},{"nameType":"Personal","affiliation":[{"affiliationIdentifier":"https://ror.org/02k3smh20","name":"University of Kentucky","affiliationIdentifierScheme":"ROR"}],"givenName":"Nikiforos","familyName":"Stamatiadis","name":"Stamatiadis, Nikiforos","nameIdentifiers":[{"nameIdentifierScheme":"ORCID","nameIdentifier":"0000-0003-3842-2682"}]},{"nameType":"Personal","affiliation":[{"name":"Kentucky Transportation Center"}],"givenName":"William","familyName":"Staats","name":"Staats, William","nameIdentifiers":[{"nameIdentifierScheme":"ORCID","nameIdentifier":"0000-0002-0616-7843"}]},{"nameType":"Personal","affiliation":[{"name":"Kentucky Transportation Center"}],"givenName":"TENG","familyName":"WANG","name":"WANG, TENG","nameIdentifiers":[{"nameIdentifierScheme":"ORCID","nameIdentifier":"0000-0002-0585-0042"}]},{"nameType":"Personal","affiliation":[{"affiliationIdentifier":"https://ror.org/02k3smh20","name":"University of Kentucky","affiliationIdentifierScheme":"ROR"}],"givenName":"Reginald","familyName":"Souleyrette","name":"Souleyrette, Reginald","nameIdentifiers":[{"nameIdentifierScheme":"ORCID","nameIdentifier":"0000-0002-3240-7943"}]}],"titles":[{"title":"A scoring approach for evaluating and ranking Complete Street projects"}],"publisher":"Zenodo","container":{},"publicationYear":2025,"subjects":[],"contributors":[],"dates":[{"date":"2025-02-11","dateType":"Issued"}],"language":null,"types":{"schemaOrg":"ScholarlyArticle","resourceTypeGeneral":"JournalArticle","citeproc":"article-journal","bibtex":"article","ris":"JOUR","resourceType":""},"relatedIdentifiers":[{"relationType":"IsVersionOf","relatedIdentifier":"10.5281/zenodo.21486756","relatedIdentifierType":"DOI"},{"relationType":"IsPartOf","resourceTypeGeneral":"Collection","relatedIdentifier":"1824-5463","relatedIdentifierType":"ISSN"}],"relatedItems":[],"sizes":[],"formats":[],"version":null,"rightsList":[{"rightsIdentifierScheme":"SPDX","rightsUri":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode","schemeUri":"https://spdx.org/licenses/","rights":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International","rightsIdentifier":"cc-by-4.0"}],"descriptions":[{"descriptionType":"Abstract","description":"Complete Streets (CS) is an approach for planning and designing streets that can accommodate all types ofusers safely and equitably to share the roadway. Several agencies in the US have developed CS policies as avital strategy to create more inclusive, accessible, and multimodal environments for all road users. TheKentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) recently developed its Complete Streets, Roads, and HighwaysManual and an accompanying Policy, aiming to enhance a safe and equitable transportation system throughout the state. This generated the need to develop an approach to evaluate and assess potential CS projects. The primary objective of this study is to develop an assessment tool that KYTC can use in the planning stage to assess a project’s compliance with the CS Policy and to further facilitate decision-making and implementation. A scorecard was developed to evaluate a project's ability to meet the CS goals KYTC has established. The scorecard contains metrics focused on different user types (i.e., pedestrians, bicyclists, transit users) allowing project teams to determine the adequacy of CS policy compliance and identify potential areas for improvement in the subsequent project development process."}],"geoLocations":[],"fundingReferences":[],"url":"https://zenodo.org/doi/10.5281/zenodo.21486757","contentUrl":null,"metadataVersion":0,"schemaVersion":"http://datacite.org/schema/kernel-4","source":"api","isActive":true,"state":"findable","reason":null,"viewCount":0,"downloadCount":0,"referenceCount":0,"citationCount":0,"partCount":0,"partOfCount":0,"versionCount":0,"versionOfCount":1,"created":"2026-07-22T08:17:42Z","registered":"2026-07-22T08:17:43Z","published":null,"updated":"2026-07-22T08:17:43Z"},"relationships":{"client":{"data":{"id":"cern.zenodo","type":"clients"}}}},{"id":"10.13023/etd.2026.332","type":"dois","attributes":{"doi":"10.13023/etd.2026.332","identifiers":[],"creators":[{"nameType":"Personal","affiliation":[{"affiliationIdentifier":"https://ror.org/02k3smh20","schemeUri":"https://ror.org","name":"University of Kentucky","affiliationIdentifierScheme":"ROR"}],"givenName":"Viral","familyName":"Oza","name":"Oza, Viral","nameIdentifiers":[{"nameIdentifierScheme":"ORCID","schemeUri":"https://orcid.org","nameIdentifier":"https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4877-9618"}]}],"titles":[{"titleType":null,"lang":null,"title":"THE ROLE OF SMALL EXTRACELLULAR VESICLES IN MODULATING RADIATION RESISTANCE IN H3K27M-PEDIATRIC DIFFUSE MIDLINE GLIOMA"}],"publisher":"University of Kentucky Libraries","container":{},"publicationYear":2026,"subjects":[{"classificationCode":"3.5","schemeUri":"https://web-archive.oecd.org/2012-06-15/138575-38235147.pdf","subject":"FOS: Other medical sciences","subjectScheme":"Fields of Science and Technology (FOS)"}],"contributors":[],"dates":[],"language":null,"types":{"schemaOrg":"Thesis","resourceTypeGeneral":"Dissertation","citeproc":"thesis","bibtex":"phdthesis","ris":"THES"},"relatedIdentifiers":[],"relatedItems":[],"sizes":[],"formats":[],"version":null,"rightsList":[],"descriptions":[{"descriptionType":"Abstract","description":"Pediatric diffuse midline gliomas with H3K27M alteration (H3K27M-pDMG) are the leading cause of pediatric brain tumor-associated deaths. All H3K27M-pDMG are initially treated with fractionated radiotherapy, the standard of care, and most children succumb to their disease within two years of diagnosis. There are no universally effective chemotherapies and full resection is impossible due to the diffuse nature of the tumor and sensitive location. There has not been a significant clinical advancement in more than 40 years.\n\nTumors become completely resistant to radiation within the first six months of treatment. The mechanism of radiation resistance is unknown but is thought to be driven by 2 major observed features. 1) Tumors have multiple populations of cells called subclones that have traits similar to stem cells, primarily the ability to self-renew and differentiate.  Subclones are genetically and transcriptionally distinct giving the tumor a defining feature known as intratumoral heterogeneity that is unique to each patient. 2) Glioma subclones propagate oncogenic signaling in the tumor microenvironment through extracellular factors. The role and function of these extracellular factors in the context of radioresistance is unknown.\n\nIntrinsic radioresistance in H3K27M-pDMG has largely been studied using bulk population models which are conflated by multiple subclonal phenotypes. Overall, this has resulted in over 200 clinical trials with no significant improvement in patient survival. There is a critical need to understand radiation resistance mechanisms in the context of intratumoral heterogeneity.\n\nExtracellular vesicles (EVs), cell derived subcellular lipid enclosed particles, are a major contributor to extracellular signaling. Multiple studies across several cancers show that EVs have a role in oncogenic signaling, however, there have been no functional studies investigating the role of EVs in the context of radiation resistance in H3K27M-pDMG.\n\nIn my dissertation, I study intrinsic radioresistant mechanisms of treatment naïve patient derived H3K27M-pDMG cell lines by 1) developing a biosensor protocol to assess therapy resistant subpopulations at the single cell level, 2) isolating and characterizing radiation resistant subclonal populations, and 3) determining the role of extracellular factors such as EVs on radiation resistance at the single cell level. I discovered that highly radioresistant subclones with unique features exist in treatment naive H3K27M-pDMG. Furthermore, I demonstrate that radiation resistance may spread between tumor subclones via extracellular vesicle communication. Additionally, I characterized small EV uptake dynamics between H3K27M-pDMG tumor cells and identified key small EV surface proteins that could lead to new therapeutic targets.\n\nOverall, my dissertation findings provide insights into the role of small EV-mediated intratumoral communication as a contributor to radiation resistance in H3K27M-pDMG. Finally, I suggest potential therapeutic strategies to disrupt this process and enhance radiation efficacy.","lang":null},{"descriptionType":"Other","description":"© 2026 Viral Oza","lang":null}],"geoLocations":[],"fundingReferences":[{"funderIdentifierType":"Crossref Funder ID","funderName":"National Cancer Institute","funderIdentifier":"https://doi.org/10.13039/100000054","awardTitle":null,"awardNumber":"R37CA227656","awardUri":null},{"funderIdentifierType":"Crossref Funder ID","funderName":"National Cancer Institute","funderIdentifier":"https://doi.org/10.13039/100000054","awardTitle":null,"awardNumber":"F99CA294265","awardUri":null},{"funderIdentifierType":"Other","funderName":"Chad Tough Defeat DIPG New Investigator Award","funderIdentifier":null,"awardTitle":null,"awardNumber":null,"awardUri":null},{"funderIdentifierType":"Other","funderName":"Kentucky Pediatric Cancer Research Trust Fund","funderIdentifier":null,"awardTitle":null,"awardNumber":null,"awardUri":null},{"funderIdentifierType":"Crossref Funder ID","funderName":"Markey Cancer Center, University of Kentucky","funderIdentifier":"https://doi.org/10.13039/100015087","awardTitle":"Redox Metabolism and Flow Cytometry Shared Resources of the Markey Cancer Center","awardNumber":"P30CA177558","awardUri":null}],"url":"https://uknowledge.uky.edu/biochem_etds/79/","contentUrl":null,"metadataVersion":0,"schemaVersion":"http://datacite.org/schema/kernel-4","source":"fabricaForm","isActive":true,"state":"findable","reason":null,"viewCount":0,"downloadCount":0,"referenceCount":0,"citationCount":0,"partCount":0,"partOfCount":0,"versionCount":0,"versionOfCount":0,"created":"2026-07-21T15:00:29Z","registered":"2026-07-21T15:00:29Z","published":null,"updated":"2026-07-21T15:00:29Z"},"relationships":{"client":{"data":{"id":"uky.lib","type":"clients"}}}},{"id":"10.13023/etd.2026.308","type":"dois","attributes":{"doi":"10.13023/etd.2026.308","identifiers":[],"creators":[{"nameType":"Personal","affiliation":[{"affiliationIdentifier":"https://ror.org/02k3smh20","schemeUri":"https://ror.org","name":"University of Kentucky","affiliationIdentifierScheme":"ROR"}],"givenName":"Adib","familyName":"Mosharrof","name":"Mosharrof, Adib","nameIdentifiers":[{"nameIdentifierScheme":"ORCID","schemeUri":"https://orcid.org","nameIdentifier":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8960-8455"}]}],"titles":[{"titleType":null,"lang":null,"title":"Advancing Task-Oriented Dialog Systems"},{"titleType":"Subtitle","lang":null,"title":"Scalability, Generalization, and Evaluation"}],"publisher":"University of Kentucky Libraries","container":{},"publicationYear":2026,"subjects":[{"classificationCode":"1.2","schemeUri":"https://web-archive.oecd.org/2012-06-15/138575-38235147.pdf","subject":"FOS: Computer and information sciences","subjectScheme":"Fields of Science and Technology (FOS)"}],"contributors":[],"dates":[],"language":null,"types":{"schemaOrg":"Thesis","resourceTypeGeneral":"Dissertation","citeproc":"thesis","bibtex":"phdthesis","ris":"THES"},"relatedIdentifiers":[],"relatedItems":[],"sizes":[],"formats":[],"version":null,"rightsList":[],"descriptions":[{"descriptionType":"Abstract","description":"Task-oriented dialog (TOD) systems enable conversational interfaces for complex tasks like flight booking and restaurant reservations. However, deploying TOD systems at scale faces three critical barriers: scalability, generalization, and evaluation. Scalability is primarily restricted by the human-annotation bottleneck, as current systems depend on vast quantities of manually labeled data for every new domain, making deployment prohibitively expensive. Generalization remains a persistent challenge, as systems optimized for known domains often suffer significant performance degradation when encountering new, unseen ones. Existing evaluation metrics measure response quality and fluency, but fail to measure functional task success. As TOD systems are deployed across diverse real-world domains powering millions of daily interactions, overcoming these three barriers is critical to advancing practical and scalable dialog systems. This dissertation addresses these barriers through three progressive contributions. First, we propose SCot, a framework for annotation-free slot filling that uses co-training on unannotated data to achieve performance comparable to supervised methods. Building on this foundation, we introduce ZS-ToD, an end-to-end TOD system designed for zero-shot generalization, enabling adaptation to new domains without retraining. Finally, we present ZeroToD, which synthesizes all three dimensions. ZeroToD removes per-turn annotation requirements for scalability, enhances generalization through schema augmentation, and evaluates task completion through structured API calls, demonstrating that fine-tuned open-source systems can exceed proprietary approaches on unseen domains.","lang":null},{"descriptionType":"Other","description":"© 2026 Adib Mosharrof","lang":null}],"geoLocations":[],"fundingReferences":[{"funderIdentifierType":"Crossref Funder ID","funderName":"National Science Foundation","funderIdentifier":"https://doi.org/10.13039/100000001","awardTitle":"Grant","awardNumber":"2401685","awardUri":null}],"url":"https://uknowledge.uky.edu/cs_etds/163/","contentUrl":null,"metadataVersion":0,"schemaVersion":"http://datacite.org/schema/kernel-4","source":"fabricaForm","isActive":true,"state":"findable","reason":null,"viewCount":0,"downloadCount":0,"referenceCount":0,"citationCount":0,"partCount":0,"partOfCount":0,"versionCount":0,"versionOfCount":0,"created":"2026-07-21T14:53:15Z","registered":"2026-07-21T14:53:15Z","published":null,"updated":"2026-07-21T14:53:15Z"},"relationships":{"client":{"data":{"id":"uky.lib","type":"clients"}}}},{"id":"10.13023/etd.2026.350","type":"dois","attributes":{"doi":"10.13023/etd.2026.350","identifiers":[],"creators":[{"nameType":"Personal","affiliation":[{"affiliationIdentifier":"https://ror.org/02k3smh20","schemeUri":"https://ror.org","name":"University of Kentucky","affiliationIdentifierScheme":"ROR"}],"givenName":"Rabeya Tus Sadia","familyName":null,"name":"Rabeya Tus Sadia","nameIdentifiers":[{"nameIdentifierScheme":"ORCID","schemeUri":"https://orcid.org","nameIdentifier":"https://orcid.org/0009-0004-0543-7081"}]}],"titles":[{"titleType":null,"lang":null,"title":"Advancing Generative Methods for Multimodal Data Analysis"}],"publisher":"University of Kentucky Libraries","container":{},"publicationYear":2026,"subjects":[{"classificationCode":"1.2","schemeUri":"https://web-archive.oecd.org/2012-06-15/138575-38235147.pdf","subject":"FOS: Computer and information sciences","subjectScheme":"Fields of Science and Technology (FOS)"}],"contributors":[],"dates":[],"language":null,"types":{"schemaOrg":"Thesis","resourceTypeGeneral":"Dissertation","citeproc":"thesis","bibtex":"phdthesis","ris":"THES"},"relatedIdentifiers":[],"relatedItems":[],"sizes":[],"formats":[],"version":null,"rightsList":[],"descriptions":[{"descriptionType":"Abstract","description":"The integration and modeling of high-dimensional, heterogeneous biological data remain central challenges in computational biology due to complex feature dependencies and pervasive missingness. This dissertation addresses these challenges by developing novel generative frameworks for multimodal data reconstruction, imputation, and interaction prediction. In generative modeling, we focus on capturing structural and causal dependencies in sparse biological systems. We first introduce CausalGeD, a causality-aware diffusion framework that leverages Granger-causal attention for biologically coherent spatial gene expression generation. Next, we propose CausalGenDiff, which combines VAE-guided latent representations with causal diffusion to enable robust reconstruction across spatial and single-cell modalities. We further present DepMicroDiff, a dependency-aware diffusion model for microbiome imputation that effectively handles missing data by modeling microbial co-occurrence structures. For multimodal interaction modeling, we address dynamic molecular ``crosstalk'' across biological entities. We introduce CrossLLM-Mamba, which formulates interaction prediction as a state-space alignment problem using bidirectional Mamba encoders. This design enables efficient hidden-state propagation across embeddings from specialized biological language models, achieving strong performance and generalization across RNA-protein, RNA-RNA, and RNA-molecule interactions. Finally, we explore LLM-based reasoning through CrunchLLM, a multitask framework that integrates structured features with textual metadata. It introduces hierarchical input encoding to balance structured and unstructured signals, along with a self-verifiable objective where justification loss constrains prediction consistency. While validated on business intelligence data, this framework provides a general blueprint for interpretable multimodal reasoning in biological domains. Overall, this dissertation demonstrates that causality-aware diffusion models, state-space architectures, and multimodal LLM frameworks offer improved efficiency, accuracy, and interpretability for complex multimodal learning tasks.","lang":null},{"descriptionType":"Other","description":"© 2026 Rabeya Tus Sadia","lang":null}],"geoLocations":[],"fundingReferences":[],"url":"https://uknowledge.uky.edu/cs_etds/162/","contentUrl":null,"metadataVersion":0,"schemaVersion":"http://datacite.org/schema/kernel-4","source":"fabricaForm","isActive":true,"state":"findable","reason":null,"viewCount":0,"downloadCount":0,"referenceCount":0,"citationCount":0,"partCount":0,"partOfCount":0,"versionCount":0,"versionOfCount":0,"created":"2026-07-21T14:49:33Z","registered":"2026-07-21T14:49:33Z","published":null,"updated":"2026-07-21T14:49:33Z"},"relationships":{"client":{"data":{"id":"uky.lib","type":"clients"}}}},{"id":"10.13023/etd.2026.346","type":"dois","attributes":{"doi":"10.13023/etd.2026.346","identifiers":[],"creators":[{"nameType":"Personal","affiliation":[{"affiliationIdentifier":"https://ror.org/02k3smh20","schemeUri":"https://ror.org","name":"University of Kentucky","affiliationIdentifierScheme":"ROR"}],"givenName":"Trinity Elizabeth","familyName":"Foster","name":"Foster, Trinity Elizabeth","nameIdentifiers":[{"nameIdentifierScheme":"ORCID","schemeUri":"https://orcid.org","nameIdentifier":"https://orcid.org/0009-0009-7027-7623"}]}],"titles":[{"titleType":null,"lang":null,"title":"THE IMPACT OF A KENTUCKY NUTRITION EDUCATION PROGRAM SOCIAL MARKETING CAMPAIGN ON RESIDENT HEALTH"}],"publisher":"University of Kentucky Libraries","container":{},"publicationYear":2026,"subjects":[{"classificationCode":"4.5","schemeUri":"https://web-archive.oecd.org/2012-06-15/138575-38235147.pdf","subject":"FOS: Other agricultural sciences","subjectScheme":"Fields of Science and Technology (FOS)"}],"contributors":[],"dates":[],"language":null,"types":{"schemaOrg":"ScholarlyArticle","resourceTypeGeneral":"Text","citeproc":"article-journal","bibtex":"article","ris":"RPRT","resourceType":"Master's Thesis"},"relatedIdentifiers":[],"relatedItems":[],"sizes":[],"formats":[],"version":null,"rightsList":[],"descriptions":[{"descriptionType":"Abstract","description":"Poor diet quality and physical inactivity are common health issues in the United States. To remedy these issues among low-income households, the United States Department of Agriculture created the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education Program (SNAP-Ed), which promoted healthy eating and physically active lifestyles through multiple avenues. The social marketing approach of SNAP-Ed uses marketing strategies to relay information to the public. In Kentucky, a statewide billboard campaign was launched in 2018 encouraging residents to focus on nutrition and physical activity. This study investigates the impact of that campaign on health outcomes in counties throughout the state. Using billboard location data from KYNEP in conjunction with county-to-county commuting flow data from the U.S. Census Bureau, this study creates a novel exposure variable that captures county-level exposure to the campaign. Using a continuous treatment difference-in-differences framework, this study approximates the campaign’s effect on short- and long- term health outcomes using data from County Health Rankings \u0026 Roadmaps. Results show statistically significant but small in magnitude changes in the Poor or Fair Health, Poor Physical Health Days, and Diabetes outcome variables. All other results are statistically insignificant.","lang":null},{"descriptionType":"Other","description":"© 2026 Trinity Elizabeth Foster","lang":null}],"geoLocations":[],"fundingReferences":[],"url":"https://uknowledge.uky.edu/agecon_etds/119/","contentUrl":null,"metadataVersion":0,"schemaVersion":"http://datacite.org/schema/kernel-4","source":"fabricaForm","isActive":true,"state":"findable","reason":null,"viewCount":0,"downloadCount":0,"referenceCount":0,"citationCount":0,"partCount":0,"partOfCount":0,"versionCount":0,"versionOfCount":0,"created":"2026-07-21T14:45:44Z","registered":"2026-07-21T14:45:44Z","published":null,"updated":"2026-07-21T14:45:44Z"},"relationships":{"client":{"data":{"id":"uky.lib","type":"clients"}}}},{"id":"10.13023/etd.2026.343","type":"dois","attributes":{"doi":"10.13023/etd.2026.343","identifiers":[],"creators":[{"nameType":"Personal","affiliation":[{"affiliationIdentifier":"https://ror.org/02k3smh20","schemeUri":"https://ror.org","name":"University of Kentucky","affiliationIdentifierScheme":"ROR"}],"givenName":"Riley","familyName":"Grove","name":"Grove, Riley","nameIdentifiers":[{"nameIdentifierScheme":"ORCID","schemeUri":"https://orcid.org","nameIdentifier":"https://orcid.org/0009-0007-8836-0228"}]}],"titles":[{"titleType":null,"lang":null,"title":"Provenance of Detrital Monazite in Tertiary Coastal Plain Sediments (South Carolina) Based on Monazite U–Pb Geochronology, REE Concentrations, and Heavy Mineral Assemblages"},{"titleType":null,"lang":null,"title":"Implications for Critical Mineral Resources"}],"publisher":"University of Kentucky Libraries","container":{},"publicationYear":2026,"subjects":[{"classificationCode":"1.5","schemeUri":"https://web-archive.oecd.org/2012-06-15/138575-38235147.pdf","subject":"FOS: Earth and related environmental sciences","subjectScheme":"Fields of Science and Technology (FOS)"}],"contributors":[],"dates":[],"language":null,"types":{"schemaOrg":"ScholarlyArticle","resourceTypeGeneral":"Text","citeproc":"article-journal","bibtex":"article","ris":"RPRT","resourceType":"Master's Thesis"},"relatedIdentifiers":[],"relatedItems":[],"sizes":[],"formats":[],"version":null,"rightsList":[],"descriptions":[{"descriptionType":"Abstract","description":"Exploration for critical mineral resources within the United States is increasing, especially for rare earth element (REE) minerals, as the U.S. has become reliant on the importation of minerals to fulfill growing domestic demand. The purpose of this study is to use Laser Ablation Split Stream – Inductively Coupled Plasma – Mass Spectrometry (LASS–ICP–MS) on detrital monazite grains for U–Pb geochronology and REE analysis to constrain sedimentary provenance and evaluate the REE potential in the Coastal Plain province of South Carolina. Samples were obtained from the USGS NURE program with additional panned stream samples and Late Cretaceous to Early Cenozoic Coastal Plain formations. The dominant heavy minerals are ilmenite, zircon, monazite, sillimanite, and garnet, consistent with a metamorphic source terrane. Detrital monazite grains within the Cenozoic formations and in the modern Coastal Plain waterways have major U–Pb age modes (Alleghanian, Neo-Acadian, lesser Acadian, no Taconian) consistent with a provenance from terranes southeast of the Brevard Fault zone in the Inner Piedmont. The notable lack of Taconian-aged monazite grains is consistent with a general lack of Blue Ridge Province input. Heavy REE concentrations vary widely among dated grains, but monazite grains of Neo-Acadian age tend to have highest Gd/Lu values, consistent with monazite growth related to garnet growth during peak Neo-Acadian regional metamorphism. There is not a clear relationship between Y+HREE content, spot location, and age as shown by in-situ studies of metamorphic monazite in metapelites. Comparison of samples in this study to previous works indicates that the source of sediment matches those in the Inner Piedmont of South and North Carolina.","lang":null},{"descriptionType":"Other","description":"© 2026 Riley E. Grove","lang":null}],"geoLocations":[],"fundingReferences":[{"funderIdentifierType":"Crossref Funder ID","funderName":"National Science Foundation","funderIdentifier":"https://doi.org/10.13039/100000001","awardTitle":"Grant","awardNumber":"2346610","awardUri":null},{"funderIdentifierType":"Other","funderName":"Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences Ferm Fund and Brown-McFarlan Fund","funderIdentifier":null,"awardTitle":null,"awardNumber":null,"awardUri":null}],"url":"https://uknowledge.uky.edu/ees_etds/126/","contentUrl":null,"metadataVersion":0,"schemaVersion":"http://datacite.org/schema/kernel-4","source":"fabricaForm","isActive":true,"state":"findable","reason":null,"viewCount":0,"downloadCount":0,"referenceCount":0,"citationCount":0,"partCount":0,"partOfCount":0,"versionCount":0,"versionOfCount":0,"created":"2026-07-21T14:42:27Z","registered":"2026-07-21T14:42:28Z","published":null,"updated":"2026-07-21T14:42:28Z"},"relationships":{"client":{"data":{"id":"uky.lib","type":"clients"}}}},{"id":"10.13023/etd.2026.310","type":"dois","attributes":{"doi":"10.13023/etd.2026.310","identifiers":[],"creators":[{"nameType":"Personal","affiliation":[{"affiliationIdentifier":"https://ror.org/02k3smh20","schemeUri":"https://ror.org","name":"University of Kentucky","affiliationIdentifierScheme":"ROR"}],"givenName":"Victor","familyName":"Okuo","name":"Okuo, Victor","nameIdentifiers":[{"nameIdentifierScheme":"ORCID","schemeUri":"https://orcid.org","nameIdentifier":"https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2212-4365"}]}],"titles":[{"titleType":null,"lang":null,"title":"STUDENT FAMILIARITY WITH THE PERIODIC TABLE OF THE ELEMENTS"},{"titleType":"Subtitle","lang":null,"title":"RESULTS FROM CUED-RECALL AND EYE-TRACKING ASSESSMENTS ON MEMORY"}],"publisher":"University of Kentucky Libraries","container":{},"publicationYear":2026,"subjects":[{"classificationCode":"1.4","schemeUri":"https://web-archive.oecd.org/2012-06-15/138575-38235147.pdf","subject":"FOS: Chemical sciences","subjectScheme":"Fields of Science and Technology (FOS)"}],"contributors":[],"dates":[],"language":null,"types":{"schemaOrg":"Thesis","resourceTypeGeneral":"Dissertation","citeproc":"thesis","bibtex":"phdthesis","ris":"THES"},"relatedIdentifiers":[],"relatedItems":[],"sizes":[],"formats":[],"version":null,"rightsList":[],"descriptions":[{"descriptionType":"Abstract","description":"Learning element symbol–name associations and the spatial organization of elements on the periodic table is a foundational step in learning chemistry, supporting later understanding of chemical formulas, equations, bonding, and stoichiometry. Although students often rely on memorization strategies to learn periodic table content, this task is challenging due to the large number of elements and the apparent ambiguity in matching some element symbols to their names.\n\nThis study explores students’ recall of element names when given element symbols as cues and their knowledge of element locations on the periodic table when given element names as cues. The study also examines how these two pieces vary across course groups. We examined seven student groups representing increasing levels of chemistry coursework using two complementary but distinct experimental approaches: a survey-based cued-recall task assessing percentage-correct symbol–name recall, and a separate eye-tracking experiment assessing how students visually searched for selected elements on the periodic table.\n\nThe overall results, considering all elements together, reveal that recall of element symbol–name associations and visual search efficiency improve with increasing chemistry exposure, but do not follow a strictly stepwise progression. Element-specific analyses reveal that cued recall of symbol–name associations developed unevenly across the periodic table, with some elements consolidating early, others strengthening gradually with increased exposure to chemistry, and a subset remaining weakly recalled even among upper-level undergraduate and graduate students. Visual search efficiency follows a similar pattern, shifting from exploratory search to shorter, more focused search paths in advanced course groups. Importantly, cued-recall and visual search efficiency were similar but not equivalent. In some cases, elements were located efficiently despite weak or absent recall, whereas in others,  elements recalled were associated with inefficient search behavior. These findings indicate that symbol–name knowledge and spatial knowledge of element locations constitute distinct but interacting memory components. At the upper levels of instruction, there seems to be an integration of these components, enabling students to use the periodic table more effectively as a structured representation rather than relying solely on element symbol-name associations.","lang":null},{"descriptionType":"Other","description":"© 2026 Victor A. Okuo","lang":null}],"geoLocations":[],"fundingReferences":[],"url":"https://uknowledge.uky.edu/chemistry_etds/222/","contentUrl":null,"metadataVersion":0,"schemaVersion":"http://datacite.org/schema/kernel-4","source":"fabricaForm","isActive":true,"state":"findable","reason":null,"viewCount":0,"downloadCount":0,"referenceCount":0,"citationCount":0,"partCount":0,"partOfCount":0,"versionCount":0,"versionOfCount":0,"created":"2026-07-21T14:35:35Z","registered":"2026-07-21T14:35:36Z","published":null,"updated":"2026-07-21T14:35:36Z"},"relationships":{"client":{"data":{"id":"uky.lib","type":"clients"}}}}],"meta":{"total":5949,"totalPages":238,"page":1},"links":{"self":"https://api.datacite.org/dois?affiliation=true\u0026affiliation-id=https%3A%2F%2Fror.org%2F02k3smh20","next":"https://api.datacite.org/dois?affiliation-id=https%3A%2F%2Fror.org%2F02k3smh20\u0026affiliation=true\u0026page%5Bnumber%5D=2\u0026page%5Bsize%5D=25"}}