Elizabeth City State University

This study explores the implementation of transcultural approaches in cultivating culturally competent communities of character within diverse educational settings. Grounded in the theoretical foundations of emancipatory learning, transcultural frameworks, and communicative rationality, the research investigates how educational leaders can effectively foster inclusive, equitable, and transformative learning environments. Employing a qualitative research design that integrates grounded theory, action research, and multiple case study approaches, the study examines five diverse educational institutions over an 18-month period. Data collection methods include semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions, participant observations, document analysis, and reflective journals. Key findings highlight the importance of integrating emancipatory and transcultural approaches into curriculum design, the crucial role of educational leaders in modeling inclusive communication and facilitating collaborative decision-making, and the necessity of addressing challenges such as resource allocation and professional development needs. The study also emphasizes the value of implementing culturally responsive assessment practices and the potential of transcultural educational leadership in empowering students as ethical agents of positive change. This research contributes to the fields of educational leadership and character education by providing insights into effective strategies for cultivating culturally competent communities of character in increasingly diverse educational contexts. The findings have implications for educational policy, professional development, and the design of character education initiatives in pluralistic societies.

Mesenchymal stem cell (MSC)-derived exosomes are recognized as critical mediators within the tumor microenvironment (TME), exerting both pro- and anti-tumorigenic effects depending on contextual factors. These vesicles are also gaining attention for their potential as therapeutic vehicles in regenerative medicine and targeted drug delivery. However, the influence of the TME on the physical characteristics of MSC-derived exosomes remains poorly understood. In this study, we utilized Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) to investigate the morphological and nanomechanical properties of MSC-derived exosomes under standard and TME-like conditions. AFM imaging in fluid mode preserved the native structure of exosomes and enabled high-resolution analysis of their topography, surface roughness, stiffness, adhesion, and deformation. AFM offers unique advantages in exosome research by enabling label-free, nanoscale analysis of vesicle properties in near-physiological conditions. The ability to detect such subtle but functionally significant changes highlights the relevance of AFM in exosome characterization and quality assessment. Our results revealed that exposure to the TME induces marked changes in exosomal membrane morphology and mechanical behavior, including increased surface heterogeneity, higher stiffness, and altered adhesive interactions. These biophysical alterations may reflect changes in membrane composition and protein or lipid cargo, potentially affecting exosome function, uptake, and therapeutic efficacy. Overall, our findings provide new insights into how the TME modulates MSC exosome biophysics and underscore the utility of AFM-based techniques for advancing the development of exosome-based diagnostics and therapies.

This paper presents the architecture of a multimodal real-time drone classification system that integrates visual and audio modalities on edge devices. Most existing vision-only or audio-only systems tend to fail under adverse weather or high background noise. We present an architectural framework that integrates synchronized imagery and propeller sound through a dual-stream deep learning pipeline to address this deficiency. Visual data is processed using a lightweight object detector, and sound data is converted into spectrograms and analyzed using a lightweight convolutional neural network. Both modalities are combined in a fusion layer to enhance robustness and precision, while ensuring computational lightness. The model is optimized for deployment on low-resource devices, such as NVIDIA Jetson and Raspberry Pi, ensuring it does not rely on cloud connectivity and supports autonomous, real-time deployment. While the present work focuses on system design, ongoing work involves developing a particular multimodal dataset for training and testing purposes. Such a framework provides a foundation for low-cost, scalable, resilient drone surveillance solutions for defense, critical infrastructure, and urban airspace monitoring.

Several studies have noted that humanists have not been as quick or enthusiastic in their adoption of Open Access (OA) as their colleagues in other disciplines. This article leverages the Ithaka S+R US 2021 Faculty Survey to provide contextualized analysis of the OA and Open Education Resources (OER) preferences of humanities scholars, as well as some practices related to OA and OER, relative to their colleagues in other disciplines. Findings suggest that although humanists do stand apart in many OA preferences, the small effect sizes render these differences less important than previously suspected. The implications of these findings are considered alongside the lower rates of OA publication among humanists

Abstract Mesenchymal stem cell (MSC)-derived exosomes are recognized as critical mediators within the tumor microenvironment (TME), exerting both pro- and anti-tumorigenic effects depending on contextual factors. These vesicles are also gaining attention for their potential as therapeutic vehicles in regenerative medicine and targeted drug delivery. However, the influence of the TME on the physical characteristics of MSC-derived exosomes remains poorly understood. In this study, we utilized Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) to investigate the morphological and nanomechanical properties of MSC-derived exosomes under standard and TME-like conditions. AFM imaging in fluid mode preserved the native structure of exosomes and enabled high-resolution analysis of their topography, surface roughness, stiffness, adhesion, and deformation. AFM offers unique advantages in exosome research by enabling label-free, nanoscale analysis of vesicle properties in near-physiological conditions. The ability to detect such subtle but functionally significant changes highlights the relevance of AFM in exosome characterization and quality assessment. Our results revealed that exposure to the TME induces marked changes in exosomal membrane morphology and mechanical behavior, including increased surface heterogeneity, higher stiffness, and altered adhesive interactions. These biophysical alterations may reflect changes in membrane composition and protein or lipid cargo, potentially affecting exosome function, uptake, and therapeutic efficacy. Overall, our findings provide new insights into how the TME modulates MSC exosome biophysics and underscore the utility of AFM-based techniques for advancing the development of exosome-based diagnostics and therapies. This can provide a conceptual framework for future mechanistic and translational studies in this area.

Some giant US conglomerates are now undergoing corporate spin-offs or are considering such spin-offs in the near future. Corporate spin-offs offer a unique opportunity to assess corporate capital structure decisions. The leverage ratio of the spin-off firms represents their initial capital structure. We investigate the capital structure of corporate spin-offs and find evidence that they adhere to the trade-off theory. This study provides evidence that the subsidiary firms tend to aim for a target capital ratio during the sample period. The results indicate that the partial adjustment model with firm fixed effects is a good fit for the data sample. The parent companies in corporate spin-offs exhibit a similar pattern but with a slower adjustment speed. The tendency to target capital ratios is observable in both market value and book value leverage measures for the parent and subsidiary firms. Indicators of the pecking order assumption do not possess statistically significant coefficients. Changes in share price affect market debt ratios in the short term. With alternative definitions of leverage, the estimated adjustment speeds vary. In the case of longer horizons, the results align with a continuous rate of adjustment.

The Younger Dryas Impact Hypothesis (YDIH) posits that ~12,800 years ago Earth encountered the debris stream of a disintegrating comet, triggering hemisphere-wide airbursts, atmospheric dust loading, and the deposition of a distinctive suite of extraterrestrial (ET) impact proxies at the Younger Dryas Boundary (YDB). Until now, evidence supporting this hypothesis has come only from terrestrial sediment and ice-core records. Here we report the first discovery of similar impact-related proxies in ocean sediments from four marine cores in Baffin Bay that span the YDB layer at water depths of 0.5–2.4 km, minimizing the potential for modern contamination. Using scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) and laser ablation ICP-MS, we detect synchronous abundance peaks of metallic debris geochemically consistent with cometary dust, co-occurring with iron- and silica-rich microspherules (4–163 μm) that are predominantly of terrestrial origin with minor (<2 wt%) ET contributions. These microspherules were likely formed by low-altitude touchdown airbursts and surface impacts of comet fragments and were widely dispersed. In addition, single-particle ICP-TOF-MS analysis reveals nanoparticles (<1 μm) enriched in platinum, iridium, nickel, and cobalt. Similar platinum-group element anomalies at the YDB have been documented at dozens of sites worldwide, strongly suggesting an ET source. Collectively, these findings provide robust support for the YDIH. The impact event likely triggered massive meltwater flooding, iceberg calving, and a temporary shutdown of thermohaline circulation, contributing to abrupt Younger Dryas cooling. Our identification of a YDB impact layer in deep marine sediments underscores the potential of oceanic records to broaden our understanding of this catastrophic event and its climatological impacts.

This study examines the multidimensional relationship among social impacts, knowledge of legacy, and the intention to support hosting future large-scale sports events. Only limited research has explored how the perceived legacies influence stakeholders’ behaviors, particularly considering the mediated role of knowledge about the legacies from hosting a large-scale sports event. To assess the relationship, factors of legacies derived from social exchange theory reflect both positive and negative social impacts and knowledge of legacy is conceptualized and developed from existing studies. The results suggest that knowledge of legacy significantly mediates the relationship between perceived social impacts and community support for hosting future large-scale sports events. In particular, understanding the legacy of past events diminishes the negative perception of economic costs associated with the future support of hosting large-scale sports events in the community. On the other hand, community development is crucial in directly enhancing support for hosting future events. The findings of this study can serve as valuable insights for prospective communities and event administrators to establish an effective and successful planning process by providing a clear rationale to utilize various managerial and communicational strategies to cultivate the understanding of event legacies toward hosting future events.