DRUM - Digital Repository at the University of Maryland

DRUM collects, preserves, and provides public access to the scholarly output of the university. Faculty and researchers can upload research products for rapid dissemination, global visibility and impact, and long-term preservation.

Submit to DRUM

Submit to DRUM

To submit an item to DRUM, login using your UMD credentials. Then select the "Submit Item to DRUM" link in the navigation bar. View DRUM policies and submission guidelines.
Equitable Access Policy

Equitable Access Policy

The University of Maryland Equitable Access Policy provides equitable, open access to the University's research and scholarship. Faculty can learn more about what is covered by the policy and how to deposit on the policy website.
Theses and Dissertations

Theses and Dissertations

DRUM includes all UMD theses and dissertations from 2003 forward.

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UM Community-managed Collections

Recent Submissions

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    ROLE OF TRPV4 MECHANOSENSING IN DIFFERENTIATION OF VALVULAR INTERSTITIAL CELLS AND AORTIC ENDOTHELIAL CELLS
    (2025) Mukherjee, Pritha; Rahaman, Shaik O. SOR; Nutrition; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    Cardiovascular diseases, such as atherosclerosis and aortic valve stenosis, have continued to remain the leading cause of death for the past several decades. Although, due to the improvement in medical science, the mortality rates have decreased over time, the number of cases diagnosed in recent years has increased at a significant rate. While patients from higher socio-economic backgrounds can afford the treatment procedures, there has been a pressing need for preventative therapies to support the greater population, compelling us to study the fundamental process of the disease initiation and progression. Aortic valve stenosis (AVS), one of the most complicated disease conditions, leads to increased stiffness (rigidity) of the heart valve tissue, causing valvular interstitial cells (VICs) to differentiate into myofibroblasts. Endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition (Endo-MT) is a process where endothelial cells (ECs) differentiate into mesenchymal cells, which may lead to the endothelial dysfunctions which are involved in major cardiovascular diseases such as atherosclerosis. Matrix stiffness is recognized as a risk factor in both AVS and atherosclerosis development and progression. This study investigated the role of Transient Receptor Potential Vanilloid 4 (Trpv4), a mechanosensitive ion channel in VIC-myofibroblast activation and Endo-MT in response to both matrix stiffness and TGFβ, a major promoter of tissue fibrosis. We confirmed Trpv4 functionality in primary mouse VICs and aortic ECs (aECs) and found that its genetic and pharmacologic deletion/antagonism blocked VIC to myofibroblast and Endo-MT induced by matrix stiffness and TGFβ1, as indicated by changes in cell morphology, α-smooth muscle actin, and F-actin expression. Key findings revealed that residues 30-130 in Trpv4 were essential in stiffness-mediated VIC to myofibroblast differentiation and Endo-MT. Furthermore, Trpv4 was shown to regulate PI3K-AKT activity necessary for myofibroblast differentiation and cellular traction force generation. Moreover, we found that Trpv4 regulates the stiffness-mediated phosphorylation of MLC2, A major regulator which in turn regulates Endo-MT in aECs. These results highlight Trpv4's novel role in VIC- myofibroblast activation and mechanotransduction in regulating Endo-MT. Altogether our results suggest that Trpv4-based targeted therapeutic strategies may have the potential to prevent or suppress cardiovascular diseases.
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    A critical review of pre-post surveys designed to measure student epistemology in undergraduate science courses
    (2025-11-18) Chatzikyriakidou, Kyriaki; Hall, Kristi L.; Redish, Edward F.; Cooke, Todd J.
    The epistemology of science students, i.e., their beliefs about the nature of the knowledge they are learning, about what they have to do to learn it, and about how they will use that knowledge, often plays a powerful role in what they learn in their science courses. This perspective paper provides a broad overview of the theoretical frameworks, designs, and applications of online pre-post surveys that are available to assess the potential shifts in epistemic perspectives in undergraduate science courses. We pay particular attention to a recent survey for biology courses called the Maryland Biological Expectation Survey (MBEX). The MBEX was developed to probe four epistemic themes that are closely aligned with the Vision and Change initiative for reforming undergraduate biology education. This review is intended to inform STEM teachers about the availability of online epistemological surveys for evaluating the epistemic effects of their courses. These surveys can also help STEM education researchers readily evaluate how different pedagogies, classroom contexts, and other features of learning environments affect the epistemic perspectives of science students.
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    Search "Libraries Worldwide" with Primo VE
    (2025-11-14) Bradley, Benjamin
    Change will almost always ruffle some feathers. My institution recently migrated from WorldCat Discovery to Alma/Primo VE, and we received a lot of feedback lamenting the loss of WorldCat Discovery. This wasn't just people resistant to change, the system migration disrupted users' normal workflows. As a library focused on "just in time" services, Interlibrary Loan is an essential for many of our users. Primo VE can integrate with WorldCat, but during our migration we were discouraged to implement the integration because it causes performance issues. At most the suggestion was to create a separate search option in Primo VE to just search WorldCat, yet that would similarly complicate the research workflow. In response to the volume of feedback, I began a month-long test of the API integration, and I found that the integration did not cause performance issues. This poster will share the data I collected, the methods used, and a discussion about the pros and cons of integrating the WorldCat API as part of the default search option in Primo VE.
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    Understanding Linkages Between Coastal Environment & Community Health
    (2025-01-24) Vargas-Nguyen, V; Kelsey, Heath; Badri, L; Adebayo, A; Breton, T; Byun, J; Fife, A; Kalama, I; Matthew, L; Novara, A; Sequeira, R
    Coastal environments face unique challenges that profoundly affect human well-being. Stressors such as pollution, rising temperatures, flooding, harmful algal blooms (HABs), and emerging contaminants threaten ecosystems and disproportionately impact vulnerable communities. This report presents the findings from the Fall 2024 Coastal Environment and Community Health course, by graduate students in the Marine, Estuarine, and Environmental Science program at the University System of Maryland.