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OpenBU is Boston University’s digital institutional repository for scholarly articles, theses and dissertations, preprints, and grey literature. This repository enables BU researchers to share, disseminate, and preserve their scholarship, and makes their research more accessible
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Recent Submissions
The haunting of liberation: Derrida and Dussel, three decades later
(2022-11-19) Maia, Filipe
Carbonate chimneys at the highly productive Point Dume methane seep: fine-scale mineralogical, geochemical, and microbiological heterogeneity reflects dynamic and long-lived methane-metabolizing habitats
(Wiley, 2024) Schroedl, Peter; Silverstein, Michael; DiGregorio, Daisy; Blättler, Clara L.; Loyd, Sean; Bradbury, Harold J.; Edwards, R. Lawrence; Marlow, Jeffrey
Methane is a potent greenhouse gas that enters the marine system in large quantities at seafloor methane seeps. At a newly discovered seep site off the coast of Point Dume, CA, ~ meter-scale carbonate chimneys host microbial communities that exhibit the highest methane-oxidizing potential recorded to date. Here, we provide a detailed assessment of chimney geobiology through correlative mineralogical, geochemical, and microbiological studies of seven chimney samples in order to clarify the longevity and heterogeneity of these highly productive systems. U-Th dating indicated that a methane-driven carbonate precipitating system at Point Dume has existed for ~20 Kyr, while millimeter-scale variations in carbon and calcium isotopic values, elemental abundances, and carbonate polymorphs revealed changes in carbon source, precipitation rates, and diagenetic processes throughout the chimneys' lifespan. Microbial community analyses revealed diverse modern communities with prominent anaerobic methanotrophs, sulfate-reducing bacteria, and Anaerolineaceae; communities were more similar within a given chimney wall transect than in similar horizons of distinct structures. The chimneys represent long-lived repositories of methane-oxidizing communities and provide a window into how carbon can be transformed, sequestered, and altered over millennia at the Point Dume methane seep.
Interactive drumming, inclusion, and authentic connection
(Percussive Arts Society, 2024-02-19) Smith, Gareth
Meaningfulness in DIY/DIWO music making and learning: a duoethnographic exploration of a rock band and a high school choir
(SAGE Publications, 2025-01-17) Smith, Gareth Dylan; Lee, Austina Frances
This article presents two authors’ duoethnographic exploration of meaningfulness in the do-it-yourself/do-it-with-others (DIY/DIWO) contexts of an independent rock band in the United Kingdom and a high school choir in the United States. The authors’ duoethnographic method also models a DIY/DIWO approach to scholarship, fostering a collaborative ethos founded in mutual trust and authentic connection. Meaningfulness is explored in relation to themes of fun, fulfillment, friendship and familiality, which are integral to the experiences and ethos of the musicians and scholars involved. This article concludes by suggesting ways in which the DIY/DIWO practices and contexts explored, might point to modes of engagement that can foster successful intimate, sustained relationships in arts, education and research.
Characterization of Slit2-C as a biomarker of disease activity in systemic lupus erythematosus and lupus nephritis
(2024) Jang, Sarah; Rifkin, Ian R.
Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a complex autoimmune disease with a high likelihood of renal involvement. There are several pathophysiological processes that remodel the kidney in lupus nephritis (LN). A kidney biopsy is the golden standard for classifying lupus nephritis. Commercially available clinical tests based on blood or urine specimens can provide indications about the disease progression of LN, but they are not always highly specific for SLE or LN. Therefore, there is a need to discover improved biomarkers that are specific to autoimmune and chronic kidney diseases. The ligand Slit2 binds to its receptor Robo, which is found in the kidney. Recent studies have shown that Slit2-Robo2 signaling is associated with podocyte effacement and detachment from the glomerular basement membrane (GBM). Furthermore, there is an increased expression of Robo2 in animal models of immune-mediated nephritis and acute kidney injury, as well as human kidney samples of membranous nephropathy (MN) and focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS). Given these recent findings, it is of great interest to investigate whether altered Slit2 and Robo2 expression modulates disease activity in lupus nephritis, which is classically characterized by glomerulonephritis and impaired glomerular function. This thesis focuses on evaluating the C-terminus of the Slit 2 protein (Slit2-C) as a biomarker of disease activity in SLE and LN. Our hypothesis was that Slit2-C levels would be elevated in patients with severe LN, particularly in LN patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). We found that Slit2-C in serum was significantly associated with SLE Disease Activity Index 2K (SLEDAI-2K) scores, low C3 complements, high platelet cell count, proteinuria, urine protein-to-creatinine ratio, hematuria, and NIH activity and chronicity indices in kidney biopsies. There was significantly elevated serum Slit2-C in Class IV+V LN compared to Class II, Class III, and Class IV LN. However, the healthy control and renal disease control had higher serum Slit2-C values than the majority of the LN cohort. Our results suggest that, in the setting of autoimmune kidney disease, Slit2-C is a sensitive biomarker of disease activity and renal damage. Interestingly, LN patients with CKD had lower levels of serum Slit2-C relative to non-CKD LN patients. There was no statistical significance between Slit2-C and estimated glomerular filtration rates (eGFR) or between Slit2-C and serum creatinine levels in LN patients. The majority of non-CKD LN patients in our study cohort presented with proteinuria yet normal eGFR. Further study is thereby warranted to determine the degree to which Slit2-C levels reflect the remodeling of both glomerular and non-glomerular structures in the kidney as a result of LN pathophysiology. Overall, the findings of our pilot study establish Slit2-C as a potential biomarker of disease activity and renal damage in SLE and LN. In contrast to the N-terminus of Slit2 and uncleaved Slit2, Slit2-C lacks the binding domain that activates the transmembrane Robo receptor. Comparative analyses with Slit2-N and uncleaved Slit2 will be instrumental for the comprehensive evaluation of Slit2 as a valid biomarker for autoimmune and chronic kidney diseases.
Library strategies to support experiential learning courses in business schools
(2025-06-05) Berger, Kathleen; Moylan, Dorice
In 2020, the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), an American professional and accreditation organization, included requirements for experiential learning courses in business schools across the U.S. Since that time, we have seen an increase in experiential learning classes offered at Questrom School of Business at Boston University which has allowed us to develop additional library support strategies for these classes. We will briefly review research about this trend in business school curricula. Next, we will discuss examples of library support that we provided to these classes over the past few semesters.
Tangled roots, twisted truths
(2024) Jain, Manya
There once was an ancient and vast forest. Trees stood tall like sentinels, with their roots deeply tangled in the earth’s memory. Much like the hippocampus, it stored every tale whispered by the wind. The air hummed with the quiet rustling of leaves and birds. A harmony of knowledge passed from season to season. But this peaceful expanse was interrupted by a single seed of information that drifted down from the sky. Small and unnoticed, it nestled into the soil. The warmth from the sun and the breath of the wind made this little seed grow.
Buddhism and hume
(2024) Mulla, Aliyah
There is something that is equally daunting, invigorating, and enlightening in attempting to question the things that we take for granted most in this world. And there is something equally daunting, invigorating and enlightening in juxtaposing two diverging but not dissimilar views on these subjects in an attempt to create some semblance of valuable philosophical discourse. While superficially there is little in common between an 18th century philosopher from Edinburgh and a 2000-year-old Indian belief system, David Hume and the Buddhist tradition both seem to challenge our notions of causation and the self in astonishingly similar, albeit distinctly complex ways. Through this paper, I aim to briefly touch upon the Buddhist notion of causation in contrast with Hume’s notion of causation, and subsequently explore how these contribute to similar conceptions of the self and personal identity. I will do so primarily with the help of Hume’s A Treatise of Human Nature, Malcolm David Eckel’s Bhāviveka’s Arguments for Reincarnation, Amber Carpenter’s Indian Buddhist Philosophy, and Jay Garfield’s Engaging Buddhism.
Cortex in color
(2024) Lombardo, Sophia
SPIN: the future of pain perception
(2024) Eyassu, Jordan
What if the brain’s response to pain wasn’t just a simple alarm system, but instead was part of a complex web of regions working together? Imagine a future where understanding the complexity of the pain response allows us to target mental illness and neurological disorders with unprecedented precision. While the development of new treatment brings risks and “what-ifs,” our knowledge of the pain response remains riddled with mysteries and ambiguity. As we continue to perceive the brain, we realize there is so much we don’t know about perception itself.