University of Southern California

Neanderthal’s heel: How the Neanderthal’s external calcaneal shape uniquely differs from that of modern humans

Neanderthals exhibit unique morphological adaptations in their calcaneus compared to Homo sapiens , shedding light on distinct evolutionary pressures and functional requirements shaping their respective foot anatomy. This study assesses which calcaneal traits represent plesiomorp...

P1.141. A Machine Learning Model for Assessment of Conduit Perfusion in Robotic Assisted Minimally Invasive Esophagectomy Using Indocyanine Green

Abstract Topic Esophageal Cancer: Other Background Anastomotic leak remains a major complication in esophagectomy. Indocyanine Green (ICG) can assist with the assessment of conduit perfusion but remains subjective and prone to bias. Our lab has worked to design a computer vision...

Echoes across the divide: incivility and the fragmentation of issue publics in immigration discourse

As immigration remains one of the most polarizing issues in U.S. politics, public discourse around it has become increasingly uncivil, especially on social media. This longitudinal study examines how incivility spreads and escalates across ideologically opposed issue publics on X...

Conformal network link prediction with false discovery rate control under unstructured missingness

We propose a new method for predicting multiple missing links in partially observed networks while controlling the false discovery rate (FDR), a largely unresolved challenge in network analysis. The main difficulty lies in handling complex dependencies and unknown missing pattern...

Insights into the relationship between menopausal timing and risk of cardiovascular disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis of Mendelian randomization analyses

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death and imposes a substantial burden on women’s health. Early onset of menopause, as a unique trait of reproductive aging, has been associated with a higher risk of adverse cardiovascular events in traditional observational s...

Analysis and experiments of the dissipative Twistcar: direction reversal and asymptotic approximations

Abstract Underactuated wheeled vehicles are commonly studied as nonholonomic systems with periodic actuation. Twistcar is a classical example inspired by a riding toy, which has been analyzed using a planar model of a dynamical system with nonholonomic constraints. Most of the pr...

High-Value Care in Pediatric Critical Care: Intravenous to Enteral Gastrointestinal Medications

Advancing pediatric critical care medicine includes identifying and reducing health care costs while maintaining—and even enhancing—the delivery of high-value care. Gastrointestinal (GI) prophylaxis (PPX) is commonly prescribed for children in the pediatric intensive care unit (P...

Cumulative Opioid Exposures in the First Year of Life and Cognitive Neurodevelopment in High-Risk Infants

BACKGROUND: High-risk infants with significant neonatal-perinatal morbidities often require opioids, but prolonged exposures can impair neurodevelopment. We evaluated the effect of cumulative opioid exposures in the first year of life, measured by morphine milligrams equivalents...

Semi-universality of CFT$_d$ entropy at large spin

The thermal partition function, Z <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"> <mml:mi>Z</mml:mi> </mml:math> , of a CFT_d <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"> <mml:mrow> <mml:mi>C</mml:mi> <mml:mi>F</mml:mi> <mm...

Temporally regulated FGFR2-retinoic acid signaling mediates dura mater-suture mesenchyme interactions to prevent craniosynostosis in mice

Congenital anomalies often arise during critical developmental time windows, yet the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Here, we identify a time-specific FGFR2-retinoic acid signaling axis regulating postnatal coronal suture development through dura mater-suture mesenchyme int...

The impact of NaOH, CaO, and [Ca 2+ ] + [HCO 3 − ] additions on PIC and POC formation in Los Angeles Harbor Waters

Abstract. Negative CO2 emission technologies such as ocean alkalinity enhancement, in tandem with emissions reduction are necessary to keep the climate system below a critical tipping point. While the biogeochemical consequences of alkalinity enhancement remain poorly constrained...

The hematology workforce in the United States: past, present, and strategies for the future

From 2017-2021, the American Society of Hematology (ASH) completed the largest study ever conducted of the hematology workforce in the United States (US). The study highlighted a deficit in the classical hematology (CH) workforce: despite very high CH clinical volumes encountered...

Insulin resistance is associated with mammary mitochondrial dysfunction at the onset of human lactation

Insulin resistance (IR) has emerged as a risk factor for lactation insufficiency and delays the onset of milk secretion after childbirth, termed secretory activation (SA). This may cause inadequate infant weight gain and early breastfeeding cessation. However, the mechanisms unde...

Assessing molecular, cellular and transcriptomic bases of laminar perfusion and cytoarchitecture coupling in the human cortex

Understanding how cellular architecture organizes cortical function requires mesoscopic approaches that resolve structure-function coupling in vivo. Here we introduce cerebral blood flow (CBF) and cell-body staining intensity (CSI) similarity index (CCSI), a localized similarity...

Circles of Confidence for Multi‐Label Geometry Completion

Abstract Inside–outside classification is widely used for geometry processing tasks such as surface reconstruction, geometry completion, and calculating signed distance fields. We introduce a new integral formulation of this problem, which assigns confidence scores that points ar...

Forest canopy decline under elevated CO 2 during the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum

Uncertainty remains regarding the impact of rapid anthropogenic warming on forest ecosystem structure, biodiversity, and function. As an analog, we reconstruct forest canopy density and compositional change in Wyoming, USA, through the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM), an...

Postoperative Interventions and Cost Associated With Disposition After Tonsil and Adenoidectomy

OBJECTIVE To evaluate postoperative disposition and resource use among patients admitted to the inpatient unit or pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) following tonsillectomy, adenoidectomy, and tonsillectomy/adenoidectomy (T/A). PATIENTS AND METHODS This retrospective cohort stu...

Exohedral 1:2Complexes of Lanthanide Atoms with theC60 Fullerene: What Hapticity Is Preferred, η10, η11, or η12?

Abstract The structure of crystalline lanthanide–C60 fullerides allows for the Ln atom coordination to two rings of adjacent fullerene molecules simultaneously, where the resulting Ln hapticity can be η10, η11, or η12. We analyze the geometries, bonding strength, charge, spin, an...

Demographic and Service-related Correlates of Moral Injury Symptoms in U.S. Military Populations

Introduction: Moral injury, the psychological distress from perceived transgressions of deeply held moral values, is distinct from moral distress and fear-based conditions such as PTSD. While combat exposure has received significant attention, less is known about how demographic...

“We cannot rely on foreign entities to take care of our health… we need to change our mindset”: immediate impacts of the 2025 U.S. government funding cuts on health in Kenya

In 2024, the United States Government (USG) distributed $730 million of development assistance for health to Kenya, much of which supported HIV care; in early 2025, almost all USG funding was abruptly halted. This study explores the impacts of the funding cuts on uptake of health...