Maryland Shared Open Access Repository

MD-SOAR is a shared digital repository platform for twelve colleges and universities in Maryland. It is currently funded by the University System of Maryland and Affiliated Institutions (USMAI) Library Consortium (usmai.org) and other participating partner institutions. MD-SOAR is jointly governed by all participating libraries, who have agreed to share policies and practices that are necessary and appropriate for the shared platform. Within this broad framework, each library provides customized repository services and collections that meet local institutional needs. Please follow the links below to learn more about each library's repository services and collections.

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Recent Submissions

Does Continuous Positive Airway Pressure Improve Liver Outcomes in MASLD with Obstructive Sleep Apnea? A Systematic Review
(MDPI, 2026-12-27) Channapragada, Theja V.; Brenner, Clinton R.; Guruswamy, Keven; Katamreddy, Rewanth; Pandian, Alwyn T.; Pendala, Vyshnavi; Sam, Jaydon J.; Stine, Jonathan G.; Brenner, Michael J.; Pandian, Vinciya
Background/Objectives: Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) often coexists with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) due to overlapping metabolic risk factors. Whether continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) influences hepatic outcomes in MASLD remains uncertain. This systematic review, using updated criteria for MASLD, evaluated the effects of OSA treatment on liver and metabolic outcomes. Methods: PubMed, Web of Science, and CINAHL were searched for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and observational studies in adults with MASLD and OSA treated with CPAP, lifestyle interventions, pharmacotherapy, or surgery. Outcomes included liver stiffness, fat content, enzymes, fibrosis scores, HbA1c, lipids, and anthropometrics. Risk of bias was assessed with RoB 2 (RCTs) and ROBINS-I (non-randomized studies) and certainty of evidence with GRADE. Results: Eight studies (three RCTs, five observational; n = 1006; 73.5% male) met criteria. Studies evaluated CPAP for from 4 weeks to 3 years, with adherence ≥4 h/night in most. CPAP produced modest, inconsistent reductions in alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase, small improvements in HbA1c and triglycerides, and minimal changes in liver stiffness, steatosis, weight, or anthropometrics. No RCT demonstrated significant improvement in fibrosis or steatosis. Risk of bias was low in one RCT, “some concerns” in two, and moderate in observational studies; one study had serious confounding risk. Conclusions: CPAP may modestly improve liver enzymes and select metabolic parameters in MASLD with OSA, but evidence for salutary effects on steatosis, fibrosis, and body composition is limited. Level of evidence was low due to methodological limitations, heterogeneity, and imprecision. High-quality, longitudinal trials are needed.
Does Dental Insurance Influence Treatment-seeking Behavior? A Cross-sectional Study
(Wolters Kluwer, 2025) Vasamsetti, Divya Bhavani; Kalluri, Sai Keerthi; Vallabhaneni, Saketha; Budumuru, Ramesh Kumar; Mynam, Ram Sateesh Babu
Introduction: Oral health is an integral component of overall well-being; however, access to dental services in India often relies on out-of-pocket expenditure. Aim: The aim of this study was to assess the awareness and attitude toward dental insurance and trends in the utilization of dental services among insured and uninsured subjects visiting private clinics in West Godavari district. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 300 participants (150 insured – Employees’ State Insurance beneficiaries, 150 uninsured) recruited from private dental clinics using cluster and stratified random sampling. Data on sociodemographic characteristics, awareness, attitudes, and utilization were collected through face-to-face interviews with a structured questionnaire. Statistical analysis included descriptive statistics, Chi-square tests, and multivariate logistic regression adjusting for age, gender, and socioeconomic status. Results: Awareness of social insurance schemes was higher among insured participants (73%) than uninsured (13%). Both the groups expressed positive attitudes toward dental insurance (80% insured vs. 77% uninsured). Utilization of dental services in the past year was greater among insured individuals (80%) compared with uninsured individuals (60%) (P ≤ 0.001). After adjustment, insured participants had more than twice the odds of utilizing dental services (adjusted odds ratio = 2.35; 95% confidence level: 1.30–4.20). Conclusion: Insured individuals demonstrated greater awareness and higher dental service utilization, though awareness levels remained generally low. While findings suggest that insurance coverage is associated with improved service use, the cross-sectional design limits causal inference. Broader insurance schemes and longitudinal research are recommended to confirm these associations.
Identifying conservation priorities in global Biodiversity Hotspots to protect small-ranged vertebrates from agricultural pressure
(Springer Nature, 2025-12-26) Yang, Can; Dong, Jinwei; Jenkins, Clinton N.; Zhang, Xi; Li, Yuzhe; Meng, Ziqi; Ma, Keping; Zhao, Lei; Garrett, Rachael D.; Ellis, Erle C.; Xiao, Xiangming; Zhang, Geli
Biodiversity Hotspots (Hotspots), harboring exceptionally rich small-ranged species, are critical for mitigating biodiversity loss. As priorities for terrestrial conservation, Hotspots increasingly face threats from agriculture, the largest anthropogenic disturbance impacting biodiversity. Yet, the spatial dynamics of agricultural expansion and its impacts on biodiversity, especially small-ranged vertebrates, remain poorly understood. Using site-level observations and satellite imagery, we found that agricultural pressures reduce species richness by 25.8%, total abundance by 12.4%, and rarefied species richness by 8.7% relative to primary vegetation within Hotspots. However, cropland area within Hotspots expanded 12% from 2000–2019, exceeding the global average of 9%. Fine-scale analysis identified 3,483 risk spots (cropland expansion and high small-ranged vertebrate richness,?~1741 Mha);?~1031 Mha of these areas fall outside Protected Areas, particularly in the Atlantic Forest, Indo-Burma, Western Ghats, Sri Lanka, and Sundaland. These results underscore the urgent need for targeted conservation actions to prevent biodiversity loss from agricultural expansion.
PyTOAST: Python Top Of Atmosphere Simulation Tool
(NASA, 2025-12) Werdell, Jeremy P.; Ibrahim, Amir; Bailey, Sean; Sirk, Emerson; Sayer, Andrew; McKinna, Lachlan I. W.; Patt, Frederick S.; Franz, Bryan A.; Werdell, Jeremy P.
PyTOAST generates simulated top-of-atmosphere Level-1B files for the PACE Ocean ColorInstrument (OCI). PyTOAST utilizes retrieved surface and atmospheric properties and top-ofatmosphere (TOA) radiances from MODIS and VIIRS, pre-computed radiative-transfer look-uptables for the OCI spectral response, and spectral libraries of land and clouds to produce realisticradiometry in the standard Level-1B format (https://oceancolor.gsfc.nasa.gov/data/pace/format/)of OCI. The PyTOAST simulator is computationally efficient, and thus allows for large scaleproduction of multi-day global data distributions with realistic viewing geometries for testing ofretrieval software mechanics and data flow.
ABii at School: Findings from a Long-Term In-School Field Study with a Commercial Robot-Assisted Learning System
(Nature, 2025-12-26) Chen, Lujie Karen; Daughrity, LeaAnne; Sakowicz, Marie; Hamidi, Foad; Godwin, Karrie E.; Lipsmeyer, Lin Lin
Although there is growing evidence of the potential value of physically present educational robots in improving engagement and learning outcomes with young children, there is limited understanding of how those effects may play out over an extended period in a real school environment. There is also sparse literature on students’ and teachers’ experiences and perspectives with a robot-assisted learning system deployed at school. In this paper, we report a two-phase pilot study using a commercially available robot-assisted learning system ABii from Van Robotics with 24 students from two early childhood classrooms in a resource-constrained urban public school on the east coast of the US. The first phase was a researcher-directed pilot that ran for eight weeks, followed by a second phase of a teacher-directed pilot that lasted five months, where teachers were empowered to take charge of the robot usage in their classrooms. We reported the findings concerning students’ and teachers’ experience and perspectives with the systems using a combination of quantitative data from the system logs and qualitative data from observation and interviews. We observed positive effects of the physically present robot, as students maintained sustained interest and engagement with ABii even after eight weeks of use. Teachers likewise valued ABii’s role in supporting engagement and delivering personalized learning experiences—benefits that were particularly meaningful in resource-constrained environments, despite certain challenges associated with deploying physical robots. Moreover, our findings highlight the essential role of teachers in the successful integration of advanced technologies such as educational robots, suggesting that human teachers remain central to realizing educational robots’ full pedagogical potential. We discuss the implication of those findings by reflecting on the current literature on educational social robots and articulating their contribution to the empirical understanding of the potential value and challenges in leveraging robot-assisted learning systems with young children in under-resourced school environments.