Digital Commons Network^™

Total Energy Expenditure And Water Turnover During A 335 Km Mountain Ultramarathon, Alejandro Rosales, Brooke Stayner, Dustin Slivka, Dale Schoeller, Timothy Shriver, Michele Ravelli, Brent Ruby

UM Graduate Student Research Conference (GradCon)

Among the highest empirically reported doubly labeled water (DLW) derived total energy expenditure (TEE) and water turnover (rH2O) values occur during 161km (100-mile) ultra-endurance events. TEE and rH2O of ultra-endurance events surpassing 161km present an anomalous physiological stressor to further detail human endurance limits. PURPOSE: To quantify TEE and rH2O during a multi-day ultra-endurance event. METHODS: Two runners (female [R1], male [R2]) completed 322 km following DLW (2H218O) consumption. Urinary isotopic elimination rates were used to calculate TEE and rH2O. Race-provided GPS monitors measured duration, moving time, and non-activity time. RESULTS: R1 finished in 73.6h (50.3h moving, 23.3h resting) at …

Evaluation Of Silk Textile Waste As An Alternative Source Of Silk Fibroin For Biotechnological Applications, Ndiana-Abasi Sunday, Bogdan Serban, Hayden Scoular

UM Graduate Student Research Conference (GradCon)

Silk fibroin (SF) is a structural protein with good mechanical properties, allowing its processing into scaffolds, including films and hydrogels for biotechnological applications. SF is traditionally sourced from Bombyx mori silkworm cocoons and silk textile yarn—sources also relied upon by the textile industry for fabrics. This shared dependence creates high demand for cocoons and yarn, which is met through large-scale silkworm rearing and cocoon harvesting. These practices are associated with environmental and ethical concerns, including a heavy carbon footprint and silkworm killing, necessitating the search for alternative SF sources for biotechnology purposes.

Silk textile waste (STW), with over 11 million …

Race, Sexual Danger, And The Moral Logic Of Punishment In The Registry Era, Edith Meade

UM Graduate Student Research Conference (GradCon)

Across U.S. history, sexual regulation has operated as a powerful tool for producing racial hierarchy, defining moral boundaries, and legitimating punishment. From the colonial construction of Indigenous “savagery” to the hypersexualization of Black Americans under slavery and Jim Crow, sexual deviance has repeatedly been mobilized to justify surveillance, punishment, and racial terror. This project argues that the contemporary sex offender registry, widely understood as a neutral mechanism of public safety, is best understood as a modern extension of long-standing racialized narratives that link sexuality, danger, and exclusion.

The purpose of this study is to examine how offender race and age, …

Functional Neuroarchitecture Of Brain Activation And Network Organization In Bilinguals During Native And Second Language Processing, Onila Rasanjala Narayana Mudalige Don

UM Graduate Student Research Conference (GradCon)

Bilingual language processing requires the coordinated engagement of large-scale brain networks, yet how these networks dynamically reorganize across native (L1) and second language (L2) use—and how this reorganization depends on language proficiency—remains poorly understood. Traditional fMRI studies often characterize brain connectivity as static, overlooking moment-to-moment fluctuations in network interactions that may be critical for successful second-language processing.

In this study, we investigated dynamic brain network organization in Spanish–Basque bilinguals performing a semantic animacy judgment task in their native (Spanish) and second (Basque) language. Using Independent Component Analysis (ICA), we identified large-scale functional networks engaged during L1 and L2 processing and …

Musculoskeletal Injury Risk In Collegiate Football Players Following Concussion, Elizabeth J. Mangen

UM Graduate Student Research Conference (GradCon)

Musculoskeletal Injury Risk in Collegiate Football Players Following Concussion

Context: Concussions are among the most common injuries in collegiate football, with the sport demonstrating one of the highest concussion incidence rates (6.71 per 10,000 athlete exposures). Following a concussion, athletes may experience lingering neurophysiological impairments that affect neuromuscular control, balance, postural stability, reaction time, and cognitive-motor integration. Although athletes may report symptom resolution, growing evidence suggests that these deficits can persist beyond clinical recovery. Such impairments may alter movement patterns and delay muscular responses, increasing the risk of subsequent musculoskeletal injury. Athletes with a history of concussion have been shown …

Lower Extremity Neuropraxia In A High School Football Player: A Case Report, Briiahna Kc Staker, Valerie Moody

UM Graduate Student Research Conference (GradCon)

Background: Traumatic nerve injuries occur at a rate of approximately 350,000 cases per year, with 74% affecting males; only 2.4% are sport related. In athletics, acute peripheral nerve injuries (PNI) usually result from compressive forces, stretching, traction, or lacerations and are most common in high-contact sports. Although PNIs are uncommon, 71.3% of nerve injuries in high school sports occur in football, with nearly half of affected athletes missing about one week of participation.

Patient: A 16-year-old male varsity football player was evaluated on the sideline after hyperextending his right knee while twisting his upper body. He reported severe pain and …

Right Anterior Thalamic Stroke Via Paradoxical Embolism Through Patent Foramen Ovale (Pfo): A Case Report, Kyler W. Mack

UM Graduate Student Research Conference (GradCon)

Background: World-wide, stroke is the leading cause of acquired physical disability in adults and is the second leading cause of mortality in middle-to-high income countries, with an overall incidence of ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke at 85-94 per 100,000. About 10-15% of all strokes occur in adults aged 25-49 years, with approximately 85% of all strokes being ischemic.

Patient:  A 20-year-old male hockey player presented with facial tingling and balance difficulty. The patient woke up after a nap with a headache and tingling on the left side of his face. First responders noted the patient had left facial droop …

Valgus Extension Overload Injury In A Professional Baseball Pitcher: A Case Report, Reegan Rakel Walsh, Valerie J. Moody

UM Graduate Student Research Conference (GradCon)

Valgus Extension Overload Injury in a Professional Baseball Pitcher: A Case Report

Walsh, R, Moody, VJ, University of Montana

Background: Baseball has one of the highest incidences of injury to the elbow as it is most vulnerable during the late cocking phase of throwing. Throwing creates an abutment of the olecranon into the olecranon fossa, leading to valgus extension overload (VEO).  These stresses cause a tensile force upon the elbow, which may lead to cartilaginous degeneration, loose bodies, and many other pathologies.

Patient:  A 22-year-old male professional league baseball pitcher, diagnosed with valgus extension overload, with associated triceps …

Minority Stress In Children Of Lgbtq+ Parents: Extending Beyond Individual-Level Minority Stress Theories, Anna J. Sanchirico

UM Graduate Student Research Conference (GradCon)

To understand if children of LGBTQ+ parents experience minority stress, this narrative review integrates minority stress theory with empirical research on LGBTQ+ parent families. To this end, I will illustrate the history of LGBTQ+ parent family research, outline emerging frameworks for understanding the impact of minority stress on the family unit, and examine outcomes research on children of LGBTQ+ parents. Researchers have indicated that children of LGBTQ+ parents may experience discrimination due to their familial status; however, little is known about the extent to which children of LGBTQ+ families experience minority stress, or about nuanced protective and risk factors that …

An Exploratory Analysis Of The Role Of Sex In Load Carriage, Rachel E. Perez, Brooke E. Stayner, Dustin R. Slivka

UM Graduate Student Research Conference (GradCon)

Axially loaded weight may impose a metabolic demand equivalent to that of fat mass (FM). As males (M) typically have a lower body fat percentage than females (F), differences in the metabolic demand of load carriage may be resolved by accounting for FM in pack loads. PURPOSE: To determine whether normalizing pack load to FM will equalize metabolic cost across sex during load carriage. METHODS: Twenty-eight participants (14M, 23±5 y, 1.81±0.07 m, 78.7±10.0 kg, 12.7±5.4% body fat, VO₂peak 4.18±0.54 L·min^-1; 14F, 22±4 y, 1.68±0.07 m, 63.7±8.1 kg, 22.6±5.2% body fat, VO₂peak 2.76±0.47 L·min^{-1 …}

Sex Differences In Bone Metabolism Biomarkers Due To Prolonged Daily Load Carriage, Josey K. Walker, Alejandro M. Rosales, Walter S. Hailes, Brent C. Ruby, Dustin R. Slivka

UM Graduate Student Research Conference (GradCon)

Load carriage transiently stimulates bone metabolism biomarkers, but impact by sex is unclear. Males (M) generally exhibit higher circulating bone metabolism biomarkers than females (F). Sclerostin (SOST) inhibits a key formation pathway. Human procollagen type 1 N-terminal propetide (P1NP) is a formation byproduct. C-Terminal Telopeptide of Type 1 Collagen (CTX1) is a resorption byproduct.

PURPOSE: Investigate sex differences in bone metabolism following 5 days of load carriage.

METHODS:  12M (29±9 y, 54.6±8.2 mL∙kg^-1∙min^-1) and 20F (27±5 y, 43.4±4.9 mL∙kg^-1∙min^-1) completed the protocol. Each day consisted of two 1-hour ascents separated by a …

Epigenetic Constraint Landscapes And Repair-Mediated Genome Evolution In Human Lineages, Jaymes Mozingo

UM Graduate Student Research Conference (GradCon)

Evolutionary change is often framed primarily in terms of mutation and selection, yet this perspective overlooks a prior, testable question: which genetic changes are permitted to persist within the genome at all. This project presents a methods-driven pilot analysis that examines whether epigenetic regulation of DNA repair context constrains the retention of rare genomic variants, leaving a falsifiable signature in population-level data. The study uses de-identified, consented high-coverage Y-chromosome sequencing data and public phylogenies (e.g., FamilyTreeDNA, YFull). An explicit, a priori variant-selection rule is applied to define a class of rare lineage-discordant SNP states arising within a specified downstream phylogenetic …

Land Imaginaries And Rural Realities In The Mountain West, Ande Peersen

UM Graduate Student Research Conference (GradCon)

Land is central to the history and mythology of the American West, and yet owning and accessing land is increasingly unattainable for most Americans. Changes in who can own land alter material practices of agriculture or conservation as well as ideas and narratives underlying those material practices, i.e., the land’s imaginary. This research employs a mixed-methods approach to 1) geospatially analyze how the regime of land ownership is changing in two agricultural communities in Montana, and 2) explore associated shifts in rural land imaginaries.

Scholars have researched the effects of land ownership changes in rural logging communities and highly-desirable Western …

Finding My Voice: Patsy Cline's Voice Meets Patsy Rodenburg's Method, Chae Clearwood

UM Graduate Student Research Conference (GradCon)

I am a musician, actress, and woman who has led with my singing voice since I was a child. I have encountered both Patsy Rodenburg and Patsy Cline in my professional career, bringing awareness and growth to my own voice through embodied performance and practice. I am working towards my MFA in Directing in the School of Theatre and Dance and am fortunate enough to encounter opportunities to sing the songs of many women who championed the music industry before me. One who has made repeated encores in my life and career is Patsy Cline. The freedom and power in …

Reversible O-O Bond Activation And Formation On Dinuclear Cobalt Complexes, Wenting He, Yan Li, Dong Wang

UM Graduate Student Research Conference (GradCon)

Dinuclear metal-peroxo species have been proposed as key intermediates in the dioxygen activation pathway for a number of nonheme diiron and dicopper enzymes such as soluble methane monooxygenase (sMMO). A key step in the O activation is the cleavage of the metal-peroxo O-O bond to form higher-valent metal-oxo species. Meanwhile, the reverse O–O bond formation process catalyzed by the Oxygen-Evolving Complex (OEC) in natural Photosystem II is a pivotal step in the conversion of water into molecular oxygen during photosynthesis. In synthetic chemistry, compared to the diiron and dicopper complexes, dicobalt peroxo complexes are relatively less studied. Furthermore, none of …

Lovecraftian Hybrids And Transgender Embodiment, Mari K. Newman

UM Graduate Student Research Conference (GradCon)

     While much of Howard Phillips Lovecraft’s oeuvre has been analyzed by queer theorists for homosexual metaphors within Lovecraft’s monsters, less argued is the subject of his hybrids mirroring transgender embodiment. I posit the rise of transgender identities in the Western mainstream and access to breakthrough gender-affirming care in the United States during Lovecraft’s life lend to a reading of his hybrids as embodying gender queerness. The proposed research is a literature review which draws upon interdisciplinary texts ranging from scholars in the social sciences—such as sociology and anthropology—to the hard sciences such as ecology and health sciences.

In this paper, …

Coordinating Lewis Bases To Ni(Iv) Enhances Reactivity Toward Strong Sp3 C-H Bonds, Collin R. Bryant

UM Graduate Student Research Conference (GradCon)

High-valent transition metal-oxo (TM-oxo) species have been ascertained to be key intermediates in the catalytic cycles of various metalloenzymes involved in C-H functionalization. Advances in the structural and mechanistic elucidation of these metalloenzymes have provided new rationale for designing biomimetic and bio-inspired systems that harness high-valent TM-oxo chemistry and in turn provide further insights into the electronic, structural and reactive properties of enzymatic TM-oxo intermediates. However, high-valent oxo complexes of late transition metals are less accessible due to electronic bonding restrictions. Synthetic efforts can be shifted toward developing high-valent late TM-non-oxo systems, which present electronic, structural and reactive properties similar …

From Classroom To Real Life: Chinese Esl Learners And Sex-Related Taboo Language, Yusi Chen, Gage Weston

UM Graduate Student Research Conference (GradCon)

Sex-related taboo language (SRTL) is common in everyday English but often absent from English as a Second Language (ESL) instruction due to teacher discomfort, limited training, and perceived inappropriateness (Gale & Fernández, 2016). However, SRTL is important for expressing emotion, building social relationships, and negotiating interpersonal boundaries (Jay, 2009). Without instruction, learners may misinterpret these expressions, causing embarrassment, social challenges, or increased vulnerability in contexts involving consent, discrimination, or safety (Dewaele, 2004). Understanding when and how to use such language is essential but under-addressed in ESL curricula (Kremin, 2017). Limited prior exposure to sex-related language among Chinese ESL learners (Shi …

A Network-Based Fmri Approach To Decoding Second-Language Proficiency In Advanced And Intermediate Speakers, Onila Rasanjala Narayana Mudalige Don

UM Graduate Student Research Conference (GradCon)

Individual differences in second-language (L2) proficiency are not always well captured by traditional voxel-wise fMRI analyses. Network-level representations provide a more stable and interpretable framework for characterizing how the brain supports L2 processing, particularly in the presence of substantial inter-individual variability. In this study, we investigated whether large-scale brain networks can differentiate advanced and intermediate L2 speakers, and which network features carry the strongest proficiency-related signal.

Using fMRI data from Spanish–Basque bilinguals performing a semantic animacy judgment task, we applied group-level Principal Component Analysis (PCA) across all participants and both language conditions to identify shared spatial brain networks. Subject-specific component …

There Is No Intonation Rule For Yes-No Questions In Blackfoot, Chance Lockwood

UM Graduate Student Research Conference (GradCon)

Cross-linguistically, the intonation of questions differs from the intonation of their declarative counterparts. For example, the intonation of an English question is normally raised at the end of the sentence, while the intonation of a statement is not. Also, in some languages the range of pitch is greater in questions than in statements. However, to my knowledge there are no intonation studies on Blackfoot that focus on questions, only on other elements of intonation, such as pitch movement, stress predictability, and rhythm. Using Praat, a program designed for acoustic speech analysis, I examined the intonation patterns of 19 statement-question pairs …

Adoption Under Constraint: Testing Rodger’S Diffusion Of Innovation Model In Rural Appalachia, Stewart Rebecca Williams

UM Graduate Student Research Conference (GradCon)

Rogers Diffusion of Innovation Model is one of the most used frameworks for research in evolutionary archaeology. It assesses how populations adopt innovations and how innovations spread between groups. The model emphasizes social and community communication networks as well as adoption phases that include testing and potentially adapting an innovation to better fit a population's needs.

However, I believe that this model assumes a level of personal and community agency and access that is simply not present in many populations in our post-industrial, globalized world. I use rural Appalachia as a case study for constrained or limited agency due to …

Human Identification Through Forensic Skeletal Analysis: Three Case Reviews, Shelby Feirstein

UM Graduate Student Research Conference (GradCon)

Human identification through forensic skeletal analysis: three case reviews

Article Co-authors: Joe Adserias-Garriga*, Shelby Feirstein, Dakota Bell, Hannah Skropits and Dennis C. Dirkmaat (https://doi.org/10.1093/fsr/owae053)

Establishing a positive identification of human remains found in a forensic setting is often accomplished through DNA, fingerprints, or odontology. However, when these primary identifiers cannot be applied, practitioners can rely on combining points of concordance derived from other identification modalities, such as antemortem trauma, pathology, or unique skeletal morphologies, to build up a case for identification. In order to conduct these comparisons, forensic anthropologists must be well trained and experienced in human skeletal variation and …

Mothering And Mental Health: Exploring Expressive Arts In The Postpartum Period, Beth Loudon

UM Graduate Student Research Conference (GradCon)

Maternal mental health (MMH) conditions are mental health conditions that occur during pregnancy and/or in the year after giving birth (Maternal Mental Health Leadership Alliance, 2025). These conditions are responsible for 23% of maternal deaths in the United States (Centers for Disease Control, 2025) and affect approximately 1 in 5 women (Fawcett et al., 2019). Unfortunately, while evidence-based treatment exists for many of these conditions, barriers to care exist, including (a) poor screening, (b) childcare limitations, (c) transportation, and (d) monetary constraints, amongst others (Place et al., 2024). Accordingly, traditional talk therapy is often inaccessible for these women, particularly disadvantaging …

Education In The Age Of Ai, Cecelia E. Monroe

UM Graduate Student Research Conference (GradCon)

This project argues that a central challenge in contemporary education is an incoherence between the inherited purposes of schooling and the realities young people now face. While schools continue to emphasize siloed content and performance measures, students are entering a rapidly changing, AI-mediated world that demands critical thinking, adaptability, collaboration, and reflection. Integrating research on depth of learning, interdisciplinary scholarship, and a practitioner case study, this project proposes competency-based learning as a practical structure for supporting deeper learning, increased relevance, and a renewed orientation toward wellbeing in the age of artificial intelligence. 

The paper employs a literature review and theoretical …

Advisors Are Ambassadors, Catherine Thogersen

UM Graduate Student Research Conference (GradCon)

Advisors are Ambassadors

We can improve UM’s graduation rates by increasing our students’ levels of hope. (Snyder et al, 1999) found a significant positive correlation between student Hope Scale scores and graduation rates. In this study, about 56% of students with high hope graduated on time, compared to only about 40% of those with low hope (Snyder et al, 1999, p. 824). They further found that through consistent interaction with others, hope could be either increased or decreased. Snyder’s (2002) Hope Theory attributes hope to a combination of agency- a person’s willpower and confidence in their ability to accomplish …

Using Adaptive Management To Understand Elk Population Dynamics In Northwest Montana, Andi Stewart, Nicole Bealer, Jesse Devoe, Zackary Farley, Christopher Hansen, Joshua Millspaugh, Kelly Proffitt

UM Graduate Student Research Conference (GradCon)

Uncertainties about population dynamics may hamper the ability of state agencies and commissions to make informed wildlife management decisions. In hunting district 121, Montana, bull elk harvest has declined since 2012. Minimum counts suggest populations have been stable; however, it’s unknown if these counts reflect actual abundance and there are no vital rate data available for the region. Due to these uncertainties, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks developed an adaptive management project to address data gaps and uncertainties. From 2022-2025, we GPS collared 124 adult females, 18 adult males, and 185 neonate or 6-month-old calves. Across all years, the average …

Documents From The March 5, 2026 Meeting Of The Associated Students Of The University Of Montana (Asum), University Of Montana--Missoula. Associated Students

Senate Meeting Agendas and Minutes, 2007-Present

Agenda and meeting minutes from the March 5, 2026 meeting of the Associated Students of the University of Montana (ASUM). The following resolution was discussed during the meeting:

SB 18 - 25/26: Resolution Supporting Credit for Prior Learning

Preliminary Injunctions And The 2025 Montana Legislature's (Mostly Unsuccessful) Attempt To Reshape The Judiciary, Anna Conley

Montana Law Review

No abstract provided.

Perl V. Grant: The "Quintessential Example" Of Why Courts Must Strictly Construe The Statute Of Frauds, Lauren Heggen

Montana Law Review

No abstract provided.

Significant Montana Cases, Noah Durnell, Rachael Dean

Montana Law Review

No abstract provided.