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The Autonomic And Arrhythmogenic Effects Of Gestational E-Cigarette Exposure., Brittany Rachelle Reynolds

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Introduction. E-cigarettes (e-cigs) have been shown to be pro-arrhythmic in both human and male rodent studies; however, little is known about how e-cig use impacts patients with a predisposed heightened risk for arrhythmias, including pregnant women. Both pregnancy and e-cig use have independently been shown to increase heart rate, diminish heart rate variability, and increase ventricular premature beats, which is suspected to be due to sympathetic dominance. Importantly, β-blockers have been shown to reduce sympathetic activity, reduce heart rate, increase HRV, and reduce arrhythmias. Thus, the use of β-blockers may help prevent adverse health effects driven by sympathetic dominance from …

Tumor Infiltrating Lymphocytes: From Discovery To Clinical Application., Lewis Clayton Chew

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the evolution of TIL therapy from its discovery to clinical application, focusing on its use in treating metastatic cancer. Adoptive cell therapy (ACT), particularly TIL therapy, has emerged as a promising alternative to traditional treatments like chemotherapy. This review article traces the historical development of TILs, highlighting key experiments and clinical trials that have shaped its understanding and application as a therapeutic strategy for patients with metastatic and difficult to treat cancers including melanoma. Importantly, this article highlights recent advancements, including the FDA approval of Lifileucel, and explores emerging strategies to enhance therapeutic efficacy of TILs through …

An Arendtian Politics Of Life, Kamryn M. Carter

Senior Theses

As defined in The History of Sexuality (1978), Michel Foucault’s concept of biopolitics focused on a specifically modern phenomenon in which biological processes are used to regulate populations. This concept has been influential in modern analyses of the state such as that of Giorgio Agamben, who sought to both correct and complete biopolitics with his concept of homo sacer as part of his analysis of the concentration camp. This thesis brings the theory of biopolitics into conversation with Hannah Arendt’s politics of life. It seeks to determine the degree to which biopolitics — as seen in the work of Michel …

Prostitution In Video Games: Stigma, Violence And Male Pleasure, Laura Aguilera-Ávila, Lara Escobar Hernández

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

Prostitution has traditionally been framed in society as a space significantly determined by patriarchal hierarchies, in addition to being affected on many occasions by stigmatisation and violence. The representation of prostitution and of those who practice it in the media is a topic of special interest, since the discourses and messages disseminated by the media play a fundamental role in socialisation. Video games are not exempt from this debate: with millions of players worldwide and a special reach among young people, they are among the most influential media outlets today. This qualitative research analyses a series of titles, both AAA …

Impact Of Rendering Wastewater Variability On Electrocoagulation - Electroflotation, Katie L. Hardison

All Theses

Rendering is a resource recovery technique commonly utilized to recover fats and proteins from unused animal parts discarded during meat processing and slaughter. Resource recovery involves converting waste products into valuable products. Rendering generates large volumes of heavily polluted wastewater. Pollutant concentrations can vary significantly, although rendering wastewater (RW) has extremely high concentrations of fats, oils, and greases (FOG). To remove pollutants, first chemicals called coagulants are added to RW to encourage pollutants to clump together to form flocs. The flocs are then floated to the surface and removed through the addition of air in a process called dissolved air …

Inflammatory And Metabolic Markers In Postpartum Dairy Cows Developing Chronic Reproductive Tract Disease: A Case-Control Study, T.C. Bruinjé, O. Bogado Pascottini, S.J. Leblanc

Dairy Science and Food Science Faculty Publications: 2022 to Present

We investigated associations of early postpartum sys- temic inflammatory and metabolic markers with different manifestations of chronic reproductive tract inflamma- tory disease (RTID) in Holstein cows. A retrospective case-control study was conducted using data from 1,509 cows in 2 commercial dairy herds in Ontario, Canada. Herds were visited twice weekly, and cows were sampled at 2 and 6 ± 2 DIM to measure serum haptoglobin (Hp), total Ca, and nonesterified fatty acids; at 5, 8, 11, and 15 ± 2 DIM for blood BHB; and at 21 and 35 ± 3 DIM for serum Hp. Cows with a calving-related or …

First-Hand Perspectives Of Autistic And Neurodiverse Individuals In Social And Extracurricular Settings, Stephen M. Hinkle

Education (PhD) Dissertations

This dissertation explores the firsthand experiences of autistic and neurodiverse individuals in social and extracurricular settings. Grounded in symbolic interactionism and disability studies, this study leveraged qualitative interviews to provide greater insight into the extracurricular lives of autistic persons and the quality of preparation and education provided to said participants to successfully navigate those experiences. Due to the limited number of studies on this topic, and the tendency of programs to focus on general skill development for this population, significant attention was also given to investigating the activity-specific skills needed for various social and extracurricular activities.

Understanding the intricacies in …

Characterization Of Free Oxylipins In Extracellular Vesicles From Bovine Milk, Kai Filio

Food Science (MS) Theses

Background. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are membrane-bound nanostructures released by human and bovine mammary epithelial cells that carry bioactive lipids and oxidized lipid metabolites. Found in bovine milk, EVs contribute to immune modulation, gut health, and cellular signaling. However, gaps remain in understanding the full composition of milk-derived EVs and how processing alters EV content. This research aimed to characterize the free oxylipin content of EVs from bovine milk treated by pasteurization and homogenization. The hypothesis was that EVs from raw bovine milk would retain higher oxylipin levels than processed milk. Methods. Raw milk was treated by high-temperature short time (HTST), …

The Nebraska Bird Review (December 2025) 93(4), Whole Issue

Nebraska Bird Review

Changes to The Nebraska Bird Review, by Janis Paseka

Fall Field Report, August–November 2025, by W. Ross Silcock

First definitive records of Hermit Thrush and Wilson’s Warbler subspecies for Nebraska, by Stephen J. Brenner and Joel G. Jorgensen

Ogallala Fall Field Days, Sept. 26–28, 2025

Index to Volume 93

Subscription and Organization Information

Index To Volume 93

Nebraska Bird Review

Adams, Morgan
Aguiar: Maritza, Stephanie
Albright, Don
Alexander: Jeff, Jan
Aliferis, Taylor
Allard, Savannah
Allen, Edward
Allison, Betty
Altman, Dakota
Alvarado, A. H.
Ammon, E. M.
Anandan, Sampath Kumar
Andersen, Brett
Anderson: Ann, Chris, Will
Andrews, Ryan
Anhinga
Ani, Groove-billed
Annunziata, Laura
Armstrong, Nancy
Augustine, Jackie
Aurilio, James
Avocet, American

. . .

Zagst: Fred, Kay
Zeillemaker, Fred
Zemaitis, William
Zicafoose, Kirby
Zonotrichia leucophrys: gambelii, leucophrys, oriantha

First Definitive Records Of Hermit Thrush And Wilson’S Warbler Subspecies For Nebraska, Stephen J. Brenner, Joel G. Jorgensen

Nebraska Bird Review

During the fall of 2025, we initiated a pilot migratory bird-banding project in the Nebraska Panhandle. While the project’s goals included examining species composition, volume, and body condition of migratory birds at the western edge of the state compared to the eastern edge of the state, we also used this project to document the occurrence of subspecies and species which are very challenging or impossible to identify through field observation. Here, we report on the first definitive records of two subspecies in Nebraska.

On 16 September 2025, SJB banded an adult male Wilson’s Warbler (Cardellina pusilla) that was …

Fall Field Report, August–November 2025, W. Ross Silcock

Nebraska Bird Review

As in previous fall seasons, by far the most modifications to BONO came from late departure dates; around 87 species were included, no fewer than 13 of these setting record late dates, notably Eastern Whip-poor-will, Mountain Plover, Brown Thrasher (north), Henslow’s Sparrow (flight call only), and Orchard Oriole.

Although this is a Fall Seasonal Report, noted or suggested breeding activity is of interest. Exciting were the 2nd and 3rd presumed breeding records of Black-chinned Hummingbird and, in Dodge Co, the 5th record of breeding by Black-bellied Whistling-Duck. Perhaps the strangest west to east occurrence was a Golden Eagle adventure in …

Changes To The Nebraska Bird Review, Janis Paseka

Nebraska Bird Review

As of this issue, The Nebraska Bird Review has been in existence for 93 years, looking very much now as it did when it began in 1933. However, due to the increasing costs of printing and postage, there will be some changes in its future. Our newsletter, The Burrowing Owl, is already provided online to our members, in a user-friendly and informative form. Future issues of The Nebraska Bird Review will also utilize a digital format to offer a more timely and colorful publication.

This is the final issue for which Ross Silcock will be compiler of the seasonal …

Secondary English Language Arts Students’ Perceptions And Attitudes Toward Constructing Multimodal Arguments, Jasenda R. League

Dissertations

The 2025 Georgia English Language Arts standards indicate that teachers will be moving away from a monomodal approach to literacy learning to include students’ construction and evaluation of multimodal texts in grades 9-12. As such, this qualitative case study explored 39 Honors American Literature students' experiences with constructing multimodal arguments. The study sought to understand students’ perceptions and attitudes of creating an argumentative multimodal composition, including their attitudes toward each stage of the composing process: planning, drafting/designing, revising/editing, and publishing. The context was a suburban high school, and the research and data collection took place over 12 weeks. Data types …

Elections Don’T Have Consequences—How Over 57% Of Florida Voters Supported Abortion Rights And Still Lost, Mark Dorosin

University of Baltimore Law Review

No abstract provided.

Money And Shame: Leaving Menstruators At Risk, Melissa Bosley

University of Baltimore Law Review

No abstract provided.

Ogallala Fall Field Days, Janis Paseka

Nebraska Bird Review

The 2025 NOU Fall Field Days were held in Ogallala on September 26–28, with about 80 in attendance. The programs were held at the Quality Inn, and the meeting was planned by Boni Edwards, Dave Cunningham, and Paul Pearson. Field trips were led by Tobin and Keegan Brown, Jacob Cooper and UNK ornithology students, Joel Jorgensen and Stephen Brenner, T. J. Walker, and Thane Dinsdale. Destinations included various sites around Lake McConaughy, Lake Ogallala, Cedar Point Biological Station, Sutherland Reservoir SRA, Ash Hollow State Historical Park, Crescent Lake NWR, Arthur Co and various Sandhills lakes. The total species count was …

European-Islamic Ceramics From The Eighteenth Century Onward, Katherine Collins

Honors Program Theses and Projects

The foundation for this examination rests upon prior research analyzing ceramic traditions and trade routes across East Asia and the Islamic Empires from the eighth to the sixteenth centuries. This knowledge establishes how East Asian innovations, such as porcelain and underglaze techniques, flowed westward through the Middle East via silk trade routes, profoundly influencing South Asian, Middle Eastern, and Ottoman ceramic production and aesthetics. They were able to trace how crucial Islamic technical traditions, including lusterware and tin-glazing, were subsequently transmitted to the Mediterranean basin through conquest and trade. This provided the technical vocabulary necessary for European precursors such as …

Using Noninvasive Calibrated Cuff Plethysmography To Observe The Effects Of Lifestyle Habits On Arterial Compliance, Joshua M. Whitaker

Master's Theses

Cardiovascular disease remains as a leading cause of death for both sexes and across all racial backgrounds. Continuing to research causes, early predictors, and preventative actions are paramount to ensuring that cardiovascular disease starts to decrease in its activity. Endothelial dysfunction is the earliest known predictor of cardiovascular disease, therefore investigating early detection methods of endothelial dysfunction can improve health outcomes. This study revolves around a non-invasive calibrated cuff device that uses the principles of segmental plethysmography and oscilliometry to measure arterial compliance of baseline and induced hyperemic conditions in human subjects to determine how well arteries vasodilate in response …

Habit Pals: A Habit Awareness App, Sophia R. Huber

Graphic Communication

Habit Pals is a gamified mobile app prototype that helps users reduce skin-picking and nail-biting through positive reinforcement, reflection, and taking care of a virtual pet. Informed by survey results and behavior change research, the design replaces pressure based streak systems with gentle encouragement, small rewards, and calming visuals. The prototype demonstrates how supportive, low pressure UX can promote self-awareness and healthier habits.

Bridging Conservation And Planning: State Wildlife Action Plans Analyzed Using Wildlife Value Orientation, Ciara Nelson-Forcade

Community and Regional Planning Program: Theses

Wildlife conservation in the United States has transitioned from managing resources for human use to prioritizing ecosystem preservation and species protection. However, the ways in which conservation values and attitudes are reflected in state-level policy documents remain insufficiently examined. This thesis investigates how Wildlife Value Orientations (WVO) are expressed within State Wildlife Action Plans (SWAPs). Using a qualitative content analysis and flexible coding approach, fifteen SWAPs representing all eight U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service regions were analyzed to identify conservation themes, value orientations, and structural characteristics such as plan length, departmental budgets, and political context. Findings reveal that most plans …

Bridging Conservation And Disaster Recovery: A Dual Study On Wetland Program Plans Evaluation And Midwest Post Disaster Recovery Assessment, Rao Nargis Jahan

Community and Regional Planning Program: Theses

Wetlands provide essential ecological, social, and economic benefits for our society. In the United States, states and tribes play crucial roles in wetland protection, restoration, and management. However, no research has systematically measured state-level wetland planning efforts towards national conservation goals. This study is the first to comprehensively evaluate how state-level Wetland Program Plans (WPPs) align with national missions, particularly the "no-net-loss" of wetlands goal. Our research assesses the EPA-approved state-level WPPs from 42 out of 50 states in the United States during the period from 2015 to 2024. Using a protocol of 30 indicators across five categories, this study …

From Quid Post Quo To Quid Pro Quo: Toward An Evidentiary Standard For 18 U.S.C. § 666 After Snyder, Luke Henkel

University of Chicago Law Review

This Comment addresses a question left unanswered by the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Snyder v. United States. Snyder held that the federal funds bribery statute, 18 U.S.C. § 666, covers only bribes, not gratuities. That is, an agreement to exchange payment for an official act by a state or local government official is criminally prohibited (if the official’s agency receives a certain amount of federal funding). But § 666 does not prohibit payments made after official acts so long as there was no agreement to conduct a quid pro quo exchange beforehand. Thus, the key issue in cases with …

Pardoning Corporations, Brandon Stras

University of Chicago Law Review

In 1977, a company convicted of conspiring with the mob asked President Jimmy Carter for a pardon. Government officials speculated that the President could grant the request, but ultimately the President decided that the company did not deserve clemency. Nearly fifty years later, President Donald Trump pardoned a company and commuted the sentence of another. People are again wondering whether the pardon power covers companies, but no one can offer evidence either way.

History shows that the pardon power covers companies. Before the Founding, the King would often pardon corporations. Both the City of London and the Massachusetts Bay Company …

Sincerity Or Substantial Burden? Investigating The Proper Threshold Test For Prisoner Free Exercise Claims, David Wang

University of Chicago Law Review

When prison officials violate the free exercise rights of prisoners, prisoners can seek recourse under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. However, due to the specialized and restrictive nature of prisons, courts adjudicate these claims under a reasonableness test set out in the case Turner v. Safley instead of under a strict scrutiny standard. While circuits agree on using the Turner test for prisoner free exercise claims, there is a deep circuit split on the proper threshold test for these types of claims.

While some circuits hold that inmates need to show that their religious practice was substantially burdened, other circuits hold …

West Susitna Access Road Project 2025 Cultural Resources Report: Culturally Modified Trees, Nicholas Maness

Student Projects for Graduate Degrees

The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities (DOT&PF) is undertaking the proposed West Susitna Access Road Project which aims to construct a new road that extends from West Susitna Parkway in Big Lake, Alaska through State Lands west of the Susitna River.  The project would include land clearing and construction of transportation infrastructure across waterways including the Little Susitna River, Fish Creek, Susitna River, and Alexander Creek.

The proposed project footprint lies in the traditional ancestral territory of several Upper Cook Inlet Alaska Native cultures, and project activities have the potential to adversely affect cultural and natural resources in …

Impact Of Antibody Fc Engineering On Translational Pharmacology, And Safety: Insights From Industry Case Studies., Frank R Brennan, J Ryan Polli, Jean Sathish, Melissa Ramones, Babette Wolf, Tilman Schlothauer, Shirley J Peters, Curtis C Maier, Changhua Ji, David L Wensel, Derrick Witcher, Patricia C Ryan, T Scott Manetz, Adriano Flora, Brian Soper, Birgit Fogal, Lindsey Dzielak, Xiaoting Wang, Prathap Nagaraja Shastri, Karen Price, Michael Doyle, Nidhi Sharda, Mary Struthers, Maximilian Brinkhaus, Bianca Balbino, Eric Stefanich, Masaki Honda, Jan Terje Andersen, Shermaine Mitchell-Ryan, David P Humphreys

Faculty Research 2025

Therapeutic monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) are often designed to not only bind targets via their antigen-binding domains (Fabs) but to also engage with cell surface receptors, FcγRs and FcRn, through their Fc regions, which may result in a variety of functional outcomes, including antibody- dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC), antibody-dependent cellular phagocytosis (ADCP), complement-dependent cytotoxicity (CDC) and alteration of circulating half-lives. Engineering the Fc regions to achieve desirable pharmacology and pharmacokinetics is a widely adopted strategy in drug development. Fc regions can be modified through amino acid substitutions and glycoengineering, resulting in enhanced or reduced effector functions, preferential binding to FcR subtypes, …

Low-Coverage Whole-Genome Sequencing Facilitates Accurate And Cost-Effective Haplotype Reconstruction In Complex Mouse Crosses., Samuel J Widmayer, Lydia K Wooldridge, Emily Swanzey, Mary Barter, Chrystal M Snow, Michael C Saul, Qingchang Meng, Beth L Dumont, Laura G Reinholdt, Daniel M Gatti

Faculty Research 2025

The search for the underlying genetic contributions to complex traits and diseases relies on accurate genetic data from populations of interest. Outbred populations, like the Diversity Outbred (DO), are commonly genotyped using commercial SNP arrays, such as the Giga Mouse Universal Genotyping Array (GigaMUGA). However, array genotypes are expensive to collect, subject to significant ascertainment bias, and too sparse to capture the genetic structure of highly recombined mouse crosses. We investigated the efficacy of sequencing-based genotyping by comparing genotyping results between the GigaMUGA, double-digest restriction-site associated DNA sequencing (ddRADseq), and low-coverage whole-genome sequencing (lcWGS). We aligned reads at ~ 1× …

Harmonizing Mouse Anatomy Terminology: A Common Language?, Jesús Ruberte, Paul N Schofield, John P Sundberg, Sergi Olvera-Maneu, Ana Carretero

Faculty Research 2025

The mouse remains the principal animal model for investigating human diseases due, among other reasons, to its anatomical similarities to humans. Despite its widespread use, the assumption that mouse anatomy is a fully established field with standardized and universally accepted terminology is misleading. Many phenotypic anatomical annotations do not refer to the authority or origin of the terminology used, while others inappropriately adopt outdated or human-centric nomenclature. This inconsistency is further exacerbated by the limited availability of comprehensive anatomical references, often compelling researchers to rely on "do-it-yourself" anatomical interpretations when characterizing disease models-an approach that increases the risk of inaccuracies …

Pak1 Inhibitor Nvs-Pak1-1 Preserves Dendritic Spines In Amyloid/Tau Exposed Neurons And 5xfad Mice., Tao Yang, Hasi Huhe, Sean-Paul Williams, Sukhneet Kaur, Yeonglong Albert Ay, Zachary W Davis-Gilbert, Gregory Cary, Carolyn Paisie, Robert R Butler, Jesse Wiley, Ranjita Betarbet, Haian Fu, Duc Duong, Nicholas T Seyfried, Karina Leal, Gregory W. Carter, Aled Edwards, Allan I Levey, Jacob L Capener, David H Drewry, Mohammad A Hossain, Hans J Oh, Alison D Axtman, Stacey J Sukoff Rizzo, Frank M Longo, The Emory-Sage-Sgc-Jax Treat-Ad Center

Faculty Research 2025

INTRODUCTION: Synaptic spine loss in Alzheimer's disease (AD) contributes to cognitive decline. p21-activated kinase 1 (PAK1), a regulator of spine integrity, is aberrantly activated in AD. We investigated whether PAK1 inhibition might preserve dendritic spines in vitro and in vivo.

METHODS: Oligomeric amyloid beta (oAβ) or tau (oTau) were applied to hippocampal neurons ± NVS-PAK1-1, a selective PAK1 inhibitor. NVS-PAK1-1 was orally administered to 5xFAD mice. The effects of NVS-PAK1-1 treatment on PAK1 activity, spine density, and the proteome were assessed using phospho-PAK1 (pPAK1) western blotting, Golgi staining, and mass spectrometry for proteomic analyses.

RESULTS: NVS-PAK1-1 prevented oAβ and oTau-induced …