Digital Commons Network^™

Use Of E-Cigarettes And Other Substances And Related Psychiatric Symptoms In Undergraduate Students, Grant L. Saba

Senior Honors Theses and Projects

This study evaluated the role that use of alcohol and e-cigarettes had in the development of dependence and demand of each other, along with symptoms of depression and anxiety in undergraduate college students. It tested four hypotheses: (1) that these symptoms are related to more frequent e-cigarette use, (2) they are related to problematic alcohol dependence, (3) alcohol demand will be higher in e-cigarette users, and (4) e-cigarette demand will be higher in problematic drinkers. 173 undergraduate students completed self-report inventories describing their alcohol dependence, e-cigarette dependence, depression, and anxiety, along with completing two hypothetical purchase tasks where they were …

Assessing Relatedness Of Copperbelly Water Snakes In A Captive Breeding Program, Dehlia Deriemaker

Senior Honors Theses and Projects

Breeding threatened and endangered animals in captivity and their subsequent release can help supplement wild populations. Within captive breeding programs, maintaining genetic diversity is an important consideration for ensuring the survival of a species as a whole. Preserving genetic diversity increases population persistence, as it may offer a better chance for a species to adapt to a changing environment. The Copperbelly Water Snake (Nerodia erythrogaster neglecta, CWS) is listed as threatened by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. In an effort to aid CWS recovery efforts, the Toledo Zoo manages a captive breeding program initially consisting of nine adult and …

Ai And Strategic Power: An Analysis Of Ai In Cyberwarfare, Krystal J. Correal

Senior Honors Theses and Projects

Artificial intelligence (AI) is intertwined in nearly all aspects of civilian life and is becoming progressively embedded into global conflict in novel ways. AI’s role in cyberwarfare is altering the structure of strategic power. This paper explores how the weaponized application of AI in cyberwarfare, both in military and public use, work to benefit states with advanced AI capabilities in kinetic and non-kinetic forms while undermining those without. With the focus on superpowered states, such as the U.S., China, and Russia, and a representative non-superpower, Ukraine, the study examines the basic requirements for AI dominance: resources (financial and other), technological …

Supplemental Feeding Alters Foraging Behaviors Of Tarantulas In Their Natural Habitat (Aphonopelma Hentzi), Annalyse Leach Brogan

Senior Honors Theses and Projects

Foraging success is a crucial factor in survival and reproductive success for many animals. One mechanism that can improve an organism’s foraging success is foraging plasticity, or the organism’s ability to alter their behavior in response to environmental changes. This study aims to evaluate if the Colorado Brown Tarantula, Aphonopelma hentzi, a long-lived, sit-andwait predator will use foraging plasticity in response to increased prey encounters. I predicted that tarantulas with more prey encounters will have a higher body condition index, shorter foraging duration, and shorter distances traveled from the burrows. I conducted a field study on A. hentzi in their …

Racial Capitalism: The Political Economy Of American Punishment, Naomi Barbour

Senior Honors Theses and Projects

This research examines how the criminal justice industrial complex and existing political incentives have shaped American penology, ultimately contributing to the disenfranchisement and unequal representation of marginalized groups. It identifies a significant historical shift in U.S. penal philosophy, moving from rehabilitation to retribution, arguing that this shift coincided with the rise of economic interests in the criminal justice system, facilitating the emergence of the criminal justice industrial complex. The research further examines the effects of this changing environment, arguing that the growing influence of profit-driven entities, including private prison companies, has played a crucial role in radicalizing criminal justice policies, …

White Racial Identity, Climae Change, And Social Attitudes, Alyssa Engle

Senior Honors Theses and Projects

This study examined how symbolic racism, political conservativism, and White racial identity predicts attitudes toward climate change among White Americans. Prior research suggests that racial resentment vaticinates social and political judgments beyond explicitly racial domains, including environmental issues and policies which disproportionately harm Black and marginalized communities. Building on this prior research, the present study investigated whether racial identity dimensions predict climate change distress, and whether symbolic racism mediates associations between conservative political orientation and climate concern. Seventythree White undergraduate students completed measures of racial identity, symbolic racism, distrust in climate science, political conservatism, and climate distress. As predicted, a …

Graduate School : Master's Thesis Proposal Approval Form

Academic Affairs – Policy Library

No abstract provided.

Graduate School : Master's Thesis Information Sheet

Academic Affairs – Policy Library

No abstract provided.

Paws. Profits, And Private Equity: Veterinary Medicine In The Age Of Corporate Consolidation, David Draper

Transactions: The Tennessee Journal of Business Law

No abstract provided.

Computational Analysis And Characterization Of The Inducible 1-Cysteine Peroxiredoxin Promoter In The Malaria Parasite Plasmodium, Lara Ladney

Dissertations

Malaria afflicts over 200 million people annually, which results in over half a million deaths, primarily in sub-Saharan Africa. Malaria parasites are complex protozoan organisms that inhabit two hosts: humans, the site of asexual reproduction, and the Anopheles mosquito, where sexual reproduction occurs. To withstand the hostile extracellular environment of the Anopheles mosquito, the malaria parasite Plasmodium berghei employs antioxidant defense mechanisms. Previous work suggests upregulation of 1-Cysteine Peroxiredoxin (1-CPxn) when the mosquito uptakes a blood meal containing the parasite. The parasite must acclimate to the harsh environmental conditions of the mosquito midgut: find a way to counteract reactive oxygen …

Elucidating The Genetic Regulation Of Zebrafish Type Ii Collagen Alpha 1 B, Angelina Renee Carcione

Dissertations

Type II collagens (Col2) are essential proteins providing flexibility and structure to vertebrate animals. During development type II collagens play a vital role in the formation of many structures, such as the cartilage of the skeleton, the notochord, the retina and many other tissues. Conserved throughout vertebrates, cartilage is composed of two main cell types: chondrocytes, which make up the bulk of the structure, and perichondral cells, which form the epithelial layer that surrounds chondrocytes and is essential for bone growth and joint protection. While much is known about the expression and regulation of type II collagens in chondrocytes, specifically …

The Impact Of Facility Dogs On College Students' Stress Management And Emotional Regulation, Anna Reichert

Undergraduate Symposium

College is a demanding transitional time where students are experiencing new friendships and personal growth. During this time, mental health issues can surface which impact emotional well-being. Studies have shown that dogs reduce stress, anxiety, depression, encourage exercise, lower blood pressure, and raise oxytocin and dopamine levels (American Heart Association, 2021). Eastern Michigan University introduced their own facility dog Tinker, a two-year-old golden retriever. Since Fall 2024, she has provided emotional comfort and relief to students and the campus community. Surveying results show Tinker’s impact on stress management and ability to regulate emotions for EMU students.

Deep Dive In Sound Filtering, Cecilia Zoutewelle

A. The Science of Sound

A 7-page report, with illustrations and bullet-point summaries, on the ways we filter sounds as part of the standard process of hearing. Includes brief considerations of evolution, selective listening in conversations, and listening bias.

Investigating The Metabolic Impact Of Metformin And Berberine In Combination With Venetoclax For Acute Myeloid Leukaemia Treatment, Samantha Robins

School of Biomedical Sciences Theses

Acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) stands as a significant challenge in haematological malignancies, particularly due to poor outcomes in older patients and resistance to therapy. BCL-2, an anti-apoptotic protein, is overexpressed in AML. The BCL-2 antagonist Venetoclax inhibits OXPHOS and induces apoptosis in AML cells, which is potentiated when combined with Metformin an anti-hyperglycaemic agent used to treat type 2 diabetes, which also has anti-cancer properties. This study explored the effects of Venetoclax combined with Metformin or Berberine, an herbal supplement with a similar mechanism of action to metformin, on AML cell death and metabolic changes. The combination of Metformin and …

Glaciers As A Secondary Source Of Anthropogenic Contaminants: An Emerging Socio-Environmental Challenge, Dylan Beard

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences Theses

Glaciers provide vital ecosystem services, including water resources, habitat provision, and food and energy security. Once considered pristine, glaciers are now known to accumulate various contaminants, including fallout radionuclides (FRNs) and potentially toxic elements (PTEs), which can pose risks to downstream communities when released through meltwater. This thesis examines the accumulation and potential release of contaminants from glacial environments, with a focus on cryoconite, a contaminant-rich material found on glacier surfaces.Primary data collection and laboratory analyses were conducted on cryoconite samples from the High Arctic and the Peruvian Andes to assess spatial variability in contaminant levels and chemical availability. Additionally, …

Thinking Beyond Ourselves: Using Interdisciplinary Exploration And Speculative Scenarios To Understand The Human Experience, Shannon Kundey

Honors in Practice Online Archive

This essay presents an interdisciplinary seminar in honors that challenges students to move beyond the limitations of human experience and examine cognition and behavior across species, environments, and hypothetical extraterrestrial minds. A Choose Your Own Adventure structure encourages reflection on cognitive biases, thereby fostering a nuanced understanding of intelligence, perspective, and sociality. Author observes that students benefit from frameworks that disrupt human-centered biases and suggests that engaging students in speculative scenarios prompts confronting and questioning assumptions about intelligence, ethics, and social dynamics.

The History Of Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation And Where We Are Today, Maren Downing, Eren Sakarcan, Kristen Quinn

General Surgery Resident Research

Cardiac arrest remains a leading cause of death worldwide and is a global health crisis. First described in the medical literature in the 18th century, modern cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) with closed chest compressions has remained the standard of care since 1960. Despite exponential advances in basic science research and technological innovations, cardiac arrest survival remains a dismal 10%. The standard of care closed chest compressions provide only 20–30% of baseline cardiac output to the body. Have modern therapies plateaued in effectiveness? This article reviews the history of cardiac arrest, its therapies, and opportunities for future treatments. Through an exploration into …

Forage News [2025-07], University Of Kentucky

Forage News

No abstract provided.

Igf-1 As A Biomarker For Symptom Severity In Adult Traumatic Brain Injury: Evidence From An Observational Study, Justin Weppner, Kimberly Rosenthal, Jennifer Bath, Tonja Locklear, Melissa Martinez

Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation Faculty Publications

Traumatic brain injury (TBI)-related growth hormone deficiency is often undertreated, despite documented physical, metabolic, and neuropsychiatric effects. Insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1), with neuroreceptors located in brain regions responsible for learning, memory, and mood, regulates cerebral blood flow, neurogenesis, and neuroplasticity. The aim of this study was to determine associations between IGF-1 levels and post-TBI symptom severity, anxiety, and depression. This retrospective observational study at an Academic Brain Injury Center included participants evaluated 3-12 months post-TBI with available IGF-1 values and complete Rivermead Post-Concussion Symptoms Questionnaire (RPQ-13), Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7), and Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) responses. Patients under 18 or …

Ex Vivo Single-Molecule Analysis Of Ryanodine Receptor 2 Assembly In Cardiac And Neuronal Tissue, Qianye Yin, Christopher I. Richards

Chemistry Faculty Publications

Understanding receptor assembly is critical for elucidating the mechanisms underlying their function and regulation in physiological processes. While traditional in vitro single-molecule studies rely on isolating proteins from heterologous expression systems, they often fail to capture the in vivo physiological complexity involved in the organization and assembly of cell surface proteins. This protocol employs Total Internal Reflection Fluorescence Microscopy (TIRFM) to study GFP-tagged Ryanodine Receptor 2 (RyR2) molecules encapsulated within nanoscale vesicles. These vesicles, generated from organs rapidly extracted from the animal, effectively provide a snapshot of the receptor's assembly state at the time of extraction, enabling detailed analysis of …

Born Of A Nightmare: The Aesthetics And Gameplay Of Lucah, Marigold Parson

Student Work

Lucah: Born of a Dream creates a queer narrative of trauma, repression, and self-creation not only through story or representation, but through its aesthetic and gameplay. By fusing a scratchy, childish visual style with ritualized, intimate combat, and religious and dreamlike symbolism, the game creates what queer scholars describe as “queer resistance”(Ruberg and Phillips 2018). This is experienced through the player as much as the character. Drawing on frameworks from queer game studies, including Pozo’s discussion of haptic and bodily game aesthetics (Pozo 2018) and Dalby’s account of queer orientations in play (Dalby 2024), as well as takeaways from Codex …

Cultural Cognition And The Thoughtful Judge, Jack H.L. Whiteley

Articles

That judges follow what the law is, and not what they wish it was, is a requirement of the rule of law. At the same time, scholars, lawyers, and judges often say that judges’ values influence their decisions. Connecting these two ideas has generated a conversation about the relationship between law, ideology, and politics.

Recently, part of this conversation has focused on a theory called cultural cognition. The theory offers an account of how people’s values shape how they interpret things without their noticing. People whose values tend toward hierarchy sometimes perceive facts differently than people whose values tend toward …

Designer Organs: Ethical Genetic Modifications In The Era Of Machine Perfusion, Irina Filz Von Reiterdank, Susan M. Wolf, Raphaela Bento, Insoo Hyun

Articles

Gene therapy is a rapidly developing field, finally yielding clinical benefits. Genetic engineering of organs for transplantation may soon be an option, thanks to convergence with another breakthrough technology, ex vivo machine perfusion (EVMP). EVMP allows access to the functioning organ for genetic manipulation prior to transplant. EVMP has the potential to enhance genetic engineering efficiency, improve graft survival, and reduce posttransplant complications. This will enable genetic modifications with a vast variety of applications, while raising questions on the ethics and regulation of this emerging technology. This review provides an in-depth discussion of current methodologies for delivering genetic vectors to …

Pioneer Tales (Vol. 9, No. 1), San Bernardino Historical & Pioneer Society

Pioneer Tales

No abstract provided.

Incarceration Reimagined: A Diversionary Option For Serious Felony Offenders, Jane Mitchell

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Converting “Nonlesional” Imaging Occult Epilepsy Into A Focal Lesional Entity Using Advanced Imaging Techniques: Illustrative Case, Muhammad Usman Khalid, Flavius D. Raslau, Valentinos Zachariou, David Powell, Zachary Winder, Ryan Cloyd, Sarah Helen Thomas, John Kuipers, Rachel Ward Mitchell, Riham H. El Khouli, Timothy J. Ainger, Sally Mathias, Farhan A. Mirza

Neurosurgery Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND To achieve the best possible outcome in surgical refractory epilepsy, the seizure onset zone must be accurately identified prior to treatment.

OBSERVATIONS A 38-year-old man presented with tonic-clonic and focal seizures 2–3 times per month, refractory to antiseizure medications. Scalp EEG, MRI, PET, ictal SPECT, magnetoencephalography, and stereo-EEG (SEEG) did not provide conclusive seizure onset zone localization. Subsequently, the patient was included in the authors’ ongoing postictal arterial spin labeling (ASL) study and additional postprocessing was performed with a morphometric analysis program (MAP) and texture analysis. Using these results, the authors reexamined the original structural MR images, with attention …

New Insights Into The Ovulatory Process In The Human Ovary, Misung Jo, Mats Brännström, James W. Akins, Thomas E. Curry

UK CARES Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Successful ovulation is essential for natural conception and fertility. Defects in the ovulatory process are associated with various conditions of infertility or subfertility in women. However, our understanding of the intra-ovarian biochemical mechanisms underlying this process in women has lagged compared to our understanding of animal models. This has been largely due to the limited availability of human ovarian samples that can be used to examine changes across the ovulatory period and delineate the underlying cellular/molecular mechanisms in women. Despite this challenge, steady progress has been made to improve our knowledge of the ovulatory process in women by: (i) …

On Snow’S Intellectual Property And Immorality, David O. Taylor

Texas A&M Journal of Property Law

In this Essay, I consider the “why” and “how” of Professor Snow’s controversial, countercultural, important, and relevant position that immorality may result in the denial of intellectual property protection. First, I highlight how surprising it is that Professor Snow’s argument springs from the theories underlying intellectual property protection, rather than the theories underlying the morality and ethics he believes ought to be considered in determining intellectual property protection. No one (that I know, at least) goes to the Environmental Protection Agency seeking better regulations to protect the environment and uses the labor desert theory of property rights as an argument. …

Choosing A Jury On Mars, Karl T. Muth, Jodi N. Beggs

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

Can Your State Stop You From Traveling To Another State For Abortion Care?, Roxy Freel

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.