Digital Commons Network^™

Novel Time-Since-Deposition Signatures For Canine Blood; Implications For Animal Cruelty Investigations, Alysia M. Townsley

Master of Science in Forensic Science Directed Research Projects

Dogfighting is a felony in all 50 states and is often tied to other organized crime activities including gambling, narcotics, and weapons trafficking. Because of the clandestine nature of dogfighting crimes, it may be necessary to determine the age of blood samples from suspected events, not just the source. In this study, flow cytometry was used to identify cellular autofluorescence signatures for estimating TSD (time-since-deposition) in canine blood deposits up to 6 months old. To accomplish this, blood was taken from canines of various chronological ages and breeds, then deposited to create TSD samples ranging between 1 day and 180 …

Development Of Novel Signatures For Determination Of Cell Types In Blood And Saliva Mixtures, Caitlin Lydon

Master of Science in Forensic Science Directed Research Projects

Determination of tissue source and the time at which a biological material is transferred from its source to another surface, known as the time-since-deposition (TSD), would assist forensic analysts by providing crucial context for DNA profiles generated from biological evidence. Many methods for cell identification have been explored using biomolecule markers such as mRNA, miRNA, and differential DNA methylation. Forensic laboratories have also developed methods for TSD estimation that focus on degradation of biomolecules. Biomolecules such as mRNA or miRNA degrade at different rates due to some being more stable than others. The ratio of stable degrading biomolecules, therefore, can …

History In The Making (Volume 18), Csusb - Alpha Delta Nu Chapter Of The Phi Alpha Theta National History Honor Society

History in the Making

No abstract provided.

Who Grows There? Rethinking Forest Types Beyond Biomass And Composition In Coastal Ecuador, Evelyn Kent

Geography Honors Projects

Tropical Dry Forests (TDFs) are among the world’s most threatened ecosystems. Many are biodiversity hotspots, and most are fragmented and vulnerable to deforestation, wildfires and climate change. TDFs also receive less conservation attention compared to other tropical forest types. To provide critical baseline information for their conservation, this research defines and quantifies the extent of different forest types and their respective aboveground biomass (AGB) in a fragmented TDF landscape in Manabí, Ecuador. Focusing on two forest reserves and their adjacent areas, we used tree plot inventories (N=16) and community composition analyses to define forest types based on tree community composition. …

Master Of Social Work Portfolio: Rooted In Community, Whitney Wb Pratt

Graduate Student Portfolios, Professional Papers, and Capstone Projects

No abstract provided.

Exploring The Stem Career Identity Development Of Black Women Across Their Lifespan, Veronica Hurd

Theses and Dissertations

Although STEM is the fastest-growing career sector, Black women are grossly underrepresented as they account for 2.5% of the workforce. Research highlights that this underrepresentation is due to racialized structures in K-12, postsecondary, and career settings that restrict Black girls’ and women’s STEM opportunities. While macrosystems such as hegemonic ideologies, attitudes, and social conditions shape Black girls’ and women’s opportunities in STEM, they continue to persist and achieve their career goals. To explore these barriers and Black women’s persistence in this industry, this study draws from the autobiographical memories of 10 Black women in the field or formerly in the …

Expanding The Performance And Functionality Of Air-Jet Dry Powder Inhalers Across Multiple Applications, Ghali H. Aladwani

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation aims to expand the performance and functionality of air-jet dry powder inhaler (DPI) applications through the development of a next-generation, mesh-nebulizer-based, and scalable spray dryer for the production of pharmaceutical aerosols, along with new spray-dried formulation production methods, novel formulations, and new air-jet DPI components for aerosol delivery to both infants and adults. The first aim focused on the development of a custom small-particle spray drying system capable of integrating vibrating mesh nebulizer technologies in various configurations for the production of excipient enhanced growth (EEG) formulations. This flexible system enabled efficient production of both small- and large-particle powders …

The Ecoformative And Transformative Issues Of Nature In The Schoolyard: An Exploration Of The Relationship Between Everyday Experiences Of Nature And Well-Being At School, Alix Cosquer, Olivier Gimenez, Arnaud Gregoire, Vincent Girard, Thierry Noell, Tatiana Wasella

Cities and the Environment (CATE)

In urban areas, the implementation of schoolyard facilities (especially through the greening of these spaces) aims to promote children's contact with nature to improve well-being and increase their awareness of environmental preservation. In this study, we use the prospect of schoolyard landscaping in two French schools to conduct research on pupils’ relationship with nature and well-being at school. We explore cognitive and social mechanisms that affect children's perceptions and behaviour in their relationships with nature on a daily basis and in the school context, with a view toward implementing schoolyard designs.

The research aims are (i) to gain a better …

Examining The Biotic And Abiotic Degradation Of Simple Phenols, Madeline Gruenberg

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Plant secondary metabolites are a diverse class of compounds that encompass small phenols to large polymeric structures such as tannins. Smaller compounds such as phenolic acids can serve as substrates for soil microbes and enzymes. We monitored the degradation of three small phenols pyrogallol, gallic acid, and benzoic acid in biotic and abiotic conditions. They were chosen to observe the impacts of specific functional groups on both degradation processes and act as model compounds to mimic larger tannin reactivity. Both abiotic and biotic degradation of pyrogallol resulted in the formation of a stable quinone, while abiotic degradation of gallic acid …

The Circadian Modulating Drug Sr8278 Slows Cell Proliferation Independent Of Rev-Erbs, Ushaswini Atluri

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

The small molecule compound SR8278 was initially identified as an antagonist of the REV-ERB proteins, which play an important role in regulating circadian rhythms. Furthermore, the use of SR8278 in preclinical models has been demonstrated to ameliorate a variety of different pathologies. Using RNA-seq analysis of HaCaT keratinocytes treated with SR8278, our laboratory found that SR8278 induces a down regulation of genes involved in the G1/S phase transition of the cell cycle and an up regulation of genes involved in cholesterol biosynthesis. RT-qPCR and western blot analyses confirmed that SR8278 treatment led to lower expression of several factors involved in …

The Role Of Rad51 And Its Paralogs In Dna Damage Response In Quiescent Cells Exposed To Solar Simulating Uv Radiation, Angitha Radhakrishnan Nair

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Rad51, and its five paralog proteins Rad51B, Rad51C, Rad51D, XRCC2, and XRCC3, are crucial in homologous recombination (HR) repair of DNA double-strand breaks. Prior studies have extensively shown the roles of Rad51 in the S/G2 phase, but its role in the G0/G1 phase is still unclear. Our lab focuses on studying the role of Rad51 and its paralogs in quiescent cells. RT-qPCR and western blots helped us understand the expression of Rad51 paralogs in proliferating and quiescent keratinocyte cells. Using a pharmacological inhibitor of Rad51, we found that Rad51 promotes quiescent cell survival after exposure to UV radiation. Like Rad51, …

Determinants Of Bat Activity And Habitat-Use At Runkle Woods And Huffman Metropark, Ohio, Heidi E. Orloff

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

North American bats are an excellent control of pests as most are insectivorous feeders. They face numerous threats including habitat loss, anthropogenic development, disease (White-nose Syndrome), and potentially artificial light at night (ALAN). It is important to track species populations and habitat-use to determine the magnitude of effects from these threats. Acoustic monitoring has proven a useful and non-invasive method for tracking bat populations. In my research, I conducted stationary acoustic surveys of bat activity at Wright State University’s Runkle Woods and nearby Huffman MetroPark during the summers of 2023 and 2024. I recorded bat calls in three different habitats …

Burning Up And Burned Out: Examining Burnout In Human Services Employees, Chloe A. Bell

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Burnout is a prevalent and critical condition experienced among human services employees. This study examined the roles of gender, parental status, and perceived organizational support (POS) as moderating factors in the relationship between stress and burnout in human services employees. A sample of full-time human services employees (N = 303) completed a survey containing assessments measuring burnout, stress, POS, and neuroticism. The results of this study indicated that POS significantly moderated the stressburnout relationship, such that greater reported levels of POS weakened the relationship between stress and burnout. However, neither gender nor parental status was found to significantly moderate the …

Comparative Impact Of Canagliflozin Versus Pioglitazone On Biomarkers Of Diabetic Kidney Disease In Db/Db Mice, Siri Chandana Minikuri

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Diabetes mellitus is a leading cause of chronic kidney disease (CKD), primarily through dysregulation of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS), characterized by elevated Ang II which promotes vasoconstriction, oxidative stress, and renal fibrosis, along with increased urinary shedding of angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), which can exacerbate the imbalance of RAS and tubular injury. Previous studies demonstrated that rosiglitazone, a PPAR-γ agonist, attenuated hyperglycemia, glycosuria, albuminuria, and decreased urinary ACE2 shedding in db/db mice, suggesting a RAS-mediated renoprotective mechanism. Building on this evidence, the current study compared the renal effects of pioglitazone (a PPAR-γ agonist) and canagliflozin (an SGLT2 inhibitor) in …

The Role Of Fbxl16 In Regulating Erk3 Stability And Cell Migration, Seth Charles Murdock

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Extracellular signal-regulated kinase 3 (ERK3) is a member of the atypical mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) family. While ERK3’s role in promoting cell migration and invasion in multiple types of cancer has been well-documented, its activation and regulation remain poorly understood. Unlike other typical MAPK proteins, whose activation is regulated via the phosphorylation of an upstream kinase, ERK3 is regulated through its abundance, as it is constitutively phosphorylated when present in the cell. While USP20 has been established as a deubiquitinating protein that stabilizes ERK3 by preventing its degradation, both TRIM21 and FBXW7 have been identified as E3 ligases that target …

The Role Of Base Excision Repair In Dna Damage Responses In Human Keratinocytes Exposed To Solar Simulating Uv Radiation, Mobolaji Eniola Alabi

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun is the most prominent source of exogenous UV damage to DNA. UV directly causes damage by forming UV photoproducts, including pyrimidine-pyrimidone (6-4) photoproducts ((6-4) PPs), which significantly distort the helical structure of DNA and interfere with transcription and replication processes. The only known repair process of these photoproducts in human cells is nucleotide excision repair (NER). However, a recent study reported an APE1-dependent base excision repair (BER) of a subset of UV photoproducts. The study showed that deletion or inhibition of APE1, PARP1, NTH1, XRCC1, and FEN1 led to a 2-fold increase in sensitivity …

Characterization Of Atr Kinase Function In Quiescent Keratinocytes Exposed To Solar Simulating Uv Radiation, Mohamed Sameer Cholakkathody

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the role of Ataxia Telangiectasia and Rad3-related kinase in quiescent human keratinocytes exposed to solar-simulated UV radiation (SSL). The ATR inhibitor VE-822 did not significantly affect cell viability in the absence of UV exposure, showing that ATR kinase activity is not essential for quiescent cell survival in the absence of additional genotoxic stress. After SSL exposure, ATR inhibition did not impact acute cell viability but reduced the cells’ long-term ability to proliferate. Western blot analysis demonstrated that VE-822 potently suppressed phosphorylation of ATR target proteins KAP1 and CHK2 in a dose-dependent manner after SSL exposure, confirming strong …

Impacts Of Salinity And Drought On Growth And Carbon Sequestration In Acorus Americanus And Carex Scoparia, Eleora L. Mantle

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

From the late 18th century until the 1980s, Ohio lost close to 90% of its wetlands. Despite increased efforts to maintain what is left, many freshwater marshes are still being degraded due to pollutants, such as road salt, and the impacts of climate change. This study sought to understand how both road salt and drought could impact the health and carbon sequestration of two wetland species, Acorus americana and Carex scoparia, to better understand tolerance. To do this, both species were separated into groups and subjected to varying salt concentrations and drought conditions. After 9 weeks of treatment, plants were …

Patient Subset Classification Using Encoded Embeddings And Knowledge Graph Retrieval-Augmented Generation, Benjamin A. Holmes

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

The widespread adoption of electronic medical records has created a vast reservoir of clinical data that can be leveraged to better understand how interventions relate to patient outcomes. Much of this information, however, exists as unstructured free-text, posing significant challenges for traditional statistical and machine-learning methods. Solving these challenges would allow the extraction of specific patient subpopulations (clinically relevant cohorts of individuals who share overlapping symptoms, risk factors, or diagnostic criteria), which could be used in precision medicine. Despite this promise, extracting these subpopulations from unstructured medical notes is an ongoing challenge due to the variability of clinical language and …

Vagus Nerve Stimulation Ameliorates Cognitive Impairment Caused By Hypoxia, Birendra Sharma

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Hypoxia disrupts brain function due to the high demand for oxygen, leading to significant cognitive impairments. While vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) has been shown to enhance cognition, its ability to counteract hypoxia-induced deficits remains unclear. In this study, male Sprague–Dawley rats were assigned to sham, hypoxia, or VNS + hypoxia groups, with VNS delivered during hypoxia (8% oxygen) using biphasic pulses (100 μs, 30 Hz, 0.8 mA). Cognitive performance was evaluated using multiple behavioral paradigms, and hippocampal tissue was analyzed for neurotrophin expression through quantitative PCR and immunohistochemistry. Among the behavioral measures, hypoxia specifically impaired performance on the passive avoidance …

Utilizing Optimization Tools For Passive Flow Control Passage Loss Reduction In Low-Pressure Turbines, Bryant Robert Duane Burton

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Low-pressure turbines (LPTs) play a crucial role in fuel efficiency and thrust generation of aero-engines. Traditional LPT designs, however, involve multiple stages and numerous blades, resulting in increased weight and manufacturing costs. The challenge of modern- day researchers is to reduce the weight and cost but maintain the high efficiency of LPTs. To address this, one approach is to increase the aerodynamic loading of individual blades, reducing the blade count. However, this can lead to increased secondary losses caused by flow separation, particularly in the endwall regions. This research focuses on optimizing the blade profile at the junction with the …

Distinct Forms Of Myotonia In Pharmacologic And Genetic Mouse Models At Room And Body Temperature, Rola Benammar

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Myotonia congenita (MC) is a genetic disorder caused by loss-of-function mutations in the ClC-1 chloride channel, leading to muscle hyperexcitability and symptoms of transient stiffness and weakness. Work in hyperkalemic periodic paralysis (HKPP), a disorder with overlapping clinical features, has shown that myotonia can arise from two distinct mechanisms: a sustained form and a transient post-stimulus form, which have opposite temperature dependence. In HKPP, sustained myotonia worsens at elevated temperatures, whereas transient myotonia is exacerbated by cooling. This study tested whether these two mechanisms also contribute to myotonia in MC. Ex vivo force recordings were performed in extensor digitorum longus …

Determining The Genetic Population Structure Of The Endangered Scirpus Ancistrochaetus Using Genomic Sequences, Kayci Johnson

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Wetlands are biodiverse ecosystems across the world, and they are being lost at alarming rates due to fragmentation and anthropogenic stressors. Many wetland plants are endangered or threatened due to wetland decreasing numbers. Scirpus ancistrochaetus is an endangered wetland species in the northeastern United States. It is most commonly found in lowlands and forested ecosystems. In this study, I used 105 polymorphic loci obtained from double-digest restriction site associated DNA sequencing (ddRAD-seq), a conservation genetics tool, to determine conservation units, gene flow, kinship, and isolation-by-distance patterns. Discrete populations were identified in New England and the southern part of the species’ …

Screening Of Suppressor Mutants That Confer The Suc22 S239f Mutant Cells Resistance To Hydroxyurea, An Inhibitor Of Ribonucleotide Reductase, Sairam Pasam

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Ribonucleotide reductase (RNR) is a key enzyme for the biosynthesis of dNTPs for DNA replication and repair. It is composed of a large subunit, Cdc22, and a small subunit, Suc22, in the fission yeast S. pombe. We have recently reported a suc22-S239F mutation in the small subunit of RNR, causing replication stress and hypersensitivity to hydroxyurea (HU), an inhibitor of RNR. Interestingly, this mutation does not sensitize the cell to acute treatment with HU, which mainly generates replication stress, suggesting that the mechanism of HU sensitivity in the suc22-S239F mutant remains to be fully understood. To better understand the cell-killing …

Generative Adversarial Networks (Gans) For High-Dimensional Biological Data, Harigovind Harikumar

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

This thesis investigates the application of Generative AI models, mainly Generative Adversarial Network (GAN) models to high dimensional and low sample size biological datasets like Motion Sickness, Breast Cancer, Crohn, and Melanoma. We utilized and compared three generative AI frameworks: Vanilla GAN, Wasserstein GAN (WGAN), Locality-Sensitive Hashing GAN (LSH-GAN) and Omics GAN. To address the challenges associated with high-dimensionality and low sample size, which was leading to very poor outputs of biological synthetic samples, we came up with an approach to stop the model when it reaches its saturation level. That is, we printed the loss plots to see where …

Benthic Algal Biomass And Productivity Across Depth Gradients In Lakes Michigan And Erie, Ahmed Ogidan

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Benthic primary production is poorly quantified in the Laurentian Great Lakes relative to phytoplankton-based production. We measured benthic chlorophyll and benthic primary productivity on soft sediments and Dreissena shells along depth gradients in Lakes Erie (2024) and Michigan (2025) during EPA Cooperative Science and Monitoring Initiative cruises. We measured benthic chlorophyll fluorometrically and estimated benthic primary productivity using non-invasive oxygen exchange incubations. We used PAM fluorometry to characterize photosynthetic-irradiance relationships on mussel shells and sediments in Lake Michigan. In Lake Erie, sediment chlorophyll ranged from 20 to 150 mg m⁻², with highest values in the central basin. In Lake Michigan, …

The Role Of Trpm7 In Mouse Development And Immune Cell Function, Jananie Rockwood

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Transient receptor melastatin 7 (TRPM7) functions both as an ion channel and a protein kinase. TRPM7 has been implicated in Mg2+ homeostasis, embryogenesis, cardiac automaticity, and immunity. The purpose of this research was to deepen our understanding of TRPM7 channel and kinase functions. To this end, we used two transgenic mouse models: the TRPM7 gain-of-function (GOF) and TRPM7 kinase-dead (KD) mice to address the consequences of increased channel activity and kinase inactivation, respectively. Global deletion of TRPM7 or the kinase domain alone are embryonic lethal, therefore, we used the TRPM7 GOF mouse to investigate germline transmission. We examined embryo development …

Characterization Of An Unknown Mutant C3 With A High Level Of Endogenous Replication Stress In Fission Yeast, Neha Singh

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

To maintain genome stability, which is essential for cell proliferation and survival, cells rely on cell cycle checkpoint pathways to deal with perturbed DNA replication or replication stress. The fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe serves as a powerful model organism for studying checkpoint mechanisms because its fundamental cellular processes are highly conserved in higher eukaryotes. During a genetic screening for mutants affecting genome integrity, we identified a novel mutant called C3 that exhibits a unique phenotype. Unlike wild-type cells, where phosphorylation of the checkpoint mediator Mrc1 is typically observed only in response to exogenously induced replication stress, such as the treatment …

Induced Reduction Of N-Glycosylation Leads To Heart Failure, Anthony M. Young

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death and contributes to the increasing global prevalence of heart failure (HF). N-glycosylation is a common co-/post-translational modification where branching oligosaccharides are bound to the extracellular domain of membrane proteins. This creates a diverse range of glycan structures and requires the coordination of hundreds of regulated genes. Inherited mutations in glycan synthesis frequently present with cardiomyopathies leading to HF with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). Additionally, gene expression studies of HFrEF patients have shown altered expression of glycosylation-related genes, including alpha-1,3-mannosyl-glycoproten 2-beta-N acetlyglucosaminyltransferase (Mgat1). This gene encodes N-acetylglucosaminyl transferase 1 (GlcNAcT1) which is required …

The Impact Of Ahr And Hs1.2 Enhancer Genetic Variations On Igh Expression And Antibody Production In Human B Cells, Mili Santosh Bhakta-Yadav

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Antibody production is an essential component of the immune response against pathogens. The immunoglobulin heavy chain (IgH) gene codes for the heavy chain of antibodies. The IgH constant regions Cμ, Cδ, Cγ1-4, Cα1-2, and Cε encode the five major classes of antibodies, i.e., IgM, IgD, IgG1-4, IgA1-2, and IgE, respectively. The transcription of the IgH gene and class switch from IgM to other isotypes is regulated by two 3’ IgH regulatory regions (3’IgHRRs), each of which is a cluster of three enhancer regions (hs3, hs1.2 and hs4). The genetic variations in the hs1.2 enhancer have been identified; a ~53 bp …