Digital Commons Network^™

Extension Interest Assessment: An Evaluation Of Hispanics Residents Of Florida, John M. Diaz, Pablo Lamiño Jaramillo, Miguel A. Acevedo, Juan M. Campos Krauer, Elise S. Gornish, Alvaro Romero, Armando J. Ubeda, E. Hance Ellington

Journal of Extension

Our study examined the interests and preferences of Hispanic residents in Florida regarding extension services. We surveyed 481 adults, focusing on their interest in various topics, preferred information frequency, engagement modalities, and resource types. We found high interest in finance, health, food safety, and wildlife conservation, with a strong preference for online and hybrid resources. However, 66% were unaware of Cooperative Extension, highlighting potential for increased engagement. Our study emphasizes the need for expanded Spanish extension offerings and culturally tailored programs. Further research is recommended to generalize findings across states and better serve the Hispanic community nationwide.

Interpreting Extension Professionals' Viewpoints On Agricultural Climate Change Programming, Aaron B. Wilson, Alli Wenman, Samuel Pratsch, Kenneth Genskow, Patrick Robinson, Dennis Todey, Laurie Nowatzke, Namah Chiamo Taku-Forchu, Moses Wanyakha

Journal of Extension

We evaluated Extension professionals' attitudes and beliefs from Midwestern "1862" land-grant universities around three themes: prioritizing climate programming, farmers' perceptions, and the role of Extension leadership in building capacity to integrate climate change into programs. Using key informant interviews and a two-hour virtual workshop, we developed 'coordinate planes' to illustrate the tensions and contradictions among the three themes, with participants expressing highly diverse viewpoints across the region. Results identify the need for Extension leadership to support multi-state programs and shared resources that provide consistent guidance and expectations around climate change programming while recognizing the intrinsic state context and values.

Conjunctival Melanoma Genomic Analysis Reveals Intermediate Tumor Mutation Burden And Genomic Overlap With Cutaneous Melanoma, Florentia Dimitriou, Xiaogang Wu, Priyadharsini Nagarajan, Isabella C Glitza, Li Zhao, Jing Ning, Sapna P Patel, Jennifer A Wargo, Andrew Futreal, Scott Woodman, Jennifer L Mcquade, Bita Esmaeli

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Conjunctival melanoma (CJM) is a rare and aggressive malignancy. Mainly attributed to its rarity, the genomic features of CJM have not been well characterized. In the present study, we sequenced the exomes of primary and metastatic CJM tumors with the aim to unravel their genomic landscape. The results of the study suggest that CJM is a molecularly distinct melanoma subtype with mixed genotype and targetable mutations. Notably, there were features overlapping with both mucosal, and mainly cutaneous melanoma. Of note, some genetic alterations were found in association with specific subsets of CJM, such as bulbar anatomical localization. CJM tumors had …

The Antelope, University Of Nebraska At Kearney

The Antelope

No abstract provided.

Guest Editor's Note, Philippe Cullet

Journal of Law and Public Policy

Tracing the evolution of debates on the commons, guest editor Philippe Cullet argues that "ensuring accountability of the individuals and institutions in charge of conserving and managing the commons is crucial and needs to be given much more visibility and attention."

Navigating Intersections: How Stereotypes And Oppression Shape Black Women Student-Athletes’ College Journeys, Tomika Ferguson, Cherese Fine

Journal of Athlete Development and Experience

Black women college athletes navigate intersections of race, gender, and athletic ability within predominantly White institutions (PWIs). They can face stereotype threat, racialized academic expectations, and pressures to conform to dominant institution norms. This qualitative study explores the college experiences of Black women college athletes at a predominantly White institution (PWI), focusing on how intersecting oppressions and stereotypes influence their academic, social, and athletic lives. Guided by Black feminist thought (BFT) and stereotype threat theory, the research addresses two questions: What are the college experiences of BWCAs, and how do stereotypes affect these experiences? Findings reveal that pre-college experiences in …

Data-Centric Ai For Eeg-Based Emotion Recognition: Noise Filtering And Augmentation Strategies, Nadieh Moghadam, Rana Hegazy

School of Engineering: Faculty Scholarship

Research in the biomedical field often faces challenges due to the scarcity and high cost of data, which significantly limit the development and application of machine learning models. This paper introduces a data-centric AI framework for EEG-based emotion recognition that emphasizes improving data quality rather than model complexity. Instead of proposing a deep architecture, we demonstrate how participant-guided noise filtering combined with systematic data augmentation can substantially enhance system performance across multiple classification settings: binary (high vs. low arousal), four-quadrant emotions, and seven discrete emotions. Using the SEED-VII dataset, we show that these strategies consistently improve accuracy and F1 scores, …

Introducing Neuro Social Work: A Brief Reflection On Neuroscience And The Profession, Priscila Llamosa

Social Work Faculty Publications

Neuroscience offers language and evidence that can strengthen interdisciplinary communication, support advocacy in biomedically dominated settings, and validate relational practices long recognized in social work, including the impacts of early adversity, attachment, and healing through connection. At the same time, an epistemological tension underlies the profession’s unease with neuroscience when brain-based narratives are used to individualize structural harm or justify surveillance of marginalized families and communities. This teaching note introduces Neuro Social Work as a justice-oriented specialization that integrates contemporary neuroscience with social work’s person-in-environment commitments, relational practice traditions, and anti-oppressive ethics.The author argues that the key question is no …

Great Barracuda (Sphyraena Barracuda) Neurocranium, Preston J. Toutant, Tyler I. Anderson, Luke M. Mckeon, David W. Kerstetter

All Scans: Kerstetter Fisheries and Avian Ecology 3D Scan Series

No abstract provided.

Red Snapper (Lutjanus Campechanus) Neurocranium, Sophia Oliveira, Charlotte Gifford, David W. Kerstetter

All Scans: Kerstetter Fisheries and Avian Ecology 3D Scan Series

No abstract provided.

Faculty Perceptions Of Efforts To Address The Underrepresentation Of Minority Full-Time Faculty In U.S. Nursing Programs, Akua Oxendine

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The problem for this study is that, despite longstanding efforts to promote diversity in higher education, faculty from racial and ethnic minorities remain underrepresented in nursing programs in the United States. Guided by critical race theory, the purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore nursing faculty perceptions of the effectiveness and challenges of institutional efforts to address underrepresentation. Using purposive sampling, 12 nursing faculty members with knowledge of or experience with diversity initiatives were recruited as participants. Data were collected through semistructured interviews. Through a six-phase thematic analysis, nursing faculty identified five critical insights: (a) diversity messaging often …

Heat And Kidney Health: Exploring The Impact Of Rising Temperatures On Kidney Health And Vulnerable Populations, Hoimonty Mazumder

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

This dissertation examines how ambient temperature influences renal health across three complementary chapters by exploring: sex-stratified temperature-urine biomarkers relationships, a global comprehensive synthesis of evidence on renal colic, and mediation effect of BP in the biological pathway between ambient temperature and proteinuria. We used repeated measurements of urinary electrolytes, 24-h urine total protein (UTP), and volume as outcomes from a stepped-wedge RCT conducted in southwest coastal Bangladesh and collected daily ambient temperature data from Bangladesh Meteorological Board (BMD). We employed piece-wise linear mixed effect models using random intercepts to demonstrate ambient temperature and urine biomarker’s relationships. We summarized global evidence …

Examining The Longitudinal Association Of Weight-Adjusted Waist Index With Risk Of Arthritis, All-Cause Mortality, And Covid-19 Pandemic Related Effect On Wwi: Evidence From Health And Retirement Study, Edmore Madondo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

The weight-adjusted waist index (WWI), calculated as waist circumference (cm)/√weight (kg) is positively associated with arthritis and all-cause mortality. However, its longitudinal association with arthritis and all-cause mortality among older population, where excess abdominal fat plays a key role in disease development and death, remains underexplored. Thus, the aim of this dissertation was to investigate the longitudinal association between WWI and the risk of arthritis and mortality among U.S aging population. We analyzed data from 3,765 participants aged 51+ in the Health and Retirement Study (2006–2022). Group-based trajectory modeling was used to create WWI trajectories. The relationship between WWI trajectories …

Improved Understanding Of Microplastic Transport In Agricultural Farms And Its Environmental Impact, Alireza Bakhshaee

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

The global escalation of plastic production has led to widespread microplastic (MP) contamination across terrestrial and aquatic environments, posing a growing environmental challenge. MPs, defined as plastic particles smaller than 5 mm, originate from the degradation of larger plastics as well as from direct inputs such as synthetic fibers, biosolids, and agricultural mulching films. Despite their ubiquity, limited knowledge exists regarding their behavior in soils and their influence on soil–water–plant interactions. This dissertation addresses this gap through an integrated series of controlled laboratory experiments and modeling analyses that examine how MPs modify soil–water–plant dynamics, how they are transported through infiltration …

Trans-Tensional Chaos In Southeastern Death Valley: Geologic Mapping And Geochronology Of The Miocene China Ranch Beds, California, Sydney Beltran

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

This study investigates the sedimentary record of the Miocene China Ranch beds and structural evolution of the China Ranch Basin (CRB) in southeastern Death Valley, California. Geologic mapping and geochronological studies of the China Ranch beds document progressive sedimentary fill of a transtensional basin developed at the tectonic intersection of several strike- slip faults, including the right-lateral Sheephead and Grandview fault zones, and several left- lateral fault zones. New and existing geochronology from 40Ar/39Ar of plagioclase from volcanicash beds, and new detrital zircon U-Pb analysis of volcaniclastic sandstones constrain the depositional history of the China Ranch basin from approximately <11.2 Ma to >6.8 …

Campus Assembly Minutes 11/18 & 11/20/2025, Campus Assembly

Campus Assembly

No abstract provided.

Implementation And Assessment Of The Openbci Platform As An Accessible Brain- Computer Interface, Jewell Norris

Honors Theses

OpenBCI is a low-cost, open-source platform for alternative brain-computer interface (BCI) software and hardware. This thesis evaluates OpenBCI’s electroencephalogram (EEG) and electromyography (EMG) capabilities by constructing and testing a 16-channel EEG system using the Ultracortex Mark IV headset and Cyton + Daisy biosensing board. The viability of the system was assessed through real-time BCI control and comparison to a clinical-grade EEG system. Real-time BCI control of an online falling-block game was tested via the use of eye blinks EMG (channels Fp1/Fp2) and head-tilt accelerometer inputs. The BCI game demonstrated reliable control despite minor latency and artifact sensitivity. For clinical comparison, …

Program Agenda 11-18-25, Angela Brock

Programs Committee (PC)

No abstract provided.

Assessing The Role Of Lead And Wax Shielding In Electron Beam Dose To Facial Tissue, Emma Abiri

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

External Beam Electron Therapy is frequently used to treat facial cancers. Wax and lead shields protect the eye lens and adjacent structures, reducing long term-complications and exposure to healthy tissues. Although these materials attenuate radiation behind the shielding, their impact on surface dose to nearby tissue requires further investigation.

This project evaluated how shielding materials influence surface dose to facial structures using MOSFET detectors on a paraffin wax phantom developed from a patient’s Dot Decimal compensator. Relative surface doses were compared for 6MeV and 9MeV electron beams under varying wax and lead shielding configurations. Results indicate that while wax and …

The Experiences Of African Americans Seeking Health Care Services, Sandy Latreice Sullivan

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Health care experiences are shaped by life events and cultural background, making engagement with providers individualized. African Americans have historically reported distrust of health professionals due to targeted mistreatment. The purpose of this generic qualitative study was to explore the experiences of middle-aged African American adults receiving care from non-African American health care providers. Rosenstock’s health belief model was the framework for the study. Nine participants were recruited from social media using purposeful sampling. Data were gathered through semistructured interviews held on Zoom. Saldana’s four-step qualitative data analysis process was utilized to analyze the data. The results of the data …

African Americans’ Perceptions Of The Impact Of Childhood Community Violence And Historical Oppression On Parenting, Iyabo Adediran

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) can have detrimental impacts on lifelong functioning. Although African Americans experience disproportionately higher rates of community violence, one type of ACE, the potential long-term impacts of exposure to such violence and of historical oppression on their parenting practices in adulthood, was little understood. In this qualitative study, an ethnographic approach was used to explore African American parents’ perceptions of how early exposure to community violence (before age of 18) and the intergenerational transmission of historical oppression influenced their current parenting practices. The conceptual framework, which integrated Engel’s biopsychosocial model and Bowen’s family systems theory, provided a …

The Experience Of Modern Day Marriages For Women Who Identify As Strong Black Women, Arielle Jackson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The Strong Black Woman (SBW) schema has been explored during the past two decades; however, limited research has been conducted on the phenomenological experiences of Black women who identify with the characteristics of the SBW schema and their impact on Black and African American marriages. The purpose of this study was to explore the lived experiences of married African American women in modern day marriages who endorse the characteristics of the superwoman schema. This qualitative study was an interpretative phenomenological analysis and focused on the lived experiences of this population. Individual interviews of 12 married African American women who identified …

Aqueous Humor Biomarkers In Ocular Oncology: Insights And Advances, Lara Cheslow, Signe Caksa, Rachel E. Cain, Scott A. Waldman, Andrew A. Aplin

Department of Pharmacology, Physiology, and Cancer Biology Faculty Papers

Ocular malignancies, though relatively rare, pose significant risks to patients' vision, quality of life, and potential for developing metastatic disease. Due to the eye's complicated and delicate anatomy, diagnosing ocular malignancy and monitoring its progression can be technically challenging. Current approaches include direct tumor biopsy, vitreous humor sampling, and imaging. However, these techniques are associated with rare, yet potentially severe, side effects and can be invasive or limited in detecting microscopic disease. Recent studies have introduced aqueous humor sampling as a promising, minimally invasive alternative to diagnose ocular malignancy, guide therapeutic management, monitor response to treatment, and track early recurrence. …

Convergent Critical Technologies Part 1: The Integrative Transformation Of Warfighting, James Giordano

Strategic Insights

This commentary examines how the Department of War’s six designated Critical Technology Areas: Applied Artificial Intelligence, Biomanufacturing, Contested Logistics Technologies, Quantum and Battlefield Information Dominance, Scaled Directed Energy, and Scaled Hypersonics are collectively transforming military operations. Rather than focusing only on the individual capabilities of these technologies, the author argues that their most strategic value lies in convergent integration across domains and conflict phases. When combined, these technologies can accelerate decision-making, sustain forces in contested environments, enhance sensing and strike capabilities, and optimize operational logistics. The article highlights how integrated technology effects can reshape both kinetic and non-kinetic warfare, challenge …

A Multi-Case Study Of Peer Tutoring Programs: Program Structure, Faculty-Tutor Partnerships, And Access To Instructional Knowledge, Becky W. Packard, Amanda Xu, Teah Shi

International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning

Peer tutors make important contributions within higher education institutions, yet the tutoring program structures vary widely with regard to how tutors are positioned, which in turn, affords and constrains access to instructional knowledge. Using a multi-case method, this study contrasts the structures of four tutoring programs: two programs within a private four-year college and two programs within a public two-year college. Two primary factors, the nature of faculty-tutor partnership and connection to a peer mentoring community, were examined and found to shape access to instructional knowledge. In addition, the results suggested that tutor prior experience as students in courses, experience …

Community College Students' Experiences With The Syllabus: A Qualitative Study, Diego Pliego, Abby Kaplan

International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning

Most existing literature on college students’ use of the course syllabus has been conducted in artificial settings, collected a limited range of data, or both. This study addresses this gap in the literature with a series of in-depth qualitative interviews with students at a community college about how they interact with a syllabus from one of their current classes. We find that most students report reading at least part of the syllabus, most often the calendar and information on grading. Students are most likely to read information specific to the class and are least likely to read general college information …

Beyond The Mic: Fostering Critical Consciousness Through Podcasting In A Social Foundations Of Education Course, Jacob Kelley

International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning

This article contributes to the scholarship of teaching and learning by examining the ways in which a podcast project facilitated the development of critical consciousness among pre-service teachers in an undergraduate social foundations of education course at a research university in the southeastern United States. It draws on data generated using semi-structured interviews with 10 pre-service teachers across two semesters of the course who completed the podcast project. Using inductive thematic analysis, I identified four themes in this case study: (1) Personal Experiences as Catalysts for Critical Consciousness, (2) Dialogical Learning as a Pathway to Critical Consciousness, (3) Grappling with …

Estimated Impact Of 2022–2023 Influenza Vaccines On Annual Hospital Burden In The United States, Kaiming Bi, Shraddha Ramdas Bandekar, Anass Bouchnita, Annalise Cramer, Spencer J Fox, Rebecca K Borchering, Matthew Biggerstaff, Lauren Ancel Meyers

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

During the COVID-19 pandemic early years, infection prevention measures suppressed transmission of seasonal influenza and other respiratory viruses. The early onset and moderate severity of the US 2022-2023 influenza season may have resulted from reduced use of nonpharmaceutical interventions or lower population immunity after 2 y of limited influenza virus circulation. We used a mathematical model of influenza virus transmission that incorporates vaccine-derived protection against both infection and severe disease to estimate the impact of influenza vaccines on healthcare burden. Assuming reported levels of past vaccine effectiveness (VE) against infection and hospitalization, we estimate that influenza vaccines prevented 69,886 (95% …

Advancing Herbal Medicine: The Role Of Nanosomal Technology In Treating Skin Diseases, Pedro Anugerah Aswan, Baitha Palanggatan Maggadani, Wilzar Fachri, Raditya Iswandana

Pharmaceutical Sciences and Research

Herbal medicine has become popular worldwide, especially in developing countries, with around 80% of the population opting for herbal treatments. The perceived benefits of natural remedies, such as affordability and fewer side effects, drive this trend. Herbal therapies effectively manage skin diseases, infections, and common ailments. However, the absorption of bioactive compounds in herbal extracts is often limited. Recent developments in nano-based herbal delivery systems, like nanosomal, show promise in enhancing the efficacy of herbal remedies for topical applications, providing improved solubility, stability, and skin penetration. This review describes various nanosomal studies developed and successfully used to enhance the topical …

Sex Differences In Atherosclerotic Coronary Artery Disease Patterns, Kazumasa Ikeda, Daniel Munhoz, Sofie Brouwers, Jeroen Sonck, Hitoshi Matsuo, Toshiro Shinke, Hirohiko Ando, Brian Ko, Simone Biscaglia, Fernando Rivero, Thomas Engstrøm, Ketina Arslani, Antonio Maria Leone, Domenico Galante, Lokien X Van Nunen, William F Fearon, Evald Høj Christiansen, Stephane Fournier, Liyew Desta, Andy Yong, Julien Adjedj, Javier Escaned, Masafumi Nakayama, Ashkan Eftekhari, Frederik M Zimmermann, Koshiro Sakai, Tatyana Storozhenko, Bruno R Da Costa, Gianluca Campo, Colin Berry, Damien Collison, Thomas Johnson, Tetsuya Amano, Divaka Perera, Allen Jeremias, Ziad Ali, Bernard De Bruyne, Frederic Bouisset, Takashi Kubo, Nobuhiro Tanaka, Kazuhiro Satomi, Nils P Johnson, Carlos Collet, Takuya Mizukami

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Sex differences in coronary artery disease (CAD) have been increasingly recognized, as women present with distinct clinical characteristics and outcomes compared with men. This study investigated the impact of sex on pathophysiological CAD patterns (focal versus diffuse) in stable patients undergoing percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI).

Methods: We conducted a subanalysis of the PPG Global (Pullback Pressure Gradient Global Registry) study, a multicenter, prospective trial including 993 patients (236 [23.8%] women and 757 [76.2%] men) with hemodynamically significant CAD, defined as fractional flow reserve ≤0.80. The pullback pressure gradient metric categorized CAD patterns as focal or diffuse. Patient-reported outcomes were …