Digital Commons Network^™

Executive Committee - Agenda, 10/21/2025, Academic Senate

Academic Senate Agendas

No abstract provided.

A Secret Chord: Finding Meaning In Music, Science, And Faith, John Macinnis

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

"Through the harmony and beauty of music, we are resonating with the deeper harmony of creation and perceiving the Triune God who calls it good."

Posting about how music affects the whole person from In All Things, an online hub that offers insight into maintaining and faithful and orthodox Reformed Christian worldview while fearlessly engaging in every aspect of contemporary life – until all is made new.

A Secret Chord

Biodiversity Conservation Depends On The Expansion Of Taxonomy And Systematics Research, Luis A. Ruedas, Scott L. Gardner

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Despite mammals constituting fewer than 0.3% of all described species, their conservation is compelling for a number of reasons. They contribute to biodiversity and are important in maintaining and regulating ecological communities. Many mammals have significant cultural and economic value, serving as sources of food, medicine, and tourism revenue. Furthermore, the conservation of mammals often leads to the protection of entire habitats, benefiting numerous other species and preserving ecosystem services that are critical for human well- being. Humans share a unique evolutionary history with other mammal species, making their preservation important for scientific research, education, and understanding of our own …

A Knowledge-Driven Deep Learning Framework For Organoid Morphological Segmentation And Characterization, Yiming Qin, Jiajia Li, Yin Heng, Zheyuan Wang, Dezhi Wu, Mahi Rahman, Pengwei Hu, Tobias Plötz, Alexander Hopp, Nicholas Kurniawan, Mathias Winkel, Philipp Harbach, Chunling Tang, Feng Tan

Publications

BACKGROUND: Organoids have great potential to revolutionize various aspects of biomedical research and healthcare. Researchers typically use the fluorescence-based approach to analyse their dynamics, which requires specialized equipment and may interfere with their growth. Therefore, it is an open challenge to develop a general framework to analyse organoid dynamics under non-invasive and low-resource settings.

RESULTS: In this paper, we present a knowledge-driven deep learning system named TransOrga-plus to automatically analyse organoid dynamics in a non-invasive manner. Given a bright-field microscopic image, TransOrga-plus detects organoids through a multi-modal transformer-based segmentation module. To provide customized and robust organoid analysis, a biological knowledge-driven …

Exploring Challenges Of Parents With Disabilities Affecting Custody Of The Children, Kendyll King

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Despite the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 promoting equality for people with disabilities, parents with developmental and intellectual disabilities experience high rates of involvement with child welfare services due to outdated terminology, information about disabilities, and policies. The purpose of this study was to identify the challenges of parents with intellectual and developmental disabilities and determine if they differ from those of parents without a disability. This was a generic qualitative study grounded in intersectionality theory. Education, employment, health and safety concerns, independence, assistive technology, social services involvement, and supports or resources were examined through the perspective of the …

Naturalizing Motherhood: Neoliberal Femininity And The Re-Traditionalization Of Gender In Turkey, Canan Tanir

Sociology Faculty Publications

The recent trends in the social construction of “good mothering” through “naturalism” have become remarkably definitive in Turkey in the last decade. This study presents data from in-depth interviews with naturalist mothers in Istanbul demonstrating four operative mechanisms in their narratives with regard to their conception of gender. Practices of naturalist motherhood depart from systemic criticism and opposition to the ongoing neoliberal conservatization process in Turkey. However, at the same time, they are congruent with the normalization of a patriarchal gender order in this context. I propose that addressing this controversy is contingent on problematizing the focus on choice and …

Where Have You Been? Backtracking Microplastic To Its Source Using The Biomolecular Composition Of The Ecocorona, Amanda L. Dawson, Utpal Bose, Sophia Escobar-Correas, Kuok Yap, David J. Craik, Cassandra L. Pegg

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Microplastics are a diffuse contaminant with various global sources, pathways, and sinks. This study aimed to backtrack microplastics across environments using metaproteomic and eDNA metabarcoding information stored within the ecocorona. Pristine polyamide (PA) fibers, polyethylene terephthalate (PET) fibers and fragments, and PET and PA preincubated in bovine serum albumin (BSA) were deployed into a tank housing Penaeus monodon to develop an ecocorona. Upon collection, BSA was detected within the ecocorona, along with P. monodon proteins, using mass spectrometry. BSA preincubation influenced the diversity and abundance of ecocorona proteins with pristine microplastics having more significantly enriched proteins. Most ecocorona proteins reflected …

Supporting Men As Fathers: The Value Of A Uk Community Dads’ Project During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Ian Blackwell, Rebecca Carter Dillon

More Faculty of Health Research

This paper presents a study of a community dads’ project during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data were gathered via a questionnaire, semi-structured interviews and by attending eleven on-line Conversation Cafés. Men described how the project supported and affirmed their fathering practices as they were able to speak with other father figures about their challenges, to celebrate the rewards of parenting, and to socialise with others. Participants described how their confidence was enhanced and their identity as a father was validated through successful solo parenting activities, opportunities to bond with their child, by creating shared memories, and by being playful and physically …

Occurrence Of Delphinids Off Egmont Atoll, Chagos Archipelago: Detection, Characterisation, And Temporal Variability Of Vocalisations, Udayanga Sampath, Clare B Embling, Danielle V Harris, Tom B Letessier, Isha Shyam, Simon N Ingram, M F M Fairoz, Samina Sharmin Rouf, Asha De Vos

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

Passive acoustic monitoring techniques are useful for studying vocally active marine species, particularly in remote and difficult to access areas. In this study, three months of acoustic recordings were collected off Egmont Atoll, Chagos Archipelago in the central Indian Ocean to detect, characterise, and investigate temporal variability of delphinid whistles. A subsample (3.6% of the total dataset) was used to manually annotate whistles and test automated whistle detectors. Higher frequency whistles (6-25 kHz, n = 126) were manually classified into six categories: upsweep (56%), convex (19%), downsweep (13%), concave (5%), sine (4%), and constant frequency (3%). An automated whistle detector …

Trauma-Informed Professional Development: An Intervention Mapping Study, Heidi Gilroy, Amanda Davis, Kimberly Mcintosh, Rosemary Pine, Becky Thayer

Creating Healthy Work Environments (CHWE)

Almost one-third of nurses have post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Trauma-informed professional development is a framework that allows nursing professional development practitioners to plan interventions to decrease risk for PTSD and facilitate recovery. This presentation will include the results of an intervention mapping study to develop those interventions.

Detailed abstract attached.

Integration Of An Artificial Intelligence–Based Autism Diagnostic Device Into The Echo Autism Primary Care Workflow: Prospective Observational Study, Kristin Sohl, Erik Linstead, Kelianne Heinz, Elia Eiroa Lledo, Alicia Brewer Curran, Melissa Mahurin, Valeria Nanclares-Nogués, Carmela Salomon, Minda Seal, Sharief Taraman

Engineering Faculty Articles and Research

Background: Pediatric specialist shortages and rapidly rising autism prevalence rates have compelled primary care clinicians to consider playing a greater role in the autism diagnostic process. The ECHO Autism: Early Diagnosis Program (EDx) prepares clinicians to screen, evaluate, differentiate, diagnose, and provide longitudinal care for children with autism in primary care settings. Canvas Dx is a prescription-only Software as a Medical Device designed to support clinical diagnosis or rule out of autism, including in primary care settings. It is authorized by the Food and Drug Administration for use, in conjunction with clinical judgment, in 18‐ to 72-month-olds with indicators …

The Orange Glow In The Sunshine State: Three Visions Of Plato In Florida (1970-1990), Ryan Mcgahan

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The PLATO network, a collection of mainframe computers, terminals, and educational software, has received an increasing amount of scholarly attention in the last decade as a social precursor to the modern internet. Existing histories have neglected to investigate the ways in which PLATO and its related business enterprise worked to accelerate the shift in university governance away from classical liberal ideas centering the public good and towards a more profit-centered neoliberal rationality. By tracing the rise of PLATO in Florida universities, this paper argues that PLATO aided and was aided by the shifting priorities of American universities in the 1970s …

Data For: "Alongshore Setup Gradients Drive Reef Flat Currents On A Coral Atoll Island", Ashley Holsclaw, Mathilde Lindhart, Gerd Masselink

Faculty of Science and Engineering Datasets

This study presents extensive in situ observations from a coral atoll island in the Maldives to investigate the alongshore variability of wave setup and reef flat currents driven by heterogeneity in morphology and wave forcing. The island’s diverse reef morphology provided an ideal natural laboratory for assessing its impact on spatial hydrodynamic variability. Results indicate that shoreline wave setup increased with incident wave height and low reef flat water levels, regardless of reef geometry. Despite the significant variations in topography, bathymetry, and wave exposure, theoretical predictions of wave setup using existing parameterizations demonstrated strong agreement with observations across three distinct …

Alcohol Consumption And Cervical Carcinogenesis: Time To Draw Conclusions, Vivek Kashyap, Divya B. Kenchappa, Ajay K. Singh, Bhupesh Singh, Murali M. Yallapu, Everardo Cobos, Subhash C. Chauhan

School of Medicine Publications

Cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer among women worldwide and remains a significant cause of cancer-related mortality. Alcohol consumption is linked to an increased risk of several cancers and is a controversial risk factor for developing cervical cancer. This review updates existing information on the correlation between alcohol consumption and the risk of developing cervical cancer. Several comprehensive studies from different geographical regions have shown that moderate and heavy drinking is positively correlated with the development of cervical cancer. There is a synergistic relationship between human papillomavirus (HPV) viral load and alcohol use among drinkers with a high …

Research Progress On The Effect Of Grafting Technology On Disease Resistance And Stress Resistance Of Watermelon, Xuena Liu, Shikai La, Chang Chen, Ainong Shi, Mingjiao Wang, Yingying Zhang, Jinghuai Guo, Lingdi Dong

Horticulture Faculty Publications and Presentations

Grafting is an effective horticultural technique that significantly enhances disease resistance and stress tolerance in watermelon. This review systematically summarizes the types of rootstocks used in watermelon grafting and analyzes the effects of grafting on plant responses to biotic stresses, such as viral and fungal pathogens, root-knot nematodes infections, and abiotic stresses, including drought, temperature extremes, and salinity. Furthermore, it discusses the changes in fruit quality and explores the underlying mechanisms associated with graft-induced resistance. By synthesizing recent research advances, this review aims to offer valuable insights and practical references for improving resistance and promoting sustainable production in cucurbit and …

Injectable Microparticle-Nanoliposome Hydrogel For Extended Release Of Small Hydrophilic Molecules, Gil Aizik, Wonmin Choi, Claire A Ostertag-Hill, Matthew Torre, Daniel S Kohane

Duncan NRI Faculty and Staff Publications

Achieving sustained local release of small hydrophilic drugs is challenging and is particularly important when the drugs are toxic. To address these challenges, we developed a hybrid system comprising drug-containing microparticles embedded within a nanoliposomal hydrogel matrix. This system forms through salt-induced gelation using physiologically relevant sodium chloride concentrations (0.9%), allowing for microparticle encapsulation without harsh chemical processes. In vitro, the hybrid system exhibited a slower release of encapsulated cargo compared to microparticles or hydrogel alone. In vivo proof of principle was provided with tetrodotoxin (TTX), a small hydrophilic and ultrapotent local anesthetic, which can cause systemic toxicity if the …

Apoa1 Binding Protein Promotes Lymphatic Cell Fate And Lymphangiogenesis By Relieving Caveolae-Mediated Inhibition Of Vegfr3 Signaling, Jun-Dae Kim, Surbhi Chaudhary, Weiqing Chen, Jonathan Astin, Philip S Crosier, Pengchun Yu, John P Cooke, Henry J Pownall, Hugo J Bellen, Nhat-Tu Le, Daniel L Kiss, Guangyu Wang, Stanley G Rockson, Hong Chen, Longhou Fang

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

The lymphatic system maintains tissue fluid balance, and its dysfunction can result in lymphedema. Although cholesterol is essential for cellular function, its role in lymphatic development has remained unknown. Here, we identify APOA1 binding protein (AIBP) as a key regulator that promotes lymphatic endothelial cell fate specification and lymphangiogenesis. Mechanistically, AIBP reduces plasma membrane cholesterol content, thereby enhancing VEGFR3 signaling by disrupting caveolae—small plasma membrane invaginations formed by the scaffolding protein caveolin-1 (CAV-1)—and relieving CAV-1–mediated inhibition. In zebrafish and mice, AIBP loss impairs VEGFR3 signaling and lymphatic development, defects that can be rescued by CAV-1 deletion or by a VEGFR3 …

Sperm And Offspring Production In A Nonobstructive Azoospermia Mouse Model Via Testicular Mrna Delivery Using Lipid Nanoparticles, Daisuke Mashiko, Chihiro Emori, Yuki Hatanaka, Daisuke Motooka, Chen Pan, Yuki Kaneda, Martin M Matzuk, Masahito Ikawa

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Microsurgical testicular sperm extraction (microTESE) with intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) represents the current standard treatment for nonobstructive azoospermia (NOA). However, cures remain unavailable for NOA patients lacking retrievable haploid cells. mRNA supplementation could be a potential treatment for genetic defects leading to impaired spermatogenesis. Lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) have emerged as mRNA delivery vehicles with minimal risk of genome integration; however, their ability to selectively deliver mRNA to specific cell types remains limited. To overcome this, microRNA (miRNA) target sequences were incorporated into mRNA constructs to restrict expression specifically to germ cells. Using pyruvate dehydrogenase E1 subunit alpha 2 (PDHA2) knockout …

Contextualizing Introductory Computer Science: Insights From African Faculty, Ethel Tshukudu, Ismaila Temitayo Sanusi, Oluwakemi Ola, Sally Hamouda, Linda Marshall, Oluwatoyin Adelakun-Adeyemo, Emma R. Dodoo, G. Ayorkor Korsah, Sandani Luvhengo, Jack Parkinson

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Contextualizing computer science education has been recognized as a key factor in enhancing student engagement and learning outcomes. This study investigates the initial perceptions of university computer science faculty in Africa regarding the benefits, adoption challenges, and institutional support required for the successful integration of contextually relevant materials into introductory computer science (CS1) courses. Faculty then assessed a set of previously developed contextually tailored materials, grounded in Banks' Additive Approach to curriculum reform and aligned to the CS curricula 2023. The research adopted qualitative methods, gathering data through open-ended surveys from 22 CS faculty across 9 African countries. Thematic analysis …

High-Stakes Exams Inflate A Gender Gap And Contribute To Systematic Grading Errors In One Introductory Physics Series, David J. Webb, Cassandra Paul

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Previous research has suggested that changing the percentage of the course grade associated with exam grades in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics courses can change the gender gap in the course. It has also been shown that high-stakes assessments yield the lowest (relative) scores for female students. Previous research by the authors has shown that implementing retake exams can eliminate the gender gap in introductory physics courses. This paper explores several different hypotheses for why retake exams are associated with a zeroed gender gap. Two independent measurements comparing exams with different stakes are used in support of the argument that …

A Global Overview Of Anatomical Science Education And Its Present And Future Role In Biomedical Curricula, Michael Hortsch, Virginia Claudia Carneiro Girão-Carmona, Ana Caroline Rocha De Melo Leite, Ilias P. Nikas, Margaret K. Gatumu, Nii Koney Kwaku Koney, Benjamin Arko-Boham, Doris George Yohannan, Aswathy Maria Oommen, Yan Li, Jian Yang, Alexandra F. Trollope, Amanda J. Meyer, Sonya E. Van Nuland

School of Medicine Faculty Publications

The four main anatomical sciences, gross anatomy, histology, neuroanatomy, and embryology, are fundamental subjects for most health professionals and biomedical students. Usually taught as part of preclinical basic science training, the anatomical sciences provide a structural understanding of human or animal bodies at both macroscopic and microscopic levels. This overview characterizes how the anatomical sciences are currently taught around the globe, highlighting similarities, differences, and recent curricular transformations that were partially in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Globally, educators of the anatomical sciences navigate similar pressures, including expectations of curricular integration and reduced time for anatomical teaching. Student-centered teaching approaches …

Genetic Engineering For Pastures, W J. Peacock

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

The first genetically engineered food products from horticultural production systems are now entering the mnrke< and field trials of genetically engineered crop species are well advanced. We cnn expect that a range of crop cultivars, in which gene

Grassland For Sustainable Ecosystems, Malcolm Hadley

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Grasslnnds present many advantages for examining issues related to sustainability. Grasslands include planted pastures as well as a variety of natural rangelands in situations ranging from semi-arid to subhumid. Diversity is also reflected in the spectrum of grassland users and uses, for example, nomadic pastoralism, extensive ranches, intensive pastures, wildlife tourism, game hunting. And in terms of sustainability of resource management, grasslands encompass a wide range of contrasting situations and conflicts in resource use. Heavy grazing pressure associated with increasing human populations in certain tropical savannas, the implications of rural depopulation to traditional pasture management in alpine regions, and the …

Grasslands For Our World, F Riveros

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

The present-day role of grasslands and fodder is reviewed with respect agriculture, animal production and environmental concerns. The world's grazing lands are a finite resource and, overall, arc being badly managed; in most developing countries action is required now, before it is too late. They will continue to be a major source of animal feed for the foreseeable future; encroachment from cropping will continue locally but, for much of what is now natural pasture, exploitation by the grazing animal .will remain the major means of obtaining an economic return; the task of grassland professionals is to assist the managers of …

Human Impact On Terrestrial Ecosystems - What We Know And What We Are Doing About It, H A. Mooney

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

At present the impact of humankind on the Earth System is substantial and will become greater as we continue to add over 80 million people to the global population each year. Collectively the human species utilises over a third of the total fresh water that is available, as well as an equivalent amount of the total terrestrial productivity. Possil energy is being consumed at a prodigious rate and fuels, among other things, over a half a billion vehicles. To support the large human population the Earth has been greatly reconfigured with much of the land utilised for grazing and agriculture. …

Science And Information For Our Grasslands, G A. Nores, R R. Vera

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

This paper favours a view of grasslands, and agricultural research in general, that extends well beyond the limits of the scientific community and promotes the active involvement of scientists in current societal debates from a scientific perspective. It is argued that in developed countries environmental concerns rather than production growth will tend to dominate future social debate. In developing countries there is a need to balance agricultural growth with responsible management of natural resources. Needs for new technology go beyond improving biophysical efficiency, and involve economic and social efficiency objectives. The relevance of grassland research is assessed in terms of …

Vegetation Dynamics In Grazed Systems: A Hierarchical Perspective, D D. Briske

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Grassland vegetation consists of a series of hierarchical levels including the tiller, plant, population and community which collectively influence the productivity and stability of grazed systems. These hierarchical levels may respond uniformly to influence vegetation dynamics, but frequently additional complexity is encountered by the occurrence of opposing responses between or among hierarchical levels. Consequently, it is important to con­sider responses at several hierarchical levels to achieve an accurate interpretation of vegetation dynamics to graz­ing within the community. The significance of a hierarchical perspective to vegetation management is illustrated with examples from bunchgrass dominated rangelands at the level of the individual …

Forage Conservation And Physico-Chemical Conversion, E Zimmer

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

The factors on which the digestibility of organic matter (dMO) of forages depend are now well-known. In temperate forages, this digestibility depends mainly on the growth stage, the rank of the growth-cycle, and the botanical species. It is constantly decreasing with advancing age, especially during the first growth-cycle. In after­math growth-cycles, high temperatures accelerate the decrease of digestibility with age. Tropical forages follow the same laws, but tropical grasses are less digestible than cool-season grasses, especially at young stages and in warm weather. This is partly due to the fact that high temperatures increase cell-wall contents and lignification, and also …

The Feeding Value Of Forages, C Demarquilly

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

The lower productivity of legume based swards and their instability of yield from year to year compared with nitrogen fertilised grass swards continues to be a major constraint on the integration of leguminous nitrogen fixing species into present-day farming systems. Most legume systems have a high biological nitrogen fixation (BNF) potential which is rarely attained in the· field due to limiting environmental or management factors. Enhancement of BNF through manipulation of the Rhizobium and plant components of the symbiosis must be viewed as a long-term objective. Optimisation of nitrogen fixation in the short-term may best be achieved through optimisation of …

Nitrogen Fixation, Cycling, And Utilization, P M. Murphy, M T. Sherwood

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

The lower productivity of legume based swards and their instability of yield from year to year compared with nitrogen fertilised grass swards continues to be a major constraint on the integration of leguminous nitrogen fixing species into present-day farming systems. Most legume systems have a high biological nitrogen fixation (BNF) potential which is rarely attained in the· field due to limiting environmental or management factors. Enhancement of BNF through manipulation of the Rhizobium and plant components of the symbiosis must be viewed as a long-term objective. Optimisation of nitrogen fixation in the short-term may best be achieved through optimisation of …