Digital Commons Network^™

21st Century Perspective On The Changing Pattern Of Nerve Injuries From Gunshot Wounds In The U.S., Thomas A. Decoster

Western Journal of Orthopaedics

Gunshot wounds (GSWs) with nerve injuries in the 21st century differ significantly from those reported in the 20th century. The vast majority are now low-velocity civilian injuries, in contrast to high-velocity military injuries previously reported. The rate of nerve injury in civilian GSWs is approximately 5%, compared with the 30% reported in military cohorts. However, the most common pattern of nerve injury in the current civilian population is neurotmesis and partial neurotmesis, in contrast to the majority axonotmesis of the military cohorts. In the 20th century, treatment generally consisted of watchful waiting for signs of spontaneous recovery over three months …

Peripheral Nerve Repair And Reconstruction: Current Techniques, Adjuncts, And Emerging Therapies, Niklaus Skipp, Lana Dokic, Christina Wassef, Jazzlyn Gonzalez, Ana Love, Heather Mercer, Deana Mercer

Western Journal of Orthopaedics

Peripheral nerve injuries require reconstruction when direct, tension-free repair is not possible. A range of reconstructive strategies are used to restore continuity and promote axonal regeneration, including graft-based reconstruction, nerve transfers, conduit-based repair, supercharged end-to-side augmentation, and emerging regenerative therapies. Autologous interfascicular nerve grafts and vascularized grafts remain established techniques, whereas processed nerve allografts provide a donor-sparing alternative. Nerve transfers are increasingly used for proximal injuries with long regeneration distances, and conduits are an option for gaps shorter than 5 mm. Nerve-wrapping techniques are used to reduce perineural scarring and preserve gliding in complex or revision cases. Emerging adjunctive therapies, …

Play-Based Learning In Private International Preschools In Cairo: Teachers' Perspectives, Kesha L. Stovall

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores how play-based learning is practiced and contextualized in private, international preschools in Cairo, Egypt through the perspective of teachers. It calls upon both historical and contemporary theories of play and play pedagogies ranging from the times of Plato and Al-Farabi to the 21st century with Montessori and Dewey. Using a contemporary theory of play presented by Stuart Lester and Wendy Russell as a guiding framework, it examines how play and play-based learning are implemented, shaped and even challenged in a Cairene context. These contexts include sociocultural factors such as parents’ expectations and aspirations, institutional barriers, teacher development …

Adult Healthy Habits, Belinda E. Vicuna, Mahtab Soleimani, Yvonnie Baik, Elena Martinez, Theresa H. Cruz

Reports & Documents

No abstract provided.

Implementing Bespoke Assistive Technologies: An Approach For Successful Introduction And Use Of Assistive Technology In Supported Living For Individuals With Intellectual Disabilities., Benjamin Morris

School of Health Professions Theses

Background: While the potential of assistive technologies for improving the lives of individuals with intellectual disabilities is well documented, successful implementation of these technologies is a complex challenge. Adoption-and-use-models of assistive technology are a key method to guide such adoption technology, however no specific model for supported living of those with intellectual-disability existed prior to this research. The research aimed to investigate how bespoke digital assistive technologies can be implemented in the supported living environment for people with intellectual disabilities. Three primary outputs were produced in order to address the research question. 1. A theoretical model that explains the barriers …

Antigypsyism: Foundations Of An Ideology Of Hatred Towards Roma, Fernando Ruiz Molina, Zoë James

School of Law, Humanities and Social Sciences

Roma communities represent the largest ethnic minority in Europe (European Parliamentary Research Service, 2021), dating their presence from the fourteenth century onwards (Council of Europe [CoE], 2012a; CoE n.d.-a; End, 2012).¹Accord-ing to the Council of Europe, it is estimated that the population of Roma citizens living currently in Europe is around 10 to 12 million (CoE, 2012a). Despite their long-standing presence in European countries, Roma are hated within their own countries. From Eastern to Western Europe, animosity towards Roma centres on public acceptance of stereotypes of their criminality and lifestyles, leading to this minority group experiencing the most bias-motivated crime …

Off-Label Abuse: The Prosecution Of Individuals For Pesticide Crimes Under The Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, And Rodenticide Act, Joshua Ozymy, Melissa Jarrell Ozymy

Natural Resources Journal

When individuals commit pesticide crimes involving significant harm or culpable conduct, they may be prosecuted for criminal violations of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), but we have little knowledge of how individual offenders have been prosecuted historically for such crimes. Using content analysis of 2,728 environmental crime prosecutions resulting from U.S. EPA criminal investigations, 1983 to 2021, we select all cases of individuals prosecuted under FIFRA for our analysis. We find that 100 cases were adjudicated, resulting in 135 years of probation, 75 years of incarceration, and $4.2 million in monetary penalties assessed at sentencing. Of those …

Assessment Of Simulation Software Used For Cubesat Gnc Verification And Validation By University Research Teams, Alexander Taiyo Newett

Masters Theses

As the growth in university satellite teams continues, along with the greater trend in the small satellite market, the need for a guidance, navigation, and control verification and validation pipeline suitable for these young and inexperienced teams becomes evident. Much of the mathematical theory and software implementation of GNC concepts are large hurdles for teams largely composed of undergraduate students.

Many software packages exist that can help these teams achieve GNC verification and validation. If the learning curves of these software packages can be overcome, new satellite teams have the opportunity to better build and test GNC algorithms that are …

Aura-Visionpose: Creating Datasets For Vision-Based Pose Estimation, Mohanad Alameer

Masters Theses

"Spacecraft rendezvous is an integral part of many orbital missions, including active space debris removal (ADR) and in-orbit servicing, assembly, and manufacturing (ISAM). Traditionally, rendezvous missions rely mainly on manual ground-based control to perform rendezvous and docking. While this can be effective on an individual basis, it becomes less practical at scale. Autonomous vision-based methods can reduce reliance on human control, and may improve scalability, response time, and reduce the possibility of human error for both ADR and ISAM. This work lays the necessary groundwork for developing a machine learning (ML) model for autonomous rendezvous by creating a labeled image …

Moth Assemblages Of Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, Kimberly Anne Steese

Masters Theses

"Moths (Lepidoptera) are ecologically important insects that function as herbivores, pollinators, prey resources, and indicators of ecosystem integrity. Despite their ecological significance, moth communities in the Missouri Ozarks remain poorly documented, particularly within military-managed landscapes. This thesis examined patterns of moth diversity, assemblage structure, and environmental drivers at Fort Leonard Wood (FLW), Missouri, while also assessing the distribution and genetic diversity of species within the genus Papaipema.

Field surveys were conducted from 2019 through 2021 across prairie, savanna, forest, and restoration habitats at FLW using UV bucket traps, sheet trapping, and targeted larval surveys. Across all sampling efforts, 29,116 individual …

Cerebellar Deep Brain Stimulation Rescues Purkinje Cell Mitochondrial Density In A Genetic Mouse Model Of Cerebellar Ataxia, Lauren N Miterko-Myers, Lauren E Peacoe, Lita Duraine, Zhongyuan Zuo, Roy V Sillitoe

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) improves motor function in a growing list of movement diseases including Parkinson's disease, dystonia, and tremor. There is evidence that DBS may also be effective in ataxia. It is not known why DBS is effective, but modulating cell activity and conferring neuroprotection are hypothesized to underlie its benefits. Understanding the effects of DBS on neurons is paramount to extending its clinical use in the treatment of various motor and non-motor diseases. Here, we stimulated the cerebellum of Car8 waddles (Car8wdl) mice, given the cerebellum's important role in ataxia pathophysiology. Using transmission electron microscopy, we tested the …

Mapping Functional Connectivity In The Pigeon Brain With Wide-Field Optical Imaging, Kathryn C Chenard, Annie R Bice, Seana H Bice, Joseph P Culver, Paula Gerliz, Xavier Helluy, Onur Güntürkün, Jason W Trobaugh, Mehdi Behroozi, Carlos A Botero

2020-Current year OA Pubs

SIGNIFICANCE: Adapting optical imaging technology to avian models can overcome many limitations imposed by functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), which currently restricts the number of species used to study functional connectivity. Developing advanced technology to expand the diversity of species that can be effectively imaged is crucial for addressing significant questions that are currently unreachable, such as understanding the evolution of cognition from a comparative perspective.

AIM: We assessed the potential of optical imaging technology to measure functional connectivity in birds, utilizing pigeons as an avian model. We evaluated whether we could partition the dorsal surface of the pigeon brain …

The Executive's Takeover Of Independent Agencies: How Institutional Design Gave Way To Political Will, Neal Devins

Faculty Publications

The anticipated demise of the independent agency is a saga that implicates Congress as much as it does the President or the Supreme Court. By capitulating to presidential initiatives and failing to defend their institutional prerogatives, Congress has facilitated presidential control of the administrative state. Indeed, irrespective of whether the Court formally repudiates Humphrey’s Executor, Congress has largely acquiesced to a regime whereby presidents essentially control independent agencies. By highlighting the competing incentives of Congress and the White House, this Essay explains the rise of presidential unilateralism vis-à-vis independent agencies. This Essay also casts light on a critically important but …

Firearms And Fora: Constructing Public Carry Doctrine, Timothy Zick

Faculty Publications

Where can a person lawfully carry firearms in public? Under what conditions can they do so? Now that the Supreme Court has formally recognized a Second Amendment right to public carry, these are among the most important unresolved questions regarding the right to bear arms. The Second Amendment’s public carry doctrine is in its infancy. How the doctrine develops will have a profound impact on the exercise of Second Amendment rights in public places and on the public square. Integrating a new constitutional right into the public square is not a novel problem. After the Supreme Court recognized First Amendment …

An Ecological-Evolutionary Investigation Of Phenotypic, Genetic, And Environmental Variation And Correlations Among Reproductive Traits Of Tall Goldenrod (Solidago Altissima), Michael J. Wise, Daniel Lavy, David E. Carr, Warren G. Abrahamson Ii

Faculty Journal Articles

Although fitness-related traits are expected to be under strong selection, traits related to reproduction are often quite variable within plant populations. We used data from two large greenhouse experiments to quantify phenotypic, genetic, and environmental variation, as well as genetic tradeoffs that might help explain the maintenance of withinpopulation variation in four traits related to sexual or vegetative reproduction in tall goldenrod (Solidago altissima). The goldenrod population exhibited high levels of both phenotypic and genetic variation for capitulum (flower head) number and size, seed production, and rhizome growth. Significant negative genetic correlations were present between the number of capitula and …

Sodium Supplementation Algorithm To Promote Growth In Infants Who Are Preterm: Randomized Clinical Trial, Brianna M Liberio, Gregory M Sokol, Hannah Rakow, Kelly Mosesso, Valerie Hole, William W Wong, Shaji K Chacko, Jeffrey L Segar

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Objective: Evaluate the effectiveness of an algorithm using urine sodium (Na) concentration to guide dietary Na supplementation compared with standard care to promote growth in infants who are preterm.

Methods: A randomized trial was conducted in 4 neonatal units in Indianapolis, Indiana, involving infants between 250/7 to 296/7 weeks gestation with birthweight > 500 g. Study arms consisted of standard care or use of algorithm beginning at 14 to 17 days postnatal age. The primary outcomes were somatic growth (weight, length, and head circumference) measured by change in Z-score between aged 2 weeks and 36 weeks postmenstrual age (PMA). Secondary outcomes …

Dismantling The Whiteness Of Legal Education, Doron Samuel-Siegel

Law Faculty Publications

Whiteness is not merely a racial description. Whiteness operates as allegiance to structural racism. The quiet engine of racial hierarchy, whiteness pervades and shapes traditional legal education, rendering legal pedagogy a structurally racist enterprise. Legal education not only reproduces the racism embedded in the law and legal profession, but also obscures the ways legal doctrine, professional norms, and pedagogical practices normalize, protect, and make invisible the advantages that accrue to whiteness itself. In doing so, itproduces lawyers ill-equipped to dismantle structural injustice.

This Article breaks new ground in the scholarship on legal pedagogy by defining whiteness as it operates within …

Clawing Our Way To Inclusion: Identifying Minority Students’ Barriers To Entering The Veterinary Medicine Profession, Danielle Reeves, Lauren Rogers

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

Veterinary services are being utilized more each year as pet owners are increasingly viewing and treating their pets like family members. Due to this changing perspective, the veterinary profession has grown significantly. Yet, despite this change, there is a lack of ethnic/racial diversity within the veterinary field. The purpose of this study was to determine the factors and/or barriers associated with minority students’ desire or lack of desire to pursue a career in veterinary medicine. This study used an online survey tool to collect qualitative and quantitative data from 456 undergraduate students at the University of Arkansas during the spring …

Influence Of Increased Supplementation Of Organic-Complexed Zinc To Beef Cows During Gestation And The Effects On Offspring, Naija N. Sharpley, Robin A. Cheek, Elizabeth B. Kegley, Jeremy G. Powell, Kenneth P. Coffey

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

The objective of this study was to determine the effect of increasing zinc (Zn) supplementation of beef cows during gestation on calf performance. Angus crossbred cows confirmed pregnant with female sexed semen (n = 83) were allotted to 4 groups (20 to 21 cows/group), 2 groups/treatment. There were 2 treatments: 1) grain supplement with inorganic Zn to meet current National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine requirements (CONTROL), and 2) grain supplement containing an additional 360 mg/day of Zn as an amino acid complex (Zinpro Availa Zn; HIGHZN). A subset of cows (n = 32; 16 cows/treatment) was selected for …

Factors Affecting Diet Selection In Sheep Fed Endophyte-Infected Toxic Fescue, Jordan Thomas, Ronelson Stinfil, Kenneth P. Coffey, Christine C. Nieman, Derico Setyabrata, Shawna Weimer

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

Tall fescue (Lolium arundinaceum (Schreb.) S.J. Darbyshire) infected with toxin‑producing fungi can induce fescue toxicosis in grazing ruminants, reducing performance and altering forage intake. Chemical compounds in red clover (Trifolium pratense), such as biochanin A, have been proposed to mitigate these effects by improving palatability and blood vessel relaxation. This study examined whether the inclusion of ground red clover (GRC), either alone or in combination with hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) and polyethylene glycol (PEG), affected voluntary diet selection in lambs offered toxic fescue. Thirty‑three lambs were housed individually and assigned randomly to one of four diets: (1) toxic …

A Neurophenomenological Perspective On The Self And Spirituality: The Role Of The Affective Core Self, Michael J. Winkleman, Andrew B. Newberg

Marcus Institute of Integrative Health Faculty Papers

The self is central to spirituality because the self is necessary for consciousness, and spiritual relations are fundamentally about the self. Diverse research illustrates the role of the downregulation of the right parietal lobe (rPL) in the spontaneous manifestation of spiritual experiences and during meditative practices. The functions of the rPL are central to the self, especially the embodied self. Disturbances of the rPL and embodied self-functions are associated with spiritual experience, exemplified in their association with “selflessness.” Many forms of self appear incompatible with spiritual and mystical experiences. An exception is the affective core self, the most ancient form …

Correction: Establishing Standardized Transthoracic Echocardiography Reference Ranges For Mouse Models: Insights Into The Impact Of Anesthesia, Sex, And Age, Manuela A Oestereicher, Christopher S Ward, Elida Schneltzer, Susan Marschall, Helmut Fuchs, Valerie Gailus-Durner, Ghina Bou About, Mohammed Selloum, Hamid Meziane, Michelle Stewart, Lydia Teboul, Clare Norris, Dale Pimm, Marina Kan, Federico López Gómez, Robert Wilson, Mayra Monroy, Sheraz Pasha, Eva Zabrodska, Jan Prochazka, David Pajuelo Reguera, Zuzana Nichtova, Yann Herault, Sara Wells, Helen Parkinson, Jason D Heaney, Radislav Sedlacek, Xiang Gao, Martin Hrabe De Angelis, Nadine Spielmann

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

This corrects the article "Establishing standardized transthoracic echocardiography reference ranges for mouse models: insights into the impact of anesthesia, sex, and age" in volume 12, 1695034.

Perinatal Inflammation And Oxidative Stress Alter Adult Rat (Rattus Norvegicus) Motor Behavior, Alexander Young

Honors College Theses

Recent evidence in comparative animal models suggests that early life exposure to elevated inflammation (via LPS exposure) and oxidative stress (via acetaminophen exposure) may synergistically interact to alter typical neurodevelopmental trajectories, resulting in lasting effects on both behavior and gut-brain neurochemistry. The current study observed emotional and motor behaviors and collected fecal-boli to measure Tyrosine (TE) levels in male and female Long-Evans (Rattus norvegicus) rats. Subjects were either treated with [1] saline [2] lipopolysaccharide (LPS) to introduce an inflammatory state, [3] acetaminophen (APAP) to introduce oxidative stress, or [4] a dual-hit of both LPS + APAP on postnatal day (PD) …

Exploring The Effects Of Mindset And Mood On Cognitive Performance, Pamela Kplivi

Honors College Theses

Individual and situational factors such as mindset and mood can shape performance on creative problem solving tasks. This study examined the potential effects of mindset (growth vs. fixed) and mood (positive, neutral, negative) on performance. Performance was measured using a shortened 60-item version of the Compound Remote Associates Task (CRAT; Bowden & Jung- Beeman, 2003). 92 undergraduate students completed self report measures of mindset (ITIS; Dweck, 1999) and self-efficacy (Schwarzer & Jerusalem, 1995). Participants were randomly assigned to a video-based mood induction condition and completed a self-reported mood survey (PANAS; Watson et al., 1988). Manipulation checks confirmed the effectiveness of …

Till Death Does Us Part: An Analysis Of Influences And Ideas Behind The Exhibition, Milo F. Rippe

Honors College Theses

“Till Death Does Us Part,” is a ceramic work created by Milo Rippe in the fall of 2025. The installation includes fifteen faceless figures, ten organ-inspired plates, and one big central figure. Also featured are three homemade stains and two homemade glazes. The figures are hand-built from slabs, combined to form a single piece. The plates were also cut from slabs, and then hand-rolled rims were added to each shape with slip. Stains and glazes are made by methodically measuring out each ingredient on a triple-beam scale, combining all ingredients with water, and running the mixture through a strainer to …

Organ Chips And Translational Research: Identifying And Examining New Ethical Issues, Melanie Jeske

Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy Staff Publications

Organ chips, also known as organ-on-a-chip devices, tissue chips, or microphysiological systems, have emerged over the last decade as a promising translational technology amidst growing concern about the translational crisis between laboratory research and patient bedside. Pointing to high rates of failure between nonhuman animal models and safety and efficacy in humans, organ chips and similar new approach methods have attracted substantial public and private investment. As human-cell-based alternatives to animal models, organ chips promise more predictive, efficient, and ethical platforms for pharmaceutical and toxicity testing. Engineered cultivation systems that enable cells to assemble into tissue-like structures (e.g. kidney, brain, …

Can I Get A Witness? The Ethical Dimensions Of Family Presence In Patient Suffering, Jennifer Blumenthal-Barby, Trevor M Bibler, Holland Kaplan, Adam Omelianchuk, Joanna Smolenski

Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy Staff Publications

For patients who are suffering, the bedside presence of a family member can provide comfort, and many people hold that there is moral value in being present with a conscious, suffering patient. Yet what is the moral significance of the absence of family members when a patient is minimally conscious or unconscious and not aware of their absence? Clinicians are often troubled when family members and surrogate decision-makers who are able to spend a significant amount of time at an unconscious, seriously ill patient's bedside do not do so. Clinicians feel frustrated that they must bear the burden of witnessing …

Imagining Genomics And Population Health In 2050: Anticipating Future Research, Policy, And Governance Needs, Bartha Maria Knoppers, Yann Joly, Ma Apos N H Zawati, Habiba Alsafar, Jeffrey C Barrett, Laura Blackburn, Brian Hon-Yin Chung, Martina C Cornel, Edward S Dove, David Glazer, Calvin Wai-Loon Ho, Muin J Khoury, Anna C F Lewis, Anneke Lucassen, Peter F R Mills, Colin Mitchell, Nicola Mulder, Ainsley J Newson, Anthony Ng, Paul D P Pharoah, Vasiliki Rahimzadeh, Megan C Roberts, Saskia C Sanderson, Jeffrey M Skopek, Ron Zimmern, Eric M Meslin

Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

From Passive To Powerful: Creating Engaging Resident-As-Teacher Modules, Anna E Rueda, Stephanie V Sherman, Sherita J Love, Glenn C Bridges, Wesley A Mayer, Mark J Harbott, Teri L Turner, Bani M Ratan

Faculty and Staff Publications

Background: We aimed to design, implement, and evaluate three novel institutional resident-as-teacher (RAT) e-modules for postgraduate year (PGY) 1, 2, and 3 and compare them to previously utilized online trainings.

Methods: We utilized PICRAT, a model examining both students' relationship with technology (passive, interactive, creative) and instructors' use of technology (replaces, amplifies, or transforms) to create interactive experiences that amplified teaching methodologies. We compared evaluations of the previous and new trainings with an unpaired t test. New modules were assessed with one-way analysis of variance for specialty-based acceptability and content analysis of two open-ended questions.

Results: Response rates averaged 93.2% …

Community Influence In Streamlined Siting Regimes, Danielle Stokes, Uma Outka

Law Faculty Publications

Siting energy infrastructure has long been contentious, but growing local opposition to new energy projects in the U.S. – notably, wind and solar facilities – has drawn nationwide headlines. The legal context for energy siting varies across U.S. states, with local control being a dominant model. Against this backdrop, several states have adopted legislation to facilitate renewable energy siting by adjusting decisional authority between the local and state level.

This article evaluates these reforms at a time marked by change and uncertainty within the energy sector. Bipartisan support for infrastructure permitting reform generally has gained momentum in recent years, often …