Digital Commons Network^™

Book Review: The Clausewitz Myth: Or The Emperor’S New Clothes, Darren W. Buss

Parameters Bookshelf – Online Book Reviews

Author: Azar Gat

Reviewed by: Colonel Darren W. Buss, faculty instructor, Department of Military Strategy, Planning, and Operations, US Army War College

Azar Gat, the author of The Clausewitz Myth, takes a closer look at Carl von Clausewitz’s On War and argues through looking at historical documents and unpublished versions of the text that there have been misinterpretations of his thoughts. The reviewer believes Gat’s assertions are not earth-shattering but still notes “engaging with [Clausewitz’s] thoughts through the lens of Gat is a valuable experience for readers.”

Faith-Based Organizations In Foreign Aid (Forfa) Codebook, Susan Turner Haynes

Faculty Works

This codebook was designed to guide undergraduate students in coding the faith status of USAID Grant recipients and is being made available to facilitate further use in the classroom. Please contact the author for any inquiries ([email protected]).

Social Prescribing Within Five European Countries: A Protocol Of A Cross-Country Qualitative Analysis, Stephanie Tierney, Debra Westlake, Farhad Rezvani, Daniela Rojatz, Juliane Köberlein-Neu, Trutz Bommhardt, Sónia Dias, Maria João Marques, Donata Kurpas, Hendrik Napierala, Wolfram Herrmann, K Husk

Peninsula Medical School

Introduction Social prescribing is an approach to addressing non-medical issues affecting people’s health and well-being (eg, loneliness, housing or financial problems). It has gained international traction over recent years as complementary to medical care. A larger research project, comparing social prescribing across European countries, is considering how to tailor provision for the following groups: (a) LGBTIQ+persons, (b) refugees and first-generation immigrants and (c) older adults living alone. As part of this research, a qualitative study will address the question: What are the enabling and limiting factors associated with implementing social prescribing, across different European countries, from the perspective of key …

High-Dose Oral Pyrophosphate Inhibits Connective Tissue Calcification In Abcc6 Null Mice But May Affect Bone Structure, Ibtesam Rajpar, Nicholas Yancy, Jacob Beiriger, Christina Shao, Syed Naqvi, Deana Mancuso, Fatemeh Niaziorimi, Ryan E Tomlinson, Koen Van De Wetering

Department of Orthopaedic Surgery Faculty Papers

Pseudoxanthoma elasticum (PXE) is a rare inherited disorder marked by abnormal calcium phosphate deposition in soft connective tissues, particularly the skin, arteries, and eyes. It is caused by inactivating mutations in the ABCC6 gene, which encodes a hepatic efflux transporter. Loss of ABCC6 function leads to reduced plasma levels of pyrophosphate (PPi), a key inhibitor of calcification, thereby promoting ectopic mineralization. Oral PPi therapy has emerged as a potential treatment, but its effectiveness is uncertain. Most ingested PPi is hydrolyzed in the gut to inorganic phosphate, which may worsen calcification. Moreover, its impact on mineralized tissues remains largely unexplored. Abcc6−/− …

Global Insight 2026, Masey Smith, Chance Carden, Hayley Pounds

Books

Global Insight 2026 is the annual publication of the International Institute at Mississippi State University, documenting the university’s global engagement across education, research, service, and institutional partnerships. This issue highlights Mississippi State University’s international impact through faculty‑led study abroad programs, international research and development initiatives, global fellowships, and comprehensive international student support services. Featured content includes narrative case studies of student and faculty experiences abroad, data‑driven insights into study abroad participation and international enrollment trends, and in‑depth examinations of international research collaborations spanning Africa, Latin America, Europe, and Asia. The magazine also showcases the work of the English Language Institute …

Lean Strategy Implementation In Sme Manufacturing In Developing Countries: A Systematic Literature Review, Corrine Keke Chen

Management Faculty Publications

Purpose

The review examines how small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in developing nations adopt and implement Lean manufacturing. Despite their central role in economic development, SMEs often face inefficiencies from limited resources, skill shortages and institutional barriers. Although Lean is widely promoted, evidence on the sustained application of Lean in SMEs across diverse contexts remains limited. Design/methodology/approach

A systematic review, following the PRISMA 2020 guidelines, synthesized 123 empirical studies (2015–2025) and developed the SME Lean Capability Pathway, a three-phase model of context-driven Lean maturity. The analysis identifies implementation trends, contextual adaptations and performance outcomes, focusing on core Lean tools, such …

Robust And High-Efficiency Demodulation Of Ultra-Weak Fbg Arrays In Ofdr-Based Distributed Sensing, Zhaopeng Zhang, Yuxuan Cao, Xu Liu, Dingcheng Wang, Bo Liu, Chen Zhu

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

A robust and high-efficiency demodulation scheme for optical frequency domain reflectometry (OFDR) based ultra-weak fiber Bragg grating (UWFBG) array detection system, originating from the Buneman frequency estimation (BFE) algorithm, is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. Due to the current limitations and imperfections of FBG inscription technology, the quasi-continuous inscription approach, along with its less-than-ideal outcomes, gives rise to problems of grating spectrum splitting and spectral distortion during the grating demodulation process. This renders the traditional approach of directly applying the BFE algorithm for grating demodulation ineffective, despite its significant enhancement of demodulation efficiency. To address this issue, we propose utilizing the …

Wedded To Power: Dynastic Marriages And The Hidden Diplomacy Of Women In Early Modern Europe, Amelia H. Earl

Departmental Honors & Graduate Capstone Projects

The diplomatic power of women in the ‘Great Power’ dynasties of Europe has been passed over in historiography because very often their power rested in their relationships to their male counterparts. Dismissing these women’s diplomatic and political power as “soft power” of the domestic sphere overlooks the fact that the political structure of Europe relied heavily on familial ties. In early modern Europe, the whole continent was a kinship; thus, familial relationships between two dynasties were inherently political. The daughters and mothers of these dynasties discovered that there was permeable access to the European political arena through marriage and motherhood. …

Implementing Person-Centered Planning In Stem To Enhance Self-Determination And Self-Advocacy For Transitioning High School Students With Disabilities, Lynda Shanahan

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation investigated person-centered planning as an evidence-based approach for high school students with disabilities. The primary objective of this research was first to determine the impact of person-centered planning on the development of self-advocacy and self-determination skills among high-functioning students with disabilities embedded in a special education STEM curriculum, and to explore students' perceptions of transition services. To address this objective, the study employed a Mixed-Methods Action Research Design, consisting of focus group interviews with 11th- and 12th-grade high school students with disabilities. This study drew on a transformative theoretical framework grounded in quality-of-life and communities-of-practice theories. Key findings …

Meet Brother Tim, Eric F. Spina

President's Blog: From the Heart

After spending his entire life on Long Island, Brother Timothy Driscoll, S.M., likes to joke that this is his first time "living on the mainland."

High School Dropout Rates Among Latin Students In The United States, Taryn T. Marriott

Student Works

An ongoing concern of educators and community members is the disproportionately high amounts of Latinx students dropping out of high school in the United States. Although there has been notable research done and action taken, the problem still remains. Lack of familial support, discrimination, and residence in low-income areas all contribute to the low retention rates of Latinx youth on track to graduate high school. As a result, youth who do not complete their education and set their sights on career goals have a harder time with employment, communicating in their society, and tend to show higher levels of engagement …

Reformulation Of The Protein Databank For Real-Time Search Of Geometrical Attributes Of Protein Structures, Musa Azeem, Christopher Lee, Aaron Hein, Christopher Ott, Homayoun Valafar

Faculty Publications

Introduction:

In this study, we introduce the design and implementation of PDBMine, a large-scale, queryable platform for mining sequence-structure statistics from the Protein Data Bank (PDB). PDBMine enables rapid analysis of local conformational trends across proteins by extracting dihedral angles and sequence patterns at scale. In addition to the design and implementation of PDBMine, we also present results validating its ability to return structurally meaningful information.

Methods:

We first assess the accuracy of its dihedral angle distributions by comparing them to established Ramachandran space and verifying expected behaviors of residues such as glycine and proline. We then use PDBMine to …

Sustainability Assurance, Luca Enriques, Alessandro Romano, Andrew F. Tuch

Law and Contemporary Problems

No abstract provided.

Adaptable Psychopathic Traits: Military And Para-Military Organizations, Mariana Ramirez

Student Theses

Although culturally distinct, both military and law enforcement careers demand individuals to operate effectively in high-risk environments; a characteristic shaped through processes of military and para-military occupational socialization, reinforced by an adaptable personality. Understanding the distinctions between military and law enforcement cultures provides a foundation for examining individual-level factors such as personality, behavior, and mental health. Recent research (e.g. Anestis et al., 2019; Batastini et al., 2023; Falkenbach et al., 2017; Falkenbach et al., 2018; McKinley & Verona, 2023; Patton et al., 2018; Preston et al., 2020; Roșca et al., 2021) has increasingly applied a psychopathic framework to study these …

Long-Term Trends Of Satellite Sea Surface Temperature And Chlorophyll-A In South Florida, L. Robinson, Digna Rueda Roa, L. Verill, F. Muller-Karger

Making Waves REU

This project examined long-term trends in satellite Sea Surface Temperature (SST) and Chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) in southern Florida. The analyses utilized anomalies of these variables, effectively eliminating the seasonal cycle to prevent a skew in the results. The longterm trends in SST revealed a significant increase over time across the entire region, with spatial variations in intensity ranging from 0.03°C/year in Florida Bay to 0.06°C/year offshore in the Gulf of Mexico. The long-term trends in Chl-a exhibited minimal variation over time, with an exception of the north lower Florida Keys, which experienced a notable increase of 0.02 mg m-2/year. The spatial …

Self-Efficacy Change Among Diverse Family Caregivers In Dementia Care, Deborah M Oyeyemi, Erich J Greene, Yunshan Xu, David R Lee, Rafael Samper-Ternent, Maya L Lichtenstein, Alan Stevens, Jeff D Williamson, Arun S Karlamangla, Debra Saliba, David B Reuben

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Objectives: To determine whether changes in caregiver self-efficacy (beliefs about one's ability to manage dementia-related problems and access help) differed by caregiver race and ethnicity across all participants enrolled in a large pragmatic trial of comprehensive dementia care.

Methods: In the Dementia Care Study (D-CARE), community-dwelling older adults with dementia and their unpaid family caregivers were randomized to receive usual care, community-based, or health system-based comprehensive dementia care. Caregiver self-efficacy was assessed at baseline, 6 months, and 18 months using a 4-item scale (range 4-20, higher scores indicate greater self-efficacy). Among all caregivers, we compared least squares means for overall …

Play-Based Curriculum, Marina E. Prawdzik

Masters Projects

This project addresses the drastic decline of play and play-based learning in public education early childhood settings. Kindergarten classrooms have shifted their focus more to academics in the form of lecture based learning and lessons, rather than play based learning techniques. Because of this, children are lacking in cognitive development, physical development and social and emotional development and growth. This project includes research from within the state of Michigan, research within the United States as a whole, and research about play based learning from other countries such as Nigeria, Mexico, South Africa, Kenya, Finland, and Germany.

Tet2-Mutant Clonal Hematopoiesis Enhances Macrophage Antigen Presentation And Improves Immune Checkpoint Therapy In Solid Tumors, Shelley Herbrich, Mehdi Chaib, Swetha Anandhan, Samuel W Andrewes, Ashwat Nagarajan, Baoxiang Guan, Nishant Gandhi, Jared Gilliam, Milan Radovich, Padmanee Sharma

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Clonal hematopoiesis (CH) is detectable in upwards of 20% of patients with solid tumors and is associated with worsened prognosis; however, its role in tumor immunology and immune checkpoint therapy (ICT) is unknown. Using a bone marrow chimera model of Tet2+/mut CH in mice with solid tumors, we found the Tet2-mutant myeloid cells are abundant in the tumor microenvironment and contributed to an improved response to ICT. Mechanistically, Tet2+/mut macrophages inside the tumor act as immunogenic antigen-presenting cells that more effectively cross-prime naive CD8+ T cells in response to IFNγ. In human cohorts of 35,971 non-small cell lung cancer patients …

Report On A Self-Directed Pilot Study (For Students), Yoshihiko Ariizumi

Spiritual Proficiency

Level Up Your Life: The Science of Spiritual Growth

Ever feel like you're stuck in "mental noise" or struggling to stay focused? This study explores how a simple 4-week routine can literally "accelerate" your brain and emotional resilience. By using checklists and specific mental "switches," I found that we can turn daily frustrations into moments of gratitude and even boost our ability to learn complex subjects. This isn't just about faith; it's about a practical "system" to help you stay calm, sharp, and connected to your higher purpose in a busy world.

Report On A Self-Directed Pilot Study (For Researchers), Yoshihiko Ariizumi

Spiritual Proficiency

Strategic Self-Regulation for Spiritual and Cognitive Enhancement

This pilot study investigates the impact of structured spiritual interventions on cognitive processing and emotional regulation. By integrating meta-cognitive tools—such as narrative accountability, systematic scripture application, and "mental toggles" via hymns—the research demonstrates a significant acceleration in learning efficiency and a reduction in emotional recovery time. The findings suggest that spiritual experiences are not merely random occurrences but "probability-controllable phenomena" that can be systematically cultivated through intentional environmental settings and habitual reflection.

Adipose Stromal Cell-Derived Cancer-Associated Fibroblasts Promote Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma Progression Through Sfrp4 Signaling, Joseph Rupert, Lingyi Cai, Alexes C Daquinag, Dimitris Anastassiou, Mikhail G Kolonin

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background/objectives: Progression of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) and other carcinomas relies on cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs). A subset of CAFs is derived from adipose stromal cells (ASCs) recruited by tumors and the ASC-CAF conversion has been associated with invasiveness and poor prognosis.

Methods: To explore the underlying molecular mechanisms, we used a model based on primary ASCs derived from human visceral adipose tissue co-cultured with human PDAC cell line Capan-1. To investigate cancer progression in vivo, we also used mice orthotopically grafted with mouse KPC cells.

Results: Genomic analysis revealed that Capan-1 co-culture induces Wnt and TGFβ signaling and extracellular matrix …

Spatial Omics At The Forefront: Emerging Technologies, Analytical Innovations, And Clinical Applications, Yunhe Liu, Yibo Dai, Linghua Wang

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Spatial omics transforms our understanding of cancer by revealing how tumor cells and the microenvironment are organized, interact, and evolve within tissues. Here, we synthesize advances in spatial technologies that map tumor ecosystems with unprecedented fidelity. We highlighted analytical breakthroughs-including multimodal integration and emerging spatial foundation models-that resolve functional niches and spatial communities, converting spatial patterns into mechanistic insights. We summarize how spatially organized features, from immune hubs to microbiota and neural interfaces, shape tumor evolution and clinical outcomes. We then outline how spatial approaches illuminate precancer biology, metastatic adaptation, and therapy response. Bridging discovery and translation, we provide a …

Insight Into The Decalcification Mechanism Of Calcium Silicate Hydrate Under A Water–Heat–Salt Environment, Wei Zhang, Boya Zhang, Jia Sun, Juntao Dang, Xiangke Guo, Keliang Li, Bo Tao Huang, Biqin Dong, Hongyan Ma, Dongshuai Hou

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Understanding the decalcification mechanism of calcium silicate hydrate (C–S–H) under marine environments is crucial for concrete durability. In this study, the decalcification behavior of C–S–H under a water–heat–salt environment was systematically investigated through immersion experiments and reactive molecular dynamics simulations. Experimental results showed that elevated temperature and NaCl solution significantly accelerated Ca leaching and reduced the Ca/Si ratio of C–S–H. Simulation results further revealed that both high temperature and NaCl reduce the dissolution free energy of Ca, making its release more thermodynamically and kinetically favorable. Local structure analysis indicated that Cl^– disrupts Ca–Os (O atoms in silicate tetrahedra) connection …

Wild@Fire2025: Overview Of Word-Level Code-Mixed Language Identification In Dravidian Languages, Ameeta Agrawal, Asha Hegde, Sharal Coelho, Sabur Butt, Fazlourrahman Balouchzahi, Sudha V, Shashirekha Hosahalli Lakshmaiah

Computer Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Code-mixing is considered as a linguistic phenomenon that combines several languages into one text. It has now become very common in multilingual societies, especially in digital communication. Word-Level Identification of Languages in Dravidian Languages (WILD) - a Code-mixed Language Identification (CoLI) in Dravidian languages shared task, organized as a part of Forum for Information Retrieval and Evaluation (FIRE) 2025, put forward these challenges to the researchers by asking them to develop models capable of classifying words in code-mixed texts involving Dravidian languages - Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, and Tulu, which are interwoven with English. It poses significant challenges due to …

Dynamic Fib-4 Score Changes And Hcc Risk In Patients With Masld And Elevated Liver Enzymes: A Nationwide Cohort Study, Yee Hui Yeo, Hsiu J Ho, Tsai-Wei Huang, Teng-Yu Lee, Ju Dong Yang, George Cholankeril, Chien-Jen Chen, Hawi-I Yang, Chuen-Fei Chen, Hung-Chuen Chang, Chun-Ying Wu

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Introduction: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) can develop in individuals with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) without cirrhosis, especially in those with elevated liver enzymes. However, there is currently no low-cost, scalable screening tool for this population. To address this need, we investigated the association between serial changes in FIB-4 (fibrosis-4) scores over a 3-year period and the risk of developing HCC in a large, diverse cohort of patients with MASLD without cirrhosis.

Methods: This study utilized a nationwide cohort from the National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD), including 810,698 patients with MASLD who had demographic and laboratory data at baseline …

Tumor-Infiltrating Bacteria Disrupt Cancer Epithelial Cell Interactions And Induce Cell-Cycle Arrest, Jorge Luis Galeano Niño, Falk Ponath, Victor A Ajisafe, Clara R Becker, Andrew G Kempchinsky, Martha A Zepeda-Rivera, Javier A Gomez, Hanrui Wu, Jessica G Terrazas, Heather Bouzek, Elizabeth Cromwell, Pritha Chanana, Matthew Wong, Ashish Damania, Michael G White, Y Nancy You, Scott Kopetz, Nadim J Ajami, Jennifer A Wargo, Christopher D Johnston, Susan Bullman

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Tumor-infiltrating bacteria are increasingly recognized as modulators of cancer progression and therapy resistance. We describe a mechanism by which extracellular intratumoral bacteria, including Fusobacterium, modulate cancer epithelial cell behavior. Spatial imaging and single-cell spatial transcriptomics show that these bacteria predominantly localize extracellularly within tumor microniches of colorectal and oral cancers, characterized by reduced cell density, transcriptional activity, and proliferation. In vitro, Fusobacterium nucleatum disrupts epithelial contacts, inducing G0-G1 arrest and transcriptional quiescence. This state confers 5-fluorouracil resistance and remodels the tumor microenvironment. Findings were validated by live-cell imaging, spatial profiling, mouse models, and a 52-patient colorectal cancer cohort. Transcriptomics reveals …

Chek2 Loss Endows Chemotherapy Resistance To Hematopoietic Stem Cells, Jing Zhou, Tianyuan Hu, Dian Li, Sanming Li, Minhua Li, Xiangguo Shi, Daisuke Nakada

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Individuals with history of chemo- or radiotherapy frequently exhibit somatic mosaicism in the blood, often involving mutations in genes responsible for DNA damage responses (DDR), such as CHEK2. However, the mechanisms by which CHEK2 mutations promote the expansion of mutant cells following chemo- or radiotherapy remain poorly understood. Here, we demonstrate that loss of CHEK2 confers resistance to chemotherapy in hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs). Through a CRISPR-based screen, we identified CHEK2 as a gene whose loss enhances resistance to cytotoxic chemotherapies. A complementary drug screen revealed that CHEK2-mutant cells are also resistant to DNA hypomethylating agents. Chek2-deficient HSPCs …

Germline Hla Heterozygosity Is Associated With Decreased Lung Cancer Risk, Taotao Tan, Vikram R Shaw, Jinyoung Byun, Hyun-Sung Lee, Younghun Han, Yafang Li, Rayjean J Hung, David C Christiani, Xin-An Wang, Mattias Johansson, Xiangjun Xiao, David Zaridze, Stig Egil Bojesen, Sanjay Shete, Demetrios Albanes, Melinda C Aldrich, Adonina Tardon, Guillermo Fernandez-Tardon, Loïc Le Marchand, Gad Rennert, Heike Bickeböller, H-Erich Wichmann, Angela Risch, John K Field, Michael Davies, Penella Woll, Lambertus A Kiemeney, Aage Haugen, Shanbeh Zienolddiny, Stephen Lam, Mikael Johansson, Kjell Grankvist, Matthew B Schabath, Angeline Andrew, Philip Lazarus, Susanne M Arnold, Dakai Zhu, Maria Teresa Landi, James Mckay, Christopher Amos, Chao Cheng

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Heterozygosity at human leukocyte antigen (HLA) loci may improve lung cancer immunosurveillance by increasing recognition of the tumor by the immune system. Previous studies utilizing data from population-level biobanks, such as the United Kingdom Biobank and FinnGen, have identified an association between germline HLA class-II heterozygosity and reduced lung cancer risk in smokers. In the present study, we evaluate the association between HLA heterozygosity and lung cancer in a large case-control study (15,302 cases; 14,580 controls) with imputed HLA allele-type information, comparing differences in HLA heterozygosity between smokers and non-smokers, amongst lung cancer subtypes, and at 2- and 4-digit HLA …

Evaluating Participant Responsivness To The Chair Based Resistance Program, Eileen A. Nunez-Ortiz, Zakkoyya Lewis

International Journal of Exercise Science: Conference Proceedings

Physical inactivity among older adults remains a major public health concern, with fewer than 15% meeting national guidelines. Resistance training has been proven to help prevent these outcomes, yet participation remains low. This research utilized the OYO Fitness Program, an 8-week chair-based intervention using the portable OYO double flex device to offer a more accessible and inclusive approach to resistance training for older adults. PURPOSE: The purpose of the study was to examine participants' responsiveness to the program, with a focus on post-program focus group findings. METHODS: Adults ages 65 and older (n = 28) completed the 8-week program across …

Making Waves: Students Transform Research Experience Into Engaging Story, Xavier Willis, Saneru Williams, Yanori Ferguson, Stephen Song, Mark Walters, Ana Arellano

Making Waves REU

Understanding integrative science and communicating it effectively is increasingly important in our society. We stress science literacy and communication as an integral part of the Making Waves REU program and advocate for the dissemination of research projects through public channels and student-led podcasts on REU experiences.