Digital Commons Network^™

Message From The President, Georgia Southern University

Messages from the President

No abstract provided.

Research And Innovation Update, July 22, 2026, Office Of The Vice President For Research And Innovation

Office of Research, Economic Engagement and Outreach

No abstract provided.

Some Contributions To Inference And Model/Variable Selection In High-Dimensional Problems, Sayantan Paul

Doctoral Theses

In today’s world, we often come across situations where we need to infer about several parameters simultaneously based on a single dataset. This is known as the problem of simultaneous statistical inference and the need for such inference arises for data from the fields of biology, astronomy, genomics, bioinformatics, medicine, economics, finance, and image processing, just to name a few. As the name suggests, instead of being concerned about the optimality of inference for the individual parameters, the main interest here is in proposing procedures which can provide satisfactory results in the overall inferential problem involving all parameters of interest. …

Spartan Daily, August 19, 2026, San Jose State University, School Of Journalism And Mass Communications

Spartan Daily, 2026

Volume 167, Issue 01

Assessment Of The Radionuclide Concentration Levels Of Water And Sediments Along The Mara River, Gasper Kachenge, Abubakary Salama, Abdalah Kileo, Furaha Chuma

Tanzania Journal of Science

For many years, several factors have impacted the water quality of the Mara River, including population growth, agricultural expansion, livestock keeping, mining, and industrial activities. These factors have intensified water pollution and climate change effects around the river. While previous studies have mainly focused on assessing heavy metal pollution risks on the Mara River, this study evaluates the concentration levels of radionuclides in boreholes, water, and sediments along the river and its tributaries. Naturally occurring radioactive materials, including 226Ra, ²³²Th, and ⁴⁰K, were evaluated. A high-purity germanium radiation detector (HPGe) with a coaxial detector system coupled with Gamma Vision software …

Aeroradio-Spectrometric Geothermal Analysis Of Abeokuta, Southwestern Nigeria, Fidelis O. Ogunsanwo

Tanzania Journal of Science

Weathered basement terrains of Precambrian origin are increasingly recognized as important targets for geothermal assessment and renewable energy exploration; yet systematic assessments integrating airborne radiometric data remain limited in south-western Nigeria. This study applies an aeroradio-spectrometric approach to evaluate and quantify the radiogenic heat production, geothermal gradient, and lithospheric heat flow associated with the diverse lithological assemblages of the Abeokuta area, southwestern Nigeria. The study area comprises of six lithological units, namely; biotite–garnet gneiss and schist, porphyroblastic gneiss, migmatite, pegmatite intrusions, and sedimentary successions of sand-clay-shale and sandstone–limestone. The concentrations of uranium (238U), thorium (232Th), and potassium (40K) were extracted …

The Invisible Crop: Harnessing Root System Architecture In Heirloom Collards For Climate-Resilient Urban Agriculture, Vincent Antonio Brazelton

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

Growing food in urban spaces often means working within variable, resource-limited environments, creating a need for crops that can withstand heterogeneous growing conditions. Heirloom collards (Brassica oleracea var. viridis) are known for their aboveground diversity and cultural importance, but much less is known about the variation that exists belowground. This dissertation examines root system architecture (RSA) diversity across 19 historically underutilized heirloom collard accessions using a multi-scale phenotyping approach that includes controlled gel-based imaging of seedlings and 2D imaging of mature field-grown root systems. Across both seedling and mature stages, heirloom collards showed substantial variation in RSA. These differences revealed …

International Federation Of Clinical Neurophysiology Standardized Stereo-Electroencephalography Terminology, Birgit Frauscher, Guoping Ren, Chifaou Abdallah, Fabrice Bartolomei, Milan Brazdil, Francine Chassoux, Patrick Chauvel, Mark Cook, Beate Diehl, Guada Fernandez Baca Vaca, Stefano Francione, Vadym Gnatkovsky, Walter Gonzalez, Akio Ikeda, Jean Gotman, Julia Jacobs, Lara Jehi, Philippe Kahane, Hui Ming Khoo, Sam Lhatoo, Louis Maillard, Daniel Mansilla, Aileen Mcgonigal, Ioana Mindruta, Dang Khoa Nguyen, Piero Perucca, Ivan Rektor, Sylvain Rheims, Philippe Ryvlin, Stephan Schuele, Andreas Schulze-Bonhage, Margitta Seeck, Jaysingh Singh, Michael Sperling, Rainer Surges, Laura Tassi, Eugen Trinka, Manjari Tripathi, Shuang Wang, Samuel Wiebe, Gregory Worrell, Sandor Beniczky

Department of Neurology Faculty Papers

OBJECTIVE: Stereo-electroencephalography (SEEG) is an intracranial EEG methodology used in presurgical epilepsy evaluation to precisely delineate the epileptogenic zone and associated networks. Although established for decades, its global adoption has accelerated due to a favorable safety profile and clinical effectiveness. However, inconsistent terminology limits comparability of findings and multicenter collaboration. This guideline addresses this gap by providing standardized SEEG terminology based on international consensus.

METHODS: A working group of 41 experts appointed by the International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology (IFCN) Executive Committee used a modified Delphi process to develop standardized terminology. The process included two meetings and four Delphi rounds, …

2026 Focused Update Of The Saudi Heart Association Guidelines On Best Practices In The Management Of Chronic Coronary Syndromes, Owayed Alshammeri, Halia Alshehri, Shukri Alsaif, Mirvat Alasnag, Fatema Qaddoura, Fahad Alqahtani, Yosra Abdulahad A Turkistani, Walid Alharbi, Adel Tash, Mohammad Alshehri, Khalid Al Faraidy, Waleed Alhabeeb

Journal of the Saudi Heart Association

Background: Chronic coronary syndromes (CCS) continue to impose a substantial clinical and economic burden in Saudi Arabia. Since publication of the 2022 Saudi Heart Association (SHA) CCS guidelines, important advances have emerged in diagnosis, pharmacotherapy, cardiometabolic risk reduction, antiplatelet management, and revascularization. This 2026 focused update selectively revises and clarifies key recommendations to reflect these advances within the Saudi context.

Methods: A multidisciplinary SHA expert panel conducted a structured review of randomized trials, meta-analyses, and relevant international guidance published since 2022. Updates were restricted to areas with substantive new evidence or evolving clinical practice. Recommendations were formulated through expert consensus …

Measure By Measure: Reflections On Building A Quiz Map For Critical Caribbean Digital Pedagogy, Ra Bacchus, Medardo G. Rosario, Alexander S. Butler

archipelagos: a journal of Caribbean digital praxis

This article reflects on the web development of a digital quiz map designed to help students critically engage with the representation of the Caribbean in digital space. Emerging from workshops organized by Visiones del Caribe—a digital humanities initiative using digitized maps and archives to teach Caribbean history, culture, and cartography—this tool responds to students’ inquiries about the region’s spatial boundaries. The quiz invites students to select on a map those countries and territories they consider part of the Caribbean, prompting reflection on the diversity of perspectives shaping Caribbean identity. Drawing from the discourse of critical cartography and digital pedagogy, we …

A Metadata Analysis Of Anthropological Scholarship About Haiti And The Dominican Republic, Tess Kulstad González, Pauline Kulstad González, Zoe Grubbs, Hongyuan Zhang

archipelagos: a journal of Caribbean digital praxis

This article presents the results of a metadata and content analysis of anthropological research about Haiti and the Dominican Republic available in the Anthropological Literature database and in the Journal of Latin American and Caribbean Anthropology. This analysis shows that anthropological knowledge about Haiti and/or the Dominican Republic, produced in Haiti and the Dominican Republic, is included less than scholarship published outside the island. In addition, our analysis indicates that research that pertains to both countries, or that considers transnational and/or inter-island processes has been infrequent. Furthermore, that which exists is not as discoverable or visible as research that focuses …

The Role Of Infrastructure In Enterococci Contamination And Human Health In Tampa Bay, Kaileen Alvarado, Ava Borgella

OneUSF Summer Undergraduate Research Symposium

Coastal microbial contamination is a major threat to public health especially in urbanized estuaries such as Tampa Bay, because elevated Enterococci concentrations can indicate fecal pollution, which can lead to gastrointestinal illnesses including diarrhea, vomiting, and nausea. This study investigated how infrastructure and environmental conditions influence Enterococci concentrations across different areas of Tampa Bay watershed, which is home to 3 million people, and visited by 5 million more each year. A multiyear dataset of over 6,600 Enterococci measurements from Tampa Bay Waterkeeper and the City of St. Petersburg Coastal Water Quality Monitoring Program was analyzed using spatial and statistical approaches. …

Using Social Vulnerability And Coastal Flooding Risk To Inform Preparedness Interventions In Hillsborough County, Bessan Abuaish

OneUSF Summer Undergraduate Research Symposium

Traditional disaster planning strategies often rely on broad countywide approaches that fail to address neighborhood level needs. Identifying communities with overlapping social vulnerability and physical risks can inform more equitable preparedness interventions. To identify neighborhoods with overlapping social vulnerability and coastal flooding risk in Hillsborough County and inform targeted preparedness interventions for vulnerable populations based on physical and socioeconomic risks, Geographic Information Systems mapping was used to overlay 16 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Social Vulnerability Index indicators with coastal flooding risks to isolate 36 high priority census tracts. Socioeconomic factors, age, limited English proficiency, vehicle access, and housing …

Exploring Abundance Of Symbiotic Cyanobacteria Nitrogen Fixers On The West Florida Shelf, Julia Kiplinger

OneUSF Summer Undergraduate Research Symposium

Nitrogen is unusable by most organisms but is an essential nutrient for building life. Nitrogen fixers in the ocean, also known as diazotrophs, can produce bioavailable forms of nitrogen for other organisms to use from dissolved nitrogen gas. The West Florida Shelf is of particular interest for research on nitrogen fixers because it is generally oligotrophic, yet diazotrophic activity is hypothesized to increase regional productivity. Our understanding of the distributions of cyanobacterial nitrogen fixers is limited, and broadening this knowledge can inform other decisions and research on ocean health or productivity. This study advances understanding of the abundance of symbiotic …

Correlation Of Enterococci And Seagrass Population In Tampa Bay, Ethan Kuhn, Riley Sedwick, Veronica Lewis

OneUSF Summer Undergraduate Research Symposium

The presence of Enterococci bacteria is commonly used as an indicator of fecal contamination in waterways. Higher enterococci levels usually indicate fecal pollution, but there are various environmental factors that play a role in the persistence and spatial distribution of these bacteria. Past water quality research in Tampa Bay has primarily focused on assessing recreational water safety and environmental health, but there are few studies that use the data to investigate how environmental variables such as aquatic vegetation can affect the concentrations of enterococci bacteria. This study evaluates whether there is a relationship between enterococci levels and seagrass populations across …

Pyrodinium Bahamense Environmental Growth: A Study Of How Local Salinities Affect P. Bahamense Growth And Toxicity, Elsa M. Kusek, Valentina Arnold Villarreal

OneUSF Summer Undergraduate Research Symposium

The Steidinger Scholar Internship at the Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute provides a unique and valuable research experience for undergraduate students through experiential learning. Over the summer of 2026, we’re integral team members of the Harmful Algal Blooms Biotoxins Team, helping to monitor the presence of Pyrodinium bahamense, a saxitoxin producing dinoflagellate, and its associated toxins in scallop tissues throughout the Pasco County Recreational Scalloping Zone. This monitoring is crucial to protecting human health, preserving Florida's resources, and informing management decisions. To further our understanding of P. bahamense, we explored the impact of salinity on growth, pH, stress, and …

A Mobile Ai Conversational Platform For Supporting Autism Assessment In Children, Ruoyu Wang

OneUSF Summer Undergraduate Research Symposium

Early identification of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) remains challenging because many clinically relevant social, emotional, and communication behaviors are difficult to capture during brief clinical encounters. Young children may have limited attention spans, communicate differently with unfamiliar adults, struggle to express thoughts and emotions, or behave differently in clinical settings than in everyday environments. Consequently, clinicians often rely on brief observations and caregiver reports, which may not fully represent children’s typical communication behaviors. This study introduces an AI-powered conversational application for smartphones that supports longitudinal collection of naturalistic communication data from children. The application engages children in age-appropriate, play-based conversations …

Investigation Of Localized Corrosion Effects On Structural Dynamic Properties, Thais Isabelle Parron Ruiz

OneUSF Summer Undergraduate Research Symposium

Corrosion is one of the main causes of structural deterioration. It reduces the structural integrity of the metal at the damaged location, making the entire structure less safe and more susceptible to failure. Therefore, structural health monitoring (SHM) is important for detecting damage before unsafe conditions develop and potentially lead to structural failure. The purpose of this study is to investigate the use of vibration-based dynamic analysis to identify localized corrosion. Every structure has intrinsic frequencies and shapes in which it tends to vibrate, known as natural frequencies and mode shapes. These parameters depend on the mass and stiffness of …

Evaluation Of Aluminum Electrocoagulation Performance Indicators For Decentralized Drinking Water Treatment, Huy Nguyen, Monica Castro Carias

OneUSF Summer Undergraduate Research Symposium

Electrocoagulation (EC) is a promising alternative to conventional chemical coagulation for decentralized drinking water treatment because it generates coagulants on-site , reducing the need for chemical transportation and storage in remote communities. In EC systems, an electric current applied to aluminum electrodes releases species that form solid coagulants capable of removing groundwater contaminants. However, long-term operation remains poorly understood, as electrode degradation through passivation (deposit accumulation) and pitting may reduce coagulant production and treatment efficiency, highlighting the need for practical indicators to track performance. The objective of this study is to evaluate the relationship between current, electrode condition, and aluminum …

Biological Regeneration Of Zeolite For Long-Term Nitrogen Management In Onsite Wastewater Treatment Systems, Hsiang Yang Shyu, Nicole Norwine, Annette Breton, Robert Bair, Daniel Yeh

OneUSF Summer Undergraduate Research Symposium

Nitrogen pollution poses serious risks to human and ecological health, driving toxic algal blooms, degrading fisheries, and threatening communities that rely on clean water resources, making sustainable nitrogen removal technologies essential. This study evaluates whether zeolite—a naturally porous, cation‑adsorbing mineral with high NH₄⁺ capacity—can be biologically regenerated through nitrification and denitrification, eliminating the costly chemical regeneration typically required for long‑term use. A lab‑scale Nutrient Capture System (NCS) was constructed using a granular activated carbon (GAC) bed followed by two tidal‑flow zeolite beds to simulate the Modified Ludzack‑Ettinger process. Synthetic wastewater containing approximately 70 mg/L total nitrogen and 260 mg/L COD …

Beyond Financial Incentives: Barriers That Deter Homeowners From Conserving Imperative Water Infrastructure, Bryan Voliton, Kate Zoltak, Ryan Fugit

OneUSF Summer Undergraduate Research Symposium

Stalling on sewer inspections is costing homeowners more money and potential health issues down the road. Homeowners play a critical role in the health of local water infrastructure. While it is the local government’s job to oversee that water infrastructure is being maintained, it is the homeowners’ responsibility to ensure the functionality of the private sewer lateral (PSL); the pipe that runs beneath their home and connects to a public sewer main. Immense damage to the home, the homeowner’s wallet, and the environment can result from the impairment of this private line. Previous studies by Tampa Bay Estuary Program (TBEP) …

In Vitro Evaluation Of A 405-Nm Blue-Light–Emitting Antimicrobial Bandage Using Micrococcus Luteus, Daniel W. Wallace, Joseph M. Busher

OneUSF Summer Undergraduate Research Symposium

Postoperative wound infections remain a major clinical challenge, worsened by rising antibiotic resistance and passive dressings that fail to reduce bacterial growth. Antimicrobial blue light near 405 nanometers shows broad-spectrum bactericidal activity, yet most prior approaches use short, high-intensity illumination from stationary sources rather than continuous, wearable delivery. This study evaluates a wearable 405-nanometer blue-light bandage designed for continuous, low-intensity exposure suited to prolonged wound-adjacent use. Antimicrobial performance was assessed in vitro using Micrococcus luteus, a safe model organism, comparing continuous exposure to matched dark controls. Exposure produced a pronounced, time-dependent reduction in bacterial viability, with near-complete suppression of detectable …

Chemical Effects Of Microplastics On Photochemistry In A Coral-Associated Zooxanthella, Meghan A. Hennings, Matz Indergard, John E. Parkinson

OneUSF Summer Undergraduate Research Symposium

Coral bleaching is the process by which corals lose their symbiotic microalgae in response to stressful conditions. These photosymbionts, known as zooxanthellae, give corals their color and sustain host growth through mutualistic nutritional exchange. Bleaching events are becoming more common and severe, driving research into coral conservation and the resilience of each partner in the symbiosis. Yet it is unknown how certain pollutants, such as microplastics, may affect bleaching outcomes. Previous research in our laboratory has demonstrated that the presence of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) microplastics inhibits bleaching recovery in sea anemones (a coral model), but it remains unclear whether the …

Alterations In Intracellular Pathways By Structured Acoustics Across Mammalian Model Systems, Mary B. Holahan, A'Niya Jackson, Jose Rumbaut-Clark, Elaina Schuler, Arnav Chavda, Thanh Mai Nguyen, Junaina Nazneen, Ana Beatriz-Melgar, Sarah Hedenstad, Emily Hernandez

OneUSF Summer Undergraduate Research Symposium

Music can be defined as structured sound that serves as a “universal language” capable of influencing emotion, cognition, and social connectivity in humans. Its formal application into the medical profession began in the 20th century, following World War I and II.  Human subject research involving music therapy has since reported a myriad of health benefits such as those on emotional (e.g., anxiety, depression, and stress), neurological (e.g., cognitive impairment, sleep issues, and dementia), and physical well-being (e.g., pain, multiple sclerosis, fibromyalgia). However, the impact of such structured acoustics on biological processes at the cellular and molecular level remains unclear. Towards …

Contain The Drain: Analysis Of Storm-Drain Pollution Educational Materials And Public Perception, Adalyn Case, Thelma Banlav

OneUSF Summer Undergraduate Research Symposium

It is crucial for local populations to understand their role in stormwater management. This is especially relevant in Tampa Bay due to its role as a major estuary system in Florida, a long-term goal of the Tampa Bay Estuary Program (TBEP). The TBEP intervention measures residents’ knowledge of their role to prevent pollution from entering storm drains and contribute to the local environmental health. This project will assess the intervention materials’ accuracy utilizing survey responses sourced from local Tampa Bay residents. Responses were coded thematically and analyzed. The study has found the most effective TBEP marketing materials for improving stormwater …

A Study Of Secondary Metabolites From The Deep Sea Bubblegum Coral Paragorgia Arborea, Nylah Barber

OneUSF Summer Undergraduate Research Symposium

Marine organisms produce chemically diverse metabolites that have significant pharmaceutical potential which makes them great sources of inspiration for future drug development. However, collecting marine organisms is costly, time-consuming, and ecologically problematic, making preserved museum specimens a valuable alternative for natural products research. In this study, the deep-sea octocoral Paragorgia arborea, obtained from the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, was selected for further chemical analysis due to its antiviral activity against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) with no detectable cytotoxicity to healthy cells. The extract was purified through high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and resulting fractions were analyzed using mass spectrometry …

Towards The Asymmetric Total Synthesis Of The Oxeatamides, Myungkyung Kim

OneUSF Summer Undergraduate Research Symposium

Darwinolide and membranolide, natural products isolated from Dendrilla membranosa, an Antarctic sponge of the family Darwinellidae, have demonstrated activity against Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) biofilm. The oxeatamides, natural products from the New Zealand sponge Darwinella oxeata, are structurally related to membranolide and represent promising candidates for similar biological activity, yet remain synthetically underexplored due to their limited natural abundance and complex structures. Building on prior studies in the Leahy laboratory, which established the asymmetric total synthesis of membranolide and enabled the preparation of key nitrogenous intermediates toward the oxeatamides, efforts are now directed toward the first asymmetric total …

Multi-Omics Informed Drug Response Prediction For Precision Medicine, Iyioluwa O. Adaramola, Anowarul Kabir

OneUSF Summer Undergraduate Research Symposium

Motivation: Treating cancer in patients is hard within precision oncology due to the heterogeneity in cancer cells. Developing predictive methods that estimate drug-responses in cancer cell lines can improve our understanding of treatment effectiveness. The goal of this study is to explore the fundamental and data-driven limitations of the existing advanced learning methods for drug response prediction for precision oncology.

Approach & Findings: We examine current state-of the-art methods that utilize multi-omics patient data and/or signaling pathways to predict drug response across various cell lines. Our analysis identifies that models that learn molecular and topological manifolds demonstrate richer representation of …

Design With, Not For: Augmented Reality For Understudied Populations, Safal Baral

OneUSF Summer Undergraduate Research Symposium

Augmented reality (AR) has shown promise in domains from education to healthcare. Yet, most AR research samples general adult users, overlooking populations with more specific needs. This poster presents two projects focusing on understudied groups: adults with Parkinson’s disease (PD) and children.

The first project explores AR-based cueing systems for adults with PD. Freezing of Gait (FoG) is a debilitating symptom that temporarily and involuntarily blocks movement. To study how AR can assist individuals experiencing FoG, we are conducting a qualitative study with semi-structured interviews and storyboard-based evaluations with people with PD (PwPD), alongside co-design focus groups with clinicians. We …

St. Basil's Hymn Book

William J. Marsh Papers

The Tenth Edition of the St. Basil's Hymn Book, compiled by the Basilian Fathers of Toronto and published by Benziger Brothers.