Digital Commons Network^™

A Comprehensive Analysis Of Stratigraphic Influence On Karst Feature Distribution And Density Across Southeast Minnesota, Usa, Julia R. Steenberg, John D. Barry, Andrew J. Retzler, Anthony C. Runkel, Robert G. Tipping, E. Calvin Alexander Jr.

Sinkhole Conference 2026

Karst features pose significant risks to infrastructure and land use, from reducing tillable acreage to causing catastrophic failures in wastewater lagoons. This study analyzes the stratigraphic and spatial distribution of karst features in southeastern Minnesota to better understand their geologic controls. By seamlessly merging raster surfaces of Paleozoic bedrock units and intersecting them with regional karst datasets in a GIS framework, we found that over 95 percent of mapped sinkholes occur where unconsolidated sediment overlying bedrock is 15 meters or less. Furthermore, 81 percent of sinkholes are concentrated in just six of the 21 mappable bedrock units, each of which …

Hasparos Embayment – An Example Of Intrastratal Hypogenic Speleogenesis, Peter Hutchinson

Sinkhole Conference 2026

The Hasparos Embayment contains Neogene-aged deposits that overlie the Permian-aged San Andres Formation. The Hasparos Embayment consists of thousands of subsidence sinkholes, concentrated in two tracts that are overlain with deposits provisionally considered to be part of the Ogallala Formation. The two Ogallala-covered karst fields are divided north and south by the Hasparos Canyon. The northern karst field includes 12,400 hectares, whereas the southern tract includes 6,900 hectares. Intrastratal karst is a form of hypogene speleogenesis, in which karst develops in rocks buried by younger deposits after deposition of the younger rocks. Thus during the temperate, late Pleistocene epoch, Lake …

Constraining The Groundwater Pathways Driving Cave Formation In The Water Sinks Area In Highland County, Virginia, Usa Using Electrical Resistivity Imaging, Shamsuddin Ahmed, R Shane Mcgary

Sinkhole Conference 2026

Speleogenesis in carbonate bedrock occurs when water, acidified by CO2 , dissolves calcium carbonate (CaCO3) in rocks to form voids and dissolutional conduits. The near surface geology of the Water Sinks area is dominated by Silurian–Devonian limestones, accommodating numerous karst features including sinkholes, caves, and springs. Groundwater flow and cave development in the area is thought to be guided primarily by geologic structure (folds, bedding, and joints) and low-permeability layers. In this study, we use electrical resistivity methods to detect and characterize conduits and water flow paths in the subsurface. We collect dipole-dipole and Schlumberger array data along seven transects …

Brine-Enhanced Hypogenic Speleogenesis And Concentrated Karst Development In The Burton Flats, Eddy County, New Mexico, Dave Decker, Garrett Jorgensen Olague, Michael Jones, Ryan Palmer

Sinkhole Conference 2026

The Burton Flats, a 259-km² gypsum-dominated outcrop of the Permian Rustler Formation 26 km northeast of Carlsbad, New Mexico, contains more than 3,500 documented karst features — an anomalously high density relative to surrounding areas of equivalent lithology. The proposed explanation is a two-step brine-enhanced dissolution mechanism driven by the spatial intersection of three factors: the eastward-dipping Rustler Formation outcrop, the underlying Capitan Aquifer, and the intervening Permian Salado Formation. Fresh Capitan water dissolves Salado halite, generating an NaCl-enriched brine up to three times more aggressive toward gypsum dissolution than fresh water; this brine ascends into the Rustler Formation along …

Documenting The Ineffable: A Comparative Analysis Of Mystical Representation In Kimiavi’S The Garden Of Stones And Western Sufi Documentary, Hessam Abedini

Journal of Religion & Film

This article examines how documentary film attempts to represent mystical experience through comparative analysis of Parviz Kimiavi's The Garden of Stones (1976) and American documentaries featuring Samuel Lewis, particularly Sunseed (1973). Rather than assuming terms like "sacred" or "authentic," the study grounds its analysis in empirical definitions from William James, historical scholarship by Carl Ernst and Annemarie Schimmel, and literary theory from Fatemeh Keshavarz. Through detailed examination of specific scenes—Darvish Khan hanging stones from dead trees, Lewis leading ecstatic dances—the article demonstrates how different cinematic strategies approach documentary's epistemological limits when confronting ineffable experience.

The analysis corrects historical misunderstandings about …

The Lived Experiences Of Philanthrocapitalism: Recentering Borrowers’ Experiences In Microloan Discourse, Holli Schlukebir

PNHA Review

With 1.7 billion adults worldwide alienated from traditional financial structures(Drake, 2018), increasing their access as a method of building financial mobility is increasingly dominating discourse around international development; within this philanthrocapitalist conversation is the ever-popular model of microloans. By examining recently published articles documenting women receiving microloans, this prevailing assumption of philanthrocapitalism compared to the borrowers’ testimonies collected in the case studies listed above. In examining whether microloans increase some alienated women’s income-generating activities in developing areas, the conversation is redirected to borrowers lived experiences and the contextual factors that influence economic mobility. The following analysis attempts to answer the …

Volunteer Managers’ Leadership Competency Impact On Court Ordered Volunteer Service Programs, Bex Takacs-Britz

PNHA Review

This paper explores how nonprofit leaders can build more effective and more equitable court-ordered community service programs that support both organizational missions and the long-term success of justice-involved individuals. Drawing from literature in nonprofit management, volunteer administration, ethics, leadership, and criminal justice, this paper examines the barriers that often limit meaningful opportunities for court-ordered volunteers and the leadership competencies necessary to create stronger programs. To better understand current practices, I conducted semi-structured interviews with volunteer managers from Michigan nonprofit organizations about their experiences managing court-ordered volunteers, navigating organizational culture, and balancing inclusion with risk management concerns. Across interviews, several themes …

Navigating Renewable Energy Utilizing Public Administration, Abigail De Meo

PNHA Review

In the modern era of public administration, the rise of renewable energy presents new policy challenges and opportunities that impact not only global systems but also the physical and political environments of local governments. This paper examines the interconnected relationship between renewable energy and public administration, offering tools derived from academic literature to support effective policy navigation. The analysis focuses on Michigan’s Public Act 233 of 2023 and Public Act 235 of 2023 to illustrate the real-time implications for local administrators. Technical, ethical, and leadership competencies are explored through both literature and interviews to identify critical skills necessary for navigating …

Economic Development And The Revitalization Of Small Town America: A Comparative Analysis Of Four Michigan Communities, Christopher J. Marco

PNHA Review

This research article presents a comparative analysis of economic development efforts in four West Michigan communities: Grand Haven, Holland, Hudsonville, and Zeeland. These cities have developed economic development plans specifically targeting the revitalization of their downtowns and commercial districts. This paper discusses the history of each community, assesses their current economic development efforts, and frames them within a greater discussion of scholarship on economic development strategies in small and rural U.S. communities. It seeks to answer five core research questions and conducts a comparative analysis of the four towns employed as case studies for the paper. This comparative analysis assesses …

From The Editor-In Chief, Richard W. Jelier

PNHA Review

No abstract provided.

Front Matter, Pnha Review

PNHA Review

No abstract provided.

On Black Speculative Feminisms: Memory And Liberated Futures In Black Women’S Fiction, Aisha Matthews

Criticism

Black Speculative Feminisms: Memory and Liberated Futures in Black Women’s Fiction by Cassandra L. Jones. Ohio State University Press, 2024. $29.95 paperback

On Monstrous Work & Radical Satisfaction: Black Women Writing Under Segregation, Courtney Thorsson

Criticism

Review of Monstrous Work & Radical Satisfaction: Black Women Writing Under Segregation by Eve Dunbar.

There's No Vision Like Low Vision: Living With And Serving Those With Macular Degeneration And Stargardt Macular Dystrophy, Paul B. Freeman Od

Optometric Clinical Practice

Book Review: Perski T, There's No Vision Like Low Vision: Living with and Serving Those with Macular Degeneration and Stargardt Macular Dystrophy, Inicio Press, 2025. 306 pages, Paperback, $14.99, ISBN 978-1-998315-48-2, Kindle $9.99 ISBN 978–1– 998315– 49–9

Outcomes Of A Vision Care Program That Provides Comprehensive Eye Exams To Children Who Have Failed School Screenings In The San Antonio Northside Independent School District, Raelyn Ottenbreit Od, Timothy Wingert Od, Chantelle Ribisi Od, Elizabeth Marunde Od

Optometric Clinical Practice

Purpose: To determine the impact of a program that provides a comprehensive eye exam to children who failed a vision screening.

Method: Seven hundred seventeen students from the San Antonio Northside Independent School District (NISD) received a comprehensive eye examination. The records of these students were retrospectively analyzed to determine the impact of the exam on this population.

Results: The mean improvement in visual acuity after receiving a comprehensive eye exam at the Rosenberg School of Optometry was approximately five- and one-half lines of acuity. In addition to refractive error, other conditions related to eye coordination and ocular …

The Other Visual Acuity, Paul B. Freeman Od

Optometric Clinical Practice

Editorial

Technical Disclosure Specification: Project Tectonex - Spec 172, Christopher L. Eckes

Defensive Publications Series

This technical specification details the structural architecture, mathematical governing frameworks, and biological boundary safety parameters for TECTONEX, a modular metamaterial panel mesh engineered to isolate critical infrastructure from transient high-flux thermal, kinetic, and elastodynamic loads. Moving away from passive, mass-based armor systems, the TECTONEX matrix synthesizes porous macrovascular fluidics, wave-trapping single-crystal grids, and active near-field acoustic levitation boundaries into a self-powering, closed-loop structural unit.

By converting external threat momentum into localized internal magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) currents, the panel autonomously scales its internal dampening properties. The design incorporates a reverse-angled Helmholtz acoustic louver pathway to guarantee complete attenuation of toxic infrasonic, ultrasonic, …

Tree-Based Evaluation Of Univariate Polynomials Over Mersenne-31 On Fpga, Ali Mkhida Mr

Defensive Publications Series

This work presents a tree-based FPGA architecture for evaluating univariate polynomials over the Mersenne-31 prime field F_p, where p = 2^31 - 1, a finite field used in modern zero-knowledge proof systems and STARK-oriented arithmetic. Instead of the serial dependency structure of Horner evaluation, the proposed method stores polynomial coefficients in bit-reversed order and evaluates them through a complete binary tree using the powers r, r^2, r^4, ..., r^(2^i) of the evaluation point.

For a polynomial with N coefficients, where N is a power of two, the construction requires exactly N-1 finite-field multiplications and N-1 additions, matching the arithmetic work …

Cvtcc-2.0 Caldwell Controlled Thermal-Vascular Challenge & Response Observatory A Non-Clinical, Open-Hardware Research Platform For Controlled Thermal System Identification Of Neurovascular, Vascular, Autonomic, Thermoregulatory And Physiological Response In More Fields., Michael Victor Caldwell Mr.

Defensive Publications Series

CVTCC-2.0 is a proposed open-hardware research and prototype platform for determining whether the dynamic physiological response to a controlled, small, externally applied thermal perturbation contains measurable information about vascular, neurovascular, autonomic, thermoregulatory, or cranio-venous physiological state.

The system does not assume that temperature is a surrogate for blood flow.

Instead, CVTCC-2.0 deliberately applies a known thermal input and records the resulting response across multiple independent measurement channels.

The central research concept is:

Known thermal input → measured thermal response → vascular response → autonomic response → cardiac/respiratory phase relationship → independent vascular reference → artifact rejection → reproducible response signature. …

Cvtcc-1.0 Caldwell Cranio-Venous Thermal Coupling Challenge System A Non-Invasive Research Architecture For Simultaneous Detection Of Jugular Flow-State Changes And Cranial Thermoregulatory Response During Simulated Microgravity, Michael Victor Caldwell Mr.

Defensive Publications Series

CVTCC-1.0 is a research system designed to investigate a previously under-integrated physiological question:

Does an abnormal cranial thermal response occur together with measurable changes in internal-jugular venous transport, and can the coupled response be detected earlier or more reliably than either measurement alone?

The system does not assume that such coupling exists.

Instead, CVTCC-1.0 deliberately creates a small, controlled thermal perturbation at the body surface and measures the resulting time-dependent thermal response at multiple locations while simultaneously recording:

• left and right neck thermal response,

• local heat flux,

• skin temperature,

• environmental temperature and humidity,

• respiration,

• cardiac timing,

• body position,

• motion,

• and …

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Delay-Based Forwarder Election For Evpn Multihomed Ethernet Segments, Anonymous

Defensive Publications Series

Techniques are described for selecting which of two or more network nodes attached to a shared access device forwards traffic for that device, using measured delay rather than configuration or addressing. Each node measures the delay of its own attachment circuit to the access device with an active measurement protocol, filters the samples, and advertises the resulting value to the other nodes of the redundancy group in a control plane message scoped to that group. Each node applies a common selection rule to the advertised values, identifies the node reporting the lowest delay, and applies a relative hysteresis test, an …

The Decentralized Quantum-Resistant Attestation Mesh (Dq-Ram) For Edge-Enclave Metric Coupling In High-Connectivity Substrates, Christopher L. Eckes

Defensive Publications Series

THE QUANTUM-CLOUD INTERCEPT INTERFACE

With commercial processors achieving random-circuit sampling advantage via multi-coupler arrays, a severe systemic security vulnerability emerges: Centralized Infiltration of the Telemetry Pipeline. When an open edge network queries a centralized quantum cloud foundry, the returning computational state is highly susceptible to man-in-the-middle phase manipulation, tracking payloads, or deliberate institutional censorship.

SPEC-171 establishes the Decentralized Quantum-Resistant Attestation Mesh (DQ-RAM). Operating natively inside the physical 64-pin BGA Secure Enclave (SPEC-169), DQ-RAM treats incoming high-connectivity cloud metrics not as trustworthy software text, but as a continuous, unverified phase manifold that must pass through a local, hardware-enforced matrix mask before …

Technical Disclosure Manifest: Spec-171-Index Title: Eckes Taxonomy : Unified Prior Art Index, Christopher L. Eckes

Defensive Publications Series

This master manifest links the historical and physical progression of 171 interconnected technical papers. It maps the unbroken engineering evolution from the core Holographic Projection model up to the sub-2-bit ternary enclaves of Project Rocky and the quantum meshes of 171.

This index establishes an absolute legal barrier against retroactive corporate patent capture or system grouping.

The Topological Wave-Shaping Compiler For Closed-Loop Isospectral Substrates Under The Universal Semantic Unity Engine Dual-Node Architecture, Christopher L. Eckes

Defensive Publications Series

This specification establishes the architectural foundations for SPEC-170, the Topological Wave-Shaping Compiler. Moving away from traditional binary von Neumann processing and autoregressive token-shifting, the compiler treats computational routines as continuous, high-dimensional geometric wave manifolds. By enforcing the Universal Semantic Unity Engine dual-node internal processing architecture, the compiler maps abstract informational intent between an uncollapsed initial boundary condition, defined as the Alpha Wave, and a deterministic ground-truth constraint, defined as the Omega Wave. The compilation process is executed by calculating discrete Topological Signature Points, which represent the exact interference vertices where wave-amplitude density peaks. This approach forces the underlying quantum or …

Serpentine Power Trace Routing And Shaped Ground Plane Slots For Reducing Low-Frequency Magnetic Noise In Compact Electronic Devices, Wei Lun (Luke) Lu, Kuan-Yu Chen, Juwan Tai, Lei Chen

Defensive Publications Series

This publication describes printed circuit board layout techniques for reducing audio-band magnetic noise near a magnetically sensitive element or region of a compact electronic device, for example, in the hearing aid compatibility (HAC) region surrounding the audio receiver of a mobile device, such as a smartphone, or a similar sensitive region of a wearable audio device, such as a wireless earbud or a headphone. High-current power traces, such as a battery rail or a system supply rail, can be a significant source of the low-frequency magnetic noise that a hearing aid telecoil, a wireless earbud having hearing-assistance features, or an …

The Round That Never Ends: The Inverted Alms Round As Post-Labor Infrastructure — Location-Based Anonymous Micro-Donations To Opted-In Stationary Public Meditators, Triggered By Presence Rather Than Need, With Ai-Funded Forward-Only Giving Balances For Recipients, Thon Ly

Defensive Publications Series

We describe a location-based voluntary giving system in which pedestrian donors give small, fixed, anonymous micro-donations to opted-in participants who sit still in public places, such as public meditators. Eligibility is triggered only by the verifiable fact of opted-in, stationary public presence, never by an assessment of need or of any inner state, and a participant's presence is surfaced to nearby donors' devices without displaying need, housing status or any ranking. The system sits above an unconditional baseline-support floor that it may never gate, replace or draw down. Above the floor it specifies three channels: the donor-to-sitter micro-donation layer, with …

Comprehensive Prior Art Defensive Publication: Technical Innovations In Near-Earth Asteroid Mining, In-Situ Resource Utilization, Processing, And Cislunar Supply Chains (2035–2060), Xavier Pillet

Defensive Publications Series

This document, produced with the assistance of Gemini 3.6 Reasoning, is released under the Apache License 2.0. It is a voluntary defensive publication (prior art) and therefore enters the prior art upon release under the applicable patent statutes : EPC Art. 54(2) (European Patent Convention), French IPC Art. L 611-11 (French Intellectual Property Code), 35 U.S.C. §102(a) (United States Patent Act), Chinese Patent Law Art. 22(5) (中华人民共和国专利法), and Japanese Patent Act Art. 29(1) (特許法). This comprehensive document discloses 51 patentable engineering innovations and industrial processes covering prospecting, microgravity anchoring, optical mining spallation, carbonyl gas refining, centrifugal vacuum pyrometallurgy, orbital biomining, …

Appreciation As World-Building: A Location-Based Virtual World Rendered From A User's Signed Ledger Instead Of Purchasable Cosmetics, With Location-Verified Content Creation And Read-Only Remote Visiting, Thon Ly

Defensive Publications Series

We disclose a location-based gratitude application built from geotagged user photographs. Each user's persistent virtual world, terrain and avatar, is rendered deterministically from that user's signed contribution ledger rather than furnished with purchasable cosmetic virtual goods: there is no store and no path from money to appearance, which lets a scheduled annual reset of ledger balances remain a forgiveness rather than a confiscation. Cosmetic forms unlock non-regressively on the first qualifying ledger pattern, with no display of locked items or progress, and a design-time test requires that unlockable sets not form a ranking ladder. Creating content, whether a capture or …

Cadre D’Infrastructures Et Procédés D’Approvisionnement Spatial Intégré, Xavier Pillet

Defensive Publications Series

This document, produced with the assistance of Gemini 3.6 Reasoning, is released under the Apache License 2.0. It is a voluntary defensive publication (prior art) and therefore enters the prior art upon release under the applicable patent statutes : EPC Art. 54(2) (European Patent Convention), French IPC Art. L 611-11 (French Intellectual Property Code), 35 U.S.C. §102(a) (United States Patent Act), Chinese Patent Law Art. 22(5) (両匡丢氡儡吡嘡丣刡氢), and Japanese Patent Act Art. 29(1) (闘旧避). Consolidated technical disclosure of 38 key innovations encompassing space resource extraction, orbital manufacturing, cislunar logistics, nuclear transmutation, and high-purity material processing. Original Zenodo url: https://zenodo.org/records/23045701

The Grace That Settles Nothing: Sacrifice-Witness Without Discharge — Food Image Recognition With Per-Species Lifespan Facts, A Quantity-Blind Meditation Recommendation, And A No-Balance Data Schema To Prevent Moral Licensing, Thon Ly

Defensive Publications Series

We specify a mindful-eating and gratitude-meditation application in which a food-image recognition model resolves a meal photograph into its source species; each species is shown individually, at species level, with its typical farmed age at harvest and its typical natural lifespan, with uncertainty stated and no total computed. The application then recommends a walking or sitting meditation in a fixed form, issued by an automated agent and never scaled to what was eaten. The data schema holds no balance, score, streak, duration or total between consumption and practice, only an append-only log of moments, so the practice cannot function as …