Digital Commons Network^™

Roles Of Mads-Box Transcription Factors In Plant Responses To Abiotic And Biotic Stresses, Na Liu, Zihao Liu, Guangxiang Tian, Shijia Zhao, Hao Chu, Yiheng Hu, Yingfan Zhao, Yanyan Zhang, Kun Cheng, Daowen Wang, Wenming Zheng, Zhengqing Fu, Xu Wang

Faculty Publications

Plants deploy sophisticated adaptive mechanisms to mitigate the detrimental effects of abiotic stresses (drought, salinity, temperature extremes, and heavy metals) and biotic stresses (pathogens and senescence) on growth and productivity. Central to these responses are transcription factors (TFs) that orchestrate stress-responsive gene networks. Among TF families, MADS-box proteins, characterized by their evolutionarily conserved DNA-binding domain, function as pivotal regulators of developmental plasticity and stress adaptation. While recent advances have clarified their roles in abiotic stress tolerance, a systematic integration of their functions in biotic stress responses has yet to be achieved. This review synthesizes current knowledge on how MADS-box TFs …

Adoptive Cell Therapies For Glioblastoma: A Quest For Cures From Within, Jia-Shiun Leu, Xin Ge, Charles Robin Yu, Guang Peng, Jiyong Liang

The Brown Foundation: Institute of Molecular Medicine

Glioblastomas (GBMs) are the most aggressive form of brain cancer recalcitrant to both current standard-of-care and immune checkpoint therapies that benefit other cancer patients. Adoptive cell therapies (ACT) using patients' own immune cells have long been explored as a treatment strategy, including the historically studied lymphokine-activated killer (LAK) cells, the evolving chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) directed immune cells, the newly emerging tumor-infiltrating T lymphocyte (TIL) therapies, and others. Preclinical and clinical studies have shown promise but also highlighted significant challenges. In this review, we summarize these findings, highlight recent developments, discuss current limitations, and emphasize how ACT may benefit from …

Health Data And Policy Related To Methamphetamine-Use Suicide In Mississippi, Mary C. Drane

Honors Theses

The purpose of this research is to investigate how methamphetamine use in Mississippi, especially in its rural areas, intersects with public health, policy, and suicide outcomes in the state. Mississippi's methamphetamine crisis has evolved significantly, shifting from locally produced drugs to cartel-supplied crystal methamphetamine, while state and federal policies have struggled to keep pace with the scale and complexity of the problem. Using a convergent parallel mixed-methods design, this research analyzed CDC Wonder multiple causes of death data and SAMHSA Treatment Episode Data Set Admissions (TEDS-A) data from 2018 to 2024 alongside four qualitative key informant interviews with stakeholders across …

Ethical Decision-Making Frameworks In Ai-Driven Pharmaceutical Research & Development, Dhaval Dinesh Panchal, Osama Mohd Hash Ansari, Sudha Divya Madhuri Kallam

Harrisburg University Dissertations and Theses

Artificial intelligence is increasingly being utilized in pharmaceutical research and development to speed up drug discovery, enhance clinical trial design, and support regulatory decision-making. However, the increasingly rapid adoption of AI in the pharma industry has outpaced the development of consistent ethical governance, raising concerns related to data privacy, transparency, regulatory compliance, and stakeholder trust. This study explored the methods by which project managers could develop and utilize ethical decision-making frameworks to facilitate responsible AI implementation in pharmaceutical research and development. Guided by the Responsible Innovation framework, this research employed a mixed-methods design combining semi-structured interviews and quantitative surveys with …

The Promises And Perils Of Using Llms For Effective Public Services, Erina Seh-Young Moon, Matthew Tamura, Angelina Zhai, Nuzaira Habib, Behnaz Shirazi, Altaf Kassam, Devansh Saxena, Shion Guha

Health Services and Informatics Research

Governments are the primary providers of essential public services and are responsible for delivering them effectively. In high-stakes decision-making domains such as child welfare (CW), agencies must protect children without unnecessarily prolonging a family’s engagement with the system. With growing optimism around AI, governments are pushing for its integration but concerns regarding feasibility and harms remain. Through collaborations with a large Canadian CW agency, we examined how LocalLLM and BERTopic models can track CW case progress. We demonstrate how the tools can potentially assist workers in opportunistically addressing gaps in their work by signaling case progress/deviations. And yet, we also …

Three-Dimensional Imaging Of Neuronal Activation Patterns In Chronic Neuropathic Pain And Opioid Pharmacology, Madeline Martinez

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2020 - Present

Chronic neuropathic pain severely diminishes quality of life, yet the supraspinal neural circuits that sustain pain perception and mediate analgesic relief remain incompletely characterized. While peripheral and spinal pain pathways are well established, relatively few studies have mapped pain- or opioid-related neuronal activation across the entire brain. This dissertation employed activity-dependent genetic labeling (TRAP2/Ai9), whole-brain tissue clearing, light sheet microscopy, and graph-theoretic network analysis to characterize brain-wide activation patterns across chronic pain and analgesic conditions in mice.

In Chapter 1, we mapped supraspinal neuronal activation in a bilateral spared nerve injury model of chronic neuropathic pain. Although no individual region …

Navigating Diagnostic Ambiguity In Palliative Pediatric Neuro-Oncology: A Conceptual Framework For Suspected Shunt Malfunction And Refractory Hyponatremia, Olivia R. Kaufman, Samira R. Haberman, Christopher M. Ahmad, Miriana Youkhana

Student Publications

Management of suspected shunt malfunction in pediatric patients with terminal brain tumors presents a complex clinical and ethical dilemma. Differentiating mechanical shunt failure from disease progression or metabolic derangement is often radiographically indeterminate, while invasive diagnostics may conflict with palliative goals of care. We present the case of a five-year-old male with relapsed medulloblastoma and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) dissemination who developed progressive ventriculomegaly and refractory hyponatremia (serum sodium nadir: 120 mEq/L). The clinical course was complicated by the overlap of potential etiologies: shunt failure, syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone secretion (SIADH) versus cerebral salt wasting (CSW), and terminal disease progression. …

Residents Vs. Tourists: Understanding The Role Of Coastal Tourism Experience In Conservation Behaviours, Qian Chen, Rong Huang, Jinhua Zhang, Thatsanawalai Imong

Plymouth Business School

This study examines the factors influencing coastal conservation behaviours by integrating the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) with coastal tourism experiences. Conducted in Plymouth, UK, the research assesses how attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioural control (PBC), and tourism experiences shape conservation intentions and engagement among residents and tourists. The findings reveal that PBC is the most influential factor associated with conservation intentions in the overall model, while coastal tourism experiences significantly influence engagement, particularly among tourists. Residents' conservation intentions are more influenced by attitudes, whereas tourists are driven by their tourism experiences. These findings highlight the need for tailored conservation …

The Solar Car Challenge’S Impact On Participants’ Stem College/Career Aspirations And Nace Career-Ready Competencies Development, Allan Phipps

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2020 - Present

This quantitative study examined the impact and efficacy of the Solar Car Challenge (SCC), a secondary-level science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) competition, on alumni postsecondary educational and career outcomes. The study investigated whether participation in the SCC influenced students’ pursuit of STEM college majors, entry into STEM-related careers, and development of career-ready competencies aligned with the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) framework. While prior research has identified positive relationships between participation in national STEM competitions and STEM aspirations, no empirical studies have examined the SCC or its long-term outcomes.

Using survey data from SCC alumni, this study …

Evaluating The Geographic Patterns In Isotopic Composition For Nesting Hawksbill Sea Turtles In The Wider Caribbean By Coupling Satellite Telemetry And Stable Isotopes, Anna Kreiger

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2020 - Present

Combining satellite telemetry and stable isotope analysis offers a framework for inferring sea turtle foraging habitats when spatial isotopic gradients exist. We evaluated this combined approach using carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ1⁵N) isotope values from critically endangered hawksbill turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata) nesting at Buck Island Reef National Monument, U.S. Virgin Islands (N=31), and Long Island (Jumby Bay), Antigua (N = 31). Nesting females were satellite-tracked to identify foraging areas and sampled for skin tissue, and Empirical Bayesian Kriging was used to generate basin-scale δ13C and δ1⁵N isoscapes. Tracked turtles foraged widely across the Caribbean Basin, including the Greater …

Investigating The Relationship Between Psoriatic Arthritis And Peyronie’S Disease: A Case Study Analysis, Michael J. Evans, Vincent J. Schmidt, Benjamin Kossman, Dylan Hafer, Curtis King

Student Publications

The relationship between psoriatic arthritis (PsA) and Peyronie’s disease (PD) remains poorly understood. PsA is a chronic immune-mediated inflammatory disease, whereas PD is a fibroproliferative disorder of the penile tunica albuginea that leads to penile curvature, pain, and sexual dysfunction. Both conditions involve chronic inflammation and dysregulated tissue remodeling. We report the case of a 42-year-old man with long-standing PsA who developed acute inflammatory PD shortly after discontinuing biologic therapy because of loss of insurance and medication nonadherence. The patient presented with new-onset penile pain and a palpable dorsal plaque in the setting of uncontrolled psoriatic disease. Penile ultrasound demonstrated …

Chimes: April 13, 2026, Calvin University

Chimes

Calvin Prison Initiative celebrates record enrollment, grows in program offerings by Ellerie Poel

Chad Tatko elected Faculty Senate chair by Ian Tjoelker

A final exchange: Calvin FLTA program comes to an end by Sarah Sparling

Interpreting a musical for modern times: CTC adapts "Bye Bye Birdie" to include ASL by McKenna Wilkinson

Jalen Overway heads to Division 1 for final year of eligibility by Zach Kern and Hendrik Beelen

From Every Nation Week promotes multicultural learning across campus by Ellery Johnson

Implantable, Sensor-Embedded Vascular Graft Towards Wireless Monitoring Of Stenosis, Nnamdi Dike

LSU Master's Theses

Arteriovenous (AV) grafts are commonly used to provide vascular access for hemodialysis in patients with end-stage renal disease. Despite their widespread use, AV grafts are prone to complications such as stenosis and thrombosis. Early detection of these conditions remains challenging with current monitoring methods too costly or insufficient. This work presents the design, fabrication, and validation of an LC pressure sensor embedded within a model AV graft to enable real-time monitoring. The proposed system integrates a parallel-plate capacitive pressure sensor with a spiral inductor to form an LC circuit embedded within an elastomeric graft wall. The Ecoflex 00-30 dielectric layer …

Self-Regulated Learning Skills Of Elementary School Teacher Education Students During Online Learning During The Covid-19 Pandemic

Jurnal Pendidikan Humaniora

The study aims to investigate the self-regulated learning skills of Primary School Teacher Education students during online learning and explore the relationships between each indicator in SRL skills. Descriptive analysis shows that students highly appreciate the assignments because of their intrinsic and extrinsic motivations. Nevertheless, students lack confidence, especially in mastering content that is complex. Most students have observed and managed the strategies in finding and learning information. The appreciation for tasks was positively correlated with confidence in learning as well as strategies in searching and studying information. Similarly, confidence in learning is positively correlated with strategies in searching and …

Peranan Polisi Dalam Penyelidikan Perkara Pidana Lingkungan, Abdul Rahman Kalau

Jurnal Hukum & Pembangunan

Abstract

2013 Curriculum Evaluation: A Comparison To Language Curriculum Design And 21st Century Learning Skills, Ummi Nur Laila Sulistyani

Jurnal Pendidikan Humaniora

The curriculum should always be updated in line with the changes to keep it relevant to the changing society. The main reason of curriculum changing is as the revision, evaluation, and correction of the previous curriculum. The objective of doing curriculum evaluation is to know whether the currently used curriculum in Indonesia already meet the rubric of 21 st CLD and Language Curriculum Design from Nation and Macalister. The research design used in this study was qualitative research. This study applied content analysis approach which focused on senior high school curriculum for English subject. It resulted that 2013 Curriculum used …

Maintaining And Axenizing Live Cyanobacterial Cultures For Bacterial Genome Sequencing, Yufei Wang, Louisa Acquah

SACAD: Scholarly Activities

Harmful cyanobacterial blooms are an

increasing concern in western Kansas, yet the

bloom-forming species in this region remain

poorly characterized. In this study, we

established and maintained axenic

cyanobacterial cultures to support future

genomic and ecological investigations. By

ensuring low contamination levels and stable

growth conditions, this work provides a

foundation for downstream analyses of bloom-

forming cyanobacteria. It contributes to a better

understanding of freshwater ecosystem health

in western Kansas.

Continuous Light And Pinealectomy: Two Models Of Melatonin Deficiency Revealing Distinct Interactions With Vitamin D Deficiency On Blood Parameters, Rebaz Sedeeq Shekh, Ismail Mustafa Maulood

Polytechnic Journal

Modern lifestyles reduce sunlight exposure and increase artificial light at night, potentially promoting vitamin D deficiency (VDD) and melatonin (MEL) suppression. The two hormones regulate immunity, erythropoiesis, and platelet (PLT) indices, but their combined hematological effects are not well characterized. We investigated the independent and combined effects of VDD and MEL deficiency on leukocyte profiles, erythrocyte indices, and PLT parameters in albino rats using two 12-week models (n = 8/group): continuous light (CL)-induced MEL suppression (Control, CL, VDD, and CL + VDD) and pinealectomy (Px)-induced MEL deficiency (Sham. Px, VDD, Px + VDD). Complete blood counts (CBCs) and inflammation-related ratios …

Patents, Pills, And Pricing: Breaking Through The Thicket Of Pharma Protection, John B. Devaney

Texas A&M Journal of Property Law

Patent thickets are becoming more pertinent in the United States every day. They unnecessarily extend a pharmaceutical company’s monopoly over a drug, prevent generics and biosimilars from entering the market, force Americans to pay high prices for medications, and bring fear to the lives of those who need special drugs to survive. Yet despite all these prevalent issues, few Americans even know what a patent thicket is. And for those who do, their attempts to bring them to an end have been utterly futile. This Comment discusses the mechanisms that comprise patent thickets and highlights the specific issues that each …

Alabama’S Ruling In Lepage: A Need To Classify Extrauterine Embryos As Property And Incentivize Stem Cell Research Through Regulatory Federal Legislation, Reagan Moser

Texas A&M Journal of Property Law

The tensions between scientific advancement and moral applications of legislation are at the political forefront of the polarizing nature of the United States. As the Supreme Court of the United States proceeds to forego stare decisis in different fields of the law, states have been delegated more power to implement restrictive laws. Notably, the Supreme Court of the United States held in Dobbs that laws regulating abortion are under the purview of state legislation. Subsequently, the Alabama Supreme Court held in LePage v. Center for Reproductive Medicine P.C. that frozen extrauterine embryos be given the constitutional guarantees of children—removing their …

2025-2026 Lindenwood University Honors Convocation, Lindenwood University

Honors Convocation Programs

2025-2026 Lindenwood University Honors Convocation.

An Occupation-Based Support Group For Underserved Adults Living With Lymphedema, Amivi Amega

Student Capstone Papers

Lymphedema is a chronic condition that can significantly impact physical function, psychosocial well-being, and participation in meaningful occupations. Although traditional management primarily focuses on physical symptom reduction, gaps remain in addressing long-term participation and quality of life, particularly among underserved populations. The purpose of this capstone project was to develop an occupation-based support group manual designed to support both the physical and psychosocial needs of adults living with lymphedema.

This project was informed by a needs assessment and expert feedback from Certified Lymphedema Therapists, enhancing clinical relevance and applicability. The manual integrates principles from the Model of Human Occupation and …

What The Free-Roaming Cats Dragged In: Regulatory Concerns With Privatized Local Services, Jonathan Korger

Northwestern University Law Review

The United States entrusts local governments to provide citizens with a wide range of public services, and animal control makes up a small but essential piece of these local responsibilities. In recent years, American localities have largely privatized how they manage the nation’s growing free-roaming cat population, relying primarily on animal-loving volunteers and a controversial practice called trap-neuter-return (TNR). Academics have long debated the merits of privatization, but TNR raises a novel question: how should local governments think about regulating a privatized public service when altruism, instead of profits, motivates the service deliverer? This Note argues that TNR demonstrates the …

Analysis Of Soda Production Processes In Ammonia-Soda Production, Nadirbek Rustambekovich Yusupbekov Professor, Djalolitdin Paxritdinovich Mukhitdinov Professor, Fatima Faxritdinovna Iskhakova

Technical science and innovation

This paper provides a comprehensive analysis of the fundamental principles of the classical Solvay process, a key component in the industrial production of soda ash. It is noted that despite its widespread use and technological maturity, the process has a number of significant technological, energy, and environmental limitations associated with high raw material and energy consumption, the generation of significant industrial waste, and CO₂ emissions. The need to modernize the traditional production process to improve efficiency, resource conservation, and environmental sustainability is substantiated. The review systematically summarizes current approaches to process improvement, including modified versions of the Solvay process, the …

Whole-Genome Variant Detection In Long-Read Sequencing Data From Ultra-Low Input Patient Samples, Egor Dolzhenko, Adam English, Tom Mokveld, Guilherme De Sena Brandine, Zev Kronenberg, Galen Wright, Britt Drögemöller, William J Rowell, Aaron M Wenger, Xiao Chen, Mark F Bennett, Ben Weisburd, Graham S Erwin, Peng Jin, David Nelson, Harriet Dashnow, Fritz J Sedlazeck, Michael A Eberle

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Tandem repeats (TRs) exhibit high levels of somatic mosaicism, which is increasingly recognized as an important modifier of repeat expansion disorders. Long-read sequencing can capture full-length repeat alleles, yet robust frameworks for quantifying instability across TRs genome-wide are still needed. Here, we introduce a general-purpose model for quantifying TR instability in a given long-read sequencing dataset, without explicitly distinguishing biological mosaicism from technical noise, and which is broadly applicable to both simple and structurally complex loci. This model accurately characterizes allelic instability at each TR locus by representing the distribution of read-to-consensus deviations for each allele. Using HiFi sequencing data …

Empowering Teacher In Utilizing Ict-Based Media Through In-House Training (Iht) To Improve Learning Quality, Ika Tyasing Kusumawati, Bambang Ismanto, Ade Iriani

Jurnal Pendidikan Humaniora

This paper aims at discussing the attempt to improve the quality of learning by empoering teachers in utilizing ICT-based instructional media through in-house training.

The Effect Of Using Google Docs On The Students' Skill In Writing Expository Essay Across Personality Learning Style, Bagio Tjahjadi, Sintha Tresnadewi, Bambang Yudi Cahyono

Jurnal Pendidikan Humaniora

This research is aimed at (1) finding out whether the EFL students taught using Google docs show better writing ability than those taught without using Google docs, (2) discovering if there is a significant difference in writing ability between the introverted students and extroverted students taught using Google docs. The results showed that the mean score of experimental group was significantly higher than that of the control group. When it comes to personality learning styles, there was no significant difference in the mean scores obtained by the extroverted students and introverted students.

The Fact Of Learning Economics At National University Of Laos During The Pandemics Covid-19 In Lao Pdr, Phousith Phongsavath, Agus Hermawan, Imam Mukhlis

Jurnal Pendidikan Humaniora

The out-breaking of Pandemics Covid-19 which is affected to many countries and regions in the world in the term of education. This study uses a qualitative approach which is the type of research is Phenomenology (case study). This type of phenomenological research is used due to it is oriented to the topic of teaching-learning economics course of teachers and students in National University of Laos. The determination of this research subject with the Snowball Sampling technique and the data collection techniques with in-depth interview and documentation. The finding results of this research found that learning economics in National University of …

English Performance Of The Students Of The English Department From Different Educational Backgrounds, Sakinah Aprilia Dewi, Ali Saukah, Utari Praba Astuti

Jurnal Pendidikan Humaniora

This study aimed to compare school program attended by students in Senior High School based on the score of the English performance. The data collected were in form of participants' individual score of Placement test. The data representing 309 participants divided in to three groups; natural science, social science and language program.

Physical Education Graduates Prospect In Wetland Area, Sunarno Basuki

Jurnal Pendidikan Humaniora

As a university located in wetland are, Lambung Mangkurat University must adapt with the surrounding geographical area to prepare prospective graduates that meets the current local demands. This paper seeks to explore the prospect of Physcial Educatioan Graduates in wetland areas. This paper was a descriptive research which examined the current development of Physical Education to meet the demand of wetland area. This paper showed that some efforts must be performed to improve the graduates of Physical Education Department. The efforts that must be made including: the preparation of professional faculty members, suitable and contextualized curriculum, supporting facilities and infrastructure, …