Digital Commons Network^™

Trapping Ambrosia Beetles (Curculionidae) With Ethanol-Soaked Tree Bolts In Southeastern Virginia., Sajrim Chowdhury, Umme H. Akter, Deborah A. Waller

Knowledge and Creativity Expo

Native and invasive ambrosia beetles infest a wide variety of tree species in southeastern Virginia and cause significant damage. We investigated trapping ambrosia beetles by using ten different tree species as lures. One objective of the study was to determine the most effective lure for each species of ambrosia beetle related to tree species and the diameter of the bolt. Sections of tree limbs of two different diameters and 25cm in length were soaked in ethanol and hung from trees in several natural locations, both near water and away from water. Beetles attracted to the lures bored into the bolts …

Establishing Aquarium Systems And Care Protocols For Marine Invertebrates In The Department Of Biological Sciences At Odu, Magdalene R. Hamlin, Gloria Massamba N'Siala Ph.D.

Knowledge and Creativity Expo

Maintaining live animals in lab settings is useful for establishing a stock of specimens available for experimental studies without relying on continuous collection efforts. Previous aquarium systems utilized in the aquatic facility of the Department of Biological Sciences at ODU were suited for research on freshwater and marine vertebrates and were not designed for the care of marine invertebrates. This project aims to establish methods and protocols suitable for maintaining various marine invertebrates in a control laboratory setting. In the first stage of the project, the existing recirculation system and lab space will be reorganized and restructured to suit the …

The Influence Of Wind Speed On Phytoplankton Bloom Timing In Antarctica's 5 Regions, Majesti L. Cummings, Jessie S. Turners

Knowledge and Creativity Expo

Phytoplankton blooms form the foundation of the Antarctic marine food web and play a critical role in regional carbon cycling. Recent observations along the West Antarctic Peninsula indicate shifts in bloom phenology, the seasonal timing of biological events in nature, with accumulation seasons occurring later in recent decades. This study investigates how different variability in spring wind speed influences phytoplankton bloom start dates and peak dates across five ecological regions of the West Antarctic Peninsula.

Bloom timing is derived from 25 years of satellite-based chlorophyll-a observations, including annual start date and peak date. Wind speed data derived from atmospheric reanalysis …

How Much Does Shape Matter: Investigating The Impact Of Marine Particle Morphological Features On In-Situ Settling Velocities Using Pca And Various Ml Models, Huanqing Huang, Alexander B. Bochdansky

Knowledge and Creativity Expo

Particle settling velocity serves as an essential component in ocean biological pump, as it determines particle retention time in the water column. Stokes’ law has been widely used to predict particle settling velocities by particle size and excess density in aquatic environments. However, an increasing number of studies suggest that Stokes’ law fits poorly in the size-velocity relationship of observations on small oceanic particles. Here, we present a series of novel approaches to investigate the relative contribution of settling velocities by the particle shape and optical densities using machine learning (ML) models and principal component analysis (PCA), based on 3906 …

Microplastics As Physical Hubs Amplifying Antiobiotic Resistance Under Mixed-Contaminant Selection In Wastewater Systems, Liyuan Hou

Spring Runoff Conference

Microplastics (MPs) are tiny plastic particles within the range of (0.1 mm to 5 mm) in size

The Paradox Of Musical Vernaculars, By Marina Ritzarev, Jacob Gran

Music & Musical Performance: An International Journal

No abstract provided.

Recent Progress In Nanogel Technology: From Molecular Design To Biomedical Applications, Fatima Raed Al-Ahmed, Mohammed Sabar Al-Lami

Maaen Journal for Medical Sciences

Nanogels, a hydrophilic polymer network at the nanoscale, combine the structural flexibility of hydrogels with the dynamic behavior of nanoparticles, offering unprecedented control over drug loading and release. Their large surface area, tunable porosity, high water content, biocompatibility, and stimuli-responsive behavior enable transport across biological barriers. This review critically examines nanogels’ unique properties, classifications, diverse methods of preparation, drug release mechanisms, characterization techniques, and various applications in therapeutic areas, such as cancer therapy, wound healing, transdermal and ocular drug delivery, and theranostics. Highlights are shed on nanogels’ potential to target specific sites, both by functionalization and stimuli-responsive behavior, therefore improving …

Balancing Water Needs In Walker Basin, Peter Stanton

Spring Runoff Conference

Walker Lake 

Supported 50% of Mineral County economy 

Traditional homeland of Walker River Paiute Tribe (Agai Dicutta) 

World-class fishery

Annual Loon Festival

Using Constructivist Practices To Build Preservice Teachers' Understanding Of Personalized, Competency-Based Learning, Lindsay Yearta, Lisa Harris, Julia Wilkins, Christine Lotter

Teacher Education Journal of South Carolina

As teacher educators, we have always been certain of the active, iterative nature of learning, and we strive to facilitate experiences that allow our preservice teachers to learn in robust, authentic ways. When, three teacher educators from three universities situated in a southeastern state and one education associate from a state department of education, started working together in the fall of 2022 with the desire to help our preservice teachers better understand personalized, competency-based learning (PCBL), we knew how important it would be to center our learners and, in doing so, facilitate active, reflective learning experiences for them...

Expert Roles Reconsidered: What Was Learned About The Mentor/Intern 4 Experience During A Global Pandemic, Courtney Clayton, Kristina Peck, Christy Irish, Melissa Wells, Janine Davis

Teacher Education Journal of South Carolina

In the early months of 2020, the United States was hit with a pandemic of global proportions. Schools, including universities, were forced to close all on-campus activities. The campus where we teach was no exception. Therefore, our interns (student teachers) went from face-to-face classroom internships to virtual internships. Over the summer, we decided to examine how virtual instruction impacted our interns' year of student teaching, knowing that instruction at all schools for their internship year was going to start virtually, and, for the foreseeable future, be virtual. We focused on our mentor teachers' perceptions of what their interns were experiencing …

Full Issue: Volume 15, Number 2, Summer 2022, Judith Collazo, Christine Leblanc, Timothy Lintner

Teacher Education Journal of South Carolina

This file contains the full issue of TEJSC, including front matter, table of contents, editorial notes, and articles.

Roadblocks To Retention In Teacher Education Programs, Tamara Pack, Tod Kenney, Carol Hoyle

Teacher Education Journal of South Carolina

This study reviewed student performance outcomes of two cohorts of preservice teacher candidates to identify the factors that contribute to attrition in a university teacher preparation program. A quantitative analysis of Grade Point Averages (GPAs) suggests that low grades in general education courses may negatively impact a candidate’s self-efficacy towards completing the high stakes testing requirement of the Praxis Core exam and therefore serve as early indicators. Proactive measures to address systemic roadblocks are shared.

The Unlikely Outcome Of A Struggling Kindergartner: A Cognitive Rags-To-Riches Tale, Amanda M. Butler

Teacher Education Journal of South Carolina

Despite teachers’ implementation of research-based strategies, many students fail to make adequate progress. In some cases, this stems from a neurophysiological response that is beyond the teacher’s and student’s control. Drawing on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, unintended findings from a previous study illuminate a larger, deeply convoluted issue that will promote unique conversations in education circles. These findings bear significant discoveries that could alter the trajectory for failing students and elevate the teaching profession.

Full Issue: Volume 15, Number 1, Fall 2021, Judy Beck, Susan Fernandez

Teacher Education Journal of South Carolina

This file contains the full issue of TEJSC, including front matter, table of contents, editorial notes, and articles.

Face-To-Face Or Cyberspace? The Evolution Of Science Inquiry Professional Development And The Impact Of Teacher Attitudes About New Curriculum, Kimberly Carroll

Teacher Education Journal of South Carolina

Today's students often have choices in the way they learn new things. When choices are given, attitudes about learning often improve. What happens when teachers are given choices? This article provides the research data of a pilot study conducted with grades three through eight science teachers regarding their preferred method of professional development. Using the Revised Science Attitude Scale, (RSAS), (Bitner, 1994, Thompson & Shrigley, 1986), the researcher determined the mode of professional development type (face-to-face vs online) resulted in no impact on teacher attitudes about teaching science inquiry. Results support a null hypothesis and provide significant information for determining …

Full Issue: Volume 9, 2016, Christopher Burkett

Teacher Education Journal of South Carolina

This file contains the full issue of TEJSC, including front matter, table of contents, editorial notes, and articles.

Transitioning To Act Standards In South Carolina Schools: Insights And Techniques For School Districts, Howard V. Coleman, Jeremy Dickerson, Cindy Ambrose, Edi Cox, Dottie Brown

Teacher Education Journal of South Carolina

The adoption of ACT Standards in South Carolina for the 2015/2016 school year is requiring rapid and systemic change for teachers, local school leaders, district administrators, and university teacher/administrator preparation programs. This article presents descriptions of the new standards and assessments, provides an overview of the current transition to ACT Standards, and emphasizes the importance of planning and implementing relevant, high quality professional development for teachers and local school leaders. The article concludes with examples of techniques from the Horry County Schools ACT planning and implementation process.

The Science Edtpa: Emphasis On Inquiry, D. Michelle Rogers, Lisa Barron

Teacher Education Journal of South Carolina

edTPA is a performance-based assessment used to evaluate the teaching skills of pre-service teacher candidates. The Middle Childhood Science and Secondary Science edTPA assessments require that students are engaged in specific skills of scientific inquiry. While inquiry has been a focus of science education reform at the national level for years, there is little evidence to show that inquiry is common in the K-12 classroom. This article explains what inquiry is, why it is valuable, and why its inclusion poses a challenge and opportunity for new teachers being assessed with edTPA. The authors also provide suggestions to help college faculty …

Examining The Effects Of Professional Development On Students’ Attitudes, Experiences With Inquiry, And Content Knowledge, Michelle Cook

Teacher Education Journal of South Carolina

Professional development for in-service teachers is an issue of statewide and national concern. This study is part of a larger research project that investigates the effects of a professional development experience on high school biology teachers' content knowledge, teaching efficacy, and ability to develop and implement inquiry-based instruction, as well as student performance and interest in science. This study specifically focuses on data collected from high school students taking biology from teachers involved in the professional development. Pre-and post measures on the Attitutes Towards Science Inventory and on a survey used to characterize experiences with practices associated with inquiry were …

Extending The Geometric Phase To Relativistic Spacetime, Sajid Raihan Akash

Department of Physics and Astronomy: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The Berry phase [3] is traditionally understood as a geometric phase acquired during cyclic adiabatic evolution, often interpreted as the flux of an effective “magnetic field” through a solid angle in parameter space. In this thesis, we investigate situations in which a geometric phase arises even when no spatial solid angle is enclosed, revealing the limitations of the standard purely spatial interpretation. We first review the Berry phase for a spin-½ particle in a slowly varying magnetic field and analyze scenarios in which the system’s eigenstate is changed during the adiabatic evolution. We show that the resulting phase can be …

Discovery Of Quasi-Carbon Nanotube Structures In Tectonically Deformed Coals And Their Formation Mechanisms, Li Yunbo, Wang Rongqi, Song Dangyu, Wang Chengtao, Li Qiang, Yi Ke, Wang Yuanyuan, Pan Jienan

Coal Geology & Exploration

Objective Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have attracted wide attention due to their unique structures and performance. However, their artificial synthesis requires stringent conditions, including high temperatures (700 ℃ to 2 300 ℃), stable carbon sources, and catalysts. Furthermore, these structures are rarely discovered in nature. As a carbon-rich medium, coals can form a variety of ordered carbon structures during their metamorphic and deformational processes, serving as an ideal carrier for exploring the formation mechanisms of natural CNTs.Methods Typical tectonically deformed coals from the Pingdingshan and Huaibei mining areas were investigated in this study. After demineralization and chloroform extraction, coal samples …

Soil Microbial Biomass And Organic Carbon Fractions Under Different Natural Restoration Years In Arid Coal Mining Subsidence Areas In Xinjiang, China, Xiao Li, Bi Yinli, Wang Dongdong, Li Jianfeng, Gong Hanlin, Deng Aojuan, Hou Wensheng

Coal Geology & Exploration

Objective This study aims to elucidate the influence of the natural restoration process on changes in soil microbial biomass and organic carbon fractions in coal mining subsidence areas. This effort will provide a crucial scientific foundation for understanding the natural ecological restoration process and carbon accumulation dynamics in arid coal mining subsidence areas.Methods Arid coal mining subsidence areas in Xinjiang, China were investigated in this study. Using the space-for-time substitution approach, sample plots were selected from an unmined area and areas having undergone natural restoration for one, three, eight, and 12 years. Subsequently, systematic analyses were conducted on the …

Spatiotemporal Variations And Their Influencing Factors For Vegetation Net Primary Productivity In The Shendong Coal Base, Yang Fei, Cui Kuankuan, Zhang Chengye, Li Jun, Dong Qiulin

Coal Geology & Exploration

Objective The Shendong coal base, located within the arid and semi-arid regions in western China, is identified as the region with the most pronounced contradiction between coal resource development and ecological conservation in the country. Analyzing the spatiotemporal variations in the ecosystem and their influencing factors at the base scale provides a necessary foundation for green mine construction while also offering critical support for regional sustainable development.Methods In this study, the vegetation net primary productivity (NPP) was selected as an indicator for the ecological evaluation of mining areas. By integrating data on terrain, weather and climate, socio-economy, and human …

Cbx6-Ca9 Axis: An Epigenetic-Metabolic Vulnerability In Glioblastoma, Keykavous Parang

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Glioblastoma (GBM) remains one of the most therapeutically recalcitrant malignancies, with median survival rarely exceeding 15 months despite maximal therapy.¹ The hypoxic tumor microenvironment drives treatment resistance through epigenetic and metabolic adaptations.²

In this issue of Molecular Therapy Oncology, the study by Wang et al.³ demonstrates a novel regulatory axis between CBX6 (chromobox 6), a polycomb group protein, and CA9 (carbonic anhydrase 9), revealing how hypoxia-driven epigenetic reprogramming promotes tumor progression and identifying a mechanistically linked pathway for therapeutic intervention in GBM.

The study by Wang et al.3 advances our understanding of how the tumor microenvironment …

Fisheries Occasional Publication No. 151 - Response To 2025 External Review Of Integrated Stock Assessments For Key Wa Demersal Indicator Stocks, Brett Crisafulli, Emily A. Fisher, Matias Braccini, Rubie Evans-Powell, Fabian I. Trinnie, Ainslie Denham, S. A. Hesp

Fisheries Occasional Publications

Consistent with national trends, the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) is transitioning to the globally recognised Stock Synthesis (SS) platform to support more robust, transparent, and internationally aligned assessments. To ensure this transition remains scientifically sound, DPIRD commissioned an independent expert review in 2025, following a previous review in 2024. The 2025 review was conducted by Professor André Punt and focused on integrated models for three key WA fish stocks: red emperor in the Kimberley, WA dhufish in the southern West Coast Bioregion, and sandbar shark at the statewide level. This publication summarises the findings and recommendations …

Explainable Drug Side Effect Prediction In Central Neural System Via Biologically Informed Graph Neural Network, Tongtong Huang, Ko-Hong Lin, Rodrigo Machado-Vieira, Jair C Soares, Xiaoqian Jiang, Yejin Kim

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The early detection of potential side effects (SEs) is a critical yet formidable challenge within the realms of drug development and patient healthcare management. Conventional in-vitro or in-vivo approaches for SE detection are often not feasible to scale during the preclinical phase for numerous drug candidates. Innovations in explainable artificial intelligence offer the prospect of early detection of potential SEs for novel therapeutics prior to their release in the market, as well as the explication of the underlying biological mechanisms. In this context, we present a novel biologically informed graph-based model, called HHAN-DSI, which capitalizes on multimodal interactions among molecular …

The Evolution Of Self-Awareness In Conscious Organisms, Robert A. Dielenberg

Journal of Conscious Evolution

Self-awareness in conscious organisms remains an enduring puzzle for philosophers and neuroscientists. This paper proposes a tripartite evolutionary model tracing its emergence through three sequential types: the sensory self (primitive egocentric, valence-tagged awareness of sensory states), the bodily self (external objectification of the body as a distinct entity, evidenced by mirror self-recognition in select species), and the cognitive self (internal objectification of the mind enabling recursive self-transformation). Adopting a monist framework, the model treats consciousness as the biological substrate of delayed neural apperception (the “Delayed Present”), within which selves emerge as increasingly sophisticated models. It distinguishes non-human metacognition—implicit, online regulation—from …

Mdm4 At The Crossroads: Beyond P53 And Mdm2., Dipesh Thapa, Allison St John, Alejandro Parrales, Atul Ranjan, Tomoo Iwakuma

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

MDM4 (Murine Double Minute 4), also known as MDMX, is a crucial negative regulator of the tumor suppressor p53. MDM4 heterodimerizes with MDM2 to enhance MDM2-mediated ubiquitination and degradation of p53, thereby promoting tumorigenesis. Beyond its canonical role in inhibiting p53 activity, recent studies have revealed diverse p53-independent functions. MDM4 interacts with various proteins, including p73, E2F1, casein kinase 1α, PPARα, and TRIM21 to regulate cell cycle progression, β-catenin-mediated pre-leukemic progression, and ferroptosis independent of p53. In addition, MDM4 functions independently of both p53 and MDM2 by interacting with proteins, such as SMAD family members 3/4, retinoblastoma protein (pRB), p21, …

Supplemental Data For Gulf Coast Walleye Edna Survey, Kevin W. Jones

Research Data

This file contains the full eDNA collection and amplification dataset for:

Jones, K.W. (2026). Development and application of an eDNA protocol for the detection of Gulf Coast Walleye (Sander vitreus) in Mississippi [Thesis submitted for publication]. Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Aquaculture, Mississippi State University.

Qualitative Versus Quantitative Analysis Of Entheses: Using An Ordinal Scale And 3d Scanned Metrics To Understand Entheseal Differences In The Charity Hospital Cemetery (16or108), Gillian Stewart

LSU Master's Theses

Using a sample from New Orleans’ Charity Hospital Cemetery (16OR108), an analysis between ordinal scores and digital quantitative analysis (DQA) measurements of the entheses (muscle attachment sites) was performed. The skeletal elements (n = 235) examined were the humerus, radius, femur, and tibia. The entheses were 3D scanned using an Artec Space Spider scanner and processed with the Artec Studio Professional© v.2018 and Geomagic Wrap® v.2021 software. Entheses were analyzed by: left and right sides, male and female, and distribution of scores across elements. The analyses yielded significant differences between proliferative and erosive score distribution. Scores between elements exhibited variation. …