Digital Commons Network^™

Cohabitation And Child Educational Outcomes: An Examination Of Family Stability And Transition In Australia, Shana Pribesh, Emily E. Pulsipher, Mikaela J. Dufur, Jonathan A. Jarvis, Ashley Weisman, Yuanyuan Yue

STEMPS Faculty Publications

Cohabitation has become an increasingly common context for childrearing, yet children living with cohabiting parents often exhibit poorer academic outcomes than peers with married parents. This study examines whether these disparities stem from cohabitation itself, subsequent family transitions, or underlying mechanisms related to resources, stress, or selectivity. Using data from the Growing Up in Australia: Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC), we follow 920 children born to cohabiting parents and track family structure changes alongside teacher-rated literacy and mathematics performance from ages 6 to 11 years. Generalized estimating equation models show that, although children whose parents transitioned to single-parent or …

Hyphema Associated With Water Bead Projectile Toys: A Retrospective Comparative Study, Aashri I. Aggarwal, Priya K. Singh, Diego E. Arias, Peter A. Netland

Department of Ophthalmology Faculty Publications

Purpose: Superabsorbent water beads can be used in projectile toy guns. We aimed to characterize water bead-related hyphema and compare the prevalence with other causes of traumatic hyphema.

Methods: In this 10-month retrospective review, we identified 35 consecutive patients with traumatic hyphema presenting to the emergency department. Cases were grouped by injury mechanism, water bead-related compared with all other causes. Clinical data on initial presentation and subsequent visits were compared.

Results: In the patients with traumatic hyphema, 8 (23%) cases were due to water bead trauma. Bead-related cases involved significantly younger patients (16 ± 9 years) compared with other cases …

Bio 3971 : Ecotoxicology, Biological Sciences

Approved Course Proposals

No abstract provided.

J Am Coll Dent 2026 92 2b

Journal of the American College of Dentists

This special issue of the Journal of the American College of Dentists responds to a growing but long-underrecognized demand for humanities and ethics in dental education, practice, and scholarship. It emerges from the work of the National Collaborative on Humanities and Ethics in Dentistry (NCHED), a multi-institutional partnership formed in 2023 to address the persistent exclusion of dentistry from broader health humanities conversations. Through national webinars and scholarly collaboration, NCHED has demonstrated substantial interest in ethical reflection, historical analysis, narrative inquiry, and the arts as essential to understanding oral health and dental care.

The unexpectedly strong response to the call …

Investigation Of Diverse Carf Effectors In Type Iii Crispr - Cas Immunity, Gianna Marie Stella

Student Theses and Dissertations

All domains of life can be infected by viruses. The simplest forms of life, bacteria, are outnumbered by their viruses, called bacteriophage or phage, by 10 to 1. It is estimated there are more phages on Earth than stars in the sky. Phage act as parasites to bacteria by ejecting their DNA into the cell and hijacking host machinery to produce more viral particles. Once new phage particles are assembled inside the cell, the bacterium will lyse, leading to not only to the death of the bacterium but also the proliferation of more viruses. Bacteria encode a range of strategies …

Sed 4335 : Effective Teaching Environments In Secondary Schools, Teaching, Learning, And Foundations

Approved Course Proposals

No abstract provided.

Decomposing Shadow Prices Under Climate-Driven Growth Scenarios: Insights From An Elk Herd Case Study, Ranjit Bawa, Drew Bennett, Wai Yan Siu, Bailey Kirkland, David Finnoff, Jacob Hochard

ODU Articles

Natural capital accounting provides a framework for integrating ecological processes with economic valuation, but the mechanics of shadow price formation often remain opaque to resource managers and policymakers. Using the Clarks Fork elk herd in northwestern Wyoming as a case study, we decompose the shadow price of natural capital into its ecological, economic, and institutional components. Population dynamics are estimated using a linearized Ricker model and projected forward using a logistic projection, incorporating climate-driven reductions in intrinsic growth rates. These ecological scenarios are linked to a shadow pricing formulation that explicitly accounts for marginal benefits, harvest policy responses, discounting, and …

The Thing About Stuff: Exploring Consumerism Through Contemporary Print, Collage And Self-Reflection, Alexandra Lee Cox

Theses and Dissertations

The Thing about Stuff is an exhibition of editioned prints and book forms that pertain to personal and societal contradictions under capitalism. I use a combination of collage, design, print, traditional research and writing to form a better understanding of my place in capitalism by redefining my participation in it. Historical and contemporary research in combination with self-reflection and artmaking assists in my exploration of consumerism through the lens of human-object relationships. This body of work translates my own material desire for an audience through intentional composition, limited color pallets and intentional display. The accompanying supportive statement focuses on the …

Cover Crop Effects On Soil Porewater Nutrients And Hydrothermal Properties, Md Mahadi Hasan

Theses and Dissertations

Adoption of winter cover crops in the U.S. Midwest may reduce nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) leaching from soils, potentially shrinking the hypoxic zone by limiting nutrient runoff into the Gulf of Mexico. To evaluate the impact of selected winter cover crops on soil porewater N and P concentration, a field study was conducted at the Illinois State University Research Farm (ISURF) and the Western Illinois University Research Farm (WIURF). The experimental design was a block experiment with four replications.  Cover crop treatments included a winter fallow, wild pennycress (WPC), golden pennycress (GPC), cereal rye (CR), annual ryegrass (AR), and …

From Deference To Dialogue: How International Gtas From High Power Distance Cultures Adapt To U.S. Classroom Dynamics, Deborah Akua Afi Appiah

Theses and Dissertations

International graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) from high power distance cultures play a significant role in undergraduate education at U.S. universities, yet they face challenges that go well beyond language proficiency. Coming from educational backgrounds where teacher authority is unquestioned and hierarchical, these GTAs must navigate American classrooms that operate on fundamentally different assumptions, where authority is earned rather than assumed, informality is the norm, and students expect to question, negotiate, and be personally known by their instructors. The present study examined how eighteen (18) international GTAs from seven (7) high power distance countries perceived and adapted to these differences while …

Effects Of Compost Incorporated Versus Surface Applied On Soybean Yield And Soil Health, Maheshwari Kuchanapally

Theses and Dissertations

Compost application is increasingly recognized as a sustainable soil management practice that enhances soil health and crop production. However, the method of application, incorporated versus surface applied, may influence its effectiveness in improving soil properties and crop productivity. This study evaluated the effects of compost application method on soybean (Glycine max L. Merr.) yield and soil health at Illinois State University Research Farm in Lexington, Illinois, across two growing seasons, 2024 and 2025. The 2024 experiment used a Completely Randomized Design comparing incorporated versus surface-applied compost (n = 4; 8 plots). The 2025 experiment used a Randomized Complete Block Design …

"Aren't You Old Enough To Know Better?": Judgments Surrounding Infidelity As A Function Of Age And Gender, Josephine Kirby

Theses and Dissertations

Relationships are often deeply affected by infidelity on several indicators such as marital satisfaction, forgiveness, and relationship longevity. With older adults often stereotyped as being asexual and women often being judged more harshly due to a sexual double standard, how do people perceive these groups in the context of infidelity? The purpose of my study was to investigate whether perceptions and judgments surrounding infidelity are affected by the age and gender of the person who committed infidelity. Using an experimental vignette method, participants were randomly assigned one version of a hypothetical couples’ counseling intake assessment form that, in part, described …

Reconciliation, Draper Matthews

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis exhibition, Reconciliation, examines how memory, loss, and lived experience shape personal identity over time. Through sculptural works composed of cast, blown, and hot-sculpted glass combined with mixed media, the exhibition explores the pressures that life events place upon individuals and the ways those pressures persist, transform, and become integrated into the self. The work considers identity not as a fixed state but as a continual process of negotiation between past experiences, present circumstances, and future possibilities.

Central to the project is the material analogy between glass and human experience. Glass, a material formed under extreme heat and pressure …

A Convert’S Tale: Art, Crime, And Jewish Apostasy In Renaissance Italy, By Tamar Herzig, Lyn Blanchfield

Medieval Feminist Forum: A Journal of Gender and Sexuality

No abstract provided.

White Before Whiteness In The Late Middle Ages, By Wan-Chuan Kao, Thelma Trujillo

Medieval Feminist Forum: A Journal of Gender and Sexuality

No abstract provided.

Butting Heads With Respiratory Disease: Post-Epizootic Demography And Movement-Driven Spillover Risk In A Badland’S Bighorn Sheep (Ovis Canadensis) Meta-Population, Sean P. Ryder

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Respiratory disease caused by Mycoplasma ovipneumoniae is among the most significant threats to bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) conservation in North America. In July 2021, contact between bighorn sheep rams and domestic sheep north of Badlands National Park (BADL), South Dakota, USA introduced M. ovipneumoniae into the Badlands bighorn sheep meta-population, triggering an epizootic that reduced the population by approximately 80%. I evaluated the post-outbreak status of this population through two complementary studies conducted from 2023 to 2025. In Chapter 1, I quantified disease prevalence, adult survival, lamb recruitment, and population growth rate (λ) using serial quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) …

Chemical Load: An Unseen Herbicide Filter In Restored Prairies?, Rylie Franklin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Community Assembly Theory is a framework used to describe the process by which species from a regional species pool disperse and encounter various abiotic and biotic conditions that act as filters, limiting which species will populate a specific local community. Prairie restoration success can be improved by understanding abiotic and biotic filters. As agricultural practices have adopted integrated weed management plans, that include the use of both chemical and non-chemical techniques, another filter needs to be considered during restoration: the chemical load of soils, i.e., herbicide residue from recent on-site applications and herbicide drift from adjacent areas. To examine the …

Towards Energy Access For All: Developing The Lived Energy Experience Index (Leei), Kentina Annie Ishimwe

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Energy is the fuel that powers the engine of civilization. Energy access metrics ensure that nations continuously work towards providing access for all. However, the prevalent binary indicator fails to consider that energy needs to be usable, accessible, affordable, and reliable. As a result, numerous tiered and multidimensional metrics, such as the Multi-Tier Framework, came about to bridge the gap but proved to be complex and complicated to implement. This study presents the existing literature review, assesses the limitations of current energy access measurement frameworks, and compares household energy needs with reported access statistics. Based on the findings, the Lived …

Evaluating Supplementation Strategies Using Precision Livestock Technologies And Energy Based Models In Developing Beef Heifers Grazing Dormant Rangeland, Kali-Jo Bentz

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Replacement beef heifer development in extensive grazing systems is challenged by variation in forage quality, supplement intake, and animal behavior, all of which influence the ability to achieve targeted growth prior to breeding. Precision livestock technologies (PLT) enable continuous monitoring of individual animal performance, while energy-based nutritional models support individualized supplementation. However, their application under extensive grazing conditions remains poorly understood. Therefore, the objectives of this thesis were to (1) evaluate heifer utilization of multiple precision livestock technologies and their relationship with animal performance and (2) evaluate the accuracy of an individualized energy-based supplementation model by comparing predicted supplement allotments …

Production Of Fungal Biomass And Crude Chitin From Cheese Whey: Effects Of Whey Type And Lactose Hydrolysis On Aspergillus Niger And Trichoderma Reesei, Anye Catharine Nora Drum

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Chitin is a biodegradable and biocompatible biopolymer with broad applications in the food, biomedical, pharmaceutical, and packaging industries. Conventional chitin production from crustacean shells is associated with seasonal availability, intensive chemical processing, and environmental concerns, creating interest in more sustainable alternatives. Filamentous fungi represent a promising source of chitin because of their rapid growth and ability to utilize low cost agro-industrial residues. This study evaluated the feasibility of producing fungal biomass and crude chitin from cheese whey through submerged fermentation while investigating the effects of whey type and enzymatic lactose hydrolysis on fungal growth, substrate utilization, and wastewater remediation. Aspergillus …

Semantic Discovery Of Genomic Datasets With Ai, Lawrence Allibah

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Traditional keyword-based search in genomic databases often fails to capture the latent semantic context of biological studies, leading to a ``Lexical Gap" in research discovery. This thesis presents a high-performance dual-engine discovery system built upon 10,000 studies. By utilizing 1,536-dimensional vector embeddings, with large language models (LLMs) we implement a search engine coupled with a novel Hybrid Boosting layer that integrates semantic intent with factual metadata. Furthermore, we apply a high-dimensional K-Means clustering algorithm for unsupervised topic discovery. Empirical benchmarking demonstrates that the Hybrid Boosting engine achieves a 38.1% gain in precision and a 41.2% increase in Mean Reciprocal Rank …

Peculiarities Of Phosphatidylserine Externalization By Nano- And Microsecond Electric Pulses, Mantas Silkunas, Alayna Enos, Iurii Semenov, Giedre Silkuniene, Eleni Zivla, Olga N. Pakhomova, Andrei G. Pakhomov

Bioelectrics Publications

Phosphatidylserine (PS) externalization is a hallmark of apoptosis but can also be triggered within seconds by pulsed electric fields (PEFs). Whether PS reaches the outer leaflet by lateral migration through electropores or indirectly through Ca²⁺-dependent signaling and scramblase activation remains debated. We used total internal reflection fluorescence (TIRF) microscopy with Annexin V-Alexa Fluor 568 and/or bovine lactadherin-FITC to resolve PS externalization in HEK293 cells placed on an indium tin oxide (ITO) transparent electrode. PEF exposures produced discrete PS-positive puncta ("freckles") within ~ 10 s after a 20-µs pulse (1.2-2.5 kV/cm) or with a ~ 1-min delay after a …

The Impacts Of Wing-Flashing By Northern Mockingbirds On Foraging, Parental Care, And Reproductive Success, Anna Reece Starman

Undergraduate Research Awards

Foraging efficiency may be enhanced by flashing patches of white wing and tail feathers and has been documented in several avian species. Northern Mockingbirds (Mimus polyglottos, NOMO) exhibit this “wing-flashing” (WF) behavior while foraging, during displays, and in response to predators. In NOMOs, WF has been hypothesized to increase foraging success, but previous findings are inconclusive. To further investigate the biological role(s) of WF behavior in NOMOs, the ventral surface of white primary feathers of male NOMOs were artificially darkened and the foraging and provisioning rates of undarkened (control) males and their mates were compared. While foraging, undarkened males performed …

Granulomatous Cellular Signatures In Nontuberculous And Tuberculous Mycobacterial Infections, Brianna M. Doratt, Ethan G. Napier, Mahdi Eskandarian Boroujeni, Sarah Douglas, Michael H. Davies, Luiz Bermudez, Eliot Spindel, Erin F. Mccaffrey, Ilhem Messaoudi

Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics Faculty Publications

Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) and nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) are acid-fast bacilli that trigger granuloma formation, a hallmark immune response aimed at containing infection. While the biology of Mtb granulomas has been widely investigated, far less is known about granulomas caused by NTM infection, despite the increasing prevalence and clinical challenge of NTM cases worldwide. Because granulomas influence infection control, pathology, and treatment response, understanding their cellular organization and signaling is critical to improving therapeutic strategies. Therefore, we characterized granulomas formed following infection of rhesus macaques with Mycobacterium avium subsp. hominissuis (MAH) and compared them to granulomas from cynomolgus macaques infected with …

Cocaine Upregulates Microglial Lipid Droplet Formation Through Increasing Lipid Synthesis Activity In Vitro And In Vivo, Yan Cheng, Brooke Russell, Liam Liyang Guo, Aryan Patel, Yan Y. Sanders, Ming-Lei Guo

Department of Biomedical and Translational Sciences Faculty Publications

A novel subtype of microglia, lipid droplet accumulation microglia (LDAMs), has been identified in the aged brain, which is characterized by sustained inflammation and senescent-like phenotypes. LDAMs are deeply involved in promoting brain aging as well as the pathogenesis of multiple neurodegenerative diseases. Cocaine can alter brain lipidomic profiles, induce microglial activation, and accelerate brain aging. This suggests that cocaine might affect microglial lipid metabolism, which ultimately aggravates aging-related neurological disorders in people with addictions. In this study, we explored the effects of cocaine on microglial lipid metabolism. Our results showed that chronic cocaine administration altered brain lipid profiles and …

False-Positive Detections In Avian Auditory Surveys: Effects Of Song Number And Directionality In A Calibration-Based Immersive Sound Environment, Katia Elena Chavez

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

Detection-based surveys are widely conducted to monitor wildlife populations and provide data for estimating density and abundance. Avian count surveys are especially common because birds respond quickly to habitat degradation and restoration, making them effective indicator species. However, these detection-based surveys rely heavily on human observers and are prone to errors. If left unaddressed, these errors can bias estimates of species occurrence, and abundance, leading to misleading ecological inferences and management decisions. False-positive errors have received limited attention, in part because they are difficult to identify without independent confirmation of true species. To investigate false-positive rates in a controlled setting, …

From Couriers To City Dwellers: The Changing Human-Pigeon Relationship, Mallory C. Peterson

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

Their coos echo off the walls of skyscrapers and their wings beat faster than the cadence of footsteps. Whether dodging cars or pecking at food scraps, pigeons are a constant character of urban environments. Their unique history has allowed them to raise their young under bridges and on windowsills. Pigeons and humans are inextricably intertwined, to the joy and dismay of many. Once celebrated as couriers, pigeons carried messages of war, love, and survival across vast distances, shaping human connection and history. Today, they are more often dismissed as pests, their presence flattened into the city noise.

This narrative piece …

Long-Term Banding And Encounter Patterns Of Cinnamon Teal Banded In Utah (1960-2025), Gracie A. Henrie

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

Utah is a valuable breeding and nesting ground for a number of waterfowl species, largely because of the Great Salt Lake, which supports over 400,000 acres of wetland habitat (Ducks Unlimited, n.d.). The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources manages 24 wildlife management areas (WMAs) with the purpose of creating high quality waterfowl habitat in these wetlands that can be enjoyed by hunters, recreators, and birds alike (Wildlife/Waterfowl Management Areas (WMAs), 2025). Effective management is supported with an understanding of the movement and demographic patterns of the waterfowl species the WMAs are designed to support. Bird banding is one tool managers …

Chid Support From Conception?: An Analysis Of And Argument For Enacting A Model Code For The Provision Of Child Support Prior To The Birth Of The Child, Richard Waugaman

Scholarly Works

No abstract provided.

Sex Differences In Allergic Asthma Responses Of Mice Prenatally Exposed To Wood Smoke, Adelynne Walley

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

No abstract provided.