Digital Commons Network^™

Psychological Attitude Toward Physical Exercise Content On Social Media As A Predictor Of Body Mass Index, Fathil Bakir Mutsher Allami

Modern Sport

The present study used a survey research design to collect data from 240 Iraqi women regarding their attitudes toward social media that have been presented physical exercise and fitness content, the duration and intensity of training woman did per week, and to predict body mass index based on the level of psychological attitudes they have. Descriptive statistics revealed that the majority of the sample have moderate attitudes toward physical exercise and fitness platforms. The intensity and duration of physical exercise have not met the standard recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO), which emphasizes 150–300 minutes per week at moderate …

The Effect Of Combined Drills On Improving Passing And Receiving Skills Among Youth Soccer Players, Mutaz Riyad Abdul Hussein, Mustafa Mahdi Salman

Modern Sport

This study aims to determine the impact of incorporating integrated exercises on improving passing and receiving skills among young soccer players, given their critical importance to technical and tactical performance during a match. The researcher adopted an experimental approach with a single-sample experimental design using two measures (pre-test and post-test), with the study sample consisting of 8 young soccer players. A proposed training program utilizing integrated exercises was implemented over an 8-week period, consisting of 3 training sessions per week. The training sessions integrated technical, physical, and tactical aspects in game-simulated situations. A number of tests were used to assess …

Musical Objects, Territories, And Otherness, Andrew Farrar

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

As the materials that composers work with have become increasingly focused on elements outside traditional pitch relations such as timbre or register, so have their approaches to form. One such stream in modern composition, starting from electronic composers such as Pierre Schaeffer, is the use of ”sound” or ”musical” objects. These materials are marked by their wholistic nature, where qualities such as timbre, density, and con- tour are as important to their identity as pitch relationships. Composers such as Schaeffer, James Tenney, and Denis Smalley have all discussed these sound objects in their writings, though they refer to them under …

Aberrant Ciliogenesis Induced By Enhanced Bmp Signaling Causes Heterotopic Ossification, Hiroyuki Yamaguchi, Jianbo Wang, Fangfang Yan, Jiarui Bi, Radbod Darabi, William R. Lagor, Zhongming Zhao, Aris N. Economides, Yuji Mishina, Yoshihiro Komatsu

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) signaling is a principal driver of heterotopic ossification (HO), yet how aberrant BMP activity structurally reprograms cellular signaling machinery to develop HO remains unclear. Here, we identify BMP signaling as a direct upstream regulator of ciliogenesis that coordinates a multi-stage, pro-osteochondrogenic signaling relay during HO. Using a conditional gain-of-function BMP mouse model (Acvr1Q207D/+), we demonstrate that enhanced BMP signaling promotes primary cilium biogenesis and axonemal elongation through canonical Smad1/5/9-dependent transcriptional activation of intraflagellar transport (IFT) Ift20, a core component of the IFT machinery. Rather than operating via a singular downstream cascade, these elongated …

Spatiotemporal Patterns Of Vaccine Uptake For Measles Outbreaks In Katsina State, Nigeria, Zeenat Kabir Asma'i

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Measles remains a public health concern in Nigeria despite the availability of effective vaccines, yet limited research has comprehensively examined spatiotemporal patterns and contextual determinants of vaccination coverage and measles incidence in Katsina State. Guided by the socioecological model, this quantitative ecological study examined spatiotemporal patterns of measles incidence among children aged 9–59 months of age across 183 wards in 34 local government areas of Katsina State, Nigeria, from 2018 to 2022. Confirmed cases (n = 376) were analyzed using negative binomial regression and spatial methods, including Moran’s I, SaTScan, and geographically weighted regression (GWR). Urban wards had higher incidence …

Patients, Not Lab Values: Ethical Reflections On The Limits Of Reductionist Biology, Kody Park, Tai Metzger, Sung-Ki Lee, Abdullah Jalal, Christine Lin, Jasmanet Chahal, Kacie Park

Student Publications

No abstract provided.

Development And Evaluation Of A Community-Based Water Quality Monitoring Program In Mississippi, Beth H. Baker, Lily Langstaff, Mona Dominguez, Sergio Ruiz-Cordova, Eric Sparks, Madison Gnoose

Journal of Extension

Community-based water monitoring (CBWM) programs provide mechanisms for education and water quality data collection. In this pilot program, we adapted a long-standing CBWM program from Alabama to Mississippi. We assessed the efficacy of the initial program implementation in promoting changes in knowledge, skills, and behavior of participants. Results indicated that 94% of survey respondents reported increased knowledge, 96% reported learning a new skill, and 99% reported an intention to start monitoring, but only 33% engaged in active monitoring. This evaluation summary offers data-driven strategies to expand and adopt CBWM into Extension curricula that build knowledge, skills, and capacity for community …

Assessing Knowledge Levels And Learning Preferences Among Organic Grain Farmers And Professionals; The Experience Of The University Of Wisconsin Ograin Program, Lauren Asprooth, Claire G Stedden, Evelyn Hammond, Ayse Okur, Erin Silva

Journal of Extension

With lagging domestic supplies of organic grains, transitioning from conventional to organic grain production is needed, but can be a daunting challenge for farmers. The OGRAIN program began at the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 2015 to support increased organic grain production in the Midwest. We surveyed 429 OGRAIN participants to assess the most accessed resources, areas of knowledge change, and areas for program improvement. Participants highlighted the importance of networking and the need for additional marketing resources. Differences were found in programming preferences by organic farming experience. These results can improve our understanding of how to best support organic grain …

Impact Of Wet Vs. Dry Hair And Varying Hair Changes On Surface Dose And Setup Consistency In Whole Brain Radiation Therapy, Dyanira Salinas

Masters Projects

Purpose: The purpose of this research was to quantify how varying hair conditions—dry hair versus wet hair, complete hair loss, and the use of hair extensions—influence surface dose during WBRT. The study evaluated mask fit differences between the varying hair parameters and the potential implications for immobilization accuracy.

Methods: Four CT scans were acquired with a water phantom and varying hair parameters. A whole brain radiation therapy (WBRT) plan was created on a dry wig human hair scan using 6MV photos. Thermoluminescent dosimeters (TLDs) were used to measure surface dose for each hair condition. Gap between the water phantom and …

Advancing Bioinformatics With Language Models: Components, Applications, And Perspectives, Jiajia Liu, Mengyuan Yang, Yankai Yu, Haixia Xu, Tiangang Wang, Kang Li, Xiaobo Zhou

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Large language models (LLMs) are deep learning-based artificial intelligence models that have achieved remarkable success in natural language processing. Typically composed of neural networks with billions of parameters, they are trained on massive unlabeled datasets using self-supervised or semi-supervised learning. Beyond language, LLMs hold immense potential for addressing complex bioinformatics challenges. This review provides a comprehensive overview of transformer-based model applications in genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, drug discovery, and single-cell analysis. We discuss critical components, including tokenization strategies for diverse biological data, transformer architectures, attention mechanisms, and pretraining approaches. We also survey currently available foundation models and their downstream applications across …

Adapting And Delivering An Extension Diabetes Self-Management Support Program To Serve The Hispanic Community, Camden Bryan, Samantha Kanny, Christina Dietz, Danielle Mcfall, Michelle Parisi, Michelle Stancil, Johanna Bruen, Rhonda Matthews, Windsor W Sherrill

Journal of Extension

Expanding Extension education programs to serve the Hispanic community will be important as this population continues to grow. The rate of diabetes is higher among the Hispanic population than the non-Hispanic population; however, the barriers to implementing a health education program and recruiting participants are plentiful. This paper highlights the work conducted by the Clemson Cooperative Extension Service, in partnership with organizations across South Carolina, to adapt and deliver the Health Extension for Diabetes program to the Hispanic community. It offers insights into effective strategies for program adaptation, recruitment, and delivery that agents can use to overcome barriers and increase …

“I Never Really Thought That Would Be Something To Talk About With My Doctor”: Developing A Theory-Led Decision Aid For College Students’ Substance Use Disclosure In Healthcare, Hayley Stahl

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

College students who use drugs face compounding barriers to disclosing substance use to healthcare providers, including uncertainty about health consequences and stigma-driven identity concerns. Existing disclosure tools address neither barrier in an integrated fashion. This explanatory sequential mixed-methods study examined how constructs from the Theory of Motivated Information Management (TMIM; Afifi & Weiner, 2004) and Stigma Management Communication (SMC; Meisenbach, 2010) theory suggest factors influencing substance use disclosure among college students and shape their lived disclosure experiences. In Study 1, simultaneous-entry multiple regression analyses revealed that communication efficacy was associated with information seeking, perceived benefits of disclosure were linked to …

Immuno-Endocrine And Inflammatory Modifications In Human Toxoplasmosis: Diagnostic And Predictive Value Of Progesterone And Prostaglandin, Murtadha Hadi Ajmi

Muthanna Medical Journal

Toxoplasma gondii is one of the world's most common parasitic infections, with well-known effects on the immune system but poorly understood effects on the endocrine system and inflammation. Emerging literature indicates that the parasite alters the hormonal balance of the host, which may play a role in the development of disease, inflammation and poor health outcomes. But the diagnostic and predictive value of these immuno-endocrine changes in human toxoplasmosis remains poorly understood. In this case-control study, 45 patients with toxoplasmosis and 28 healthy controls were enrolled. White blood cell count, packed cell volume, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, progesterone and prostaglandin were …

Histamine–Dao Axis In Migraine: Pathophysiology, Genetic Insights, Clinical Evidence, And Therapeutic Implications, Norhan Bassim Jassim, Abdulkadir M. N. Jassim

Muthanna Medical Journal

Migraine is a common neurological illness marked by recurring headache episodes, followed by other neurological and gastrointestinal symptoms. While the precise pathophysiology of migraine is not fully elucidated, increasing evidence indicates that disruptions in histamine metabolism may significantly contribute to the onset of migraines. Diamine oxidase (DAO) is a crucial enzyme that facilitates the extracellular breakdown of histamine, especially inside the gastrointestinal system. Decreased DAO activity can result in histamine buildup, potentially provoking migraine attacks via the stimulation of the trigeminovascular system and the facilitation of neurogenic inflammation. Recent investigations reveal that a significant percentage of migraine patients demonstrate reduced …

Dose-Dependent Toxicological Effects Of Carbon Tetrachloride (Ccl4) In Male Wistar Albino Rats (Rattus Norvegicus): Biochemical, Hematological, And Histopathological Assessment, Rasha Ibrahim Salman

Muthanna Medical Journal

Laboratory animals, especially rodents, are essential models for biomedical research, and especially for studies of disease mechanisms. The current study was carried out at Al-Kut animal facility of College of Science, University of Wasit, Al-Kut, Iraq under controlled experimental conditions in a systematic evaluation of the physiological, biochemical and histopathological responses of laboratory rats (Rattus norvegicus). Fifty male Wistar albino rats were used and divided into five groups of 10 animals each and treated with different doses of carbon tetrachloride (CCl₄), a well-established hepatotoxic agent (purity ≥ 99%), for 8 weeks. The environmental conditions such as temperature, humidity, …

A Systematic Survey Of Brachyuran Land Crabs In The Online Tropical Aquarium Trade, Ella Xanthe Whitaker, David L. Roberts, John I. Spicer, Lucy Millicent Turner

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

Globally the tropical aquatic aquarium trade is a multi-million-dollar industry. Although marine ornamental fish and invertebrates are the main focus, tropical freshwater ornamental species including invertebrates (classed by the sector as semi-aquatic, such as land crabs) are also traded. Land crabs include both brachyurans (true crabs) and anomurans (false crabs, including hermit crabs). These are sourced from wild populations and/or tank-bred for use as ornamental commodity species. This global trade is unregulated and the full extent of the brachyuran land crab trade is unknown. Land crabs are important ecosystem engineers, and collection for the tropical freshwater/semi-aquatic aquarium industry is believed …

Analisis Tingkat Kognitif Übungen Dan Aufgaben Dalam Buku Ajar Netzwerk Neu A1 Berdasarkan Taksonomi Solo, Mutiara Feby Sufriono, Dewi Kartika Ardiyani

Journal of Language, Literature, and Arts

This study aims to describe the characteristics of Übungen and Aufgaben based on the cognitive levels of the SOLO Taxonomy in the Kursbuch Netzwerk Neu A1 textbook. A qualitative descriptive method with a content analysis approach was employed. The research procedures included developing documentation instruments, coding the data, preparing validation instruments, validating the findings through expert judgment, analysing the validated data, and drawing conclusions. The findings indicate that Übungen in the earlier units are predominantly classified at the unistructural level, whereas those in the subsequent units are mainly categorised as multistructural. Meanwhile, Aufgaben are predominantly classified at the relational level, …

Representasi Pendidikan Formal Dalam Pengambilan Keputusan Tokoh Pada Serial Berbahasa Jerman Biohackers, Widya Agustina, Edy Hidayat

Journal of Language, Literature, and Arts

This study aims to describe the representation of formal education in the German-language series Biohackers and to explain how the characters' decision-making contributes to plot development. The study employed a descriptive qualitative approach using content analysis. The data consisted of dialogues, scenes, actions, and situations related to the characters' academic backgrounds and decision-making in Biohackers Season 1, Episode 3. Data were collected through documentation and non-participant observation by repeatedly watching the selected episode. Data analysis followed six stages of content analysis: unitizing, sampling, recording, reducing, inferring, and narrating. The findings reveal that formal education is represented through the characters' academic …

Strategic Leverage Points For Effective Watershed Governance: A Micmac Structural Analysis Approach, Ivan Taslim, Sambas Basuni, Moh. Yanuar Jarwadi Purwanto, I Putu Santikayasa

Journal of Environmental Science and Sustainable Development

Over the past two decades, watershed governance in Indonesia has been challenged by rapid land-use change, fragmented institutions, and limited integration of scientific evidence into policy. Previous studies have primarily evaluated watershed sustainability using hydrological or socio-economic indicators, whereas the structural relationships among governance, socio-economic, and biophysical factors remain insufficiently explored. To address this gap, this study applies the Matrix of Cross-Impact Multiplications Applied to Classification (MICMAC) method to examine direct and indirect relationships among watershed governance factors. A pentahelix stakeholder analysis involving government, academia, non-governmental organizations, media, and industry was conducted to evaluate 37 factors identified through a systematic …

A Categorical Framework For Modeling Genetic Drift, Taylor G. Mendes

Rose-Hulman Undergraduate Mathematics Journal

Genetic drift describes changes in allele frequencies that arise from chance sampling in finite populations. This paper develops a categorical framework for organizing the structural features of drift. Population states are modeled as objects, evolutionary transitions as morphisms, reversible transitions as groupoid morphisms, and structure-preserving comparisons between models as functors. Group actions are used to describe deterministic evolutionary operators such as mutation and selection, while orbits and fixed points identify reachable allele-frequency states and stable absorbing outcomes. Universal properties are then used to describe drift as a coherence condition connecting stochastic transitions with deterministic evolutionary maps. The resulting framework complements …

Warm-Air And Forced-Air Ventilation Drying Of Grass Seeds, Werner Maltry

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

For the design of warm-air conveyor driers and of ventilated bins to be used for grass seeds drying, certain parameters of the drying characteristics under varying conditions must be known. Investigations in a climatized cham­ber with seeds from different plant species at varying bulk height, inlet air temperature, and rate of air flow have shown the drying charac­teristics of a layer to be quite similar to those of a single drying crop. The curve of the drying velocity can be approximated by two branches, a first branch with constant drying velocity and a second straight-lined declining branch. The whole oper­ation …

Problems Of Phytophagous And Pollinating Insect Control Of Seed Lucerne In France, Rene Bournoville, Pierre Guy, Jean-Noel Tasei, Alain Delaude F.N.A.M.S

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

This paper is concerned with two factors of lucerne seed yields: phytophagous and pollina­tor insects. There are three groups of phytophagous insects, i.e. foliage species: Acyrthosiphon pisum, Apion pisi, Hypera variabilis, Colaspidema atrum; gall midges: Dasyneura ignorata, Conta­rinia medicaginis; and seed pests: Laspeyresia medicaginis, Tychius aureolus, Adelphocoris line­olatus, Lygus rugulipennis, Bruchophagus roddi. Net sweeping, yellow dish trapping, and gall rearing were used for population and flight observation. Laboratory tests were carried out to deter­mine the susceptibility of Miridae bugs, pre­dators, and pollinators to insecticides. The possibility of rearing and multiplying Megachile pacifica was demonstrated. Studies on its local enemies and …

Progress In Grass Seed Production Through Specialization And Concentration, Heinz Hartmann

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Specialization and concentration •in grass seed production require a long-term development programme. Such development programme has to be put into effect planfully and from year to year by all partners involved. The crews in charge of actual production must be in command of up-to-date seed-growing technologies and see with great continuity to their own further education. Both the farms and nationally-owned enter­prises for seed and planting stocks (VEB Saat­und Pflanzgut) must be furnished with efficient machinery and other facilities for adequate col­lection, treatment, and marketing of grass seed. A complex quality-ensuring system has to be established for high-accuracy control and …

The Effect Of Closing Date, Stocking Rate, And Nitrogen Application On Seed And Wool Production From Tall Fescue (Festuca Arundinacea Schreb.) Pastures, Christopher M. Williams, Kevin G. Boyce

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

The effects of closing dates, stocking rates, and nitrogen application on seed and wool production of Demeter tall fescue in South Australia are described. Seed production and gross income were greatest at an intermediate closing date (8 September), at the highest level of nitrogen and highest stocking rate. Late closings (6 October and 3 November) resulted in severe depressions in seed yield and gross incomes. Stocking rates of 15 and 30 sheep/ha caused a similar large reduction in seed yield at late closing dates. The gross value of the extra wool produced from late closing date treat­ments (although up to …

New Problems And Results Of Grass Breeding In The Czechoslovak Socialist Republic, Frantisek Bures

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Turf grass species are among the topics of forage grass breeding in Czechoslovakia at present. Breeding goals, however, are highly differentiat­ed, and testing methods have to be adjusted to that diversity of purposes. Agrostis tenuis Sibth., 'Golf variety, is a perennial turf grass which forms short stolons. Tiller formation has been 263/dm2 on average over several years. Its colour is deep green, and the grass is unpretentious in terms of nutrition and soil. Mean root expansibility is 6.9 per cent, mean tensile strength 3,249 kg/cm2, and aver­age compressive strength 112,768 gcm/cm3. Frequent deep mowing is well tolerated. Variety 'K 7' …

Ms- Based Hybrid Breeding In Lolium Perenne L., Inge Gaue

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Hybrid breeding in Lolium perenne is possible by use of male sterility (ms). To get a suitable basis for successful breeding it is necessary to search, analyze, and confirm plants with male sterility. Over four years we have developed fixator lines and ms-analogous lines and began to test their combining ability. The analysis of anther design in 16 ms-analogous lines showed the level of sterility to be highest in the white­steriles. A breeding programme has been devel­oped that makes possible the production of commercial hybrid seed in the 10th year after the beginning of breeding work.

Investigation Of Male Sterility In Lolium Perenne L. As Influenced By Environmental Conditions, Eicke Rudloff

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

By means of a classification of anther design, field-grown male sterile clones of Lolium perenne were found to differ greatly from greenhouse­grown clones as to their variability in the phenotypic manifestation of sterility (PMS). Only 8.7 % white-steriles were found as com­pared with the results obtained from field assess­ment. White-steriles were also found in plants that showed a different PMS in the field. In the greenhouse, up to 93 p.c. of the plants were fertiles, with several provenances producing no fertile phenotypes at all. This is indicative of the fact that PMS would be influenced by the gen­otype. Additional nitrogen …

Particularities Regarding The Manifestation Of Cytoplasmic Male Sterility In Dactylis Glomerata L., Grigori Kuleshov, Aelita Kremnina, Valentina Korovina

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Chemical mutagenics were found to induce male sterility in M1 of Dactylis glomerata L., this character being transmitted in the following generations under conditions of open pollina­tion and pair matings. The respective segrega­tions in the families obtained from test cross­ings, open pollination, and pair matings of sterile plants, and the existence of sterility fixers allow to suppose that in M1, M2, and M3 the sterile forms have cytoplasmic male sterility and are represented by recessive homozygotes with sterile cytoplasm. The study of the meiosis of the male-sterile forms induced by chemical mutagenics has revealed that disturbances in the course of …

Association And Breeding In Cocksfoot (Dactylis Glomerata L.), P Rotili, L Zannone

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

The aim of this study was to know the impor­tance of the progeny association effects in the evaluation of the combining ability of the parents. The experiment included eight pure stands and twenty-eight binary mixtures. Gener­al domination ability was considerably larger than general association ability. This is due to the fact that situations of competition were generally observed. A good similarity of rank­ing in pure stand and in mixture was observed. In conclusion, the association effects are not important in the evaluation of the combining ability of the parents.

Influence Of Origin And Arrangement Of Components In Hybridization Nursery On The Performance Of A Synthetic Population Of Alfalfa (Medicago Varia Martyn.), Jan Rod

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Using 7 clones and their immediate progenies (strains), two conforming hybridization nur­series were laid out. The components crossed were planted in close pairs without mutual space isolation but with one meter distance between the pairs. Arrangement corresponded with a Greek-Latin square with two replications of the same combination. Under conditions of open pollination, seed setting was lower in the clone nursery. A per­formance decline took place in strain progenies, i.e. in the generation after one reproduction. Replication of the same combination was typi­cal in both cases. The differences between the performance of progenies of individual com­binations show that, using the …