Digital Commons Network^™

Indot Training Gap Analysis, Developing A Training Program For Indot Workforce Development (New, Front-Line, Supervisors) And Smart Tool For Effective Planning For Workforce, Steven R. Dunlop, Satish V. Ukkusuri, Yunfeng Chen, Dutt J. Thakkar, Eunhan Ka, Shagun Mittal, Xinran Hu, Ze Wang, Isha Khanna, Rithesh Tammineni

JTRP Technical Reports

The primary goal of the study was to understand reasons for workforce turnover, addressing INDOT’s employee attraction and retention strategies. This objective was achieved by dividing the project into four tasks, each focusing on different criteria. Task A focused on understanding workforce development needs and gaps by determining training opportunities available at INDOT and understanding the different training methods and frequency of training required. Additionally, Task A also benchmarked workforce development programs with industry and other neighboring states. Task B comprised performing a comprehensive numerical and text data analysis of the workforce using exit interview data to identify the reasons …

Bridge Data Virtual Validator, Jiansong Zhang, Bo Pang, Meta Soy, Bernard Nartey, Yunfeng Chen

JTRP Technical Reports

This report presents Bridge Data Virtual Validator, which is a prototype web-based tool developed to support automated quality assurance (QA) of INDOT bridge project deliverables. The project focuses on Final Tracings documents, where important bridge data are distributed across bridge plans, cost estimates, and other documents/elements. Two validation components were developed. The first component supports bridge plan format compliance checking by using optical character recognition (OCR), computer vision, and rule-based reasoning to identify missing or inconsistent letting control information such as file numbers, dates, stamps, signatures, and sheet numbers. The second component performs comparative checking of pay items between bridge …

Exploring Autonomous Maintenance Technologies (Amt) In Indot Road Maintenance Activities: A Feasibility Study, Ajuna Puthenpurackal John, Cong Zhang, Yunfeng Chen, Yiheng Feng

JTRP Technical Reports

This project conducted a feasibility study of adopting autonomous maintenance technologies (AMTs) for Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) road maintenance activities. It surveyed state DOT representatives on AMT adoption, reviewed candidate AMT products and automation levels, and conducted a preacceptance survey to INDOT maintenance personnel. The market and technology reviews identified 51 AMTs across eight categories: snowplowing, mowing, crack sealing, pothole patching, traffic-control-device setup and retrieval, sweeping, culvert inspection, and roadway inspection and three automation types: full automation, partial automation, and remote operation. The INDOT survey showed cautious, technology-specific acceptance, with highest near-term potential for traffic control device setup, culvert …

Relentless: The Pressures Shortening Law School Deanships And What Must Change, Katie Kempner, Patricia E. Roberts

Faculty Articles

It is no small thing when a law school loses its dean. The departure triggers a national search, stalls institutional momentum, disrupts fundraising, and requires rebuilding years of relationships with faculty, alumni, and university leadership, all while the institution navigates one of the most turbulent periods in legal education's history. Approximately 25 percent of the nation's law schools transition to a new dean in any given year. That reality prompted this study.

This study combined a survey of 624 current and former law school deans, which yielded 256 responses and data on 294 deanships, with 70 qualitative interviews conducted between …

Small Amenity Showpiece, Anna Gerardi

Student Publications

Rustic style showpiece with a flower as the main focal point.

Small Amenity By Evelyn Fontana, Evelyn Fontana

Student Publications

This is an exercise in following specific instructions and creating a small, tabletop-sized showpiece that highlights the interaction between nature and industrial tension.

Aba Renewal Of Fentanyl Seeking Using A Drug-Prime And Peer Stimulus In Rats, Meagan Blanchard

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

People with opioid use disorder can experience craving and relapse to use when exposed to cues that were previously paired with the drug-taking environment. These cues can be both social and non-social in nature. This study aimed to explore the effect of a peer cue and a drug-prime cue, both together and separately. First, rats were trained to self-administer fentanyl in Context A (peer and drug present). Then, rats extinguished this behavior in Context B (no peer and no drug present) while self-administering saline instead of fentanyl. Lastly, rats underwent 4 different renewal test conditions (control, peer only, drug only, …

The Nature And Origin Of The Strodes Creek Member Of The Lexington Limestone, Central Kentucky, Claire J. Mendenhall

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

The Strodes Creek Member of the Lexington Limestone is a small, unusual member that is largely known for its beds of fragmented and overturned stromatoporoids. The Strodes Creek Member occurs as two distinct stratigraphic bodies, wholly encompassed by the Millersburg Member, which represents a shallow, open-marine, mixed-clastic-carbonate platform, characterized by thin-bedded to nodular, fossiliferous calcarenites and calcirudites interbedded with shale. In contrast to the Millersburg, the Strodes Creek exhibits a lithologic background of dark, organic-rich, calcareous shales with a westward-thickening section of very irregularly bedded, stromatoporoid-rich, fossiliferous calcisiltites (packstones and wackestones). The calcisiltites are commonly associated with hummocky crossbedding, pinch-and-swell …

The Lived Experiences Of Counselors Working With Adults Suffering From Major Depression In Nursing Home Facilities. A Qualitative Phenomenological Study Grounded In A Wellness Perspective, Melissa Arguelles De Jesus

All Student Theses and Dissertations

There is new knowledge that major depression disorder (MDD), specifically, is one of the most encountered mental health diagnoses assigned among older adult residents who live in a nursing home (NH) setting (Matos Queiros et al., 2021). Antidepressants are known to be the main improvement factor and optimal management for treating depression; however, consideration for other treatment modalities continues to be explored (Voineskos et al., 2020). Wellness counseling, which is known to foster a person-centered approach, may help NH residents develop coping skills to enhance both overall welfare and everyday functioning across multiple domains. Residents can be empowered as decision …

N-[3-(N-Tert-Butoxycarbonylaminooxy)Propyl]-2-[2-(3-Butynylcarbonylamino)Ethylthio]-1,3-Benzothiazole-6-Carboxamide, Gabriella G. Meisner, Nora N. Vegas, Christopher R. Shugrue

Chemistry Faculty Publications

We report the synthesis of a modified benzothiazole sulfide. This compound contains a heterocyclic core, a Boc-protected hydroxylamine, and an appended alkyne. This benzothiazole was accessed through three total steps, including an amidation reaction and two nucleophilic aromatic substitutions. The identity of the title compound was confirmed through ¹H, ¹³C, ¹H–¹H COSY, HSQC, and HMBC NMR, in addition to IR, MALDI-MS, HRMS, and HPLC.

Gender-Inclusive Language In Spanish: A Data-Informed Sociolinguistic Exploration Of Naming Variation, Silvia Rivera Alfaro, Jonathan Hanon

Publications and Research

ABSTRACT

This paper presents a data-informed sociolinguistic exploration of the variation in the names given to gender-inclusive language in Spanish. We use publicly available Google Trends (GT) data to describe the frequency of usage of different names over time and explore their geographical distribution. To account for the challenges and limitations of using Google Trends, we compare the data with information from two large linguistic corpora (CORPES XXI and Google Books Ngram Viewer). Using these tools, we generate small datasets to explore the intricacies of the topic addressed in this paper. In our literature review, we identified 17 names for …

Identifying Barriers To Black Student Participation In The Advanced Placement Program, Juan Ramon Jauregui Jr.

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study explored the factors that encouraged or deterred students from enrolling in Advanced Placement (AP) courses during high school. Grounded in Critical Race Theory, the research reviewed how school systems, relationships with peers and adults, and individual student factors influenced the participants in this study. The researcher utilized semistructured interviews with seven Black students who were currently enrolled in college and had recently graduated high school, and identified the factors that influenced their decision-making process in enrolling in AP courses. Using a thematic analysis approach, data was organized, coded, and then the researcher identified multiple themes emerging from …

Passenger Pigeons, Dodos, Neanderthals, Jordan Alexander

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

Passenger Pigeons, Dodos, Neanderthals is a short story collection rooted in Afrofuturism and Southern literature. Passenger Pigeons centers the experiences of queer Black American women in various settings, from Mars to rural Florida. The title story of the collection follows Teri, a human on Mars, attempting to integrate into a society of Martians who exoticize and tokenize her. In this story, I use science fiction as a vehicle to confront the microaggressions and overt racism people of color often experience in professional environments. “Rather Be the Devil,” is a fabulist story detailing the character Man’s journey to find his missing …

Masculine Devotion And Moral Decay: The Paradox Of Chivalry In Malory's Le Morte Darthur, Julia Annunziato

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

This thesis investigates how, within Sir Thomas Malory’s Le Morte Darthur, the concept of chivalry as a literary construct is misunderstood and misrepresented by the knights who attempt to uphold it. Through a close reading of Le Morte, this paper concludes that Malory presents chivalry not as a coherent moral code, but as a paradoxical system that both promotes and undermines the values it claims to uphold. While chivalry is typically meant to emphasize honor, loyalty, and spiritual devotion, Malory’s narrative reveals how these ideals are compromised by structures of masculine competition, performative identity, homosocial desire, and corrupted …

Turbine Exhaust Cylinder And Manifold Wake Interactions At High Swirl Angle, Christian A. Anzalotta

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

A commonly observed flow interaction in industrial gas turbine (IGT) exhaust diffuser configurations is investigated, where upstream structural wakes interact with downstream airfoil-like components, potentially leading to unsteady loading. To better understand the mechanisms contributing to this behavior, a scale-model is designed. Dynamic similarity is achieved by matching the Strouhal number (St) of the vortex shedding from the strut. A bell-mouth followed by a swirler is installed in front of the strut to mimic the flow angles at the inlet section of the turbine exhaust. Experiments are conducted for three swirl angles, namely, 30°, 45°, and 60°. Power spectra computed …

Reclaiming The Self: A Visual Narrative Of A Process Of Individuation Through Artistic Practice, Stacie Becker

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

Reclaiming the Self: A Visual Narrative of a Process of Individuation Through Artistic Practice features a multidisciplinary practice that uses visual narrative, metaphor, and symbolism to reconcile the complex intersections of internal and external identity-shaping experiences, informed by lived experience as a woman. Working across painting, mixed media, printmaking, book arts, sculpture, and restorative medical tattooing, the artist dissects the tension between internal identity and external expectations, addressing themes of gender roles, relationships, trauma, and agency. Various artistic methods serve not only as a process but also as a parallel for reclaiming, healing, and restoring an authentic, unashamed sense of …

Processing, Characterization And Performance Of Ceramic Liners For Hydrogen Gas Turbine Engines, Fahim Faysal

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

Advanced ceramics and ceramic matrix composites (CMCs) are known for their endurance at high temperatures. This study investigated the fabrication and testing of two material systems: silicon carbide nitride (SiCN) reinforced with yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) fiber manufactured through polymer infiltration and pyrolysis (PIP), and 3D-printed alumina (Al₂O₃) ceramics. The CMC thermal stability at high temperatures was explored through a hydrogen torch test. The CMC surface could withstand a temperature of 1,400°C for 10 minutes during the torch test. Furthermore, the internal surface of a hydrogen combustion chamber was coated with CMC to assess its applicability as a protective barrier against …

Contested Air: Politics, Prejudice, And Radio Broadcasting In New York State, 1925-1928, Sebastian Garcia

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

This thesis examines the intersection between radio broadcasting as the "new media" of the 1920s and American political culture of the period, using New York Governor and 1928 Democratic presidential candidate Alfred E. Smith as a case study. Smith entered 1925 as a political lone wolf and left the year as a triumphant victor set to take the presidency. Building on the work of Smithian scholars, this thesis illuminates how Smith’s radio use remained central to this political transformation. Smith found in radio an apt space to bypass Republican opposition and mobilize the body politic through direct engagement, which, in …

Carbaryl Exposure Alters Gut Microbiome Composition Without Affecting Morphometrics In Eastern Purple Martin (Progne Subis Subis) Nestlings, Stephanie A. Gaspar

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

Eastern purple martins (Progne subis subis) rely entirely on human-provided nesting structures throughout their breeding range in eastern North America. To control haematophagous mites that commonly infest these nests, many landlords apply the carbamate insecticide, carbaryl. Although effective at reducing ectoparasite populations, carbaryl exposure may have unintended effects on the gut microbiome, growth, and condition of developing birds. This study examined the effects of carbaryl exposure on gut microbial communities and morphometric condition in wild nestlings. Nests were experimentally treated with carbaryl, and nestling morphometrics and fecal microbiomes were compared between treated and untreated groups at 18 days …

Reflection In Still Waters: Generative Ai's Production Of Language, Jonathan D. Hawks

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

Language is a conceptual process of meaning-making as well as a social construction as defined by Saussure, Bakhtin, and Lacan. Large Language Models (LLMs) engage with neither process and instead present language as a finished and consumable product which undermines its fundamental aspects. The difference between representing language through probability and its structural components instead of its more inherent qualities is not a pointless distinction. This paper utilizes Narcissus as a central metaphor to show how people misread the outputs of LLMs as language which imparts to those reflected words meaning on par with our own conceptualizations of reality. People …

Two Essays On Geopolitical Risk And Investment Decisions, Jie Hu

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

My first essay studies how global institutional investors adjust cross-country equity allocations in response to rising geopolitical risk. Using quarterly equity holdings of institutional investors over 1997–2023, combined with news-based global and country-specific geopolitical risk indices, I find that following increases in geopolitical risk within a country, foreign institutions actively reduce their allocations in that country and the nearby region. Elevated global geopolitical uncertainty triggers both a flight-to-home response toward domestic equities and a flight-to-safety effect toward U.S. equities. Investor responses are heterogeneous: Institutions with higher geopolitical risk sensitivity respond more aggressively, whereas larger or better-performing hedge funds often maintain …

Framing Home: Extending Beyond The Threshold, Kaitlin R. Kirsch

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

This thesis body of work inspects the changes in the artist’s relationship to domesticity and their perceived sense of control over the spaces they have called home. By creating and embellishing spaces that subvert the threshold between the physical and psychic, the works stimulate feelings of comfort or discomfort. Installations of found materials, mixed media, and text-based dark humor, come together to account for this artist’s attempt to navigate the tediousness of daily life. The work takes into consideration the intangible rules that infiltrate a household, defining the framework in which a person learns to live within, or adapt to, …

Preadmission Screening And Resident Review (Pasrr): An Initiative To Reduce Inpatient Length Of Stay, Tatiana Jaggars Bsn, Rn

Patient Care Services / Nursing

No abstract provided.

Efficacy And Safety Of Epcoritamab In Relapsed Or Refractory Large B-Cell Lymphoma: 3-Year Update From The Epcore Nhl-1 Trial, Yasmin H. Karimi, Chan Y. Cheah, Michael Roost Clausen, David Cunningham, Umar Farooq, Tatyana Feldman, Herve Ghesquieres, Wojciech Jurczak, Kim M. Linton, Tycel Phillips, Julie M. Vose, Won Seog Kim, Pegah Jafarinasabian, Barbara D'Angelo Månsson, David Soong, Andrew J. Steele, Zhu Li, Christian W. Eskelund, Martin Hutchings, Catherine Thieblemont

Journal Articles: Oncology and Hematology

Epcoritamab, a CD3xCD20 bispecific antibody, resulted in deep, durable responses with a manageable safety profile in patients with relapsed/refractory large B-cell lymphoma (LBCL) in EPCORE^® NHL-1 (NCT03625037). We report results from a 3-year follow-up. Adults with relapsed/refractory LBCL received epcoritamab until progressive disease or unacceptable toxicity. The primary endpoint was overall response rate (ORR). Median age was 64.0 years, 39% of patients received prior CAR T-cell treatment, and 75% were refractory to ≥ 2 consecutive lines of treatment. As of May 3, 2024 (median follow-up 37.1 months [range, 0.3-45.5]), ORR was 59% and complete response (CR) rate …

Persistence Of Pet Scan Positivity After Chemoimmunotherapy For Dlbcl, James O. Armitage, Matthew A. Lunning, Julie M. Vose, Dan L. Longo

Journal Articles: Oncology and Hematology

Approximately 80% of patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma achieve a complete response after chemoimmunotherapy as defined by positron emission tomography (PET) scan. However, not all patients who fail to achieve a metabolic complete response are destined to relapse. In a number of these patients, the PET scan is falsely positive (ie, 20%-40% in several large series), particularly when the PET scan has a Deauville score of 4. Reflexively intervening with salvage systemic therapy or radiotherapy in these patients is potentially harmful. It seems that very sensitive measurements of circulating tumor DNA might be able to differentiate between patients who …

Lisocabtagene Maraleucel Combined With Ibrutinib In R/R Cll Or Sll: Primary Results From Transcend Cll 004, William G. Wierda, Kathleen A. Dorritie, Jordan Gauthier, Rajneesh Nath, Thomas J. Kipps, Peter A. Riedell, Herbert A. Eradat, Saad S. Kenderian, Mohamed A. Kharfan-Dabaja, Nirav N. Shah, Scott R. Solomon, Deborah M. Stephens, Daniel A. Ermann, Jon E. Arnason, Abhinav Deol, Tatyana A. Feldman, Charalambos Babis Andreadis, Monalisa Ghosh, Shuo Ma, Stephen J. Schuster, Usama Gergis, Julie M. Vose, Jacob D. Soumerai, Koen Van Besien, Sherilyn A. Tuazon, Serena K. Perna, San-San Ou, Revathi Ananthakrishnan, Neha Rane, Eniko Papp, Sahar Ansari, Ethan G. Thompson, Abood Okal, Leanne Peiser, Yizhe Chen, Sanhita Sengupta, Pradipta Ranjan Ray, Jixian Wang, Tanya Siddiqi

Journal Articles: Oncology and Hematology

Patients in the liso-cel plus ibrutinib cohort of the phase 1/2, open-label TRANSCEND CLL 004 study had relapsed/refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL)/small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL) and received liso-cel (50×106 [dose level (DL)1] or 100×106 [DL2] chimeric antigen receptor-positive T cells) with concurrent ibrutinib from enrollment through 90 days after liso-cel infusion or longer per investigator discretion. Primary end point was complete response/remission (CR)/CR with incomplete marrow recovery (CRi) by investigator assessment. Among 56 patients who received ibrutinib plus liso-cel (DL1, n=5; DL2, n=51), median (range) age was 64.5 years (44‒77), 98% had high-risk cytogenetics, 55% had progression on Bruton tyrosine …

The Efficacy Of Cgrp Antagonists Versus Other Non-Migraine Specific Medications As Prophylactic Treatment For Episodic And Chronic Migraine, Lauryn C. Hutto

The PA Department Journal of Medical Science

Introduction: Migraines are a disabling neurological condition affecting 12-15% of the population. Migraines are characterized by a unilateral throbbing headache lasting between 4 and 72 hours, often accompanied by photophobia, phonophobia, nausea, or vomiting. Until the approval of the first CGRP antagonist, Erenumab, in May 2018, the prophylactic treatment for migraines relied on non-migraine-specific medications, such as antihypertensives and antiepileptics. Studies have been done to determine the efficacy and safety of the new medications, but few have directly compared them to older non-migraine-specific medications used for prevention. The purpose of this paper is to compare the efficacy of CGRP …

The Role Of Conjunctive Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy In Decreasing Amputations In Those With Diabetic Foot Ulcers: A Clinical Review, Jazmyne D. Smith

The PA Department Journal of Medical Science

Diabetic Foot Ulcers (DFU) are a common complication of Diabetes Mellitus, which is the most common cause of amputations in the US. The purpose of this clinical review is to analyze the impact of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy on reducing amputations and improving healing rates in DFUs. PubMed was searched using the key terms “Diabetic Foot Ulcer,” “Amputation,” and “Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy.” With the addition of filters, Mesh terms, and Boolean operations, 18 results were yielded. The inclusion and exclusion criteria narrowed the search to 6 articles, which were used for this review. The 6 articles included in this study were …

Pharmacologic Therapy Versus Catheter Ablation For Atrial Fibrillation, Jahkarius Hargrove

The PA Department Journal of Medical Science

Introduction- Atrial fibrillation is a common type of cardiac arrythmia that affects many people across the world. Patients with atrial fibrillation are at high risk for complications and poor outcomes. Stroke is the most prominent complication of atrial fibrillation if left untreated. The purpose of this clinical review is to analyze which modality is a better first line treatment, antiarrhythmic drug therapy or catheter ablation for long term management of this arrythmia.

Methods- Pubmed was searched with a specific search strategy using key terms “cardiac”, “Arrythmia”, “Antiarrhythmic agents”, “radiofrequency ablation”, and “surgical operation”. Operators and filters such as …

Comparing Autografts And Bioengineered Skin Equivalents In The Management Of Severe Burns, Madison Hill

The PA Department Journal of Medical Science

INTRODUCTION: Severe burns are associated with high morbidity, mortality, and treatment costs, often requiring surgical intervention to restore the skin barrier and prevent complications like infection and hypothermia. Autologous skin grafting is the current gold standard for burn wound closure but may not be feasible in cases of large TBSA injuries with limited donor sites. Bioengineered skin equivalents, including acellular dermal substitutes and cell-based therapies, offer potential benefits in wound healing and scar quality while reducing donor site morbidity. This review evaluates the effectiveness of autografts compared to bioengineered skin equivalents in severe burn management, with a focus on healing …