Digital Commons Network^™

Biochar As Additive And Modifier In Bitumen And Asphalt Mixtures, Chathurika Dassanayake, Nuha S. Mashaan

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Incorporating biochar into pavement materials is a novel and environmentally sustainable approach that aligns with global sustainability goals and advances greener pavement technologies. Studies have shown that biochar significantly enhances the strength, durability, and stability of pavements, while also contributing to sustainability by lowering the carbon footprint associated with traditional construction materials. Additionally, the incorporation of biochar contributes to the sustainability of asphalt engineering by reducing reliance on petroleum-based products and promoting the valorization of biomass. The primary objective of this review is to critically evaluate and synthesize existing research on the use of biochar in bitumen and asphalt mixtures, …

Parasite Sedimentary Dna Reveals Fish Introduction Into A European High-Mountain Lake By The Seventh Century, Elena Fagín, Marisol Felip, Anton Brancelj, Pere Masqué, Jordi Catalan

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

High-mountain lakes were historically fishless due to natural barriers, but human introductions have led to widespread fish presence. Although particularly intensive during the last decades, historical documents indicate introductions in European high mountains already during the 14th and 15th centuries, but they could have occurred before, provided the intensive land use of the high mountain had started earlier. We used ancient environmental DNA from lake sediments (sedDNA) to investigate this hypothesis. Fish ectoparasites from various clades were identified using the 18S rRNA gene in the sediment record of a deep, high-mountain Pyrenean lake, with Ichthyobodo (Kinetoplastea) being of particular interest …

Source-Specific Nitrate Intake And Incident Dementia In The Danish Diet, Cancer And Health Study, Catherine P. Bondonno, Pratik Pokharel, Dorit Wielandt Erichsen, Liezhou Zhong, Jörg Schullehner, Cecilie Kyrø, Kirsten Frederiksen, Peter Fjeldstad Hendriksen, Frederik Dalgaard, Lauren C. Blekkenhorst, Stephanie R. Rainey-Smith, Samantha L. Gardener, Torben Sigsgaard, Ole Raaschou-Nielsen, Anne Tjønneland, Jonathan M. Hodgson, Christina C. Dahm, Anja Olsen, Nicola P. Bondonno

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Introduction: Dietary nitrate, through conversion to nitric oxide, which supports vascular and nervous system function, may lower dementia risk but may also form neurodegenerative N-nitrosamines, depending on the nitrate source. Methods: We investigated associations between source-specific nitrate and nitrite intake and incident and early-onset dementia (< 65 years) in 54,804 dementia-free participants from the Danish Diet, Cancer and Health Cohort Study over ∼27 years. Nitrate and nitrite intakes were derived from food frequency questionnaires and nitrate and nitrite databases. Results: Higher plant-sourced nitrate intake was non-linearly associated with lower rates of incident dementia (fifth vs first quintile hazard ratio 95% confidence interval: 0.90 [0.83, 0.98]), while increased risk was seen for higher intakes of animal-sourced, additive-permitted meat-sourced, and tap water-sourced nitrate. Similar associations were seen for source-specific nitrite intake and were more pronounced for early-onset dementia. No clear effect modification was observed. Discussion: These findings highlight the importance of nitrate source in dementia risk and warrant further investigation. Highlights: Plant nitrate is associated with a lower risk of incident and early-onset dementia. Animal and tap water nitrate are associated with an increased risk of dementia. Encouraging consumption of plant-based nitrate sources may lower risk of dementia.

Exercise Medicine As Adjunct Therapy During Radiation For Cancer Of The Prostate To Improve Treatment Efficacy – Protocol For The Eradicate Study: A Phase Ii Randomised Controlled Trial, Oliver Schumacher, Robert U. Newton, Colin Tang, Raphael Chee, Sjoerd B. Vos, Ronny S. Low, David Joseph, Dennis R. Taaffe, Daniel A. Galvão

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Background: Tumour hypoxia resulting from inadequate perfusion is common in many solid tumours, including prostate cancer, and constitutes a major limiting factor in radiation therapy that contributes to treatment resistance. Emerging research in preclinical animal models indicates that exercise has the potential to enhance the efficacy of cancer treatment by modulating tumour perfusion and reducing hypoxia; however, evidence from randomised controlled trials is currently lacking. The ‘Exercise medicine as adjunct therapy during RADIation for CAncer of the prostaTE’ (ERADICATE) study is designed to investigate the impact of exercise on treatment response, tumour physiology, and adverse effects of treatment in prostate …

Mouthpieces Of The God: On Translating Bacchae, Finnegan N. Beaty

Honors Theses

Euripides’ Bacchae is one of the most well-known and most frequently performed Greek tragedies. However, it is too often distanced from its origins in the Dionysia, a religious festival celebrated in honor of the god Dionysus, at which it was performed as part of tragic ritual. This paper analyzes the specific translation choices of three authors, Anne Carson, Gilbert Murray, and Emily Wilson, and how they affect the meanings of their different translations as a whole. These choices are broken down according to three domains, inspired by Aristotle’s definition of tragedy in Poetics. The religious, cathartic effect of each play …

“If He Be Mr.Hyde…I Shall Be Mr.Seek”: Crime, Surveillance, And Narrative Structure In The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde, Haley N. Durrett

Honors Theses

This research seeks to situate Robert Louis Stevenson's novella, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde into the historical context of the time period using 19th century criminal-typing, policing structures, and the genre of detective fiction. Focusing on the representation of the criminal, Edward Hyde, the layout of the detective novel, and narrative structure, the novel creates an implicit desire for the police, that is not fulfilled throughout the novel's unraveling.

Avaren-Fc's Effects On Lymphoma Cells., Jacob Hahn

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis investigates the therapeutic potential of Avaren-Fc (AvFc), a novel lectin fusion protein that integrates the Fc region of human IgG1 with the engineered lectin Avaren, specifically targeting lymphoma. The study delineates the in vitro binding capabilities of Avaren-Fc with a human B-cell lymphoma cell line, a canine B-cell lymphoma cell line, healthy canine peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), and healthy human PBMCs. AvFc was shown to exhibit significant binding to human lymphoma cells. Furthermore, the direct cytotoxicity of Avaren-Fc against canine lymphoma cells, canine lymphoma cells and healthy canine PBMCs was assessed. It was found that there is …

Examing Fear Conditioning/Extinction And The Role Of The Amygdala In Human Neuroimaging., Olivia Cook

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Fear plays a crucial role in survival but can lead to psychological disorders when dysregulated. Fears can be innate due to evolutionary relevance or learned through associative processes, where predictive accuracy of threat is pivotal. Disruptions in fear neurocircuitry contribute to anxiety disorders, characterized by heightened activation and impaired learning. Fear conditioning and extinction paradigms based on classical Pavlovian conditioning have been used to study mechanisms underlying fear learning. Using this experimental model, fear networks in rodents have been described in detail with clear distinction between conditioning and extinction neural functioning. Yet, there is no consensus on the neurobiological processes …

Characterizing The Ethanol Sensitivity Of The Planar Cell Polarity Pathway In Endoderm Morphogenesis And Jaw Development., Raéden Omneil C. C. Rolle Gray

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) describes a large range of developmental defects due to prenatal alcohol exposure. It is characterized by neural and facial defects, including jaw hypoplasia. Many factors contribute to the susceptibility of ethanol-induced facial defects, including genetics, yet the genes involved, and the cell events they regulate, are poorly understood. Zebrafish have a large number of tools for genetic manipulation available, share 70% of genes with humans, are fertilized externally and are translucent during embryogenesis, making them great models to study FASD. Previous studies show that two members of the Planar Cell Polarity (PCP) pathway, zebrafish vangl2 …

The Ecology Of Arthropod Rain In A Tropical Forest., Andrew Robert Seiler

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Tropical forests are structured by complex vertical linkages and nutrient exchanges between canopy and understory habitats. These linkages include the downward flux of organisms, the movement of canopy fauna, and the recycling of nutrients through litter and organic matter deposition. This dissertation investigates arthropod rain and its role in connecting the canopy and forest floor processes in a lowland tropical forest in Panama. Chapter 2 quantifies “arthropod rain”, the fall of canopy arthropods into the understory. Using pan and pole traps, I measured the composition, abundance, and biomass of arthropods falling from the canopy and assessed environmental drivers of the …

Safety Evaluation Of Epicertin, An Oral Biotherapeutic Candidate For Treating Ulcerative Colitis: A 28-Day Repeated Dose Toxicity Study., Jimmy Fernando Cifuentes Jimenez

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is an inflammatory bowel disease characterized by chronic, relapsing inflammation of the colon and rectum with limited treatment options. Among them, immunosuppressive agents have a high rate of adverse side effects and do not cure the disease. EPICERTIN (EPT), a recombinant variant of the cholera toxin B subunit (CTB) with a C-terminal hexapeptide extension consisting of a KDEL endoplasmic reticulum (ER) retention motif, is a promising oral biotherapeutic candidate for the treatment of UC. EPT has demonstrated mucosal healing activity in mouse models of colitis and human colonic explants. EPT's mechanism of action involves binding to GM1 …

Visual Simultaneous Localization And Mapping For Multi-Robot Collaboration, Aidan O’Hare

Electrical and Computer Engineering Master's Theses

As society continues to progress with robotics and automation, the significance of multi-robot systems continues to increase. Single robot systems are limited in their capacity to carry out certain types of tasks, similar to how one person is limited. When it comes to carrying large, cumbersome objects that would require multiple entities to move in a coordinated manner, it is very apparent that implementing a multi-robot system is necessary. Multi-robot systems have become a sector of robotics of increasing interest due to the multitude of use cases they are able to fulfill. However, scalability is a large part of the …

Teaching Copyright Beyond Campus: Academic Librarians At Pop Culture Conventions, Craig Finlay, Isabel Soto-Luna Ed.

Criss Library Faculty Publications

Academic librarianship has long emphasized campus-based instruction, but transformative learning opportunities often emerge beyond the classroom. This article explores how two librarians extended copyright education into the unconventional setting of multigenre pop culture conventions. Originally developed for faculty, their workshops were redesigned to meet the needs of artists, cosplayers, small business owners, and independent creators seeking practical, legally grounded information about copyright, fair use, and intellectual property. Drawing from real-world interactions, iterative feedback, and instructional theory—including a revised “Informative Avocado” model—the authors describe how their outreach not only empowered new learner communities, but also revitalized their own teaching practices. The …

Smart Dressings Accelerating Wound Healing With Tranexamic Acid-Infused Aligned Electrospun Nanofibers: In Vitro And In Vivo Assessments, Eman Gomaa

Nanotechnology Research Centre

The development of advanced wound dressings capable of accelerating healing and achieving effective hemostasis remains a critical challenge in managing traumatic and surgical wounds. This study reports the fabrication and comprehensive evaluation of a novel multilayered, sandwich-structured nanofiber scaffold composed of Tranexamic acid (TXA), chitosan (CS), polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), L-arginine, and polylactic acid (PLA) for biodegradable wound dressing applications. Using sequential electrospinning, a four-layered scaffold was developed as a smart wound dressing, comprising an immediate-release TXA-CS-PVA layer for rapid clotting, a hydrophobic PLA barrier layer for protection, a sustained-release L-arginine-PVA layer to promote tissue regeneration, and a final PLA protective …

The Effects Of Graded Amounts Of Nicotinic Acid On Cow Health, Colostrum Yield And Quality Of Prepartum Multiparous Jersey Cows And Growth In Their Subsequent Calves, Lydia Joy Valentine

Master's Theses and Capstones

This study evaluated the impact of graded amounts of nicotinic acid (NA) with a negative DCAD diet on cow health, colostrum composition and calf growth performance of Jersey cattle. We hypothesized that NA supplementation would increase IgG concentration of colostrum, increase calf intestinal absorption and growth and improve cow metabolic health. Thirty multiparous Jersey cows were blocked by calving date and assigned to either 0, 8 or 16 g/d of NA supplementation on top of the -40 mEq/kg DCAD dry cow diet. Blood samples were collected weekly for ketone analysis. Urine was collected three times weekly for pH, creatinine and …

Sik2 Inhibitor Grn-300 Enhances Sensitivity To Paclitaxel Treatment In Triple-Negative Breast Cancer, Marc A. Pina

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Breast cancer is one of the most frequently diagnosed cancers worldwide, with approximately 15% classified as Triple-Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC). TNBC lacks expression of estrogen (ER) and progesterone (PR), and does not overexpress HER-2, leaving patients without effective targeted therapies. As a result, treatment primarily relies on chemotherapy, most commonly paclitaxel, a taxane that stabilize microtubules, disrupts chromosome separation and induces apoptosis. However, TNBCs are an aggressive cancer subtype, and patients often will develop resistance after a few rounds of chemotherapy. This study addresses a critical unmet need for more effective TNBC therapies by targeting Salt-Inducible Kinase 2 (SIK2), which …

Structure And Function Studies On Trna Splicing Endonuclease, Justin G. Underwood

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

A subset of eukaryotic pre-tRNAs have introns that must be spliced out to become mature molecules capable of functioning in translation. This essential processing step is performed by tRNA splicing endonuclease (TSEN), a highly conserved heterotetramer with two catalytic and two structural subunits. In addition to this conserved function, archaeal TSEN also processes pre-rRNA and yeast TSEN cleaves some mRNAs that encode mitochondrial proteins to initiate mRNA degradation. Interestingly, single amino acid mutations in TSEN cause the human Mendelian disease pontocerebellar hypoplasia (PCH) by an unknown mechanism. Recently, several groups have determined the structure of human TSEN, revealing similarities and …

Host-Intrinsic Factors Determine Anti-Tumor Efficacy Of Exercise In Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma, Sumedha Pareek

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths with a low 5-year relative survival rate of approximately 13.3% for all stages combined. We have previously shown that exercise can improve quality of life and enhance functional capacity among patients with PDAC. Exercise induces a variety of changes in the tumor microenvironment with beneficial effects in several tumor types. However, our understanding of the clinical effects of exercise and the mechanisms that mediate anti-tumor effects are limited in pancreatic cancer.

In this project, using C57BL/6 mice from Taconic Biosciences (Tac) and Jackson Laboratories (Jax), we established a …

The (Re)New(Ed) Corporation: Foundation For A Stakeholder Regulatory Agenda, Gregory E. Louis

UC Law Business Journal

Amidst an emerging bipartisan consensus on greater corporate social accountability, America First has joined longstanding solicitude about the racial wealth gap. This Article offers yet another take on corporate purpose. As a project of recovering legal memory like Adrian Vermeule’s common good constitutionalism, it examines scholarship on the history of corporate purpose toward answering whether stakeholder capitalism should inform corporate regulation and, if so, how. It concludes from this history that the Anglo-American legal tradition clearly justifies regulators to hold business corporations accountable to the common good. But it also finds in this history a requirement that stakeholder capitalism be …

Floodings, Emilio R. Longoria

The University of New Hampshire Law Review

No abstract provided.

Cultural Roots Of Eating: A Comparative Analysis Of Organic Discourse And Marketing Practices In China And The United States, Zubing (Jane) Guo

Honors Theses

This thesis examines how cultural frameworks influence the development of the organic food market and shape individual attitudes towards the label “organic” in the U.S. and China. While the popularity of organic food has increased in recent years, cognitive and behavioral reactions toward the label “organic” have differed across societies. In the U.S., healthy eating discourse aligns closely with the individualistic culture and atomistic cognitive style, highlighting the importance of salient elements such as specific nutrients or chemical use. In contrast, Chinese healthy eating discourse is based on balance and harmony, which is directly related to traditional Chinese culture of …

The Distribution And Reproductive Success Of The Western Snowy Plover Along The Central And Southern Oregon Coast - 2025, David J. Lauten, Kathleen A. Castelein, Mary Lee, Jessica Burr, Marty R. Mccamant, Eleanor P. Gaines

Institute for Natural Resources Publications

We monitored the distribution, abundance and productivity of the federally threatened Western Snowy Plover (Anarhynchus nivosus nivosus) along the central and south coast of Oregon from 3 April – 10 September 2025. We surveyed and monitored plover activity in a project area that included, from north to south, Sutton Beach, Siltcoos River estuary, the Dunes Overlook, North Tahkenitch Creek, Tenmile Creek, Coos Bay North Spit (CBNS), Bandon Snowy Plover Management Area (SPMA), New River Habitat Restoration Area (HRA) and adjacent lands, and Floras Lake. Our objectives for the project area in 2025 were to: 1) estimate the size of the …

A Story Of Life Through Death: An Osteobiography Of Two Individuals From The Late Saxon Period, Isabella Ragazzi

Honors Theses

The Anglo-Saxons were the most influential inhabitants of the British Isles in the years AD 450-1066, reigning during a time marked by much warfare, pestilence, and famine. Their impact on British history is still seen through archival materials as well as the archeological and bioarchaeological records. A recent development in the field of bioarchaeology is the osteobiography, which places skeletal analysis in context of the overall culture to create the most complete interpretation of the individual and their life history. Involving both traditional bioarchaeological evaluation and isotopic analysis, this method was applied to two Anglo-Saxon skulls donated to the University …

Aged 539 Graduate Internship Report - Johansen High School, Damaris N. Perdue

Agricultural Education: Graduate Internship Reports

Supervised Agricultural Experiences (SAEs) are a foundational component of agricultural education, yet inconsistent implementation and assessment practices can limit their instructional impact. This project presents the development and implementation of a standardized SAE project framework designed to support equitable, work-based learning experiences across a secondary agricultural education department. The framework includes a unified student guide, analytic grading rubric, reflective components, and aligned assessment tools that emphasize accurate recordkeeping, skill development, and professional communication. By establishing consistent expectations for annual SAE completion across all agricultural courses, this project promotes student accountability, clarity, and fairness while strengthening alignment with the National FFA …

Aged 539 Graduate Internship Report- Liberty High School, Brittany N. Johnson

Agricultural Education: Graduate Internship Reports

This document documents the AGED 539 Internship in Agricultural Education and examines the Liberty High School–Brentwood FFA and Agriculture Department’s alignment with the three-component model of agricultural education: classroom instruction, FFA leadership development, and Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE). Grounded in experiential learning theory, the report reflects on program strengths, challenges, and growth across all twelve California Career Technical Education (CTE) Quality Criteria, supported by narrative reflection and evidence. The internship project focused on developing a formal FFA Program of Activities (POA) to improve chapter organization, goal-setting, and long-term sustainability. Overall, the project highlights intentional program planning and leadership development as …

Beyond Binaries, Bridging Divides: Centering Identity, Resistance, And Educational Justice Along The Texas-Mexico Border. A Critical Autoethnography Of Underrepresented Intersectionality, Invisibility, And Transformation In Education, Alexander Hernandez

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation employs solo autoethnography and counter-storytelling to examine how intersecting identities, queer, neurodivergent, bilingual, and fronterizo, shape lived experiences within U.S. educational spaces along the Texas–Mexico border. Grounded in Critical Race Theory as a historical foundation and guided by the braiding logic of Intersectionality (Crenshaw, 1989), the study integrates Latino Critical Race Theory (LatCrit), Disability Critical Race Studies (DisCrit), and Queer Theory to analyze how race, language, ability, and sexuality converge within systems of schooling.

Using memory-work, poetic autoethnography, and narrative vignettes as primary data, the dissertation traces how educational institutions discipline identity through racio-linguistic policing, behavioral surveillance, and …

Cross Cancer Toxicogenomic Modeling Of Arsenic Exposure Identifies A Four Gene Signature For Lung Cancer Risk, Joshua Kennedy

Theses and Dissertations

Arsenic is a naturally occurring carcinogenic element linked to DNA damage via reactive oxidation and epigenetic alteration that is ubiquitous throughout nature and has been associated with oncogenesis in the lungs, bladder, skin, and liver. Lung Cancer is both the most diagnosed cancer worldwide and the deadliest, comprising approximately 12.4% of all cancers globally and contributing to more human cancer death than any other condition, with roughly 90% of cases arising due to tobacco smoking, which exposes the user to arsenic trioxide and synergistic carcinogenicity when exposure includes both smoking and consumption of arsenic-contaminated drinking water. A novel set of …

Identity Formation Through The Lived Experiences Of Immigrant Muslim High School Students, Badera Muhanna

Theses and Dissertations

The growing number of Muslim students enrolled in U.S. public schools necessitates a more comprehensive understanding of their unique experiences within their educational environments. This phenomenological qualitative study investigated Muslim students' perceptions of their lived experiences in a high school in the Northern Great Plains of the United States. Six Muslim students in their junior and senior years were selected to participate in semi-structured interviews. Through the lens of Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory, this study aimed to deepen understanding of how Muslim students develop their sense of identity and the factors that contribute to this development. The findings revealed that …

Of Birds And Beef: Expanding The Knowledge Of Rotational Grazing Systems On Grassland Bird Productivity In North Dakota, Taylor James Linder

Theses and Dissertations

Cattle grazing is one of the main economic contributors driving grassland ecosystem existence across the landscape. Cattle grazing can impact a variety of aspects of grassland ecosystems functions, including which wildlife species use them and in what ways. Given the drastic declines in grassland passerines, it is especially important to understand how different grazing practices affect critical population metrics such as reproductive success, clutch size, and number of fledglings. There is a wealth of research on grassland passerine reproductive in response to grazing systems throughout North America; however, most of the existing literature studies more traditional, longer rotational (LR) grazing …

The Civic Oath At Saint-Lazare, 1790, John E. Rybolt C.M.

Vincentian Studies

This study presents the French text, English translation, historical context, and a brief analysis of the speech given at Saint-Lazare on the civic oath-taking in support of the 1790 revolutionary government in France, which every adult citizen had to do publicly. At Saint-Lazare, a group of Vincentians and their neighbors assembled in the motherhouse’s chapel for the oath. This very rare and virtually unknown document is in Richardson Library’s special collections at DePaul University in Chicago. Oath-taking was a way of replacing royal legal authority before assemblies of citizens had been formed. By the time of this oath on 7 …