Digital Commons Network^™

Evaluation Of Tracheal And Cecal Microbial Composition In Heat Stressed Broilers Supplemented With Phytogenic Additives, Andressa Silveira Stein

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The rise in global temperatures has become a concern due to its significant impact on the agricultural sector, including poultry production. Heat stress caused by high temperatures directly affects animal welfare, health and productivity, leading to major losses in the poultry sector. In broilers, heat stress affects feed consumption, weight gain, mortality and may also lead to changes in the microbiome, which can increase the predisposition to disease and impact the overall performance of these animals. The aim of this thesis was to reproduce field conditions, simulating an increase in temperature, and to evaluate possible changes in the respiratory and …

Urbanization, Climate Change, And Water Quality In Northwest Arkansas Caves, Eliezer Ugarte

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Ozark Cavefish is one of multiple species of conservation concern found in Cave Springs Cave and Logan Cave in Northwest Arkansas (NWA). Over the past two decades, the urbanization of NWA has negatively impacted the recharge areas of both caves, and in turn the water quality of both cave streams. The changing climate has also altered temperature and precipitation, which influence many aspects of karst groundwater. These effects are shown in the historical water quality records for both caves. However, these records are from varied sources and have never been comprehensively compiled and analyzed. This thesis approaches the issue …

Dual Investigations Into Broiler Health: Mitochondrial Gene Expression In Ascites Susceptibility And G-1,25(Oh)₂D₃-Driven Modulation Of Bone And Gut Integrity In Lameness, Layla Hussein Al-Mitib

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Modern broiler production faces persistent challenges from metabolic and skeletal disorders, particularly ascites and bacterial chondronecrosis with osteomyelitis (BCO), which compromise animal welfare and production efficiency. This dissertation examines two key factors that contribute to these conditions: mitochondrial gene expression associated with pulmonary hypertension syndrome (PHS) and the role of intestinal barrier integrity in mitigating lameness. In the first study, the expression of mitochondrial genes COXII and ATP6 was evaluated in the breast, thigh, and lung tissues of three broiler genetic lines—ascites-susceptible (SUS), ascites-resistant (RES), and unselected relaxed (REL). While no significant expression differences were observed in muscle tissues, SUS …

Tetrigidae Of Ethiopia: First Species Delimitation Via Dna Barcoding And Description Of Three New Species †, Tarekegn Fite, Hendrik Devriese, Dustin Kulanek, Josip Skejo, Niko Kasalo, Manaye Misganaw, Tadele Tefera, Jandouwe Villinger, Martin Husemann

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Tetrigidae is a caeliferan family of Orthoptera constituting a diverse and relatively ancient lineage of small Orthopterans, which has its greatest diversity in tropical and subtropical areas. However, to date, few studies have been conducted on the identification and description of Tetrigidae species in Ethiopia, and even fewer molecular data are available. Hence, we performed the first species delimitation study via DNA barcoding of species belonging to the genera Paratettix, Leptacrydium, Dasyleurotettix, and Morphopoides from Ethiopia. We provide 35 new sequences of the COI gene belonging to six species of these genera. We show that Ethiopian Tetrigidae can be successfully …

A Pestel-Swot Matrix Analysis Of Sustainable Aquafeed Sector: A Case Of Kenya's Fish Feed Sector, Esther Magondu, Lucy Njogu, Kevin Ouko, Jimmy B. Mboya, Mavindu Muthoka, Rodrigue Yossa, Jonathan Munguti, Mary A. Opiyo, Menaga Meenakshisundaram, Chrysantus M. Tanga, Kevin Obiero

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Global demand for seafood continues to rise, positioning aquaculture as a critical pathway for improving food security, nutrition, and rural livelihoods. In Kenya, the aquaculture sector remains constrained by structural challenges, with fish feed accounting for 60%–70% of production costs and limiting sectoral growth, particularly for smallholder farmers. This review critically analyzes Kenya's fish feed sector through an integrated PESTEL-SWOT framework, drawing on a scoping review of academic literature, policy reports, and sector development studies. The paper highlights key macro-level drivers, including fragmented policy implementation, dependency on imported ingredients, and climate-related risks, and connects these with internal industry dynamics such …

A Review Of Androctonus Of Iran, With Redescription Of A. Crassicauda (Olivier, 1807) And A. Orientalis (Birula, 1900) Stat. N., And Descriptions Of Four New Species (Scorpiones: Buthidae), Ersen A. Yağmur, František Kovařík, Victor Fet, Graeme Lowe, Mohammad Moradi, Farzaneh Kalami

Euscorpius

No abstract provided.

Uinta Basin Snow Shadow: Impact Of Snow-Depth Variation On Winter Ozone Formation, Michael J. Davies, John R. Lawson, Trevor O’Neil, Seth N. Lyman, Karlee Zager, Tristan D. Coxson

Bingham Research Center

After heavy snowfall in the Uinta Basin, Utah, elevated surface ozone occurs if a cold-air pool persists and traps emissions from oil and gas industry operations. Sunlight and actinic flux from a high-albedo snowpack drive ozone buildup via photolysis. Snow coverage is paramount in initiating the cold pool and driving ozone generation. Its depth is critical for predicting ozone concentrations. The Basin’s location leeward of the Wasatch Mountains provides conditions for a precipitation shadow, where sinking air suppresses snowfall. We analyzed multiple years of ground-based snow depth measurements, surface ozone data, and meteorological observations; we found that ozone levels track …

Bodipy-Based Photocages For The Controlled Release Of Hydrogen Sulfide And Persulfides, Yanmei Li

Dissertations

Reactive sulfur species (RSS) such as hydrogen sulfide (H2S) and hydropersulfides (RSSH) are crucial mediators in a variety of physiological and pathological processes. Their regulatory roles span from maintaining cellular redox balance to influencing signaling pathways critical for homeostasis and stress responses. This dissertation investigates H2S and RSSH as biologically important molecules and explores the development of boron-dipyrromethene (BODIPY)-based photocages for its controlled, light-triggered release. Given H2S and RSSH's critical role in redox regulation and cellular protection, achieving spatiotemporal control over its delivery is essential for both therapeutic and research applications. BODIPY scaffolds offer favorable photophysical properties, including visible-light activation …

Reduced Order Models Of Hydrodynamically Interacting Flapping Wings, Jose Pabon

Dissertations

Fish schools exhibit a collective behavior and self-organization that is mediated by hydrodynamic interactions between individual fish. However, the long-time evolution of hydrodynamically interacting collectives is challenging to investigate due to the persistent influence of long-lived vortical structures, and the high-resolution requirements of direct numerical simulation at large Reynolds numbers. Reduced-order models have therefore played an important role in theoretical investigations of collectives of swimming bodies. The main results detailed herein are several new reduced-order models of swimmers that self-propel by flapping, i.e., by executing a prescribed periodic rigid body motion. The models are extensions of a discrete-time dynamical system …

Development And Implementation Of Novel Mass Spectrometric Methods For Metabolism Studies In Drug Discoveries, Huifang Yao

Dissertations

The field of drug discovery has evolved significantly over the past few decades, with a growing emphasis on understanding the metabolic pathways and biotransformation processes that influence the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of drug candidates. Novel mass spectrometric methods have emerged as powerful tools in this domain, facilitating the comprehensive analysis of metabolic profiles and enabling the identification of metabolites with implications for safety, efficacy, and overall drug development. However, challenges remain in quantifying metabolic flux—an essential aspect of understanding drug action—particularly due to the limitations of traditional isotope kinetic assays, which often involve lengthy sample preparation and the use of …

Molding Leominster's Plastics Industry: The Impact Of Italian Immigrant Labor, Kimberly M. King

Graduate Masters Theses

This thesis examines the centrality of Italian immigrant labor in launching Leominster, Massachusetts’ transformative plastics industry. The study traces the arc of the immigrants’ stories from their arrival at the turn of the twentieth century, when their unskilled labor helped Leominster transition from artisan comb production to industrial celluloid manufacturing, to their rise as new technical experts and company owners in the 1940s. They endured hazardous work conditions and social marginalization to create better lives for themselves and their families.

Ultimately, their efforts were critical to the expansion and global recognition of Leominster’s plastics industry. Yet the role of immigrant …

Choked: How Decades Of Failures To Address Air Pollution And Housing Shortages Exacerbated Mortality In Pittsburgh During The Influenza Pandemic Of 1918, Virginia Montanez

Graduate Masters Theses

Pittsburgh experienced the highest death rate of all major U.S. cities during the 1918 H1N1 influenza pandemic. This record mortality was not due to inadequate, absent, or ignored nonpharmaceutical interventions and mandates. Instead, for decades prior, city officials prioritized industry at the expense of the collective health of the laboring class. They were especially egregious in permitting industrial smoke pollution and overcrowded housing to persist in immigrant-heavy working-class wards, leaving residents susceptible to respiratory disease incidence and mortality. As a result, Pittsburgh’s annual influenza and pneumonia death rates were drastically the worst in the nation to such an extent that …

Low-Cost Cutaneous Protoporphyrin Ix (Ppix) Detection (Cpd) Device For Follow-Up Monitoring Of Patients After Photodynamic Therapy, Md Asaduzzaman Rasel

Graduate Masters Theses

Background: Photodynamic Therapy (PDT) utilizes specific wavelengths of light to activate photosensitizing chemical compounds, known as photosensitizers, which induce the generation of cytotoxic reactive oxygen species (ROS) for the targeted destruction of cancer cells. Among various photosensitizers for PDT, Protoporphyrin IX (PpIX) is widely employed in oncology and dermatology due to its natural in situ generation via the metabolic conversion of 5- aminolevulinic acid (ALA), a non-phototoxic prodrug. Systemic administration of ALA after 3-6 hr drug delay leads to peak PpIX accumulation in tissues, facilitating therapeutic and diagnostic applications. However, PpIX can persist in the skin for 24–48 hours post-treatment, …

Exploring Potential Impacts Of Polyethylene Mesh And Polypropylene Rope Leachate On Bay Scallop (Argopecten Irradians) Survival And Growth, Katherine R. Johnson

Graduate Masters Theses

The bay scallop (Argopecten irradians), a commercially and ecologically significant bivalve along the Eastern coast of the United States, has faced severe population declines due to various anthropogenic impacts. At the same time, the proliferation of plastics, particularly in maritime industries, has introduced new threats to marine environments through both physical pollution and chemical leaching. This study aimed to assess the acute toxicological effects of leachates from two commonly used plastic products, polyethylene Netron and polypropylene rope, on A. irradians larvae. Experiments were conducted in June–July 2023 at the Nantucket Shellfish Hatchery. Leachates were prepared by incubating 0.5, …

Optimizing The Role Of Notaries In Digital Property Inheritance: A Comparative Legal Analysis, Tjhong Sendrawan, Rosa Agustina, Edmon Makarim, Arman Nefi, Josephine Rus Indra Sapti Ipfelkofer

Indonesia Law Review

One of the provisions in inheritance laws regarding the transfer of digital property after someone's death is a relatively new and evolving area of legal consideration. Inheritance laws were developed long before the widespread adoption of digital property, such as cryptocurrencies, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), online accounts, and other forms of digital property. As a result, existing inheritance laws often lack clear guidance on how to control the legal transfer of these digital assets upon the owner's death. This article aims to analyze the legal concept of digital property to be inherited and to provide solutions for current digital property inheritance …

Science And Superheroes: Um Researcher Speaks At Comic-Con, Clara Turnage

University of Mississippi News

OXFORD, Miss. – Marine biologist Tamar Goulet has shared her love of science and curiosity in classrooms and professional conferences around the world. This summer, she joined George Lucas, Queen Latifah and Ryan Gosling to bring that love to the stages of San Diego Comic-Con International.

Effects Of Tannin-Rich Supplements On Immune Response In Goats And Beef Cattle: A Collection Of Controlled Feeding Trials, Sebastian P. Schreiber, Rebecca D. Burson, Cody B. Scott, Corey J. Owens

Wildland Resources Student Research

Emerging research evokes selection for various plant secondary compounds as a potential driver of ruminant diet selection, through animals’ evident ability to rectify deficiencies and even self-medicate. This idea was assessed by comparing physiological responses to vaccination challenges of animals fed diets of differing phytochemical composition. In the first of three separate trials, goats were placed in individual pens and fed one of three treatments in a completely randomized design. Treatments in Trial 1 consisted of redberry juniper (50 g) and shin oak (50 g). In Trial 2, goats were fed rations containing grape and blueberry pomace at an inclusion …

The Effect Of Maternal Diet On Neonatal Jaundice: A Case-Control Study, Marzieh Mahdipoor, Alireza J. Motlagh, Hamid S. Baghbanan, Mahmood Bakhtiyari, Zohreh Khodaii, Sara E. Saeieh

Sultan Qaboos University Medical Journal

Objectives: This study aims to investigate the influence of dietary heat intensity in maternal diets on the incidence of neonatal jaundice. Specifically, we examine whether maternal consumption of "dietary heat intensity" foods affects neonatal bilirubin levels, while controlling for potential demographic and obstetric confounding factors. Methods: This retrospective case-control study was conducted between October 2023 and September 2024. The study population consisted of mothers and their newborns attending healthcare centers in Alborz Province, Iran. Based on predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria, 152 newborns were enrolled, comprising 75 non-jaundiced and 77 jaundiced infants. Data were collected using an information-gathering form and …

Newsletter, Summer 2025, Cedar Oaks Guild

Cedar Oaks Guild Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Native Spaces: The Struggle For Colleges To Incorporate Native Frameworks Into Curriculums, Eleanor A. Gelb

Honors Scholar Theses

Out of the thousands of universities in America, there are only thirty-seven Native American Serving Nontribal Institutions (NASNTIs), schools with ten percent or more of the total student population being of Native American descent. While many typical American colleges offer courses on Native American history for students with Native American studies majors and minors, the students involved in these programs are often taught through the lens of traditional schooling, which negates the full effectiveness of these classes. Native leaders across the country are pushing for Native frameworks to be adopted by universities so that past and contemporary Native histories may …

Cooling Protocols Impact On Nickel-Titanium Rotary Instruments Cyclic Fatigue Resistance Under Extreme Curvatures And Sodium Hypochlorite, Palak Ravjibhai Ranparia, Chintan Joshi, Mona Somani, Aashray Patel, Urooj Desai, Janki Prajapati

Journal of Dentistry Indonesia

Objective: In this work, Hyflex CM, TruNatomy, and Plex V heat-treated nickel titanium rotary instruments were evaluated at body temperature (36 °C ± 1 °C) with and without a cooling protocol to assess the cyclic fatigue resistance. Methods: A 90° curved stainless-steel block was used for cyclic fatigue tests on 60 randomly selected rotary instruments, divided into two groups of 30: body temperature (n = 10) and body temperature with cooling (n = 10). Instruments were further subdivided into 6 groups of 3 different instruments. Cooling protocol group instruments received 5-second spray cooling every 30 seconds, along with continuous 5% …

Exploring Technology-Enhanced Learning: A Comparative Study Of Online And Offline Interactive Practices In The Iranian Higher Education System, Naser Rashidi, Mohamad Reza Farangi, Ali Hosseini

The Qualitative Report

This study explored how interactive teaching and learning are enacted through technology-enhanced methods in Iran’s higher education system. Using an exploratory qualitative design, it investigated the pedagogical strategies employed by instructors and examined whether these practices align with the principles of Technology-Enhanced Learning (TEL) across online and in-person contexts. Data were collected through the analysis of 263 class reports and 37 semi-structured interviews with university instructors. Thematic analysis using MAXQDA revealed six cohesive and interpretive themes: fostering human connection, empowering student voices, learning as dialogue, adaptive teaching, multimodal engagement, and feedback as dialogue. These themes reflect a holistic view of …

Sugar: A Sequence Unfolding Based Transformer Model For Group Activity Recognition, Yash U. Gondkar

Graduate Masters Theses

Large Language Models have improved significantly in the past couple of years due to the adoption of transformers. However, transformers still find it challenging to process videos due to limited context size caused by their quadratic computing cost. Therefore, we studied a booming field in machine learning which powers applications like social scene analysis and video surveillance systems called Group Activity Recognition (GAR). We found that recent models were able to achieve more than 90% accuracy on popular datasets like the Volleyball dataset, however, it turned out that even they relied on transformers.

Therefore, in this work, we developed a …

Auprc: A Metric For Evaluating The Performance Of In-Silico Perturbation Methods In Identifying Differentially Expressed Genes, Hongxu Zhu, Amir Asiaee, Leila Azinfar, Jun Li, Han Liang, Ehsan Irajizad, Kim-Anh Do, James P Long

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

In silico perturbation models, computational methods that can predict cellular responses to perturbations, present an opportunity to reduce the need for costly and time-intensive in vitro experiments. Many recently proposed models predict high-dimensional cellular responses, such as gene or protein expression to perturbations such as gene knockout or drugs. However, evaluating in silico performance has largely relied on metrics such as $R^{2}$, which assess overall prediction accuracy but fail to capture biologically significant outcomes like the identification of differentially expressed (DE) genes. In this study, we present a novel evaluation framework that introduces the AUPRC metric to assess the precision …

Characterizing Fish Communities Using Traditional And Emerging Monitoring Approaches In San Diego County Estuaries, Natalie Katherine De Wet

Theses

Fish communities are essential to estuarine health, playing key roles in food webs, nutrient cycling, and ecosystem functioning. However, the persistence of native fish populations is increasingly threatened by the cumulative impacts of coastal development, pollution, and climate change. Rapid, effective monitoring of species distributions is a priority, enabling timely conservation and management. However, the study of any ecosystem is limited by time, resources, and the consideration that research of a system can damage the ecosystem under study.

This research aimed to characterize fish species richness and evaluate the benefits and limitations of different estuary monitoring approaches. Specifically, this study …

Bacterial Identification And Antibiotic Sensitivity Profiles From Captive Birds At Taipei Zoo, Younjung Chang, I-Li Liu, Jane-Fang Yu, Lih-Chiann Wang

The Thai Journal of Veterinary Medicine

Bacterial infections are common in zoo birds. They may be caused by pathogenic bacteria or opportunistic bacteria due to trauma or stress-induced immune compromise. Improper use of antibiotics contributes to the development of resistant bacteria, making treatment complicated or ineffective. However, comprehensive clinical investigations into bacterial prevalence and antibiotic susceptibility in zoo-captive birds remain limited. This study identified the bacterial species present in captive diseased birds at the zoo and conducted a 12-year analysis of their antibiotic susceptibility profiles. The specimens from 48 birds at Taipei Zoo from 2006 to 2017 were submitted to a commercial reference laboratory for bacterial …

Troubling Trigger Warnings: Toward An Informed Praxis Of Care Within Intercollegiate Forensics, Grace P. Smith, Mallory L. Marsh

Studies in Debate and Oratory

In light of widespread (mis)use of trigger warnings, content warnings, and content notes in intercollegiate competitive speech, in this essay we interrogate the implementation of these devices and propose an intervention to ensure the activity moves toward a better-informed praxis to accomplish its goal of community care. By identifying the activity’s current propensity for misused warnings, missed messages, a misrepresentation of safety, and misguided performances, our intervention aspires to ensure these important warnings are more thoughtfully employed so as to limit potential harm to our messages, our community members, our activity, and our collective educational aim toward advocacy.

Abiotic Factors Influencing Anuran Occupation Of Neotropical Brazilian Caves, Vinícius F. Sperandei, Willian Vaz-Silva, Tejerina-Garro L. Francisco

International Journal of Speleology

Despite increasing research on the Neotropical underground environment, anurans remain poorly understood in this habitat. It was analyzed scientific literature records of anurans in Brazilian natural caves and performed a redundancy analysis (RDA) to identify the environmental, taxonomic, geographic, geological and land-use variables that influence their cave occupancy. It was examined a total of 247 literature records, encompassing 83 species/morphospecies, which revealed distinct cave-dwelling tendencies. Some anuran species occupy caves at altitudes between 5 to 21 meters above sea level (m asl), in areas characterized by rocky outcrops and grassland. Others are associated with caves surrounded by forest, savanna, pasture …

Ichor Islands Creating A 3d Animated Short Film, Gabriel Schwepler

Summer Community of Scholars Posters (RCEU and HCR Combined Programs)

No abstract provided.

The Mechanically Carved Matrix: The Application Of Laser Cutting Technologies In Contemporary Mokuhanga, Jess Braden

Summer Community of Scholars Posters (RCEU and HCR Combined Programs)

No abstract provided.