Digital Commons Network^™

Slis Notes: The Ai Elephant In The Room, Stacy Creel, Andrew Sims

Mississippi Libraries

Notes and updates from the Director of the School of Library and Information Science at The University of Southern Mississippi. This column discusses the emergence of new AI tools and their potential effects on libraries.

Generating Personalized Multimedia Content By Prompting Models With Location And Context Specific Inputs, Shiblee Hasan, Joseph Johnson Jr

Defensive Publications Series

Currently, generating content tied to specific locations via genAI models can often result in hallucinations of non-existent places or creation of generic content that is devoid of the target specifics. The difficulties in generating content for specific locations result from the genAI models being trained on massive datasets containing images from many locations without sufficient focus on a single location. This disclosure describes techniques to enhance the creation of location-specific personalized 2D or 3D immersive or non-immersive multimedia experiences (e.g., 2D or 3D panoramic video with or without sound) via multimodal genAI models. Base genAI models are boosted with multimedia …

Reducing Shot Cuts In Diffusion-Generated Video, Mitchell Mcintire, David Yao, Orly Liba

Defensive Publications Series

This publication describes techniques for reducing shot cuts in videos generated by diffusion models, particularly in image-to-video applications. Shot cuts are abrupt transitions between distinct scenes of video. Shot cuts may be unexpected and may be irrelevant to provided input. To reduce shot cuts, a diffusion model may begin a diffusion process from a static video, where the frames of the static video may be noised instances of an input image. The diffusion model may also insert the input image as a first frame of the generated video, anchoring the output to the input. By ‘anchoring’ the output video and …

6th Annual Noaa Hurricane Preparedness Summit 2025, Coastal Response Research Center

Coastal Response Research Center

NOAA’s Office of Response & Restoration’s Disaster Preparedness Program partnered with CRRC to facilitate a webinar entitled “NOAA Hurricane Preparedness Summit 2025” on two consecutive days: April 23 and 24, 2025. The purpose was to improve NOAA’s posture for the upcoming hurricane season by identifying best practices and lessons learned from the 2024 season, recognizing challenges related to these major weather events, and learning about plans, kits, tools and other resources for improving personal preparedness. The Summit also included plenary presentations outlining other topics such as NWS Products and Services, operational spotlights, and technological innovations, and tools.

Tides, Tourists, And Tails: Exploring Human-Wildlife Overlap On The Homer Spit, Alaska, Serena Seiler

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Coastal areas present unique challenges for human-wildlife coexistence due to their shared use by people and marine species. The Homer Spit in Homer, AK (59.6481° N, 151.5299° W) is a projection of land into Kachemak Bay on which lodging, restaurants, campgrounds, RV parks, fishing, and a variety of coastal activities exist or occur, especially during the summer months. Two of the most popular nearshore marine mammals that attract visitors are sea otters (Enhydra lutris) and harbor seals (Phoca vitulina). These two species spend time swimming, foraging, and resting around the Spit, potentially resulting in co occurrences with humans. Using a …

“Literally Made Me Cry”: The Impact Of Course Material Costs On University Of Kentucky Students, Stephen Krueger

Library Reports and White Papers

The Student Course Materials Cost Survey was administered September 16 – October 6, 2024. It was open to current students at the University of Kentucky (UK). The goals were to help UK Libraries better understand how the cost of course materials affects students at UK and to provide a snapshot of student spending across the university. The questions were based on similar research done at other institutions in Virginia (Virginia Course Materials Survey, 2021) and Florida (2022 Student Textbook and Instructional Materials Survey, 2022). Other work based on those surveys includes the 2023 Illinois Course Materials Survey (CARLI, 2023) and …

Rangelands Glossary, Department Of Primary Industries And Regional Development, Western Australia

Natural resources factsheets

An alphabetical list of common Rangelands terminology.

Embracing The Bot: Japan’S Love Affair With Ai Learning, Dan Rosen

UC Law SF International Law Review

No abstract provided.

Applying Transcriptomics For Technology Development And Conservation In North American Marine Organisms, Cory Von Eiff

Dissertations

RNA biology is a rapidly expanding field, with many avenues of discovery among marine organisms. In this study, we analyze both mollusks and sawfish. First, we perform an evaluation of sRNA biogenesis pathways throughout Mollusca, with emphasis on the easter oyster, Crassostrea virginica. Understanding these molecules prescribes RNAi-based gene silencing approaches, benefiting genetic investigation and biotechnology. Similar to other animal groups, mollusks have conserved microRNAs (miRNAs), with some shared with ecdysozoans and deuterostomes; however, there is no evidence of an endogenous small interfering RNA (siRNA) pathway. These results suggest that long double-stranded RNA (dsRNA)-based RNAi is not appropriate for gene …

The Interactive Soap Opera: Deceit, Romance And Abuse, Grace Canfield, Sage K. Colon, Mollie M. Denholm, Ava Freese, Grace Salter, Abigail M. Saplak, Alex N. Skocic, Derek M. Williams, Richard M. Perloff

Student Scholarship

One of the most interesting aspects of adolescents’ use of social media is the dynamic drama that occurs between followers of social media influencers in the wake of controversial actions performed by social media influencers themselves. A content analysis of followers’ comments about influencers’ and social media personalities’ scandalous romantic entanglements indicated that close to 90 percent of commenters were female and, in keeping with followers’ loyalty to their favored influencer, the highest proportion of comments were negative to the influencer’s adversary in the romantic dispute. A detailed analysis of the moralistic aspects of followers’ comments offered additional insights.

Smokejumper Biographies For 1963 Rookie Class, National Smokejumper Association

Smokejumper Biographies by Rookie Year

This document contains short biographies of smokejumpers who rookied in 1963.

Fisheries Research Report No. 350: Recreational Vessel Retrievals In Western Australia - 2009 To 2024, Stephen C. Bradshaw, Claire B. Smallwood, Stuart J. Blight, Troy Matthews, Karina L. Ryan

Fisheries Research Reports

This report provides a time series (2009 – 2024) of the total number of recreational vessel (powerboat) retrievals at a spatial (boat ramp) and temporal (annual, month, hour) resolution for 32 boat ramps distributed from Wyndham to Esperance. This time series has been developed using a workflow that outlines each step, from acquiring raw video data to producing a completed time series of vessel retrievals. As part of this workflow, modelling was undertaken to impute counts of vessel retrieval for sites and hours for which data had not been read, or for which there were significant outages. Features within the …

Quantifying The Small Body Problem: A Meta-Analysis Of Animal Product Reduction Interventions, Elise Hankings, Andie Thompkins Phd, Allison Troy Phd

Diet

This research provides a meta-analysis to evaluate evidence of a substitution effect in interventions designed to reduce or eliminate animal products from participant diets in which small-bodied animals are substituted for large-bodied animals.

Fisheries Research Report No. 353: Ecological Risk Assessment For The North Coast Demersal Scalefish Resource, Kimberley A. Smith, Brett Crisafulli, Gabby E. Mitsopoulos, Fabian I. Trinnie, Taylor Grosse, T Thompson, Stephen J. Newman

Fisheries Research Reports

On the 26 March 2025, the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) convened an ecological risk assessment (ERA) of the fisheries that access the North Coast Demersal Scalefish Resource (Resource). This Resource comprises a large number of tropical demersal scalefish species that occur in waters of the North Coast Bioregion, including tropical snappers, emperors and cods.

This document contains the results of the ERA along with the background information used to support the risk scoring process. This includes an overview of the Western Australian commercial fisheries that access the Resource, namely the Pilbara Fish Trawl Interim Managed Fishery, …

Leave Only Footprints: My Acadia-To-Zion Journey Through Every National Park, Conor Knighton

Common Reading Experience

From CBS Sunday Morning correspondent Conor Knighton, a behind-the-scenery look at his year traveling to each of America's National Parks, discovering the most beautiful places and most interesting people our country has to offer.

When Conor Knighton set off to explore America's "best idea," he worried the whole thing could end up being his worst idea. A broken engagement and a broken heart had left him longing for a change of scenery, but the plan he'd cooked up in response had gone a bit overboard in that department: Over the course of a single year, Knighton would visit every national …

A Program Evaluation Of The Pet Therapy Program At Norton Children’S Hospital’S Ackerly Child Psychiatric Unit., Michael Brockman, Michael Brockman

Doctor of Nursing Practice Papers

Pet therapy is an increasingly utilized intervention in psychiatric care, particularly among adolescents. Within the inpatient adolescent psychiatric setting, pet therapy has been linked to reduced anxiety, enhanced emotional regulation, and improved patient engagement. At Norton Children’s Hospital’s Ackerly Child Psychiatric Unit, pet therapy sessions are offered weekly but had not been formally evaluated. The absence of structured evaluation raised concerns about sustainability, consistency, and the program’s therapeutic impact. This project aimed to take a deeper look at the program by conducting a program evaluation of the existing pet therapy initiative at the Ackerly Unit. The evaluation focused on identifying …

Tropical Forests As A Way Of Life: The Tropical Forest Forever Facility As A Mechanism To The Loss And Damage Fund, Izabella De Souza Colino

COP30

No abstract provided.

Bootmaking Before Bootstrapping: Patterns Of Grit And Slack In Multicultural Nonfiction Picture Books, Kristine Mensonides Gritter, Wing Shuen (Alice) Lau, Yaru (Sarah) Zhou, Jiang Pu, Munyi Shea

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

This investigation reports the findings of a critical multicultural content analysis of recent-award winning Orbis Pictus (non-fiction) picture books. The analysis examines patterns of grit and slack strategies across race and gender for historical characters of color as they overcame boundaries and accomplished long-term goals. Findings suggest that the concept of “grit” is not merely a universal construct of an outstanding individual who lifts themself up by their own bootstraps but that systems are important in allowing an individual to succeed to overcome boundaries. The bootstrap myth can be contested by critical readers, even young readers of picture books, as …

Adiponectin-Regulated Macrophage Responses In Aspergillus Fumigatus Infection: Mechanisms Of Uptake And Killing, Sri Harshini Goli

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Invasive aspergillosis (IA), caused by Aspergillus fumigatus, is a life-threatening infection in immunocompromised individuals, necessitating novel host-directed therapies. Macrophages are pivotal in antifungal defense, yet their function can be dysregulated; the influence of the adipokine adiponectin (APN) on this process is not fully understood. This thesis investigated the role of APN signaling in alveolar macrophage (AM) and bone marrow-derived macrophage (BMDM) responses to A. fumigatus and assessed the therapeutic potential of the APN receptor agonist, AdipoRon. Initial studies revealed that genetic deficiency in APN or its receptors renders AMs intrinsically pro-inflammatory and significantly impaired fungicidal activity against A. fumigatus. Subsequent …

Dermatoglyphic Fluctuating Asymmetry In Schizotypy, Marcus R. Thomas

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Schizotypy has been linked with many of the proposed endophenotypes of schizophrenia, but research is limited on the relationship between schizotypy and dermatoglyphic fluctuating asymmetry. The present study sought to examine relationships between schizotypy, dermatoglyphic fluctuating asymmetry, handedness, and season of birth. 146 undergraduate students were identified as schizotypes (n = 52) or controls (n = 94) based on the Multidimensional Schizotypy Scale and had their finger and palm prints collected along with completing additional measures of schizotypy and handedness. Schizotypes did not exhibit a greater degree of dermatoglyphic fluctuating asymmetry, negative schizotypy was associated with increased absolute finger ridge …

Assessment Of Social Media Use And Strategies For Combating Misinformation Among Extension Educators In Arkansas, Enoch Teye Kwao Ametepey

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study assessed the use of social media by Extension educators in Arkansas and examines strategies for identifying and combating misinformation within agricultural extension services. Guided by the Uses and Gratifications Theory, the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT), and the Third-Person Effect Theory for objectives one, two, and three, this research employed quantitative and qualitative approaches, specifically, two quantitative cross-sectional surveys and a qualitative focus group study developed into a three article dissertation. The first article assessed the extent to which Extension educators utilize social media for professional activities, revealing that social media is predominantly used …

Using Published Undergraduate Biomechanics Research On Hydra Mouth Opening To Train Undergraduates, Stephen Hackler, T. Goel, Jonah Pacis , '25, Eva-Maria S. Collins

Biology Faculty Works

Biophysics research is exciting because physical approaches to biology can provide novel insights, and it is challenging because it requires knowledge and skills from multiple disciplines. We have developed an undergraduate biophysics laboratory module that teaches fundamental skills such as time-lapse microscopy, image analysis, programming, critical reading of scientific literature, and basics of scientific writing and peer review. The module is accessible to students who are familiar with introductory statistics, cell biology, and differential calculus. We used published research on the biomechanics of Hydra mouth opening as a framework because it describes a stunning biological phenomenon: Hydra, a freshwater …

Issue 469: August 2025, The Local Voice

The Local Voice

No abstract provided.

Influence Of Exercise Opportunities On Bone Health In Laying Hens, Jaden Costner, Alexis Clark, Ahmed Ali

Publications

Laying hens are often housed in environments that restrict movement, which may contribute to bone fragility and decreased welfare. These confined environments, such as conventional cage systems, limit exercise and result in poor skeletal development. This study investigates the impact of exercise opportunities on bone health in laying hens by comparing the tibiotarsi and humeri bone characteristics in enriched and unenriched housing environments. A total of 200 hens were housed in pens (20 birds/pen) from 0 to 40 weeks of age. Five pens, which served as the experimental group, were equipped with multi-tier perches and ledges, providing exercise opportunities. In …

Fisheries Research Report No. 361: 2024 Assessment Of The Status Of The Elasmobranch Resource Of Western Australia, Matias Braccini, Alex Hesp

Fisheries Research Reports

This document provides the 2024 risk-based weight of evidence stock assessment for the elasmobranch (sharks and rays) resource of Western Australia (WA). Gummy (Mustelus antarcticus), dusky (Carcharhinus obscurus), whiskery (Furgaleus macki), and sandbar (C. plumbeus) sharks are the most commonly captured species (~80% of the elasmobranch catch) and have been selected as indicator species for the status of the temperate elasmobranch ‘suite’. However, over 100 elasmobranch species have been caught in commercial and/or recreational fisheries in WA and, with the increasing number of elasmobranch species being listed in national and international protection lists, species-specific scientific advice on stock status at …

Town Of Pawleys Island, Ally Murphy

Goal 15: Life on Land

No abstract provided.

Clemson Commencement Program, August 2025, Clemson University

Clemson Commencement Programs

No abstract provided.

Enhancing Kenya's Climate Adaptation Governance: A Policy Framework For Evidence-Based Climate Finance Access, Anne Wanjiru Ngarachu

COP30

No abstract provided.

Building Local Technical Capacity For Climate Resilience And Energy Access, Elena Sales

COP30

No abstract provided.

August 2025, Robert Kelly

Robert Kelly Manuscripts

No abstract provided.