Digital Commons Network^™

The Role Of Swarm Intelligence Systems In Shaping Urban Development Policies, Sudaff Mohammed, Wahda Shuker Al-Hinkawi, Nada Abdulmueen Hasan

Iraqi Journal of Architecture and Planning

Swarm intelligence is a nature-inspired complex system that draws from the behaviours of social creatures such as ants and birds. This system functions through simple behavioural rules enacted by autonomous, intelligent agents. Existing literature indicates that swarm intelligence possesses a wide range of principles and characteristics derived from the theories of Biomimicry, complex adaptive systems, and parametric and generative design. While the previous studies have intensively addressed the computational aspects of intelligence, a comprehensive conceptual framework is essential for analysing complex urban forms and structures. Therefore, this research develops and applies a conceptual model of swarm intelligence by examining several …

Treading Water: Striking A Delicate Balance In Wetland Conservation In The Wake Of Sackett V. Environmental Protection Agency, Ryan Donofrio

Hofstra Law Review

No abstract provided.

Perioperative Fluid Therapy Impairs Lymphatic Pump Function In Male Rats, Rebecca C Harlow-Adamek, Reetu Singh, Randolph H Stewart, Cristine L Heaps, Glen A Laine, Charles S Cox, Ranjeet M Dongaonkar

The Brown Foundation: Institute of Molecular Medicine

Because of its life-saving benefits, perioperative IV fluid therapy remains a cornerstone of medical treatment. However, it also induces sustained edemagenic stress. The resulting persistent interstitial edema-excessive fluid accumulation in the interstitium-significantly delays recovery and worsens patient outcomes. Therefore, to gain a detailed understanding of the lymphatic functional consequences of perioperative fluid therapy, this study aimed to test the hypothesis that perioperative IV fluid therapy compromises lymphatic pump function within 3 days after major surgery. Following a midline laparotomy, animals received IV fluid therapy over 48 h during recovery (FLTP). Three days post-surgery, mesenteric lymphatic vessels from FLTP and sham …

Structural Color Pigments For Waterborne Coatings, Kyle William Liston

Master's Theses

Structural colors offer unique alternatives to conventional pigments, utilizing their microstructures to produce vibrant colors. These pigments offer an alternative source for colorants without the need for less environmentally friendly conventional pigments. In keeping with the sustainability approach, the use of waterborne coatings was chosen over solvent-based coatings. Here we report the synthesis of brushite platelet, silica supraball, and inverse opal pigments. Brushite platelets were produced through a condensation reaction, while silica supraballs were synthesized via the Stöber process and assembly was attempted using an oil-in-water emulsion. Inverse opal was produced through the templating of silica on poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) …

Functionalization Of A Calcium-Based Squaric Acid Metal Organic Frameworks With Amine-Based Polymers For Enhancing Post Combustion Carbon Capture, Corinne D. Watson

Master's Theses

The primary driver of climate change is the release of carbon dioxide (CO₂) from fossil fuel combustion. Global climate change has resulted in sea level rise, adverse weather patterns, and countless other negative global effects. Several carbon-reduction frameworks emphasize the transition to clean energy sources; however, other strategies must be concurrently pursued to immediately and effectively reduce atmospheric carbon dioxide point source emissions. Metal organic frameworks (MOFs) are a promising new technology for post-combustion carbon dioxide capture. The materials are synthesized using organic linker molecules and metal ion joints. Notably, there are several challenges with various types of …

State And Transition Models For Mulga Rangelands Of Western Australia, Alison O'Donnell, Anna E. Richards, Suzanne Prober, Peter-Jon A. Waddell, Sarah Luxton, Ian Watson, Brett Abbott, Philip Thomas, Joshua E. Foster

Natural resources published reports

This report details a collaborative project between the Western Australian Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development and CSIRO that focused on developing State and Transition Models (STMs) for mulga rangelands in Western Australia. The overarching aim of the project was to improve the common understanding of the characteristics and dynamics of mulga rangeland ecosystems and the expected impacts of management. Specifically, the project aimed to collate expert knowledge and monitoring information using a nationally consistent framework to develop quantitative and dynamic STMs. The geographic scope of the project covers the extensive mulga rangelands of Western Australia, particularly the Gascoyne …

Exploring Systems Of Discrimination And Violence Against Wayuu Indigenous Women/E’Rrajawaa Sucuaypaa Jutumaa Tu’U Muju’Ulaca Err’Uin Wayumuin Sumuin Tu’U Wayuu Jiertkaa Sumuin Tu Muilian Jain, Dayanna Palmar Uriana

Kroc IPJ Research and Resources

From the moment an Indigenous girl is born, her identity is shaped by two intersecting categories: gender and ethnic belonging. These identity categories influence various aspects of her environment, upbringing, education, work and life.

As a member of the Wayuu people, I understand the challenges of being an Indigenous woman. The Wayuu Indigenous people are the largest Indigenous group in both Colombia and Venezuela. They inhabit the desert and coastal territory of La Guajira, a region shared between the two countries. However, for the Wayuu, it is a single, unique territory, encompassing the physical, biocultural and spiritual dynamics rooted in …

Why Should We Give Thanks?, Calvin Vandermeyden

Pro Rege

No abstract provided.

Social Media And The Effect On Student Engagement, Lara Mcelveen

Dissertations

The purpose of my study was to determine the impact of social media on student engagement and behaviors in high school classrooms. The overarching research question that guided my study was: What is the impact of social media on student engagement? I used a mixed methods approach of quantitative and qualitative data to research my topic. I collected the data using surveys of two stakeholder groups in the study: young adults and educators. The survey results showed that both educators and young adults perceived a decline in class engagement and the rise of behavior in the classroom from social media …

Nature Et Relations Dans La Littérature Caribéenne Francophone De Fin Du Xxe Siècle Et Contemporaine, Louise Bonastre-Fajardo

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

My research project argues that literature novels from the french-speaking Caribbeans contribute to testifying to relationships with the environment, with others, and with oneself. By recognizing nature as a subject of rights under Latin America's new constitutionalism to prevent environmental harm caused by humans, politics can acknowledge that nature is actually a part of a domination system. This study addresses a range of issues within existing power structures, by articulating the notion of "nature" with the notions of "natural" and "supernatural" in a selection of francophone late XX’s century and contemporary Caribbean novels.

An important literature on Latin American and …

Self-Reported Audiological And Vestibular Symptoms Associated With Lyme Disease, Daniella A. Bryan

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Background:

Lyme disease, an infectious vector-borne illness, is carried by the deer tick, Ixodes scapularis, which harbor the spirochete, Borrelia burgdorferi, affecting hundreds of thousands of people in the United States annually. Lyme disease has a multitude of clinical presentations and overlaps with other complex illnesses, making diagnosis and treatment a medical challenge. This distinct bacterium can migrate into any organ system through the mediums of soft tissue, the lymphatic system, and the circulatory system. Despite its prevalence and range in symptomatology, minimal research has been conducted to identify distinct audiological and vestibular symptoms associated with a Lyme …

Neural Mechanisms Of Context-Sensitive Behavior In The Adult Male Zebra Finch, Katherine L. Anderson

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Adapting behaviors to the perceived external environment is key to the success and survival of individuals in social species. This context-sensitive modulation of behavior is critical for informative interactions with conspecifics, like alerting a neighbor to a nearing predator or capturing the attention of a potential mate. For the adult male zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata), a vocal-learning songbird, context-sensitive adaptions to a learned song are key for developing and maintaining pair-bonds with females who are extremely attentive to subtle modulations of song structure. In this thesis, I explore the hypothesis that the influence of a social behavior network …

The Sub-Syllabic Symphonies Of Self-Learning: How Do Zebra Finches Sing Them?, Abiesha Abiola Budiman

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Learning is a lifelong journey, where the mind and muscle dance to a tune of memory and motion. It begins at infancy and continues throughout life, encompassing everything from singing to achieving peak performance in sports. Complex motor skills involve multiple components and require coordination of several muscles. Humans and animals are extremely adept at learning complex motor skills on their own. However, we do not completely understand how self-directed learning works. One group of animals used to observe self-directed learning are songbirds. Zebra finches, Taeniopygia guttata, are one of the most studied songbird species due to their well-defined …

Agents Of Alignment: Political Realignment As Social Movement Strategy, Matthew Miles Goodrich

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The fields of social movement studies and political realignment theory do not often overlap in political science. But by conceiving of realignment as a strategy of social movements, this paper reveals terrain in the political struggle that conventional scholarship can miss. I draw from two historical case studies – the industrial labor movement in the 1930s and the civil rights movement in Mississippi the 1960s – to explore how social movement strategists fought to shape the contours of emerging political orders to achieve their goals. I find that the labor movement pursued a reciprocal strategy of alignment with the Democratic …

Hope By A Thousand Cuts: Fashion Ethics From Cutting Fabric To Cutting A Fashion Film, Sarah G. Porterfield

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

I conducted an experiment during which I learned to sew, created a clothing collection, and wore nothing but my collection for a month. Additionally, I documented my collection and the process in a fashion film. The goal of my experiment was to investigate fashion ethics. To gain a greater understanding of the underlying theories that fashion materializes and to grasp their ethical implications better, I studied the texts of fashion theorists such as Marx, Barthes, Derrida, Deleuze and Guattari, Butler, Benjamin, and Merleau-Ponty throughout my experiment. Therefore, I gained insight into many aspects of fashion ethics, from the beginning stages …

Beyond Country: Southern Language And Identity In North Mississippi, Meredith Hilliard

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation is about the language of the US South and the identities of the people who inhabit it. Its purpose is twofold: (1) to explain, on micro- and macro-levels, the processes of enregisterment (Agha 2003) of Southern US English, drawing conclusions about the phenomenon of enregisterment more generally; and (2) to articulate the relationship of Southern redneck identity to this process of enregisterment. It uses a mixed-methods approach that relies primarily on a Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) methodology, adopting a stancetaking approach (Du Bois 2007) and an enregisterment approach to language and identity, with some quantitative elements, to analyze …

Memory Interference In The Lateral Entorhinal Cortex, Omar Ghazy

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Memory interference occurs when previously formed memories disrupt the acquisition or retrieval of new information. A prominent example of proactive interference is latent inhibition (LI), defined as a reduced ability to form or express Pavlovian associations with a stimulus following non-reinforced exposure. The interference-based model suggests that LI arises because the memory that the pre-exposed stimulus is inconsequential interferes with the memory that it predicts a reinforcer.

Because interference increases with age, identifying its neural basis may help prevent or slow cognitive decline. Prior studies using the LI paradigm implicate the entorhinal cortex (EC) in retrieving the memory that a …

Biochar Suppresses Growth, Pupation And Eclosion Success Of A Specialist (Manduca Sexta) And A Generalist (Spodoptera Frugiperda) Insect Herbivore, Nischal Wagle, Soumya Unnikrishnan, Satinderpal Kaur, Engil Isadora Pujol Pereira, Rupesh R. Kariyat

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

Biochar is a charcoal-like substance made by the pyrolysis of organic material from agricultural and forestry waste. While biochar is well documented for altering soil physicochemical conditions, few studies have investigated its possible effects on the management of arthropod pests. Tobacco hornworm (Manduca sexta) and fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda, FAW) are specialist and generalist insect herbivores respectively, that can cause significant defoliation in natural and agricultural ecosystems. In this study, we examined whether walnut shell biochar can affect growth and development of these herbivores. Specifically, we investigated how biochar influences parameters such as mass gain, length …

Is Slavery Integral To Augustine's Theology?, James K.A. Smith

University Faculty Publications and Creative Works

A review essay considering two new books in Augustinian studies: Slaves of God by Toni Alimi (Princeton University Press, 2024) and The Problem of the Christian Master by Matthew Elia (Yale University Press, 2024).

https://www.christiancentury.org/books/slavery-integral-augustine-s-theology

Degradation Characterization Of Nopal-Based Biopolymer Made From Opuntia Sp. Juice, Beeswax, Animal Protein, And Polyvinyl Alcohol, Logan Williams, Mary Elizabeth Holland, Spencer Williams

Materials Engineering

Since the introduction of polymers in the 1960s, there has been an exponential increase in use. Driven by rapidly growing demand, the volume of polymers in the production, application, and end-of-life stages has surged. The widespread use of these materials has led to escalating environmental pollution, which disrupts ecosystems, and contributes to global ecological degradation. While advancements in recycling technologies and infrastructure have shown promise, they have not maintained pace with polymer production and disposal. This imbalance warrants research into sustainable alternatives. Environmentally benign polymers derived from renewable sources and exhibiting minimal ecological impact at the end of their life …

Synthesis And Testing Of A Biodegradable Composite From Agricultural Waste, Amanda Anne Avrit, Kyla Carlson

Materials Engineering

In this study, polylactic acid (PLA) and ground pistachio shells are combined into a biocomposite with 15 wt% shells through compression molding. To improve interfacial bonding, shells were treated by alkali cleaning and functionalized with tetraethoxysilane before processing. Two biocomposite sample types were fabricated: PLA/shells and PLA/shells/chemical additives. The chemical additives (maleic anhydride and dicumbyl peroxide) were investigated to improve matrix and reinforcement bonding. Difficulties in processing resulted in four testable samples. Mechanical property testing showed that plain PLA samples performed the best on average. Incorporation of the additives increased both ultimate tensile strength and Young’s modulus by 50% as …

Indetermsoft Set For Talent Training Quality Assessment In University Engineering Management Under The Background Of "Dual Carbon", Li Li

Neutrosophic Sets and Systems

No abstract provided.

Overcoming Vaccine-Associated Enhanced Respiratory Disease In Swine Flu With Lipid Nanoparticle-Dna Technology, The Nguyen

School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The two primary challenges in developing vaccines against swine influenza A virus (IAV-S) are the continuous viral evolution and vaccine-associated enhanced respiratory disease (VAERD). Current vaccine strategies share a common limitation: the significant time required for licensing updated vaccines. Moreover, the strain selection for vaccine updates depends entirely on predictions, raising the risk that chosen strains may not match circulating viruses. Such mismatches not only reduce vaccine efficacy but also risk exacerbating disease severity through VAERD. Here, in this thesis, we developed and evaluated a novel DNA-based vaccine platform designed to address the need for rapid updates in response to …

The Crime Victims' Rights Movement: Historical Foundations, Modern Ascendancy, And Future Aspirations, Paul G. Cassell

University of the Pacific Law Review

No abstract provided.

Nephrolithiasis And Ureteroscopy: A Case Study, Eduardo Ayala

Bachelor of Science in Diagnostic Ultrasound Projects

No abstract provided.

Virtual Reality In Undergraduate And Postgraduate Nursing Education: A Scoping Review Protocol Integrating Data Mining For Topic Discovery, Celeste Alfes

Faculty Scholarship

Virtual Reality (VR) encompasses a range of computer-based technologies that simulate complex scenarios, offering immersive, experiential learning in a controlled virtual environment. In nurs- ing education, VR has the potential to enhance both technical and non-technical competencies. However, the existing literature on VR in nursing education is fragmented, making it challenging to fully grasp its scope, applications, and emerging trends. This scoping review protocol outlines a systematic approach to mapping the existing literature on the use of VR in undergraduate and postgraduate nursing education. Following Joanna Briggs Institute guidelines and the PRISMA- ScR 2020 framework, the review will include studies …

Exploring The Impact Of Mitoquinone Supplementation On Glycan Profiles In A Repeated Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Mouse Model, Mona Goli, Akeem Sanni, Sakshi Gautam, Khalil Mallah, W. Brad Hubbard, Mohammad Reslan, Muhammad Ali Haidar, Karim Halabi, Joseph Walker, Stefania Mondello, Firas Kobeissy, Yehia Mechref

Physiology Faculty Publications

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) represents a significant cause of injury-related deaths and disabilities. Repeated exposure to mechanical impact can lead to metabolic and ionic imbalance, which can cause oxidative stress and worsen the cellular dysfunction initiated by the initial mild TBI (mTBI). Currently, no FDA-approved drug targets repeated mTBI (rmTBI) and its potential sequelae. Mitoquinone (MitoQ) is a mitochondrion-targeted drug that has proven beneficial in different brain-related diseases. We have previously demonstrated the neurotherapeutic effects of MitoQ at a 30-day chronic time point in a similar rmTBI mouse model, where we observed decreased neuroinflammation, enhanced behavioral outcomes, and diminished oxidation. …

The Utilization Of Biodiesel In Commercial Equipment In Construction, Ryan Bustos

Construction Management

The utilization of heavy machinery is essential to the success of all construction projects, but the dependence of traditional diesel fuel contributes significantly to the carbon footprint of the industry. Biodiesel presents a cleaner, more sustainable alternative, yet its adoption across construction sites remains limited. This paper will examine the current use of biodiesel by contractors and explore key barriers preventing its implementation. A series of interviews with industry professionals responsible for fuel and equipment management were conducted to collect various insights and perspectives on the alternative fuel. This study focuses on identifying obstacles such as biodiesel cost, availability, compatibility, …

Renovations At The Ranch Slo, Gerardo Valenciano-Valdivia

Construction Management

The Ranch SLO is a non-profit organization that hopes to aid adults with developmental disabilities by providing outdoor employment opportunities. In the ten-and-a-half-acre property, the employees engage in a variety of different activities, ranging from planting and growing different plants, to caring for farm animals. Some of the structures in the ranch have a long time in service and need reinforcing/renovations, this project focused on two main areas where renovations took place. The first area was a garden table area equipped with a total of 10 garden tables and a shade structure covering exactly half of the tables. The main …

Thousand Hills Pet Resort Cat Condos Installation And Qa/Qc, Erik Anders Ruud

Construction Management

This paper discusses the installation and quality assurance/quality control of four cat condos built for the Son Care Foundation at the Thousand Hills Pet Resort in San Luis Obispo. The Son Care Foundation is a nonprofit that provides professional daycare and overnight boarding services for dogs and cats while their owners are away. The cat condos serve cats during the day while their owners are at work or otherwise busy. Because three people were assigned to this project, the project was split into preconstruction, prefabrication, and installation/QA/QC. To meet the two-day installation window, due to active facility use, three cat …