Digital Commons Network^™

Structural And Functional Analysis Of Translation Inhibition By Betacoronavirus Non-Structural Protein 1, Michael Brandon Vetick

Yale Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Dissertations

humans: SARS-CoV, SARS-CoV-2, and MERS-CoV. Key to their viral lifecycle is Non-structural protein 1 (Nsp1), an essential pathogenicity factor that potently restricts the cell’s antiviral response. Despite poor protein sequence conservation of Nsp1 between evolutionarily distant β-CoVs, these proteins have proven to be highly conserved both functionally and structurally. Nsp1 functions by inhibiting host gene expression through contacts made with two mRNA ribonucleoprotein (mRNP) complexes: the initiating ribosome and the Nxf1/Nxt1 mRNA nuclear export complex. It is believed that two Nsp1 functions occur on the ribosome: Nsp1 is able to coordinate cleavage of the host mRNA and Nsp1 is able …

In Defense Of Intellectual Autonomy, Paisley Agyare Boaitey

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Recent attention in virtue and social epistemology has been devoted to analyzing intellectual virtues. However, intellectual autonomy is underappreciated and has been underexplored. The lack of specificity about the formal character of autonomy makes evaluating it as an intellectual character trait and virtue difficult. Here, I will examine extant accounts of intellectual autonomy and show why puzzles about them remain. I then offer intellectual autonomy under a compositional framework. Ultimately, I aim to show that intellectual autonomy—when adequately conceived—is a viable intellectual virtue that epistemic agents in an intellectual community [ought] to cultivate and maintain.

Structure And Function Of Sulfated Fucans And Fucosylated Chondroitin Sulfates: Therapeutic And Mechanistic Insights, Marwa Farrag

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) are heteropolysaccharides widely exploited in the clinic and as molecular models in biomedical research. Marine-derived GAG analogs, particularly sulfated fucans and fucosylated chondroitin sulfates exhibit unique and diverse glycan motifs that are not found in the typical mammalian GAGs. The distinctive structures of the marine sulfated glycans (MSGs) not only expand the structural landscape of GAG-like molecules but also provide valuable platforms to elucidate structure-activity relationships and explore their potential as novel scaffolds for glycan-based therapeutic development. This dissertation presents the isolation, structural characterization, controlled depolymerization, and functional evaluation of several MSGs, highlighting their therapeutic potential, particularly those …

Missing Physics Or New Physics? Understanding Biases In Gravitational Wave Tests Of General Relativity, Purnima Narayan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Gravitational wave (GW) observations from binary black hole (BBH) coalescences offer a powerful means of probing general relativity (GR) in its most extreme regime: the strong- field, highly dynamical merger phase. One can compare observed signals to theoretical waveform models to constrain possible deviations from GR. However, the reliability of such comparisons can be compromised by waveform systematics, especially when key physical effects are not incorporated into the models. This dissertation investigates the impact of three such missing physical effects: orbital eccentricity, strong gravitational lensing, and waveform systematics due to precession, higher-order modes, and memory on standard GW tests of …

Measurement Of Forces In Standing Wave Ultrasonic Fields, Milan Rai

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The acoustic radiation force provides the physical mechanism for the non-contact levitation and manipulation of particles in ultrasonic standing wave fields. This thesis presents a study on the measurement, simulation, and validation of acoustic radiation forces acting on spherical particles levitated in air. The motivation for this work is to provide high-precision measurements of acoustic radiation forces in trapping systems, which are of particular interest in biomedical manipulation, materials science, and contactless assembly.

The study employs a three-part methodology: theoretical analysis, experimental observation, and numerical simulation. Theoretically, the acoustic radiation force was derived from Gor’kov’s potential (valid for ka « …

A Framework For Trauma-Informed Mediation: A Heart And Mind Approach To Conflict Resolution, Michael Saini, Raheena Lalani Dahya, Shely Polak

Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution

Unresolved trauma histories can have both short and long-term consequences on children and parents' overall functioning. Using a trauma-informed approach to mediation, we first briefly highlight the impactofadversechildhood experiencesandunresolvedtraumasonadults. We then consider the various vulnerabilities and activations presented within mediation and the fundamental principles of trauma-informed mediation to assist parties in remaining within the "window of tolerance" during the mediation. Trauma-informed mediation is an approach that encourages mediators to be aware of potential trauma activations and to engage in compassionate practices to allow parties to engage within their own individualized "window of tolerance" to resolve disputes. We explore the unique …

Design Matters: Modernizing The Federal Arbitration Act To Safeguard Party Autonomy, Sarah R. Cole

Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution

Arbitration is a creature of contract. And it is basic arbitration law that arbitrators must respect contracting parties’ intent. The Federal Arbitration Act’s 100th anniversary offers an ideal moment to reaffirm this principle: arbitrators resolving commercial disputes should honor parties’ intent while preserving arbitration’s core values: efficiency, finality, and autonomy. Unfortunately, routine judicial deference to arbitration decisions often undermines parties’ intent as expressed through party design of the arbitration process. In response to this issue, this Article proposes amending the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) to empower courts to safeguard two common arbitral party directives: limits on arbitrators’ remedial authority and …

"Arbitration In Name Only": A Race Claims Mismatch, Michael Z. Green

Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution

With arbitration’s meteoric rise as a tool in resolving statutory employment discrimination matters beginning in the 1990s, concerns about lack of employee bargaining power received little consideration when raised in court challenges to the enforcement of employer-mandated agreements to arbitrate those claims. Only in rare circumstances, when an employer appeared to go to extremes in using its overwhelming bargaining power to implement an arbitration process so clearly unfair would a court find the agreement created an unfair “arbitration in name only” that should not be enforced.

Employers have become savvier in how they require employees to agree to resolve discrimination …

Using Genetically Heterogenous Mice To Identify Regulators Of Immune Checkpoint Blockade Response, Justin Hackett

Wayne State University Dissertations

Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors (ICI) have dramatically improved patient outcomes in metastatic lung cancer, metastatic melanoma, subtypes of renal cancer and others. However, despite the clinical success, most patients still fail to have a durable response. Understanding what determines response and predicting who will respond to therapy is essential to improving patient outcomes. To investigate genetic underpinnings of ICI response we utilized F1 crosses of C57Bl/6 with Diversity Outbred mice (DOB6F1) and multiple Collaborative Cross (CC) strains to identify and validate (respectively) genetic loci that associated with response to ICI. The genomic data suggested that the lactation and immunomodulatory peptide prolactin …

The Role Of Fruiting Bodies In Protecting A Community Of Myxococcus Xanthus Spores From The Environment, Dave Lall

Wayne State University Dissertations

Environmental microorganisms have evolved a variety of strategies to survive fluctuations in environmental conditions, including the production of biofilms and differentiation into spores. Myxococcus xanthus are ubiquitous soil bacteria that produce starvation-induced multicellular fruiting bodies filled with environmentally resistant spores (a specialized biofilm). Isolated spores have been shown to be more resistant than vegetative cells to heat, ultraviolet radiation, and desiccation. The evolutionary advantage of producing spores inside of fruiting bodies is not clear. Here, we examine a hypothesis that the fruiting body provides additional protection from environmental insults. We developed a high-throughput method to compare the recovery (outgrowth) of …

Environmental Pollution And Early-Life Metabolic Programming, Lisa Koshko

Wayne State University Dissertations

Substantial evidence demonstrates that parental pollutant exposures can induce harmful health effects in the offspring, including the predisposition to Type II Diabetes. As rates of Type II Diabetes continue to rise in younger populations, a crucial gap lies in understanding the role of parental influence in the etiology of later-life metabolic disease. Therefore, the central goal of this work was to determine how early life exposure to smoking level benzene, an endocrine-disrupting air pollutant, affects the metabolic health of offspring, and to identify potential developmental mechanisms involved in disease susceptibility. This goal was achieved using two models of early life …

Advancing Generative Ai In 3d And 4d Spaces, Hasan Iqbal

Wayne State University Dissertations

Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) has transformed how we synthesize, edit, and manipulate complex data, opening new possibilities for immersive digital content. This dissertation, titled “Advancing Generative AI in 3D and 4D Spaces,” investigates the capabilities and limitations of state-of-the-art generative models in static 3D scenes and time-aware 4D environments. In the 3D setting, scene editing is hindered by multi-view inconsistency and the high computational cost of per-scene retraining. To address these issues, the work introduces Free-Editor, a training free approach that utilizes an Edit Transformer to propagate a single edited view across all camera perspectives without additional optimisation, delivering prompt …

Thorstein Veblen: The Independent Thinker Whose Contributions Advanced A Distinct Tradition Of Heterodox Economics, John B. Hall

Economics Faculty Publications and Presentations

Challenging Charles Camic’s perspective, this article argues that Thorstein Veblen’s time at the top amounted to about nineteen years; a fraction of his professional career. While drawing from and building upon challenges associable with a changing world which he faced – related to the ending of Laissez-faire and the rise of big business; the institutions initiated for prosecuting World War I; and the accompanying rise of the vested interests – Veblen’s writings effectively and propitiously provided a solid foundation for an American school of heterodox thought known as Original Institutional Economics.

Worlds Built And Borrowed: A Paracosmic Exploration Of The Metatextual Unconscious, Ryleigh Michele Roberts

Master’s Theses

This thesis explores literary phenomenology through the lens of fictional world-building and borrowing, integrating psychoanalytic play theories and reader response criticism, primarily through the works of D.W. Winnicott, Stanley Fish, and Wolfgang Iser. In applying this theoretical approach, the thesis investigates how fictional worlds function as intermediary phenomena through which creators can externalize and process their individual or collective experiences of being. Employing a comprehensive literary survey framework, the project spans a diverse range of texts, from canonical literature, such as the Brontës’ juvenilia and Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four, to contemporary works like Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight and E.L. James’ Fifty Shades …

Quantifying The Transfer Effectiveness Of An Artificial Intelligence-Based Simulator Pre-Training Program For Student Pilots, Ryan Guthridge

Journal of Aviation/Aerospace Education & Research

Since the airline pilot shortage was initially studied in 2016, the pilot hiring model has been significantly impacted, with airlines hiring qualified pilots at unprecedented rates. The COVID-19 pandemic has slowed this hiring rate, however it is expected that airline hiring will soon increase to a rate higher than initially expected (Bureau of Transportation Statistics, 2022). With this dynamic, certified flight instructors are often the most qualified recruits for airlines, due to the number of hours and experience they have gained in the flight training organization. In turn, certified flight instructors are in short supply for flight training organizations worldwide. …

Parents’ Perspectives On Emotional Regulation In Their Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Diana Stewart

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The current study’s main research question was whether emotional dysregulation of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) affects parental stress levels. This project examined various negative emotional reactions, such as anger, sadness, worry, anxiety, and tantrums that were present in children with an ASD diagnosis, ages 4 to 13. The research consisted of five psychological assessments with strong psychometric properties. The whole survey was supposed to be filled out by a parent or a caregiver of a child, since children are considered a vulnerable population when it comes to research. The first assessment was the Childhood Autism Spectrum Test (CAST) …

2025 Butler Library Annual Report, Charles Lyons, Christopher Hulsman, Joseph Riggie

Butler Library Annual Reports

The 2025 annual report. Created in early 2026.

Pesticide And Pathogen Exposure Causes Idiosyncratic Gene Expression Responses Across Four Diverse North American Bumble Bee Species, Rubén Martín-Blázquez, Sydney A. Cameron, Austin C. Calhoun, James P. Strange, Ben M. Sadd

Faculty Publications – Biological Sciences

Bumble bee (Bombus Latreille) populations of certain species have declined precipitously in North America over several decades. Hypotheses for declines include exposure to the pathogen Nosema bombi and neonicotinoid pesticides. Importantly, populations of some bumble bee species remain stable despite their presumed exposure to these same stressors. We hypothesise that declining and stable species exhibit distinct responses to N. bombi and neonicotinoids, detectable as differential gene expression profiles. To test this, we exposed larvae of Bombus occidentalis (declining) and B. impatiens (stable) to N. bombi and to the neonicotinoid imidacloprid, plus a combination of both. RNA-seq analysis revealed almost …

Harnessing Team Science In Dementia Research: Insights From The Alzheimer’S Disease Research Group In South Carolina, Sayema Akter, Eric Mishio Bawa, Nicholas Riccardi, Daniel A. Amoatika, Margaret C. Miller Ms, Ph.D., Otis L. Owens Mph, Ph.D., Caps, Lorie Donelle Phd, Rn, Fcan, E Angela Murphy, Daping Fan, Melissa Moss, Mihyun Lim Waugh, Sue E. Levkoff Scd, Msw, Sm, Freda Allyson Hucek, Jean Neils-Strunjas Ph.D, Ccc-Slp, Swann Arp Adams Ph.D., Ms, Face, Roger Newman-Norlund, Sarah Newman-Norlund Ph.D., James Hardin Ph.D., John Absher, Bankole A. Olatosi Ph.D., Xiaoming Li Ph.D., Lumi Bakos Ph.D., Quentin Mccollum, Chris Rorden, Leonardo Bonilha, Daniela B. Friedman

Publications

Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD) are complex and rapidly growing public health challenges that require integrative, collaborative approaches. To meet this need, the Alzheimer's Disease Research Center (ADRC) of South Carolina, a state-funded partnership across multiple institutions, has embraced a team science model that brings together expertise from four key disciplines: neuroimaging-neurology, health sciences, molecular biology, and engineering. This paper highlights the work at the University of South Carolina (USC) and how each discipline contributes uniquely yet collaboratively within a recurring loop model framework. Extending from USC's Cancer Prevention and Control Program, the framework guides scientific growth through four …

Lives And Lessons Of Zoo Animals, Nicole Emlen

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

This project was an interdisciplinary museum exhibit that was displayed at the Montana Natural History Center between April 4 and May 12, 2025. It displays my photographs that I took of some of the animals I worked with during my summer 2024 internship at ZooMontana. In this project, I educate the public about three main functions of zoos--rescue, conservation, and education--through the stories and lives of four species. These animals all have unique stories that are important to share to improve public knowledge of why zoos are important and how we can improve relationships between humans and wildlife. Photography is …

Foraging Opportunists: Encouraging Reconnection With The Land, Madelyne Miller, Sylvia Blodorn, Aine Fannon, Ada Scott, Luke Pruitt

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

Contextualizing the history of opportunist and native plant species opens options for land management and reconnection to cultural land practices. By recognizing that opportunist species often spread as a result of relocation for practical usage, we determine that reintroducing these uses can lead to an escalation in harvesting these plants. Uses of opportunist plants are diverse and include food sources, artistic practices, and medicine. Foraging also leads to improved human-land-connectedness as well as a deeper connection to ancestral and cultural traditions, which has been found to improve mental health. Focusing on this method of land management will limit the need …

No Evidence For Warming-Driven Extirpation Of Tallgrass Prairie Plants, Emily D. Horner, Meredith Zettlemoyer

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

More and more species face extinction as our climate warms. Understanding how climate change influences local extinctions may help us comprehend and predict global extinctions. Ultimately, local extinctions stem from declines in vital rates such as survival, growth, and reproduction. One way to examine how warming might have affected local extinctions is to compare responses between locally extinct versus extant (still present) species. In this comparative framework, more negative effects of warming on locally extinct species’ (but not extant species’) vital rates would suggest a role of warming in their local extinction. We also expect that locally extinct species would …

Exploring The Impacts Of Secondary/Foreign Language Development On Childhood Development, Malone A. Ingram

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

The central topic of my research project explores the positive impacts that early second language acquisition has on childhood development . I examine its effect through the lens of bilingual education in Missoula County Public Schools, identifying possible shortcomings in the language education programs in elementary schools, as well as feasible solutions. I approach this research from two distinct directions: a literature review and original data collection. I will analyse existing studies and information relating to bilingualism and its positive impact on childhood development. This will provide context and support for my interview questions. Next, for my own independent research, …

Balancing Timber Harvest And Biodiversity: Impacts Of Selective Logging On Wildlife In The Chiquibul Forest Reserve, Belize, Kilynn Groen

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

Selective logging is often promoted as a sustainable forestry practice that maintains biodiversity and ecosystem function, yet its ecological consequences remain under examined, particularly in tropical forests. This study investigates how selective logging affects wildlife communities in the Chiquibul Forest Reserve, Belize. Using remote camera trap data from 22 sites (9 unlogged forest sites and 13 logged (stump) sites), we assessed species richness, trophic structure, and environmental predictors of wildlife abundance. While overall wildlife captures and species richness did not differ significantly between forest and stump habitats, principal component analysis revealed strong community-level separation, with stump habitats supporting distinct species …

Assessing Intra-Seasonal Changes In Summer Elk Diet Composition, Ava E. Window

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

Elk (Cervus canadensis) require adequate forage to fulfill their seasonal nutritional requirements. Elk undergo their highest nutritional demands during summer to support critical life functions such as late gestation, lactation, and juvenile growth. However, variations in plant phenology significantly influence the quality and quantity of forage available to elk during the summer season. As summer advances and plant communities mature, forage quality often declines, leading to a landscape that imposes greater nutritional constraints on elk. As a result, prior research on elk foraging habits has primarily focused on late summer. This has led to limited knowledge surrounding the …

Navigating Challenges In Dentomaxillofacial Science By Integrating Genetics, Clinical Innovation, And Educational Intervention: Editorial Review, H. Hasanuddin, Acing H. Mude, Muhammad Ikbal, Erni Marlina, Muhammad Ruslin

Journal of Dentomaxillofacial Science

No abstract provided.

Assessing Social Cognition In The Clockδ19 Mouse Model Of Bipolar Disorder, Eden Fraatz

Psychology Theses

No abstract provided.

Spectrum Of The Lakes: Using Satellite Remote Sensing To Unveil Water Color In Minnesota's Sentinel Lakes For Water Quality Monitoring, Andrew J. Dooley, Wondwosen M. Seyoum, Catherine M. O'Reilly

Faculty Publications - Geography, Geology, and the Environment

Traditional water quality monitoring methods often face limitations of equipment costs and labor demands, requiring innovative approaches to effectively assess the ecological health of inland lakes across vast areas. This research explores the application of free, publicly available water color chromaticity analysis for midcontinent lakes in Minnesota, USA. We examined water color variations in Minnesota’s Sentinel Lakes using Landsat 8 OLI data to analyze surface reflectance samples collected from the deepest area within each lake during the late summer, corresponding to peak annual insolation and trophic activity. The median dominant visible wavelength was used to characterize water color. Results indicate …

Revolutionary Worldmaking: James Monroe Whitfield’S Poems In Martin Delany’S Blake; Or, The Huts Of America, Magdalena Zapędowska

Jacobson Center: Publications

Martin Delany’s Blake, serialized in the Weekly Anglo-African in 1861–62, includes five unattributed poems from James Monroe Whitfield’s volume America and Other Poems, which appear in the novel as compositions of the Cuban revolutionary poet Placido. Largely overlooked in scholarship on Blake, Whitfield/Placido’s poems are crucial to the impending revolt of the oppressed because they foster a collective emancipatory consciousness and model, through poetic form, the meticulous organization on which the revolution relies for success. Resonating with other poems and songs quoted in the novel, they speak to broader questions of poetry’s role in building communities of resistance. In turn, …

Rabble: A Companion To Pwa-Tem (2025)

Rabble, 2014-

Rabble is a companion chapbook publication to the magazine Pwatem. From the preface of most issues: "'Tell the rabble my name is Cabell."- James Branch Cabell to his editor, to help people learn how to pronounce his name. Cabell used the word derogatively but we are taking it back. These pages will showcase the writing and illustrations of our rabble-the ordinary students of VCU."