Digital Commons Network^™

Dock7 Is A Novel Modifier Of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy Pathology, Katherine English

ETDs from 2020-2029

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a progressive, x-linked neuromuscular disorder affecting 1/5000 male births every year. DMD results from mutations in DMD, a critical structural protein within the muscle. In the absence of Dystrophin, the muscle degrades, increasing inflammation, destabilizing the cell membrane and going through constant cycles of regeneration which depletes the stem cell population. Over time, muscle tissue is replaced by fibrosis and adipose tissue, leading to loss of ambulation, respiratory and cardiac failure leading to death by early 20s. The standard of care for DMD patients is corticosteroid treatment. However, gene therapies have recently emerged which present …

Minding The Body: A Mixed Methods Analysis Of Somatic Experiences During Therapeutic Psychedelic Use, Daniel Grossman

ETDs from 2020-2029

Somatic phenomena, including shaking, spontaneous movement, vocalization, and purging, are commonly reported during psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT). However, despite their perceived importance to some users, their role in the therapeutic process has remained largely unexamined. This mixed-methods study provides the first systematic investigation of these experiences during therapeutic psychedelic use, with particular attention to observable bodily responses (OBRs) and release-like somatic experiences (RLSEs), defined as a subset characterized by sensations of physical discharge. An online retrospective survey (N = 286) assessed the prevalence of OBRs and RLSEs, and their relationships with body awareness, bodily dissociation, emotional breakthrough, and perceived therapeutic benefit. …

Of, By, And For, Steven L. Winter

Nevada Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Sex On Trial, Nathalie Greenfield, Sandra L. Babcock

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

On January 21, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court recognized in Andrew v. White that the State’s introduction of sexualizing evidence in a woman’s capital trial may violate due process. In Brenda Andrew’s case, prosecutors presented evidence about her sexual relationships, clothing, and style of underwear as proof that she was guilty of capital murder. Our research, supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation, reveals for the first time that the prosecution’s tactics in Brenda Andrew’s case were far from unique. Based on a systematic review of the trial transcripts of every woman currently on death row in the …

Aged 539 Internship Report: Cal Poly Rodeo Media And Marketing, Anna Grace Durham

Agricultural Education: Graduate Internship Reports

This internship report examines the role of media and marketing within the Cal Poly Rodeo Program and highlights the integration of leadership, athlete development, and strategic communications in a collegiate athletics setting. Serving as the Media Manager for Cal Poly Rodeo, the internship focused on strengthening the program's digital presence, enhancing brand identity, and increasing community engagement, particularly surrounding the 2026 Poly Royal Rodeo. Through collaboration with University Administrators, the Officer Team, sponsors, and external media partners, comprehensive marketing campaigns were developed and implemented, resulting in significant increases in social media reach, audience engagement, and ticket sales. The project included …

Robotic-Assisted Pedicle Screw Placement Achieves High Accuracy And Narrows The Experience Gap: A Preclinical Evaluation, Anna T. Reza, Matthias Walper, Mitchell K. Ng, Paul G. Mastrokostas, Andrew S. Lee, Rafael G. Rafael, Kornelis A. Poelstra, Ratliff K. John, Rajiv K. Sethi, Michael A. Mont

Rothman Institute Papers

To assess a robotic-assisted system versus open manual techniques to: (1) compare pedicle screw accuracy between fellows and attendings with and without robotic assistance, and (2) evaluate executed versus planned trajectory fidelity relative to prior reports. Robotic-assisted spine systems aim to improve the accuracy, reproducibility, and safety of pedicle screw placement. Limited evidence compares outcomes across differing surgeon experience levels. A total of 255 thoracolumbar pedicle screws were placed in synthetic torsos simulating adult degenerative anatomy. Four surgeons (two fellows, two attendings) each placed half their screws using open fluoroscopy-guided techniques and half using a minimally invasive percutaneous approach with …

The Best Children's Books Of The Year [2026 Edition], Bank Street College Of Education. Children's Book Committee.

Children's Book Committee

Includes more than 600 titles chosen by the Children’s Book Committee as the best of the best published in 2025. In choosing books for the annual list, committee members consider literary quality and excellence of presentation as well as the potential emotional impact of the books on young readers. Other criteria include credibility of characterization and plot, authenticity of time and place, age suitability, positive treatment of ethnic and religious differences, and the absence of stereotypes.

Custom Animatronic Puppet, Jake Schuman, Fredy Herrarte, Madison Reedy, Jackson Reynolds

Mechanical Engineering

This project involved the design, fabrication, and implementation of a custom audio-animatronic puppet modeled after Dr. Brian Davis for the California Polytechnic State University Mechanical Engineering Department. The objective was to create an expressive, lifelike character capable of synchronized speech, head movement, arm gestures, and seated-to-standing motion while demonstrating the integration of mechanical design, controls, manufacturing, and artistic fabrication.

The final system consists of an 18-degree-of-freedom animatronic platform utilizing servo-driven facial and upper-body actuation combined with a pneumatic standing mechanism. A modular aluminum and 3D-printed structural framework was developed using SolidWorks and validated through engineering analysis. Character shells were digitally …

Xylem: A Comparative Analysis Of Gpu Dispatch Pipelines For Large-Scale, Procedural Environments, Srinivas Sundararaman

Master's Theses

The real-time rendering of large-scale, procedural scenes presents a significant performance challenge for traditional CPU-bound rendering pipelines. The high volume of draw calls and the need for complex culling and level-of-detail management create bottlenecks that limit scene complexity and visual fidelity. This thesis investigates the evolution of GPU-driven rendering paradigms via the Xylem renderer within NVIDIA’s Donut rendering framework as a solution to these challenges.

A comprehensive benchmarking framework is developed to implement and quantitatively analyze three distinct rendering strategies for a procedurally generated, parameterizable, large-scale forest scene. The evaluated pipelines include: (1) traditional instanced rendering, (2) compute-driven indirect rendering …

Pet Mobility Project, John Shelby, Lily-Rose Jolie Bacon, Andrea Yasmine Reyes

Biomedical Engineering

The Pet Mobility Project, sponsored by Terri Smith and Jasper Jackson, is an initiative aimed at providing a custom mobility aid to a pet in the San Luis Obispo community. Amber Rappozo’s young German Shepherd, LeDoux, was selected as the project’s recipient. LeDoux suffers from hindleg weakness and, as a result, has limited mobility. This document provides a comprehensive overview of the Pet Mobility Project, detailing the motivation, background, and design approach behind the development of a LeDoux’s custom mobility aid.

Cardiac Twitch Force Measurement System, Tara Hoffman, Sebastian Carrascal Gómez, Julian Macdonald

Biomedical Engineering

The goal of this project is to develop a low-cost and accurate force measurement system and method of measurement to be used in the testing of grown cardiac tissue samples. The primary stakeholder in this project is Dr. Luke Perreault, a biomedical engineering professor at California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo who is studying grown cardiac tissue rings, and any of his student lab personnel. Other stakeholders include other researchers in the tissue engineering field who require a similar form of testing to the methods developed in this project.

This document will introduce the identified problem and background as …

Pcb Design For Place Cells Vlsi Chip, Gavin Reaksecker, Alex Krier, Joshua Lin

Electrical Engineering

This project presents the design and implementation of a 2 layer test-bench printed circuit board (PCB) for evaluating the functionality of a custom 40-pin VLSI integrated circuit. The objective is to create a reliable and portable platform capable of supplying configurable bias voltages, generating variable input signals, and monitoring both analog and digital outputs. The board integrates adjustable bias networks using potentiometers, digital and analog buffering stages, and optional battery supply operation. The VLSI device under test is mounted in dual-in-line (DIP) sockets to enable rapid replacement and repeated characterization. Dedicated test points are incorporated throughout the PCB to facilitate …

Stella: A Narrative Exploration Of Artificial Intelligence, Grief, And Human Consciousness, Alyssa Grace Gerardo

Computer Science and Software Engineering

STELLA is a narrative-driven 2D puzzle adventure game developed in Unity that explores themes of grief, memory, human connection, and artificial intelligence. Players assume the role of Luna, a young woman searching for a missing friend who becomes trapped within a mysterious garden overseen by a mysterious entity known as STELLA. Through exploration, environmental storytelling, dialogue, and a series of puzzles, players uncover a deeper narrative centered on loss, obsession, and the pursuit of artificial immortality.

The Effects Of Bone Health And Variation On Saw Mark Signatures, Lily Ambrose

PCOM Biomedical Studies Student Scholarship

Bone health and structural variation are multifactorial. Population, environment, age, diet, and health influence the overall functional morphology of bone and its response to stressors. Reduced cortical porosity, trabecular thinning, and low bone mass are common indicators of age-related and pathological changes, affecting a significant portion of the population. Because of this, bones encountered in medicolegal investigations often differ from what is considered “normal.” The structural integrity of bone needs to be considered because density influences mechanical strength and response to external forces. In criminal dismemberment cases, forensic scientists analyze saw marks to identify tool class and reconstruct events. While …

The Effect Of Bai1 Deficiency On Cell Survival During The Critical Period Of Retinal Development, Nicholas Mirmanesh

PCOM Biomedical Studies Student Scholarship

The postnatal retina undergoes further development during the critical period, during which excess neurons are culled, and synapses are refined to shape the mature retinal circuitry. Brain-specific angiogenesis inhibitor-1 (BAI1) has been implicated in synaptic development, phagocytosis, the regulation of angiogenesis, and inflammatory signaling, suggesting it may play an important role in retinal maturation. The goal of this project was to determine how BAI1 deficiency affects retinal cell survival and layer morphology during the critical period. Mice were divided into three genotype groups: BAI1 +/+ Wild Type (WT), +/- (Het), and -/- (KO). Apoptotic cells were quantified using TUNEL staining …

Voces Del Exilio Cubano, Jesenia Alvear

World Languages and Cultures

This project examines how Cuban immigrants, particularly those who fled the Fidel Castro regime, developed political perspectives after migrating to the United States. By focusing on Cuban immigrant communities, this project seeks to understand how experiences under a communist government and migration have shaped political beliefs. Within the United States, Cuban-Americans have become one of the most politically active Latino communities. As a Spanish and Political Science double major with Cuban family ties, this project represents both my academic interests and my own family experiences. Growing up, I listened to political conversations at family gatherings that seemed to consume the …

Handheld Hyperspectral Imaging Dataset Of Annual Sowthistle And Little Mallow Under Abiotic Stress For Machine Learning, Elijah Brunnengraeber, Tyler Cassidy, Dylan Woodbridge, Arun D. Jani, Arun K. Sharma

Biology, Agriculture and Chemistry Faculty Publications and Presentations

Machine learning has become an increasingly important tool for overcoming agricultural challenges by enabling efficient and consistent classification of crop-related data. Training such supervised models requires high quality labeled datasets. This work presents a dataset consisting of raw and preprocessed hyperspectral imaging (HSI) files capturing reflectance in the visible to near-infrared range (400–1000 nm) from two problematic weed species on California’s Central Coast: annual sowthistle (Sonchus oleraceus) and little mallow (Malva parviflora). Hyperspectral imaging provides rich spectral-spatial data cubes that can support the development of deep learning models and autonomous technology for precision weed management. Plants …

An Integrated Analysis To Investigate The Effects Of Dietary Isoacids Supplementation On Digestibility, Fermentation Products, Microbiome, And Gut Ph Of Ileal-Cannulated Pigs, Stephanie A.B. Damotta, Andres F. Boliver-Sierra, Angie P. Benavides-Infant, Mike T. Socha, Laura A. Amundson, Lucas A. Rodriques, Benoit St-Pierre, Jorge Y. Perez-Palencia

Animal Science Research Report 2026

No abstract provided.

Using A Screening Tool Is Effective In Choosing Costly Nursery Ingredients, Kynna M. Crawford, Katlyn A. Mcclellan, Eric M. Weaver

Animal Science Research Report 2026

No abstract provided.

Effects Of Corn Ddgs Contaminated With Varying Levels Of Deoxynivalenol (Don) On Growth Performance And Health Of Nursery Pigs, Alejandra Forero-Salamanca, Andres F. Boliver-Sierra, Crystal L. Levesque

Animal Science Research Report 2026

No abstract provided.

Effects Of Yeast Carbohydrate (Yc) Products Fed To Gestating And Lactating Sows On Sow And Suckling Pig Immunological Responses And Performance, Brooklyn Goelz, Aryeri S. Bardales-Castellano, Andres F. Bolivar-Sierra, Rob Patterson, Crystal L. Levesque

Animal Science Research Report 2026

No abstract provided.

An Evaluation Of High And Low Soybean Meal Levels In Pelleted Diets Fed To Pigs From Wean To Finish, Joseph G. Halbur, Jessica Lira-Silva, Ryan S. Samuel, Robert C. Thaler, Eric M. Weaver

Animal Science Research Report 2026

No abstract provided.

Elevate Ewe, Jaelyn Whaley

Animal Science Research Report 2026

No abstract provided.

Sdsu Extension Calving Camp, Taylor Grussing

Animal Science Research Report 2026

No abstract provided.

Sdsu Youth Beef Summit, Christina Bakker, Erin Dehaan, Jessica Drum, Madison Kovarna, Tommy Norman, Warren Rusche, Robin Salverson, Logan Vandermark, Julie Walker

Animal Science Research Report 2026

No abstract provided.

Substitution Of Ddgs With Canola Meal In Finishing Diets Affects Amino Acid Intake But Does Not Affect Post-Ruminal Amino Acid Flow And Digestibility, Santana Hanson, Ana Clara Baiao Menezes

Animal Science Research Report 2026

No abstract provided.

Evaluation Of Partial Replacement Of Distillers Grains With Extruded Soybeans And The Effects On Growth And Immune Function, Garrett Meyer, Andrea Brandner, Federico Podversich, Steve Lawson, Manuel Manuel, Warren Rusche, Zachery Smith

Animal Science Research Report 2026

No abstract provided.

Influence Of Nutrient Restriction During Mid-Gestation On Calf Performance Through Weaning, Sydni Lammers, Logan Vandermark, Ira Parsons, Hector Menendez, Jameson Brennan, Zachery Smith, Kenneth Olson, Amanda Blair

Animal Science Research Report 2026

No abstract provided.

Evaluation Of Administering A Suckling Implant To Angus Crossbred Steer Calves Reared In A Western Rangeland Environment, Taylor Banks Norris, Amanda Blair, Warren Rusche, Zachery Smith, Erin Dehaan

Animal Science Research Report 2026

No abstract provided.

Essential Oils Impact Rumen Kinetics But Not Post-Ruminal Digestibility In Steers Fed High-Grain Finishing Diets, Federico Podversich, Jorge Bonilla Urbina, Ana Clara B. Menezes

Animal Science Research Report 2026

No abstract provided.