Digital Commons Network^™

Bile Acids In Inflammatory Bowel Disease: From Pathophysiology To Treatment, Samantha H Bai, Arun Chandnani, Siyan Cao

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic condition that affects about 7 million people worldwide, and new therapies are needed. Understanding the complex roles that bile acids (BAs) play in IBD may lead to the development of novel IBD treatments independent of direct immunosuppression. This review discusses the latest discoveries in the roles BAs play in IBD pathogenesis and explores how these discoveries offer promising new therapeutic targets to treat IBD and improve patient outcomes. Several therapies discussed include specific BA receptor (BAR) agonists, dietary therapies, supplements, probiotics, and mesenchymal stem cell therapies that have all been shown to decrease …

Mems 411: Timed Mosquito Egg Container, Daniel Nordquist, Preston Gee, Stephanos Mavrommatis

Mechanical Engineering Design Project Class

To aid in the war against mosquitoes, PHD candidate Lauren Johnson tasked this groups with developing a device to help study egg laying patterns. The goal is to create a device that can cut off access to tea water (an attractive breeding site) at specified time intervals in order to observe the effects of daylight and temperatures on mosquito egg laying behavior.

Development Of Platform And Harness System For In Vivo Rat Elbow Range Of Motion Device And Confirmation Of Ulnar Nerve Integrity In Rats, Genevieve Jarrell

Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science Independent Study

This independent study in Dr. Lake’s Musculoskeletal Soft Tissue Lab focused on two main projects. The first was creating a platform and harness system to secure a rat while its elbow range of motion (ROM) was measured in vivo. Multiple prototypes were designed, 3D printed, and tested on a deceased animal, and each design was improved upon to yield more consistent results. The final prototype yielded semi-consistent results, with further improvements identified and planned. The second project focused on developing a protocol to confirm the integrity of a rat’s ulnar nerve after an ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) transection. Two methods …

Native Freshwater Mussel Communities In The Lower Grand River, Michigan: Assessing Tributary Confluence Effects And Updating Survey Information, Grayson L. Kosak

Masters Theses

Freshwater mussels (Unionidae) are ecosystem engineers and keystone species vital to stream ecosystems yet represent the most imperiled group of freshwater fauna. Conservation of unionids necessitates further understanding how assemblages interact with watershed features. This study investigates mussel occupancy, distribution, and assemblage structure upstream and downstream of tributary confluences in the lower Grand River, Michigan, alongside updated surveys of the unionid community with comparisons to previous assessments conducted by Michigan Natural Features Inventory (MNFI) in 2002–2003. Unionid density, richness, and diversity were greater upstream of confluences. No significant distance-gradient effects were observed. Assemblage structure differed between upstream and downstream reaches …

Bone-Ivd Crosstalk And The Role Of Rage Signaling In An Ivd Injury Model, Remy Walk

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Low back pain (LBP) is the number one musculoskeletal cause of disability with a lifetime prevalence of up to 85%. The causes of LBP are multifactorial with potential contributions from factors such as tissue injury and degeneration as well as social economic and psychological factors. Intervertebral disc (IVD) degeneration is associated with 26-40% of LBP cases and in a 2015 meta-analysis, it was estimated that a total 403 million people suffer from symptomatic IVD degeneration. IVD degeneration is characterized by loss of hydration in the nucleus pulposus (NP), damage accumulation in the annulus fibrosus (AF) and calcification of the cartilaginous …

Subaltern Planet Of Cultural Studies, Charlie Samuya Veric

Kritika Kultura

A contribution to a mostly unwritten history, the essay provides a preliminary account of cultural studies in Asia, Africa, and Latin America from decolonization to globalization. My intention is two-fold, namely, to contribute to the history of cultural studies in the global South and experiment with the writing of planetary history to determine the lessons that can be learned when totality is imagined from below. I argue that whether it is the geopolitics of decolonization in Asia, the politics of indigenization in Africa, or the critique of knowledge-production in Latin America, cultural studies signifies the unfinished task of decolonization.

Primates In Paradise: Critical Possibilities Of The Milieu Movie, Joel David

Kritika Kultura

The use of multiple lead characters in cinema is a fairly recent development, although the strategy (and its resultant variety of structures) had been present for some time in theater and literature. The typical Classical Hollywood action-driven narrative operated most efficiently through a singular hero, allowing the audience to undergo the film experience via the process of singular identification. With the breakdown in identificatory requisites popularized by various New Wave and Third Cinema movements, and the consequent assimilation of this trend starting with the New American Cinema, mainstream Hollywood was ready to embark upon a series of multi-character movies, with …

Sisa's Vengeance: Rizal And The Mother Of All Insurgencies, E. San Juan Jr.

Kritika Kultura

A new appraisal of Rizal is needed today in the light of 9/11, the collapse of finance capital, state terrorism, and neoliberal decadence and barbarism. Rizal’s revolutionary critique can be discovered by shifting the center of inquiry to the Dapitan years and after, the Liga’s resonance, and the Sisa-Maria Clara-Salome nexus. By exposing the limits of Simoun’s romantic idealism, Padre Florentino’s eschatological impulse, and the carnivalesque colonial world bereft of god/nomos, Rizal anticipates the post-capitalist predicament. Women’s vengeance against patriarchal nihilism lies submerged in Rizal’s communicative action to the Malolos collective, mobilizing emergent and residual historical forces in a dialectical …

Confession As A Narrative Mode In Gay Indie Films, Gary D. Devilles

Kritika Kultura

This paper is interested in confession as a narrative mode of media, specifically gay independent films, and the specific codes and mechanisms inherent in a confession that enable one to generate pity over the viewing public. I would discuss four gay indie films, Ang Lalaki sa Parola, Daybreak, Sagwan, and Selda, and look specifically at how these films use confession in their narration, as a cinematic style to develop their characters, and ultimately as a form of politics of viewing by which gay films in general become a sort of “public confession” constituting their viewers as their preferred “confessors.” Such …

The New Challenge Of The Mother Tongues: The Future Of Philippine Postcolonial Language Politics, T. Ruanni F. Tupas

Kritika Kultura

For much of postcolonial language politics around the world, the fight has largely been between a foreign (read: colonial) language and (a) dominant local language(s). This is true in the Philippines where the debates have focused on English and Filipino, the Tagalog-based national language. In recent years, however, the mother tongues have posed a challenge to the ideological structure of the debates. Although local languages have long been acknowledged as positively contributing to the enhancement of learning in school, they have been co-opted mostly as a nationalist argument against English, American (neo)colonialism and imperialist globalization. The current initiatives to establish …

Introduction To Volume 7: Artificial Intelligence And Responsibility, Tatjana Titareva

International Journal on Responsibility

No abstract provided.

The Effort To Promote Lichens For Human Consumption In Nineteenth-Century Europe, Michael E. Mitchell

European Journal of Food Drink and Society

In 1683 a lichen long relied in Iceland as a grain substitute was detected in Sweden, where chemical analysis revealed an appreciable nutritive content. Use of the lichen as food in Lapland was reported in the following century, but its composition was not again studied until the Spanish famine of 1805/6. The results of that investigation amply demonstrated the species’ potential as an emergency food, which led to lichens being recommended for domestic use and commercial bread production during successive European famines. Amateur attempts in France and Germany to distil alcohol from lichens proved uneconomic, a problem temporarily solved when …

Pickelfleisch, Pastirma, And Beyond: An Overview Of The Myths Of The Origin Of Pastrami, Angela Hanratty, Diarmuid Cawley

European Journal of Food Drink and Society

This paper investigates the assertion by Claudia Roden that pastrami is an invention of New York City delicatessens, a claim that refutes the accepted etymology of the word “pastrami” as being linked to a seasoned air-dried meat, sometimes referred to as basturma/pastirma, from Romania or Turkey. The probability that the roots of this iconic American delicatessen favourite can originally be found in two similar meats, pickelfleisch and homen, both originating from the areas today known as Alsace, France and the southeastern section of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate will also be explored. Ashkenazi food culture is predominantly identified as having …

Pursuing Distinction: How Chinese Restaurants Leverage Cultural Capital To Ascend The Irish Culinary Hierarchy, Nan Xiang, Brian Murphy

European Journal of Food Drink and Society

Ethnic cuisine is typically positioned at the lower end of Western culinary hierarchy, in contrast to haute cuisine. Research to date has shown that in more recent decades, many ethnic restaurants in London and New York, including those specializing in Chinese cuisine, have successfully managed to transition into the previously unattainable high-end category. What is problematic, however, is the contrast between ethnic and haute cuisine, with ethnic as a restaurant category often being presented as lacking refinement and exuding an overriding sense of cheapness. Neither unrefined nor cheap, many ethnic restaurants, though not quite reaching the high-end, have gained significant …

“Weevils Floated On The Gravy”: Disgusting Food In African Fiction, Igor B. Cusack

European Journal of Food Drink and Society

This paper examines the uses of food in several African novels where descriptions of food might trigger the reader’s disgust. Visceral disgust might be elicited either by the senses, such as taste or smell, or by the nature and history of an object, that has been termed “ideational disgust." Visceral disgust differs from moral disgust, when an individual might feel something is profoundly wrong. Fictional descriptions of something disgusting may elicit similar emotions to those evoked by the material object, and this imagining has been called “the paradox of fiction." The reactions of individual readers may differ according to cultural …

Communicative Interventions For Autistic Employees In Academic Workplaces, Michaela De Meyer

Ought: The Journal of Autistic Culture

This essay provides an autoethnographic account of my experiences as an autistic employee in academia. By examining organizational communication literature on autism in the workplace, I identify some key issues that autistic employees face in academic workplaces. With research finding approximately 85% of autistic individuals are unemployed, and of those who are employed, only 6% are competitively employed in jobs that utilize their educational training and/or professional skill level, current cultural discourses around diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in the workplace provide an opportunity to make organizational challenges for autistic employees more visible. By sharing my own experiences in the …

Complete Issue: Vol. 12, No. 2, Stacy L. Creel, Ph.D.

SLIS Connecting

No abstract provided.

Website Accessibility In Mississippi Public Libraries, Jennifer Vance, Mlis

SLIS Connecting

The Americans With Disabilities Act was signed into law in 1990, significantly increasing the disabled community’s access to public life. Since then, life has branched out into digital and physical spaces. With this shift came the need to integrate accessibility considerations into web design, in the same way an architect would consider accessibility when drawing up plans for a new building. However, while buildings are usually designed by professionals, websites are often not. Libraries are no exception, as many may not have dedicated staff to design and maintain a website. In cases where they do have dedicated staff, they may …

Library Services For Patrons Experiencing Homelessness: An Examination Of Three Urban Libraries, Jason Lefebvre, Mlis

SLIS Connecting

The need to consider the most equitable way to provide services to people experiencing homelessness must also be balanced by how these services will affect staff in their daily duties. What can realistically be expected from a staff member when dealing with more complex social service issues? At times, the staff is tasked with answering questions that may fall outside their education and training. It is necessary to establish which needs in the community can successfully be provided by someone with an educational or professional background relating primarily to the Library and Information Science field, and which are better facilitated …

Mental Health And Well-Being In Academic Libraries: A Bibliometric Survey Of Scholarly Publications, 1994-2024, Rebecca Arthur, Mlis

SLIS Connecting

Academic libraries are crucial pieces of the higher education system; national accreditation standards for colleges and universities require the existence of accessible library collections and knowledgeable, trained staff. Traditionally, the academic collections, both physical and digital, of these libraries have been their focal point, and the importance of the academic library on campus has been derived from its ability to provide instructional materials and support to students, faculty, and staff. However, the educational paradigm of academic librarianship has shifted as higher education has evolved throughout the twentieth century. Previously long-established pedagogies have become insufficient in the face of changing technologies …

From The Gas: Publications, Congratulations, And Presentations, Stacy L. Creel, Ph.D., Teresa S. Welsh, Ph.D.

SLIS Connecting

Includes book reviews by the graduate assistants for Gigi Shin Is Not a Nerd, Wild Dreamers, and The Blonde Dies First. Highlights what SLIS faculty are reading, alumni updates, faculty publications and presentations, and student congratulations.

Spotlights: Faculty, Alumni, Festival, Stacy L. Creel, Ph.D., Mary A. Osborne, Ph.D.

SLIS Connecting

Meet Dr. Kaeli Gretter, alum Miranda Loper, and learn about the keynote speakers for the 2025 Fay B. Kaigler Children’s Book Festival.

Beyond Fear: Opportunities And Positive Use Of Ict Among Children And Adolescents, Mariana Buenestado-Fernández, Rosa García-Ruiz, Estefanía Jiménez-Iglesias, Rosario Barba-González

Journal of Media Literacy Education

This study aimed to understand the advantages of digital connectivity in children and teenagers up to 18 years. Utilizing the PRISMA protocol, a decade’s worth of literature was reviewed, analyzing 128 articles from WOS and Scopus databases. The research highlighted five key areas where digital connectivity can exert a positive impact on children: 1) Entertainment, information, and communication; 2) Emotional and social development; 3) Healthy lifestyle; 4) Citizen participation; and 5) education. Recent trends show a rise in studies related to education and training, mainly employing qualitative methods, and predominantly focusing on European adolescents (12 to 18). The research’s goal …

“That’S Plagiarism!”: The ‘Filmed Vs. Found Footage’ Continuum In A Pedagogical Video Composition Teacher Professional Development Program, Nathan Smith Jones

Journal of Media Literacy Education

This paper describes a qualitative case study conducted in the Intermountain Western United States during the Fall of 2020. Though a few years old, the study remains relevant due to its esoteric subject within research on media production professional development education. Study’s purpose was to explore the processes and participants of an independent, pedagogical video composition (PVC––a.k.a. educational filmmaking) teacher professional development (PD) program. The primary sources of data were interviews of staff of the PD program and teacher graduates of the PD program. This paper focuses on a conclusion from the study: an alarming discrepancy between the attitudes of …

Attack On Titan Anime Memes: Possible Meanings And Interpretations By Young Adults., Yee-Lin Teo, Sze Seau Lee, Xin Jie Lim

Journal of Media Literacy Education

Memes have unpredictable and diverse interpretations because of their tendencies to be parodies, remixes, or mashups. This study aims to examine the possible meanings which memes may express and the interpretations of memes by young adults within the affinity space of Attack on Titan anime memes. The two-phase methodology involves analysing the memes using Shifman’s analytical dimensions of content, form, and stance, before conducting in-depth interviews with ten young adults who represent insiders and outsiders of the affinity space. The findings discuss how Attack on Titan memes normalise sexualisation, violence, and struggles such as suicidal intentions in young adults. The …

Little Ship, Big Screen: Animating The Battle Of The Atlantic At The Canadian War Museum, Jeff Noakes, Marie-Louise Deruaz

Canadian Military History

The Canadian War Museum developed a large-screen immersive computer-animated video experience for visitors to the Second World War gallery. It is a dramatisation of a Canadian corvette’s nighttime encounter with a German U-boat in the North Atlantic, told from the perspective of the corvette’s crew while escorting a convoy. This article examines and discusses the process of developing the upgrade, including decisions about subject matter and approach, and design and accessibility. The role of archival and historical research in defining these objectives is detailed, together with a behind-the-scenes look at the development and installation of the final product.

Le Musée …

“I Endeavored To Give A Pen And Ink Panorama Of The War As I Saw It”: Lieutenant E.W.B. Morrison In The South African War, Tim Cook, Hanna Murray

Canadian Military History

Employing eyewitness accounts to explore the experiences of Edward Whipple Bancroft Morrison, this article examines his wartime service in the South African War (1899-1902). A prominent journalist and later major-general in the Great War, Morrison served in South Africa as an artillery officer with D Battery, Royal Canadian Artillery. This article contextualises several of Morrison’s rare sketches from the collection of the Canadian War Museum, shedding new light on his service and that of Canadians in the long campaign.

Usant de témoignages pour explorer l’expérience d’Edward Whipple Bancroft Morrison, cet article se penche sur ses années de service militaire pendant …

Student Perceptions Of Campus-Integrated Therapy Dogs: Best Practices And Impact On Well-Being And Campus Belonging, Laura Poleshuck, Olivia Griffin, Caroline Winiecki

People and Animals: The International Journal of Research and Practice

College/university students are revealing concerning levels of anxiety and depression, as well as extremely high levels of loneliness, which interfere with their success in higher education (ACHA, 2022). A plethora of research has demonstrated that animal-assisted intervention (AAI) provided through interaction with trained therapy dogs has a positive effect on student well-being (e.g., Crossman et al., 2015; Grajfoner et al., 2017; Ward-Griffin et al., 2018). The InterProfessional Animal-assisted Wellness (IPAW) Collaborative, a campus-integrated therapy dog program with postsecondary students on a university campus, is a novel approach to AAI. The campus-integrated therapy dog program described in this study incorporates Pet …

Invent A Kid Project: Fostering Creative Reflective Practice In Teacher Candidates, Karen Poland, Mary Ellen Bardsley, Paul Vermette

Excelsior: Leadership in Teaching and Learning

A primary goal of teacher education programs is to equip teacher candidates with the necessary skills to navigate the social and cultural realities and complexities of the classroom while seamlessly integrating theory and practice. As our classrooms become more socially, economically, and culturally diverse it is important for teachers to evolve into developmentally and culturally responsive individuals who can incorporate a variety of teaching strategies to meet the unique needs of each student. However, novice teachers often face challenges in meeting the individual needs of students due to their lack of experience, classroom management challenges, time constraints, the complexity of …

Studying The Dynamics Of Neuromodulators In The Brain By Fluorescence Lifetime Imaging, Pingchuan Ma

Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Neuromodulators in the brain are fundamental to neuronal functions and animal behaviors in health and diseases. The modulatory actions of neuromodulators highly rely on their spatiotemporal dynamics. Recent research has demonstrated the importance of both sustained and transient change in neuromodulators, likely due to tonic and phasic neuromodulator release. However, no traditional methods could simultaneously record both types of dynamics. Fluorescence lifetime of optical reporters could offer a solution because it both allows high temporal resolution and is impervious to sensor expression differences across chronic periods. Nevertheless, no fluorescence lifetime change across the entire classes of neuromodulator sensors was previously …