Digital Commons Network^™

The United States National Security And Policy Implications Of Desertification, Eric Olvera

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Contemporary climate security literature reveals that desertification appears to be overlooked as a climate change security threat to the United States (US). This investigation demonstrates that an inequity exists between sea-level-rise- and desertification-based climate security literature. This inequity may reveal that the US may be ignoring desertification at a time when land use in some dryland areas is reaching a critical point where it can no longer support human activity. Due to the interdisciplinary nature (science and security) of this work, a review of the terminology used in the article is provided to establish a baseline understanding of “desertification” and …

Development Of A Novel Autoantibody Panel For Prostate Cancer Detection Based On Immunoproteomic Profiling And Cancer Driver Genes, Cuipeng Qiu

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Prostate cancer (PCa) is the second most frequent cancer in males with 1.47 million new cases and 396,700 deaths worldwide in 2022. It is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths among males in the United States with over 35,000 estimated deaths in 2024. PCa is a type of indolent cancer that can progress to an advanced metastatic castration-resistant (mCRPC) stage if not detected and treated early. Screening precancerous lesions or early tumor detection is an effective strategy to reduce the mortality of cancer. Despite the development of effective screening methods, such as the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test, the specificity …

Novel Therapuetic Approaches For Chagas Disease, Juan Carlos Silva

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Chagas disease (CD) is caused by the hemoflagellate protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi. This disease is considered one of the 20 neglected tropical diseases (NTD), and it is estimated that 6 to 8 million people worldwide are diagnosed with CD. In the United States, Chagas infection is not reported in all states; however, most reported CD cases are chronic infections. Chagas infection is characterized by two phases: an acute and a chronic phase. Until this present moment, no prophylactic or therapeutic human vaccine is available. However, in a recent study in a murine model, our group showed that the synthetic 20-merpeptide (DAENPGGEVFNDNKKGLSRV) …

Bloc 27, Makani Speier-Brito

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Bloc 27 is set in the early 22nd century in a severely overpopulated and competitive world. The society is run by OX, a highly controlled powerhouse government. OX controls the citizens through hierarchy and a vast divide between the rich and the poor. The poor citizens, derogatorily termed "roaches," are controlled not through currency but by a highly specialized points system. This system is tracked through body tech called "Seed Trackers," implanted at birth and operated through the wrist. All data is tracked through these embedded devices, including their currency mode. Citizens gain points for fulfilling monthly initiatives, and points …

Constructing A Discourse Model Across Modalities In Bilinguals, Diana Uribe

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The present study aimed to explore whether discourse integration is affected by differences in modalities, and if the magnitude of the effect is modulated by language dominance for bilingual readers. Spanish-English bilinguals read and listened to pairs of passages describing two fake science facts, one of which was repeated across passages and the other revised in the second passage. The pair of passages were either in the dominant or less dominant language. The modality (audio or text) of each member of the passage pair was manipulated across four within-subject conditions. After the second passage of each pair, participants verbally recalled …

Tracking - Uh - Attention: Examining The Influence Of Filled Pauses During Speech Comprehension, Rachel Lynn Williams

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

In this study, we investigated the temporal dynamics of attention during comprehension and the subsequent effects of changes in attention on speech production manipulated via the filled pause uh. Participants orally described a series of pictures (pretest description phase), then listened to a short informational passage and answered comprehension questions about the passage, and then orally described another series of pictures (posttest description phase). Participants completed this twice: the first passage included a dative structure alternation, and the second passage included a passive structure alternation. For each passage, half of the participants heard a passage with filled pauses included (present) …

Enhancing Predictive Accuracy In Noisy Data: A Robust Gradient Boosting Approach, Gabriela Alexa Acuna

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This thesis aims to enhance the gradient boosting technique, a well-known machine learning method, in a regression setup. Gradient boosting techniques implement sequential weak learners, in this case, shallow trees that contribute to the model with a small percentage. The traditional gradient boosting approach uses regression trees that choose thresholds based on minimizing variance and makes predictions based on the mean of the target variable for the observations contained within each node. The residual sum of squares (RSS) and mean metrics are sensitive to outliers, which makes the model's predictions less robust. Outliers influence the predictions, resulting in a model …

Tumor Expression Of Cd83 Reduces Glioma Progression And Is Associated With Reduced Immunosuppression, Malcolm F Mcdonald, Rachel Naomi Curry, Isabella O'Reilly, Brittney Lozzi, Alexis Cervantes, Zhung-Fu Lee, Anna Rosenbaum, Peihao He, Carrie Mohila, Arif O Harmanci, Akdes Serin Harmanci, Benjamin Deneen, Ganesh Rao

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Immunosuppression in malignant glioma remains a barrier to therapeutic development. CD83 overexpression in human and mouse glioma increases survival. CD83+ tumor cells promote signatures related to cytotoxic T cells, enhanced activation of CD8+ T cells, and increased proinflammatory cytokines. These findings suggest that tumor-expressed CD83 could mediate tumor-immune communications.

2021 Carroll County Advisory Council Minutes And Agendas, Mikayla Cerney

UNH Cooperative Extension

No abstract provided.

Ai Regulation Has Its Own Alignment Problem: The Technical And Institutional Feasibility Of Disclosure, Registration, Licensing, And Auditing, Neel Guha, Christie M. Lawrence, Lindsey A. Gailmard, Kit T. Rodolfa, Faiz Surani, Rishi Bommasani, Inioluwa Deborah Raji, Mariano-Florentino Cuéllar, Colleen Honigsberg, Percy Liang, Daniel E. Ho

Faculty Scholarship

Calls for regulating artificial intelligence (“AI”) are widespread, but there remains little consensus on both the specific harms that regulation can and should address and the appropriate regulatory actions to take. Computer scientists propose technical solutions that may be infeasible or illegal; lawyers propose regulation that may be technically impossible; and commentators propose policies that may backfire. AI regulation, in that sense, has its own alignment problem, in which proposed interventions are often misaligned with societal values.This Article assesses the alignment and technical and institutional feasibility of four dominant proposals for AI regulation in the United States: disclosure, registration, licensing, …

Analysis Of Microbiome In Various Human Medical Conditions Using Next-Generation Sequencing Of The 16s Rrna Gene, Pallavi Sharma

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Studies of human microbiomics, spanning diverse anatomical sites, offer a unique perspective into the complex microbial communities within the body. Influenced by age, gender, and disease, it mirrors broader microbial ecosystems. This study specifically delves into the ocular and gastrointestinal tract microbiome, comparing its composition in 43 healthy and diseased patients using 16S rRNA gene sequencing. We identified a rich microbial landscape, identifying over 338 bacterial taxa. Notably, Acinetobacter, Cutibacterium, Acidovorax and Herbaspirillum were prevalent in the ocular samples and Akkermansia, Faecalibacterium, and Anaerostipes were mostly prevalent in gut samples. Moreover, dry eye disease conditions were characterized by …

Incremental Nicotinic Acid Supplementation To Preweaned Dairy Calves: Effects On Growth, Blood Metabolites, Purine Derivatives And Indirect Rumen Development, Tamanna Islam

Master's Theses and Capstones

The purpose of this experiment was to investigate the dose response of nicotinic acid (NA) on body growth, blood glucose and β-hydroxybutyrate (BHBA) concentrations, and urinary purine derivatives (PD) excretion in preweaned dairy calves. A total of 40 (22 male and 18 female) Holstein dairy calves averaging initial body weight 42.5 ± 5.60 kg (mean ± SD) were blocked by birth and randomly assigned to 1 of 4 levels of NA: (1) 0 g/d (CON), (2) 2 g/d (2NA), (3) 4 g/d (4NA), and (4) 6 g/d (6NA). Following parturition, calves were separated immediately from their dams before suckling and …

Neural Network Architecture Search Enabled Wide-Deep Learning (Nas-Wd) Integrated Hyperspectral Imaging Understanding For Woody Breast In Poultry Processing, Chaitanya Kumar Reddy Pallerla

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The development and implementation of a Wide & Deep (WD) learning model tailored for classification and regression tasks utilizing spectral data provides a robust solution to evaluate woody breast (WB) conditions in poultry fillets. This process begins with thorough data preprocessing, which includes loading spectral and classification datasets, imputing missing values with medians, and splitting the data into training and testing sets to ensure rigorous model evaluation. The WD model architecture integrates wide linear models and deep neural networks to harness the strengths of both approaches. The wide component excels at memorizing sparse feature interactions, while the deep component captures …

Enhancing Selection Intensity With High-Throughput Phenotyping Data In Plant Breeding, Ashmita Upadhyay

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Genomic prediction (GP) has proven to be an essential tool to accelerate the cultivar development pipeline by predicting the performance of un-phenotyped lines in the field of plant breeding. However, the prediction accuracy is bounded by the heritability of the target trait, limiting the efficiency of the single-trait GP model. To overcome the limitation, a multi-trait genomic prediction model using high-throughput phenotyping (HTP) data can be used to leverage secondary traits to boost the predictive ability of the target trait. This study aimed to assess the efficiency of the multi-trait (MT)- GP model powered by HTP derived secondary traits in …

Utilization Of Prosur Phr As A Novel Phosphate Alternative In Tumble, Inject, And Tumble Injection Marinated Chicken Breast, Sarah E. Johnson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Poultry is the most widely consumed meat protein worldwide for its health consideration, affordability, and versatility. Historically, the poultry industry has utilized numerous methods to improve meat quality most significantly, marination. Marination is practice commonly used in the industry by imparting various chemical functional ingredients that are known to enhance sensory characteristics such as tenderness, juiciness, and flavor. Various marination methods used in the industry including tumble, injection, and soaking. Ingredients, such as sodium chloride and phosphates are commonly used in the marination process. In recent years the industry has witnessed a shift in consumer preferences to “clean-label”. This trend …

The Inclusion Of Soybean Co-Products In Ruminant Supplements On Health And Reproductive Efficiency, Kirsten Midkiff

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Soybeans are a vital commodity for Arkansas and the United States, with co-products such as soybean meal having wide popularity in animal feeds due to high protein content and palatability. Soybean meal primarily is utilized in diets for swine and poultry operations with a small market in the beef cattle industry, likely due to the increased costs that are associated with the product. On the other hand, soybean oil is a product from the production of soybean meal that is not as widely used in the livestock industry as most of the oil produced is used for industrial purposes. Additionally, …

Wind Tunnel Investigation Of The Along-Wind Dispersion In Finite-Duration Neutrally Buoyant Gas Releases, Daniel Williams

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis investigates the along-wind dispersion of hazardous gas releases within a turbulent boundary layer using controlled experiments in an ultra-low-speed wind tunnel, recognizing the limitations of numerical modeling and field tests. This study utilizes a neutrally buoyant gas mixture and dual Flame Ionization Detectors (FIDs) to capture representative, repeatable data on gas cloud behavior over finite durations. Ensemble averaging of 65 trials across varying release durations and downwind distances provided detailed insights into gas dispersion and the distinct time phases within finite-duration releases. Analysis revealed that along-wind dispersion coefficients depend on turbulence and vertical wind shear, with normalized coefficients …

Cognitive Bias, Memory, And Fearfulness Of Red Jungle Fowl And Athens Canadian Random Bred Chickens, Victor Juwon Oyeniran

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Our understanding of how poultry perceive and interpret their environment is essential to enhancing their welfare; over the years, animal welfare science has relied on measures of the behavioral and physiological components of affective states (positive and negative) as welfare indicators. There is an increasing interest in the study of chicken’s affective states using the Judgment bias test (JBT) as a tool for assessing welfare through their responses to ambiguous cues. This study investigates the cognitive performance of two chicken breeds with different evolutionary histories: Red Junglefowl (RJF), the primary ancestor of modern chickens, and Athens Canadian Random Bred (ACRB), …

Ang “Sublime” Ayon Sa Mga Taga-Tayabas, Fernando Nakpil-Zialcita

Katipunan

Isang paksang mahalaga ang “Sublime” sa kaisipang Kanluranin. Ano ang katumbas nito sa kaisipang Tagalog? Ayon sa mga eksperto, ang “maringal” ay wastong salin. Pero paano ginagamit ang maringal sa Tagalog? Paano ito naiiba sa dalawang magkalapit na salitang “maganda” at “dakila”? Itong sanaysay ay isang imbestigasyong antropolohiko tungkol sa pag-unawa ng mga mamamayan sa bayan ng Tayabas, Quezon, sa isang ekspresyong pilosopiko. Nanirahan ang awtor nang ilang linggo sa Tayabas. Gumamit siya ng participant observation at key informant interview sa pananaliksik. Namili ng mga respondent sa dalawang sektor: 1) taga-nayon, at 2) taga-sentro. Sa bawat panayam, tinanong sa mga …

Impluwesiya At Inspirasyong Dulot Ng The Xavier Stage Sa Lipunan Sa Pamamagitan Ng Sining-Pagtatanghal, Hobart V. Savior

Katipunan

Binabakas at sinusuri ng artikulong ito ang kasaysayan at patuloy na gampanin ng The Xavier Stage (TXS), ang repertoryong kompanyang panteatro ng Xavier University - Ateneo de Cagayan. Itinatag noong 2010, pinagsasama nito ang malikhaing produksiyon, kultural na paghubog, at panlipunang pakikilahok sa pamamagitan ng mga pangunahing programa nito: Bantawan (edukasyonal na teatro), Teatro Talakayan (pagsasanay panteatro), Bulig (panlipunang abot-tulong), Paglimbag (serbisyong pang-ekstensiyon), at Lab Prod (laboratoryo ng produksiyon). Pinagtitibay ng mga ito ang praktika ng kompanya sa teatro, at nagbibigay-ambag sa edukasyon, pamumuno, at pag-unlad pantao at panlipunan. Gumagamit ang TXS ng realismo bilang pangunahing anyo habang nag-eeksperimento sa …

Ang Iba’T Ibang Anyo Ng Buwan: Paggunita Sa Kasaysayan Ng Dulang Mula Sa Buwan Batay Sa Ebolusyon Ng Panghuling Eksena At Salita, Pat Valera

Katipunan

Ang dulang Mula sa Buwan ay makailang ulit nang ipinalabas sa loob ng labinlimang taon nitong kasaysayan. Simula pa noong 2010, nagkaroon na ng tatlong mahahalagang pagbabago ang teksto ng dula. Sa papel na to, inilalahad ng manunulat, na siya ring mandudula, ang mga nangyaring pagbabago partikular na sa panghuling eksena at salita ng dula. Sa pag-alala sa pinagdaanan ng dula, makikita kung papaanong, dahil sa danas ng mandudula at sa nagbabagong panahon at lipunan, humantong ang dula sa kasalukuyan nitong bersiyon.

Pakikinig Bilang Pakikibahagi: Rebyu Ng Ilang Tunugan Sa Maynila, John Paolo Sarce

Katipunan

No abstract provided.

“And There Was Light”: Karahasan Ng Pagliliwanag Sa Advanced Screeningng Some Nights I Feel Like Walking (2025), Alec Joshua Paradeza

Katipunan

No abstract provided.

Unravelling Large-Scale Patterns And Drivers Of Biodiversity In Dry Rivers, Arnaud Foulquier, Thibault Datry, Roland Corti, Daniel Von Schiller, Klement Tockner, Rachel Stubbington, Mark O. Gessner, Frédéric Boyer, Marc Ohlmann, Wilfried Thuiller, Delphine Rioux, Christian Miquel, Ricardo Albariño, Daniel C. Allen, Florian Altermatt, Maria Isabel Arce, Shai Arnon, Damien Banas, Andy Banegas-Medina, Erin Beller, Melanie L. Blanchette, Joanna Blessing, Iola Gonçalves Boëchat, Kate Boersma, Michael Bogan, Núria Bonada

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

More than half of the world’s rivers dry up periodically, but our understanding of the biological communities in dry riverbeds remains limited. Specifically, the roles of dispersal, environmental filtering and biotic interactions in driving biodiversity in dry rivers are poorly understood. Here, we conduct a large-scale coordinated survey of patterns and drivers of biodiversity in dry riverbeds. We focus on eight major taxa, including microorganisms, invertebrates and plants: Algae, Archaea, Bacteria, Fungi, Protozoa, Arthropods, Nematodes and Streptophyta. We use environmental DNA metabarcoding to assess biodiversity in dry sediments collected over a 1-year period from 84 non-perennial rivers across 19 countries …

Ang Retorika Ng Satira Ni Juana Change: Agresyon At Panliligalig, John Carlo S. Gloria

Katipunan

Mabulas na sandata ang satira na may mahaba nang kasaysayan ng pagbibigay-kritika sa kapangyarihan, paglalantad ng mga kontradiksiyon, at pag-uudyok sa isipan gamit ang pamumuna at pagpapatawa. Magkagayunman, dapat ding mabanggit na bahagi ng kasaysayang ito ang pagsasailalim ng satira sa iba pang anyo. Bunga ng kadalian nitong maiangkop sa ibang genre, lumabnaw ang mga pagsasakatangian sa satira at waring nanatiling nakahimpil ito sa anino ng mga anyong higit na bago kung ihahambing dito. Buhat sa ganitong pangangatwiran, lumilitaw ang pangangailangang muling turulin ang mga katangian ng satira na nagpapatampok dito. Pinoproblematisa ng sanaysay samakatwid ang pagkanatatangi ng satira bilang …

New Formulation Of Devitalize Paste Containing Pulp Out For Tooth Application, Maria Tanumihardja, Ermina Pakki, Fredryk Mandey, Lukman Muslimin

Journal of Dentomaxillofacial Science

Pulp Out, a combination of root extract of sidaguri (Sida rhombifolia), the sap of jatropha (Jatropha curcas), and melittin, have been proven by in vivo study as a tooth-pulp devitalizing agent which has similar properties to arsenic, but has limited side effects. Pulp Out needs to be formulated in a stable dosage form to optimize the application. The goal of the present study was to produce a stable paste-containing Pulp Out using sodium carboxymethylcellulose (Na CMC, 1.25 (F1), 2.5 (F2), 5.0 (F3)) and hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC, 1.25 (F4), 2.5 (F5), 5.0 (F6)). The effectiveness of the …

Roger Williams University 2024 President's Report: A Message From President Miaoulis, Roger Williams University

Life of the Law School (1993- )

No abstract provided.

Assessing The Influence Of Native And Invasive Grasses On The Behavior Of Aedes Aegypti In South Texas, Emily Medelez

Theses and Dissertations

Invasive grasses in South Texas can have widespread negative effects, displacing native species, reducing biodiversity, and posing risks to public health. These grasses may flourish in moist, shaded environments, which not only support their growth but also creates habitats favorable for mosquito activity. This can increase the population and alter the behavior of mosquitoes, potentially raising the risk of disease transmission. In this thesis, I look at the behavior of mosquito species Aedes aegypti, primary vector of the yellow fever virus. I analyzed the influence of oviposition, flight and resting behaviors. I tested the relative attraction of Aedes mosquitoes …

Microwave-Assisted Green Synthesis Of Spiroindolinopyranopyrazoles, Esther Owusu

Theses and Dissertations

Green Chemistry, usually known as sustainable chemistry, is widely implemented worldwide to safeguard human health and the environment. Recent investigations in organic synthesis and chemical transformation have demonstrated that green chemistry techniques are significantly reducing both chemical waste and reaction time. In order to fulfill this ecological requirement, it is crucial to lessen the utilization of perilous solvents and noxious chemicals, while also creating innovative reaction methods that decrease the production of trash. The implementation of such methodologies can greatly enhance the field of green chemistry. A more environmentally friendly synthetic method was utilized to generate spiro chemicals and their …

Using High-Pressure Processing To Improve The Quality Of Dark-Cutting Beef, Ashley A. Hahn

Department of Animal Science: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Previous studies have shown high-pressure processing (HPP) can be utilized to improve lean color of dark-cutting beef color by increasing the lightness and redness of steaks. However, the optimal parameters of length of time product is held under pressure and at which pressure must be applied have yet to be fully defined. Furthermore, the impact of HPP on color labile muscles in dark-cutting beef are currently unknown. Therefore, two studies were designed and specific efforts were focused on first defining optimal parameters for color stable muscles, followed by determining the effect of HPP on dark-cutting color labile muscles.

In the …