Digital Commons Network^™

Attenuation Of Cadmium Toxicity By Methanol Extracts Of Rauvolfia Vomitoria And Aframomum Melegueta Leaves, Temidayo Adeniyi, Moronkeji Akinpelu, Omokehinde Akinlami, Molade James Kolawole, Jesufemi Oloye, Imoleayo Akogun

Folia Medica Indonesiana

Highlights: 1. This study provides insight into the detrimental effect of cadmium exposure on mammalian cells using a murine model. 2. The co-administration of Rauvolfia vomitoria and Aframomum melegueta leaf extracts is more effective in ameliorating cadmium-induced toxicity than a single administration of each plant extract. 3. The co-administration of Rauvolfia vomitoria and Aframomum melegueta plant extracts can upregulate the expression of IL-10 and reverse the derangements in the TNF-α, IL-6, SOD, and GPX levels. Abstract Cadmium has long been known to be an environmental pollutant that can harm human health, with toxicity majorly affecting the kidneys and liver. This …

Repurposing Fossil Infrastructure, Heather E. Payne

San Diego Journal of Climate & Energy Law

Our built environment includes infrastructure dedicated to fossil fuels: wells, pipelines, compressor stations, refineries, fossil gas storage caverns, gas stations. One challenge as we decarbonize is how we will repurpose these locations and networks as we move toward a decarbonized world.

This Article imagines the outcomes for three distinct pieces of our fossil fuel infrastructure and how each could be a part of our decarbonized future. First, given the challenges seen building long distance transmission, local sources of renewable electricity will become even more critical. In many places, the most plentiful of these is rooftop solar, but it faces a …

Climate Regulation And Co-Benefits: The Reality Of Co-Benefits In Climate Policy And The Reality We Face Without Them, Riley Jacobs

San Diego Journal of Climate & Energy Law

The United States has long required administrative agencies to conduct Cost-Benefit Analyses (“CBA”) in their rulemaking. By conducting CBA, agencies “show their work” to Congress, courts, and constituencies as to why the agency wishes to regulate a certain way and what it would cost to do so.

This Article will focus on co-benefits, an increasingly divisive component of CBA. Co-benefits, or benefits occurring secondary to the targeted purpose of statutory authority, assist agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) in painting a holistic picture of everything the public has to gain from a rule’s passage. In recognizing that value, the …

Thriving In Theory, Missing The Mark: U.S. Organic Farming IndustryʼS Systemic Malfunctions And How Danish Organic Farming Policy Could Help Solve These Issues, Bailey Webster

San Diego Journal of Climate & Energy Law

Section one of this Article explains the overall framework of the U.S. organic farming industry, including certification, labeling, education, and funding. Section two explains the background and structure of Danish organic farming, administered by the Ministry of Food, Agriculture, and Fisheries of Denmark. Section three addresses and analyzes current issues afflicting the U.S. organic farming industry. Section four explores a prominent organic farming case, Center for Food Safety v. Perdue. Additionally, this Article details the comparison between the U.S. and Danish organic farming policies that are most relevant to issues in the U.S. industry. Lastly, and most importantly, this …

Whitetop (Hoary Cress) Control In Residential Situations, Taun Beddes, Michael Caron, Jacob Hadfield, Corey Ransom

All Current Publications

Whitetop (Lepidium draba, formerly Cardaria draba) is a persistent, perennial weed that grows in open, sunny areas. It spreads by seeds and rhizomes, enabling it to spread by several feet in a single season. It is common in wildlands, agricultural, and residential areas. It rapidly spreads into unhealthy lawns, landscape beds, and vegetable gardens. This fact sheet provides information on identification, lifecycle, landscape damage, and suppression and control options.

Building Climate Resilience: How Climate Groups Can Channel Anxiety And Grief Into Action, Martin J. Lemke

University Honors Theses

As the impacts of climate change increasingly stress the ecological and social systems of the planet there is also a greater incidence of psychological struggles related to climate instability. Climate change is a significant source of psychological distress for many individuals, often manifesting as climate anxiety and grief. This thesis explores research and therapeutic experience that has been generated as the discipline of psychology seeks to meet this rising challenge. In particular, the fields of ecopsychology, psychodynamic therapy, existential psychology and Indigenous knowledge contributed the majority of the insight to the conclusions drawn along with contributions from potentially applicable emotions …

Review On Illegal Wildlife Trade Provisions In Indonesia: Cost-Benefit Analysis And Law Enforcement, Adrianus Eryan

Indonesian Journal of International Law

Illegal wildlife trade is a crime that is rarely systematically exposed and difficult to investigate but generates extraordinary profits. As a one of mega biodiversity country in the world, Indonesia is an easy target for illegal wildlife trade. Unfortunately, existing law enforcement practices still need to be improved. There are at least two supporting factors enabling the wildlife crime: inadequate normative legal basis and weak law enforcement resulting from the high cost of crimes. The research is carried out through a series of theoretical frameworks of cost-benefit analysis and criticisms regarding ideal law enforcement practices through various court decisions. At …

`The Very Beautiful Principles Of Natural Philosophy': Michael Faraday, Paper Marbling And The Physics Of Natural Forms, Robert Pepperell

LASER Journal

In 1854, Michael Faraday wrote to thank the author who had sent him a book on the art of paper marbling. In the letter, Faraday referred to `the very beautiful principles of natural philosophy' involved in the process of dropping ink on thickened water. What are the `beautiful principles' that Faraday referred to, and how are they involved in the art of paper marbling? Here I consider some of the physical processes that occur in paper marbling and how the patterns that emerge represent `dissipative structures' that are governed by fundamental principles of nature, in particular the tendency for physical …

“Salmon Don’T Have Time For Us To Fix The Climate”: The Politics Of Climate Change And Dam Breaching On The Lower Snake River, Zanna Stutz

Geography Undergraduate Senior Theses

This thesis examines the politics of climate change and dam breach on the Lower Snake River. Located in Southeastern Washington within the Columbia River Basin, the four Lower Snake River dams (LSRD) have long been a source of political and legal controversy. While dam proponents advocate for services that they provide, which includes hydropower, navigation, and irrigation, others contend that their environmental impacts, particularly on salmon and steelhead, make them legally, environmentally, and morally irresponsible. Within this space, I specifically investigate how climate change has influenced the environmental politics and conflicts that surrounds dam breaching, further exploring how competing values …

Lawrence University One Hundred Seventy-Fifth Commencement, Sunday, June 9, 2024, Lawrence University

Commencement Programs

No abstract provided.

Fiscal Incentives For Green Growth: A Mixed-Methods Study Of The State Of Agroforestry And Tree Cover In India, Spriha Pandey

Environmental Studies Senior Theses

Agroforestry is a crucial strategy for diversifying farmer livelihoods and achieving India's climate goals, but its adoption has been hindered by institutional and fiscal obstacles. This mixed-methods study investigates the impact of national government schemes on tree cover increase and expert perceptions of incentives and barriers to agroforestry adoption. Our analysis of national schemes from 2013-2017 reveals that effective fiscal mechanisms and policy cohesion are critical drivers of agroforestry growth. Specifically, we find that increased funding for the Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) is associated with significant increases in tree cover area while funding for the Horticultural Scheme (NHM) is …

The Dartmouth Land Ethic: Synthesizing Environmental Ethical Beliefs In Hanover And Beyond, Conor M. Roemer

Environmental Studies Senior Theses

In this thesis, I seek to explore the nature of an environmental ethical paradigm at Dartmouth. In order to do so, I have chosen to begin with an examination of Aldo Leopold’s Land Ethic. This watershed essay has inspired many environmental ethical inquiries in the last eighty years. Leopold’s Land Ethic urged human beings to view the environment beyond what might be extracted for anthropogenic use and to see the land as a summation of everything that lies within it: not just the plants and animals, but the mountains, rocks, rivers, and soil as well. In turn, scores of philosophers …

Preclinical Examination Of A Nerve Specific Fluorophore Using Ex Vivo Human Tissues, Logan Michael Bateman

Dartmouth College Master’s Theses

Fluorescence-guided surgery (FGS) is a nascent field which seeks to improve patient safety and surgical outcomes using fluorescent agents known as fluorophores. Fluorophores are molecules which upon excitation with a specific wavelength of light emit a photon of a specific wavelength which can be detected using a modified camera system. Creation and translation of a fluorophore for clinical use is a costly, laborious, and time intensive process. Only a handful of fluorophores have received FDA approval and they required multiple years of tightly regulated clinical trials. Prior to these first-in-human studies these agents are subject to a litany of preclinical …

Conserving The Public Lands: Policy And Spatial Analysis Of A Bureau Of Land Management Conservation Leasing Mechanism, Isaiah M. Menning

Environmental Studies Senior Theses

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is the largest land administrator in the United States, managing about 10% of U.S. lands, primarily in the Western states. The BLM manages under a multiple-use framework, issuing commercial authorizations for grazing, mining, oil and gas, and wind and solar on public lands, while also managing for ecosystem health. In April 2024, the agency finalized a rule that would create a conservation leasing mechanism to allow private, state, and tribal parties to lease BLM lands for restoration and mitigation purposes, which I investigate here. First, I find that while the conservation leasing mechanism does …

Land-Use Governance And Indigenous Engagement In Arctic Alaska And Norway: Successes, Current Gaps, And Paths Forward, Ningning Sun

Environmental Studies Senior Theses

This study aims to analyze the land use governance structures and the role of Indigenous engagement in Alaska and Norway using a comparative approach, with special focus on successful practices, current gaps, and paths forward to achieve equitable governance. Extractive land uses, such as oil and gas extraction and the construction of wind farms, have mixed impacts on Indigenous communities and lead to social and legal issues such as land use conflict and environmental injustice. Previous research has studied land use governance in Arctic countries with regard to Indigenous Peoples, yet there is a lack of literature that spans Alaska …

Using Dna Barcoding To Identify High-Priority Taxa (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae) From Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Emerie Landers, Brandon Claridge, Will Kuhn, Victoria Seymour, Hettie Peek, Scout Fluet, Jake Ramgren, Jake Phelps, Brayden Paulk, Lydia Cordner, Jeremy Blaschke

Biology Student Research

The All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory (ATBI) in Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GSMNP) seeks to document every species of living thing in the park. The ATBI is decades in progress, yet some taxa remain virtually untouched by taxonomists. Such "high priority" taxa include the hyper-diverse parasitoid wasp family Ichneumonidae. Despite the positive and multifaceted effects ichneumonids have on their environment, only a small percentage of those collected in the park have been identified as species, mostly to their complex morphology and overwhelming diversity. Recently, DNA barcoding has transformed biodiversity inventories, streamlining the process to be more rapid and efficient. To …

Aligning Language Models With The Human World, Ruibo Liu

Dartmouth College Ph.D Dissertations

The field of Natural Language Processing (NLP) has undergone a significant transformation with the emergence of large language models (LMs). These models have enabled the development of human-like conversational assistants (e.g., OpenAI's ChatGPT), and expert-level AI software engineering agents (e.g., Devin from Cognition Lab). However, these models face a fundamental challenge related to their training methodology. Predominantly trained on vast datasets scraped from the web, their self-supervised learning objective---predict missing tokens---unintentionally perpetuates the biases, inaccuracies, and sensitive information inherent in their training data. These issues lead to what is termed misaligned}behaviors and pose a significant hurdle in the development of …

Protein Nanoparticles As Vaccine Platforms For Human And Zoonotic Viruses, Kush Kumar Pandey, Bikash R. Sahoo, Asit K. Pattnaik

Nebraska Center for Virology: Faculty Publications

Vaccines are one of the most effective medical interventions, playing a pivotal role in treating infectious diseases. Although traditional vaccines comprise killed, inactivated, or liveattenuated pathogens that have resulted in protective immune responses, the negative consequences of their administration have been well appreciated. Modern vaccines have evolved to contain purified antigenic subunits, epitopes, or antigen-encoding mRNAs, rendering them relatively safe. However, reduced humoral and cellular responses pose major challenges to these subunit vaccines. Protein nanoparticle (PNP)-based vaccines have garnered substantial interest in recent years for their ability to present a repetitive array of antigens for improving immunogenicity and enhancing protective …

Riding Shotgun: Authenticity And Discovery, James Washington Jr

Dartmouth College Master’s Theses

The truth hurts.” So, my family said to me from my earliest comprehension. The poet’s fundamental ethic requires a commitment to authenticity, at the intersection of myriad creative possibilities. How to write poems about family, friends, and life experiences, mine included, through honest interrogation? Fortunately, empathy and truth are not mutually exclusive. When I began my thesis, my poems written during MALS enrollment were scattered, print and electronic. I could have saved myself plenty of time had I been a good curator. So said, there was an upside to gathering the strays. I was afforded the benefit of thematic discovery …

Deconstructing The Richness Of Understanding The Nature Of Language, Learning, And Social Change: A Journey Through Sfl Action Research For Teachers In Pursuit Of A Multilingual Equity Agenda, Elih Sutisna Yanto

The Qualitative Report

This essential volume, edited by Meg Gebhard, illustrates how K-12 teachers use Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) and action research to support the development of disciplinary literacy among diverse learners in high-stakes school reform contexts. With contributions from teachers, teacher educators, and researchers, this book empowers teachers to be agents of change in their schools by designing and implementing of curricula, instruction, and assessment that build on students' cultural and linguistic knowledge. This book provides a framework, tools and resources for teaching and supporting multilingual students and ELLs through case studies and contexts. This book aims to improve teachers' professional practice …

A Data-Driven Deep Learning Approach For Remaining Useful Life In The Ion Mill Etching Process, Ahmed Darwish

Sustainable Machine Intelligence Journal

Prognostics and Health Management (PHM) is regarded as an essential element in the scope of intelligent manufacturing. Precise forecasting of the remaining useful life (RUL) of an ion mill is crucial in order to enhance the overall efficiency of the ion mill etching (IME) procedure. This paper proposed a Data-driven Deep Learning (DL) framework that integrates a Temporal Convolution Network (TCN), Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM), and self-attention mechanism to improve the accuracy of RUL prediction in the ion mill etching Process. Initially, sensor input data is divided into two parallel paths - one with TCN blocks for capturing long-range dependencies, …

The Critical Art And Hope Of Unraveling: A Review Of M. F. Alvarez’S Autoethnography Of Suicide And Renewal, Lucy E. Bailey

The Qualitative Report

This review engages with the powerful critical and evocative autoethnography, Unraveling: An Autoethnography of Suicide and Renewal (2024). Written by M. F. Alvarez, Assistant Professor of Communication Studies at the University of New Hampshire, this book narrates the embodied experiences of a young Filipino gay man named Mike whose suffering from childhood trauma slowly escalates into relentless delusions and self-harm that eventually propel him to seek professional help. Alvarez’s beautifully sculpted book captures Mike’s multidimensional psychological life as he lives, observes, and narrates it within structures that medicalize people’s mental health experiences. Dividing his text into story and analysis, Alvarez …

Slime Molds (Myxomycetes) Causing A “Disease” In Crop Plants And Cultivated Mushrooms, Zhaojuan Zhang, Chao Zhi, Yu Li, Steven L. Stephenson, Pu Liu

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Myxomycetes (plasmodial slime molds) are eukaryotic protist predators that are associated with wood, leaf litter, and soil in forests, where they feed on bacteria, protozoans, and (to a more limited extent) fungi. The health of crop plants is essential because they represent a primary food source for humans. However, when myxomycetes produce numerous fruiting bodies on the stems and leaves of crop plants, which is herein referred to as a myxomycete colonization, this has the potential of interfering with plant photosynthesis, transpiration and respiration by blocking out light and covering stomata. Myxomycetes are not pathogens, but their occurrence on plants …

Native American And First-Nations Canadian And Physical Pfas Accumulations: A Literature Review, Laurel Liebeseller

University Honors Theses

Native communities' exposure to anthropogenic Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS: "Forever Chemicals") are not demographically or geographically evenly distributed. Those who live near or on contaminated land or water are the most likely to accumulate dangerous amounts of PFAS that may have serious health consequences (Tribal PFAS Working Group 2021). Areas that tend to be most contaminated include landfills, airports, and military bases. Often Black, Indigenous People of Color (BIPOC) and low-income communities are placed near these "sacrificial zones" due to historic and current policies that segregate and marginalize people and families to polluted lands creating great environmental injustices (Dixie). …

Driving Pressure Decoded: Precision Strategies In Adult Respiratory Distress Syndrome Management, Muhammad Adrish, Sai Doppalapudi, Dmitry Lvovsky

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Mechanical ventilation (MV) is an important strategy for improving the survival of patients with respiratory failure. However, MV is associated with aggravation of lung injury, with ventilator-induced lung injury (VILI) becoming a major concern. Thus, ventilation protection strategies have been developed to minimize complications from MV, with the goal of relieving excessive breathing workload, improving gas exchange, and minimizing VILI. By opting for lower tidal volumes, clinicians seek to strike a balance between providing adequate ventilation to support gas exchange and preventing overdistension of the alveoli, which can contribute to lung injury. Additionally, other factors play a role in optimizing …

Designing Of Human Serum Albumin Nanoparticles For Drug Delivery: A Potential Use Of Anticancer Treatment, Ali Al-Ani, Rasha Alsahlanee

Karbala International Journal of Modern Science

Human serum albumin (HSA) nanoparticles have been widely used as versatile drug delivery systems for improving the efficiency and pharmaceutical properties of drugs. The present study aimed to design HSA nanoparticle encapsulated with the hydrophobic anticancer pyridine derivative (2-((2-([1,1'-biphenyl]-4-yl)imidazo[1,2-a]pyrimidin-3-yl)methylene)hydrazine-1-carbothioamide (BIPHC)). The synthesis of HSA-BIPHC nanoparticles was achieved using a desolvation process. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) analysis showed the average size of HSA-BIPHC nanoparticles was 80.21 nm. The percentages of entrapment efficacy, loading capacity and production yield were 98.11%, 9.77% and 91.29%, respectively. An In vitro release study revealed that HSA-BIPHC nanoparticles displayed fast dissolution at pH 7.4 compared to pH …

Evaluation Of 14 Pfas For Permeability And Organic Anion Transporter Interactions: Implications For Renal Clearance In Humans, Sangwoo Ryu, Emi Yamaguchi, Seyed Mohamad Sadegh Modaresi, Juliana Agudelo, Chester Costales, Mark A. West, Fabian Fischer, Angela L. Slitt

Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences Faculty Publications

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) encompass a diverse group of synthetic fluorinated chemicals known to elicit adverse health effects in animals and humans. However, only a few studies investigated the mechanisms underlying clearance of PFAS. Herein, the relevance of human renal transporters and permeability to clearance and bioaccumulation for 14 PFAS containing three to eleven perfluorinated carbon atoms (η_pfc = 3–11) and several functional head-groups was investigated. Apparent permeabilities and interactions with human transporters were measured using in vitro cell-based assays, including the MDCK-LE cell line, and HEK293 stable transfected cell lines expressing organic anion transporter (OAT) 1–4 …

Development Of Primary Osteoarthritis During Aging In Genetically Diverse Um-Het3 Mice., Sher Bahadur Poudel, Ryan R Ruff, Gozde Yildirim, Richard A Miller, David E Harrison, Randy Strong, Thorsten Kirsch, Shoshana Yakar

Faculty Research 2024

BACKGROUND: Primary osteoarthritis (OA) occurs without identifiable underlying causes such as previous injuries or specific medical conditions. Age is a major contributing factor to OA, and as one ages, various joint tissues undergo gradual change, including degeneration of the articular cartilage, alterations in subchondral bone (SCB) morphology, and inflammation of the synovium.

METHODS: We investigated the prevalence of primary OA in aged, genetically diverse UM-HET3 mice. Articular cartilage (AC) integrity and SCB morphology were assessed in 182 knee joints of 22-25 months old mice using the Osteoarthritis Research Society International (OARSI) scoring system and micro-CT, respectively. Additionally, we explored the …

Novel Human Recombinant N-Acetylgalactosamine-6-Sulfate Sulfatase Produced In A Glyco-Engineered Escherichia Coli Strain, Luisa N. Pimentel-Vera, Alexander Rodríguez-López, Angela J. Espejo-Mojica, Aura María Ramírez, Carolina Cardona, Luis H. Reyes, Shunji Tomatsu, Thapakorn Jaroentomeechai, Matthew P. Delisa, Oscar F. Sánchez, Carlos J. Alméciga-Díaz

Department of Pediatrics Faculty Papers

Mucopolysaccharidosis IVA (MPS IVA) is a lysosomal storage disease caused by mutations in the gene encoding the lysosomal enzyme N-acetylgalactosamine-6-sulfate sulfatase (GALNS), resulting in the accumulation of keratan sulfate (KS) and chondroitin-6-sulfate (C6S). Previously, it was reported the production of an active human recombinant GALNS (rGALNS) in E. coli BL21(DE3). However, this recombinant enzyme was not taken up by HEK293 cells or MPS IVA skin fibroblasts. Here, we leveraged a glyco-engineered E. coli strain to produce a recombinant human GALNS bearing the eukaryotic trimannosyl core N-glycan, Man3GlcNAc2 (rGALNSoptGly). The N-glycosylated GALNS was produced at 100 …

What The Eye Doesn't See: The Power Of Non-Ocularcentric Engagement In Museum Learning, Sophie J. Houghton

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Museums are unique spaces of teaching and learning. Museum exhibits transcend the constraints of classroom learning by leveraging visitors’ curiosity and allowing for increased learning autonomy. However, this learning often comes solely through visual interaction, due to museums’ role in preservation and protection of their collection. Though visual-based learning is common in museums and in Western education at large, multisensory elements cement learning autonomy and prompt visitors to learn through play. These principles are exemplified through children’s’ museums, science museums, and museum adaptations for blind and low-vision visitors. Through multisensory adaptations, traditional museums can transform their impact on visitors. This …