Digital Commons Network^™

A Republic Of Pawprints: The Rise And Reign Of The Alaskan Sled Dog, 1870-1970, Christopher David Adkins

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation charts the career of the Alaskan sled dog: how it was used as an engine of development, how it became a symbol for early American Alaska, and how it fell victim to obsolescence as newer and faster means of conveyance became available. The figure of the sled dog in the Arctic is complex. Because it was closer to the wolf in phenotype both it, and Alaska, were buffeted by the same White settler expectations and Darwinian chauvinism which afflicted its Indigenous peoples. This would intensify during the baptisms by fire of the gold rushes. Dog abuse – overwork, …

Tres Apuestas Por Lo Porvenir, Silvia Gabriela Kurlat Ares

Alambique. Revista académica de ciencia ficción y fantasía / Jornal acadêmico de ficção científica e fantasía

No abstract provided.

Blocks? Graphs? Why Not Both? Designing And Evaluating A Hybrid Programming Environment For End-Users, Nico Ritschel, Felipe Fronchetti, Reid Holmes, Ronald Garcia, David C. Shepherd

Faculty Publications

Many modern end-user development environments support one of two visual modalities: block-based programming or data-flow programming. In this work, we investigate the trade-offs between the two modalities in the context of robotics tasks. These often contain both aspects that are better solved with blocks and others that best fit data-flow programming. To address this style of task, we present and discuss two novel programming environment prototypes, one purely block-based and one a hybrid of blocks and data-flow programming. We compare the designs through a controlled experiment with 113 end-user participants, in which we asked them to solve programming and program …

The Promise And Perils Of Tech Whistleblowing, Hannah Bloch-Wehba

Northwestern University Law Review

Whistleblowers and leakers wield significant influence in technology law and policy. On topics ranging from cybersecurity to free speech, tech whistleblowers spur congressional hearings, motivate the introduction of legislation, and animate critical press coverage of tech firms. But while scholars and policymakers have long called for transparency and accountability in the tech sector, they have overlooked the significance of individual disclosures by industry insiders—workers, employees, and volunteers—who leak information that firms would prefer to keep private.

This Article offers an account of the rise and influence of tech whistleblowing. Radical information asymmetries pervade tech law and policy. Firms exercise near-complete …

Risk Assessment And Sources Apportionment Of Toxic Metals In Two Commonly Consumed Fishes From A Subtropical Estuarine Wetland System, Md Moudud Ahmed, As-Ad Ujjaman Nur, Salma Sultana, Yeasmin N Jolly, Bilal Ahamad Paray, Takaomi Arai, Jimmy Yu, Mohammad Belal Hossain

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The widespread occurrence of heavy metals in aquatic environments, resulting in their bioaccumulation within aquatic organisms like fish, presents potential hazards to human health. This study investigates the concentrations of five toxic heavy metals (Pb, Hg, Zn, Cu, and Cr) and their potential health implications in two economically important fish species (Otolithoides pama and Labeo bata) from a subtropical estuarine wetland system (Feni estuary, Bangladesh). Muscle and gill samples from 36 individual fish were analyzed using energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDXRF). The results revealed that the average quantities of heavy metals in both fishes' muscle followed the declining …

Citizenship And Service Learning At Lynn University, Erika Grodzki

Faculty and Staff Publications & Presentations

Dr. Erika Grodzki presented a paper on the Citizenship Project at Lynn University at the Broadcasting Education Association's annual conference in Las Vegas.

The Role Of Attention Mechanisms In Enhancing Transparency And Interpretability Of Neural Network Models In Explainable Ai, Bhargav Kotipalli

Harrisburg University Dissertations and Theses

In the rapidly evolving field of artificial intelligence (AI), deep learning models' interpretability

and reliability are severely hindered by their complexity and opacity. Enhancing the

transparency and interpretability of AI systems for humans is the primary objective of the

emerging field of explainable AI (XAI). The attention mechanisms at the heart of XAI's work

are based on human cognitive processes. Neural networks can now dynamically focus on

relevant parts of the input data thanks to these mechanisms, which enhances interpretability

and performance. This report covers in-depth talks of attention mechanisms in neural networks

within XAI, as well as an analysis …

Ensuring Clean Futures: The Vital Role Of Wastewater Treatment, Nadya Casanova

Goal 6: Clean Water and Sanitation

No abstract provided.

Metallic Light-Based Bird-Repellent Prototype To Reduce Paddy Yield Loss In Jatinangor, Sumedang Regency, Ai Siti Santriyani, Ichsan Nurul Bari, Wahyu Daradjat Natawigena, Lindung Tri Puspasari, Syifa Nabilah Subakti-Putri

Jurnal Kultivasi

Munia birds (Lonchura spp.) are pests that attack paddy plants during the reproductive phase. The traditional methods of controlling birds are considered less effective because birds can adapt to the tools used. This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of a metallic light-based bird-repellent prototype to reduce paddy yield loss. The experiment was conducted in Cileles Village paddy fields, Jatinangor Subdistrict, Sumedang Regency, West Java Province, Indonesia. The effectivity of the prototype was tested by measuring the effective distance (m2), counting the frequency of bird visits (number of visits), bird populations, and the level of paddy damage (%), and paddy …

Pregnane X Receptor Signaling Pathway And Vitamin K: Molecular Mechanisms And Clinical Relevance In Human Health, Jeff Staudinger, Avina Mahroke, Gauri Patel, Cole Dattel, Sahana Reddy

Faculty and Staff Publications

This review explores the likely clinical impact of Pregnane X Receptor (PXR) activation by vitamin K on human health. PXR, initially recognized as a master regulator of xenobiotic metabolism in liver, emerges as a key regulator influencing intestinal homeostasis, inflammation, oxidative stress, and autophagy. The activation of PXR by vitamin K highlights its role as a potent endogenous and local agonist with diverse clinical implications. Recent research suggests that the vitamin K-mediated activation of PXR highlights this vitamin's potential in addressing pathophysiological conditions by promoting hepatic detoxification, fortifying gut barrier integrity, and controlling pro-inflammatory and apoptotic pathways. PXR activation by …

Evolution Of The Transforaminal Lumbar Interbody Fusion (Tlif): From Open To Percutaneous To Patient-Specific, Peter N Drossopoulos, Favour C Ononogbu-Uche, Troy Q Tabarestani, Chuan-Ching Huang, Mounica Paturu, Anas Bardeesi, Wilson Z Ray, Christopher I Shaffrey, C Rory Goodwin, Melissa Erickson, John H Chi, Muhammad M Abd-El-Barr

2020-Current year OA Pubs

The transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF) has seen significant evolution since its early inception, reflecting advancements in surgical techniques, patient safety, and outcomes. Originally described as an improvement over the posterior lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF), the TLIF began as an open surgical procedure, that notably reduced the need for the extensive neural retractation that hindered the PLIF. In line with the broader practice of surgery, trending toward minimally invasive access, the TLIF was followed by the development of the minimally invasive TLIF (MIS-TLIF), a technique that further decreased tissue trauma and postoperative complications. Subsequent advancements, including Trans-Kambin's Triangle TLIF (percLIF) …

Independent Reading In The High School Classroom: An Examination Of Students' Reading Behaviors And Perceptions, Emma Halfman

John Wesley Powell Student Research Conference

Independent reading is a time wherein students are allowed to read self-selected materials on their own (Yoon, 2002). Federal research like that of the National Reading Panel Report (NRP), however, has suggested that such programs in schools do not have conclusive benefits for students. Given this context, some administrators, teachers, and parents often do not advocate for independent reading in the classroom. They prefer instead that class time be spent wisely. They prefer that the class time be focused on the instruction of skills/content that matter to students and that align with state and national standards and assessments. With such …

Changing Prejudice Against Minority Groups: The Role Of Self- And Group-Affirmation, Constantina Badea, Yara Alnajjar

Online Readings in Psychology and Culture

According to self-affirmation theory, prejudice towards minority groups represents defensive reactions that individuals may exhibit to cope with threats to their ingroup. Affirming participants’ important values, reminding them of important personal or collective successes, attenuates defensive reactions such as prejudice and discrimination. A distinction is first made between self-affirmation, accomplished by recalling values that are meaningful to the individual, and group-affirmation, achieved through the recall of values important to an ingroup (e.g., family, nation). Inconsistent results were obtained in studies using self- and group-affirmation manipulations for reducing prejudice. The aim of this article is to examine factors that …

Evaluation Of Alginate Hydrogel Microstrands For Stromal Cell Encapsulation And Maintenance., Sujith Chander Reddy Kollampally, Xulang Zhang, Nicholas Moskwa, Deirdre A Nelson, Susan T Sharfstein, Melinda Larsen, Yubing Xie

Faculty Research 2024

Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) have displayed potential in regenerating organ function due to their anti-fibrotic, anti-inflammatory, and regenerative properties. However, there is a need for delivery systems to enhance MSC retention while maintaining their anti-fibrotic characteristics. This study investigates the feasibility of using alginate hydrogel microstrands as a cell delivery vehicle to maintain MSC viability and phenotype. To accommodate cell implantation needs, we invented a Syringe-in-Syringe approach to reproducibly fabricate microstrands in small numbers with a diameter of around 200 µm and a porous structure, which would allow for transporting nutrients to cells by diffusion. Using murine NIH 3T3 fibroblasts …

Formerly Used Defense Sites On Unalaska Island, Alaska: Mapping A Legacy Of Environmental Pollution, Jennifer Schmidt

ISER Articles

Unalaska Island, Alaska, served as a US military base during World War II. The military installed bases on Unalaska and nearby islands, many of which were built adjacent to Unangan communities. The military used toxic compounds in its operations and left a legacy of pollution that may pose health risks to residents and local wildlife. The goals of this study were to identify hotspots of contamination remaining at Unalaska formerly used defense (FUD) sites, evaluate the risk posed by arsenic, and examine “no US Department of Defense action indicated” (NDAI) status determinations for FUD sites near communities. We compiled soil …

Habitat Suitability For Age-0 Lake Sturgeon In The Grand River, Benjamin D. Gunnett

Masters Theses

Lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens) are a state-threatened species in Michigan and have become a focus for conservation. The lower Grand River is home to a remnant population of lake sturgeon between the 6th Street dam in downtown Grand Rapids and Lake Michigan. There has been limited research on age-0 lake sturgeon habitat use in low-gradient and more turbid rivers. To address this deficit, we developed a Habitat Suitability Index (HSI) for age-0 lake sturgeon based on prior literature in the Great Lakes. A HSI combines parameters representing in-stream habitat characteristics to score habitat suitability on a scale of 0-1, 0 …

Woosh Jín Toolshát Yeisú, WeʼRe Still Holding Each OtherʼS Hands : Relationships And Revitalization In Lingít Country, Éedaa Heather Burge

Faculty, Staff, and Students

This dissertation examines the relationships the Lingít language revitalization movement has to concepts of gender, identity, organizations and academia. The Lingít language and the Lingít people reside within Southeast Alaska in the United States, as well as northern British Columbia and the southern Yukon territory in Canada. Relying on my own lived experience as a Lingít learner and educator, as well as interviews and conversations with Lingít community members, we discuss how relationality supports the larger goal of Lingít language and cultural revitalization. Specifically we talk about the role of women within the language movement, and what approaches can best …

Agent-Based Modeling For The Neophyte: An Application Of Netlogo, Olcay Akman, Siddharth Bhumpelli, Christopher Hay-Jahans

Faculty, Staff, and Students

Agent-based modeling has found applications in a wide range of fields including economics, sociology, ecology, epidemiology, transportation planning, and more. Its versatility allows researchers to investigate various “what-if” scenarios, test the effects of different policies or interventions, and gain insights into the underlying mechanisms driving complex systems. This article is intended for the curious student or researcher who is unfamiliar with agentbased modeling and is looking for a quick but reasonably informative exposure to the field.

Gucy2c Signaling Limits Dopaminergic Neuron Vulnerability To Toxic Insults, Lara Cheslow, Matthew Byrne, Jessica Kopenhaver, Lorraine Iacovitti, Richard Smeyne, Adam Snook, Scott Waldman

Farber Institute for Neuroscience Faculty Papers

Mitochondrial dysfunction and reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation within the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNpc) are central drivers of dopaminergic (DA) neuron death in Parkinson's disease (PD). Guanylyl cyclases and their second messenger cyclic (c)GMP support mitochondrial function, protecting against ROS and promoting cell survival in several tissues. However, the role of the guanylyl cyclase-cGMP axis in defining the vulnerability of DA neurons in the SNpc in PD remains unclear, in part due to the challenge of manipulating cGMP levels selectively in midbrain DA neurons. In that context, guanylyl cyclase C (GUCY2C), a receptor primarily expressed by intestinal epithelial cells, …

Command Of The Winds: An Examination Of Earth Mother And Great Serpent Iconography, Melinda Alaine Martin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

Mississippian cosmoscapes provide a perceived, yet concealed, existence of spiritual realms inhabited by other-than and more-than human-beings who interact, influence, and interfere with the tangible landscape through natural and material contexts. To conceptualize the world around them, Mississippian ritual practitioners focused on a tripartite cosmological organization: an Above World, Middle World, and Beneath World realms. Within each of these “worlds”, multiple other-than and more-than-human-beings possessed powers, which allowed them to influence the Middle World of humans and their lived experiences. A duality exists between Earth Mother (Above World), who commands vortexes or tornadoes, and the Great Serpent (Beneath World), who …

Chitosan As A Biomedical Material For Additively Manufactured Musculoskeletal Regeneration, Andrew Blass Watson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

High-energy combat-related extremity injuries to both bone and soft tissue from improvised explosive devices are one of the signature injury patterns suffered by US Servicemen during modern the military engagements. Even with bone healing and adequate management of infection, a significant number of battlefield-injured military personnel have returned from combat with persistent functional deficits. Tissue engineering holds immense promise for regenerative medicine by providing innovative solutions for repairing and replacing damaged tissues. In this study, we present two significant advancements in tissue engineering: the development of a novel bio-ink for muscle tissue constructs and the investigation of drug-loaded membranes for …

Art And Evidence In Totems Of Uganda (2014), Margaret Nagawa, Taga F. Nuwagaba

Artl@s Bulletin

In his painting and book project, Totems of Uganda: Buganda Edition (2014), Ugandan artist Taga Nuwagaba asks: What is the function of a totem? In Buganda, the historical kingdom in current-day Uganda, totems serve as unique identifiers for fifty-two distinct patrilineal descent groups designated as clans, or ebika in the Luganda language, forming the primary scheme of social and political organization. Yet, totems also serve as a conservation practice. In this 2022 interview, Nuwagaba discussed his art and the evidence he relies upon to create his images, demonstrating that identities and knowledges are complex.

Munna Uganda Taga Nuwagaba abuuza nti: …

Shaky Foundations: Cultural Classifications In Museum Collections Management Systems And The Endurance Of Colonial-Era Terminology, Carlee S. Forbes, Erica P. Jones

Artl@s Bulletin

This article uses two musical instruments with attached ancestral remains and labeled as “Asante” from the Fowler Museum at UCLA to consider effects of style-based cultural classifications that appear in museum databases today. We highlight the sway of past classifications over our current understanding of objects that is prolonged by the problem of confirmation-bias in museum collections management systems. We then indicate how working across disciplines stimulated a more nuanced understanding about the complexities of artistic styles for musical instruments with attached human remains in the Akan-speaking region of West Africa.

Cet article étudie deux instruments de musique incorporant des …

Shifting Approaches, Innovative Methods: Collection Histories As A Tool To Move Beyond William Fagg’S ‘Lower Niger Bronze Industry Mystery’, Imogen Coulson, Julie Hudson, Sam Nixon

Artl@s Bulletin

At the end of 2019, the British Museum launched a new research project focusing on copper alloy objects associated with the Lower Niger Bronze Industry. The aim was to increase knowledge of these objects through a combination of provenance and collection history research and scientific analysis. This paper will outline the earlier art historical-focused approach to the Lower Niger Bronzes corpus and will then describe the new research and its methodology. Initial findings will be presented through a case study of objects from the Forcados River in the Niger Delta region of present-day Nigeria. In doing so, we aim to …

Making Absences Present: The Process Of Visualizing Knowledge Production In Museum Records, Caitlin Glosser

Artl@s Bulletin

In this paper, I evaluate the development of data visualizations as an art historical approach. By visualizing data for Senufo-labeled objects in the Musée Africain de Lyon’s collection, I demonstrate how the museum’s knowledge infrastructure privileges European collectors over African makers. I use Tableau visualizations to decenter this narrative by making silences present in a more impactful manner than through text alone. The visualizations also reveal the complex role that one maker, Bèma Coulibaly, played in the life of the collection. The addition of the individual narrative to the data was necessary to bring a human element into view.

Nous …

Exploring The Utilization Of Imaging Modalities In Diagnosis Of Basal Cell Carcinoma: A Scoping Review, Mahi Basra, Lucas Shapiro, Hemangi Patel, Collin Payne, Alejando Biglione

InterLACE Research Showcase

No abstract provided.

Emoji-Based Module On The Writing Skills Of Senior High School English Language Learners, Karl Angelo R. Tabernero

Annual Research Congress for High School and Elementary Teachers, Researchers, and Scholars (ARCHERS)

Addressing the problems of poor English writing skills encountered in Senior High School (SHS) level of basic education requires innovative learning material that is responsive to the nature, needs, and interests of the present learners and to the learning gaps brought by the COVID-19 pandemic. As quality education is one of the sustainable development goals emphasized by the United Nations, the development and utilization of a flexible and transformative learning module are deemed important to provide learners with language knowledge and skills regardless of their background and status. Hence, it is in this light that the study was conducted: to …

Hugnayang Kognitibo: Pagtatala At Pagsusuri Sa Proseso Ng Pagbuo Ng Kagamitang Panturo Sa Filipino Gamit Ang Instruksiyon Sa Telebisyon - Deped Tv, Ronnel B. Agoncillo Jr.

Annual Research Congress for High School and Elementary Teachers, Researchers, and Scholars (ARCHERS)

Ang DepEd TV ay isang pambansang programa ng Kagawaran ng Edukasyon sa ilalim ng Information and Communications Technology Service - Educational Technology Unit (DepEd ICTS-ETU) na nabuo sa pagsisimula ng pandemyang COVID-19 noong 2020. Layunin nitong punan ang learning gaps na maaaring umusbong dahil sa pagbabago ng paradigma ng edukasyon tungo sa blended learning o pagkatutong nakabatay sa paggamit ng modyul o internet. Maglaon, lumitaw na mainam itong suplemento sa pagtuturo sa basic education dahil sa aksesibilidad nito at nakaeenganyong pormat ng pagtuturo. Layunin ng papel na ito ang sumusunod: (a) maitala at mataya ang naging proseso ng mga itinalagang …

The Fierce Green Fire: Vol. 14 Issue 18, Wofford College Environmental Studies Program

The Fierce Green Fire

No abstract provided.

Effects Of Delayed Hca Exposure On A Rat Model Of Bipolar Disorder, Eden Comer, Natalie Olander

23rd Annual A. Paul and Carol C. Schaap Celebration of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity (2024)

Bipolar disorder (BD) is a neuropsychological disorder featuring cyclical periods of depressive and manic behaviors. The Chase lab aims to develop a reliable animal model for BD in order to characterize its critical neurological triggers. Previous work has shown that daily injection of rat pups from postnatal day 3 through 19 (P3-P19) with homocysteic acid (HCA) produces a mixed manic and depressive state after puberty. These behaviors can be reversed by lithium treatment and involve changes in gene expression in the prefrontal cortex that are also improperly regulated in BD. Despite this model's reproducibility, we observed critical changes in the …