Digital Commons Network^™

Virginia Board Of Dentistry Meeting Notes September 12, 2025, Ursula Klostermyer Dds, Phd

Virginia Dental Journal

The document contains meeting notes from the Virginia Board of Dentistry, detailing discussions on board member introductions, regulatory updates, disciplinary reports, and upcoming conferences related to dental practices.

The Importance Of Internal Communications In A Dental Office, Michaela Mishoe

Virginia Dental Journal

Strong internal communication is vital for a dental office’s success, impacting efficiency, employee satisfaction, and patient experience. Strategies include defining roles, creating clear procedures, holding daily and regular team meetings, leveraging technology, and reinforcing office culture. Prioritizing communication fosters teamwork, reduces stress, and ensures consistent, high-quality patient care.

Beyond The Human: Democratic Education Through The Ethics Of Care And Carriance. A Response To “Reimagining Democratic Education With Care Ethics—Toward Care-Full Democratic Education”, Michalinos Zembylas

Democracy & Education

This is a response to Koponen and Kasa’s argument that feminist theorizing and care ethics have been overlooked as theoretical approaches in the current democratic education debate. Their article draws on these insights to theorize democratic education in ways that combine care and democracy. In my response, I aim to offer clarifying comments and questions while suggesting ideas to expand Koponen and Kasa’s analysis. Specifically, I highlight two perspectives that, in my view, warrant further exploration in democratic education: developing theoretical frameworks that move beyond human-centered and anthropocentric accounts and, embracing care and the concept of "care-carrying" or "carriance" (Ettinger, …

Reimagining Democratic Education With Care Ethics—Toward Care-Full Democratic Education, Selja Koponen, Tuija Kasa

Democracy & Education

In an era of democratic crises, democratic education in basic education is considered crucial. However, recent studies show that young people perceive their influence both at school and in society as limited, which decreases their civic activity later in life. The aim of this theoretical study is to reevaluate democratic education through feminist care ethics, which is an under-researched topic in the current theoretical debate. In our article, we outline a novel approach to caring democratic education (i.e., care-full democratic education), which presents a complementary stance toward current democratic education, which relies heavily on the theories of liberal democracy and …

One-Way Optical Data Transfer Using A Screen And A Light Sensor, Brandon Wuest

Defensive Publications Series

A method is described for one-way optical data transfer that may be used to configure electronic devices, such as wearable devices or smartwatches, which may lack certain input hardware like cameras or have displays where manual data entry is less practical. The system can employ a transmitter application on a device with a display (e.g., a smartphone, personal computer, or tablet) to encode data into a modulated optical signal, for example, a flashing pattern of light and dark areas. An encoding scheme, such as Manchester coding, may be used to generate a self-clocking signal. A corresponding receiver service on a …

Streamlined Activation Of Television Accessibility Features Using A Dedicated Assistive Profile, Hanumanth Rao Godari

Defensive Publications Series

Users may often face challenges in locating and activating television accessibility settings when interfacing with a television application. In some television applications, the accessibility settings may be buried within nested system menus that the user may navigate through to set up and use features of the television application directed towards improving the experience of the user. In addition, the user may need to navigate through the menus and settings each time the user interfaces with the television application. Navigation through many system menus and settings may create a barrier for users who rely on accessibility features such as screen readers, …

Proactive And Semi-Autonomous Agentic Quality Management Framework, Ramakrishnan Neelakandan, Teginder Singh, Bakul Patel

Defensive Publications Series

Traditionally, quality management relies on siloed systems of record such as quality management system (QMS), application lifecycle management (ALM), and manufacturing execution system (MES) platforms. These systems are often static, passive repositories that require significant manual effort to connect disparate data and derive actionable insights. Fragmentation and lack of proactive intelligence can lead to delays in identifying quality issues, ensuring compliance, and accelerating innovation. This disclosure describes a quality management framework to provide collaboration between human experts and specialized artificial intelligence (AI) agents for proactive and semi-autonomous quality management. The framework provides a distributed, intelligent ecosystem where a central AI …

Securely Rendering Untrusted Web Content, Jan Góra, Bjarki Ágúst Guðmundsson

Defensive Publications Series

Web applications sometimes need to render untrusted content such as user-uploaded files or data from third-party providers. A common approach is to isolate this content on a dedicated sandbox domain. However, a document served from the same sandbox domain can initiate attacks against other uploaded documents from the domain due to shared storage and insufficient process isolation. This disclosure introduces safe-content frames (SCF), a technique to achieve strong isolation between same-site documents, thereby forestalling attacks between documents uploaded from the same site. A notable use case is user-generated content (UGC) where documents originating from unrelated authors are hosted on the …

Guided Learning Using A Conversational Artificial Intelligence Agent, Amy Sims, Brian Veprek, Dave Messer, Nupur Jain, Daniel Gillick

Defensive Publications Series

Large language models (LLMs) are optimized for transactional efficiency such that they provide direct, immediate answers to user queries. This can be counterproductive in contexts where users are attempting to learn a topic via interactions with an AI agent powered by an LLM. This disclosure describes techniques for guided learning using an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered conversational agent that functions as an adaptive, inquiry-based pedagogical partner. Unlike standard conversational chatbots that provide direct answers, a specific set of system instructions (SI) and an architectural framework is described that enables the AI agent to guide users toward discovering answers and building lasting …

Method For Selecting A Radio Access Technology Based On User Activity Context During Network Acquisition, Edison Chen

Defensive Publications Series

When a user equipment (UE), such as a smartphone, wearable device, or other computing device, recovers from a lack of coverage or is switched on, it may default to searching for a previously used, potentially lower-speed radio access technology (RAT). This can lead to data buffering and latency if a user initiates a high-speed data activity, such as online gaming or video conferencing, as the device may then need to perform a subsequent handover to a higher-speed RAT. A described method can address this by allowing the UE to first determine a user's activity context upon recovering network access. By …

A Relaxed Parsing Method For Correcting Malformed Javascript Object Notation From Language Models, Fang (Anna) Fang

Defensive Publications Series

Large Language Models (LLMs) may produce syntactically invalid JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) outputs, which can lead to parsing failures in downstream applications. Such errors may include, for example, unbalanced braces, improper quoting, or unescaped characters, and can stem from the probabilistic nature of text generation. A relaxed parsing method is described to address these types of issues. Rather than performing strict, token-by-token validation, the described parser can identify a key-value pair, consume characters between a separating colon and a recognized end-of-value delimiter (such as a comma or closing brace) to define a value, and then attempt to repair certain errors …

Persona State Management In A Large Language Model Session Using Structured Text Delimiters, Christopher Jonathan Phoenix

Defensive Publications Series

A method is described for managing multiple personas within a single large language model (LLM) session, which can address challenges where roles may merge or be omitted in the output. The method can use structured delimiters, such as XML-style tags, to differentiate persona-specific text. For example, an initial prompt can establish each persona and its unique tag, with instructions for the model to enclose its corresponding output within those tags. The delimiters may function as high-salience tokens that condition the model's attention mechanism, promoting stylistic and logical consistency for each persona. This conditioning can guide the model to assign higher …

Hybrid Portable Document Format Table Parsing With Iterative Refinement By A Multimodal Large Language Model, Leonid Kuligin, Grigory Movsesyan

Defensive Publications Series

Extracting structured data from tables in PDF documents can be difficult because conventional parsers may not fully preserve intricate layouts, merged cells, or associated metadata, which can lead to inaccurate inputs for downstream systems like retrieval augmented generation. A hybrid pipeline is described that can combine a conventional parser with a multimodal Large Language Model (LLM). An initial parser can extract a table into a structured format, for example, HTML. Then, in an iterative process, a multimodal LLM can review the HTML representation alongside an image of the source PDF page to first generate a critique and then correct structural …

Has “Better Fafsa” Been Better Or Worse? A Study Of Student And Stakeholders’ Experience With The 2024-25 Fafsa, Jonathan S. Lewis, Alyssa Stefanese Yates

Journal of Student Financial Aid

The 2024-25 or “Better” FAFSA was intended to be simpler, addressing long standing issues with the federal financial aid application process, and expand financial aid eligibility to more low-income students and their families. However, its problematic implementation had negative implications for college access, affordability, and enrollment. This study reviews findings from a mixed methods case study of 274 students, parents, high school counselors, and financial aid administrators’ experiences navigating the 24-25 FAFSA. Interpreting participant responses through an administrative burden lens, the study found some intentional changes in the 24-25 FAFSA, such as the Direct Data Exchange and user-centered design elements, …

Ellen G. White’S Inaugural Vision: Prophetic Call, Commission, And Role, Angel Rodriguez

Ellen White and Current Issues Symposium

No abstract provided.

The Nature Of Inspiration In The Health Writings Of Ellen White, Don Mcmahon

Ellen White and Current Issues Symposium

No abstract provided.

Crossroads In Adventism: An Inside Perspective On The Modern Seventh-Day Adventist Church, William Johnsson

Ellen White and Current Issues Symposium

No abstract provided.

The Unity Of Divinity And Humanity In Revelation: Comparing Biblical And Ellen White Perspectives, Martin Hanna

Ellen White and Current Issues Symposium

No abstract provided.

Bibliographic Essay Of Publications About Ellen G. White, Merlin D. Burt

Ellen White and Current Issues Symposium

No abstract provided.

Reviewing Leverage In Indian Aifs: Regulating Share Pledge Financing, Shalin Ghosh

National Law School Business Law Review

No abstract provided.

For The Defense Of Farah Workers, Farah Manufacturing Company

Justice for Farah Strikers Committee Records

Pamphlet distributed by Farah Manufacturing against the Farah strikes.

The Practice Of Perfect Mistakes, Kelly Allen

The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy

Cheryl VanderMolen Neway, a fashion designer and textile artist residing in Fairfax, Virginia, provided the cover art for the Fall 2025 issue of The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy (OJOT). The photograph features a flowing, floor-length duster jacket entitled, The Free Spirit, 2024, made from an upcycled denim jacket with lace and hand-dyed linen, using shibori and indigo-dyeing techniques, modeled by Shamola Crosbie. Cheryl’s designs serve to express emotion, meet her need for creative exploration, and empower her community through fashion. Using resist-dyeing techniques paired with upcycled textiles and salvaged materials, she creates vibrantly unique clothing and mixed-media artwork …

Implicit Bias Training Standards In Health Care: Did Michigan Get It Right? A Policy And Ethical Framework Analysis, Megan Gailliard, Kieran Fogarty, Mary Lagerwey

The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy

In 2022, Michigan joined a handful of states requiring implicit bias training for its health care professionals. In its ideal application, implicit bias training of health care professionals will result in a reduction of the implicit biases held by health care providers. This bias reduction will, in theory, contribute to improved equity in the delivery of health care services. Ultimately, the less biased health professional, now delivering health care services with a more equitable hand, will help reduce health disparities in the State of Michigan.

This analysis of Mich. Admin. Code R.338.7004 - Implicit bias training standards for licensed and …

The Perception Of Occupational Therapists And Their Use Of Therapeutic Use Of Self When Interacting With Clients And Fieldwork Students, Maria T. Zock, Barbara Nadeau

The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy

The therapeutic use of self is an essential instrument in every occupational therapists' toolbox. Fieldwork is vital to a student’s transition to clinician and the student and fieldwork educator relationship is a critical component of the fieldwork experience. The researchers employed a phenomenological design to explore perceptions of 12 fieldwork educators regarding the similarities and differences in the way they use the therapeutic use of self with clients and students. How one develops their therapeutic use of self begins and evolves throughout fieldwork, impacting a clinician’s practice long-term. Results indicated that while the therapeutic use of self is readily used …

Occupational Therapy Guidelines For Rehabilitating People With Spinal Metastasis: Pathophysiology And Biomechanics, Julie H. Hunley, Ying Guo

The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy

Occupational therapists are increasingly treating people living with metastatic spinal cancer because of advancements in cancer treatment. Specific occupational therapy guidance for serving this growing and vulnerable population is limited. This paper provides evidence for occupational therapists to expand their understanding of the pathophysiological and biomechanical reasons for spinal precautions and the importance of individualizing interventions for people with metastatic spinal cancer. Metastatic lesions can compromise bone integrity, increasing the risk of pain, fractures, and spinal cord compression, leading to irreversible neurological damage. Daily life activities create large forces in the spine, putting people with spinal metastasis at high risk …

Terminating Pregnancies In Boccaccio, Anne C. Leone

Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics - All Scholarship

Analyzing examples from the Decameron (1349-51), De mulieribus claris (1361), and the Corbaccio (1365), I argue that Boccaccio (1313-75) demonstrates an awareness of theological, legal and medical opinions on abortion and contraception at the time. However, he is more attuned to the practical concerns of pregnancy than are many of his contemporaries. Acknowledging the variety of situations facing pregnant people and some parts of their lived experience that were ignored by many religious and legal authorities, Boccaccio highlights a disconnection between theory and practice, and thereby raises questions about the limits of abstract knowledge in the face of practical concerns.

Income Tax Treatment And Labour Supply In A Multi-Level Hierarchical Difference-In-Differences Model, Bruno Bosco, Carlo Federico Bosco, Paolo Maranzano

Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei Working Papers

Ignoring the possible hierarchical clustering of the data that frequently characterises the structure of labour markets implies that studies of the effects of income tax changes on labour supply use less than necessary information on the variability of the labour response. Estimation efficiency is reduced and relevant relationships affecting the agents’ reaction to net wage changes remain undetected. Motivated by the desire to implement an estimation procedure that accommodates a nested hierarchical statistical structure of labour supply macro data into of a causal-effect framework, we propose a novel multilevel DiD model that can estimate labour responses to exogenous tax hikes …

Competition Between Tool And Hand Motion Impairs Movement Planning In Limb Apraxia, Simon Thibault, John B. Yates, Laurel J. Buxbaum, Aaron L. Wong

Moss-Magee Rehabilitation Papers

Tool use is a complex motor planning problem. Prior research suggests that planning to use tools involves resolving competition between different tool-related action representations. We therefore reasoned that competition may also be exacerbated with tools for which the motions of the tool and the hand are incongruent (e.g., pinching the fingers to open a clothespin). If this hypothesis is correct, we should observe marked deficits in planning the use of incongruent as compared with congruent tools in individuals with limb apraxia following left hemisphere stroke (LCVA), a disorder associated with abnormal action competition. We asked 34 individuals with chronic LCVA …

The Parthenon, October 15, 2025, Baylee Parsons, Kaitlyn Fleming, Ashton Pack, Nate Harrah, Caden Adkins, Scott Price, Lilli Ross, Wade Sullivan

The Parthenon

No abstract provided.

Usa V. Reginald Stephens

2025 Decisions

USDC for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania