Digital Commons Network^™

Residual Next-Day Effects Of Alprazolam On Psychomotor Performance And Simulated Driving In Healthy Normal Adults, Stevie C. Roszkowski, Shanna Babalonis, Marion A. Coe, Paul Nuzzo, Michelle R. Lofwall, Laura C. Fanucchi, Sharon L. Walsh

Center on Drug and Alcohol Research Faculty Publications

The prevalence of drugged driving has increased in the United States. Some drugged driving may be unintentional as prescription medications used as sleeping aids, like zolpidem, cause impairment after the predicted duration of therapeutic action has elapsed. The aim of this study was to determine if nighttime administration of alprazolam, a drug commonly prescribed off-label as a sleeping aid, impacts driving performance the following day. Participants were healthy adults (n = 15) who completed a double-blind, double-dummy, within-subjects inpatient study examining the effects of nighttime administration of alprazolam (0.5, 1, and 2 mg), zolpidem (10 mg), and placebo on driving …

Hungarian Ruling Political Party Fidesz’S ‘Soft Power’ Use Of Religion: Themes, Networks, Partnerships, Alexander Faludy

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

This article aims to stimulate better understanding of Fidesz’s use of religion as a ‘soft power’ tool. Exploring the Hungarian government’s ‘soft power’ has lately engaged the attention of professional researchers. The use of religious messaging, networks, and opinion formers to propagate positive images of Fidesz abroad has, however, largely been overlooked. This essay argues that such use has been both substantial and successful. The article’s primary focus will be on the use made of Christianity in government aligned communications and network building. Attention will, however, also be paid to the subsidiary roles played by Fidesz’s outreach to both Jewish …

Cross-Species Comparisons Between Pigs And Mice Reveal Conserved Sex-Specific Intraspinal Inflammatory Responses After Spinal Cord Injury, Reena Kumari, Gabrielle V. Hammers, Robert H. Hammons, Andrew N. Stewart, Steven M. Maclean, Tracy Niedzielko, Lonnie E. Schneider, Candace L. Floyd, John C. Gensel

Spinal Cord and Brain Injury Research Center Faculty Publications

Objective Therapeutic translation is challenging in spinal cord injury (SCI) and large animal models with high clinical relevance may accelerate therapeutic development. Pigs have important anatomical and physiological similarities to humans. Intraspinal inflammation mediates SCI pathophysiology. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of sex on inflammation and outcomes in a pig thoracic contusion/compression SCI model.

Methods Adult (gonad-intact) male and female Yucatan miniature swine were subjected to either SCI or sham (laminectomy-only) injury.

Results SCI caused locomotor dysfunction (measured with the Porcine Thoracic Injury Behavior Score) with some recovery over 6 weeks and limited tissue sparing …

Differential Speed And Accuracy Trade-Off In Working Memory Retrieval And Bilateral Precuneus Between Older Men And Women, Darlingtina K. Esiaka, Stephanie Strothkamp, Aghayeeabianeh Banafsheh, Lucas S. Broster, David K. Powell, Gregory Jicha, Yang Jiang

Behavioral Science Faculty Publications

Background

Despite various hypotheses, including differences in longevity, hormones, genetics, and neuroanatomy, the reasons for the higher prevalence of Alzheimer's disease in older women compared to men remain unclear. Emerging evidence suggests that the precuneus, a key region of the default mode network, is linked to internally focused processes like memory retrieval. We examined the relationship between precuneus volumes and task performance (accuracy and reaction time) during working memory retrievals in cognitively normal older adults.

Method

A cohort of older participants (N = 45; 25 women; M_age = 77) from the University of Kentucky Alzheimer's Disease Research Center …

Using Llms To Model Arguments In U.S. Supreme Court Briefs: Preliminary Report, Heng Zheng, Dexter Williams, Bertram Ludäscher

Information Science Faculty Publications

Supreme Court briefs can impact the decision-making of Supreme Court cases. We show how to represent the briefs for a U.S. Supreme Court case as a formal argument model that relies on the briefs’ existing structure. We explore how to generate argument models with large language models (LLMs) by using them to identify attacks between arguments.

Examining The Communication Work Of Women Who Have Tested Brca-Positive: “I Feel This Responsibility To Let People Know”, Summer C. Martin, Allison M. Scott, Anne M. Stone

Communication Faculty Publications

Inheriting a pathogenic variant in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene considerably increases a woman's risk levels for developing breast and ovarian cancer. In addition to serious physical health implications, women with a BRCA pathogenic variant may face psychosocial challenges, including those related to navigating the often demanding process of communicating about topics regarding BRCA with family and other social network members. Based on in-depth interviews with 24 women who tested BRCA-positive, we found that—consistent with the conceptualization of communication work articulated by Donovan-Kicken et al. (2012) as an extension of the theory of illness trajectories (Corbin & Strauss, 1988)—the labor …

From Likes To Legislation: How The Internet Has Facilitated Hate Speech, Anti-Dei Discourse And Policy, And Threatens Our Democracy, Carmen Lynn Benavides-Garb

Undergraduate Scholarship

I argue that the way hate speech, and Anti-DEI rhetoric spreads online, through social media and algorithms, has impacted real-world Anti-DEI policies, attitudes, and overall backlash. In this essay I will begin by discussing the four themes found in my literature review, 1) Online Hate Speech, 2) Social Media and Algorithms, 3) Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), and 4) Anti-DEI Movements. From there, I will discuss the historical background of DEI movements in America to provide context about what makes this moment in history unique. I will then discuss the role of the Trump Presidency in relation to Anti-DEI work. …

Accelerated Aging System For Pinniped Tags, Sean Shermer, Nathan Vasquez, Deekshitha Garige

Undergraduate Scholarship

This project focused on the design of an accelerated aging system intended to evaluate the durability of pinniped identification tags used in marine mammal research. The system was developed in collaboration with the Cal Poly Humboldt Marine Lab and NOAA, under the guidance of Dr. Dawn Goley, to address the limitations of field based durability testing, which is slow, inconsistent, and difficult to reproduce. The primary objective was to create a repeatable laboratory testing framework capable of simulating multiple environmental stressors experienced by pinniped tags. This includes the accelerated tests of UV radiation, mechanical abrasion, temperature cycling and biological fouling. …

Adolescents’ And Parents’ Perspectives On Using The Medsmarxt Families Intervention In Emergency Departments For Opioid Medication Safety Education: Mixed Methods Study, Olufunmilola Abraham, Sara Nadi, Irene Hurst

Pharmacy Practice and Science Faculty Publications

Background: The opioid crisis has significantly impacted adolescents and their families. This is attributed in part to increased opioid prescriptions in pediatric emergency departments (EDs) due to acute pain conditions and injuries. Although EDs frequently prescribe opioids, no effective preventative interventions have been implemented to educate adolescents and their families on safe opioid use. This study evaluates the MedSMA℞T Families intervention, which consists of an engaging serious game, Adventures in PharmaCity, and a personalized Family Medication Safety Plan (FMSP) with the aim of reducing opioid misuse and promoting opioid medication safety. The MedSMA℞T Families intervention was developed to educate adolescents …

Impact Of Fast Advancement And Early Fortification Of Enteral Feedings In Preterm Infants, A Retrospective, Observational Study., Enrique Gomez-Pomar, Holly Clarke, Jamie Adams

Pediatrics Faculty Publications

UNLABELLED: We aimed to evaluate the outcomes and growth of preterm infants at a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit that focuses on early initiation, fast advancement, and early fortification of enteral feeds.

METHODS: Retrospective study conducted at a community hospital level III NICU. Extensive feeding data and outcomes were collected by utilizing a NutritionIQ software application, NICUtrition®. Infants born between 26- and 34-weeks gestational age were included, whereas infants with congenital defects, deceased or with incomplete data were excluded. Frequency and descriptive statistical analysis were conducted using chi-square and Fisher's exact test. Unadjusted odds ratios were computed for categorical variables and …

Gai Research - A Case Study On The Implications Of Generative Artificial Intelligence (Gai) On Teaching Within An Irish Technological University., Moya Cronin

Theses

The rapid emergence of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GAI) has introduced a transformative age of technology, gaining prominent attention in higher education. This mixed-methods case study examined how GAI was understood, applied, and managed within an Irish Technological University at a time of turbulence when no official GAI policies were available as a point of reference. Lecturing and research staff were invited to participate in an online survey (𝑛 = 145) and semi-structured interviews (𝑛 = 8) to share their experiences with GAI technology within the case study university. Lack of guidance was seen to affect staff’s confidence and adoption, but …

Affordable Miniaturized Speckle Contrast Diffuse Correlation Tomography Device For Depth-Sensitive Mapping Of Cerebral Blood Flow In Rodents, Fatemeh Hamedi, Faezeh Akbari, Mehrana Mohtasebi, Chong Huang, Li Chen, Lei Chen, Guoqiang Yu

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Publications

Significance: Continuous and longitudinal monitoring of cerebral blood flow (CBF) is critical for understanding brain pathophysiology and guiding interventions. Although rodents are the primary models in neuroscience, existing imaging modalities often fail to provide the optimal combination of low cost, high spatiotemporal resolution, wide head coverage, and sufficient penetration depth for small-animal brain imaging.

Aim: Leveraging a clinical speckle contrast diffuse correlation tomography (scDCT) system, we aimed to develop an affordable, user-friendly, fast, and miniaturized scDCT (mini-scDCT) device tailored for depth-sensitive CBF imaging in small rodents.

Approach: The mini-scDCT replaces bulky and costly optoelectronic components with compact, low-cost alternatives while …

Exploring The Impact Of Generative Ai Chatgpt On Critical Thinking In Higher Education: Passive Ai-Directed Use Or Human-Ai Supported Collaboration?, Nesma Ragab Nasr, Chih-Hsiung Tu, Jennifer Werner, Tonia Bauer, Cherng-Jyh Yen, Laura Sujo-Montes

STEMPS Faculty Publications

Generative AI is weaving into the fabric of many human aspects through its transformative power to mimic human-generated content. It is not a mere technology; it functions as a generative virtual assistant, raising concerns about its impact on cognition and critical thinking. This mixed-methods study investigates how GenAI ChatGPT affects critical thinking across cognitive presence (CP) phases. Forty students from a four-year university in the southwestern United States completed a survey; six provided their ChatGPT scripts, and two engaged in semi-structured interviews. Students’ self-reported survey responses suggested that GenAI ChatGPT improved triggering events (M = 3.60), exploration (M = 3.70), …

The Effects Of Return To Prairie In Barber County, Kansas: A Case Study Using Ndvi And Dendrochronology, Elijah O. Joy

Master's Theses or Doctor of Nursing Practice

This study aims to evaluate the impact of prairie restoration efforts in Barber County, Kansas, with a focus on removal of Eastern Red Cedar. Restoration effectiveness was assessed using remote sensing of satellite scenes via NDVI, density analysis, and dendrochronological methods. The tree density analysis revealed a 66% reduction across the study area and a 99% reduction in the fully restored zones. NDVI analysis from 2010 to 2024 showed higher summer vegetation health and seasonal fluctuations influenced by climate variability and fire events. Dendrochronological data from tree cores reveals growth patterns and establishes a baseline for future dendrochronological chronologies. The …

Oil-Oil Correlation Across Sedimentary Basins In Kansas Using Molecular Geochemistry And Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy, Oluwaseun V. Omoyemi

Master's Theses or Doctor of Nursing Practice

Hydrocarbons are produced from different subbasins and stratigraphic intervals in Kansas. However, the geochemical characteristics and sources of these hydrocarbons are still poorly understood. While reservoir rocks, seals, and traps that are essential for petroleum systems are well defined within the state, the possible source rocks are often considered thermally immature, raising questions about their ability to generate the volume of hydrocarbons currently being produced. This research project tries to evaluate the geochemical characteristics of hydrocarbons produced in the state of Kansas and determine if the hydrocarbons from the different subbasins and stratigraphic units are genetically related. Thirty-seven crude oil …

A Crucible For Allotment And Assimilation: The Referendum For Ratification Of The Sioux Act Of 1889 On The Standing Rock Agency, Richard Keith Smith

Master's Theses or Doctor of Nursing Practice

Determining post-Civil War national policy regarding American Indians was a tedious process. Many entities could describe themselves as stakeholders in the process, stakeholders who were beholding motivations which they would describe as significant. Those motivations would, to varying degrees, take the interest of Native Americans into consideration. It was in the liminal environment of volatile policy adjustments that American Indians were compelled to make decisions regarding their future. The Dakota (Sioux) represented a crucible for the recently approved General Allotment Act of 1887. The rise of progressive tribal leadership was a primary reason for the sudden passage of the Sioux …

Hooked On Sight: Teen With Eye Trauma, Anjeza Cipi, Emily Sealy

Department of Emergency Medicine Faculty Publications

[Case presentation] A 14-year-old male with no prior ocular history presented to the emergency department after accidentally striking his left eye on a metal garden hook while on vacation. He experienced a brief flash of light but denied floaters, vision changes, pain, or diplopia. Visual acuity was 20/20 bilaterally with correction. Pupils were equal and reactive, intraocular pressures were normal, and extraocular movements were intact. The injury noted is seen in Figures 1 and 2. There was no evidence of scleral penetration or foreign body on slit lamp examination. Intraocular pressure measurements were deferred until globe rupture was ruled out …

On Disciplining States, Aziz Z. Huq

Public Law and Legal Theory Working Papers

No abstract provided.

Yes, The Founders Were Originalists, William Baude

Public Law and Legal Theory Working Papers

Jonathan Gienapp’s Against Constitutional Originalism accuses originalism of a kind of self- defeat, arguing that the Founders weren’t really originalists. But like Jefferson Powell’s sim- ilar argument forty years ago, which encouraged a shift from original intent to original meaning, Gienapp’s work may only help along a similar shift, this time from original mean- ing to our original law.

Gienapp makes four main claims: that the Founders’ Constitution wasn’t conventional law; that the Founders couldn’t agree on how to read it; that much of their fundamental law was unwritten; and that no originalist theory can account for this. As we …

Framed By Education: Labeling, Stigma, And The Behavioral Pathways Of Alternative School Students, Abigail Dempsey

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Alternative education has emerged as a critical part of the education system, addressing the needs of students who face academic, behavioral, or personal challenges. However, concerns persist about their long-term effectiveness and the stigma associated with alternative school placements. This study examines how stigma tied to alternative school placements impacts delinquency outcomes among adolescents, utilizing labeling theory as a conceptual framework. Drawing on longitudinal data from the Pathways to Desistance dataset, this research explores the relationships between school placement, self-perception of success, and delinquent behaviors. It also serves to investigate whether labeling of an alternative school placement creates a self-fulfilling …

Voltage-Dependent Anion-Selective Channels 1 And 2 Wild Type And Mutant Bh3-Like Domain Peptides: Analysis Of Secondary Structure And Binding Stoichiometry To Recombinant Bax, Mackense Kathleen Greico

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study investigates Bax binding to voltage-dependent anion-selective channels (VDAC1 and VDAC2) N-terminal 26-mer peptides, which have strong sequence homology to BH3 domains, to assess binding stoichiometries, affinities, residues involved in binding, and the potential role of peptide secondary structure in this process. Peptide helical content was assessed without or with Fos12 detergent using circular dichroism spectroscopy. Fluorescent-tagged peptides were used to assess binding affinities and stoichiometries to recombinant Bax, after correction for non-specific binding using bovine serum albumin. Affinities for VDAC1 and VDAC2 were three- to six-fold, respectively, lower than for the Bim BH3 domain, but all three peptides …

Resilience Imagined In The Mississippi Delta: Exploring Housing, Education, And Community Adaptation In Mississippi’S Internal Colonies, Semonti Jannat

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the impact of housing insecurity on educational attainment and community resilience in Cartersville, Mississippi, a historically marginalized community in the Mississippi Delta. Utilizing a qualitative research design, the study draws from in-depth interviews with eleven primary caregivers, revealing the multifaceted ways in which inadequate housing conditions affect children’s learning environments, mental health, and academic performance. The findings indicate that housing instability, manifested through overcrowding, poor infrastructure, and high financial burdens, significantly disrupts students’ educational experiences, contributing to absenteeism, limited academic focus, and stress-induced underperformance.

While the study highlights the persistent socioeconomic challenges linked to the enduring legacies …

Salinity Tolerance Of Bighead Carp And Its Implications For Dispersal In The Lake Pontchartrain Ecosystem, Alan Katzenmeyer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The introduction of invasive bighead carp (Hypophthalmichthys nobilis) into the Pearl and Pascagoula River systems via the Bonnet Carré Spillway during flood control operations poses a significant threat to these unique ecosystems. This dissertation's experiments investigated the role of salinity in limiting bighead carp dispersal, demonstrating that brackish waters do not necessarily restrict their range as previously assumed. While bighead carp exhibited no significant impairment in swimming performance in salinities at or below 5 ppt, acute and chronic exposure to salinities at 15 ppt proved lethal within 50 hours, representing a critical salinity threshold. Despite mortality at elevated salinities, the …

Opportunity Restored: Using Creative Measures To Provide Students With Academic Advancement Opportunities Lost During Covid-19, Randal Clint Jordan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This mixed-methods action research study examines the Fast Track and Graduation Path (FTGP) programs—equity-focused interventions developed to offer opportunity to students who experienced academic disruption during COVID-19 emergency schooling (Creswell & Plano Clark, 2018). The programs targeted students retained due to socioeconomic status, learned helplessness, or the technology learning gap, rather than a lack of ability or low prior performance (Jenson, 2013; Maier & Seligman, 1976; Bower, 2019). FTGP provided structured academic pathways, daily facilitation, technology-based instruction, and character education to rebuild learner confidence and achievement (Reimer & Hill, 2022).

Quantitative data from the Edgenuity© learning platform revealed the program’s …

Optimizing Infill Density For Fabricating Novel Radio Frequency Devices Utilizing Additive Manufacturing, Bibek Kattel

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Additive manufacturing, commonly known as 3D printing, is revolutionizing radio frequency engineering. Along with rapid prototyping and fabricating complex structures, it enables varying substrate thickness and dielectric properties, which are highly beneficial for radio frequency research. However, despite its growing popularity, there’s a gap in understanding how 3D printing process parameters affect the electrical properties of the 3D printed structure. In radio frequency design, where device performance and characteristics heavily depend on electrical parameters such as relative permittivity, this hinders the consistency, repeatability, and reliability of 3D printed radio frequency devices.

This research addressed this gap by investigating the relationship …

Exploring Simplified Reservoir Computing Systems For Resource-Constrained Edge Ai Hardware, Ziyi Niu

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Echo State Networks (ESNs) have emerged as a promising paradigm for modeling complex temporal dynamics due to their unique architecture in which only the output weights require training, while the recurrent internal reservoir remains fixed. This characteristic significantly reduces training complexity and computation time, making ESNs particularly attractive for real-time processing and resource-constrained, low-power hardware implementations. However, conventional ESNs typically employ the computationally demanding hyperbolic tangent (tanh) activation function within the reservoir neurons, which poses challenges for efficient hardware realization. To address this limitation, recent research has focused on exploring alternative lightweight activation functions—including Logistic, Tent, tanh-Linear, ReLU, and Quadratic …

The Characterization Of Radiation Forces Using Tunable Acoustic Lenses, Sina Rostami

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation investigates the design, analysis, and optimization of tunable acoustic lenses with a primary focus on beamforming, dynamic focusing, and the generation of limited diffraction beams. The study examines the performance of four-channel and six-channel lenses in producing highly controlled ultrasonic fields with minimal diffraction. Numerical simulations and experimental validation are used to demonstrate how these lenses effectively form focused beams that maintain spatial coherence over a range of distances.

A systematic comparison between the four-channel and six-channel lenses is performed at multiple focal configurations (5.5 cm, 7.8 cm, and 10.0 cm). The results show that both lens types …

The Daily Choices And Personality Quiz: Designing And Testing A New Manipulation Of Masculinity Threat, Caitlin M. Shaw

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Boys receive unique messaging about their gender identity from an early age, including that they must avoid anything associated with femininity (Blakemore, 2003). Failure to follow this group norm is usually met with punishment or ridicule (Kane, 2006; Katz, 2020). Unsurprisingly, this socialization might teach boys that manhood is not guaranteed. Precarious manhood theory (Vandello & Bosson, 2013) argues that manhood–but not womanhood–is a status that must be socially earned, but can be revoked, making it “precarious.” Since the theory’s inception, researchers have explored ways to experimentally examine the consequences of “lost manhood” using masculinity threat paradigms which describe men …

Efficient Hierarchical Design In Reservoir Computing, Shuai Song

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Reservoir Computing (RC) has established itself as a compelling paradigm for modeling complex temporal dynamics, particularly owing to its efficient training regime, theoretical grounding in dynamical systems, and growing compatibility with hardware-oriented deployments. Among RC variants, Echo State Networks (ESNs) remain popular due to their simplicity and effectiveness; however, traditional ESNs with densely connected, randomly initialized reservoirs present inherent limitations in scalability, energy efficiency, and hardware realizability challenges that hinder their adoption in edge and embedded intelligence scenarios.

In this work, we present an efficient hierarchical reservoir computing framework that integrates three complementary strategies: (1) deterministic Simple Cycle Reservoirs (SCRs) …

1:1 Ipad Implementation & Standardized Testing, Kristen Lane Whitehead Zemek

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study investigates the relationship between 1:1 iPad implementation and student performance on the Mississippi Academic Assessment Program (MAAP) standardized tests. As school districts increasingly adopt 1:1 technology initiatives, it is critical to understand their impact on key academic outcomes. This research examines the extent to which the consistent use of iPads in the learning environment influences student achievement in core subjects. By analyzing test score data from schools with established 1:1 iPad programs, this paper seeks to provide empirical evidence to inform educational stakeholders, administrators, and policymakers. The findings aim to contribute to the broader discourse on technology integration …