Digital Commons Network^™

Comments For The Butte Priority Soils (Bpsou) Residential Metals Abatement Program (Rmap) – Interior School Dust – Investigation Summary Report – Gold Hill Lutheran (Dated February 5, 2024), Molly Roby

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

Comparative Analyses Of The Banded Alder Borer (Rosalia Funebris) And Asian Longhorned Beetle (Anoplophora Glabripennis) Genomes Reveal Significant Differences In Genome Architecture And Gene Content Among These And Other Cerambycidae, Terrence Sylvester, Richard Adams, Robert F. Mitchell, Anne M. Way, Rongron Shen, Na Ra Shin, Duane D. Mckenna

Entomology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Rosalia funebris (RFUNE; Cerambycidae), the banded alder borer, is a longhorn beetle whose larvae feed on the wood of various economically and ecologically significant trees in western North America. Adults are short-lived and not known to consume plant material substantially. We sequenced, assembled, and annotated the RFUNE genome using HiFi and RNASeq data. We documented genome architecture and gene content, focusing on genes putatively involved in plant feeding (phytophagy). Comparisons were made to the well-studied genome of the Asian longhorned beetle (AGLAB; Anoplophora glabripennis) and other Cerambycidae. The 814 Mb RFUNE genome assembly was distributed across 42 contigs, with …

Preferences And Willingness To Pay For A Novel Carbon Label: A Choice Experiment In The United States, Wen Lin, Rudolfo M. Nayga Jr, Wei Yang

Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness Faculty Publications and Presentations

This study investigates how US consumers respond to and value a new technology-based carbon label on food products. Results indicate that individual valuation of the carbon-labeled bread is $4/20 oz, marginally lower than the valuation of the conventional and organic bread products. Moreover, individuals belonging to certain market segments, such as non-White, liberal, and well-educated consumers, and those having a high level of knowledge about the causes of climate change, exhibit a higher valuation for the novel carbon label.

‘In This Prison We Have Our Main Meal At 11:30 Am’. The Significance Of ‘Time’ For Food Among People Serving Custodial Sentences In England And Wales, Julie M. Parsons

School of Law, Humanities and Social Sciences

In this article, I am thinking through the social life of time for food in prison from a practice theory perspective. I draw upon empirical data from in-depth qualitative interviews with people serving custodial sentences or recently released from prison in England and Wales who have been on placement at a prisoner resettlement charity (RC). These support findings from Her Majesty’s Inspectorate for Prisons report on Life Inside: Food from 2016, and I consider two aspects from the report, (i) an exploration of the standards and conditions in which food is consumed and (ii) the timings of mealtimes. For people …

Faster Detection Of Asymptomatic Covid-19 Cases Among Care Home Staff In England Through The Combination Of Sars-Cov-2 Testing Technologies, Finola Ryan, Joanna Cole-Hamilton, Niharika Dandamudi, Matthias E Futschik, Alexander Needham, Rida Saquib, Raghavendran Kulasegaran-Shylini, Edward Blandford, Michael Kidd, Éamonn O'Moore, Ian Hall, Malur Sudhanva, Paul Klapper, Andrew Dodgson, Adam Moore, Madeleine Duke, Sarah Tunkel, Chris Kenny, Tom Fowler

School of Biomedical Sciences

To detect SARS-CoV-2 amongst asymptomatic care home staff in England, a dual-technology weekly testing regime was introduced on 23 December 2020. A lateral flow device (LFD) and quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) test were taken on the same day (day 0) and a midweek LFD test was taken three to four days later. We evaluated the effectiveness of using dual-technology to detect SARS-CoV-2 between December 2020 to April 2021. Viral concentrations derived from qRT-PCR were used to determine the probable stage of infection and likely level of infectiousness. Day 0 PCR detected 1,493 cases of COVID-19, of which …

Learning Nonparametric Ordinary Differential Equations From Noisy Data, Kamel Lahouel, Michael Wells, Victor Rielly, Ethan Lew, David Lovitza, Bruno M. Jedynak

Mathematics and Statistics Faculty Publications and Presentations

Learning nonparametric systems of Ordinary Differential Equations (ODEs) from noisy data is an emerging machine learning topic. We use the well-developed theory of Reproducing Kernel Hilbert Spaces (RKHS) to define candidates for for which the solution of the ODE exists and is unique. Learning consists of solving a constrained optimization problem in an RKHS. We propose a penalty method that iteratively uses the Representer theorem and Euler approximations to provide a numerical solution. We prove a generalization bound for the distance between and its estimator. Experiments are provided for the FitzHugh-Nagumo oscillator, the Lorenz system, and for predicting the Amyloid …

Beliefs Of Male Elementary School Special Education And General Education Teachers Regarding Full Inclusion For Students With Autism Spectrum Disorder In Saudi Arabia, Sultan Alanazi

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

AbstractThe current educational settings for students with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) in Saudi Arabia consist of special institutions for students with intellectual disabilities and special classrooms within public schools. The Ministry of Education in Saudi Arabia is interested in full inclusion for students with ASD because of the social, psychological, and educational benefits it can provide them. One crucial factor for achieving full inclusion is considering elementary teachers’ perceptions and beliefs toward full inclusion, as they are one of the primary stakeholders in this venture. Therefore, elementary general education and special education teachers’ beliefs regarding full inclusion for students with …

An Ecofeminist Ontological Turn: Preparing The Field For A New Ecofeminist Project, M. Laurel-Leigh Meierdiercks

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Ecofeminists have predominantly refuted oppressive conceptual frameworks by rejecting dualistic logic and value hierarchies, despite the foundational view of ontology that underlies our logic and value systems. I argue that ecofeminists must engage in the creative process of articulating an ecofeminist ontology. I demonstrate that the omission of ontological discourse in ecofeminist scholarships is primarily due to the time period during which ecofeminism gained peak traction and their concerns with essentialism. I also show that feminists experienced an ontological turn in the 2000s that produced a new model for ontological theories that would be beneficial for ecofeminists to embrace. In …

Making The Invisible Visible: (Re)Envisioning The Black Body In Contemporary Adaptations Of Nineteenth-Century Fiction, Urshela Wiggins Mckinney

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A trend in neo-Victorian adaptations -- both novels and films-- that reimage, and at times reinterpret, canonical Victorian texts is the inclusion of nonwhite, mainly Black, perspectives, which has gained considerable traction in recent years. A vital aspect of this trend is the purposeful attempt to re-establish iconic Victorian characters through Black characterizations. In doing so, filmmakers and authors are reinvigorating familiar texts to provide an inclusionary space for the Black experience previously ignored in the original texts. These adaptations, which revisit and often reinterpret Victorian fiction, have undergone notable transformations by incorporating Black characters to fill voids in traditional …

“Manne, For Thy Loue Wolde I Not Lette”: Eucharistic Portrayals Of Caritas In Medieval And Early Modern English Literature And Drama 1350-1650, Rachel Tanski

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The religious Reformation in England heralded significant changes in Christian theology, clerical and lay practices, and textual interpretation. These sweeping changes encompassed nearly all avenues of intellectual thought, and debates ranged from whether or not religious texts should be written in the traditional latin or the vernacular, thereby determining whether interpretive authority remained within the clergy or became available to laypersons, to arguments over very specific aspects of theological doctrine, such as the substantive nature of the Eucharist. These debates were not confined among Church officials; politicians, monarchs, commoners, and literary authors engaged in these discussions and had been doing …

Challenges And Considerations Of Preclinical Development For Ipsc-Based Myogenic Cell Therapy, Congshan Sun, Carlo Serra, Brianna Harley Kalicharan, Jeffrey Harding, Mahendra Rao

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Cell therapies derived from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) offer a promising avenue in the field of regenerative medicine due to iPSCs' expandability, immune compatibility, and pluripotent potential. An increasing number of preclinical and clinical trials have been carried out, exploring the application of iPSC-based therapies for challenging diseases, such as muscular dystrophies. The unique syncytial nature of skeletal muscle allows stem/progenitor cells to integrate, forming new myonuclei and restoring the expression of genes affected by myopathies. This characteristic makes genome-editing techniques especially attractive in these therapies. With genetic modification and iPSC lineage specification methodologies, immune-compatible healthy iPSC-derived muscle cells …

Gut Microbiota And Blood Metabolites Related To Fiber Intake And Type 2 Diabetes, Zheng Wang, Brandilyn A Peters, Bing Yu, Megan L Grove, Tao Wang, Xiaonan Xue, Bharat Thyagarajan, Martha L Daviglus, Eric Boerwinkle, Gang Hu, Yasmin Mossavar-Rahmani, Carmen R Isasi, Rob Knight, Robert D Burk, Robert C Kaplan, Qibin Qi

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Consistent evidence suggests diabetes-protective effects of dietary fiber intake. However, the underlying mechanisms, particularly the role of gut microbiota and host circulating metabolites, are not fully understood. We aimed to investigate gut microbiota and circulating metabolites associated with dietary fiber intake and their relationships with type 2 diabetes (T2D).

METHODS: This study included up to 11 394 participants from the HCHS/SOL (Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos). Diet was assessed with two 24-hour dietary recalls at baseline. We examined associations of dietary fiber intake with gut microbiome measured by shotgun metagenomics (350 species/85 genera and 1958 enzymes; n=2992 at …

Structure Of Alpha-Synuclein Fibrils Derived From Human Lewy Body Dementia Tissue, Dhruva D Dhavale, Katherine Basore, Isabelle R Gordon, Jialu Liu, Jennifer Y O'Shea, Michael J Rau, Zachary Smith, Brock Summers, Richard J Perrin, Joel S Perlmutter, James A J Fitzpatrick, Paul T Kotzbauer, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

The defining feature of Parkinson disease (PD) and Lewy body dementia (LBD) is the accumulation of alpha-synuclein (Asyn) fibrils in Lewy bodies and Lewy neurites. Here we develop and validate a method to amplify Asyn fibrils extracted from LBD postmortem tissue samples and use solid state nuclear magnetic resonance (SSNMR) studies to determine atomic resolution structure. Amplified LBD Asyn fibrils comprise a mixture of single protofilament and two protofilament fibrils with very low twist. The protofilament fold is highly similar to the fold determined by a recent cryo-electron microscopy study for a minority population of twisted single protofilament fibrils extracted …

Arch: Improving The Performance Of Clonal Hematopoiesis Variant Calling And Interpretation, Irenaeus C C Chan, Alex Panchot, Evelyn Schmidt, Brian J Wiley, Jie Liu, Kimberly Turner, Duc Tran, J Scott Beeler, Armel Landry Batchi-Bouyou, Daniel C Link, Kelly L Bolton, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

MOTIVATION: The acquisition of somatic mutations in hematopoietic stem and progenitor stem cells with resultant clonal expansion, termed clonal hematopoiesis (CH), is associated with increased risk of hematologic malignancies and other adverse outcomes. CH is generally present at low allelic fractions, but clonal expansion and acquisition of additional mutations leads to hematologic cancers in a small proportion of individuals. With high depth and high sensitivity sequencing, CH can be detected in most adults and its clonal trajectory mapped over time. However, accurate CH variant calling is challenging due to the difficulty in distinguishing low frequency CH mutations from sequencing artifacts. …

It's In The "Weeds" : 'Pesky' Plants As Teachers In Imagining Decolonial Futures, Sofia Ahmad Cook

Tapestries: Interwoven voices of local and global identities

As a category of plant species, “weeds” are often thought of as ‘pesky’ nuisances and treated with absolute disdain. But what are “weeds” and how did they become “pests” that homeowners, gardeners, and conservationists alike seek to control and/or eliminate? My inquiry into “weeds” reveals that the designation of “weeds” is not scientific so much as it is socially and culturally constructed. The categorization of “weeds,” shaped by evolving notions of place, space, and belonging, provides a window into underlying social and cultural norms that structure our relationships with one another and the more-than-human world. Situated within settler colonial contexts, …

Abolish R(Ice): (Dis)Ability, Immigration, And Asian American Resistance, Vivian S. Tran

Tapestries: Interwoven voices of local and global identities

In 2021, Minneapolis-based Khmer artist, Kat Eng designed the “Abolish r(ICE)” t-shirt as part of a fundraiser for Southeast Asians and their families experiencing deportation. Inspired by the iconic Three Ladies Brand jasmine rice bag, Eng re-imagined the three ladies as freedom fighters in response to heightened immigration policing and detention of Southeast Asian communities. In this paper, I unpack and contextualize the Abolish r(ICE) t-shirt campaign within immigration debates, the contemporary abolitionist movement, and Asian American resistance. The Abolish r(ICE) shirts also function as a form of political education and an invitation specifically to Asian American youth to learn …

Dance Dance Revolution: Queer Space In The Age Of Neoliberalism, Jonah P. Brumbach

Tapestries: Interwoven voices of local and global identities

Statement of Purpose

I first came to this project during my class with Professor Amy Sullivan on Oral Histories in the fall of 2022. For my final project, I conducted an Oral History with queer Minneapolis-based DJ Queen Duin. Hearing about their experience working within the queer music and bar scene in Minneapolis, I started looking into the history of queer spaces here. In beginning this research, I discovered that 40% of gay bars in the US have closed in the past 15 years, with lesbian and femme-centered bars being hit especially hard. In the 1980’s, there were about 200 …

A War On Resistance: Police Repression And Criminalization Of Land Defense Movements, Lydia Macy

Tapestries: Interwoven voices of local and global identities

Statement of Purpose:

In this paper, I examine the roles and functions of policing in the United States in relation to environmental justice movements and protest. Building upon analyses of the history of policing and their role in enforcing and maintaining racial capitalism, I explore how the police enable and protect the destruction of land and environments. To demonstrate the intersections of policing, racial capitalism, and environmental crises I use three case studies: the protests at Standing Rock to stop the Dakota Access Pipeline, the movement to Stop Line 3, and the movement to Stop Cop City. I found my …

Concrete Legacy: The Effects Of The Interstate Highway System On Black Communities In The U.S., Laurel M. O'Hare

Tapestries: Interwoven voices of local and global identities

This article examines the role that racism, racial capitalism, neoliberalism, and classism played in the construction of the Interstate Highway System as a part of 20th-century urban renewal. It will first understand the context of American urban renewal and then look at the policy specific to the Interstate Highway System. After that, I will discuss the resistance many communities portrayed and how bureaucracy stood firm against grassroots organizing. Then, this paper will explore the process of highway removal and new construction, as well as reparations for the communities most affected by the Interstate Highway System. Finally, I will give warnings …

Challenging The American Empire: A History Of Hypocrisy And Double Standards In Human Rights, Ikran J. Noor

Tapestries: Interwoven voices of local and global identities

Despite having played a significant role in the development and continuation of an international standard of human rights, the United States has a history of hypocrisy and double standards when it comes to protecting human rights both at home and abroad. This essay examines the connection between the United States and human rights in three key parts. Part I examines the concepts of manifest destiny and American exceptionalism that is prevalent in American society and how those concepts influence the United States engagement with foreign countries on human rights. Part II then, through the case studies of Israel and Afghanistan, …

Public Health Consequences Of Appellate Standards For Hostile Work Environment Claims, Lauren Krumholz

Washington Journal of Social & Environmental Justice

No abstract provided.

Forced To Bear The Burden And Now The Children: The Dobbs Decision And Environmental Justice Communities, Mia Petrucci

Washington Journal of Social & Environmental Justice

No abstract provided.

Filling Potholes In Pell’S Road To Reentry Success, James Monogan

Journal of Student Financial Aid

Pell eligibility for incarcerated people is a great rehabilitative opportunity, but several challenges remain. This article recaps five of the issues identified by the original research articles in this special issue. It also considers how solutions proposed in these studies may be beneficial across a variety of these issues and gathers recommendations together by which actor could implement them. Problems and solutions are corroborated by the author’s personal experience with incarceration.

Filling Critical Gaps For College In Prison Programs: Strategies From Two Community Based Organizations, Sara Alpert, Rachel Zolensky, Shon Holman-Wheatley

Journal of Student Financial Aid

When the federal government banned incarcerated students from accessing Pell Grants in the mid-1990s, a new model for supporting Higher Education in Prison (HEP) programs emerged– utilizing Community-Based Organizations (CBOs) as third-party facilitators to fill the gaps left behind in the absence of federal financial aid. With the long-awaited reinstatement of Pell for incarcerated learners that went into effect in 2023, it is essential to consider the critical role that CBOs have played in supporting college programming in the absence of Pell and how they can continue to be leveraged to ensure quality and access for Prison Education Programs (PEPs) …

Minding The Gap: Building Equitable, Accessible, And Sustainable Prison Education Programs In Pennsylvania, Isaiah Zukowski, Rodger C. Benefiel Jr., Liana K. Cole

Journal of Student Financial Aid

The reinstatement of Pell grant eligibility for incarcerated individuals marks a pivotal moment in the landscape of higher education in prison (HEP) programming in the United States. However, despite this promising development, financial barriers persist, hindering the growth and sustainability of HEP initiatives. This qualitative study delves into the challenges faced by faculty, staff, and administrators within Pennsylvania's colleges and universities as they establish and operate HEP programs amidst an evolving funding environment. Drawing on interviews with nine HEP administrators across the state, we explore obstacles they confront, ranging from the Pell grant funding gap to logistical hurdles such as …

The Unrealized Promise Of College-In-Prison: Financial Hurdles To Reenrollment And Completion In The Era Of Pell Reinstatement, Julia Bowling, Pavithra Nagarajan, Kristen Parsons, Neal A. Palmer

Journal of Student Financial Aid

College-in-prison programs are positioned to expand substantially under the reinstatement of Pell Grant eligibility for people in prison. While this change will enable more students who have been systemically excluded from higher education to attend college, degree completion is rare during incarceration and post-release. Student perspectives can shed light on both the value of college-in-prison and the financial barriers to realizing its value. This study analyzes data from 12 focus groups with 105 total college-in-prison student participants, 114 student survey responses, and 45 stakeholder interviews. The data were collected between 2018-2022 during a process evaluation of the College-in-Prison Reentry Initiative, …

“I Don’T Even Know What That Is”: Deprivation, Censorship, And Responsibility In Administering The Pell Grant In Prison, Erin L. Castro, Cydney Y. Caradonna, Mary R. Gould

Journal of Student Financial Aid

The violence of incarceration creates greater responsibility for higher education administrators in supporting students who are in prison. Using focus group data with incarcerated students and formerly incarcerated alumni who participated in or are actively participating in Second Chance Pell, we explore their perceptions and understandings of the Pell Grant and eligibility for the Pell Grant, including lifetime eligibility used limits. Through a lens of Witnessing, we argue that deprivation and censorship of information negatively influence students’ access to accurate and timely information about federal student aid and their ability to fully participate in the process. Accordingly, college and university …

The Effects Of Citrulline Malate On Multiple Bout, High-Intensity Aerobic Exercise: A Pilot Study, Macy Kate Bynum, Annika Marie Pschorr, Taylor Carrico, Morgan Maleske, Matthew Hermes, Brenda Reeves

Steeplechase: An ORCA Student Journal

Citrulline malate (CM) is suggested to improve performance and post-exercise recovery. There is limited research on the effect of CM on short duration, high-intensity aerobic exercise with ambiguous results. The effects of acute CM supplementation on combined aerobic/anaerobic performance in novice CrossFit® participants is unknown. PURPOSE: To examine the effects of acute CM vs. placebo (PL) supplementation on multiple-bout, high- intensity aerobic performance in novice Nancy CrossFit® participants. METHODS: Eight recreationally trained males (X±SD; age = 20.8 ± 2.7 yrs, height = 180.0 ± 6.1 cm, body fat 6.9 ± 2.3%, VO2max = 52.2 ± 4.8 ml/kg/min, 1RM squat = …

Portugal: Banco Espírito Santo Restructuring, 2014, Salil Gupta

Journal of Financial Crises

Banco Espírito Santo (BES) was the second-largest private bank in Portugal in 2014, with assets of EUR 80 billion (USD 81 billion). A capital increase of EUR 1.1 billion to the BES was concluded on market terms in June 2014. In July 2014, BES breached minimum capital requirements and reported a EUR 3.6 billion loss owing to improper loans made to the nonfinancial arm of the Espírito Santo (ES) group. The Bank of Portugal (BOP) adopted a resolution measure for BES on August 3, 2014, to safeguard financial stability by protecting all depositors and ensuring continuation of operating activities of …

Latvia: Parex Bank Restructuring, 2008, Bailey Decker

Journal of Financial Crises

Heading into the Global Financial Crisis, JSC Parex banka was Latvia’s second-largest bank in terms of assets, comprising 13.8% of total assets in the Latvian banking sector. In autumn 2008, Parex faced a capital shortfall due to massive credit and market losses in addition to increasing liquidity problems and deposit runs of 240 million Latvian lats (USD 428.6 million). Parex had two senior syndicated loans maturing in February and June 2009, totaling EUR 775 million (USD 992 million), or nearly one-sixth of the bank’s total liabilities. Latvian authorities doubted that Parex would be able to pay back, extend, or replace …