Digital Commons Network^™

Narratives Of Cultural Wealth: Understanding What Works For Underrepresented Minority Students In Stem, Grace Long

LMU Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study examined the lived experiences of underrepresented minority alumni from Galileo STEM High School who are pursuing STEM degrees at four-year universities. Guided by Yosso’s (2005) Community Cultural Wealth (CCW) framework, the study focused on what worked for underrepresented minority groups (UMG) in STEM. In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted to learn a) what factors contributed to their STEM development and identities, b) what forms of cultural wealth were leveraged in high school and in the first years of college to pursue and persist in STEM studies, and c) experiences from Galileo STEM High School that cultivated and affirmed …

Access Does Not Equal Inclusion: Examining The First-Year College Experience Of First-Generation Latinx Dual Enrollment Alumni From Rural Communities, Dulce Diaz

LMU Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the first-year experiences of first-generation Latinx students from rural communities who are alumni of a dual enrollment (DE) program, with a focus on their transition into higher education. Guided by the following research questions, (1) How do first-generation students of color reflect on the challenges and successes in their first year at a four-year institution as alumni of high school DE programs? and (2) How can insights from their experiences inform improvements to DE programming?, this study aimed to uncover both the benefits and barriers these students encounter. Through qualitative interviews with eight students, the study explored …

Cd8+ T Cell Differentiation Into Nk-Like Effector Cells Drives Transplant Rejection, Dawei Zou, Stephanie G Yi, Yulin Dai, Luan Truong, Lillian W Gaber, Richard J Knight, Xiang Xiao, Rafik M Ghobrial, Xian C Li, Zhongming Zhao, Wenhao Chen, A Osama Gaber

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

T cells are central drivers of transplant rejection, yet the differentiation fates underlying this process remain unclear. Using single-cell transcriptomic profiling of human kidney allograft biopsies, we identified a predominant infiltrating CD8+ T cell subset exhibiting killer cell lectin-like receptor (KLR)+ NK-like features. Mechanistic studies in mice showed that the KLR+ subset emerged de novo post-transplantation and dominated the CD8+ T cell infiltrate in rejecting allografts. These NK-like CD8+ T cells expressed high levels of interferon regulatory factor 4 (IRF4), and Irf4 deletion disrupted their differentiation and induced transplant acceptance. Therapeutically, either costimulation blockade or mTOR inhibition substantially reduced the …

Immediate Nerve And Tendon Transfers After Wide Resection Of A Radial Nerve Malignant Peripheral Nerve Sheath Tumor: A Case Report And Surgical Technique, Joanne Zhou, Sai Shreya Kambham, Andrew Fang, Christopher Frey, Michael Macavoy

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The authors have reported on immediate nerve and tendon transfers postresection of a radial nerve-based malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor in a 15-year-old female with neurofibromatosis. The median nerve branch to flexor carpi radialis was transferred to the posterior interosseous nerve, the median nerve branch to flexor digitorum superficialis was transferred to the nerve to extensor carpi radialis brevis, and the pronator teres tendon was transferred to the extensor carpi radialis brevis tendon, with 3-year outcomes reported. Tumor excision, tendon, and nerve transfer yielded negative margins and remission. Functional wrist/finger extension appeared at 6 months and increased until 3 years …

Hernandez V 975 S Llc

All Decisions

In this rent overcharge case, the court grants the plaintiffs' motion for summary judgment, finding the landlord was not entitled to charge a first rent under DHCR Operational Bulletin 95-2. Although the landlord combined parts of two adjacent rent-stabilized apartments through gut renovation, the court holds the prior apartment's essential character and function remained intact — the perimeter walls were not substantially changed and the modifications did not meet the reconfiguration-plus-obliteration standard. The court denies treble damages and appoints a Special Referee to calculate the legal regulated rent and overcharge amount.

Phytoextraction Potential Of Willows (Salix Spp.) For Common Heavy Metal Contaminants., Johannes Chandler

Honors Theses

Phytoextraction is a method for removal and recovery of heavy metals from contaminated substrates using plants. There is a growing need to test, identify, and further understand species effective for phytoextraction to feasibly remove and recover heavy metals. In this study, the phytoextraction capacity of Willow (Salix) species was tested for metal contaminated soils and waters from legacy mining in Butte, Montana. The willows were grown in a hydroponic system in two 8-week long growth trials, employing a 2x2 factorial design of contaminated soil, clay beads, contaminated mine water and uncontaminated water as the media. Heavy metal concentrations (Mn, Zn, …

Spartan Daily, May 6, 2026, San Jose State University, School Of Journalism And Mass Communications

Spartan Daily, 2026

Volume 166, Issue 42

Toward Vehicle-Agnostic Driving Signatures For Cognitive Impairment Prediction From Naturalistic Driving Data, Aadarsha Gopala Reddy

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

This thesis studies whether naturalistic driving data can help predict binary Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) status while accounting for differences across vehicles. The final analytic dataset comprised 26,968 participant-weeks from 304 participants. Weekly driving features were derived from real-world telematics data and combined with four demographic covariates. Primary model comparisons used leave-one-participant-out (LOGO) cross-validation, with one individual held out at a time and pooled participant-level metrics used as the main reporting surface.

The main comparison includes six model families evaluated on the same dataset under a shared LOGO framework. Performance remained modest overall. GRU-DANN had the highest participant-level ROC AUC …

Temperature And Environmental Implications On Ti3c2cl2 Mxene Degradation Process, Yang Yang

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

MXenes, a rapidly emerging class of two-dimensional transition metal carbides and nitrides, have attracted considerable attention owing to their exceptional electrical, mechanical, and chemical properties. However, the inherent thinness of their atomic structure and the reactivity of their functional groups render MXenes susceptible to environmental degradation, whereby the lattice integrity is compromised and desirable material functionalities are dimin- ished. In this work, ex situ electron microscopy characterisation is performed on Ti₃C₂Cl₂ MXene specimens subjected to controlled gas environments — nitrogen gas (N₂) and air — at annealing temperatures of 200°C and 600°C, with …

Staff Education To Use Best Practices For Implementing And Utilizing The Digital Depression Screening Tool In An Outpatient Psychiatric Clinic, Robert James

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

No abstract provided.

Computational Ligand-Receptor Simulations Of Fluorinated Morphine Derivatives Using Pymol, Mirabella Romano, Emily Chen

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

The opioid epidemic impacts 60 million people worldwide every year. Morphine, a commonly prescribed opioid, binds to the μ-opioid receptor (MOR) in the body via protonation of its tertiary amino group and the MOR. An unfortunate side effect of this binding process is its non-selectivity in both peripheral and central tissues. While activation within inflamed peripheral tissues results in pain relief, activation within central tissues results in the unwanted and addictive side effects of opioids. Because there is a pH discrepancy between healthy (central) and inflamed (peripheral) tissues, selective binding in the inflamed tissues could provide pain relief without addictive …

Interpreting American Sign Language: A Literature Review Of Assistive Technologies, Natalie Louise Paradiso, Emma Grace Kochenderfer

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

American Sign Language (ASL) is a visually elaborate, spatially oriented linguistic methodology that relies on combinations of hand movements, body positioning, facial expressions, and motion/spatial perception, aspects of which make interpretation difficult for automated machine recognition. Current assistive technology approaches to ASL interpretation are generally within the categories of computer vision models (including deep learning, multi-focus image fusion, and keypoint tracking) and wearable, multimodal/sensor-based approaches (such as smart glasses and inertial-sensor gloves). Within controlled environments, computer vision models perform well. However, when applied to conditions such as non-manual signs/features, signer variability, and rapid assimilation, they falter in processing all aspects …

The Weight Of The Unknown: Xenophobia In Lucía Puenzo’S Xxy, Daylen Motamed

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

This project examines how Lucía Puenzo’s film titled XXY critiques societal responses to unique identities (specifically intersex as an example), asking how xenophobia and normative gender expectations shape the marginalization of bodies that exist outside the binary. Situating the film within scholarship on queer adolescence and intersex representation, the analysis of this poster will argue that XXY exposes how institutions such as medicine and family reinforce harmful notions of “normalization.”

Drawing on close textual analysis of key scenes and engagement with critical sources, including Guillermo Olivera’s work on space and visibility and testimonies from intersex individuals, this study investigates how …

Freshman 15? Freshman 50?? The Reality Of Daily Life Habits Of A First Year College Student, Gregorio R. Salgado

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

This project presents a personal data tracking study in which I collected daily self-reported metrics over the course of the Spring semester using Excel. The variables tracked include sleep duration, caloric intake, screen time, social media usage, phone checks per day, family communication, and personal spending. The goal of this project is to identify meaningful patterns and correlations between daily habits and personal well-being.

Data was collected through a combination of manual logging and smartphone-generated daily reports. This study explores potential relationships between variables such as sleep duration and social media usage, as well as the association between family communication …

Discrepancies In Pediatric Oral Health, Tyler B. Truong

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

In 2024, data was collected by the CDC on untreated tooth decay. From that data, children living in low-income households had an estimated 18.8% of tooth decay untreated, almost triple the amount when compared to children from middle to high income households (6.6%). As the income disparity continues to grow in the US, it is critical that we implement strategies to aid lower income communities in providing their children with proper oral hygiene tactics. In order to understand how communities can help promote healthy oral hygiene for their children, a survey of dentists from various areas was conducted to see …

Behind The Self-Report: Cognitive Symptoms And Moderating Variables During Covid-19 Quarantine, Ashley H. Jo

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

A lesser-known impact of the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic is the impairment of cognitive functioning among seemingly unsusceptible, healthy, and young populations. Research suggests that the circumstances of extreme social isolation, incited by the pandemic, have had significantly negative effects across various social, cognitive, and psychological dimensions, with a specific focus on adolescents who are at a unique and more extreme risk than adults and children. By applying the cognitive load theory (CLT) to the COVID-19 quarantine landscape, this study measured the effects of the COVID-19 quarantine on cognitive functioning among those who were adolescents and young adults at the time …

Breaking Down A.B.C.D. (American Born Confused Desi): Dual Identity Struggles & Mental Health Outcomes In South Asian American Youth, Sanchi Kohli, Desiree Crevecoeur-Macphail

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

South Asian American youth are an understudied population in mental health-related research. When looking at data, we saw that in Asian American youth, suicide is the leading cause of death. The current study examined South Asian youth mental health and the confounding factors that lead to suicidality. Including parental pressures, dual identity struggles, and internalized racism. This was done specifically under the guidance of Benet-Martínez & Haritatos’ (2005) theory of Bicultural identity integration. The study described how individuals with compatible or opposing cultural identities perceived their dual identities. In the case of this study, we identified whether South Asian American …

Parasocial Relationships In Identity & Mental Health, Josephine Railston

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

Parasocial relationships are one-sided emotional connections people form with media personalities such as influencers, streamers, and celebrities. Although these relationships are inherently unreciprocated, prior research has shown that they can provide meaningful feelings of companionship. While parasocial relationships are often viewed negatively, the current study examined the association between parasocial relationship strength and multiple dimensions of psychological well-being, including loneliness, perceived stress, self-esteem, and behavior mimicry. Grounded in Bandura’s Social Learning Theory, media personalities were conceptualized as role models whose behaviors and attitudes are observed, internalized, and potentially imitated by audiences. Participants completed an online survey assessing the strength of …

Assessment Of Cognitive Function In Stroke Survivors Using The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (Moca), Georgia Cameron

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

Falls are a common and serious complication in post-stroke patients, with 37–73% of individuals falling within the first 6 months post-stroke and up to 73% within the first year (Verheyden et al., 2013). This study is part of a broader investigation examining whether gait characteristics and impaired cognitive function can predict fall risk when used alongside artificial intelligence. Prior to strength testing and gait analysis, multiple surveys were administered to assess the participants' cognitive function, including the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA). The MoCA is a cognitive screening tool developed to detect mild cognitive impairment and assess multiple cognitive domains, including …

"Silent Or Seen: How Trust Influences Protest Engagement", Adam M. Erdkamp

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

The research question I have chosen for my project is, “In what ways do levels of trust impact whether someone chooses to participate in an in-person protest?” A current problem within this field from previous findings is that research claims there is no consensus on whether trust encourages participation or if distrust drives it. Therefore, while some believe that a minimum level of trust is necessary to participate in politics, others argue that distrust drives citizens to partake in non-institutionalized, radicalized, or in-person protests. My answer to this question is that I believe if people were to have high levels …

Acculturation Pressures And Substance Use Among Latino Populations In The U.S., Julie Misiewicz, Dr. Desiree Crevecoeur-Macphail

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

In 2001, the Office of the Surgeon General classified Latinos with substance use disorders as a vulnerable population (Villalobos & Bridges, 2018). Although Guerrero et al. (2013) found that rates of substance use among Latinos were comparable to or exceeded those of other ethnic groups, disparities remain in access to and quality of treatment. Early adulthood is considered a high-risk period for substance use, yet Latino individuals may face additional pressures during this developmental stage while exploring identity and navigating acculturation (Unger et al., 2014). Despite documented links between acculturation pressures and substance use, little was understood about how these …

El Papel Del Bilingüismo En La Atención Médica A Pacientes Hispanohablantes, Ariela Deleon

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

Spanish-speaking patients in the United States frequently face significant barriers to quality healthcare due to language differences between themselves and their providers. This project examines how English-Spanish bilingualism among healthcare professionals meaningfully improves the quality of care delivered to Spanish-speaking patients. To analyze this, the project draws on a review of academic literature on bilingualism, language concordance, medical interpretation, and health outcomes, as well as interviews with healthcare professionals across various fields who possess different levels of Spanish fluency and regularly work with Spanish-speaking patients. This project argues that bilingualism among healthcare providers is not merely a supplementary skill but …

Stability Of Sufentanil Sublingual Microtablets (Dzuveo) In Extreme Cold Weather Conditions: An Experimental Study, David Mcconnell, Hayley Manners, Paul Sutton, Nicola Gawman, Tim Parham, Jonathon Lowe

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

Introduction Extreme cold weather environments are challenging for medication storage and delivery, particularly for injectable analgesics vulnerable to freezing and device failure. These risks may compromise pain management in austere or operational settings where temperature control cannot be maintained. Sufentanil sublingual microtablets (sold in the UK as Dzuveo) provide an oral analgesic option with manufacturer-reported sub-zero stability. Evidence describing the effects of sustained extreme cold exposure and repeated freeze–thaw cycling on chemical stability and delivery system function is limited.Methods We conducted a laboratory study assessing the effect of sustained freezing and repeated freeze–thaw exposure on sufentanil sublingual microtablets (30 µg …

Library Professionals Job Satisfaction Level In Autonomous Arts And Science Colleges In Tamil Nadu: A Study, Ganapathy Kaniappan, Geetha A., Jayashree R.

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

This study was conducted to expansively explore the job satisfaction of employees towards the career development opportunities as the main objective, followed by identifying the main factors and concluding with suggestions to conquer the dissatisfaction level of jobs of staff serving in respective libraries. The study sample consisted of 250 respondents representing all librarians, deputy librarians, assistant librarians/documentation officers, information scientists, and library assistants working in 39 district libraries in Tamil Nadu. A structured questionnaire with a five-point Likert scale was used to collect quantitative data for the study. Based on the survey findings, this study concluded that the library …

Applying User-Centered Design To Develop A Culturally Sensitive, Low-Calorie Meal Plan For Enhancing Dietary Behavioral Control In Masld, Maya Balakrishnan, Paola Martinez, Brett Deng, Ivonne Arguelles, Crystal Arguelles, Terri L Fletcher, Natalia I Heredia, Myriam Ibarra, Anna Christine Rome

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Background: Dietary changes are essential for managing metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), yet patients often face barriers related to knowledge, skills, cost, time, and cultural fit.

Aims: The purpose of this paper is to report a process for culturally tailoring a dietary intervention and its application to create a calorie-restricted meal plan for Mexican and Central American patients with MASLD. Guided by the Theory of Planned Behavior and user-centered design, we produced a culturally tailored seven-day structured meal plan aligned with dietary guidelines for MASLD and weight loss.

Methods: We conducted a three-phase, mixed-methods process among Mexican/Central American patients …

Characterizing Core Outcomes Of Responsible Stewardship For Human Genomic Data In The Cloud, Vasiliki Rahimzadeh, Bronwyn Walsh, Heidi L Rehm, Mildred Cho, Amy L Mcguire

Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy Staff Publications

We present findings from a scoping review of the genomic data sharing literature used to inform a core outcomes set for responsible data stewardship in the cloud. Genomic and related health data stemming from government funded research have undergone mass migration to the cloud where they can be more securely stored, accessed, and analyzed within shared computing environments. While this migration reflects a shift in privacy and security infrastructure for cloud-based repositories as oversight becomes more globalized, it also necessitates new data stewardship responsibilities to align authorized data access with ethical data use. Responsible data stewardship refers to the ethical …

Faith, Science, And Choice: Vaccine Attitudes Among Religious University Students, Jamie Jensen

ScholarsArchive Data

These data comprise a Q-methodology study conducted at Brigham Young University among undergraduate students to determine vaccine attitudes in relation to religious and political ideologies. It includes raw sort data, templates for running Q-methodology, and interview transcripts.

Genealogy-Based Trait Association With Locater Boosts Power At Loci With Allelic Heterogeneity, Xinxin Wang, Ryan Christ, Erica Young, Chul Joo Kang, Indraniel Das, Edward A Belter, Markku Laakso, Louis J M Aslett, David Steinsaltz, Nathan O Stitziel, Ira M Hall

2020-Current year OA Pubs

A key methodological challenge for genome-wide association studies is how to leverage haplotype diversity and allelic heterogeneity to improve trait association power, especially in noncoding regions where it is difficult to predict variant impacts and define functional units for variant aggregation. Genealogy-based association methods have the potential to bridge this gap by testing combinations of common and rare haplotypes based purely on their ancestral relationships. In parallel work, we have developed an efficient local ancestry inference engine and a novel statistical method (LOCATER) for combining signals present on different branches of a locus-specific haplotype tree. Here, we develop a genome-wide …

Examining A Positive Variation Of The Good Behavior Game With Head Start Children At Risk For Child Adversity And Externalizing Behavior Problems., Alexandra Gibson, Courtney P D Goldenberg, Malinda J. Colwell, Amelia E. Talley, Joaquín Borrego, Adam T. Schmidt

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

BACKGROUND: Children participating in the Head Start program in the United States are predominantly from underserved groups, have increased rates of child adversity, and are at risk for externalizing behavior problems in the classroom. The Good Behavior Game (GBG) is an effective classroom management strategy for reducing disruptive and off-task classroom behaviors. However, previous research has not examined the GBG within the Head Start context.

METHODS: The current case-controlled study evaluated the effectiveness of the GBG in six Head Start children aged 3-5. Researchers conducted daily classroom behavioral observations of disruptive behaviors, and teachers completed pre- and post-treatment assessments of …

Plasma Coal Ash Processing For Enhanced Recovery Of Rare Earth Elements & Precious Metals: Proven From R&D To Commercial Plants, George Paskalov, Victoria Campbell, Jason Honigberg

World of Coal Ash Proceedings

Our Radio-frequency Plasma System is an ash pretreatment before the application of extractive metallurgy and addresses current elemental, methodological, and technological limitations of complex and refractory coal ash. Our system data shows from 10-20% improved recovery, to 9x-100x. RFP can access all metals contained in coal ash. Our focus is not on the alteration of established methodologies, such as cyanidation for non-refractory ore, which has a proven return and capacity to achieve target revenue at-scale. Using the RFP systems, no waste is created, overburden can be more easily dealt with, and no metal content will be left behind. We assert …