Digital Commons Network^™

Stephen Pender V. Commissioner Social Security

2025 Decisions

USDC for the District of New Jersey

The Residual Impact Of Slavery On How Enslaved Black Females Defined And Made Meaning Of Sexual Violence: A Content Analysis, Suzanne R. Bates

Dissertations

Thompson-Miller & Picca (2016) and Feimster (2023) argued that enslaved African American women, and even free African Americans after the Civil War were victims of non-consensual sexual activity and rape. The NISVS report revealed that before the age of 18 years old, 35.5% of African American women experienced contact sexual violence, 29.5% experienced non-contact unwanted sexual encounters, and 20.7% experienced rape (Basile et al., 2022). Researchers of slave scholarship have made the case for the importance of including discourse on slavery and enslaved Black females’ experiences when discussing present day sexual violence among Black women in the US today (Balfour, …

The American Politics Of Firearms - The Case Between Illinois And Missouri, Michael J. Thompson

Dissertations

The issue of gun control is a hot topic in the field of American politics. It is a huge issue in the field of political science and in American public policy. In 2023, there were 18,874 firearm deaths in the United States, excluding suicides. The highest was in 2021 with the firearm related deaths at 21,068. One side argues that firearms can cause serious harm and death while the other side argues they can also reduce the rates of gun violence. There are different opinions on how to resolve the issue of mass shootings across the country. According to prior …

Roles Of Sex And Education Level With Alcohol Use Milestone Attainment And Progression, Elisabeth P. Cabot

Theses - ALL

Emerging adults report the highest rates of alcohol use, with drinking patterns varying by sex and education level. Few studies have explored how these factors relate to the attainment and progression of alcohol use milestones. The current study addresses this gap by examining the associations between sex, education level and alcohol use milestone progression and attainment in emerging adults. Secondary data analyses were conducted using National Epidemiological Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions-III (NESARC-III) data (N = 36,309, Mage = 45.63 [SD = 17.53], female = 56%, 53% White, 21% Black, 19% Hispanic and 2% Multiracial). Ordinal regressions indicated males …

Vanuatu And The International Court Of Justice: A Food Studies Approach To Climate Governance And Power, Amy Katherine Bentley

Theses - ALL

Vanuatu is a leader among small island developing states (SIDS) working to influence global climate change governance, using international diplomacy as its best defense against the climate crisis. In 2023, Vanuatu spearheaded a successful campaign for the United Nations General Assembly to request an advisory opinion (AO) from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) clarifying nations’ legal obligations related to climate change. This study uses a food studies approach to explore Vanuatu’s success in its climate governance campaign, focusing on the relationships between food sovereignty, climate justice, and power. To investigate this subject, I used an interdisciplinary literature review and …

Detection Of Bacterial Genomic Dna Fragments Using The Mxene Crispr-Cas9 Field-Effect Transistor, Jiaoli Li, Ali Taheri, Weijia Liu, Ying Zhuo, Pengfei Ma, Chenglin Wu

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)-based field-effect transistor (FET) sensors provide a promising platform for highly specific and amplification-free nucleic acid detection. However, their direct application in identifying target sequences within intact genomic DNA remains underexplored. We developed a CRISPR-Cas9 FET sensor for detecting DNA sequences by immobilizing Cas9 onto a graphene-MXene sensing interface via (3-aminopropyl)triethoxysilane (APTES) functionalization. The sensor targeted Stx1, a 440 bp laboratory-amplified fragment associated with Shiga toxin production in pathogenic E. coli. Gel electrophoresis confirmed the precise cleavage of Stx1, while the nontarget sequence Stx2 remained undetected. FET measurements further validated the sensor's specificity, showing …

Editor’S Note, Thana Khawcharoenporn

Asian Medical Journal and Alternative Medicine

No abstract provided.

Clinicopathological Features Of Basal Cell Carcinoma Of The Skin At Thammasat University Hospital, Treepob Tassanawarawat, Worapop Suthiwartnarueput

Asian Medical Journal and Alternative Medicine

Background: Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is one of the most common skin cancers that may result in local invasion and poor cosmetic appearance if left untreated or inadequately excised with tumor remaining in the surgical margin. BCC incidence rates are increasing but the number of studies from Thailand is limited.

Objective: To study the clinical and histopathological features of BCC in Thailand and classify lesions as Low- or high-risk and determine factors associated with infiltrated surgical margins.

Materials and Methods: This is a retrospective descriptive study that was conducted at Thammasat University Hospital, Thailand between January 2017 to September 2023. …

Bronchodilator Responsiveness And Clinical Outcomes In Patients With Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, Kritti Tirakitpanich, Narongkorn Saiphoklang

Asian Medical Journal and Alternative Medicine

Introduction: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is characterized as expiratory airflow limitation in individuals with significant smoking history. Bronchodilator responsiveness (BDR) might be shown in some COPD patients and might be associated with clinical outcomes.

Objectives: To determine the BDR prevalence and the correlation between BDR and clinical outcomes in COPD patients.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on stable COPD patients at Thammasat University Hospital between March 2019 and January 2022. Demographics, respiratory symptoms and functional capacity assessed by modified Medical Research Council, COPD Assessment Test, 6-minute walking distance, clinical outcomes (exacerbation, hospitalization, rescue medication use), and pulmonary functions …

Identifying Latent Workforce Capacities For Extreme Heat Resilience: An Artificial Intelligence Assisted Approach, Jieshu Wang, Patricia Solís

Technology & Society Faculty Publications

Extreme heat events, intensified by climate change, pose critical challenges to public health, infrastructure, and workforce resilience. Despite the urgency of these challenges, there is no systematic framework to identify workforce adaptive capacities that can help build regional heat resilience. This study introduces a novel large language model assisted approach, using task-level data from the O*NET dataset, to identify workforce capacities that enhance heat resilience. By defining heat-solution tasks as activities mitigating heat impacts, protecting public health, or improving infrastructure, we classify heat-solution occupations and dual-impact occupations, which are both vulnerable to heat and critical to heat resilience. A case …

Effects Of Storage Temperatures On Quality And Phytochemical Properties Of The Hawthorn (Crataegus Azarolus L.) During Storage And Shelf Life, Ahmet Erhan Özdemi̇r, Oğuzhan Çalişkan, Safder Bayazit, Kazi̇m Gündüz, Nurdan Tuna Güneş, Zafer Karaşahi̇n, Derya Kiliç, Ramazan Bestami̇ Karahan

Turkish Journal of Agriculture and Forestry

This study aimed to investigate the effects of storage temperature on the quality and phytochemical characteristics in Sultan hawthorn cultivar during cold storage and shelf life. Fruits were stored at 0 ± 0.5 °C and 4 ± 0.5 °C and 90 ± 5% relative humidity (RH) for 6 months in cold storage and were analyzed every month. In addition, hawthorn fruits were kept at 20 ± 0.5 °C and 75 ± 5% RH for 7 days, and their shelf life was investigated at monthly intervals. Weight loss, appearance, the incidence of physiological disorders and fungal decay, fruit skin color, firmness, …

In Re: Congoleum Corporation, Et Al.

2025 Decisions

USDC for the District of New Jersey

Monitoring The Developmental Stages Of Calendula Officinalis L. Nutrients Efficacy Under Hot Weather Mitigation Through Nutrients In Haripur, Pakistan, Waseem Ahmed, Rafia Azmat, Shah Masaud Khan, Abdul Qayyum, Waseem Hassan, Adnan Noor Shah, Muhammad Hadi Abbas, Fatima M. Abbas, Tahani A.Y. Asseri, Ahmet Hakan Ürüşan

Turkish Journal of Agriculture and Forestry

This study examines the effect of different doses of N and P fertilizer on Calendula officinalis L. (marigold) during the hot weather in summer (May–July) in Pakistan. The aim was to determine whether fertilization can help minimize the impacts of climate change. During the summer peak seasons (May, June, and July), the trial was conducted in potted plants with different N and P application levels to monitor the quality and quantity of C. officinalis. The results showed that the interactive effects (N × P) gave higher values for plant height, number of leaves, fresh weight, leaf length, and number of …

Crime Prevention Professionals’ Perspectives On Using Cpted To Mitigate Targeted Violence On K-12 School Campuses, Bridgit C. Didier

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Targeted violence in K-12 schools across the United States is a serious concern. These incidents not only endanger students and staff, but also cause lasting trauma and erode trust in schools. While existing measures may deter some violence, questions remain regarding their overall effectiveness. This study involved exploring perspectives of crime prevention experts on using Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) strategies to mitigate violence in K-12 schools. Although CPTED is recognized as effective in terms of reducing crime, research on its use in schools, especially from the perspective of crime prevention professionals, is limited. This generic qualitative study involved …

Exploring The Genetic Diversity And Population Structure Of Serbian And Selected European Bread Wheat Cultivars Through Ipbs-Retrotransposon Markers, Rada Šućur, Amjad Ali, Parnaz Mortazavi, Muhammad Tanveer Altaf, Muhammed Tatar, Muhammad Azhar Nadeem, Bojan Jocković, Velimir Mladenov, Sotirios Fragkostefanakis, Yong Suk Chung, Faheem Shehzad Baloch

Turkish Journal of Agriculture and Forestry

Bread wheat is a globally vital crop, sustaining millions and contributing to food security. The present study investigated the molecular characterization of 60 bread wheat accessions, using 12 interprimer binding site (iPBS) retrotransposon markers, which yielded a total of 260 distinct bands. Out of the 260 bands, 42 were monomorphic while the remaining 218 (83.84%) were polymorphic, with polymorphism information content values ranging from 0.38 to 0.45. Genetic diversity indices, including Shannon’s information index (I = 0.01–0.53), effective number of alleles (Ne = 1.00–1.63), gene diversity (He = 0.0037–0.36), and marker index (MI = 0.31– 0.51), revealed moderate variability across …

Green Synthesis Of Silver Nanoparticles From Melanoleuca Grammopodia: Changes In Bioactive Components, Antidiabetic Properties And Bioaccessibility, İsmai̇l Acar, Emi̇ne Okumuş, Arzu Karataş

Turkish Journal of Agriculture and Forestry

Green synthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) using plant materials allows the production of low-cost and biocompatible nanoparticles without the use of toxic compounds or solvents. In this study, biogenic AgNP/Mg nanoparticles were synthesized using the Melanoleuca grammopodia mushroom. Vitamin C and E contents of the mushroom were 42.6 mg/g and 26.82 mg/g, respectively. FTIR analysis revealed the reducing and stabilizing effects of bioactive components present in M. grammopodia mushroom extract. SEM micrographs showed that the nanoparticles were spherical in form and the EDX spectrum confirmed the presence of the characteristic metallic silver peak at 3.0 keV. A significant reduction in …

The Status Of Agritourism In Bosnia And Herzegovina, Nerma Čolaković-Prguda, Jasna Hasanbegović, Irma Đidelija Čolaković, Lejla Škaljić, Nuray Demi̇r

Turkish Journal of Agriculture and Forestry

Agritourism in Bosnia and Herzegovina has a lot of potential benefit for economic growth and sustainable development in rural regions, as it incorporates local culture and natural beauty into the tourism offerings of the region. Tourism creates opportunities to diversify the economy, retain traditions, improve local income, and protect natural resources. This study covered Međugorje, Ilijaš, Rostovo, Vlašić, Bosanska Krupa, Neum, Olovo, Gornji Vakuf, Sarajevo, and Donji Vakuf. Agritourism can provide authentic experiences like learning about traditional agriculture, fruit harvesting, tasting local products, and environmental preservation in destinations like Međugorje and Neum. Ilijaš and Gornji Vakuf have potential in organic …

Innovative Approaches To Estimating Sessile Oak Stem Volume: Comparing Additive Models And Ensemble Machine Learning, Maria J. Diamantopoulou, Abbas Şahi̇n, Ramazan Özçeli̇k

Turkish Journal of Agriculture and Forestry

Sessile oak is an important deciduous forest tree species across Türkiye and Europe. Estimating individual tree and stand volumes is essential for growth and yield models, as these predictions play a critical role in assessing forest management, economics, and fire risk. In pursuit of this goal, nonlinear seemingly unrelated regression (NSUR) was used for the simultaneous fitting of stem volume components, and compared to three ensemble machine learning techniques: gradient boosting regression (GBr), XGBoost regression (XGBr), and random forest regression (RFr). NSUR accounts for correlations between error terms across different equations, leading to more efficient parameter estimates than if each …

Transforming Fall Prevention Using A Systems-Wide Approach, Jessica Pierce

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) project proposal targets fall reduction and injury prevention in a Veteran Affairs Medical Center (VAMC). The initiative implements a non-restrictive, evidence-based fall prevention program that excludes side rails and bed alarms, emphasizing systematic patient safety and personalized care. Falls are a major safety concern at the VAMC due to ineffective traditional methods, inconsistent assessments, and reliance on restraints, contributing to high fall rates and increased healthcare costs. The project successfully achieved consensus from an interprofessional team on developing a comprehensive fall reduction program. Evidence indicates that removing restrictive devices enhances staff engagement and protocol …

The Minutes Of The Marshall University Graduate Council Meeting, August 22, 2025, Marshall University Graduate Council

Graduate Council Minutes

No abstract provided.

Newhouse Impact Magazine 2025, Newhouse School

Newhouse Impact Magazine

Showcasing the research and creative work of faculty, staff and students at the Newhouse School

Welcome To Hotel Thai: Labor, Love, And The Space Between My Mothers, Tripty Tamang Pakhrin

Theses - ALL

This thesis explores maternal labor, silence, and family boundaries through my experience of growing up at Hotel Thai, a restaurant and home located on the open border between Nepal and India. The hotel is run by my three parents: my mother, my father, and his first wife. My two mothers live and work side by side every day but do not speak to each other. Their silence is not emptiness, but a way of surviving and holding the family together. This paper discusses my film, performance, installation, and printmaking works to explore how care, memory, and labor are expressed without …

Are You Watching People Via Social Media?, Linlin Wang

Theses - ALL

This study examines why Chinese Generation Z surveil non-intimate acquaintances on social media. Drawing on surveillance theory, social comparison orientation, fear of missing out (FoMO), communication privacy management, and platform affordances, this study proposes a "social comparison orientation → FoMO → surveillance" model. The study employed a sequential mixed methodology. In the first phase, 129 respondents aged 18 to 28 completed a survey validating these pathways. In the second phase, 21 high-monitoring participants were interviewed. The results indicate that social comparison, influenced by the unique "social clock" in Chinese society and the information exposure of online spaces like panopticon, can …

Perceptions Of Pain And Benzodiazepine Use Interrelations: A Qualitative Study, Emma Carnes Lape

Dissertations - ALL

Growing concern and research attention have focused on potential harms associated with widespread use of benzodiazepine (BZD) medications. Individuals with chronic pain bear a disproportionate burden, characterized by higher rates of BZD prescriptions, longer-term use, and increased dependence compared to the general population. Although theory and emerging evidence suggest that pain may play a role in the maintenance of BZD use, there is no extant data describing how individuals perceive interrelations between their pain and BZD use. The aims of the present study were to conduct a thematic analysis of interview data regarding perceptions of interrelationships between pain and BZD …

Asian/Asian American College Students’ Help-Seeking Attitudes For Adhd, Nandini Jhawar

Dissertations - ALL

Background: Asian/Asian American (AA) college students are least likely to engage with ADHD treatment compared to other racially minoritized groups, which may increase their risk for negative outcomes from untreated ADHD symptoms. Public stigma of ADHD contributes to these negative help-seeking attitudes. This study used the minority stress theory to examine if the distal and proximal stress of internalization of the model minority myth, a racial stereotype, influences the relationship between public stigma and help-seeking attitudes. Methods: Participants were undergraduate students recruited from nine geographically diverse universities in the United States. Data was collected over two academic years and included …

Bridging Gaps In Stem: An Evaluation Of A Stem Intervention Program And Its Impact On Degree Attainment And Career Pathways For Low-Income Undergraduate Students, Amanda L. Surman

Dissertations - ALL

Persistent disparities in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) degree completion and career attainment continue to disadvantage students from low-income, firstgeneration, and underrepresented racial and ethnic backgrounds, despite sustained national efforts to diversify the STEM workforce. STEM Intervention Programs (SIPs) have emerged as promising strategies to address these inequities, yet limitations in SIP evaluation literature including the lack of comparison groups, limited longitudinal data, and minimal attention to psychosocial outcomes impede our understanding of their long-term impact. This dissertation uses a mixed-methods, three-project design to evaluate the Strategic Undergraduate STEM Talent Acceleration INitiative (SUSTAIN), a comprehensive SIP at a private, …

Subclinical Cardiometabolic Disease Risk In Adults With Autonomic Nervous System Dysfunction, Alaina Glasgow

Dissertations - ALL

Autonomic dysfunction (AD) is a precursor for cardiometabolic disease development; however, identifying AD and its associated risks presents significant challenges due to multi-system dysregulation and diverse symptom presentation. We examined subclinical cardiometabolic disease risk in AD and the utility of simple autonomic symptom assessments to identify subclinical disease risk. Study 1 thematically explored potential associations linking Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) to cardiometabolic disease risk. Neuropathic and hyperadrenergic POTS phenotypes may be related to metabolic dysregulation through autonomic neuropathy, sympathetic activity, inflammation, insulin resistance, and elevated vasoactive gut hormones. Study 2 investigated subclinical cardiovascular disease risk in POTS and whether …

Essays On The Health And Labor Market Effects Of Menopause And Menopause Hormone Therapy, Lucia Elvira Torres Frasele

Dissertations - ALL

This dissertation explores how menopause and its medical management affect women’s health and labor market outcomes. Despite the centrality of reproductive transitions in the life course of women, economic research has largely ignored menopause, a biologically and socially significant milestone marking the end of fertility. This omission is surprising, given well-established medical evidence that links menopause to increased risks of health conditions that may impair the ability to work. The dissertation addresses this gap through two chapters that examine the causal impact of menopause and Menopause Hormone Therapy (MHT) on health and labor supply using two distinct empirical strategies. The …

Resolvent-Based And Data-Driven Analysis Of A Supersonic Rectangular Multistream Jet, Miteshkumar Thakor

Dissertations - ALL

Coherent structures play a key role in uncovering and predicting the underlying physics of complex turbulent flows. This dissertation employs data-driven and operator-based techniques to investigate spatiotemporal correlated structures of a complex supersonic multi-stream rectangular jet. The nozzle configuration comprises three primary shear layers: (i) an upper shear layer (USL) formed by the flow on the upper single-sided expansion ramp stream and the freestream, (ii) a splitter plate shear layer (SPSL) generated by the mixing of a core Mach 1.23 stream with a bypass Mach 1 stream at the splitter plate trailing edge (SPTE) and (iii) a lower shear layer …

Characterization Of The Molecular Mechanisms Of Noise Stress On Developmental Plasticity In Gryllus Bimaculatus & Co-Teaching And Peer-Led Team Learning In Undergraduate Introductory Biology Courses Toward Expanding Participation In Stem For All, Takunda Maisva

Dissertations - ALL

As part of my training as a Discipline Based Education Researcher (DBER), I gained human subjects educational research experience as well as traditional biology research experience in the laboratory setting. This dissertation explores both my biology education research and traditional developmental biological research. The first and second projects focus on biology education research, examining how Peer-Led Team Learning (PLTL) and modifying introductory biology course instructional design can influence student outcomes in undergraduate Biology education. The third project examines how anthropogenic noise affects the developmental biology of the two-spotted field cricket Gryllus bimaculatus using a genetic approach. Peer-Led Team Learning (PLTL) …