Digital Commons Network^™

Chemical And Physical Characterization Of Verbenaceae Essential Oils Using Modern Analytical Methods And Chemometrics, Aleksandra N. Hilliard

Master's Theses

Essential oils have been used for generations to treat various health issues, including mitigating insomnia, reducing stress, inflammation, and preserving foods, to mention a few. Essential oils have complex chemistry, which defines the essence of the host plant. Recently, increased commercial uses of essential oils have prompted attention at the governmental level to monitor the chemical, physical, or biological activity of essential oils. This study is an attempt to add new information for consumers to the understanding of the composition of essential oils.

Modern analytical techniques including FTIR-ATR, GC-MS, LC-MS-MS, multivariate analysis statistics, and physio-chemical techniques (electrochemistry, DPPH, TRC, and …

Correlates Of School Absenteeism: A Systematic Review Of What We Know And What We Don’T, Samantha C. Maguire

Dissertations - ALL

School absenteeism has been referred to as a hidden educational crisis by the United States Department of Education. National data show that chronic absenteeism has doubled since pre-pandemic rates, increasing from about 16% of school students to nearly 30% during the 2021-22 school year. To understand this widespread issue, I conducted a systematic review of the available literature on potential risk factors or correlates associated with school absenteeism. A total of 106 studies published between 2000 and 2023 were included in this review. Coding was completed by me and advanced research assistants to determine how school absenteeism has been defined …

Indoor Airborne Pathogen Transmission And Control: A Role Of Environmental Factors And Material Properties, Eloise Eyo Parry-Nweye

Dissertations - ALL

The transmission of infectious airborne pathogens has severe implications on human health and economic stability. This is evidenced by the re-emergence of global pandemics with high mortality rates, various respiratory diseases, crop damage, incurred nationwide financial costs, etc. These causative pathogens, encompassing viruses, fungal spores, etc., attach to aerosol and droplet particles, enabling their aerial dispersal and leading to a cascade of detrimental events. Developing interventions to control pathogenic transmission requires an in-depth understanding of the various modes of disease transmission. However, existential gaps within the respective disease transmission modalities remained. For instance, while viruses are predominantly transmitted via aerosols, …

Enhancing Security And Healthcare Through Continuous Monitoring On Wearable Devices, Sicong Chen

Dissertations - ALL

Wearable and mobile devices are becoming deeply embedded in daily life, supporting a growing range of tasks - from communication and entertainment to health monitoring and productivity. As people increasingly rely on these devices, it is essential to ensure both the protection of the sensitive data they store and the ability to derive meaningful insights that enhance users’ well-being. This dissertation investigates how wearable and mobile devices can be leveraged to provide robust and user-friendly solutions through continuous monitoring across two critical domains: security and mental health. The foundation of this dissertation is the development of a security infrastructure, as …

Peran Unit Pengelola Darah Rumah Sakit Terhadap Peningkatan Kinerja Layanan Transfusi Darah: Tinjauan Literatur Naratif, Adhika Putra Marsaban, Mardiati Nadjib

Jurnal ARSI : Administrasi Rumah Sakit Indonesia

The performance of hospital blood transfusion services is crucial for patient safety and overall operational effectiveness. Blood management, as a vital and limited resource, plays a significant role. Traditional centralized blood management models often face challenges regarding response speed, potential waste, and quality control. As an alternative, Unit Pengelola Darah Rumah Sakit (UPDRS) offers the potential for performance enhancement. This narrative literature review is based on 16 relevant scientific articles identified through a database search (Scopus, Proquest, Wiley, Google Scholar) and a selection process visualized with a PRISMA diagram. Key findings identified significant impacts on cost efficiency, time efficiency (faster …

The Association Between Dyadic Stress And Relationship Quality Among Couples In Vietnam: The Mediating Role Of Compassion, Khoi Nguyen Anh Le

Dissertations - ALL

The current study explored the dyadic relationships between dyadic stress, different forms of compassion, and relationship quality in a cross-sectional sample of heterosexual, cisgender couples in Vietnam. Data were collected from December 30, 2024, to February 9, 2025, and out of 435 complete data entries, 99 couples (198 partners) were identified. Data was analyzed using Actor-Partner Interdependence Mediated Model analysis within a Bayesian Structural Equation Modeling framework (BSEM) in Mplus 8.8 (Asparouhov & Muthen, 2023; Muthen, 2010). Multiple path APIMeM models were tested to address the research questions. The main findings were: Dyadic stress was directly and negatively associated with …

Re: Approval Letter For The Butte Priority Soils Operable Unit (Bpsou) Draft Final 2022 Unreclaimed Sites Sampling: Ur-28 Site Evaluation Summary Report (Dated April 23, 2025), Molly Roby

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

The Default Option As A Nudge In Shaping Individual Decisions Under Competitive And Cooperative Conditions: An Experimental Study, Marta Sylwestrzak

Studia i Materiały Wydział Zarządzania Uniwersytet Warszawski

Purpose: Overbidding in competitive settings leads to resource wastage and limits potential social benefits from cooperation. This study examines how the prize structure of two types of tournaments, winner-take-all (WTA) and proportional prize (PP), and default options as behavioural nudges influence expenditure levels among paired participants. The obtained results can have practical applications in designing competitive mechanisms, such as incentive programs in organizations, to minimize resource waste and promote more efficient participant behaviour.

Methodology: The laboratory experiment involved 78 participants competing in pairs across four conditions: WTA and PP, with or without default options. Data were analyzed regarding expenditures.

Results: …

Stepping Into Who I Fully Am: A Creative Exploration Of Autistic Menopause, Mx Rose Matthews, Christine A. Jenkins, Margaret Janse Van Rensburg, Miranda J. Brady, Rachel L. Moseley, Julie M. Gamble-Turner

Faculty and Staff Publications

Research suggests that perimenopause can compound existing struggles for some Autistic people, with potentially catastrophic consequences. Barriers to self-expression due to communication differences are also well-documented. Acknowledging this, our neurodiverse research team invited creative submissions themed around Autistic experiences of menopause, receiving works from six Autistic participants including paintings, poetry, and graphic works. Engaging with the six creative submissions, Autistic Community Researchers on our team produced reflexive, polytextual response works. Creative exploration of Autistic menopause encouraged emotional catharsis, self-understanding, and activism/artivism. Autistic Community Researchers noted transcendent, almost “magical” dimensions of connecting with other Autistic people’s lived experiences. Our creative emancipatory …

Editorial: The Gendered Impact Of Covid-19: Communicating Risks, Hope, Opportunities, And Challenges, Satarupa Dasgupta, Sudeshna Roy, Marissa Joanna Doshi, Ruma Sen

College of Communication Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

Ud In The News June 21-27, University Of Dayton

News Releases

In a Dayton Daily News Ideas and Voices piece, UD President Eric F. Spina writes how 'working side by side is how we build community.' Spectrum News 1 Ohio, The Christian Science Monitor and local media highlighted faculty expertise.

Ddx323.1 Speculative Futures Example 4, Sae University College

Exemplars

Speculative design project focused on light pollution.

Facial Sexual Dimorphism And Attractiveness Perception In High Autistic Trait Individuals, Farid Pazhoohi, Leilani Forby, Alan Kingstone

School of Psychology

Perceiving and recognizing faces are vital components for social interactions among humans. Extensive prior research has shown that facial sexual dimorphism, a nonverbal social signal, contributes to perceived facial attractiveness for neurotypical individuals. However, there has been no research investigating if that might also be true for high autistic trait individuals. The current study investigates the facial qualities that high autistic trait individuals find attractive in others. In Study 1, faces with altered levels of sexual dimorphism were presented for five seconds, and the gaze behaviour of high and low autistic trait participants was recorded while they rated the attractiveness …

Stress And Seizures: The October 7th Experience, Alon Doron, Firas Fahoum, Lilach Goldstein

Department of Neurology Faculty Papers

OBJECTIVE: Stress is a frequently self-reported seizure trigger in patients with epilepsy (PWE), with studies regarding this issue having conflicting results. On October 7th, 2023, a large-scale military invasion accompanied by massive rocket launches against Israel, including Tel Aviv, occurred, providing an opportunity to investigate the role of acute stress in provoking seizures.

METHODS: All adults who presented to the emergency department (ED) of Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center between January 1st, 2017, and February 29th, 2024, and were diagnosed with seizures were included. Data were collected using MDClone, a data acquisition tool. The overall seizure-related ED admissions were compared …

Impact Of Oceanographic Gradients And Marine Heatwaves On The Picophytoplankton Community In The Northern California Current System, Kristin E. Forgrave, Carey P. Sweeney, Melissa Steinman, Anvita U. Kerkar, Timothy M. Pettit, Anne W. Thompson

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

The Northern California Current (NCC) system is a productive coastal ecosystem with a mosaic of temporal and spatial features. The phytoplankton community plays a crucial role in supporting the rich ecosystem and economically important fisheries of the NCC. Our study integrates data across two years (2022-2023) and multiple transects to investigate the community composition of two major phytoplankton groups in the NCC: picocyanobacteria and photosynthetic picoeukaryotes (PPE). The abundances and cell sizes of the phytoplankton were measured using flow cytometry. We found PPE present at similar concentrations in both summer and winter, while picocyanobacteria were much more abundant in the …

Consumers' Choice Models For Food And Beverage Businesses, Haoran Yu

Dissertations - ALL

This dissertation comprises two essays to investigate how consumers make purchase choices under product quality variation and macroeconomic volatility. The analysis employs both analytical modeling and empirical methods to help businesses and policymakers in their efforts to foster sustainable and resilient agriculture and food supply chains. In this first essay, we focus on food retailers who have to deal with imperfect produce. We define imperfect produce as produce with cosmetic imperfections but perfect nutritious quality. We develop consumer choice models and consider three common retailing strategies to manage imperfect produce: Discarding, bunching with perfect produce, and differentiating imperfect produce from …

The Accessibility Of Traditional Medicinal Food By Thais In Syracuse, New York, Siwapon Chotikasatein

Theses - ALL

Access to traditional medicinal food can be a challenge for immigrants and refugee populations. This study looks at how and where Thai immigrants and refugees in Syracuse, New York access Thai medicinal food and the challenges if any, that they have when attempting to access Thai medicinal food. Although the definition of traditional medicinal food is not strongly established, in this study I proposed that traditional medicinal food refers to food shaped by the sum total of knowledge, skills, and practices based on the theories, beliefs, and experiences indigenous to different cultures, can relieve hunger once consumed and, at the …

Reparative Justice In Late Twentieth Century Africa: The O.A.U, Durban, And Accra Reparations Conferences, Franklin Donudenu Adorsu

Theses - ALL

This thesis explores the evolution of African-led transnational reparations campaigns from the final decade of the twentieth century through the early decades of the twenty-first. It examines how reparative justice initiatives have emerged in response to the enduring legacies of slavery, colonialism, and systemic racial oppression, and how these campaigns reflect both historical memory and contemporary demands for justice by Africans and people of African descent worldwide. While early reparations discourse often centered on the diaspora, this research argues that recent mobilizations on the African continent in attempts to seek redress for historical injustices, particularly the 1993 Abuja Conference, the …

Independent Horror Video Games As Modern Zines, Kevin J. Wade

Theses - ALL

Video games are typically perceived as expensive projects requiring hundreds of specialized employees to produce. However, they can serve as a potent medium for personal expression and collaborative storytelling, especially in the realm of Independent games. This paper will examine video games as modern illustrated zines, particularly their role as tools for socially transgressive expression. To provide a baseline for understanding how horror games engage players through polished, more mainstream narratives, we will first examine Triple-A horror games with professional staff and publisher financing. We will use this as a stepping stone to delve into independent horror games, we will …

Lives And Dreams: A Study Of The Entrepreneurial Journeys Of Bosnian Immigrants In The Startup World, Elvis Avdic

Dissertations - ALL

This dissertation explores how Islamic faith, moral endurance, and community-based values shape the entrepreneurial practices of Bosnian immigrant entrepreneurs in the United States. Through three interrelated qualitative studies, it challenges dominant models of individualistic, profit-driven entrepreneurship by centering faith-informed ethics, relational motivation, and structural constraint. The first paper draws on Self-Determination Theory (SDT), Islamic ethics, and critical theories of endurance to examine how entrepreneurs navigate their motivations across the business lifecycle. It finds that religious duty, family obligation, and social responsibility often blur the line between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, giving rise to a distinct moral logic of endurance grounded …

A Future Better Than The Familar: Development From A Passive Observer, Monae Kyhara Sims

Theses - ALL

Not only are humans disconnected from each other, they are even more so disconnected from themselves. Now more than ever the progression of technology, anti-progressive ideology and policy has impacted modes of communication, community, and our consciousness. Using empirical research based on self-experience and evaluation, mass social studies, and reviewing media such as The Body Keeps the Score, The Black Ball, Casablanca, and many other articles and short form videos, this writing argues that capitalism is the true puppet master of the growing failures in our communities; outside of the known financial struggles that come with it. Dating apps and …

Preliminary Assessment Of Hematopoietic Cell Kinase Gene Expression In Wistar Rats Fed Sampea-11 And Sampea 20t Diets, Stephen Dio Titus, Salisu Muhammed, Priscila Benjamin, Achilus Francis, Samuel Gadzama Ishaya, Christian Nelson, Kennedy Banja Samuel, Shuaibu M. Bala

Polytechnic Journal

Dietary factors play a crucial role in modulating immune responses, including inflammatory processes. This study investigates the expression of the hematopoietic cell kinase (HCK) gene in Wistar rats fed exclusively with two novel cowpea cultivars, SAMPEA-11 and SAMPEA 20T, to evaluate their potential immunomodulatory effects. The experiment employed a randomized controlled design with six Wistar rats divided into three groups: SAMPEA-11, SAMPEA 20T, and a control group fed a standard diet. Gene expression analysis was performed using real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR), with GAPDH serving as the reference gene for normalization. The results demonstrated significant upregulation of HCK gene expression in …

Potent Acridone Antimalarial Against All Three Life Stages Of Plasmodium, Papireddy Kancharla, Rozalia A. Dodean, Yuexin Li, Xiaowei Zhang, Sean Kelly, Jordan Charlton, Angley Binauhan, Laurize Garcia, Diana Caridha, Jane X. Kelly, Multiple Additional Authors

Chemistry Faculty Publications and Presentations

New antimalarial therapeutics ideally should target all three major life cycle stages. Here we present an acridone antimalarial chemotype that is potent against blood, liver, and mosquito stages of malaria parasites, with the potential for single-dose cure of bloodstream infections, radical cure of liver infections, and blocking of transmission to mosquitoes. Attributes of lead candidate T111 include potent in vitro activity against cultured parasites, ex vivo activity against clinical isolates, oral single dose cure in an asexual blood stage rodent model, inhibition of sexual blood stage parasites, activity against relapsing parasites in non-human primate liver cells, prevention of parasite development …

Academic Summaries (Human Rights Violations Issue), Erica Jensen

Journal of Nonprofit Innovation

No abstract provided.

Do Anterior-Posterior Lumbar Fusions Provide More Short-Term Value Than Posterior-Only? An Application Of The Operative Value Index, Steven R. Glener, Advith Sarikonda, D. Mitchell Self, Ashmal Sami, Danyal Quraishi, Emily Isch, Arbaz A. Momin, Cheritesh R. Amaravadi, Jack Jallo, Joshua Heller, Ashwini Sharan, Alex R. Vaccaro, Srinivas K. Prasad, James Harrop, Nicholas J. Clark, Ahilan Sivaganesan

Department of Neurosurgery Faculty Papers

BACKGROUND: Lumbar fusion is a common treatment for degenerative spine changes. Although both anterior-posterior (AP) and posterior-only approaches are used, their cost-effectiveness remains uncertain. This study aims to compare the costs and short-term "value" (outcomes per dollar spent) of AP and posterior-only lumbar fusions using time-driven activity-based costing and patient-reported outcomes.

METHODS: A retrospective review of AP and posterior lumbar fusions from 2017 to 2022 was conducted. Time-driven activity-based costing was used to assign intraoperative costs based on resource utilization, and the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) was collected preoperatively and 3 months postoperatively. The Operative Value Index (OVI) was defined …

Do Minorities Attend Culturally Competent Hospitals? The Case Of Minority-Serving And Safety-Net Hospitals, Rumel Mahmood

Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences

Minorities disproportionately attend minority-serving hospitals (MSHs) and safety-net hospitals (SNHs). This study examines whether MSHs or SNHs are more culturally competent than their counterparts. No research to date has examined the cultural competency of MSHs and SNHs with hospitals outside of these categories. The literature on the determinants of hospital-level cultural competence is sparse, with limited measures used nationally and a robust measure used in a single U.S. state. I calculated a 100-point score of hospital cultural competence from a nationally representative survey of hospitals (N = 849 respondents). Using multilevel regression models, I found that MSHs are culturally …

Demanding More From Distance Learning: The Virtual & Democratized Futures Of Legal Education, Antonio M. Coronado, Gabriela Elizondo-Craig

Seattle University Law Review Online

Antonio M. Coronado and Gabriela Elizondo-Craig examine the transformative potential of online legal education through their work at Innovation for Justice, where they lead virtual legal training programs for community-based justice workers. They trace the development and limitations of ABA Standard 306, highlighting how the COVID-19 pandemic exposed both the rigidity of traditional legal education and the possibilities of technology-enabled learning. Drawing on adult education theory and best practices in online pedagogy, Coronado and Elizondo-Craig challenge prevailing critiques of distance legal education and advocate for a learner-centered, accessible, and inclusive model. Their experience demonstrates how online legal education, when intentionally …

Beyond The Gray Ghost: John S. Mosby And The Power Of Legend, Kevin R. Youngberg

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Civil War generals are among the most celebrated figures of their time. In the post-Civil war era, many of these officers retreated to farms, and businesses and disappeared into obscurity. This was not the case with Colonel John Singleton Mosby, who quickly transformed into a figure whose legacy from the Civil war gave him a unique place in the American imagination as the legendary Gray Ghost of the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. He lived until 1916, a remarkable fifty years filling those decades with a host of accomplishments in public service both at home and abroad. His legacy is complex, …

An Fgfr-P53 Developmental Signaling Axis Drives Salivary Cancer Progression, Julia M. R. Billington

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Mucoepidermoid carcinoma (MEC) is the most frequently occurring salivary gland malignancy.Here, we investigated transcriptomic profiles of human fetal and adult salivary glands and MEC tumors to assess programs involved in MEC progression. Molecular and genetic analyses revealed that MEC tumors and fetal salivary glands share proliferative and developmental gene expression profiles that implicate an FGFR-p53 signaling axis in salivary MEC progression. Based on these findings, we developed a genetically engineered mouse model of advanced MEC via targeted expression of the CRTC1-MAML2 oncogene in salivary ductal cells. Specifically, CRTC1- MAML2 expression combined with p53 dysregulation in salivary ducts rewires FGF signaling …

Corrosion Mitigation And Monitoring Of Bridge Tendons And Failure Forecasting Of Wastewater Force Mains, Stanley Chike Agbakansi

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Corrosion remains a significant threat to civil infrastructure, resulting in costly repairsand potential structural failures. This dissertation addresses three critical aspects of corrosion: mitigation and monitoring of post-tensioned bridge tendons, and failure forecasting of wastewater force mains due to internal corrosion.

First, the research investigates the effectiveness of corrosion inhibitors (CIs) applied via pressure injection (impregnation) in post-tensioned tendons. The protective mechanisms and long-term performance of various inhibitors were evaluated to identify the most effective formulations. Among the tested inhibitors, MCI-2020 — a water-based, migratory, mixed-type corrosion inhibitor — demonstrated the most promising results, showing excellent corrosion protection while preserving …