Digital Commons Network^™

Fall 2024 - Volume 34, Number 2, Compass Point

CompassPoint

No abstract provided.

Nursing Students Build Clinical Reasoning And Professional Identity Through Employment At Youth Summer Camp, Angela Jones, Jacob Siek, Kaitlyn O’Neil, Sydney Farmer, Mia Burke

CompassPoint

No abstract provided.

Increased Access To And Training On Automated External Defibrillators For Layperson Staf, Melissa-Jo M. Nason, Jessica L. Peck, Kathryn A. Osteen

CompassPoint

No abstract provided.

Addressing Tick And Tick-Borne Illnesses At Camp, Lynne Rodrigues, Alexsandra Dubin, Ashley Dehudy, Alexandra Skrocki

CompassPoint

No abstract provided.

Mesh: Looking Back To Look Forward, Megan H. Owens, Rita Ann Laske

CompassPoint

No abstract provided.

Spring 2024 - Volume 34, Number 1, Compass Point

CompassPoint

No abstract provided.

Can Ungrading Make Sport Management Education More Practical And Engaging?, Michael A. Odio

The COSMA Journal

In this essay I take on the subject of grades in sport management education. While grades are used as a measure of success across higher education, they are an imperfect measure of achievement and learning and have major limitations in terms of student employability. The ungrading movement brings attention to the ways grades can harm learning by shifting attention away from students’ development, and instructor or peer feedback, and intrinsic motivation, while incentivizing compliance and risk-aversion. These harms directly affect what are arguably some of the most important aspects of sport management education, as when grades are the main incentive, …

Servant Leaders & Trauma Stewards, Tracey Gaslin, Jacob Sorenson

CompassPoint

No abstract provided.

Food Allergy Management In Summer Camps, Miranda M. Potter

CompassPoint

Summer camps create policies and procedures for their programming, food services, communication, and health center. A growing health concern that camps face is food allergies. Some summer camps do not have policies in place to manage food allergies, which can be concerning for those who have potentially life-threatening food allergies. Summer camps provide an opportunity for children to partake in activities outside their comfort zone, socialize with peers, gain independence, and develop important life skills. When one adds managing a food allergy, it can present unique challenges that camps need to know how to navigate.

Ach's Camp Health Care Research Timeline, Compass Point

CompassPoint

No abstract provided.

Interaction Boundary Constraint, Brian Harber

Defensive Publications Series

Compositional AI systems increasingly operate through orchestration layers, retrieval mechanisms, external tooling, routing systems, and probabilistic model behavior. Under these conditions, evaluation often occurs through observable interaction surfaces while direct visibility into the full composition producing an interaction remains limited, partial, or absent at the point of interaction.

This paper defines the Interaction Boundary Constraint as a limit on what can be legitimately inferred from interaction surfaces alone under conditions where producing composition is not fully present at the point of interaction. The constraint distinguishes between reconstruction and compositional presence and constrains the scope of claims that interaction-surface evaluation alone …

Rapide Parcours Des Revues Actuellement Publiées Par L’Université Saint‑Joseph Ou Ses Institutions, Jean Ducruet S.J.

Proche-Orient, Études juridiques

No abstract provided.

Potential And Promotion Strategies Of “Wisata Alam Ndeso” In Kubu Raya Regency, Siti Fatimah, Fahmi Fahmi, Muhammad Dhafa Ardilinata

Journal of Indonesian Tourism and Policy Studies

The development of tourism based on local potential is a key strategy for promoting regional economic growth, including in Kubu Raya Regency. “Wisata Alam Ndeso”, as a nature- and culture-based tourism destination, has considerable potential; however, it still faces various limitations in terms of management and promotion. This study aims to analyze the tourism potential and promotional strategies employed in the development of “Wisata Alam Ndeso”. This research adopts a descriptive qualitative approach, with data collected through in-depth interviews, observation, and documentation. The informants consist of the owner and a staff member who are directly involved in the management of …

Explainable Machine Learning Revealing The Impact Of Mental And Physical Health On Arthritis, Ma Shams, S Fatema, Dmh Islam, A Datta, David Eisenberg, Dt Mridula, J Mawa, A Sultana, N Ahmed, M Islam, Ts Pias

Department of Information Management and Business Analytics Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Objectives To develop a robust and interpretable machine learning framework for arthritis risk prediction and to identify important risk factors associated with the disease.Methods This study used four datasets, which are Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) 2019, BRFSS 2021, National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) 2020 and NHIS 2022. We evaluated 11 machine learning and deep learning architectures including a custom stacked ensemble combined with five resampling techniques to address class imbalance and 9 imputation methods to handle missing data. Area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC), sensitivity, specificity and balanced accuracy are used to evaluate model performance, with …

Repetition As Ritual Structure: Sound, Movement, And Electrodermal Activity In A Hmong Shaman Ceremony, Maile Williams

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines the relationship between repetitive sound, physiological arousal, and embodied participation in a Hmong shamanic ritual. Drawing on scholarship about music, trance, absorption, repetition, and Hmong ritual journeying and communication, I consider how sonic layers such as chant, rattle and gong help structure ritual time and sustain the shaman's altered state. The project uses electrodermal activity (EDA) data from wearable sensors, video and audio recordings, and my own event coding of sonic and physical activity during a selected 30-minute section of a recorded Hmong shaman ceremony. By aligning EDA data with a timeline of chanting, rattling, gong playing, …

Sand Could Be Key To Safer, Stronger Structures, Clara Turnage

University of Mississippi News

OXFORD, Miss. – Engineers have been working to protect buildings, bridges and other structures from severe weather and natural hazards damage for centuries, but one of the best methods may begin with sand, according to a new published study.

Shame, Resilience, And Disclosure Predictors Of Mental Health Seeking In Male Veterans With Ptsd And Military Sexual Trauma, Neftali Melendez

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Male veterans are often the least likely to report military sexual trauma (MST), increasing the experience of shame, fear, fragility, and mental health disorders. The primary goal of this study was to examine the relationship of shame (internal and external), attitudes towards disclosure, and resilience on mental health help-seeking in male veterans who have experienced sexual abuse while in the military. Brown’s theory of shame resilience guided the development of the hypotheses and interpretation of results. Approximately 146 veterans participated in an anonymous online cross-sectional survey using a convenience sampling design and psychometrically validated questionnaires (Mental Help Seeking Attitudes Scale, …

Marketing Strategies To Increase Student Enrollment To Generate Revenue, Jermaine R. Mccain

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Declining student enrollment can reduce district revenue and limit a public school’s ability to sustain educational programs, staffing, and overall organizational effectiveness. Public school business leaders who lack effective marketing strategies to increase student enrollment may experience financial instability, limiting their organization’s capacity to maintain long-term operational sustainability. Grounded in consumer choice theory, the purpose of this qualitative pragmatic inquiry was to identify and explore effective marketing strategies public school business leaders use to increase student enrollment to generate district revenue. Participants were six public school business leaders in the southeastern United States. Data were collected through semistructured interviews and …

Comparative Lca Of Germanium Production From Coal Fly Ash Using Chlorinated Distillation And Solvent Extraction, Dennis Dadzie, Kwame Awuah-Offei, Michael Moats, Nasib Al Habib, Weston Hartzell

Mining Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Germanium is increasingly important for high-tech applications, yet its supply chain is vulnerable, with production limited to a few countries. Although prior research has explored alternative techniques for extracting and recovering germanium, the literature lacks comparative life-cycle evidence that quantifies their environmental burdens and translates findings into actionable (policy) recommendations. This paper presents a cradle-to-gate life-cycle assessment that compares the environmental burdens of producing 1 kg of single-crystal germanium from coal fly ash via chlorinated distillation (CD) and solvent extraction (SX). Under the study's assumptions, CD has lower potential impacts in 15 of 19 impact categories, while both routes show …

Tgf-Β Drives The Conversion Of Conventional Nk Cells Into Uterine Tissue-Resident Nk Cells To Support Murine Pregnancy, Josselyn D Barahona, Liping Yang, D Michael Nelson, Wayne M Yokoyama

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Tissue microenvironments shape lymphocyte differentiation to align immune function with local physiological demands. Uterine natural killer (NK) cells are critical for reproductive success, yet the molecular cues in the uterus that instruct their specialized identities remain incompletely understood. Here, we identify a TGF-β-dependent differentiation pathway by which circulating conventional NK cells convert into uterine tissue-resident NK cells during murine pregnancy. Loss of TGF-β receptor II expression in

Thanks For The Signal-Now What? Program Director Perspectives On How Preference Signals Are Shaping General Surgery Residency Recruitment, John M Woodward, Connie Y Gan, Darci C Foote, Tasha Posid, Nicole M Santucci, Noosha D Deravi, Caitlin Silvestri, Kirstyn E Brownson, Erika Simmerman Mabes, Rondi Gelbard, Milanie Milan, Nina Zhao, Dylan R Nieman, Martha Godfrey, Benjamin D Ferguson, Joseph C L'Huillier, Colleen Mcdermott, Prajjwol Luitel, Olabisi Sheppard, Jennifer H Chen, Emma G Burke, Jenny M Guido, Ladonna Kearse, Jonathan Davies, Trenton Foster, Sarah Lund

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Objective: We aimed to explore general surgery program director (PD) experiences with and perspectives on preference signaling in a 15-signal system.

Design: We performed qualitative analysis of de-identified transcripts from semi-structured interviews of general surgery PDs.

Setting: General surgery PDs across the United States.

Participants: All general surgery PDs in the spring of 2025 were invited to participate. Fifteen PDs volunteered to participate in semi-structured interviews (73% university-based, 53% programs with < 8 residents/class).

Results: PDs highlighted that signals saved time when utilized as a screening tool, which gave PDs more time for holistic review of applications. PDs also felt signaling increased equity …

Unbiased Avidity-Based Isolation Of Antigen-Specific T Cells, Amanda Montoya, Meredith L Frank, Peixin Jiang, Hui Nie, Minying Zhang, Emily Bontekoe, Jared K Slone, Ludovica L Posta, Sofia Rosy Caterina Sorice, Tina Cascone, Maura Gillison, Don L Gibbons, Jianjun Zhang, Eleonora Dondossola, Lydia Kavraki, Pamela L Wenzel, John V Heymach, Alexandre Reuben

The Brown Foundation: Institute of Molecular Medicine

Background: Cancer immunotherapies have significantly improved treatment efficacy and patient survival by exploiting antigen-specific T cells to eliminate cancer cells. However, current approaches for identifying and isolating antigen-specific T cells typically require prior knowledge of target antigens, limiting discovery, and reducing the ability to consistently detect rare tumor-reactive T cells. We therefore sought to develop an unbiased platform for the identification and enrichment of antigen-specific T cells using naturally processed and presented tumor antigens.

Methods: We developed ATTACH (Assessment of T cells Tethered to Antigen Class I Histocompatibility), a microfluidic platform that applies controlled shear stress and leverages tumor cells …

Drivers Of Professional Satisfaction In Emergency Medicine Residency Training In The Us, Arvin Radfar Akhavan, Kirstin Woody Scott, Patrick Hewes, Erin Kinney, Boris Pavic, Josh Simmons, Michelle Lall, Michael Gottlieb, Yvette Calderon, Dave Lu

Department of Emergency Medicine Faculty Papers

BACKGROUND: Physician wellness discussions often center on burnout and negative aspects of clinical practice. Less is known about what brings professional satisfaction to physicians, particularly among emergency medicine (EM) residents. Understanding drivers of professional satisfaction is important for the future of the specialty as they may influence residents' career decisions. This study aimed to identify drivers of professional satisfaction among a national cohort of EM residents.

METHODS: We conducted a mixed methods study using a survey administered following the 2024 ABEM In-Training Examination to EM residents in ACGME-accredited programs. The single-item, free-text survey question asked: "List the top 3 drivers …

Upar-Guided Dendrimer Gel Nanoparticles Reprogram Inflammation To Stabilize Atherosclerotic Plaques, Hsin Yin Chuang, Huari Kou, Yue-Wern Huang, Hu Yang

Biological Sciences Faculty Research & Creative Works

Atherosclerosis is characterized by lipid deposition, chronic inflammation, and apoptosis within the arterial wall, leading to plaque progression and instability. Current lipid-lowering therapies fail to fully address residual cardiovascular risk driven by local inflammation and cell death. Here, we report the development of uPA-functionalized, rapamycin-encapsulated dendrimer nanoparticles (G5PM-uPA/RA) that preferentially accumulate in urokinase plasminogen activator receptor (uPAR)-enriched atherosclerotic plaque, including macrophage- and apoptosis-rich lesion microenvironments. G5PM-uPA/RA was constructed by cross-linking reaction-enabled flash nanoprecipitation in a custom-made multi-inlet vortex mixer, followed by thiol-maleimide conjugation of uPA for uPAR-guided targeting. The nanoparticles demonstrated uniform morphology, favorable stability, and efficient rapamycin loading. In …

Spatiotemporal Trends In Schistocephalus Solidus Infection Among Populations Of Alaskan Threespine Stickleback (Gasterosteus Aculeatus), A.M Wohlleben, Neva Meyer, N.C. Steinel

Biology

Understanding the dynamics of host-parasite interactions is essential for uncovering the ecological and evolutionary processes shaping natural populations. In this study, we investigated the spatial and temporal patterns of prevalence of the cestode Schistocephalus solidus in 4 Alaskan populations of threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) over 11 years (1996 to 2006). Additionally, we assessed host tolerance through key indicators such as the Parasite Index and the presence of fibrotic scar tissue, a specialized form of resistance in this system. We observed fibrosis formation in both infected and uninfected fish across all populations, with notable year-to-year variability in Cornelius Lake. Here, fibrosis …

When Law Watches Democracy Die: The Legal Farce Of Venezuela's 2024 Election And The Paralysis Of International Law Enforcement And Unity, Madeline Covington

International Law Journal

The 2024 Venezuelan presidential election illustrates how authoritarian regimes can undermine democracy while preserving the appearance of constitutional governance. This Article examines the historical and legal developments that culminated in the contested election, analyzes violations of Venezuela's domestic electoral framework and international legal obligations, and evaluates the international response, including sanctions, diplomatic pressure, and multilateral action. It argues that Venezuela exposes a fundamental weakness in international law: although global institutions strongly endorse democratic governance, they lack effective enforcement mechanisms to respond to electoral authoritarianism. The Article concludes by proposing institutional reforms to strengthen international accountability and protect democratic integrity.

Universal Jurisdiction And The Principle Of Subsidiarity, Michael P. Scharf, Elise Manchester, Pilar Sofia Corso

International Law Journal

In an effort to render universal jurisdiction more palatable, in recent years States have applied the so-called subsidiarity principle. Under this principle, States exercising universal jurisdiction defer prosecution of international crimes to a State which has a stronger connection to the case, normally the State where the crimes were committed or the State of nationality of the accused, provided one of those States is able and willing to pursue the case. Through a study of the statutes and caselaw of States applying universal jurisdiction, this Article seeks to discern whether subsidiarity is merely a non-binding political concept, an emerging (or …

Perpetual Statehood Among Rising Tides: The Case Of Tuvalu And The Future Of Statehood, Sovereignty, And Maritime Bounds In The Face Of Unprecedented Climate Crisis, Caroline Crawford

International Law Journal

As climate change threatens the physical existence of low-lying island nations, the question of whether a country can retain statehood without territory becomes increasingly urgent. Tuvalu, facing potential submersion by 2050, has amended its constitution to declare perpetual statehood, challenging traditional international legal definitions that link sovereignty to physical territory. This Article examines the legal implications of Tuvalu’s declaration and explores whether current frameworks, including the Montevideo Convention, selfgovernance, the presumption of continuity, the Lotus principle, and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (“UNCLOS”), can accommodate such a claim. It advocates for legal innovations such as …

Defining Life: A Conversation, K. Kofman, C. Adami, F. Baluška, J. Bongard, D. Brash, P. Calvo, G. Dodig-Crnkovic, P. Das, C. Fields, T. Froese, P. L. Gentili, G. Y. Georgiev, Scott F. Gilbert, T. N. W. Jackson, S. Kauffman, N. Lane, P. Marshall, D. Mcshea, W. Miller, S. Newman, A. Nunn, T. P. Pavlic, M. Picard, W. Ratcliff, A. Reber, J. Shapiro, A. Sloman, R. Solé, C. Sonnenschein, S. Stepney, R. Watson, O. Witkowski, M. Levin

Biology Faculty Works

Life is one of the most fascinating features of the physical world. Despite centuries of scientific study, experts still disagree about the definition, and even the possibility or utility of a definition, of this field. In a recent paper, we used AI to analyze the conceptual space formed by definitions of life given by a select set of modern workers in the life sciences and related fields. However, some of the most interesting material emerged as real-time conversations among those polled. In order to ensure that these ideas are not lost to the peer-reviewed scientific record, we here provide a …

Synthesis, Characterization, And In Vitro And In Silico Antibacterial Evaluation Of 5-(3-Nitrophenyl)-1, 3, 4-Thiadiazol-2-Amine, Abdelghani Sehmi, Farouk Boudou, Ahcene Keziz, Amal Belakredar, Huda Alsaeedi, Mikhael Bechelany, Gemma K. Kinsella, Ahmed Barhoum

Research Outputs: 2025-Present

Introduction – This study reports the synthesis, structural characterization, and antibacterial evaluation of 5-(3-nitrophenyl)-1, 3, 4-thiadiazol-2-amine (NPTA), a commercially available thiadiazole derivative with potential antimicrobial activity. Methods – NPTA was synthesized through a green, one-pot condensation reaction between thiosemicarbazide and 3-nitrobenzoic acid in absolute ethanol, affording a pale-yellow crystalline solid with a melting point of 110 °C–112 °C. The compound was characterized using Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, confirming its structure. In vitro antibacterial assays, in silico ADMET and toxicity profiling, molecular docking, frontier molecular orbital (FMO) analysis, and 200 ns molecular dynamics simulations were performed. …