Digital Commons Network^™

The Effects Of Stress-Related Hormones On Excitatory Synapse Formation, Autumn C. Garvey

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Stress profoundly influences brain function through neuromodulatory hormones that regulate synaptic plasticity, yet how temporal patterns of hormone exposure shape excitatory synapse formation remains poorly understood. This study investigates how exposure to stress hormones, norepinephrine and cortisol, affects excitatory synapse development. While existing research primarily compares concentration models, real-world stress occurs in variable patterns that may produce distinct neural outcomes. To address this gap, differentiated Neuro2A neuronal cells are exposed to norepinephrine or cortisol under a continuous treatment paradigm designed to model chronic stress conditions. Following treatment, immunofluorescence imaging is utilized to quantify excitatory synapse formation through analysis of presynaptic …

Reimagining Emily Dickinson And Rupi Kaur’S Techniques For A Contemporary Creative Portfolio, Julia S. Gearing

ENG 490 Senior Seminar Capstone

This thesis combines literary analysis and creative practice to examine how notorious poet Emily Dickinson and up and coming Rupi Kaur have shaped the genre of poetry over time and can influence a novice writer, such as myself. Through close reading and analysis of Dickinson and Kaur’s work this thesis identifies key stylistic and thematic elements and uses my findings to influence original poetry, with the goal of experimenting and expanding upon the use of craft within my writing. This project demonstrates how critical analysis of other successful authors can inform creative expression and broaden the literary realm.

A Comparison Of Using Token Economy With Differential Reinforcement Procedures In Increasing Compliance In Children With Autism, Jada Keyes

Masters Essays

Compliance, or engaging in an adult-delivered instruction, is a prerequisite skill for following daily routines in school-aged children. Noncompliance, engaging in any other behavior than the directed activity or task, is a common barrier among children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Behavioral interventions, such as token economy and differential reinforcement, have been implemented to increase compliance among children with ASD. However, limited research has compared the effectiveness of combining token economy with different types of differential reinforcement interventions. Thus, this study compared the effects of using token economy with differential reinforcement of alternative behavior (DRA) versus differential reinforcement of other …

Horizontal Gene Transfer And Reciprocal Chimerism In Compactonostoc (Nostocales, Cyanobacteriophyta) With Evidence For Two New Species In The Genus., Daniel Al Fatayri

Masters Essays

The genus Nostoc has long been known to be polyphyletic, and recent taxonomic work has segregated several Nostoc-like lineages into new genera, including Compactonostoc. Until now, Compactonostoc shennongjiaensis was the only described species in the genus. In a survey of biological soil crusts from Santa Catalina Island (California, USA), we isolated two Nostoc- like strains that phylogenetically affiliate with Compactonostoc. A polyphasic approach based on morphology, 16S rRNA gene phylogeny, 16S–23S ITS secondary structure, and cloned ribosomal operons revealed that each strain harbors two highly divergent ribosomal operon types. One operon (Type 2) is closely related to C. shennongjiaensis and …

Comparative Analysis Of Serum-Free Culture Conditions On Cell Proliferation And Extracellular Vesicle Production By Adipose-Derived Stem Cells, Ayna Ghulldu

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs) are promising candidates in regenerative medicine due to their proliferative capacity, self-renewal, and secretion of extracellular vesicles (EVs) that mediate intercellular communication. Serum-free media has been increasingly explored for MSC culture as it eliminates xenogeneic components, improving human therapeutic suitability. However, comparative evaluation of distinct serum-free formulations on ADSC proliferation and EV output simultaneously remains limited. This study compares a serum-containing medium to three proprietary serum-free media prototypes differing in composition, including the presence or absence of extracellular matrix proteins, to inform the optimization of culture conditions for clinical use. Proliferation, EV characteristics, and gene expression …

The Depuration Of Microplastic Pollution In Aquacultured Indian River Lagoon Oysters, Lee Nguyen

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Plastics are widely used in consumer goods and industrial manufacturing, and their degradation into microplastics (MP, size < 5 mm) has created an emergent environmental pollutant. Plastics readily enter aquatic environments, where they accumulate additional contaminants and bioaccumulate in organisms. While MP contamination in marine ecosystems is well documented, less is known about MP presence in aquacultured shellfish. Depuration, the process of purging contaminants from shellfish, is conducted in sterile seawater without food, which may cause oyster starvation and death. To date, MP depuration has not been examined in the aquacultured eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica) in published studies. This study had 3 goals: 1) evaluate the effects of algal feed on oyster survival during depuration, 2) determine the effect of algal feed on depuration effectiveness, and 3) investigate the effect of a ten-day depuration on MP concentration in aquacultured C. virginica soft tissue. MP were quantified in oyster tissues, biodeposits, and in industrial algal feed. Tissues were digested using alkaline solutions, manually examined via microscopy, and analyzed using Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) to investigate MP polymer …

Guideline For A Burnout Bundle For Nurses In Psychiatric Mental Health Units, Festus Irabor

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Scholarly Projects - Archive

Abstract

Problem: Burnout among nurses, especially in psychiatric mental health units, significantly impacts both their well-being and the quality of patient care. Despite its severity, with approximately 30% of nurses worldwide affected and contributing to a 31.5% nurse turnover rate (Ge et al., 2023), there are limited formal guidelines specifically targeting nurse burnout prevention in the mental health setting. The issue is particularly acute in the United States, where 91.1% of psychiatric nurses report experiencing burnout, compared to 79.9% of other healthcare professionals (Anger et al., 2024). In the local unit 38.05% have experienced burnout.

Purpose: The PICOTS for this …

Iron Deficiency And Iron Deficiency Anemia: Inconsistent Screening Practices And Delayed Result Processing In Children 12-18 Months, Madonna J. Mahoney Marshall

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Scholarly Projects - Archive

Introduction:

Iron deficiency and iron deficiency anemia in children aged 12 to 18 months are prevalent conditions that, if not identified and treated early, are associated with adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes.

Purpose:

This quality improvement project evaluated the impact of a standardized screening and follow-up protocol on laboratory result retrieval, provider review, and caregiver follow-through in a military pediatric clinic.

Method:

A pre-post intervention design guided by the Plan-Do-Study-Act framework was implemented over 11 weeks and included staff education, standardized workflows, and caregiver outreach.

Results:

The intervention improved laboratory completion and caregiver follow-up rates; however, sustainability was limited by staffing constraints …

Noninvasive Monitoring Techniques: The Use Of Scat-Sourced Dna And Camera Traps To Monitor Mammalian Carnivore Species At The Ucf Arboretum, Zachary Montealegre

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The 800-acre University of Central Florida Arboretum Natural Lands functions as a conservation area, recreational space, and research site, making it essential to understand the ecological community it supports. Traditional wildlife monitoring methods such as mark-recapture and blood sampling can be effective but may stress animals or disrupt natural behaviors. To minimize these impacts, this study used non-invasive techniques, specifically scat-based DNA analysis and camera trapping, to assess carnivore species' presence. Two ecologically similar sites within the Arboretum were selected. Suspected carnivore scat was collected twice weekly over two months using both structured and opportunistic sampling. DNA was extracted, amplified, …

On Bended Knee: A Legal Analysis Of Colin Kaepernick’S Grievance And The Broader Implications Of Activism In Professional Sports, Ayoka Smith

Student Works

No abstract provided.

A Mixed-Methods Cross-Cultural Analysis Of Trust, Parenting, And Well-Being Of Emerging Adults In The United States And Romania, Matthew Bucaloiu

Honors Theses

Trust is linked to emerging adults’ higher well-being. To our knowledge, few studies explore U.S. and Romanian emerging adults’ trust in others and their parents and their relationships to dimensions of parenting and well-being. This mixed-methods project examines cross-cultural differences and similarities in the relationships between trust, parenting dimensions, and well-being in two countries. With self-report quantitative data from 152 U.S. and 233 Romanian emerging adults, Study 1 found positive correlations between general trust dimensions, trust in mothers and fathers, parental care, and well-being, while psychological control was negatively correlated with trust and well-being. Multiple regression analyses revealed that for …

Origins Of Musical Preferences: Infants' Responses To Sung Vocal Timbre, Hayley Leopold

Honors Theses

Understanding the origins of aesthetic preferences remains an important question in psychology, particularly in domains such as music where both biological constraints and cultural learning play important roles. While adults exhibit consistent preferences for certain musical features, including aspects of vocal quality or timbre, it remains unclear whether these preferences reflect early-developing perceptual biases or emerge through experience. The present study addresses this question by adopting a developmental paradigm previously used in the visual domain to examine whether infants’ responses to music align with adult aesthetic evaluations.

Twenty three infants between 8 and 12 months of age participated in a …

The Impacts Of Artificial Intelligence Grammar Checkers On The Grammatical Skills Of L2 English Speakers, Tessa Brizhik

Honors Theses

In recent years, generative artificial intelligence (AI) has emerged as a widely accessible tool in academia, upon which students have increasingly come to rely and include in their writing process (Alharbi et al., 2023). Across the field of English second language learning, corrective feedback is widely recognized as a major influence for grammatical development (Lyster & Ranta, 1997). Corrective feedback may function implicitly, explicitly, or as an interaction between both mechanisms. Research suggests that grammatical knowledge may be largely acquired implicitly for adults learning a new language, with explicit learning playing a secondary role (Ivanova et al., 2012, Jackson & …

Impact Of Dapagliflozin On Diastolic Function In Asymptomatic Patients With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: A Prospective Observational Study, Pankti Shah, Kumar Abhishek, Pratyush Kumar, Aradhana Pandey

MidAmerica Division GME Healthcare Symposium 2026

No abstract provided.

Unchanging Gospel Message, Changing Context: Contextualization Strategies In The Lukan Paul, Irenaeus, And Athanasius, Joy Axelsson

MA in Religion Theses

This thesis examines how early Christian leaders strategically contextualized the gospel within the diverse sociohistorical contexts of the Roman Empire while maintaining theological consistency. Using a comparative synchronic methodology adapted from Michael Gorman, it analyzes five primary texts spanning the first through fourth centuries: the Lukan Paul’s missionary speeches in Acts (Pisidian Antioch, Lystra, and Athens), Irenaeus’s On the Apostolic Preaching, and Athanasius’s On the Incarnation. Each text is analyzed within its literary, historical, and cultural context to identify patterns of strategic constants and variables in gospel presentation. The analysis shows that central gospel elements, such as Christology, monotheism, …

Teacher Mental Health And Student Success: Examining The Impact Of Educator Well-Being On Classroom Outcomes, Caleb Stiles

All Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the relationship between teacher mental health and student success through a review of current and foundational research. The purpose of the study was to explore how teacher stress, burnout, and emotional well-being influence student outcomes across academic, behavioral, and social-emotional domains. The literature revealed that teacher burnout negatively affects instructional quality, classroom climate, and teacher-student relationships, all of which are essential to student achievement and engagement. Research also showed that teachers with higher self-efficacy and stronger emotional regulation skills are better equipped to manage stress and create supportive learning environments. Organizational factors such as leadership support, workload …

Play-Based Learning Within A Special Education Classroom, Cassandra L. Christiansen

All Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In the following research paper, play-based learning (PBL) will be explored for its potential to shape the educational experience of elementary-age special education children. This thesis examined a wide variety of academic articles, journals, books, and online resources to address this issue. These sources offered perspectives on the use of play-based learning in special and general education, including its advantages and disadvantages, as well as the challenges teachers may face when embedding play-based learning in their classrooms. The research will investigate many areas of play-based learning, including play-based strategies for fostering cognitive, social, and emotional development, as well as the …

Predators And Precedents: Grizzly Bears, Joe Pickett, And The Law Of Delisting, Temple Stoellinger, Kelly Dunning, David Willms, Arthur Middleton, Bethany Aragon

Wyoming Law Review

When a grizzly bear kills a fisherman in C.J. Box’s Three-Inch Teeth, the attack occurs in Wyoming’s Bighorn Mountains—territory where bears “weren’t supposed to be.” This fictional scenario reflects a real dilemma: grizzly bears have recovered so successfully that they now roam beyond designated recovery zones, yet federal delisting efforts have repeatedly failed, caught between contested science and competing narratives about connectivity requirements, ESA policies, federal authority, state and local control, and the prospects for coexistence with apex other predators.

This Article examines how popular culture, legal frameworks, and conservation science intersect to shape wildlife policy. Box’s novel— mixing …

Does Stance Width Influence Isoperception During Lower Extremity Loading, Emily Elwell, Cade Kooch, Andrew Meszaros

Student-Faculty Research - College of Physical Therapy

Definition: Isoperceptual Manifold (IPM) is the combination of sensory inputs that covary to achieve a single perceptual goal

• → e.g. to hold a cup: perception from 3 fingers combine into a singular perceived force.

Background: IPM known to exist in upper extremities,¹ but IPM has not been examined in lower extremity (LE) loading.

Theory: IPM influenced by stance width might contribute to postural control instability^2,3

Patient Centered Care Course In Dpt Curriculum, Anthony Porpora, Anthony Tang, Chyanna Blackburn, Eli Porterfield, Peter Hilbert, Dominique Schwartz, Scott Burkhart

Student-Faculty Research - College of Physical Therapy

Patient-centered care refers to the collaboration between healthcare professionals and patients to recognize the patient beyond their diagnosis and grant them autonomy in healthcare-decision making.

Lack of research into standardized PCC curricula for effective education of healthcare professionals.¹

Improves blood pressure, benefits psychological health, reduces health care costs¹, promotes biopsychosocial model of health, recognizes influence of social drivers of health.²

Improves patient outcomes, adherence, and raises patient satisfaction.³

This study identifies student elevation of self and peers pre and post taking a patient-centered care course to determine effectiveness of course content in implementation of PCC …

An Advocacy Appetizer: Students Write Their Lawmakers About Issues That Matter To Them, Darren Ilett

Information Literacy

In these two 50-minute lessons intended for first-year undergraduates in an English composition, first-year experience, or standalone information literacy course, students write letters to lawmakers about issues that interest them or that impact themselves, their families, or their communities. After the lessons, students will be able to 1) determine an appropriate audience for their topic (relating to the “Authority Is Constructed and Contextual” and “Scholarship as Conversation” frames); 2) find and select evidence from source types that would convince or appeal to their audience (relating to the “Information Creation as a Process” frame); and 3) use information ethically by citing …

Faith, Formation, And Formalization: Entrepreneurship Development Among Women In Ghana, Patricia Adams-Williams

Doctor of Ministry

The problem addressed in this study is the absence of a unified, faith-centered framework that equips single mothers in Ghana to build sustainable livelihoods while strengthening their spiritual identity. Although Ghanaian women demonstrate remarkable resilience and entrepreneurial drive, many remain confined to informal markets without access to business training, mentorship, or systems that connect their work to their calling. This dissertation argues that integrating spiritual formation with entrepreneurship training creates a pathway for lasting transformation. The thesis of this study is that Kingdom-centered entrepreneurship, rooted in biblical identity and supported by communal mentorship, empowers women to move from survival to …

Making Ai Use Visible: Teaching Students To Develop Personal Ai Policy Statements, Megan Stoneberger Johnson

Posters

Students are rapidly adopting generative AI tools to perform a myriad of academic and personal tasks, often without much critical thought or ethical deliberation. Without clear guiding principles or predetermined standards of practice, some students are bypassing the cognitive work learning requires and robbing themselves of meaningful intellectual development. To break the cycle of mindless AI use, I developed a project in which students craft their own personal AI policy statements that detail the ethical and professional considerations that guide their decision making. Students are required to model their AI use through a narrated screen-capture video that demonstrates their prompt-crafting …

#Influencerinfractions: How Influencers Comply (Or Don’T) With Ftc Guidelines, Christopher Terry, Emma Troha, Anastasia Micich, Cecilia Lausten

Journal of Law, Technology, & the Internet

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) released endorsement guidelines of sponsored content in 2023, including stipulations of clear and conspicuous disclosure, to combat content disguised as original, while actually having commercial intent. This paper examines compliance with these guidelines among travel influencers on Instagram. Overwhelmingly, influencers are not properly disclosing potential commercial sponsorship in their posts, and even good faith attempts to disclose are more often than not non-compliant with the FTC’s guidelines. Implications of these findings are discussed.

Brief Report: Naloxone Decline Among African American Kentuckians, Rayven Peterson, Mona Goggins, Destin L. Mizelle, Brittany Miller-Roenigk, Candice Hargons, Danelle Stevens-Watkins

Educational, School, and Counseling Psychology Faculty Publications

Background: Opioid-involved overdose fatalities among African Americans continue to rise. The current study examines African Americans who reported use of opioids in the past 6 months and declined overdose education and free naloxone.   Method: Eligible participants included African American Kentuckians who used opioids in the past 6 months and consented to a larger study examining their opioid use. This paper qualitatively explored their reasons for declining overdose education and naloxone using an adjusted and inductive application of structural tabular thematic analysis.   Results: Out of 588 participants, 70 (12%) declined naloxone: the most cited reason for declining naloxone was already possessing …

Effect Of Clinical Expertise On Efficacy Of Vocal Function Exercises In Individuals With Typical Voice, Maria H. Bane, Vrushali Angadi, Richard D. Andreatta, Joseph C. Stemple

Communication Sciences and Disorders Faculty Publications

Objectives/Hypothesis: To determine the effect of clinical expertise on efficacy of Vocal Function Exercises (VFEs) as measured by change in percent of maximum phonation time goal attained. The hypothesis was that clinical expertise would result in greater increases in percent of maximum phonation time goal attained.

Study Design: Randomized controlled trial.

Methods: A convenience sample of 19 individuals with typical voice was recruited in a university academic clinic setting. All participants completed baseline assessment and 17 completed all study procedures. Participants were randomized to receive VFEs from an expert voice clinician with more than 40 years’ experience (expert group (EG)) …

Crystal Bloom: Ai-Enabled 3d Virtual Fitting As A Sustainable Strategy For Complex Ornamental Fashion, Jiale Man

LSU Fashion and AI x Policy Symposium

No abstract provided.

Exploring Style Parameters In Midjourney For Ai-Enabled Fashion Print Design, Lutong Chen, Eunha Jeong, Ling Zhang

LSU Fashion and AI x Policy Symposium

No abstract provided.

Rethinking ‘Zaohua’ And ‘Xinyuan’: The Capabilities And Limitations Of Ai Fashion Design In The Aesthetic Perspective Of Chinese Painting Theory, Lingyi Zeng, Chuming Fu, Peixian Sui

LSU Fashion and AI x Policy Symposium

No abstract provided.

Application Research Of Tpe Waterproof And Breathable Membrane In Outdoor Clothing Design, Xiaojuan Wang, Ying Tang

LSU Fashion and AI x Policy Symposium

No abstract provided.