Digital Commons Network^™

Confucian Thought As A Strategic Veil: How Western Strategy Should Correctly Compete With China, Owen Miller

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

The rise of the People's Republic of China as a peer competitor to the United States constitutes the defining geopolitical challenge of the twenty-first century, but even so, Western strategic analysis has consistently failed to engage China on its own terms. The recurrent pattern of Western misinterpretation results from projecting Western assumptions onto a state whose institutional and cultural drivers operate under fundamentally different premises, where key elements of Chinese strategic culture and the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) instrumentalization of Confucianism as a moral veil are instruments of domestic legitimacy and external strategic narrative. The United States must recognize that …

Stopping The Buck: What Made The Truman Committee Uniquely Successful In Its Oversight Of World War Two Military Contracts, Victoria Kelley-Chiarelli

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

During World War Two, Harry S. Truman led the Senate Select Committee to Investigate the National Defense Program, also known as the Truman Committee, in its oversight of military contracts and the war effort. The Truman Committee saved the U.S. government billions by identifying and discouraging waste, fraud, and abuse, and saved many armed forces personnel’s lives through identifying defective products. Truman’s background in World War One service and his time as a local official in Missouri show signs of the integrity and commitment to good governance that made the Truman Committee so successful. The Truman Committee’s membership, staff, principles, …

American Elderberry's Next Top Pollinator: Evaluating The Role Of Arthropods In Pollination, Jenny K. Burrow

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

American elderberry (Sambucus nigra subsp. canadensis) is a woody deciduous shrub native to eastern North America. In addition to its long history of use by indigenous peoples, there is renewed interest in cultivating and consuming American elderberry, primarily driven by expanding health supplement markets. Despite recent advances in horticultural development of American elderberry, its pollination ecology remains poorly understood. In this field study, I evaluated the contribution of arthropod visitors to pollination of American elderberry. To do this, I first characterized the identities and abundances of arthropod visitors via timed arthropod collections and floral observations during peak flowering …

In The Beginning There Was Positive Law: Section 25, Calder V. Bull, And Constitutional Continuity, Kevin C. Walsh

Scholarly Articles

From the beginning of its operation as fundamental law for the government of the United States, the Constitution has continually operated as supreme and judicially enforceable positive law. This is the principal claim I offer as an “original-law originalist” in response to contrary claims advanced by Professor Jonathan Gienapp in Against Constitutional Originalism: A Historical Critique. Gienapp argues in Against Constitutional Originalism that “[h]istoricizing the original Constitution . . . poses a foundational challenge to originalism as it has long been conceived.”2 Constitutional originalism depends on perceived continuity with the past. But the perception of constitutional continuity turns out to …

Bracing The Wobbly “Three-Legged Stool” By Increasing Homeownership Opportunities For Low- And Middle-Income Workers, Regina T. Jefferson

Scholarly Articles

Traditionally, the primary sources of retirement income were personal savings, the private retirement system, and Social Security. These three sources have been described metaphorically as the “three-legged stool” of retirement security. In this framework, each leg was viewed as a separate and distinct source of income that provided support throughout a worker’s retirement. Each source presented different and varying degrees of risks that were pooled collectively among the individual, the employer, and the government. Each source also functioned independently of the other two. Thus, the traditional framework of retirement income was thought to be ideal because it balanced and diversified …

Laudato Si' And The Limits Of Law: Reflections On The Vocation To Protect Integral Ecology, Lucia A. Silecchia

Scholarly Articles

In 2015, Pope Francis’s widely anticipated encyclical, Laudato Si’: On Care for Our Common Home, was released. It was a wide-ranging commentary on the state of the world, with much to say to economists, ecologists, farmers, theologians, educators, architects, artists, and pastors. It may, however, have been of particular interest to lawyers eager to see what Pope Francis had to say about law’s particular role. 

On this question, Laudato Si’ painted an inconsistent portrait of law’s suitability to this task. Pope Francis spoke passionately about the need for law at all levels to tackle the complexities of caring for our …

The Genius Dilemma: Innovation Versus Antifraud In Stablecoin Regulation, Seth C. Oranburg

Scholarly Articles

The 2022 TerraUSD collapse, erasing $50 billion and exposing unregulated stablecoin risks in a $260 billion market, led Congress to enact the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act of 2025 (GENIUS Act). This statute exempts compliant payment stablecoins from the Securities Act's "security" definition, enforces strict reserve requirements, and creates a tailored private right of action-shifting authority from ex post Rule lob-5 litigation to ex ante prudential oversight while maintaining market discipline via calibrated remedies.

As the first doctrinal analysis of this landmark legislation, this Article contends GENIUS resolves regulatory fragmentation, optimizes risk allocation under uncertainty, and …

The Constitution Of Conversations: The Enduring Legacy Of Sandra Day O'Connor, Derek A. Webb

Scholarly Articles

Soon after Justice O'Connor's passing in December 2023, commentators and court watchers across the ideological spectrum questioned whether anything in the legacy of the first woman to serve on the Supreme Court— once called “the most powerful woman in Washington, D.C.”—remained intact.

Drawing upon speeches and interviews she gave over her entire forty-year public career, I argue that O’Connor’s deepest and most enduring contribution was a subtle, compelling, interconnected, and yet today largely countercultural vision of the Constitution as a site of multiple conversations, a “Constitution of Conversations,” that took place variously within institutions, across institutions, and across time. More …

Vested Rights And The Presumption Of Lawful Use, Adam J. Macleod

Scholarly Articles

Presumptions matter in cases and controversies about private rights. A party who bears the burden of proof or persuasion and who cannot meet that burden will lose. But private law presumptions are not as well under-stood as the presumption of innocence in criminal prosecutions. This article explains a number of presumptions governing property, especially land use, by reference to the concept of vested private rights. A person may enjoy the presumption that his use of property is lawful when he has a right to make the use prior to a legal challenge or change in the law, and his right …

The Constitutional Significance Of The First American Pope: The Promise Of Listening In An Era Of Mutual Suspicion, Derek A. Webb

Scholarly Articles

Pope Leo XIV has focused a good deal of writing and speaking in the first year of his pontificate on the theme of listening, dialogue, and bridgebuilding. For Leo, listening, dialogue, and creating harmony across diverse perspectives where possible are at the heart of the Christian life. But his reflections on these themes, while rooted in theology, are aimed at a wider audience, going well beyond the church community, and addressing philosophical issues of universal human concern. Indeed, the first American pope happens to be highlighting certain ideals regarding dialogue that, while perhaps forgotten today, are central to the American …

A Commemoration: 75th Anniversary Of The Catholic University Law Review, Veryl Victoria Miles

Scholarly Articles

This essay celebrates the 75th Anniversary of the Catholic University Law Review.  A retrospective of the law review’s first 50 years (1950-2000) was published in volume 50 by Professor Ralph Rohner.  Ralph J. Rohner, The 50th Anniversary of the Catholic University Law Review, 50 Cath. U. L. Rev. 267 (2001). Similarly, this essay reviews the law review publication experience and production output from 2001 through 2026, its contributions to the educational and scholarly development of student editors, student authors, and the greater body of legal scholarship.

A Phenomenological Exploration Of Faculty Integrating Durable Skills To Prepare Career-Ready Transfer Students, Christopher Butcher

Journal of Excellence in College Teaching and Learning

This qualitative, phenomenological study addresses how faculty integrate durable, career-ready skills in supporting transfer students. This study is approached through the lens of Laanan’s Transfer Student Capital framework (Laanan et al., 2010) and Kolb’s experiential learning cycle (Kolb, 1984) to understand how faculty utilize durable skills (e.g., collaboration, problem-solving) to specifically mitigate unique transfer-student challenges such as social isolation and academic integration. The data reveal four emerging themes: 1) teaching and assessment practices, 2) support and advising practices, 3) institutional partnerships, and 4) barriers to integration. Findings support the interplay between pedagogical support and institutional constraints when integrating durable-skill development …

Credit For Prior Learning, Advising, And Equity: A Framework For Faculty Development, Amy Danzo, Matthew Bergman, Melissa Moon

Journal of Excellence in College Teaching and Learning

Credit for prior learning (CPL)—which includes credit-by-examination, portfolio assessment, and credential-to-credit crosswalks—has demonstrated positive effects on persistence, time to degree, and affordability, with disproportionately large benefits accruing to historically underserved learners. Yet CPL often remains peripheral in advising and faculty practice, limiting its equity impact. Guided by critical theory and feminist poststructural epistemology (FPE), this quantitative study investigates the barriers that advisors perceive when recommending CPL at a four-year regional public university with an established CPL catalog. A campus-wide survey (n = 42) captured advisor characteristics, frequency of recommending specific CPL pathways, and perceived obstacles. Descriptive statistics and nonparametric comparisons …

Belonging Across Differences: A Subversive Classroom Model For An Anti-Dei Era?, Larry Grabau

Journal of Excellence in College Teaching and Learning

The author’s surprising experiences in a first-year university classroom offer a microcosm of universities’ “rock-and-a-hard-place” conundrum regarding DEI practices. Should institutions “lean-in” to pro-DEI activities (a principled but financially risky position) or “cave-in” to anti-DEI pressures (institutionally pragmatic but a problematic position for less empowered students). This paper suggests a third choice: a focus on teacher-led classroom belonging for all students. Two framing questions for this classroom belonging model were: i) “could belonging as a classroom model prove to be an effective approach in an anti-DEI era?” and ii) “what classroom behaviors might teachers adopt to implement belonging for all …

Guide To: Conferences. Brigham-Kanner Property Rights Conference, Wolf Law Library Archives

Collection Guides & Finding Aids

No abstract provided.

Prolonged Qt Interval In Hiv-1 Infected Humanized Mice Treated Chronically With Dolutegravir/Tenofovir Disoproxil Fumarate/Emtricitabine, Ali Namvaran, Julian V. Garcia, Mahendran Ramasamy, Kayla Nguyen, Farzaneh Tavakkoli Ghazani, Bryan T. Hackfort, Prasanta Dash, Reagan E. Fisher, Benson J. Edagwa, Santhi Gorantla, Keshoer R. Bidasee

Journal Articles: Cellular & Integrative Physiology

The REPRIEVE Trial recently reported high rates of sudden cardiac death (SCD) middle-aged people living with HIV-1 infection (PWH) using the WHO/NIH-recommended two nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs)/one integrase strand inhibitor (INSTI) regimen to manage HIV-1 viremia. To date, clinically relevant animal models to delineate underlying causes for this remain limited. Here, we assessed if HIV-1-infected NOD.Cg-Prkdc^scidIl2rg^tm1Wjl/SzJ humanized mice (Hu-mice) treated with the WHO/NIH-recommended antiretroviral regimen, dolutegravir (DTG, INSTI)/tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF, NRTIs)/emtricitabine (FTC, NRTIs), can recapitulate abnormalities in the ECG and subclinical structural heart disease that serve as harbingers of SCD in middle-aged PWH. …

Attenuation Of Cardiac Dysfunction In The Collagen-Induced Arthritis Mouse Model Mediated By A Reactive Aldehyde Species Inhibitor, Wenxian Zhou, Hannah J. Johnson, Michael J. Duryee, Ali Namvaran, Aradhana Thapa, Cole Blasing, Amy J. Nelson, Engle E. Sharp, Carlos D. Hunter, Bryan T. Hackfort, Bryant England, Tate M. Johnson, Daniel R. Anderson, Adam Lazorchak, Robert G. Bennett, Jill A. Poole, Keshoer R. Bidasee, Geoffrey M. Thiele, Ted R. Mikuls

Journal Articles: Cellular & Integrative Physiology

Individuals with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) experience increased risk of heart failure. Malondialdehyde-acetaldehyde (MAA) adducts are overexpressed and co-localize with citrullinated (CIT) proteins in RA myocardium. This study investigated whether reactive aldehyde species (RASP) inhibitors prevent MAA formation in vitro and attenuate cardiac dysfunction in a collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) mouse model. Among eight RASP inhibitors screened, ADX-246 demonstrated the greatest inhibition of MAA formation in vitro. Mice with early CIA (week 5) exhibited elevated levels of myocardial MAA adducts, myocardial inflammation, and reduced ejection fraction, but normal cardiac collagen deposition and diastolic function vs. control. By weeks 10-12, mice with chronic …

Lumbosacral Orthosis Can Improve Postural Control In Older Adults With Chronic Low Back Pain, Régis M.-L. D'Assomption, Christian Lariviere, Hakim Mecheri, Suzy Ngomo, Rubens A. Da Silva

Études primaires

Background

Older adults with chronic low back pain may report poor postural control and increased fall risks. Possible key mechanisms are altered lumbar spine proprioception, stiffness and mobility, which could be enhanced through lumbar stabilization approaches. The purpose of this study was thus to evaluate the immediate effects of two lumbar stabilization approaches on postural control measures, namely a lumbosacral orthosis and the abdominal drawing-in maneuver.

Methods

57 older adults (> 65 yrs): 22 with chronic low back pain and 35 healthy controls performed two trials (30 s) of a semi-tandem balance task on a force platform, while three experimental …

Workforce Review Of Health Information Technology Associate-Degree Graduates: 2017-2024, Debra Hamada, Karima Lalani, Melanie Brodnik, Susan H Fenton, Angela Kennedy, David T Marc, Velma L Payne, Rebecca Reynolds

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: The career path of associate-degree health information technology (HIT) graduates continues to change quickly as quality and payment regulations, technology requirements, and workforce expectations evolve to meet the demands of the changing health care environment. Although HIT professionals play an essential role in accuracy, regulatory compliance, and the overall function of health information systems, there is limited research describing HIT workforce trends.

Methods: A mixed-methods approach was used with 587 survey responses. Quantitative data were standardized by job category, including a newly developed "health information management (HIM) operations" group, and career movement was visualized using a Sankey diagram. Qualitative …

A User-Friendly Graphical User Interface For Paw Touch Classification In Rodent Cylinder Testing, Tyler R Johnson, Katherine D Zerefos, Dawn M Taylor

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

In unilateral rodent models of disease or injury, deficits are induced in only one side of the body, allowing the difference in right versus left limb usage to serve as a metric of disease/injury severity and recovery with various treatments. Unilateral rat models are commonly used for conditions such as Parkinson’s disease (via the neurotoxin 6-hydroxydopamine, 6-OHDA), stroke, and traumatic brain injury, as well as cervical spinal cord injury and peripheral nerve damage. The ‘cylinder test’ has been used for over two decades as a reliable metric of asymmetry in forelimb usage. In this test, videos are taken of the …

Enhancing Inter-Institutional Ai Research Collaboration Across Multidisciplinary Teams To Increase The National Ai Workforce In Healthcare, Toufeeq Ahmed Syed, Sarah Popal, D'Laney Kernan, Deevakar Rogith, Zulfiia Ditto, Paul Warhurst, Jay Johnson, Jamboor K Vishwanatha

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Inter-institutional team collaboration is critical for impactful multidisciplinary AI research in healthcare. The goal of our project (AIM-AHEAD Connect) is to increase multidisciplinary collaborations by connecting AI/ML experts and healthcare researchers, trainees and professionals to enhance research and improve health for all Americans. As of February 2026, AIM-AHEAD Connect has over 10,100 AI/ML and healthcare experts from across 2,400 institutions, has made more than 7,800 connections and facilitated 194 collaborative online groups. We conducted a unique study to understand collaboration, and analyzed profile, connection, and platform engagement metrics to determine if AI experts and healthcare researchers with more inter-institutional connections …

Factors Associated With Opioid And Antibiotic Prescribing At Us Academic Dental Institutions: 2011 To 2020, S Tungare, A-I Yansane, S Gantela, K K Kookal, S Mccurdy, T M Krause, S Sharma, M Walji

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Introduction: In the United States, dentists are one of the leading prescribers of opioids and antibiotics. Because dental schools are the training grounds for future dentists, it is crucial to understand how prescribing has changed and why these medications are being prescribed in academic settings.

Objectives: The objective of this research was to describe the prescribing trends and factors associated with opioid and antibiotic medication prescribing at US academic dental institutions between 2011 and 2020.

Methods: Data from electronic dental records collected through the BigMouth data repository from 9 anonymized dental institutions between 2011 and 2020 were used. Prescribing rates …

Emotional Support Friends: Creating Social Impact Through Art And Polite Humor, Kenyari Gil Rosario

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

This thesis aims to provide new imagery to the conversation of mental health and neurodivergence. It does this through forms of soft sculpture, digital paintings, marker drawings, and community murals. Inspired by the practices of Keith Haring, iconographic characters are used to portray common struggles and coping habits of mental conditions in an endearing light. With the goal of social impact, this project is affiliated with the non-profit organization Providing Autism Links and Support (P.A.L.S). This partnership has given the community an opportunity to share their compassion through art and donations and uses art as a means of social impact …

Contested Air: Politics, Prejudice, And Radio Broadcasting In New York State, 1925-1928, Sebastian Garcia

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

This thesis examines the intersection between radio broadcasting as the "new media" of the 1920s and American political culture of the period, using New York Governor and 1928 Democratic presidential candidate Alfred E. Smith as a case study. Smith entered 1925 as a political lone wolf and left the year as a triumphant victor set to take the presidency. Building on the work of Smithian scholars, this thesis illuminates how Smith’s radio use remained central to this political transformation. Smith found in radio an apt space to bypass Republican opposition and mobilize the body politic through direct engagement, which, in …

Redox-Mediator Enhanced Electrochemiluminescence Under Non-Aqueous Conditions, Steven J. Blom, Fazeleh Mesgari, El M.S. Martin, Egan H. Doeven, David J. Hayne, Timothy U. Connell, Peter J. Barnard, Narges Saeedizadeh, Seyed Mohammad Jafar Jalali, Paul S. Francis

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

The introduction of small-molecule redox mediators into aqueous co-reactant electrochemiluminescence (ECL) systems has emerged as an effective strategy to increase signal intensity. Herein, we investigate the influence of a series of neutral iridium(iii) complexes (Ir(pmi)3, Ir(ppy)3, Ir(ppz)3 and Ir(ppy)2(acac)) as redox mediators for co-reactant ECL in acetonitrile. Using [Ru(bpy)3]²⁺ as a benchmark luminophore and tri-n-propylamine (TPrA) as a co-reactant, the redox mediators elicit similar effects in this solvent to those of their sulfonated [Ir(sppy)3]³⁻ and [Ir(sppz)3]³⁻ analogues under aqueous conditions. The Ir(ppz)3 complex was most effective; at a concentration of 100 µM it produced an 11-fold increase …

Advances In Survival Analyses: Machine Learning Methods And Model Comparison, Ryan Gately, Dharshana Sabanayagam, Wai H. Lim, Lin Zhu, Farzaneh Boroumand, Shuvo Bakar, Armando Teixeira-Pinto, Germaine Wong

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

This is the second article in a 2-part series on survival analysis. In part 1, we discussed the core concepts and traditional methods used in survival analysis. Part 2 explores the novel approaches to predict survival outcomes and evaluate model performance. To facilitate hands-on learning and practical implementation, the R code used in these analyses is provided in the supplementary materials, along with instructions to help readers apply these methods to their data.

Relating To Difficult Weather Through Creative Practice: Responses To Marrugeku’S Cut The Sky, Helena Grehan, Jo Pollitt, O. J.E. Slater, Sam Fox

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

In this paper we argue that performance and the arts invite a deliberate sensorial connection with the body and can support a bodily turn or return, in order to help artists, scholars and communities more broadly, better attune to increasing climate instability, through collaborative, supportive and reflexive storytelling. Drawing on the three “weather” symposia, the paper focusses on the second symposium which featured a keynote presentation by Rachael Swain, co-artistic director of Marrugeku, Australia’s leading Indigenous Intercultural Dance and Performance Company. Responses to Marrugeku’s work Cut the Sky are collectively presented to illuminate what Swain argues are, “Dramaturgies of consequence” …

Re-Viewing Children’S Relations With Waste Through Commoning, Worlding And Inheriting, Mindy Blaise, Annette Nykiel, Jane Merewether, Stefania Giamminuti

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Feminist environmental educators have been calling for new ways of dismantling traditional separations such as nature–culture for reconfiguring human–environment relations. The Common Worlds Research Collective is an interdisciplinary research network made up of educators and researchers that conduct feminist and anticolonial pedagogical and methodological work concerned with more-than-human worlds. This visual essay takes inspiration from the inventive ways the Common Worlds Research Collective are thinking and practising with concepts. This visual essay introduces commoning, worlding and inheriting as concepts for rethinking practice. It shows how re-viewing photographic documentation taken of a waste project with young children and educators opens up …

Automatic Teeth Segmentation In Panoramic Radiographs Using Attention U-Net, Shehabeldin Mohamed Saber Prof.Dr.

Dentistry

Aim: The aim of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of the Attention U-Net architecture for teeth segmentation in panoramic dental images. By exploring the potential of Attention U-Net, the study aims to contribute to the development of more precise and automated dental imaging analysis, which could enhance diagnosis, treatment planning, and computer-aided dental systems. Subjects and methods: The TUFTS University dataset consisting of 1000 de-identified panoramic radiographs was used for training and testing an Attention U-Net architecture with 10-fold cross-validation. These scores surpass those of all other networks implemented on the same dataset. using a newly available benchmark …

Clinical Evaluation Of The Remineralizing Potential Of Biomimetic Scaffolds On Enamel White Spot Lesions: A 12-Month Randomized Controlled Trial, Eman Soliman, Wegdan Abdelfattah, Doaa Ragai M Ahmed, Dina Nagui, Ahmed Holiel

Dentistry

No abstract provided.