Digital Commons Network^™

Synergistic Anticancer Effects Of Jq-1 And Doxorubicin Via Myc Downregulation And Apoptosis Induction, Abby Morrill, Srika Saai Talanki, Sneha Subhash, Sabrin Safar, Maria Moreno Hollweg, Kyuree Chang, María Guillén-Méndez, Swara Chindahade

Undergraduate Student Symposium

Aggressive cancers are particularly challenging due to their rapid growth, ability to adapt, and resistance to single therapies. Combination therapies or a multipronged approach can increase tumor cell killing and limit the development of drug resistance. The potential of combining conventional chemotherapy with targeted therapies was investigated. To determine the best drug combinations, viability assays using an 8 x 8 dose response matrix format (checkerboard) with small-step serial dilutions of cytotoxic and targeted drugs was performed. The resulting viability data, as determined by MTS assay, was analyzed using the web application SynergyFinder. The results indicated that the combined drug treatment …

The Impact Of A Healthy Intervention And Psychotherapy On Cardiovascular Disease In Ptsd Individuals, Radiah Patwary

Undergraduate Student Symposium

Significant research indicates a relationship between post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. Those affected with PTSD have been found to show higher patterns of CVD risk earlier in life compared to the general population. Interventions need to be developed to reduce the risk of CVD in PTSD individuals. Although there has been research regarding the elevated CVD risk in PTSD, little research has been done addressing CVD risk reduction in the same population. To tackle this issue, adjunctive treatments, such as health behavior interventions, may be required in addition to traditional psychotherapy for PTSD to reduce overall …

The Role Of Attachment And Self-Esteem In Identity Development Among Emerging Adults, Akhila Nalluri, Preetham Gopu, Charvi Thumati

Undergraduate Student Symposium

Emerging adulthood, a transitive period between 18 and 25 years, is widely considered a period marked by change, experimentation, exploration, and development. Attachment theory postulates that relationships between children and their caregivers are crucial for the organization/representation of the self. Extant research indicates that secure parent-child-relationships and identity-development co-exist during emerging-adulthood. Self-esteem has also been associated with secure identity-formation. While there is considerable research on the associations between parent-child relationships and identity formation, as well as self-esteem and identity-formation, relatively little is known about the combined effects of parent-child relationships and self-esteem on identity-development during emerging-adulthood.

The present study explores …

Targeting The Renin-Angiotensin System For The Treatment Of Cerebral Amyloid Angiopathy, Ariana Hernandez, Chana Vogel, Victoria Pulido-Correa, Natalia Noto, Yazmin Restrepo, Shay Moen, Julianna Bonetti

Undergraduate Student Symposium

Cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA), the accumulation of amyloid proteins in the cerebral vasculature, can increase the risk of stroke, vascular cognitive impairment, and dementia. CAA is highly comorbid with Alzheimer’s disease and contributes to Alzheimer’s pathology by affecting the clearance of amyloid from the brain. Epidemiological studies suggest that certain renin-angiotensin system-targeting drugs, commonly used for the treatment of hypertension, decrease the risk of dementia. This study assesses whether two FDA-approved RAS-targeting drugs: telmisartan [a brain-penetrant angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB)], and lisinopril [a brain-penetrant angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor]; can be repurposed to mitigate CAA, associated neuropathologies, and cognitive decline in …

Trends And Disparities In Preventative Oral Health Across Demographics: Unveiling And Analyzing 24 Years Of Data In The Us (1999-2023), Tania Anousheh

Undergraduate Student Symposium

Oral health is a fundamental component of our overall well-being. Not only can it greatly influence our physical health but also the emotional, psychological, and socioeconomic aspects of our lives. Despite advancements in dental care, we have noted that there is limited research on how demographic factors impact our oral health behaviors, with underrepresented populations often excluded from large-scale studies. Recognizing this critical gap, we will examine trends in oral health preventive behaviors in the United States from 1999 through 2023, using data from over 106,289 surveys in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). We will use RStudio …

The Effects Of Turkesterone On Sleep, Antonio Crisanti, Ava Lukowiak, Tobin Silver Ph.D.

Undergraduate Student Symposium

Introduction

Turkesterone is a naturally occurring compound found in the ajuga turkestanica plant, traditionally used in Central Asia and India for treating various ailments. It has been suggested that supplementation with turkesterone, a type of ecdysteroid, may also have properties that promote improvements in physical and mental performance. Thus, the purpose of this investigation was to determine if four weeks of Turkesterone (500 mg daily dose) supplementation affect sleep quality.

Methods

This randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial aimed to investigate the effects of turkesterone supplementation on mood, sexual functioning, and sleep quality in 30 active individuals (14 males, 16 females). Participants …

Training Alters Joint Power Distributions During Running In National Football League Draft Preparation Players, Jacob Haberer

Undergraduate Student Symposium

The aim of this study was to compare joint-specific contributions to total lower limb joint power during a speed run in American style football players before and after a 6-week National Football League (NFL) draft preparation camp. Fifty-two players performed one 5-second treadmill run at 5.5 – 6.5 m/s before and after camp. Speed was consistent between tests. Bilateral hip, knee, and ankle power generation (positive) and absorption (negative) were calculated from kinematics and kinetics using inverse dynamics. Negative total limb power decreased for both limbs, significantly for the left (Z = - 2.113, p = .035, r = …

Write To Calm: How College Students Use Writing To Manage Stress And Anxiety, Tanvi Rudrangi

Undergraduate Student Symposium

Writing has gained attention for its mental health benefits, particularly among high-stress populations, such as adolescents and young adults. College students, facing academic pressures, social challenges, and transitions to adulthood, are an ideal group for studying the potential therapeutic impact of this practice. This study explores how college students use writing as a tool to manage stress and anxiety. The different forms of writing therapy, a technique involving writing to process emotions and experiences, that are explored in this study include free-form journaling, expressive writing (e.g., letters, personal essays, etc.), creative writing (e.g., poetry, stories, etc.), and structured writing, which …

Spend/Thrift, Jocelyn Saccucci, Mia Alvarado, Matthew Mccall

Undergraduate Student Symposium

In this short documentary, Mako TV talks to college-age South Florida locals to find out why thrifting is becoming popular among them. People cite many different reasons for wanting to purchase items secondhand, with the most prevalent being the lower cost. Many individuals struggle with financial hardships and find thrifting an easier solution than buying items from firsthand stores. However, following the COVID-19 pandemic, there are unique difficulties that owners of local thrift stores face with keeping their stores open. The documentary shows that any stigma that previous generations may have had about thrift stores is not as common with …

Tortious Interference With The Expectancy Of A Legacy: Harmon V. Harmon, Paul F. Driscoll

Maine Law Review

The decision of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court in Harmon v. Harmon established that a plaintiff has a remedy in damages for tortious interference with the expectancy of a legacy which may be sought prior to the testator's death. The purpose of this Note is to examine the Harmon court's reasoning, the utility of the remedy announced in Harmon in light of pre-existing plaintiffs' remedies, and the potential consequences of that decision. The development of these themes will require an examination of the decisional law background of the Harmon decision and an analysis of the legal status of testamentary expectancies.

Amorphous Metal Transparent Conducting Oxide P-Type Semiconductors, Joshua Santy

Miners Solving for Tomorrow Research Conference

No abstract provided.

Fractional Brownian Motion With Mean-Density Interaction, Jonathan House, Skirmantas Janusonis, Ralf Metzler, Thomas Vojta

Miners Solving for Tomorrow Research Conference

No abstract provided.

2025 - 1st Annual Miners Solving For Tomorrow Research Conference, Ellen Afful, Ashish Kumar Kakoria, Michael S. Moats, Guang Xu, Mohammad Hossein Afsharmovahed, Ritesh Sharma, Nguyen Son, Genda Chen, Joseph Akor, Varuni Abhayaratne, Tong Zhou, Sophia Yang, Honglan Shi, Joel Gerard Burken, Paul Ki-Souk Nam, Mahmuda Aktar, Debjyoti Sengupta, Anurag Satpathy, Sajal K. Das, Milad Aghayi Anaraki, Amitava Choudhury, Mobashir Ahmed, Cianne Arnau, Davide Vigano, Carson Arnold, S. Koju, David D. Duvernell, Kolawole Arowoogun, Katherine R. Grote, Jeremy Maurer, Amaneh Babaee, Grace Hall, Daniel Burton Shank, Casey I. Canfield, Parker Barnes, Phillip R. Mulligan, Avery Lyons, Markus Baur, Sutapa Bhattacharya, Aleksandr V. Chernatynskiy, Amitava Choudhury, Shane Cairns, Leonardo Enzo Brito Da Salva, Sasha Petrenko, Donald C. Wunsch, Bahaa Chammout, Islam H. El-Adaway, William Charlesworth, Prithbay Dey, David Lee Enke, Allie Dingfield, Alexandar Djidjev, Nathan Hellwege, Aidan Dollar, Effat Eskandari, Ugochukwu Ewuzie, Godwin Ifeanyi Ogbuehi, Steven Achterberg, Monday Uchenna Okoronkwo, Philip D. Whitefield, Alireza Fallahi, David Bayless, Ali Fasihi, Nicolas Ali Libre, Sophie Firle, Gemma Flores-Olivas, Celia Freed, Clair Reynolds Kueny, Love Gami, Collin Gentry, Kamdem George, Stephen Y. Owusu, A. B. M. Shaheen Ud Doulah, Vaibhav A. Edlabadkar, Chariklia Sotiriou-Leventis, Eyuel Getahun, Jessica Cundiff, Jenny Davis, Carter Glynn, Nick Graham, Katharine Gray, Katie Shannon, Lucas Greiner, Charmayne E. Lonergan, Jennifer Harrell, Matthew S. Thimgan, Milo Hathaway, Justin Pope, Jacob Hauck, Yafang Hei, Ahmad Heidari, Matik Heskin, K. Chandrashekhara, Richard Billo, Ming-Chuan Leu, Thomas P. Schuman, Cole Hopper, Jonathan House, Skirmantas Jano'sonis, Ralf Metzler, Thomas Vojta, Aamir Iqbar, Syed Tahla Riaz, Ashish Kakoria, Rajarshi Kar, Amideddin Nouralishashi, Harish Singh, Manashi Nath, Emma Kettler, Mariam K. Al-Lami, Joel G. Burken, Carter Lawson, Haodao Li, Hossein Libre, William Petzoldt, Sara Mccauley, Julia Mcintyre, Jennifer J. Harrell, Gracie M. James, Danielle Gines, Catherine E. Johnson, Julie A. Semon, Sophia Nicolette Militante, Jenna Mueller, Kiernan O'Boyle, Yaqi Zhu, Landon Oelschlaeger, Gayla R. Olbricht, V. A. Samaranayake, Adeyinka Olaseinde, Emmanuel Olugbade, Nuzaer Omar, Maryam Shariff Paroushi, Megan Percy, Galayna Baur, Elizabeth Pritchett, William Fahrenholtz, Greg Hilmas, Steven M. Smith, Abid Hasan Rafi, David W. Lipke, Jeremy Lee Watts, Syed Talha Riaz, Cole Rischbieter, Caleb Roberts, Tyler Rowden, Stephen Sankpill, Joshua Santy, Lindsay Schneider, Alexis Ham, Anna Schroeter, Amitav Sen, Ace Cannon, Aidan Sengupta, Noah Sparks, Lei Xu, Hu Yang, Nathan Tibbetts, Satish Puri, Nathan Truong, Punit Turtapati, Lucas Ethington, Lana Herkenhoff, Braden Stillmaker, Joseph Villarreal, Victoria Wegley, R. Joe Stanley, Jason Hagerty, Henry M. Willie, Jarod Wortmann, Khosro Ghorbani Zadeh, Yun Seong Song, Songtao Zhang, Jun Yao, Pengfei Wen, Xinyu Fen, Jiaxing Ban, Siqi Zhang, Geoffrey Sunahara, Wen Ni, Tong Zhou, Varuni Abhayarayne, Joseph Akor, John Yang

Miners Solving for Tomorrow Research Conference

No abstract provided.

Fort Hays State University Faculty Senate Minutes, April 2, 2025, Fhsu Faculty Senate

Faculty Senate

No abstract provided.

Palynological Analysis To Interpret Inputs And Paleoenvironmental Conditions Of Tidal Flat Sediments In The Wouri Estuary, Rahmatoulaye Thialaw Diop, Fatou Penda Cisse, Maguette Ka, Onema Adojoh, Henry Agbogun

SACAD: Scholarly Activities

This study examines the environmental significance of microfossils in specifically pollens, spore and cuticles in understanding paleoenvironment and sediments inputs in Tidal flats in the tropical Wouri estuary. Palynological slides of sediments from different depths with two sediment cores from the east and Western flanks of the Wouri estuary were examined using a trinocular microscope. Results showed the predominance of pollens families of Rhizophoraceae and Poaceae at different depths. Cuticles also varied with depth in both the West and east Wouri sediments cores. The Rhizophoraceae family are interpreted to indicate coastal and mangrove environment inputs into the sediments of the …

Integrating Standards For Infrastructure Improvement And Resilience In University Curricula, Lisa Greenwood, Jennifer Schneider, Sumita Mishra, Yewande S. Abraham, Shriram Karpoora Sundara Pandian

Articles

In today’s ever-changing world, we are increasingly vulnerable to shocks and stresses that disrupt industry and society. Persistent threats from natural and manmade hazards require our communities and infrastructure to be resilient despite possible disruption. Creating robust infrastructures is founded on operational and physical standards to withstand and respond to threats such as environmental exposures, climate change, and informational security breaches. The significant U.S. investment in infrastructure projects through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act has amplified the need for professionals in engineering and related fields who – in addition to technical knowledge - possess the necessary knowledge and skill …

Reframing Information Seeking In The Age Of Generative Ai: A Critical And Humanistic Approach, Joseph Kevin Sebastian

Library Faculty Research

Information-seeking has long been the subject of theoretical modeling, often drawing from cognitive, behavioral, computational, and even evolutionary perspectives to explain how individuals navigate, filter, and utilize information. Several dominant frameworks—Carol Kuhlthau’s Information Search Process, Marcia Bates’ Berrypicking Model, Peter Pirolli & Stuart Card’s Information Foraging Theory, Kiyohiko Nakamura’s Information Criteria framework, and Ian Ruthven’s Information Shaping Theory —have provided structured ways of understanding how people interact with information environments. However, while these frameworks offer valuable insights, they often operate within mechanistic or efficiency-driven paradigms, which risk overlooking the complex, embodied, and socioculturally situated nature of human information behaviors. These …

Fostering Inclusive Learning: Exploring Trauma, Special Education, And The School Referral Process For Student Success, Angela Cheng

LMU Theses and Dissertations

This study investigates the critical gaps in trauma-informed practices and culturally responsive strategies within the educational system, focusing on the disconnect between general and special education. Using Dis/ability Critical Race Theory (DisCrit) as a theoretical framework, and Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory, and Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs as conceptual frameworks, the research explores how trauma and race-based inequities shape student experiences and referral processes, particularly for special education services Annamma et al., 2013b, 2017; Bronfenbrenner, 1979; Maslow, 1987). Through qualitative interviews with general education teachers across California, the study uncovers the widespread unpreparedness among educators to address trauma and its implications …

Standard Search Logic Under Article 9: The Florida Debacle Revisited, Kenneth C. Kettering

University of Miami Law Review

If a financing statement is filed in a filing office that does not have a search system that uses a standard search logic, Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code provides that there is no tolerance for any error, however slight, in the debtor’s name shown on that financing statement. Such an erroneous financing statement will not be effective to perfect a security interest. In 2012 the author warned that the search system used by Florida’s central filing office lacks a standard search logic, and in 2022 the Florida Supreme Court so held. This Article (i) details how Florida should …

Proceedings Of The 81st Annual Meeting, Midwestern Association Of Graduate Schools

Midwestern Association of Graduate Schools

Table of Contents: 2025 MAGS Annual Meeting

Indianapolis, Indiana | April 2–4, 2025 Theme: Restart Your Engines to Renew, Refresh, and Reimagine Graduate Education!

Wednesday, April 2, 2025

Preconference: New Graduate Administrators Workshop Plenary I – Issues and Opportunities for Graduate Education: What Is and What Can Be

• Fostering Diversity and Inclusion in Graduate Programs: Supporting Holmes Scholars in Rural Universities
• My Graduation Checklist: Using Canvas to Improve Graduate Students’ Final Experiences at the University of Kansas
• Empowering Successful Mentoring Relationships: Success Stories from the Indiana University, Indianapolis Graduate Mentoring Center
• Moving Past Information Overload: Reimagining a Student-Centered Graduate Orientation …

The Lived Experiences Of Rural Nurses In The Post-Covid-19 Era, Amy Schultes

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Approximately 60 million people, or one in five Americans, live in rural areas across the United States. Despite this, there is a lack of information about the experiences of critical access nurses working in rural hospitals that serve small towns and rural areas. The goal with this research was to gain a deeper understanding of the experiences of rural nurses in the post-COVID-19 era. Using hermeneutic phenomenology and rural nursing theory, the lived experiences of eight nurses working in critical access hospitals in Iowa were explored through semi-structured interviews. The qualitative data was analyzed using the hermeneutic circle for phenomenological …

Optimizing Fisher Information In Quantum Technology, Bran Purvis

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Fisher information is a statistical metric whose inverse represents a lower bound on the variance of an unbiased estimator. Naturally, in order to make the best estimates of a given unknown parameter, one would desire to find ways to minimize the value of this lower bound. Thus, the Fisher information can also be used to compare the quality of different estimators for a given parameter: whichever estimator has a lower value for its Fisher information must also provide better estimates. The same holds true in the framework of quantum information theory, where an analog to the Fisher information, dubbed quantum …

Enhancing Eye Anatomy Education: Integrating 3d Models In Open Educational Resources, Hayley Nickels Yancey

Instructional Psychology and Technology Graduate Student Projects

This project explores how interactive 3D models can enhance eye anatomy education within the framework of open educational resources (OER). Recognizing that students in anatomy and physiology courses often struggle to recognize anatomical structures from multiple perspectives—and frequently lack access to high-quality, low-cost study tools—this project addressed these gaps by designing and developing a custom, interactive 3D model of the human eye. Created using Blender and embedded into a web interface via Verge3D, the model allows users to rotate, zoom, highlight, and isolate structures of the eye, including both external and internal components. The tool was designed specifically for students …

Water Holding Capacity Of Soil And Resilience To Drought, Taro Mieno

Cornhusker Economics

For the past two years, I have been involved in an NSF-funded research project titled “RII Track-2 FEC: Supporting Rural Livelihoods in the Water-Stressed Central High Plains.” The overarching goal of this project is to evaluate the potential of microbials and biochar to enhance soil water holding capacity (hereafter, WHC), thereby improving drought resilience in crop production and reducing irrigation demand to slow aquifer depletion. Visit the project website for more details. A key component of this research is assessing the economic viability of these interventions, a task for which I am responsible.

To understand the economic benefits of increasing …

Development And Application Of Self-Supervised Machine Learning For Smoke Plume And Active Fire Identification From The Fire Influence On Regional To Global Environments And Air Quality Datasets, Nicholas Lahaye, Anastasija Easley, Kyongsik Yun, Hugo Lee, Erik Linstead, Michael J. Garay, Olga V. Kalashnikova

Engineering Faculty Articles and Research

Fire Influence on Regional to Global Environments and Air Quality (FIREX-AQ) was a field campaign aimed at better understanding the impact of wildfires and agricultural fires on air quality and climate. The FIREX-AQ campaign took place in August 2019 and involved two aircraft and multiple coordinated satellite observations. This study applied and evaluated a self-supervised machine learning (ML) method for the active fire and smoke plume identification and tracking in the satellite and sub-orbital remote sensing datasets collected during the campaign. Our unique methodology combines remote sensing observations with different spatial and spectral resolutions. With as much as a 10% …

International Education And Workforce Readiness At Wisconsin Technical Colleges, Allisen Stojanovic

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

International education programming plays a critical role in developing workforce readiness skills necessary for today’s global economy and diverse local communities. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore the experiences of Wisconsin technical college graduates and leadership administrators regarding workforce readiness, international education programming, and policy. While previous research had focused on the outcomes of university or community college graduates, there has been no study that specifically examined the experiences of technical college graduates or leadership administrators as it relates to international education programming and workforce readiness. The research problem addressed the need for international education programming …

Computational Sensitivity Evaluation Of Ultrasound Neuromodulation Resolution To Brain Tissue Sound Speed With Robust Beamforming, Boqiang Fan, Wayne Goodman, Sameer A Sheth, Richard R Bouchard, Behnaam Aazhang

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Low-intensity focused ultrasound (LIFU) neuromodulation requires precise targeting and high resolution enabled by phased array transducers and beamforming. However, focusing optimization usually relies on phantom measurements or simulations with inaccurate acoustic properties to degrade neuromodulation resolution. Therefore, this work analyzes the sensitivity of neuromodulation resolution, measured by off-target activation area (OTAA), to brain tissue sound speed. A Robust Optimal Resolution (ROR) beamforming method is proposed to minimize the worst-case OTAA with restricted sound speed inaccuracy and propagation information estimated with deviated sound speed. The propagation estimation model utilizes equivalent source method (ESM) to map sound field between different acoustic parameter …

Identifiability And Model Selection Frameworks For Models Of High-Grade Glioma Response To Chemoradiation, Khushi C Hiremath, Kenan Atakishi, Ernesto A B F Lima, Maguy Farhat, Bikash Panthi, Holly Langshaw, Mihir D Shanker, Wasif Talpur, Sara Thrower, Jodi Goldman, Caroline Chung, Thomas E Yankeelov, David A Hormuth Ii

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

We have developed a family of biology-based mathematical models of high-grade glioma (HGG), capturing the key features of tumour growth and response to chemoradiation. We now seek to quantify the accuracy of parameter estimation and determine, when given a virtual patient cohort, which model was used to generate the tumours. In this way, we systematically test both the parameter and model identifiability. Virtual patients are generated from unique growth parameters whose growth dynamics are determined by the model family. We then assessed the ability to recover model parameters and select the model used to generate the tumour. We then evaluated …

A Cnn Compression Methodology For Layer-Wise Rank Selection Considering Inter-Layer Interactions, Milad Kokhazadeh, Georgios Keramidas, Vasilios Kelefouras, Iakovos Stamoulis

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) achievestate-of-the-art performance across various application domainsbut are often resource-intensive, limiting their use on resourceconstrained devices. Low-rank factorization (LRF) has emerged asa promising technique to reduce the computational complexity andmemory footprint of CNNs, enabling efficient deployment withoutsignificant performance loss. However, challenges still remainin optimizing the rank selection problem, balancing memoryreduction and accuracy, and integrating LRF into the trainingprocess of CNNs. In this paper, a novel and generic methodologyfor layer-wise rank selection is presented, considering inter-layerinteractions. Our approach is compatible with any decompositionmethod and does not require additional retraining. The proposedmethodology is evaluated in thirteen widely-used, CNN models,significantly …

Identifying Saharan Air Layer Events And Their Relationship To Instability And Rainfall Patterns In The Tropical North Atlantic Ocean, Charles H. Dolce

LSU Master's Theses

Every year, strong North African winds across the Sahara loft dust particles and advect them westward within the Saharan Air Layer (SAL). These plumes of dust often reach the Caribbean Sea and can heavily affect regional weather patterns by suppressing convection. When concentrations are high, decreased rainfall can yield negative societal and ecological impacts, potentially leading to drought. The Puerto Rican early rainfall season (ERS), spanning from 1 April through 31 July, overlaps with Saharan dust migration periods, and systematically detecting instances of SAL activity near the island is important for understanding longer-term drought-forcing trends in the region.

Corridors of …