Digital Commons Network^™

Few Vermonters Have Used Prediction Markets, Majority Want More Federal Regulation Of Industry 3/17/2026, Unh Survey Center

All UNH Survey Center Polls

A majority of Vermonters have heard of prediction markets like Kalshi and Polymarket, but very few state residents have actually participated in them. Vermonters believe it should be illegal to use prediction markets to bet on elections, the economy, or political events like war, but are split over whether it should be legal to use them to bet on sports or cultural events. A majority support further federal government regulation of prediction markets. Nearly half of Vermonters expect prediction markets to have a negative effect on the country over the next decade.

Chemiluminescence-Powered Dasa Photoswitching Enables Tumor-Activated Drug Release, Zhou Xianfeng, Lu Yingxi, Mu Xueluer, Gao Jiaojiao

University Research

Light-dependent drug delivery systems (LDDSs) are fundamentally constrained by limited tissue penetration of external irradiation. Here we report a chemically powered nanoplatform (CPC-nano) that eliminates the need for external light by coupling chemiluminescence (CL) with photoswitchable donor–acceptor Stenhouse adducts (DASAs). A DASA-PEG amphiphile was engineered to undergo hydrophobic-to-hydrophilic isomerization upon optical excitation. By coencapsulating a peroxalate CL substrate (CPPO) and an aggregation-enhanced fluorescent emitter (BLSA), endogenous H2O2 is converted into sustained green CL via a chemically initiated electron-exchange luminescence (CIEEL) process. Favorable energetic matching and strong spectral overlap enable efficient CL-driven excitation of DASA, triggering micellar disassembly and rapid doxorubicin …

Is The Long-Horned Grasshopper Ruspolia Differens (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae) A Novel, Nutritious, Functional, And Safe Alternative Food Product? A Review, Margaret Kababu, Collins Mweresa, Dorothy Nakimbugwe, Geoffrey Ssepuuya, Karlmax Rutaro, Nicodemus Matojo, Faith Nyamu, Robert Mbeche, Sevgan Subramanian, Sunday Ekesi, Chrysantus Tanga

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Ruspolia differens Serville (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae) is among the most widely consumed edible insect in Eastern and Central Africa, where it contributes to both household nutrition and income generation. As a nutrient-dense food source, it offers a promising alternative to curb food insecurity and malnutrition. Despite this, the consumption and use of the grasshopper is limited to its seasonal availability when it is collected from the wild. Coupled with this, is limited evidence on its domestication despite research advances to optimize conditions for mass production. This review was conducted to highlight research advances and gaps on production, processing, nutritional profile, and …

Fungal Meningitis In Us Patients Who Received Epidural Anesthesia In Matamoros, Mexico, Dallas J Smith, Elizabeth Misas, Jeremy A W Gold, Nicole Evert, Thi Dang, Emilie Prot, Simone Godwin, Julieanna Rivas, Jessica Pearson, Lori Koenecke, Nirma D Bustamante, Maria Julia Marinissen, Gabriel Garcia Rodriquez, Irma López-Martínez, Caitlyn Lutfy, Samantha Williams, Axel A Vazquez Deida, Katrina M Byrd, Julian A Villalba, Sarah Reagan-Steiner, Lindsay Parnell, Lalitha Gade, Romney M Humphries, Nathan P Wiederhold, Charles Y Chiu, Joshua A Lieberman, Anastasia P Litvintseva, Tom Chiller, Luis Ostrosky-Zeichner, Fungal Meningitis Response Team

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Fungal meningitis outbreaks are rare and entail high mortality rates. Beginning May 2023, we investigated fungal meningitis caused by Fusarium solani species complex occurring in US patients who received epidural anesthesia in Matamoros, Mexico.

Methods: Early epidemiological information suggested US patients with suspected fungal meningitis had undergone mostly cosmetic procedures under epidural anesthesia performed in 2 Matamoros clinics. US patients known to have received surgery at these clinics during 1 January-13 May 2023 (clinic closures date) were identified and notified by public health officials. Epidemiological and clinical data were used to update diagnostic and clinical guidance for outbreak response, …

The Prospector, March 17, 2026, Utep Student Publications

The Prospector

No abstract provided.

System-Level Drivers For The Adoption Of Evidence-Based Practices In Schools, Marijne Medhurst, Jen Jackson, Pru Mitchell, Romany Manuell

School and system improvement

This report outlines strategies that education system leaders can use to support the adoption of evidence-based teaching practices within schools, recognising the importance of teaching quality to lift student outcomes. It is based on an adapted systematic review of available evidence conducted by the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) for and in collaboration with the Australian Education Research Organisation (AERO). The report begins by identifying considerations or approaches that system leaders can apply to selecting strategies to support schools, to ensure that they are culturally reflexive, aware of contextual enablers and barriers, and aligned with the approaches evident in …

Understanding The Rising Popularity Of (Un)Religious Pilgrims: Belonging Without Believing, Gregory Smith

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

While researchers are in agreement about the positive relationship between spiritual activities (SAs) and mental health (MH) among the general population, the relationship between spiritual tourism (ST) and MH, particularly among young adults, is yet to be adequately investigated. As such, important questions regarding the status of religion in the contemporary world can be addressed through the study of current pilgrimage trends. A ‘pilgrimage boom’ is occurring in Britain and other parts of the global anglosphere (Williams, 2020 & O’Keeffe, 2022). Yet, many of these modern pilgrims do not identify with established religious categories (i.e., Christianity). Significant gaps in our …

The Stars That Fall At Our Feet: Personal Reflections On The Serendipity Of Liminality In Pilgrimage, Ian Palmer

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

I was not familiar with the concept of liminality before walking the Camino de Santiago (Camino Français) for the first time in 2000. ‘Liminal’ is a Latin word for a doorway. It is the ‘threshold’ or, literally, ‘the-rush-hold’. This paper explores liminality as an in-between space when we are no longer ‘here’ but not yet ‘there’. It is a time when we can take stock, review, remember, and re-frame. That’s a gift of pilgrimage; away from the familiar, away from routines and day-to day responsibilities: an in-between time. Link to this the feelings that come with serendipity and the liminality …

The Migrant As A Pilgrim: Decolonising Identity And Belonging, Susan Nemec

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

This paper responds to pilgrimage scholar George Greenia’s assertion that meaningful intersections exist between pilgrimage and various forms of displacement, such as migration or involuntary exile due to famine, war, or political unrest. Greenia proposes that vulnerable, displaced individuals might find shelter, both conceptually and emotionally, within the framing of pilgrimage. By extending concepts of pilgrimage, it can be understood as a deliberate and intentional journey, simultaneously emphasising the transformative potential inherent in migratory movement. By adopting a working definition of pilgrimage as ‘any form of travel that is intentional, purposeful, or transformative,’ the paper considers how migrancy, particularly within …

The Goshuin Journey: Sacred Seal Pilgrimage In Contemporary Japan, Nachika Kaneko, John Shultz

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

Goshuin (御朱印), red stamps accompanied by calligraphic inscriptions obtained at Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples, have become a universal and critical element of sacred site visitation in Japan. Their collection represents perhaps the most widespread form of pilgrimage in contemporary society. Seal-oriented pilgrimages, known as goshuin meguri (御朱印巡り), are typically free-form and self-directed, and this practice entered a nationwide boom that appears to have peaked around 2019. Despite its popularity, goshuin pilgrimage has received only limited—and often speculative—scholarly attention, with little reliance on empirical data. Kinjoji Temple (金城寺), a Shingon Buddhist temple in Toyama Prefecture, is known for offering a …

The Business Of Ai-Producing Startups: Evidence From A Worldwide Survey, James Bessen, Stephen Michael Impink, Robert Seamans

Faculty Scholarship

We report results from a multi-year, worldwide survey of artificial intelligence (AI)-producing startups to describe the types of technologies, frameworks, data protection, and partnerships nascent firms use to develop their AI products. Analyses of our survey findings also inform how startups gather the resources to commercialize their AI applications in alignment with their entrepreneurial strategies, address competitive barriers, and respond to regulations. These data provide initial evidence of the perceived impact of these products on their customers’ tasks and industries, suggesting that these firms’ AI products not only reduce labor costs but augment human capabilities.

Beyond Alumni Dollars: Developing Engagement With Graduate Alumni, Kyra J. Snyder

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Alumni engagement plays an increasingly important role in supporting graduate program mission, reputation, and long-term sustainability. Despite its recognized value, limited research examines alumni engagement within graduate level programs from a practitioner perspective. The purpose of this study was to examine perceptions of alumni engagement among alumni, faculty, and staff within the University of South Florida (USF) Physician Assistant Program and to identify any needs or gaps in current engagement opportunities. This study employed a survey-based research design to gather data from two stakeholder groups from the USF PA Program: alumni and faculty/staff. A review of program records provided data …

Representations Of Motherhood In 19th And 20th Century American Literature, Zabrina L. Shkurti

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines how American women writers of the 19th and early 20th centuries constructed, contested, and reimagined motherhood as both a lived experience and a powerful social institution. Drawing on feminist theory and motherhood studies—particularly Adrienne Rich’s distinction between motherhood as experience and motherhood as institution and Shari Thurer’s definition of the “good mother”—it argues that this institution and ideology were never stable or universally attainable. Instead, it functioned as a shifting, exclusionary construct shaped by race, class, industrial capitalism, and patriarchal authority. Through close readings of domestic literature, poetry, fiction, and reformist texts by writers including Elizabeth Oakes …

Regression Dressed As Reform: Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita And The Shifting Contours Of Political Speech, Anushka Singh

National Law School of India Review

This paper examines the shifting contours of criminal law in relation to political speech, with a focus on Section 152 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). It advances three arguments. First, the decolonising narrative behind deleting sedition glosses over substantive continuities between colonial and post-colonial periods, with Section 152 BNS refashioning the colonial-era bifurcation between ‘sedition’ and ‘sedition-like’ activity. The BNS provision represents a backslide in the way it converges the various legal and political connotations of sedition from colonial to contemporary times, creating a new criminal category constructed through popular political-extra-legal discourses. Second, Section 152 BNS borrows from the …

Lessons Learned: Masaaki Shirakawa, Mercedes Cardona, Benjamin Hoffner

Journal of Financial Crises

Masaaki Shirakawa became governor of the Bank of Japan (BOJ) in 2008, after a long tenure at the central bank. His career spanned a series of significant crisis events in Japan’s economic history, including the economic boom in the 1980s, which was followed by a period of stagnation characterized by low GDP growth, multiple recessions, and persistent deflation. Shirakawa led the BOJ’s response during the Global Financial Crisis of 2007–09 (GFC). He also initiated the central bank’s contingency plan in response to the 2011 tsunami, earthquake, and Fukushima nuclear disaster before stepping down near the end of his term in …

Effects Of Phosphorus Addition On Fungal Colonization In Little Bluestem, Isabel M. Zanartu, Alexx Nicholas, Mckenzie Goodwyn, Connor Morozumi

The Cardinal Edge

Little Bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium) is a North American perennial grass that is able to tolerate high heat and droughts. This is possible by its extensive underground root network that taps deep into the ground for resources. Within the same soil systems are fungal endophytes, which are symbionts that live within plant tissues including roots. Fungal endophytes can affect host growth and nutrient acquisition, but the functional role these endophytes play in plant health may be dependent on the abiotic conditions the plant is facing. In the modern era, one large driver of abiotic conditions is synthetic fertilizer use which alters …

Depression, Belonging, And Self-Censorship About Palestine Among Arab Americans, Ghadir Habeeb, Amanda Jiang, Batool Alderawi, Yara Mekawi, Nadia Al-Dajani

The Cardinal Edge

Background: As a result of exposure to traumatic media depicting the Gaza genocide, many Arab Americans are moved to speak up in support of Palestine. Due to the suppression of pro-Palestinian advocacy, however, many Arab Americans self-censor as a defense mechanism, which can alleviate distress but can also exacerbate depressive symptoms. Belongingness may serve as a protective factor against the negative effects of self-censorship. Centering Arab Americans’ experiences, this study examines the relationship between self-censorship and depression, as well as the role of belongingness in this association.

Method: Arab Americans adults recruited through Qualtrics Survey Panels completed questionnaires assessing self-censorship, …

The Kennedy Familys' Influence On The Passage Of The Immigration And Nationality Act Of 1965, Jillian Wallshield

The Cardinal Edge

This paper covers the influence of the Kennedy Family on immigration policy in the United States. United States immigration legislation changed dramatically in the 1960s with the passage of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 (sometimes called the Hart-Cellar Act). This shift was caused primarily by the political work of prominent figures like John F. Kennedy, and, later, Edward Kennedy. Edward Kennedy in particular is examined through his influence on Lyndon B. Johnson, the President under which the Immigration and Nationality Act was passed. This position is supported through the examination of relevant public speeches, private telephone calls, and …

Hallucinogens For Mood And Anxiety Disorders: A Critical Review Of Psychedelic-Assisted Therapies, Georgia Chlebek

The Cardinal Edge

In quite a few people worldwide, there are several mental disorders that prevent the brain from operating in the “proper” way, depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) being among the most common. Luckily, there are several medications that are produced and used to treat these disorders, but some medications are hard to access, and others simply don’t help the patient. Firstly, these medications take time to study and prove safe for public use, though in some cases time is not readily available. In other cases, these medications are going through shortages and becoming increasingly difficult for patients to access …

The Developing Role Of Ai In Modern Engineering Research, Rianna Pais

The Cardinal Edge

No abstract provided.

Using Soil-Plant-Atmosphere Continuum Modeling To Evaluate Drought Tolerance In The Urban Environment, Md Jahidul Islam, Samantha Hartzell

Urban Ecosystem Research Consortium of Portland/Vancouver

Global climate change expansion in the past few years is affecting the urban environment in the Pacific Northwest. The Mediterranean climate, combined with climate change, is making conditions more severe for plant function and ecosystem services through increasing soil moisture limitation. As a result, identifying the changes in plant physiological processes caused by soil moisture limitation is important for conservation and restoration initiatives.

This research uses the Photo3 model to quantify gas exchange, plant water use, and water use efficiency under urban environmental conditions in Portland, Oregon. Meteorological data required for the model simulation were obtained from the weather station …

Talk, Talk, Talk: Is There Such Thing As Too Many Podcasts?, Malcolm Summers, The Rattler

The Rattler

Vol. 114, Iss. 2

Generation Z'S Rising Interest In "Grandma" Hobbies, Isabella Pizzoferrato, The Rattler

The Rattler

Vol. 114, Iss. 2

Social Media Influencers Turned Reality Television Stars?, Isabella Pizzoferrato, The Rattler

The Rattler

Vol. 114, Iss. 2

U.S. Arctic Sea Lines Of Communication (Sloc): The Imperative For A Maritime Complex And Corridor In The Bering Region, Samuel A. Krakower, Troy J. Bouffard

Joint Force Quarterly

This paper examines the current American capacity to defend its newfound Sea Lines of Communication in the North Pacific and Arctic Oceans. The history, and importance, of Sea Lines of Communication trace back to great naval strategists such as Rear Admiral Alfred Thayer Mahan and Sir Julian Corbett, and consistent protection of these maritime corridors in times of war and peace led to the success of the United States. As the Arctic Region emerges as a new theater of geopolitical importance, the United States finds itself significantly disadvantaged or "strategically handicapped” in terms of presence, capability, and proximity to defend …

Combating Iuu Fishing In The South American Pacific: An Opportunity To Counter Chinese Influence Closer To Home, Alexander E. Goodno

Joint Force Quarterly

A relatively small enterprise that began three decades ago in response to dwindling Chinese squid fisheries, China’s South American distant water fishing fleet has grown exponentially to now number nearly 500 vessels and creates a growing problem for the Pacific coastal nations of South America. By establishing itself at the forefront in combatting illegal, unregulated, and unreported fishing (IUUF) activities off the Pacific coast of South America, the United States can strengthen its role as a leader in the Western Hemisphere and counter growing Chinese influence in South America. This paper will demonstrate how America can achieve this end by …

The Cyber Deterrence Dilemma: Parallels Between Cyber And Intelligence Special Operations, Jorge R. Kravetz Msc

Joint Force Quarterly

The dilemma of cyber deterrence, alongside its potential failures, has gained increasing academic attention, though its parallels with traditional special operations remain less examined. Cyber and special operations—often covert activities involving espionage, sabotage, and subversion, generally linked to strategic or military intelligence—typically evade standard deterrence mechanisms. Drawing on a theoretical framework of deterrence, academic literature, historical cases, and qualitative analyses, this article argues that deterrence tends to fail when deterrers manage to destabilize an adversary without causing significant strategic impacts on the target’s power, economic, or social dynamics, as well as on international relations. Retaliation, shaped by implicit agreements or …

Political Objectives, Nuclear Forces, And The Enduring Value Of U.S. Intercontinental-Range Ballistic Missiles, Michaela Dodge

Joint Force Quarterly

"Political Objectives, Nuclear Forces, and the Enduring Value of U.S. Intercontinental-Range Ballistic Missiles" by Michaela Dodge examines two critical components of contemporary U.S. and Ukrainian security strategy: the enduring value of U.S. intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) and the structure and operational evolution of Ukrainian special forces. ICBMs remain the most responsive leg of the U.S. nuclear triad, providing deterrence against nuclear and conventional threats, assuring allies, and supporting strategic flexibility in an era of rising nuclear competition from Russia, China, North Korea, and Iran. Despite aging systems and modernization challenges, ICBMs continue to underpin U.S. national security. At the same …

A Primer On Ukrainian Special Forces: Beyond Joint, Kevin D. Stringer, Taisiia Vivdych

Joint Force Quarterly

"A Primer on Ukrainian Special Forces: Beyond Joint" by Kevin D. Stringer and Taisiia Vivdych examines the evolution, structure, and operations of Ukrainian special operations forces (SOF), highlighting key distinctions from U.S. and NATO models. Tracing their lineage from Soviet spetsnaz to contemporary formations, it analyzes the Ukrainian Special Operations Forces Command (USOFCOM), State Security Service’s Special Operations Center Alfa (SOCA), Rapid Response Corps (KORD), the 10th Separate Operational Response Unit (DOZOR), Foreign Intelligence Service (SZR) units, and the volunteer Kraken Regiment under the Ukrainian Main Intelligence Directorate (GUR). Ukrainian SOF are dispersed across military, intelligence, and law enforcement agencies, …

Breadth Or Depth: The Ongoing Battle In Professional Military Education, Ryan Wadle, Heather Venable

Joint Force Quarterly

This article examines the ongoing and oftentimes heated debates on the curricula in Professional Military Education institutions and the guidance provided by the Joint Chiefs of Staff. By studying the "breadth" of conflict and the national security environment, PME graduates can best apply their knowledge and skills at the intersection of military strategy and political objectives where they can be the most effective.