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Evaluation Of Mechanical Properties And Seal Strength Of Medical Packaging Materials Before And After Supercritical Co₂ Sterilization, Camila Madriz Pizarro

Theses

The sterilization of medical devices is critical in the prevention of infections in healthcare settings. Ethylene oxide (EtO), gamma irradiation, and steam sterilization have been the standard sterilization processes in healthcare settings, where the packaging system remains the most important barrier between the sterilized instrument/device. Safety concerns and regulatory pushback on conventional sterilization methods have pushed for further research on new sterilization techniques. Among the emerging sterilization technologies, one candidate that has garnered considerable attention is Supercritical CO2 sterilization. However, there is a lack of literature to support the compatibility between scCO2 and common medical packaging materials. The present study …

Changes In Water Quality And Microbiota Over Two Years In Florida Hard Clam (Mercenaria Mercenaria) Hatcheries, Bonnie Getter

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2020 - Present

This thesis characterized the water quality and bacterial communities in nine hard clam hatcheries over two production years through weekly or biweekly water quality and chemistry monitoring, monthly bacterial plating in the second year of production, and select 16S microbiome sampling at select hatcheries to address production bottlenecks and support the reliable production of high-quality seed for Florida’s growing hard clam aquaculture industry. Logistic regression models showed that water source was distinguished by pH, salinity, alkalinity, and nitrite, whereas geographic location was distinguished by temperature, salinity, nitrate, and calcium; temperature, dissolved oxygen, salinity, and alkalinity distinguished seasons. Vibrio bacteria differed …

Contributions Of Arginine And Nitrosative Stress To Huntington’S Disease Progression, Ian D. Gaudet

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2020 - Present

Neuroinflammation is a well-established component of Huntington's disease (HD) pathogenesis, yet the intricate molecular mechanisms that govern this process remain a topic of ongoing research and debate. This dissertation elucidates a novel pathway linking arginine metabolism and nitrosative stress to core HD pathology. We found that the arginine transporter SLC7A2 is selectively upregulated in various HD cellular models and patient samples. Our findings reveal that this upregulation drives an overactive inflammatory response, leading to abnormally high inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) induction and subsequent nitric oxide (NO) production, which causes excessive protein nitrosylation and an increase in mitochondrial fragmentation.

To …

Cover And Contents

Turkish Journal of Physics

No abstract provided.

The Effect Of Spin Polarization On Ion-Acoustic Solitary Waves In Quantum Plasmas, Amirhosein Rezvani, Sedigheh Miraboutalebi, Leila Rajaei, Mahmoodreza Sharifian

Turkish Journal of Physics

The exchange interaction, a fundamentally quantum-mechanical phenomenon, can significantly modify the classical description of cold, overdense plasmas. These quantum effects can be systematically analyzed within the framework of quantum magnetohydrodynamic (QMHD) theory, which enables the use of separate momentum equations for spin-up and spin-down electron populations. In this study, we adopt this approach to incorporate exchange interactions for both spin species and investigate the excitation of ion-acoustic wave (IAW) solitons in the plasma system. Using a perturbative expansion method, the governing equations are reduced to a nonlinear Schrödinger equation (NLSE), which admits solitonic wave solutions. The stability of these solitons …

Radiation Pressure And Membrane Dynamics In Cavity Optomechanics: Interaction Hamiltonian And Quantization, Mahmut Can Özuygur

Turkish Journal of Physics

Cavity optomechanics explores the interaction between light confined in optical cavities and mechanical oscillators, primarily driven by radiation pressure forces. These interactions enable significant advances in precision measurements, quantum information processing, and tests of fundamental quantum mechanics. This paper presents a detailed analysis of membrane vibration and radiation pressure force within a cavity optomechanical system. The membrane's equation of motion is derived, the radiation pressure force is evaluated within the Lorentz force formalism, and the corresponding interaction Hamiltonian is formulated. Quantization of the resulting Hamiltonian enables the investigation of quantum phenomena, including entanglement generation and quantum state transfer, and provides …

Observational Constraints On The Structure-Induced Dark Energy Model, Ali̇ Kazim Çamlibel

Turkish Journal of Physics

A new phenomenological dark energy model, originally associated with large-scale structure formation and proposed as a solution to the fine-tuning and coincidence problems related to the cosmological constant, was analyzed within the framework of General Relativity in a Friedmann-Robertson-Walker spacetime and its model parameters were estimated using cosmic chronometers and recent DESI data. It turns out that the proposed model can serve as an alternative evolving dark energy model with a novel equation of state function. Given the form of this phenomenological energy density ansatz, which rises with the nonlinear structure growth in the universe and declines as cosmic voids …

On Cosmological Equation Of State From The First Law Of Thermodynamics, Ch'ng Han Siong

Turkish Journal of Physics

We derive several equations of state for different types of energy from the first law of thermodynamics. We derive the equation of state of a Machian universe from the well-known energy formulaE=mc2. This equation of state is consistent with previously reported results. We then propose hypothetical forms of energy that lead to the equations of state of the Chaplygin gas, generalized Chaplygin gas, and modified Chaplygin gas. We also obtain the energy density of the Chaplygin gas by dividing the hypothetical energy by the volume of the universe, and find that it is consistent with previously reported results. Finally, we …

Design And Fabrication Of Petri Dish Optimized For High-Frequency Acoustic Microscopy Using 3d Printing, Tuna Pesen, Beyza Ceren Eren, Arda İnanç, Bora Akgün

Turkish Journal of Physics

High-frequency imaging in acoustic microscopy requires the use of Petri dishes with thin and acoustically transparent bottoms to minimize signal attenuation and distortion. Commercially available options suitable for this purpose are often expensive or limited in compatibility with custom setups. Here, we present a cost-effective and easily customizable alternative developed in our laboratory, consisting of a 3D-printed frame combined with commercially available stretch film. The stretch film serves as an ultrathin (8 µm thickness) base that supports efficient high-frequency acoustic transmission, enabling clear and reliable imaging. Beyond acoustic microscopy, the adaptable design is also compatible with other modalities such as …

Ai And The Music Industry: Its Current Status And A Speculative Projection Of Its Evolutionary Trajectory, Rhett D. Morris, Clayton Rosati, Stefan Fritsch

Honors Projects

Music serves as one of society's biggest cultural outlets, allowing millions to share in what used to be a uniquely human form of expression. The commodification of music has built a huge industry full of companies and platforms that have used technology and property laws to shape music's relationship with the public. This study aims to look into the future to see how AI and its implementation could affect the structure of the music industry. To look into the future, this piece establishes two of the most pressing kinds of AI technology for the music industry and looks to contextualize …

Arthroscopic Saucerization Of A Medial Discoid Meniscus In A Young Female Athlete: A Case Report, Travis Hodge, Brett Norris, Ryan Sorenson, Peter Schultz, Michael Dempewolf

Student Publications

A discoid meniscus is a congenital abnormality of the meniscus characterized by a disk-shaped configuration. Although medial involvement is uncommon, symptomatic cases may present in young, active individuals with mechanical knee symptoms that limit sports participation. A 15-year-old female athlete presented with chronic medial knee pain, mechanical symptoms, and an inability to fully extend the knee despite failed conservative management. MRI demonstrated a complete discoid medial meniscus with a central tear. Arthroscopy confirmed a discoid medial meniscus without significant peripheral instability. Arthroscopic saucerization was performed while preserving a stable peripheral rim. By the conclusion of the three-month follow-up, the patient …

Dynamind: A Dynamic Learned Index For Update-Intensive Workloads, Jingxian Cheng, Yingfang Wang, Tianqing Zhu, Xu Yang, Ningning Cui, Jianxin Li

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Learned indexes leverage machine learning models to approximate data distributions and predict key positions, offering better performance than traditional index structures such as B+Trees. As data in real-world applications evolve rapidly, the timely and efficient updating of learned indexes has become an increasingly important research problem, attracting growing attention in recent studies. However, under update-intensive workloads with frequent insertions and deletions, existing learned indexes cannot update the model in a timely manner. Moreover, they ignore the impact of deletions on model accuracy. These limitations lead to degraded prediction accuracy and increased query latency, undermining the core advantage of learned indexes. …

From Homogeneous To Heterogeneous Adaptive Bounded-Confidence Opinion Dynamics On Networks, Sally Hafez, Fatma R. Farag, Amira S. N. Tawadros

Northeast Journal of Complex Systems (NEJCS)

Adaptive bounded-confidence models (ABCMs) elucidate the coevolution of agent states and network structure via local interactions and rewiring mechanisms. Traditional formulations assume uniform interaction parameters, leading to distinct regime shifts encompassing fragmentation, polarization, and consensus. A symmetric heterogeneous extension of the adaptive bounded-confidence model is introduced, in which interaction parameters vary according to whether agents belong to the same or different groups. The model retains the original update and rewiring protocols but integrates within-group and between-group confidence bounds alongside tolerance thresholds. Initially, the classic homogeneous model is replicated to establish a reference point. Subsequently, the heterogeneous extension is assessed under …

Integrating Oncology Into Entry-Level Physical Therapist Curricula, Shana Harrington, Christopher M. Wilson, Morgan Zaranec, Lori Boright

Oncology Rehabilitation in Practice

Print issue available for $25.

Background: Cancer and its treatments commonly result in adverse effects that impair function, well-being, and quality of life, necessitating access to skilled physical therapists (PTs). Although oncology is an essential component of physical therapist practice, entry-level education in cancer rehabilitation has historically been limited. In 2025, the Essential Competencies for Physical Therapy Entry-Level Education in Oncology were developed through a mixed-methods, modified Delphi process, establishing 19 competencies across six domains and defining minimum expectations for new graduates. To support translation of these competencies into academic curricula, a practical implementation resource was needed.

Purpose: To …

Wavelet-Based Multiscale Analysis Of Cave Co₂ Concentration In Response To Short-Term High-Intensity Tourism Activities: Spatiotemporal Heterogeneity And Lag Characteristics, Mingda Cao, Wenwen Song, Yan Zhang, Jie Zhang, Zhiqiang Yao

International Journal of Speleology

High-intensity tourism activities can cause a significant increase in cave air CO₂ concentration, thereby affecting the cave micro-environment and secondary carbonate deposition. During the 2023 National Day Golden Week, high-frequency continuous monitoring of cave air CO₂ partial pressure (PCO_2(A)) and visitor numbers was conducted in Dawang Cave, Anhui Province. Wavelet transform and cross-correlation analyses were used to reveal the multi-scale response characteristics of CO₂ concentration to tourism activities. The results show that: (1) PCO_2(A) exhibited clear diurnal variations (higher during the day, lower at night) and decreased spatially with enhanced ventilation, controlled jointly by …

Decentring Philosophical Education In African Tertiary Education: Integrating Global Perspectives In The Classroom, Isaac Mutelo

Comparative Philosophy

The philosophical discourse has been dominated by Western perspectives, an approach that continues to influence curriculum design and delivery in higher education. The historical dominance of the Western philosophical canon in university curricula has contributed to the marginalisation of other equally significant philosophical traditions from Africa, Latin America, Asia, and Indigenous cultures. This approach has contributed significantly to the narrow and limited scope and relevance of philosophy as an academic field globally. Rather than advocating for the dominance and superiority of the Western-centred curriculum, this paper acknowledges the centrality of integrating global philosophical perspectives in the philosophy curriculum and discourse …

Intercultural Questioning: Teaching Report On A Question-Oriented Pedagogy In Teaching Chinese Philosophy, Sai Hang Kwok

Comparative Philosophy

Language and cultural barriers pose major obstacles to teaching Chinese philosophy to Western philosophy students. Without a cultural and linguistic background, students often struggle to read the original Chinese philosophical texts. Translation also involves issues of interpretation that are difficult to be settled in undergraduate-level courses. To address this situation, this paper introduces a question-oriented pedagogy called “intercultural questioning”. Instead of aiming at a comprehensive understanding of the entire Chinese philosophical tradition, the question-oriented pedagogy reveals the implicit assumptions in one’s conceptual frameworks and unexamined questions in Western philosophy through the East-West dialogue. Students can obtain philosophical insights from Chinese …

Why Minds Need Bodies: Organismic Unity And Limits Of Artificial Consciousness, Renée Snow

Comparative Philosophy

This paper argues that functional organization alone is not sufficient for phenomenal consciousness or the existence of a unified subject of experience. While many contemporary accounts of artificial consciousness assume that replicating the causal or computational structure of the brain would be sufficient for subjective experience, this paper identifies a deeper constraint: consciousness depends on organismic unity. The argument proceeds through a triangulation of conceptual, empirical, and metaphysical considerations. First, Zuboff’s thought experiment shows that functional organization can be preserved while the unity of the subject dissolves, suggesting that causal pattern replication alone cannot secure subjectivity. Second, findings from neuroscience …

Fang Zhu’S Shen-Mie-Lun And Contemporary Physicism: A Cross-Cultural Dialogue, Soo Lam Wong

Comparative Philosophy

Fan Zhen’s 范缜 “Shen-Mie-Lun 神灭论” can be read as a debate between a physicalist and a dualist in the philosophy of mind. Many of Fan’s arguments found in the “Shen-Mie-Lun” correspond to contemporary physicalism in Western analytic philosophy. My aim in this essay is to bring Fan's “Shen-Mie-Lun” into conversation with contemporary physicalism in the following way: (1) offer an outline of Fan’s physicalism as presented in the “Shen-Mie-Lun” (2) map his view onto the key positions and concepts of contemporary physicalism, (3) show how his view is (a) incompatible with eliminative …

Can Skepticism Be Politically Progressive? An Approach From Zhuang Zi, Tammo Lossau

Comparative Philosophy

Ancient skeptics, both in the West and East, suggest their philosophy as a form of life. One reservation about living as a skeptic is that it turns us into political conformists—this is also Jonathan Ichikawa’s (2024) objection to philosophical skepticism. Skeptics take their own perspective on the world to be limited, and in this sense they will be hesitant to fully embrace a conservative ideology. But the Pyrrhonian skeptic Sextus Empiricus recommends that in their actions, skeptics will follow existing laws and common moral beliefs. In this paper, I want to develop a different conception of skepticism based on the …

The Limits Of Universal Logic: A Cross-Cultural Archaeology Of Logical Critique, Murat Kelikli

Comparative Philosophy

This study examines critiques of logic articulated across diverse historical and cultural traditions within a comparative framework. The critiques developed in Islamic, Buddhist, Chinese, Indian, Zen, and modern Western philosophy do not, in the main, reject logic or reasoning as such; rather, they target the conceptualization of logic as a universal, context-independent, and singular normative standard. The analysis shows that objections raised at ontological, epistemic, linguistic, methodological, and political levels converge on a set of shared concerns rooted in the structural features of logic itself, most notably categorical determinacy, universalist assumptions, and claims of context-independence. At the same time, these …

A Constructive Engagement With Confucian Gender Ethics: Reinterpreting The Three Obediences And Four Virtues In Contemporary Vietnam, Vo Van Dung

Comparative Philosophy

This paper examines the influence of the doctrines of the Three Obediences and Four Virtues on the moral thought of Vietnamese women in contemporary society. The study addresses the central question of whether and how these doctrines remain relevant within current social and cultural contexts. It traces the historical introduction and transformation of these doctrines in Vietnam. It analyses their dual impact on women’s moral values, highlighting both their enduring ethical contributions and their role in sustaining gendered constraints. The findings suggest that while certain elements of the Four Virtues have been reinterpreted and selectively integrated into modern ethical frameworks, …

Editor's Words

Comparative Philosophy

No abstract provided.

Vol 17 No 2 Contents Page

Comparative Philosophy

No abstract provided.

Vol 17 No 2 Informaton Page

Comparative Philosophy

No abstract provided.

A Poetic Call For And A Reflection And Commentary On Clarity, Understanding, Hope, Courage, And Compassion, Carroy U. Ferguson

Psychology Faculty Publication Series

Finding a published poem I had written as a teenager, titled “The Heavens Weep.” this article uses that poem as the basis for a commentary that reflects on the state of the world today (2026),  As a commentary, the article uses the poetic and metaphoric words in the poem as a relevant "reality check" for what is still going on today.  In essence, the commentary is about a call for Clarity, Understanding, Hope, Courage, and Compassion, or what I call Archetypal Energies, Higher Vibrational Energies that operate deep within our individual and collective psyches to creatively urge us to "see" …

Leventhal, Alan, San Jose State University

Emeritus and Retired Faculty Biographies

San Jose State University, Anthropology, MA 1993

(MA Thesis Title: A Reinterpretation of Some San Francisco Bay Mound Sites: A View from the Mortuary Complex from Prehistoric Site CA-ALA-329, The Ryan Mound): https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/etd_theses/694/

City College of New York, Major: Anthropology; Minor: Education and Geology, BA 1973

Archaeological Field Schools

University of Nevada: Nevada State Museum Archaeological Field School, Dr. Robert Elston, Director, June - August 1972

City College of New York Archaeological Field School, Dr. Robert Schuyler, Director, June - August 1971

See CV for Awards/Scholarships, 1972-2013.

The Aste-Bgc Data-Assimilative Regional Ocean Biogeochemical Model, L. A. Moseley, G. A. Mckinley, D. Carroll, D. Menemenlis, R. Dussin, A. T. Nguyen

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

We present a data-assimilative regional ocean biogeochemical model, ASTE-BGC, which simulates the physical and biogeochemical state of the North Atlantic Ocean from 2002 to 2017. Model physics are provided by a physical state estimate (ASTE), which assimilates O(10⁹) in situ and satellite-based observations over the model domain and time period. Model biogeochemistry is simulated by a medium-complexity biogeochemical module (BLING), which simulates nine prognostic biogeochemical tracers and three ecological classes. Through a three-step optimization process which combines informal adjustments and formal mathematical optimization, we minimize model-data misfit between a “spun-up” simulated biogeochemical state and O(10⁵) BGC-Argo …

Applications And Insights Of The Use Of Ethnographic Research In A Local Context Of Nepal, Dipak Raj Rai, Sunita Dangol, Megh Raj Dangal

The Qualitative Report

This paper expounds on ethnographic research in comprehending the cultural, economic, and social nuances in the Nepali local community. The paper also emphasizes the significance of ethnographic research in providing profound insights into the daily lives, traditions, and interactions of cultural groups. This writing aims to describe the historical concept of ethnography, its philosophical standpoint, types of ethnography, fields of ethnographic research and commonly used methods for collecting ethnographic data. The main idea of the paper is to present the methods employed such as participant observation, ethnographic interviews, self-reporting, and artifacts that enable the researcher to obtain the true lived …

Reflections On Focus Group Participant Recruitment In An Indian Youth Mental Health Study, Debanjali Saha, Ketoki Mazumdar

The Qualitative Report

In this article, I (DS) critically reflected on my journey as an Indian graduate student while navigating dissonant expectations versus reality from the planning to data collection phase of my doctoral research, especially the challenges involved in the participant recruitment process for focus group discussions. The goal of my study was to understand the narratives of various stakeholders of the Indian higher education community on students’ mental health on Indian college campuses using Participatory Action Research strategy with the help of focus group discussions. Recruiting participants was a crucial first step in this endeavor. Six FGDs were conducted with a …