Digital Commons Network^™

Targeting Mitochondrial Fitness To Restore Immune Balance In Aging: The Role Of Urolithin A, Rafael Moura Maurmann

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

Aging drives systemic functional decline and represents the primary risk factor for comorbidities and mortality. Immune dysregulation is central to chronic age-related inflammation, with macrophages acting as key mediators of unresolved tissue damage. This functional compromise coincides with metabolic maladaptations including elevated mitochondrial stress and impaired mitophagy, which exacerbate oxidative stress and inflammatory overstimulation. However, the exact mechanistic links driving these phenotypes remain incompletely understood. Urolithin A (UA) has emerged as a promising strategy to enhance mitochondrial health via mitophagy stimulation, yet its immunoregulatory effects in the context of aging remain unexplored. Objectives: This study aimed to characterize mitochondrial dysfunction …

Organismic Encoding Of Geographic Information In Dna, Hema Siva Gayathri Dalavayi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

Recent evidence suggests that DNA also encodes information that reflects long-term environmental conditions. This work examines whether an organism’s genome encodes specific environmental information, and if so, what is its nature and origin. Genes from three insect groups, Simuliidae (blackflies), Lepidoptera (butterflies), and Formicidae (ants), were analyzed to address the geographic provenance (latitude, longitude) problem. DNA was converted into numerical signatures using noncrosshybridizing DNA bases and used to train machine learning (ML) models. Predictions achieved errors below the baseline, even for models trained on combined data without region-specific labels, indicating that DNA encodes this information and suggesting that the underlying …

From Chalkboards To Clicks: Bridging The Digital Divide Through Dental Healthcare Educators’ Development Of Instructional And Communication Technology Competencies As Adult Learners Within Communities Of Practice, Simran Kapur Flagg

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

Information and communication technology (ICT) has rapidly reshaped health care education, revolutionizing instructional delivery and clinical training and transforming faculty roles. Although research has largely examined student outcomes, digital tools, and institutional readiness, little is known about how dental health care educators themselves acquire, integrate, and sustain ICT. By framing educators as adult learners, this qualitative case study investigated their development of ICT skills through communities of practice (CoPs) in a health sciences academic setting. Guided by social constructivism and situated learning theory, this study drew on Wenger’s CoPs framework and the concept of legitimate peripheral participation to examine learning …

Roots: A Recording Project Of Cello Repertoire Based On Global Folk Traditions, Christine Sears

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

Roots is an audio recording project that represents cello repertoire based on global folk traditions. It acknowledges the value of varied musical styles and influences in an effort to increase awareness and inspire more performances of music from these traditions. Some of the works in this project lack accessible recordings for other performers to reference, and this project is meant to help bridge that gap. I chose five pieces for the recording portion, each by a composer representing a different geographical location and cultural background. The selected works are Folk Suite for Solo Cello by Daniel Delaney, Variations on a …

Explaining The Experiences Of Black Male Graduates With Pell Grants At A Public, Four-Year Historically White Institution In Tennessee, Travis Tyshawn Strattion

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

This qualitative narrative inquiry explains the factors that contributed to the success of Black male graduates who received Pell Grants at a public, four-year historically White institution in Tennessee. Situated within persistent racial and economic inequities in higher education, the study examines how Black men from low-income backgrounds navigated institutional systems not originally designed to support their success. Guided by African American Male Theory (AAMT; Bush & Bush, 2013b) and Padilla’s Expertise Model of Student Success (EMSS; Padilla, 1994; Padilla et al., 1997), the study centers participants as active agents who developed strategies, knowledge, and meaning-making practices to persist to …

Investigation Of Target Detection In Hyperspectral Images For Aided Target Recognition, Mazharul Hossain

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

Aided/Automatic Target Recognition (AiTR/ATR) enhances human decision-making by improving the detection, localization, and interpretation of targets in sensor imagery. Hyperspectral (HS) imaging provides rich spectral information for AiTR that can significantly improve target detection; however, HS detectors often perform unreliably in real-world conditions due to high data dimensionality, limited labeled training data, class imbalance, sensitivity to environmental and sensor variations, and a shortage of pre-trained models. These challenges frequently lead to degraded performance when models trained in one setting are deployed in different scenes, sensors, or operating conditions. The overarching goal of this dissertation is to make hyperspectral target detection …

Balancing Act: The Impact Of Feminine Expression, Name, Image And Likeness (Nil) On The Mental Health Of Female College Athletes, Sedaria Lanora Williams

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

Female college athletes navigate multi-faceted pressures at the intersection of gender, race, finances, and athletic identity. However, their lived experiences remain understudied. This qualitative study examined how feminine expression and Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) financial pressures intersected to impact the mental health of Division I female college athletes. Guided by a hermeneutic phenomenological framework and grounded in Brewer et al.’s (1993) Athletic Identity Theory and Crenshaw’s (1989) Intersectionality Theory, data was collected through semi-structured virtual interviews with eight participants representing a range of sports and racial backgrounds. The thematic analysis followed Braun and Clarke’s (2006) six-phase model which yielded …

Am I Enough? Understanding International Graduate Students' Internship Search And Their Emotional Responses At The University Of Memphis., Rosina Owusu Panin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

Internships serve as a key pathway for international students in the United States to prepare them for the job market. However, the process of searching for internships is full of uncertainty, and emotionally demanding. This qualitative study, guided by the Transactional Theory of Stress and Coping, examines international graduate students at the University of Memphis, focusing on their emotional responses during their internship search and their coping strategies. The study conducted in-depth semi-structured interviews with 20 international graduate students at the University of Memphis. The findings reveal that students started their search hopeful, but repeated rejections, lack of feedback, and …

Citizenship Education In Social Studies: A Forty-Five-Year Content Analysis (1980–2025), Renita Parks

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

This study examined how citizenship education has been defined, discussed, and framed in major social studies journals between 1980 and 2025. While citizenship education has long been identified as a central purpose of social studies, its meaning has shifted in response to changing political, social, and educational contexts. The purpose of this study was to identify patterns and trends in how citizenship has been conceptualized in professional literature over a 45-year period. A qualitative content analysis was conducted using articles published in three prominent social studies journals. Articles were selected using predetermined criteria and analyzed for definitions of citizenship, contextual …

Advancing Multimodal Distracted Driving Detection: From Systematic Synthesis To Representation Alignment In A Unified Embedding Space, Anthony Dontoh

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

Distracted driving remains a critical road safety challenge, as existing detection methods often rely on single-modality inputs that lack the contextual nuance to distinguish hazardous behavior from normal driving. This research program addresses these limitations through a progressive three-study framework that advances context-aware detection from systematic evidence synthesis to multimodal foundation model adaptation, reframing detection as a representational alignment problem. Study One systematically reviewed 77 peer-reviewed papers (2019–2025) across visual, sensor-based, and emerging modalities. The results confirmed a dominance of visual-only approaches and identified critical gaps in environmental robustness, cognitive distraction detection, and contextual grounding, establishing the empirical necessity for …

Baritenor: A Pedagogical Approach And Vocal Aesthetic Guide To Training The Middle-Voiced Broadway Leading Man, Joshua David Martin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

This dissertation explores the role of the baritenor in musical theatre. “Baritenor” is a tenor subcategorization which melds vocal characteristics and qualities of both the tenor and baritone voice and offers additional clarification for the singer in regards to casting. Through a survey of musical theatre history, one can gain a deeper understanding of the progression of compositional style for the voice. Today’s musical theatre performer must be a hybrid singer, trained in an array of Broadway vocal aesthetics to remain versatile as a performer and competitive and castable in the industry. By analyzing the Broadway vocal aesthetics required of …

37th John Wesley Powell Student Research Conference To Expand Across Cns, Chris Francis

Press Releases 2020-2029

No abstract provided.

The Experiences Of Systemic Invalidation In Chronic Pain Care Among Socioeconomically Disadvantaged Individuals: An Interpretative Phenomenological Study, Claira Moro, Stuart Spicer, Charley Hobson-Merrett

Peninsula Medical School

This study explored the lived experiences of individuals from socioeconomically disadvantaged communities living with chronic pain and prescribed pain-relief medication. Using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, eight participants were recruited from a single primary care network in England. Two Group Experiential Themes were developed. This paper reports one: From Dismissed to Disengaged: the trauma of seeking help, with three sub-themes: (1) “Being fobbed off” – dismissal across healthcare and benefit systems; (2) “It just seemed horrible to me, to take it off me” – pain relief as withdrawn, stigmatised, or conditional; and (3) “Do I want to poke the bear?” – disengagement …

A Place To Breathe: High School Students’ Perceptions Of A School-Based Wellness Center, Devan Clayton, Elizabeth Cutrer, Paul Caldarella, Michael Richardson, Jared Warren

Faculty Publications

Adolescents face significant academic and emotional stressors, underscoring the need for accessible school-based mental health support. This qualitative study examined high school students’ (N = 17) perceptions of a school-based wellness center, including both users and non-users. Four focus groups were analyzed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis to explore experiences, perceived benefits, and barriers to use. Students described the center as a calming, supportive space that aided emotional regulation, short-term recovery, and readiness to return to class. Users emphasized relational connection, belonging, and managing stress and anxiety in a safe, nonjudgmental environment. Students also viewed the center as fostering early …

Interview No. 1815, Michael Davis

Combined Interviews

The discussion with Micheal Davis provides insight into the story behind Mrs. Estine's Barbershop, located in the Chamizal/South Central neighborhood of El Paso, Texas. Davis reveals that this barber shop, owned by Roscoe Marlin until he sold it to his mother, Mrs. Estine, has been in operation since the early 1960s. The establishment has become more than just a business; it has developed into a meeting place where people come together to discuss community issues, receive information about local happenings, and establish friendships.

According to Davis, Mrs. Estine is viewed positively and respected by persons from all racial and social …

Evaluating Impact Of Sustainability Practices And Operational Efficiency On Firm Value In Indonesia’S Mining Sector, Erika Windyasari, Yosman Bustaman

Journal of Environmental Science and Sustainable Development

Sustainability practices are increasingly prominent in investor assessments of firm value Nevertheless, empirical evidence regarding which specific environmental practices are incorporated into capital market valuations remains inconclusive, particularly within mining sectors in emerging markets. This study investigates the correlation between sustainability practices energy efficiency, water management, waste management, renewable energy adoption and environmental quality (PROPER rating) together with operational efficiency and firm value in Indonesian listed mining firms. The analysis uses panel data for 23 firms over 2017–2023. Firm value is measured by Tobin’s Q, while operational efficiency is measured using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). The correlation is estimated using …

Evaluating The Impact Of Leading Pedestrian Intervals And Curb Extensions On Conflict Frequency And Severity, Sophia Semensky

Dissertations and Theses

Leading Pedestrian Intervals (LPIs) and curb extensions are commonly implemented countermeasures intended to improve pedestrian safety at signalized intersections. While LPIs have a well-established crash reduction record, fewer studies have evaluated their impacts using surrogate safety measures or examined how curb extensions interact with LPIs to influence pedestrian-vehicle conflicts. This thesis investigates the effects of LPIs and curb extensions on pedestrian safety using detailed conflict data collected at eleven signalized intersections in the Portland, Oregon metropolitan area.

Approximately 600 hours of video data were collected across four matched intersection pairs and three before–after sites. Pedestrian and vehicular volumes, turning speeds, …

Visualizing Perception: Systems Of Perception And Cognition In Animal Species, Felicia Soto

Theses

Animal species utilize various modes of perception based on their individual adaptations and survival needs. The sensory organs of an organism serve as an interface between the present environment and the organism’s central nervous system (Dangles et. al, 2009). An organism will make decisions based on the information being perceived and processed by that individual's nervous system. Studies investigate the mechanisms of these interactions in a variety of ways, from studying physiology and functional morphology, to conducting observational studies of perception. These studies concerning perception and cognition in animals can help to uncover parallels between animal species, as well as …

Unveiling The Intersection Of Institutional Racial Identity And Student Loan Debt: An Analysis Of The State University System Of Florida’S Higher Education Institutions, Valerie Marie Moore

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Federal student loan patterns in Florida’s State University System (SUS) from 2013/14 to 2022/23 reflect differences in institutional revenue capacity rather than individual borrowing behavior. Using data from all 12 SUS institutions, this study examined how institutional wealth and revenue composition shape student loan outcomes through both race neutral and race considerate analyses informed by Ray’s (2019) theory of racialized organizations. Overall, the SUS operates as a racialized organizational field in which inequities in funding flows, access to capital, and institutional logics sustain long term disparities in wealth and debt. Results show that borrowing levels closely track how institutions assemble …

Mitochondrial Presequences Harbor Variable Strengths To Maintain Organellar Function, Youmian Yan, Baigalmaa Erdenepurev, Thiago N Menezes, Ian Collinson, Natalie M Niemi

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Hundreds of mitochondrial proteins rely on N-terminal presequences for organellar targeting and import. While generally described as positively charged amphiphilic helices, presequences lack a consensus motif and thus likely promote protein import into mitochondria with variable efficiencies. Indeed, the concept of presequence strength underlies biological models such as stress sensing, yet a quantitative analysis of what dictates strong versus weak presequences is lacking. Furthermore, the extent to which presequence strength affects mitochondrial function and cellular fitness remains unclear. Here, we capitalize on the MitoLuc protein import assay to define multiple aspects of presequence strength. We find that select presequences, including …

Praktek Ratlfikasi Dalam Organisasi Internasional, Syahmin A.K.

Jurnal Hukum & Pembangunan

Abstract

Pembangunan Hukum Melalui Pers, Prof. Padmo Wahjono, S.H.

Jurnal Hukum & Pembangunan

Abstract

Kejahatan Komputer : Suatu Masalah Hukum Yang Kontroversial, J. Sudama Sasraandjaja, S.H.

Jurnal Hukum & Pembangunan

Abstract

Tinjauan Singkat Tentang Interpretasi Perjanjian Internasional Menurut Konvensi Wina Tahun 1969, Usmawadi, S.H.

Jurnal Hukum & Pembangunan

Abstract

Keterbukaan Informasi Oleh Perusahaan Publik, M. Irsan Nasarudin, S.H.

Jurnal Hukum & Pembangunan

Abstract

Quantifying Dag-Ness: A Multi-Component Framework, Erik Csikos

Northeast Journal of Complex Systems (NEJCS)

Directed acyclic graphs (DAGs) are important structures across many disciplines, including mathematics and network science. They are especially useful in modeling causal and hierarchical relationships in a wide variety of applications. The primary
features of a DAG, directedness and acyclicity, are traditionally treated as binary. A graph is either DAG or it is not. Because of this, graphs are not usually interpreted as partially acyclic or partially directed. To address this gap in understanding, we
introduce a framework, consisting of five components, that will provide a continuous measure of DAG-ness. This measure will take into account edge acyclicity, node cyclicity, …

Barriers To Secure Research Funding In Japanese Universities: The Case Of Foreign Early Career Academics In Humanities And Social Sciences, Qianran Wang

Journal of Comparative & International Higher Education

Many Japanese universities are actively promoting globalization in higher education by recruiting more foreign academics. The reduction of government funding results in a need to secure external funding. Foreign early-career academics in Japan, with language and cultural barriers, are facing bigger challenges in securing external research funding. This study focuses on foreign early-career academics in the humanities and social sciences, who represent a significant proportion of foreign academics in Japanese universities. The purpose of this study is to examine their current research funding situation and difficulties they encounter, and to clarify the support they require. Findings show three key areas …

The Messy Negotiation Of Power, Context, And Self In Constructing A Global Researcher Identity, Punita Lumb

Journal of Comparative & International Higher Education

The formation of researcher identity is complex and evolves over various experiences, including international fieldwork and research. Especially important to consider is how power dynamics impact the development of researcher identity in the cases of international research between the Global North and Global South. This study uses phenomenological and decolonial approaches to analyze 23 interviews of faculty from India and the United Kingdom who have worked on UK-India research projects in the field of social sciences. Salient themes on how power and being were constructed, challenged, or negotiated by the participants include how researchers locate themselves in the paradigm of …

Voiceless Experiences: Stress And Coping Of International Students With Language Barriers, Junguen Lee, Hongryun Woo, April Nguyen, Melissa Henry

Journal of Comparative & International Higher Education

International students’ difficulties and unique needs have been increasingly explored in professional literature, reflecting the expanding number of international students enrolling in the United States’ higher education institutions. Language difficulties appear to be the most challenging issue for international students from non-English speaking countries as they become marginalized as a linguistic minority on campus. Few researchers have focused specifically on understanding international students’ experiences of being voiceless due to language barriers, nor have they postulated the nature of their adaptation process. This grounded theory study aimed to investigate international students’ stress and coping experiences with language barriers and develop a …

Gender Equality, Diversity, And Social Inclusion: Validation And Development Of An Instrument For Higher Education, Nilo Jayoma Castulo, Maryfe M. Roxas, Arlyne C. Marasigan, Jayson L. De Vera, Ma. Laarni D. Buenaventura, Starr Clyde Sebial, John Michael Aquino, Bonjovi H. Hajan, Mark Ponce C. San Juan, Karen Abegail C. Lee

Journal of Comparative & International Higher Education

Gender Equality, Diversity, and Social Inclusion (GEDSI) are critical in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals number 4 (Quality Education), number 5 (Gender Equality), and number 10 (Reduced Inequalities), impacting various aspects of society, organizations, and individual well-being. While GEDSI remains a pressing concern worldwide, this study aims to design an instrument for the GEDSI situationer tool for students, administrative staff, and faculty members. The instrument undergoes a thorough validation and development process utilizing a mixed-method design. First, the item is designed through Focus Group Interviews (FGIs) on GEDSI in a prominent state university in the Philippines. Through exploratory Factor Analysis …