Digital Commons Network^™

Freshwater Mussels Of Louisiana: A Field Guide, Franchesca Ruiz, Garrett Hopper

Distinguished Undergraduate Researcher Program

Freshwater mussels (Order Unionidae) are important animals that provide valuable ecosystem functions and services. Due to a multitude of factors such as habitat modifications and habitat destruction related to human population growth many mussel populations are declining throughout the United States increasing the need for public awareness. Louisiana is home to 63 mussel species, but most residents are not aware of their presence, importance, or state of imperilment. We addressed this by creating a field guide to the freshwater mussels of Louisiana. Our goals include providing a resource for accurate freshwater mussel field identification, increasing public and scientific awareness of …

Structural Determination And Regulatory Mechanisms Of Rice Lipoxygenase-1, Lillie Ballanco, Nathaniel Gilbert, Adam Offenbacher

Distinguished Undergraduate Researcher Program

Lipoxygenases (LOXs) are non-heme iron containing enzymes that catalyze the oxygenation of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) such as linoleic acid (LA). These lipoxygenase enzymes are found in both plants and animals. In humans, LOXs have been linked to inflammatory diseases such as asthma, atheroscelerosis, and allergic rhinitis. Plant LOXs have been primarily linked to the growth, development, and stress response of the plant. This paper focuses on Oryza sativa lipoxygenase-1 (OsLOX1), an enzyme found in rice (Oryza sativa). OsLOX1 has been associated with enhanced drought tolerance in rice and may play a role in regulating growth under water-limited conditions. Understanding …

Building Shields: Accreditation, Insurance, And Public-Private Partnerships As Tools To Safeguard Critical Race Theory And Democracy In Higher Education, Taifha Natalee Alexander

Faculty Publications

(Excerpt)

Following the racial justice uprisings of 2020, universities have become increasingly vulnerable to coordinated political campaigns aimed at dismantling antiracist teaching, training, and research. These attacks, ranging from legislative bans on Critical Race Theory (“CRT”) to executive efforts to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education, expose the fragility of higher education’s role as a guardian of democratic pluralism. This Essay demonstrates that universities cannot rely solely on moral suasion or First Amendment litigation to resist these escalating, structural assaults. Instead, colleges and universities must build a multilayered legal strategy that renders the teaching of CRT and the pursuit of …

Addressing Perception Of Nurse Burnout Through Educational Interventions On An Inpatient Hematology And Oncology Unit: A Quality Improvement Project, Kendra Flint

Master's Theses and Capstones

Introduction Nurse burnout is a growing concern in healthcare due to its negative effects on nurse well-being, staff retention, patient safety and quality of care. This quality improvement project evaluated whether a brief educational intervention could improve nurses’ confidence in recognizing and managing early signs of burnout within an inpatient hematology and oncology unit.

Methods This QI project utilized the Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) framework to guide implementation and evaluation. Registered nurses completed anonymous pre- and post- intervention electronic surveys and descriptive statistics were used to compare change in self-reported confidence and burnout perception.

Intervention Participants were directed through a brief electronic …

Analysis Of The Pervasiveness Of Per- And Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (Pfas) And Their Relationship With The Incidence Of Neurological Health Disorders, Emma Waters

2026 Research Poster Competition

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a contaminant of emerging concern due to their chemical structure that afford a plethora of issues with regards to degradation on environmental and metabolic fronts. PFAS are amphiphilic and contain a carbon-fluorine bond, which complicates their movement through the environment and ensures their longevity in biological systems. Their persistence in biological systems has led them to be marked as “forever chemicals” and have emphasized them as a priority area for research in recent years. Current work on PFAS relationships to human health have pointed to some causes for concern. Much of the research on …

Values Primacy & Total Governance Through Activism, Carliss N. Chatman, Sergio Alberto Gramitto Ricci

Faculty Journal Articles and Book Chapters

In the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder, public companies swift-ly pledged sweeping equity commitments—only to abandon them under political and market pressure. These reversals were not aberrations. They were opportunistic, performative, and reactionary marketing responses. They expose a governance regime in which stakeholder interests are structurally reversible because they remain doctrinally optional, lacking the institutional interlock needed to create binding accountability across stakeholder roles.

This Article explores how stakeholder power is already embedded in corporate governance through interlocking initiatives grounded in shared values. Stakeholder activism—boycotts, proxy votes, viral campaigns—is not merely expressive; it is an overlooked form of governance. Drawing …

Evaluating The Relationship Between Motor Symptoms And Levodopa Dosage In Parkinson’S Disease, Frank Ferrari

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Parkinson’s disease (PD) has a clear lack of dosing guidelines or standard treatment protocols, leaving physicians to develop individualized treatment plans to handle the needs of PD patients. The long-term progressive nature of Parkinson’s requires consistent care and updates to medication regimens. This puts significant strain on the healthcare systems tasked with treating them. With an increasing number of Parkinson’s patients and a plateau of professionals to care for them, patients may soon experience decreased physician availability, longer wait times, and worse quality of life outcomes. This study evaluated the relationship between PD motor symptoms, measured through the MDS-UPDRS Part …

Towards Breach Hypothesis Based Predictive Autonomous Cyber Defense Ecosystem: Proactive Prevention Of Imminent Threats And Productivity Losses, Yogesh Chavarkar

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

As cyberattack tools and techniques get sophisticated and persistent, reactive cybersecurity has been unable to effectively prevent breaches and compromises. Organizations and institutions with large complex environments have wide vulnerable exposure with higher chances of a cyberattack. This also increases overall security and financial risk. Possibility of repetitive attacks from cyber threats increases, too, despite the use of standard defense measures. Security tools and system vulnerabilities often need manual patching and updates to keep the environment secure and functioning effectively. Productivity suffers from manual trade-offs in keeping the systems secure from adverse impact. Persistent high-severity cyberattacks, despite continued reactive defensive …

Can Federalism Protect Subnational Liberal Democracy From Central Authoritarianism?, James A. Gardner

Journal Articles

Liberal democracy is eroding rapidly around the globe, including in the United States, raising alarming questions about whether American democratic institutions will endure. Nevertheless, some have speculated that federalism may protect liberal democracy at the subnational level when the central government turns authoritarian. This article argues that such optimism is premature: there is no a priori basis on which to predict the effect of central democratic backsliding on the quality of subnational democracy. Federal theory does suggest that internal heterogeneity in basic political commitments is likely to produce an escalating pattern of severe and possibly intractable intergovernmental conflict. Empirical evidence …

Immigration Adjudication, Judicial Review, And The Uneven Incorporation Of Administrative Law Norms, John Harland Giammatteo

Journal Articles

This article examines the interaction between immigration law and administrative law. Scholars and courts regularly treat immigration as outside of, or exceptional to, the normal operation of administrative law and its norms of judicial review. Yet in the past decade, the Roberts Court has radically reshaped administrative law. This broader administrative law project has largely emphasized the primacy of the federal courts and judicial review, enlarging the putative rights of regulated parties, at the cost of agency power. Within that project, immigration adjudication is a frequent conversation partner. Immigration adjudication is used to undermine the administrative state’s claim to policymaking …

The Prevalence Of Diabetic Retinopathy In American Indians Or Alaska Natives And Non-Indigenous Americans: A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis., Caberry W. Yu, Keean Nanji, Anubhav Garg, Michele Zaman, Jane Jomy, Abdullah El-Sayes, Catherine Sun, Shreyas Bhat, Mark Phillips, Dena Zeraatkar, Jinhui Ma, Enrico Borrelli, Sunir J Garg, David H. Steel, Tien Yin Wong, Sobha Sivaprasad, Charles C. Wykoff, Varun Chaudhary

Wills Eye Hospital Papers

TOPIC: To estimate the prevalence of diabetic retinopathy (DR) in adult American Indian or Alaska Native (AIAN) and non-AIAN patients with diabetes.

CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Although diabetes mellitus is more prevalent among AIAN patients compared with non-AIAN patients, the evidence is inconsistent regarding whether AIAN patients have a higher prevalence or severity of DR.

METHODS: We searched Ovid MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Web of Science databases from inception through February 23, 2025. We included primary studies evaluating the prevalence of DR in Americans with diabetes. The prevalence of (1) DR, (2) diabetic macular edema (DME), (3) proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR), (4) vision-threatening …

Strengthening Workforce Stability And Operational Efficiency In The Transition To Practice: A Quality Improvement Project, Alana L. Lemoine

Master's Theses and Capstones

Abstract 

Background: The transition to professional practice is a challenging period for new graduate nurses, and inadequate support can contribute to high turnover and reduced job satisfaction. Structured mentorship programs have been proposed as an effective strategy to improve retention, support professional development, and enhanced perceived impact during the first year of practice for new graduate nurses.

Local problem: Within a single microsystem, new graduate nurses faced challenges related to access to formal mentorship and support throughout the transition to practice. Baseline data indicated that only 50% of nurses had access to active mentorship, and retention rates in 2024 were …

Promoting Equitable Access To Postpartum Hemorrhage Education: A Quality Improvement Project Using Educational Interventions For Night Shift Nurses, Michelle Stella

Master's Theses and Capstones

Abstract

Background: Postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) is a serious condition that can lead to maternal morbidity or mortality following the birth of their child. It is important for nurses to be properly educated to manage this condition quickly and efficiently. Night shift nurses often face barriers to accessing educational opportunities during their shift because most education is tailored to daytime hours.

Local Problem: At the project site facility, night shift nurses perceived inconsistent access to education compared to day shift nurses. This gap highlighted the need for more flexible educational modalities to meet the needs of night shift nurses.

Methods: This …

Improving Equipment Safety And Operational Efficiency In The Labor And Delivery Setting Using A Standardized Bedside Equipment Checklist: A Quality Improvement Project, Clara E. Lane

Master's Theses and Capstones

Background: Timely and effective neonatal resuscitation depends on the immediate availability and functionality of emergency equipment. Within labor and delivery settings, equipment failures or delays in obtaining necessary supplies and equipment can be detrimental to neonatal health outcomes. Standardized equipment verification processes have been recommended to improve equipment readiness and reduce preventable delays in care provision during neonatal emergencies.

Local Problem: Baseline observational data within the labor and delivery microsystem identified inconsistencies in equipment verification processes, resulting in variable equipment readiness across the microsystem. Staff reported variations in room preparation, safety checks, and concerns related to missing or malfunctioning equipment …

Introducing Education For Sensory Approaches In Mental Health-Related Emergency Department Visits: A Quality Improvement Project To Enhance Patient-Centered Care, Jesse O'Neill

Master's Theses and Capstones

Background: Barriers to specialty care access have resulted in emergency departments (ED) operating as temporary psychiatric hold facilities for their communities. Patients boarding in the ED are demonstrated to use a disproportionate percentage of facility resources with minimal benefit to the patient. The Institute for Healthcare Improvement identifies the impact of the healthcare environment on patient outcomes and suggests staff training to foster trauma-informed practice culture (Schall et al., 2020).

Local Problem: High-stress healthcare environments can escalate maladaptive patient behaviors and the use of restrictive interventions. Traditional use of restrictive interventions lacks supportive evidence and contradicts person-centered care goals (Molloy …

Implementing A Standardized Patient Report Sheet To Improve Timeliness And Efficiency Of Patient Handoff Reports: A Quality Improvement Project, Brian F. Mclaughlin

Master's Theses and Capstones

Abstract

Background: A successful patient handoff report is a foundational element of nursing care, it encompasses the patient's medical history, current treatment plan, patient-centered goals, and notes of consideration. Blazin et. al. (2020) identified unsuccessful patient handoff reports as the root cause of many medical errors. Improving the patient handoff report process provides opportunities for increased registered nurse job satisfaction, reduced medical errors, and increased time efficiency.

Local Problem: Anecdotal discussions with nursing staff on an adult medical-surgical unit  revealed frustration with the patient handoff reporting process. Nursing staff cited interruptions, lengthy patient handoff report times, and the need to …

Cheshire Advisory Council Agenda & Minutes 2026, Carl Majewski

Advisory Council

No abstract provided.

Cytoprotective Role Of Octacosanol In Lipopolysaccharide-Induced Inflammation, Jingrong Tang, Zhi Hong Yang, Wenling Li, Huaitian Liu, Diego Lucero, Denis Sviridov, Olivia White, Julia Kun, Yoh Suke Mukouyama, Alan T. Remaley

Physiology Faculty Publications

Inflammation and endothelial dysfunction are key steps in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. Octacosanol (C₂₈H₅₈O, OCT), a very-long-chain saturated aliphatic alcohol (VLCA) with 28 carbons, is the main component of policosanol, a nutraceutical mixture of VLCAs (C20-C34) extracted from plants. Polycosanol in animal models is known to reduce atherosclerosis, but its mechanism of action remains unclear. This study investigates the pathways by which OCT alleviates LPS-induced inflammation in primary human aortic endothelial cells (HAECs). After overnight pretreatment with purified OCT, inflammation in HAECs was induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) at 100 ng/ml. The effects of OCT on the …

Agricultural Evidence Synthesis At A Critical Juncture: Quality Gaps And Implications For Evidence-Based Agriculture, Chao Cai, Jane Yatcilla, Justyna Czader, Sylvie Brouder, Jeffrey Volenec

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

Systematic reviews and meta-analyses have become essential tools for synthesizing evidence to guide agricultural policy and practice, yet whether these syntheses are themselves conducted with sufficient rigor has rarely been systematically assessed. This study provides a field-wide assessment of reporting quality in agricultural evidence synthesis, examining whether existing reviews are conducted with sufficient transparency and rigor to support the policy and practice decisions they are meant to inform. We drew a random sample of 244 systematic reviews and meta-analyses from a bibliometric dataset of 1,709 articles published between 1997 and 2023, evaluating reporting quality using a 12-indicator rubric across four …

A Zinc Chelate Of Lysine/Glutamic Acid Reduces Alcohol-Induced Ciliary Dysfunction, Emily Do, Daren L. Knoell, Christopher Bauer, Deanna Mosley, Deandra R. Smith, Derrick R. Samuelson, Todd A. Wyatt

Journal Articles: Environmental, Agricultural & Occupational Health

Alcohol misuse is a known risk factor for pneumonia, and up to 50% of individuals who misuse alcohol are zinc deficient. Chronic alcohol misuse can lead to alcohol-induced ciliary dysfunction (AICD), preventing effective mucociliary clearance and protection against lung infection. Because zinc salts fail to alter AICD, we hypothesized a form of zinc (Zinpro Zinc LG) with enhanced cell uptake would protect against AICD. Human and mouse airway epithelial cells were treated with 50 mM ethanol for 1-24 h followed by the ciliostimulatory agents. Cilia beat frequency (CBF) and cAMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA) activity were assayed. Cyclic AMP or beta …

Comprehensive Analytical Investigation Of Tetrahydro-4h-Chromene And Dihydropyridine Derivatives, Ryan J. Burk

Chemistry & Biochemistry Dissertations

Novel calcium channel blockers (CCBs) with dihydropyridine (DHP) or tetrahydro-4H-chromene moieties are often chiral, so effective enantiomer separation methods are needed for continued drug development. The purpose of this dissertation is to outline a comprehensive method development model for the chiral separations of DHPs and tetrahydro-4H-chromene derivatives. The scope of this dissertation is to address analytical challenges during initial synthesis, chiral separations, and data analysis during post-processing for this class of chiral compounds. The first section focuses on the method development strategies for separations of DHPs in the sub/supercritical fluid (SFC) and normal phase modes with the 2-hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin stationary phase. …

Andante: Introduction, Ilaria Serra

Andante: An Introduction

Cover art: Dorothy Tennant (1855-1926), Al gioco

Problems And Possibilities Of Namelessness In Late Antiquity And The Early Middle Ages, Jamie Wood, Hope Williard, Máirín Maccarron, Julia Hillner, James R. Burns

Medieval People

No abstract provided.

Full Journal

Pastoral Liturgy

No abstract provided.

Perceptions Of Managerial Roles In Physician Leadership Among First- And Final-Year Medical Students: A Cross-Sectional Study Using Mintzberg’S Framework, Sari Huikko-Tarvainen, Timo Tuovinen, Petri Kulmala

Health Professions Education

Purpose: This study investigated how medical students – as future physicians – perceive the relevance of Mintzberg’s ten managerial roles to physician leadership, and whether these perceptions change throughout medical education.

Method: In 2021, all first‑year (n = 116/116) and 98% of final‑year (n = 107/109) students at the University of Oulu, Finland completed a web‑based survey rating Mintzberg’s ten managerial roles in fulfilling physician leaders’ leadership work on a 5‑point Likert scale. Item reliability and internal consistency were examined with Cronbach’s α. Because Likert data are ordinal, medians and interquartile ranges (IQRs) were calculated, and group differences were tested …

When The Wind Is Right, Luke Matthew Kuennen

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Rural Ukrainian Life Under, After, and Near Russian Occupation

Ukraine is endowed with several significant economic assets and plays a crucial role in global trade, particularly due to its rich agricultural resources and strategic location in Eastern Europe. Ukraine's agricultural strength largely stems from its geography and the quality of its soil. The country has about 41 million hectares of arable land, which is approximately 70% of its total land area. The soil is primarily chernozem, or black soil, which is highly fertile and rich in organic matter. This makes Ukraine's land among the most productive in the world.

When …

Ghostly Grieving In Theatre’S Now Also The Dramaturgy Of Perception And The Body In Contemporary American Ghost Plays, Jacob Mann Christiansen

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

“Ghostly Grieving in Theatre’s Now Also” explores how contemporary American plays and playwrights stage the dead as a way of understanding theatre’s unique language for dealing with the shared, complex human experience of grief. Focusing on theatrical ghosts and other “impossible” presences, I articulate how these figures function as dramaturgical devices. I also argue that theatre’s ghosts “set the stage” (as it were) for communicable meaning-making by inviting audiences into the tasks of creation and mourning.

My work draws on performance theory (especially phenomenological accounts of theatrical storytelling), on dramaturgical analysis, and on grief studies. In this dissertation project, I …

Developing Identity After Goodbye: Social Identity Theory And How Adolescent Survivors Navigate Suicide Loss, Elizabeth Susan Lawton

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Adolescents who lose a loved one to suicide, known as suicide-loss survivors, face a disruption to identity development, a life stage defined by identity formation (Adler et al., 2018) and group belonging (Pittman & Richmond, 2008). Suicide bereavement is complicated not only by grief but also by stigma, which can fracture social ties and undermine self-concept. Social identity theory (SIT) provides a framework for examining how young adults, now ages 18 to 30, reconstruct their social identities after experiencing suicide loss in adolescence. Research in other stigmatized contexts shows that adopting positive in-group identities can buffer against stigma and protect …

The Subadults Of Casas Grandes: A Bioarchaeological Study, Holli Kaye Mcdonald

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Across the span of nearly eight hundred years, from AD 700-1450, the societies of the Casas Grandes region waxed and waned and left an astounding representation in the archaeological record. Best-known through the temporally older site of Convento (occupied during what is known as the Viejo Period) and the later site of Paquimé (occupied during the Medio Period), gradual cultural expansion and florescence across this period are witnessed through a variety of findings across decades of anthropological investigation.

Along with the artifacts and architecture unveiled during initial excavations at Paquimé and Convento, remains of 654 individuals were catalogued as well. …

Labor Savings From Mechanical Rice Transplanting In Bangladesh, India, Nepal, And The Philippines: A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis, Rodrigo S. David

ASEAN Journal on Science and Technology for Development

Rice production in South and Southeast Asia faces serious challenges, including acute labor shortages and rising wages, which threaten regional food security. Mechanical rice transplanting offers a promising solution; however, evidence on labor savings, especially region-specific data, remains inconsistent. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to quantify labor savings from mechanical versus manual transplanting across Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and the Philippines.

Following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, a systematic search was conducted across four major scientific databases (2000–2026) using Boolean search terms for mechanical transplanting and labor outcomes. Of 284 initial records, 52 met eligibility …