Digital Commons Network^™

Work-Life Balance Of Parents: Comparing The Parental Leave Systems And Their Legal Structures In The United States And European Union, Michelle C. Hunter

Student Works

No abstract provided.

Loneliness And Social Isolation: Finding Connection Through Art, Elijah K. Wong

Art Therapy | Master's Theses

This study explored whether creativity might help alleviate feelings of loneliness and social isolation. The COVID-19 pandemic was an extraordinary event that significantly impacted people's emotional, physical, psychological, and social health globally. To gain insight into these impacts, the research focused on participants’ creative activities and their experiences of loneliness during and after the pandemic. The aim was to find possible links between making and viewing art and reducing feelings of loneliness and loneliness-related experiences. Ten participants were surveyed and asked about their artistry, their time during the COVID-19 pandemic, and their sense of belonging to a community. This investigation …

The Roles Of Trauma, Secrecy, And Epistemic Mistrust In Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder On Socioemotional Outcomes, Rina Goldstein

Selected Full-Text Dissertations 2020-

Former research has shown that attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has significant negative implications for people’s socioemotional functioning. Additionally, trauma and ADHD have been biologically and bidirectionally connected in the literature. A notable gap exists in the literature regarding how ADHD and trauma interact to affect socioemotional functioning. The following study sought to examine epistemic mistrust as a potential mediating factor between ADHD and socioemotional functioning, when moderated by trauma. Specifically, childhood interpersonal trauma was expected to amplify ADHD’s negative impact on socioemotional functioning, partially explained by epistemic mistrust. Additionally, disclosure of trauma and others’ reactions to disclosure were examined as …

Shadow Garments: Costume Creation For Integrating Alienated Parts Of The Self, Mega M. Galvin

Art Therapy | Master's Theses

This study explores costume creation as a narrative-based intervention for integrating "shadow" parts, or aspects of the self that are repressed or alienated due to shame, trauma, or social pressure. Grounded in Jungian analytic psychology, narrative therapy, and expressive arts theory, the research addresses the limitations of traditional talk therapy in accessing somatic memory and proposes costume making as a pathway for externalization and re-authorship. Using a qualitative, participatory study inspired by Pat B. Allen’s Open Studio Process, four adult participants engaged in a three-session workshop to design, construct, and wear costumes representing their identified shadow aspects. Data was collected …

Restorative Environments And Therapeutic Artmaking: A Strengths-Based Art Gallery Workshop To Enhance Well-Being In Emerging Adults, Jeannine Case

Art Therapy | Master's Theses

Emerging adults aged 18 to 29 face increased mental health risks yet encounter considerable barriers to traditional care, which highlights the need for accessible, preventive alternatives. This mixed-methods pilot study investigated whether an art gallery environment could serve as a supportive setting for a strengths-based, positive art therapy-informed wellness workshop aimed at promoting well-being for this population. Six participants between the ages of 20 and 27, all enrolled in post-secondary education, took part in this study. Five identified as female and one as male. Three participants (50%) identified as Hispanic/Latino, one as Asian, one as White, and one as Hispanic/Latino …

Effects Of Varying Biochar Concentrations On The Growth Of Lactuca Sativa (Newham Bibb Lettuce), Lauren Holler

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The objective of this research experiment was to investigate the effectiveness of using biochar in potting soil in terms of plant growth and soil quality. This experiment was carried out using varying amounts (0%, 5%, 10%, and 20%) of biochar in the soil to see its effect on seed germination, plant growth, and soil quality such as pH, water retention, and soil temperature. The aim of the experiment was to identify whether biochar can be used in soil to promote healthier and stronger plants. There were four treatments which included 0% (Control), 5% (Treatment 1), 10% (Treatment 2), and 20% …

Bee Positive Missoula, Sophia Mahoney, Mckenna Hill, Olivia Cornwell, Lucas Hardoerfer, Brandon Quamme

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

Bees are an essential species that support the growth of plant communities and enhance human agricultural success. Urbanization is associated with increased impermeable surfaces, large-scale land-use change, and changes in plant and animal community assemblages. Urban expansion exacerbates habitat fragmentation and loss, which has a particularly negative impact on wild or native specialist bee pollinators and the plant species they pollinate. Global and local research indicate the widespread nature of these negative trends; however, there are abundant opportunities to mitigate the impacts on bee pollinators by restoring wild bee habitat in urban areas. Habitat includes nesting and floral resources, and …

Pathways Of Influence: Indigenous Peoples’ Agency And Leadership In Arctic Governance, Justin Barnes

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

For the peoples and communities who have lived in the Arctic since time immemorial, Arctic governance is not only about international cooperation, environmental management, or geopolitical competition. It is also about sustaining and advocating for Indigenous livelihoods, relationships with land and water, rights and responsibilities, and opportunities for future generations – all themes directly affected by political decisions made across local, regional, national, and international levels. This dissertation begins from a central question about how Indigenous Peoples exercise their agency and influence in Arctic governance despite operating within an international system largely organized around states. It examines this phenomenon by …

Sexual Di(Et)Morphism: Using Experimental Evolution To Test Whether Resource Partitioning Promotes Divergence Of The Sexes In Drosophila Melanogaster, Owen A. Jamieson

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Sexual dimorphism has been a long-studied phenomenon in the field of evolutionary biology. Usually, these differences in morphology, physiology and/or behaviour between the sexes are studied through the parsimonious lens of sexual selection. However, there are natural history cases where this lens does not seem applicable. Some species show sex specific morphological traits whose presence may not be due to a direct benefit to reproduction, but a difference in how each sex interacts with the environment and differing selective pressures from the environment on either sex. Darwin even brought up examples of this kind of dimorphism and pondered their existence, …

Optimizing Human Fcrn Mouse Models To Improve Pharmacokinetic Evaluation Of Antibody Drug Candidates., Gregory J. Christianson, Zachary M Howard, Samantha Kenney, Emily Lowell, Nijaguna Bethur, Derry C. Roopenian, Elena Gonzalo-Gil

Faculty Research 2026

The use of animal models that can reliably predict drug performance in human patients is critical to antibody therapeutic development. Along with assessing toxicity and efficacy, determining the pharmacokinetic (PK) properties of therapeutics in Tg32 and Tg276 mice is essential to preclinical characterization. While Tg32 mice have been well established as indispensable in their ability to model the PK properties of antibody therapeutics, their intact immunity leaves them capable of mounting anti-drug antibody responses that interfere with PK interpretation. Here, we demonstrate the negative impact anti-drug responses can have on PK parameters derived from Tg32 mice, and provide strong evidence …

Optimizing Human Fcrn Mouse Models To Improve Pharmacokinetic Evaluation Of Antibody Drug Candidates., Gregory J. Christianson, Zachary M Howard, Samantha Kenney, Emily Lowell, Nijaguna Bethur, Derry C. Roopenian, Elena Gonzalo-Gil

Faculty Research 2026

The use of animal models that can reliably predict drug performance in human patients is critical to antibody therapeutic development. Along with assessing toxicity and efficacy, determining the pharmacokinetic (PK) properties of therapeutics in Tg32 and Tg276 mice is essential to preclinical characterization. While Tg32 mice have been well established as indispensable in their ability to model the PK properties of antibody therapeutics, their intact immunity leaves them capable of mounting anti-drug antibody responses that interfere with PK interpretation. Here, we demonstrate the negative impact anti-drug responses can have on PK parameters derived from Tg32 mice, and provide strong evidence …

Limosilactobacillus Reuteri Promotes Melatonin Release From Human Intestinal Organoids Via 5′Ectonucleotidase Activity, Micah D Forshee, Erika J Nachman, Esha R Shenoy, Heather A Danhof, Ludwig Ermann Lundberg, Stefan Roos, Robert A Britton

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Strains of Limosilactobacillus reuteri have been used to prevent or treat various conditions; however, the mechanisms by which they exert beneficial effects are not completely understood. Infant colic is one example in which L. reuteri DSM 17938 reduces clinical symptoms. While the etiology of colic is unknown, abnormal melatonin levels in infants have been suggested as a possible contributor. L. reuteri DSM 17938 has been shown to produce adenosine from AMP via production of the extracellular enzyme 5′ectonucleotidase (5′NT). Adenosine is a potent signaling molecule that impacts several important aspects of host physiology, including the release of melatonin from the …

Steroid Receptor Coactivator 3-Deficient Regulatory T Cells Eradicate Multiple Solid Tumors In Syngeneic Mouse Models, Nuri Sung, Eunsu Kim, Yosef Gilad, Yuri Park, Adam M Dean, Yan Xia, Jianming Xu, Clifford C Dacso, David M Lonard, Sang Jun Han

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Steroid receptor coactivator 3 (SRC-3) is highly expressed in regulatory T cells (Tregs) and is important for their immunosuppressive activity. Recently, we demonstrated that disrupting SRC-3 expression in Tregs eliminates triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) and prostate cancer in syngeneic animal models by generating an anti-tumor immune microenvironment without inducing immune-related adverse events (irAEs). Further analysis of these mice revealed that SRC-3 knockout (KO) Tregs infiltrated breast tumors and facilitated the infiltration of CD8

When Probiotics Guidelines Differ: A Practical Guide For Clinicians And Researchers, Geoffrey A Preidis, Hania Szajewska, Marla Cunningham, Howard Bauchner, Daniel J Merenstein

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Many professional organizations publish clinical practice guidelines for the use of probiotics in gastrointestinal disorders. Generally, no two guidelines align perfectly, and some differ markedly. These discrepancies occur because clinical practice guidelines are not purely mechanical outputs of data synthesis. They are shaped by structured interpretation, value judgments, and predefined thresholds for uncertainty. These elements become particularly visible when effect sizes are small, heterogeneity is high, and outcomes vary in clinical relevance-as is the case with probiotic research. This article examines why discordance among probiotic guidelines is predictable and provides practical guidance for clinicians who must decide among conflicting recommendations …

Sustainable – Low-Cost - Upgrade Of Activated Sludge Process For Nitrogen And Phosphorus (N&P) Removal From Wastewater, Abanoub N. Basta

Theses and Dissertations

Many municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in developing countries were designed primarily for organic matter and suspended solids removal and therefore face increasing difficulty in meeting modern nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) discharge requirements. Conventional biological nutrient removal upgrades commonly require additional reactor volume, recirculation systems, aeration energy, and capital investment. Accordingly, sustainable retrofit strategies that improve nutrient removal within existing treatment footprints are increasingly needed, particularly in water-scarce and land-constrained regions.

This study investigated the integration of water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) into the aeration stage of an activated sludge process as a hybrid nature-based enhancement for nitrogen and phosphorus …

Impact Of Implementing Standard Wound Care Guidelines For Patients In The Home Care Setting On Patient Outcomes, Raymond Anthony Flores Jr

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Projects

Wound care is among the most significant public health concerns, affecting millions of people worldwide. Most individuals with wounds end up self-managing their condition from their homes due to being discharged early from the hospital, owing to various reasons, and the costs associated with health care. Although home wound management offers convenience and lower costs for patients, it is also associated with substantial challenges, including limited access to and use of appropriate care protocols, wound management tools, and sufficient education on the topic, as well as limited professional advice. These limitations contribute to poor outcomes, including slow healing rates, infections, …

Is Your Cyst Really A Ganglion Cyst? A Case Report Of Angioleiomyoma Mimicking A Plantar Fascia Cystic Lesion, Christopher Anjorin Ms Dpmc, Joseph Bender Dpm

School of Podiatric Medicine - Student Research

Ganglion cysts are among the most common benign soft tissue masses encountered in podiatric clinical practice, and their diagnosis is often presumed based on location, clinical observation, and transillumination. However, this case highlights a diagnostic idiosyncrasy: a lesion clinically presumed to be a ganglion cyst within the plantar fascia was ultimately identified as an angioleiomyoma following surgical excision and histopathological evaluation. This finding underscores the importance of maintaining a broad differential diagnosis when assessing cystic lesions, particularly those that transilluminate, as benign vascular tumors may closely mimic more common entities in both clinical presentation and imaging. More importantly, what if …

Robust Statistical Methods For Microbiome Abundance Data, Yiming Shi

WUSM Theses and Dissertations – All Programs

Differential abundance analysis in microbiome studies aims to identify taxa whose abundance differs across biological or clinical conditions. The observed data are typically taxon-specific sequencing read counts, representing reads assigned to different taxa within each sample. These counts are indirect measurements of the underlying microbial abundance profile and are constrained by sample-specific library sizes. Microbiome count data are also typically sparse, overdispersed, and heteroscedastic. Together, these characteristics create substantial challenges for differential abundance analysis and make the results highly sensitive to normalization procedures, model specification, and the statistical methods used for inference.

Normalization defines the scale on which samples are …

Investigating The Ability Of Presequences To Influence Mitochondrial Protein Import, Youmian Yan

WUSM Theses and Dissertations – All Programs

Mitochondria are essential organelles housing over 1000 proteins, 99% of which are nuclear-encoded and synthesized in the cytosol. Most mitochondrial proteins are targeted by a positively charged sequence called the presequence, which lacks a common sequence motif and is poorly conserved across evolution. Accumulating evidence suggests that presequences encode meaningful information that influences mitochondrial protein uptake. For instance, multiple stress response models propose that stress sensing proteins contain “weak” presequences which allows them to monitor mitochondrial health. However, there is a lack of systematic examination about how presequences influence import kinetics and what constitutes presequence strength. These gaps in knowledge …

Port And Vessel Communication Traffic Intrusion Detection: A Variational Autoencoder‑Enhanced Multilayer Perceptron Approach, Chien-Lin Chiang, Hsien-Cheng Chou, Ming-Yuan Peng, Yi-Yuan Chiang, Yu-Shun Liu

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

Port and vessel networks increasingly operate on IP/Ethernet backbones with high‑noise, high‑dimensional traffic. We present a lightweight hybrid intrusion‑detection model that couples a variational autoencoder (VAE) with a multilayer perceptron (MLP) and augments training with a boundary‑oriented latent‑space mixup strategy. The VAE models the distribution of normal traffic and identifies anomalies through reconstruction errors. Subsequently, it generates robust latent vectors, enabling the MLP to perform highly accurate supervised classification. On the UNSW‑NB15 dataset, the proposed pipeline attains ≥97% accuracy and an outstanding recall of 99.56% in binary intrusion detection, and visualization of the latent space (PCA) together with reconstruction‑error analyses …

Sar Ship Detection Based On Shallow Feature Guidance, Chenxu Xia, Peng Chen, Ya Zhang, Ying Li

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

Maritime ship detection is of great significance for both military security and civilian applications. Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), with its all-weather and all-day imaging capability, plays a vital role in maritime surveillance. Nevertheless, SAR ship targets typically appear small in scale, embedded in complex backgrounds, blurred at boundaries, and easily confused with near-shore features, which pose substantial challenges for accurate detection. To address these issues, we propose a SAR ship detection network that integrates dual enhancements of small-object representation and edge information. The network introduces two key components: the Small Target Refine Pyramid (STRP) to strengthen shallow feature representation for …

Enhancing Shipboard Safety Management Under The Ism Code: An Innovative Risk Assessment Framework With A Stern Tube Case Study, Pi-Yen Lin

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

The shipboard safety management system (SMS) is designed to enhance safe operations, risk management, and emergency response to improve overall ship safety and efficiency. This paper demonstrates the use of an engine room simulator (ERS) for collecting failure modes and applies it to a comprehensive failure analysis of the stern tube lubricating oil system. A new risk closeness coefficient method was developed, integrating expert background knowledge and weighted risk assessments. The analysis, based on multiple expert evaluations, covered five subsystems, eight main components, 23 failure modes, and 112 failure causes. This study presents 26 recommendations for maritime practitioners and onboard …

Improvements Upon Reprocessing Of Orthopedic Single-Use Instruments, Alyssa P. Nguyen

Master's Projects and Capstones

Internal Medline data for Hospital A, a level I academic trauma center, identified a quality gap due to improper segregation and underutilization of orthopedic single-use device reprocessing bins. The baseline reprocessing rate of 4% for orthopedic products results in missed sustainability opportunities, financial strain, and increased regulated waste. A proposed quality improvement intervention implemented updated communication strategies, visual management tools, and education modules to reinforce current reprocessing workflows and close knowledge gaps. Outcome measures include the percentage of SUDs collected for reprocessing, survey results on reprocessing awareness, and potential financial savings in Appendix I. Early data showed a 10% year-to-year …

Social Procurement As A Catalyst For Dei In Construction: Some Takeaways For Hrm?, Jennifer Waterhouse, Robyn Keast, Judy Lundy, Martin Loosemore

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Purpose: Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives aim to foster workplaces where all employees feel valued and can add value. Increasingly, the success of these initiatives is influenced by environments and interactions beyond organisational boundaries, including recent backlash. Despite this, most DEI research remains focused on intra-organisational aspects and human resource management (HRM) activities. The purpose of this paper is to introduce social procurement as a novel and promising framework for advancing DEI in theory and practice through a collaborative, inter-organisational approach that has the potential to overcome institutional barriers and mitigate backlash. Design/methodology/approach: Data were collected through 15 in-depth …

The Impact Of A Play-Based Nature Camp On Self-Regulation In School-Age Children, Margaret Berkemeyer

Doctoral Dissertations

This study is a program evaluation with a mixed-methods design that evaluated the effectiveness of Y Rangers, a summer camp offered by the YMCA of San Francisco, in increasing the self-regulation abilities of school-age children. A total of 18 caregivers completed the quantitative portion of this study that included pre/post-test analyses of self-regulation measures. There were no statistically significant changes between pre and post assessments of self-regulation. A subset of seven caregivers and three Y Rangers counselors participated in interviews, the transcripts of which were analyzed using interpretive phenomenological analysis. Caregivers experienced Y Rangers as a unique opportunity for their …

The Relationship Between Acculturative Stress, Body Dissatisfaction, And Disordered Eating Behavior Among Latina Women In The United States, Emily Lillian Johnson

Doctoral Dissertations

The majority of research on body dissatisfaction and disordered eating behaviors focuses predominantly on the experiences of white women, neglecting the significant impact of acculturative stress on these issues, especially among understudied groups like Latina women. The present study seeks to address the gap in the literature by obtaining data that explores the extent to which acculturative stress, body dissatisfaction, and disordered eating behavior have a relationships. Additionally, it investigates the roles of cultural values and ethnic identification in protecting against body dissatisfaction and disordered eating behavior within this population. To determine whether acculturative stress is predictive of body dissatisfaction …

Associations Between Trpm4 Gene Variants And Intracranial Pressure Dynamics Following Traumatic Brain Injury, Emily H. Saweris

Summer Research Program Abstracts

No abstract provided.

Stocks And Fluxes Of Carbon And Nitrogen In Northeastern Brazil Coastal Seascapes, Antoniwal A. Jatobá-Junior, Pere Masque, Carlos Eduardo De Rezende, Vanessa Hatje

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Quantifying carbon and nitrogen dynamics is essential for understanding the role of coastal ecosystems in climate change mitigation and habitat connectivity. We assessed organic carbon (OC) and total nitrogen (TN) stocks, accumulation rates, and isotopic composition (δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N) in sediment across diverse seascapes in northeastern Brazil, including high- and low-salinity mangroves, a tidal flat, a freshwater marsh, and an inundated forest. OC stocks in the upper meter of sediment were highest in the freshwater marsh (283 ± 64 Mg OC ha⁻¹) and tidal flat (266 ± 27 Mg OC ha⁻¹), and …

Over A Century Of Global Decline In The Growth Performance Of Marine Fishes, Helen F. Yan, Hannah V. Watkins, Alexandre C. Siqueira, David R. Bellwood

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Human-driven pressures are causing large-scale changes in the ecologies and life histories of fishes. Growth performance is a composite life-history trait that captures the trade-off between two fundamental traits: growth and body size. Here, we assess the impacts of fishing and temperature on the growth performance of marine teleost fishes globally over the last century. Using 7683 growth curves encompassing 1479 species, we find a global pattern of decline in growth performance from 1908 onwards, with the greatest declines in commercially valuable fishes. Indeed, managed fisheries experienced a 9% decline in growth performance over the last century, which can equate …

Coastal Land Uplift And Intensified Land-Use Influence Seagrass Carbon And Nitrogen Sink Capacity Over Millennial Timescales, Martin Dahl, Sara Braun, Maria E. Asplund, Mats Björk, Joeri Kaal, Hans W. Linderholm, Elinor Andrén, Thomas Andrén, Žilvinas Ežerinskis, Madhavu Vidya Faizal, Sara C. Forsberg, Andrius Garbaras, Malin E. Kylander, Pere Masqué, Miguel A. Mateo, Justina Šapolaitė, Oscar Serrano, J. Robin Svensson, Olena Vinogradova, Martin Gullström

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Seagrass meadows store sedimentary carbon and nitrogen and thus play an important role in climate change mitigation and nutrient retention globally. Here we reconstruct the impact of land-use and coastal land uplift on millennial–scale seagrass (Zostera marina) blue carbon and nitrogen accumulation in the Baltic Sea based on a multiproxy paleoreconstruction approach. We show that increased landscape clearance resulted in higher terrestrial runoff and increased accumulation of carbon and nitrogen, whereas land uplift led to hydrodynamically sheltered environments facilitating seagrass colonization, occurring 1700 and > 4000 years ago. The establishment of the seagrass meadows resulted in enhancement of the quality of …