Digital Commons Network^™

Navigating Cultural Differences In Community-Based Conservation: A Malagasy Case Study, Austin J. Cheng

CISLA Senior Integrative Projects

This SIP explores the tension between avoiding cultural imperialism and remaining true to ideals, particularly of gender equality in the creation and funding of community-based conservation organizations in patriarchal societies. To tether these loftier ideas to practice, I use my internship with Planet Madagascar in Ankarafantsika National Park as a case study, and explore it through the lenses of feminist, pragmatist, and post-colonial philosophers.

Online Dating Experiences And Body Dissatisfaction Among Transgender And Gender Nonconforming Individuals: A Qualitative Study, Luciano Caprio M.S.

Selected Full Text Dissertations, 2011-

Through the evolution of online dating applications, individuals are able to form interpersonal connections with one another at a rapid pace. The effects of such communications can hold both protective and risk factors within the LGBTQ+ community. Previous research suggests that lesbians, gay, and bisexuals who have experienced weight discrimination, particularly fatphobic and anti-fat attitudes, while utilizing these online dating platforms, have increased body dissatisfaction. However, there is minimal research focusing on the implications of discrimination, body dissatisfaction, and the usage of online dating platforms in the transgender and gender nonconforming (TGNC) community. This qualitative study explored the experiences of …

Ms Environmental Biology Capstone Project, Erin Pierce

Regis University Student Publications (comprehensive collection)

Wildfires can directly and indirectly alter freshwater aquatic ecosystems and their resident biota. A wide range of effects is possible depending on the characteristics of the fire, ecosystem, and species. As wildfires become more frequent and intense, specifically in the western United States, understanding the mechanisms that alter biological integrity and species diversity measures is increasingly important. Our study investigated the effects of the Marshall Fire on fish and macroinvertebrate assemblages and their in-stream and riparian habitat. We hypothesized that, because of the high intensity of the fire, riparian-zone burning, and the large burn area in the drainage basin, we …

This Land Isn’T My Land: How Canonical Literature Has Shaped Representation In The Outdoors, Claire Himmel

American Studies Honors Papers

No abstract provided.

Children As Informers And Denouncers, In Children And Violence: Agency, Experience, And Representation In And Beyond Armed Conflict (Christelle Molima Bameka Et Al. Eds., 2025), Mark A. Drumbl, Barbora Holá

Books and Chapters

This chapter explores the use of children in propaganda and informing networks as forms of violence. While this chapter nests in 20th- century Communism in the Soviet Union and Czechoslovakia, the interface of children with these networks is not unique to these times and places. Indeed, these experiences link to those elsewhere, thereby elucidating the dually manipulated and agentic role of children in a regime’s fight for legitimacy and thereby blending with a number of contributions to this volume including those by Mohamed Kamara and Sylvie Bodineau. The point of this chapter is not to particularise (or pathologise) Soviet and …

Discovering Stories That Matter: Exploring Appreciative Inquiry’S Strengths-Based Storytelling Technique To Complement Program Monitoring In Ngos, Khanyisa Manzini

Community Engagement Student Work

Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are essential entities in responding to complex global challenges, including social, economic, political, environmental, and health-related issues. While significant research has focused on evaluating the performance of NGO programs, comparatively little attention has been paid to the lived experiences of NGO staff—particularly how they navigate and find meaning in their work, especially during times of uncertainty and change. This capstone addresses this gap by designing a strengths-based storytelling workshop aimed at developing NGO staff’s narrative capacity. Grounded in the framework of Appreciative Inquiry (AI) and narrative theory, the workshop explores how storytelling can serve as a human-centered …

Transient Stress And Childhood Maltreatment: Unraveling Their Impact On Working Memory And Emotion Dysregulation, Serena Veith

Selected Full-Text Dissertations 2020-

Childhood maltreatment is associated with cognitive impairments and emotion dysregulation, with prior research documenting structural changes in stress modulation in affected individuals. This study examined the relationship between childhood maltreatment and working memory (WM), focusing on the roles of stress and emotion dysregulation. While childhood maltreatment has been linked to cognitive deficits, its specific impact on adult WM remains underexplored. It was hypothesized that childhood maltreatment would negatively affect WM. However, initial analyses found no significant relationship between childhood maltreatment and baseline WM. Post-hoc analyses revealed a positive relationship between childhood maltreatment and WM improvement over time, suggesting potential resilience …

Sexual Identity Development In A Culture Of Shame: The Impact Of Non-Affirming Religious Upbringing And Internalized Homophobia On Sexual Satisfaction In Lgbtq Adults, Rhiannon Ashley Gibbs

Selected Full-Text Dissertations 2020-

Internalized homophobia is a common component of the LGBTQ developmental experience which impacts sexual identity development (Peterson & Gerrity, 2006; Rowan & Malcom, 2003). As well, many LGBTQ people raised in Christian religious communities frequently grow up in environments which are not affirming of their sexualities (Barnes & Meyer, 2012; Boppana & Gross, 2019; Herek et al., 2009; Ream & Savin-Williams, 2005; Rodriquez & Oullette, 2000). While much research considers the impact of these minority stressors on LGBTQ well-being (Frost & Meyer, 2009; Herek et al. 2009; Keating & Muller, 2020), fewer consider the specific impact on sexual well- being. …

An Integral Transpersonal Approach To The Self: Practical Maps And Models, Pier Luigi Lattuada

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies Advance Publication Archive

This work aims to focus attention on the concepts of the psyche and of self, and the participatory dialogue between the self and the world, to highlight the contribution that an integral transpersonal psychotherapy (ITP) approach of biotransenergetics (BTE) offers. The ITP approach sees the psyche as the totality of the being and the self as the unifying archetype that defifines it. Some new epistemological maps and concepts are outlined to highlight their usefulness for a clinical and research methodology based on assumptions of a transpersonal and integral order.

Engineering Chimeric Autoantibody Receptor T Cells (Caar): A Potential Cure For Graves' Disease, Kimbal Demars, Abigail Cheever, Chloe Kang, Hunter Lindsay, Mackenzie Hansen, Kim O'Neill, Scott Weber

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2025

• Graves’ Disease (GD) is the 4th most common autoimmune disease in the United States.
• GD is characterized by autoreactive B cells releasing anti-thyroid stimulating hormone receptor (TSHR) Ab that bind to TSHR, causing an overexpression of hormones.
• Excessive hormonal release leads to hyperthyroidism, causing a variety of metabolic issues.
• No cure exists, only limited effectiveness of treatments, including chemotherapy, radiation, or thyroidectomy.
• Chimeric antigen receptors (CAR) T cell therapy has been effective in treating blood cancers.
• Modifying this therapy by engineering T cells that replace the antigen as the T cell receptor will selectively target autoreactive B cells, namely chimeric …

End Epilepsy: Human And Rodent Seizures Demonstrate A Dynamic Interplay With Spreading Depolarizations, Daniel Hummel, Jacob H. Norby, Noah Ricks, John D. Rolston, Shervin Rahimpour, Juha Voipio, Andrew J. Trevelyan, Elliot H. Smith, Ryley Parrish

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2025

Affecting more than 50 million people worldwide, Epilepsy is a condition of repeated seizures. Seizures (Sz) occur when brain cells transmit uncontrolled electrical signals, and most often terminate on their own, but how this happens is unknown. A proposed mechanism of Sz termination is a spreading depolarization (SD). A SD is a wave that travels through the brain, suppressing brain activity. Currently, the relationship between SDs and seizures is not well understood. The goal of this study was to understand how the two phenomena interact in both rodent brains, and humans. Better understanding of SDs may lead to the development …

Enabling Better Interoperability And Reusability For Down Syndrome Transcriptomic Datasets, Harrison Oaks, Garrett L. Wride, Stephen Piccolo

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2025

Introduction: Gene expression profiling has become a cornerstone of biomedical research, offering relevant insights into the molecular mechanisms that underlie complex conditions such as Down syndrome (DS), a condition caused by trisomy 21. RNA expression data from individuals with DS have highlighted critical pathways involved in development, immune function, and disease susceptibility. Despite the availability of over 100 publicly shared RNA expression datasets, their potential remains underutilized due to inconsistent metadata, diverse normalization protocols, and varying data quality. Addressing these barriers is vital to enabling researchers to standardize, integrate, and analyze datasets effectively. We do this by creating a data …

Effects Of Predation On Cognition In Brachyrhaphis Rhabdophora, Elizabeth F. Jenkins, Jerald B. Johnson

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2025

Does predation environment affect the cognitive abilities of the tropical fish Brachyrhaphis rhabdophora?

Effects Of Ethanol On G-Csf Sensitivity In The Ventral Striatum, Kaleb Gardner, Rachel Campbell, Camryn Holt, Zachary Valentine, Chase Seiter, Jordan T. Yorgason

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2025

Granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) is a known neuromodulator for dopamine (DA) release in the ventral striatum • Increased peripheral G-CSF levels enhances abused substance effects • The G-CSF mechanism for enhancing release remains unknown • How ethanol affects G-CSF neuromodulation also remains unknown • The present studies examined G-CSF effects on striatal and mesolimbic circuitry and chronic ethanol effects on this system

Effects Of Acute Injections Of Etoh In Cytokine Release In Mice, Alina Svitlana Rodriguez Bezruchko, Alka Gaur, Carlos M. Moreno, Jordan T. Yorgason, Scott Weber

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2025

To learn the pathway by which the peripheral immune system interacts with dopaminergic neurons and triggers an addiction response, we compared cytokine and chemokine production levels before and after a 20-minute ethanol injection. Since some cytokines and chemokines can cross the blood-brain barrier, their peripheral production may influence neural activity. We had four groups: ethanol, saline, domperidone-ethanol, and domperidone-saline. As domperidone is a dopamine antagonist, we will use it as a control to verify that the change in cytokine production is due to ethanol rather than other factors.

Developement Of A Rodent Virtual Reality System For Measuring Reward, Aman Malhotra, Joe Davis, Jacob Cecil, Lauren Ford, Daniel-Luke Isemonger, Noah Moffat, Ryan Powers, Cody Siciliano, Ryan West, Jordan T. Yorgason

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2025

Rodent VR is a tool for drug impact studies involving VR and optical imaging on motivation-related circuits using customizable maze creation and a comprehensive analysis program. We are using this combined with a GRINS lens surgical implant to gather real time data.

Competitive Bacteria Inhibiting Yersinia Ruckeri Growth – A Strategy To Prevent Enteric Redmouth Disease (Erm) In Freshwater Fish, Kyler Linton, David Erickson

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2025

Pacific freshwater fish are less likely than Atlantic freshwater fish to exhibit Enteric Redmouth Disease (ERM), or Yersiniosis as caused by Yersinia ruckeri. Based on the hypothesis that these fish may harbor commensal bacteria that inhibit Y. ruckeri growth, we isolated many kinds of commensal bacteria from fish intestines that we have collected from Alaska and local streams. Using co-culture experiments, we have conducted competitive assays to determine if the bacteria found in the gut biomes of these fish inhibit the growth of Y. ruckeri. These may be potential probiotic organisms that could provide resistance to ERM disease.

Comparative Whole Genome Sequencing Of Cryopreserved And Ffpe Cancer Tissue, Delaney Anderson, Ken Dixon, Ryan Miller, Sangmoon Lee, Jeffrey Okojie, Jared Barrott

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2025

Whole genome sequencing (WGS) determines the DNA sequence of an organism’s entire genome & plays a key role in cancer precision medicine

• Currently, the main preservation method of cancer tissue for WGS is formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissue; cryopreserved (CP) tissue is not routinely used in clinical settings
• Previous studies have determined CP tissue yields higher quality & quantity of DNA
• This study aimed to compare the outcomes of WGS in CP & FFPE samples.

Chilling Insights: A Comparative Study Of Cancer Tissue Preservation, Rebecca Bascom, Paige Nelson, Jacob Harris, Jack Davis, Mackenzie Burr, Jeffrey Okojie, David Booker, Ken Dixon, Jared Barrott

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2025

It is a fact that personalized cancer treatment leads to better patient outcomes. But what if the current treatments aren't as personalized as they could be?

Clinical cancer tissue samples are typically sent to labs as formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissues. A recent study4 indicates that cryo-preserved (CP) tissues offer significantly better DNA quality and quantity than FFPE samples, suggesting a need to reevaluate preservation methods. We aim to expand this research by comparing protein expression in FFPE and CP samples.

Specifically, we will focus on PD-L1, a protein that inhibits T-cells and is overexpressed in all cancer cells. The …

Barks Vs Bears: A Ruff Reality, Fern Luttrell, Tom Smith, Stephen Herrero, Lana Ciamiello, Hank Hristienko, Erin Jacoway, Linda Wiggins

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2025

• Will your dog protect you from a bear?
• Do dogs provoke bear attacks?
• Is it safe for your dog to be in bear country?

Assessing Sandy Beach Health Throughout The South Atlantic Bight With Ghost Crabs, Raquel Wilson, Blaine D. Griffen

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2025

To better inform the management and protection of marine ecosystems, we examined human impacts on sandy beach health across the South Atlantic Bight by assessing the abundance and size of ghost crab burrows, and habitat quality. We used an urbanization index to measure the level of human impact. Sandy beach ecosystems are ecologically and economically important, yet they face immense pressure from increasing human activity^1,2. Protecting these ecosystems is critical yet challenging due to their large size, but we can evaluate their health and the extent of human impact using a bioindicator species. We used the Atlantic ghost …

Arid1a Knockout: A Catalyst For Osteosarcoma Progression, Alma Taggart, Peyton Worley, Heinen Louis, Emilee Nielson, Jared Barrott

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2025

Osteosarcoma (OS) is a rare form of bone cancer, with high mortality rates in children and young adults. Current OS research has been limited by a lack of mouse models that accurately represent the metastatic and chemoresistant nature of this cancer. Furthermore, by focusing on patient-derived xenograft models it limits the applications of novel immunotherapies because these mouse models lack a competent immune system. By knocking out Arid1a, we generated a mouse model that more accurately reflects the aggressive nature of the tumor with 100% penetrance of tumorigenesis and 41% penetrance of metastasis, while maintaining a competent immune system. This …

Acee And Pflb: Interference In Oxygen Independent Or Dependent Metabolic Pathways Affect Virulence Of P. Carotovorum, Ethan Shreeve, Foxx Naylor, Jeffrey Schachterle

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2025

Pectobacterium carotovorum is a plant-pathogenic bacterium, causing soft rot diseases in vegetables such as potatoes and carrots. Mainly, this is achieved by the production of plant cell walldegrading enzymes, allowing for invasion of host cells. The general mechanisms underlying the pathogenicity of P. carotovorum are well characterized, but the phenotypic effects of some core metabolic processes are not. An important part of metabolism in bacteria is pyruvate production and utilization as a metabolic intermediate. P. carotovorum has two critical genes— pflB and aceE—that play roles in directing pyruvate metabolism. PflB encodes pyruvate formate-lyase, enabling the bacterium to convert pyruvate into …

Where The Green-To-Red Neurexin Grows: Analyzing Neurexin-3a Expressing Neurons Through Dendra2 Knock-Ins And Full Locus Deletion, Dillon J. Brown, Isaac E. Greenwood, Annalie Martin, Arminda Suli Ph.D.

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2025

The optic tectum (OT) is a zebrafish midbrain structure homologous to the mammalian superior colliculus (SC). The OT facilitates integration of multisensory input and coordinates a corresponding involuntary response. Single-cell RNA sequencing data from our lab indicates the differential expression of the presynaptic cell adhesion protein - neurexin3a - within two cell populations (OT5 and OT8) of the zebrafish OT. The SC and neurexin3a have both been implicated in autism spectrum disorder (ASD), warranting, therefore, a further investigation. To visualize neurexin3a positive neurons in the OT, we are generating a transgenic zebrafish line that expresses the green-to-red photoconvertible protein Dendra2 …

Synthesis Of Gold Nanorods As Payloads For Antibody Drug Conjugates For Synovial Sarcoma, Melanie I'Anson-Holton, Andralyn Anmckell, John Hanosek, Jeffrey Okojie, Bridger Kearns, Jared Barrott

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2025

Antibody-drug conjugates (ADC) are burgeoning class of anti-cancer therapies. They rely on the specificity of antibodies to selectively deliver a cytotoxic payload to cancer cells expressing unique antigens. To minimize the toxicity of these ADCs, we designed a multipronged application with two separate components that by themselves are harmless, but when combined result in thermal toxicity to the tumor cells. Gold nanoparticles as the payload was one component and a near IR laser was the other. Gold nanoparticles are innocuous and exhibit localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR). The LSPR of gold nanoparticles allows them to absorb photons at certain wavelengths, …

Those Dam Fish: Morphological Response In Two Riverine Fish Species Following Dam Construction, Leah Stimpson, Austin Rejcek, Mark C. Belk

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2025

Flow regime is a known predictor of fish shape¹. Conspecific populations living in distinct flow environments often exhibit different morphologies.

Dams present a unique opportunity to observe a dramatically transformed flow regime. Fish populations that once occupied a fast-flowing habitat suddenly live in an artificial reservoir.

The Parana Basin in southern Brazil boasts some of the greatest fish diversity in the world. The biological implications of hydroelectric dam construction along its major rivers must be studied.

Previous literature has been limited to a single species or ecological niche².

➢ Our objective was to describe what morphological …

Rehydration Of Cadaveric Tissue: A Comparative Analysis, Zach Leonard, Emma Anderson, Jason Adams Phd

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2025

Rehydration solutions contain a variety of different chemicals which help keep cadaveric tissue moist and well preserved. Previously, we have identified that ethylene glycol, glycerol, and propylene glycol are all effective humectants that allow cadaveric specimens to retain moisture. Additionally, a mixture of sodium carbonate, ethanol, and formalin, had favorable results in limited study. With this knowledge, we tested and compared the effectiveness of these solutions at rehydrating dried human tissues. In doing this, we have created a tissue library, providing an evidence-based standard for rehydrating solutions to allow for the rehydration of dried specimens in anatomy labs.

Neuroimmune Effects Of Methamphetamine And Ethanol In The Nucleus Accumbens, Brayden Parker, Derek Langford, Channing Syme, Chris Galbraith, Savannah Evans, Matthew Burris, Jordan T. Yorgason

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2025

• Microglia are the innate immune cells of the brain and change morphology with activation, with increased ameoboid morphology with increased immune activation.
• Microglia release and clear reactive oxygen species (ROS)
• ATP is a known chemoattractant to microglia and is released at dopamine terminals in the nucleus accumbens (NAc), which is a reward center of the brain
• Methamphetamine (Meth) is a psychostimulant drug that decreases dopamine clearance and increases ROS

Methamphetamine And Ros Effects On Dopamine And Atp Release, Tyler Love, Jordan T. Yorgason, Taylor Rose, Hillary Wadsworth, Lydia Hawley, Lauren Ford, Sara Linderman, Nathan Sheets

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2025

The Nucleus Accumbens is a reward center of the brain that receives dopamine projections from the Ventral Tegmental Area

Methamphetamine (Meth) is a psychostimulant drug that decreases dopamine clearance and increases Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS)

Meth is known to increase dopamine release in-vivo through ROS

Glucose Oxidase increases ROS

Mechanism Of Copper-Coated Cicnt Inhibition Of Staphylococcus Aureus Biofilm Formation, Emilia Gregory, Lucy Bowden, Bradford Berges

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2025

Staphylococcus aureus is a leading cause of healthcare-associated infections, particularly through biofilm formation on medical devices, leading to severe and recurrent complications¹. The resistance of S. aureus biofilms to traditional antibiotics requires new strategies to mitigate these infections. Our previous findings indicate that the anti-biofilm properties of carbon-infiltrated carbon nanotubes (CICNT) significantly inhibit the growth of S. aureus biofilms². We will further explore if copper, an innately antimicrobial material, will enhance this effect.

To determine the impact that copper would have on bacterial growth, we coated the CICNT with a thin layer of copper and used …