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2026 Lynn University Commencement Program, Lynn University

Commencement Programs

The commencement exercises program for Lynn University's class of 2025. The ceremony, held on Saturday, May 16, 2026 at the Palm Beach Convention Center, included all graduating students (undergraduates and graduates).

The commencement speaker was was Bruce J. Himelstein, former Chief Sales & Marketing Officer of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company and Loews Hotels.

Developing A Durable, Memory-Driven, Cspz-Targeting Lyme Disease Vaccine By Rationale Adjuvant Selection\, Miranda Mccarty, Sergio A Hernández, Jill Malfetano, Ana Carolina Leão, Maria Jose Villar, Xiuli Yang, Yi-Lin Chen, Jungsoon Lee, Zhuyun Liu, Ulrich Strych, Maria Elena Bottazzi, Utpal Pal, Klemen Strle, Wen-Hsiang Chen, Yi-Pin Lin

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Rational adjuvant selection is a systematic approach based on adjuvant-mediated immunomodulation to identify safe vaccine regimens that enhance protective immunity. Transmitted through ticks and caused by the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi (Bb), Lyme disease (LD) is the most common vector-borne disease in the Northern hemisphere. There are no approved human vaccines, making it suitable for testing the concept of rational adjuvant selection. Here, we formulated our previously developed and effective LD vaccine antigen, CspZ-YAC187S, with different adjuvants suitable for human use; we analyzed the immune response by transcriptomics and tested the vaccine efficacy after Bb infection. We identified Alum-CpG and Alum-αGal …

Development And Preliminary Effectiveness Of Sel-Based Puzzle Media For Improving Emotional Regulation In Second-Grade Elementary Students, Kun Widya Nurfiani, Diana Septi Purnama

Jurnal Pendidikan: Teori, Penelitian, dan Pengembangan

This study developed and evaluated the feasibility, practicality, and preliminary effectiveness of the Social Emotional Learning (SEL)-based Puzzle Expression Emotion media to improve emotional regulation among second-grade elementary school students. The study used a Research and Development design following the ADDIE model. Feasibility was assessed by subject-matter and media experts, practicality by classroom teachers, and preliminary effectiveness through a one-group pretest-posttest field trial involving 51 students from two public elementary schools in Surakarta. Data were collected through interviews, observations, validation sheets, practicality questionnaires, and an emotional regulation instrument. Quantitative data were analyzed descriptively, followed by a paired-sample t-test and N-gain …

Behind The Scores: How Federal Education Legislation Influenced Dayton Public Schools’ Special Education System For Students Of Color, Simran Kaur

Aurora

This paper analyzes the district special education system of Dayton Public Schools’ through federal legislation requirements and state-reported data to evaluate access, implementation, and equity. Findings show that while the district meets several procedural requirements at federal levels, students with disabilities (especially Black students) face limited access to general education environments, family engagement, and disability identification at a local level. Risk ratios reveal subjective disability categories, which is contributing to the district’s low Achievement Gap Closing rate through the state-wide report card.

Birth Control Use Alters Memory For A Stressful Experience, Julia N. Gross, Kristie Payment, Boyd R. Rorabaugh, Phillip R. Zoladz

Aurora

Hormonal birth control methods are widely used; however, some users suffer considerable side effects. Previous research suggests oral contraceptive users exhibit a blunted cortisol response to psychosocial stressors and alterations in emotional memory, including differential recall of emotional images and details of emotional stories. However, no studies have examined how birth control influences memory for a stressful experience.

The present study analyzes data previously collected from female undergraduate students. In this study, participants reported contraceptive use, then underwent a modified version of the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) or the friendly-TSST (f-TSST). The TSST required participants to deliver a ten-minute, …

Understanding Counselor Burnout From An Ecological Systems Perspective, Stephanie Thorson-Olesen, Lisa Belknap, Emily Velidow, Jessica Gaul, Phoenix Rosewood, Nayara Aparecida Da Costa Silva Beall

Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

Using Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory as a guiding framework, this study explored the experiences of licensed counselors who self-identified as having recovered from burnout. Burnout was conceptualized as a prolonged response to chronic occupational stress, while participants were invited to describe their experiences based on their own lived understandings of the phenomenon. A qualitative thematic analysis was conducted using data collected through an anonymous online survey featuring open-ended prompts. Participants included 32 licensed counselors who graduated from CACREP-accredited programs and reported previously experiencing burnout and no longer identifying as currently burned out. Thematic analysis yielded nine interrelated themes encompassing contributors, …

Navigating The Intersection Of Artificial Intelligence And Counseling: Implications For Counselor Identity, Ethics, And Counselor Education, Anabel Mifsud, Barbara Herlihy

Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

This article examines the ethical, professional identity, and counselor education implications of integrating artificial intelligence (AI) into counseling practice. As AI use expands in mental health care, it offers opportunities to enhance accessibility and efficiency while raising complex ethical concerns regarding competence, accountability, transparency, confidentiality, equity, and preservation of the therapeutic relationship. The authors explore how AI may reshape counselor roles and professional identity, underscoring the need to safeguard core values and the relational foundation of counseling. Recommendations are offered for adapting counselor education to prepare future practitioners for AI-augmented practice. The authors call for sustained, critical dialogue to ensure …

Everything I Do Not Understand, James Croal Jackson

Studio One

No abstract provided.

Studio One Volume 50, Studio1 Literary Club

Studio One

No abstract provided.

Electrode Coating Methods For Water Treatment: A Comprehensive Review And Comparative Analysis, Noor H. Hamza, Zainab Y. Shnain, Mohammad F. Abid, Ali A. Yahya

Engineering and Technology Journal

Electrochemical water treatment technologies have emerged as highly efficient strategies for environmental remediation, yet their large-scale implementation remains constrained by electrode performance and longevity. The fabrication of dimensionally stable anodes (DSAs) through precise coating methodologies critically determines their electrocatalytic activity, cost-effectiveness, and operational stability. This review systematically evaluates and compares eleven major electrode coating techniques, bridging the knowledge gap between fundamental material science and practical engineering applications. The study critically analyzes the underlying mechanisms, strengths, and inherent limitations of vapor-phase methods (CVD and ALD), solution-based processes (sol-gel, co-precipitation, solvothermal), electrochemical techniques (electrodeposition and electroless plating), thermal decomposition, and mechanical approaches …

Enacting Leadership And Transforming The World: Hannah Arendt, The Private, The Public, And Transfigurations In Between, Xochitl Mendez

Educational Studies Dissertations

In this dissertation I propose a framework that emphasizes transitions between Private and Public. I argue that individuals can consciously reshape and reformulate these transitions to assert themselves in the world. How can the individual’s own internal realities, ventures, projects and selfhood assert themselves in a fraught world as an act of self-affirmation, leadership, and transformation? New approaches to this question can all be revealed by using transitions between Private and Public as actionable strategies. I re-interpret Hannah Arendt’s Private and Public as she presented them in The Human Condition (1958). I turn these into multivalent and multilayered spaces of …

Influence Of The Discipline Of Authentic Movement Practice On Interpersonal Relationships, Joy Ruben Welts

Educational Studies Dissertations

This mixed methods study explored how practicing the Discipline of Authentic Movement impacts relationships. This research was conducted to fill in the gaps around attunement and use of the Discipline of Authentic Movement as an intervention to support healthy relationships. Five self-selected adults met on Saturday afternoons for eight weeks to practice the Discipline of Authentic Movement. They completed a pre and post Revised Adult Attachment Scale and reflected weekly on their experience through journaling. Participants reported that it was the structure of the Discipline of Authentic Movement that allowed them to feel more comfortable being themselves with others. The …

Western Watersheds Project V. Schultz, Cv 22-149-M-Dlc-Kld, 2025 Lx 449507, 2025 Wl 2410283 (D. Mont. Mar. 27, 2025), Luke A. Zagar

Public Land & Resources Law Review

Western Watersheds Project v. Schultz delineates what the Forest Service is required to consider for revising Allotment Management Plans as prescribed by NEPA. Environmental plaintiffs sued, arguing that the Forest Service’s reliance on an older baseline assessment was arbitrary and capricious and that the revised AMP failed to consider major impacts on the grizzly bear population. The District of Montana held that the reliance on an older baseline assessment was acceptable but simultaneously found the AMP to be arbitrary and capricious under the “hard look” standard.

Unleashing Consultation: Tohono O’Odham Nation V. Department Of Interior And The Case For Reforming The National Historic Preservation Act, Elizabeth Tobey

Public Land & Resources Law Review

The Ninth Circuit’s 2025 decision in Tohono O’odham Nation v. Department of Interior highlights an ongoing failure by federal land management agencies to consult meaningfully with tribal nations as mandated by the 1966 National Historic Preservation Act. This article argues that the NHPA’s framework for tribal consultation enables federal land management agencies to sidestep meaningful engagement with tribes, undermining both cultural resource protection and the federal Indian trust responsibility. To address these deficiencies—particularly in the context of renewable energy development on federal public lands, directly at issue in Tohono O’odham Nation—this article proposes amendments to the NHPA informed by …

Short-Term Legume Cover Crops Following Maize Only Marginally Impact Winter Cereals Under Conservation Tillage Management, Arun D. Jani, John E. Erickson, Ramon G. Leon, C. Wesley Wood, Diane Rowland, Heather A. Enloe, Michael J. Mulvaney

Biology, Agriculture and Chemistry Faculty Publications and Presentations

Context: Warm-season legume cover crops in subtropical environments provide many agroecosystem services but have not been widely adopted because their use usually entails replacing cash crops. Planting short-term legume cover crops following maize (Zea mays L.) to replenish soil nitrogen (N) pools for cool-season cash crops, such as wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), is an innovative approach for integrating legumes into subtropical cereal cropping systems that has not been widely investigated.

Objectives: A maize – legume cover crop – wheat cropping sequence under conservation tillage management was investigated with the following objectives: 1. Evaluate the performance of short-term cowpea [Vigna unguiculata …

Harnessing Mechanobiology Of Resident Stem Cells To Refine Cell Based Therapeutics, Dakota R. Kamm

WUSM Theses and Dissertations – All Programs

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are resident cells residing with many adult tissues such as adipose tissue and bone marrow that have the potency for multiple lineage differentiation as well as the capacity to secrete a litany of beneficial factors to maintain homeostasis and promote tissue repair. Since 1995, MSCs have been used therapeutically to treat a variety of conditions from osteoarthritis to heart disease to muscle pathologies. Great leaps have been made in improving MSC-based therapies through optimization of culture methods and select enrichment of cellular subpopulations. More recently, the physical microenvironment of tissue in vivo and culture conditions in …

Improving The Assessment And Treatment Of People With Low Back Pain, Kayla Krueger

WUSM Theses and Dissertations – All Programs

Low back pain (LBP) is a significant and continually growing public health problem. While some people recover from an initial episode, a proportion will develop chronic or recurrent LBP that limits their ability to perform daily functional activities. The variable and often function-limiting course of LBP underscores the clear need for improved methods of assessment and treatment. One way to improve the assessment and treatment of LBP is to develop a more comprehensive understanding of factors that contribute to LBP. In this dissertation, we investigated two categories of factors that may contribute to a person’s LBP: (1) spinal movement impairments …

Sing Without Even Light - How The Arts Inform And Enhance Learning, Creativity, Imagination, And Wellbeing In Elementary Classrooms In Kajiado, Kenya: Discovering Creative Confidence, Lindsay L. Stewart

Educational Studies Dissertations

Creativity and imagination can be felt, described, seen, and measured. In this study, this is achieved through a reflective process and awareness of creative practice and its potential. The process can aid and increase understanding of self, cognitive and creative process, social-emotional interactions, agency, and action, and reveals an individual’s developmental level of creative confidence.

A gap exists in student and teacher voice regarding their creative awareness and confidence. This study reveals how 29 children ages 8-15 and 14 teachers from Kajiado, Kenya, describe creativity and imagination, supporting both learning and wellbeing.

The study applies an Arts-Based Research approach, primarily …

Nurtured Meaning: A Hermeneutic Phenomenological Study Of The Tree Of Life In Contemporary Women's Art, Christina A. Defilipp

Educational Studies Dissertations

The Tree of Life has historically flourished across cultures as an archetypal image of interconnection, regeneration, and continuity. In the Anthropocene, however, its symbolic vitality is reframed by the realities of environmental crisis. This study investigates how contemporary women artists across the globe sustain and reinterpret the Tree of Life’s meaning to express themes of ecological, spiritual, and cultural relevance. Employing a qualitative design grounded in hermeneutic phenomenology, the study analyzes publicly available artworks and published reflections, including interviews, catalog essays, and artist statements. A purposive sample of twenty women artists from diverse cultural traditions forms the dataset, each represented …

Oxidized Lipids Are Inflammatory Danger Signals. The Hydrolytic Enzyme Carboxylesterase 1 Regulates Their Metabolic Fate, Thereby Shaping Macrophage Phenotype., Oluwabori Adekanye

Theses and Dissertations

Macrophages originate from hematopoietic progenitors they are immune cells, part of innate immunity. They patrol tissues to identify damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) and pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) from microorganisms. Macrophage pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) detect these signals, and respond by secreting lipid mediators, cytokines, and chemokines, thereby initiating the inflammatory response. Carboxylesterases (CES) belong to the α/β-hydrolase fold family of proteins and catalyze the hydrolysis of ester-containing substrates into alcohols and carboxylic acids. CES1 is one of the six CES identified in the human genome. They are localized in the endoplasmic reticulum lumen and cytosol of cells, primarily expressed in …

Improving Durability And Structural Integrity Of Southern Pine And Sweetgum Through Fabrication, Treatment, And Mechanical Testing., Ershad Ahmmed

Theses and Dissertations

This research integrates material modification, preservative performance, and engineered fabrication to enhance the long-term durability and structural reliability of southern pine and sweetgum for outdoor and structural applications. The first project investigates the effects of simulated checks and splits on the strength and stiffness of southern pine fence posts. By introducing controlled defects and conducting mechanical testing, the study quantifies reductions in load-carrying capacity and evaluates how defect severity influences structural performance. The results provide insight into service life prediction and grading considerations for in-ground applications. The second project evaluates water ingress behavior in creosote-treated sweetgum using wetting angle measurements …

Characterization Of Water Quality In The Mississippi Sound Using In-Situ And Satellite Observations, William Elliott Butler

Theses and Dissertations

The Mississippi Sound is a highly productive estuary facing increasing pressures from natural disasters, oil spills, freshwater inflows, and coastal urbanization, yet it remains insufficiently monitored. In this study, key water quality parameters were quantified at 25 stations across the Mississippi Sound from 2024-2025 and integrated with Sentinel-3 satellite imagery retrievals to generate monthly turbidity maps from 2016-2025. Peak turbidity (~10 FNU) and TSS (~20 mg/L), reduced Secchi depth (~100 cm) and conductivity (~20,000 μS/cm), were observed from late winter to early summer; these conditions varied in fall and early spring. Colored dissolved organic matter was moderate, while chlorophyll-a and …

Assessment Of Local Ecological Knowledge, Oyster Predation, And Habitat Function To Improve Management Of Nearshore Habitats, Cynthia Evelyn Marie Lupton

Theses and Dissertations

Coastal ecosystems along the northern Gulf of Mexico are ecologically and economically vital yet increasingly threatened by environmental change, habitat degradation, and knowledge gaps that complicate restoration and management efforts. This dissertation integrates social and ecological approaches to improve understanding of predator dynamics, stakeholder perceptions, and habitat function related to nearshore habitats. Thereby, providing information that can inform adaptive management and restoration in the region through addressing three overarching objectives: 1) evaluate stakeholder perceptions of oyster (Crassostrea virginica) predation and management practices; 2) quantify environmental and habitat factors influencing oyster drill (Stramonita haemastoma complex) abundance; and, 3) assess the influence …

Reproductive Genetics Of Caenorhabditis Nematodes, Dharani U. Matharage

Theses and Dissertations

Variation in reproductive traits and genome evolution reflects the interaction between selection, environment, and life-history. In the genus Caenorhabditis, recombination rate and sperm size exhibit a striking variation between strains and species. Here, Iintegrate three projects investigating recombination rate variation and recombination plasticity in C. elegans and sperm size divergence across Caenorhabditis species. First, I quantify recombination rates in two genetically distinct strains, N2 and CB4856, with different levels of laboratory adaptation using fluorescent markers spanning across gene-rich and gene-poor regions of the chromosome IV. I identify significant differences in recombination rate between the two strains within both gene-rich and …

Development And Evaluation Of A Closed-Loop Controlled Ugv With Rtk-Gps Navigation For Plastic Contamination Removal From Cotton Fields, Asifur Rahman

Theses and Dissertations

Plastic contamination in cotton reduces fiber quality, causing an estimated $600 to $750 losses annually for the U.S. cotton industry. This work developed an RTK-GNSS-based UGV navigation for a collaborative UAV-UGV plastic retrieval system. An Amiga rover was adopted and modified, and a closed-loop PD steering control based on cross-track and heading error was developed and deployed in it. The first set of tests was conducted on a 111 m A-B line on a flat lane based on ASABE/ISO 12188-2 guidelines, then repeated in a cotton field. The P50 and P95, and max cross-track errors were about 1, 5, and …

Review Of Sustainable Development In The Baked Food Industry : Innovations From Raw Materials, Processing To Packaging, Wang Yujia, Ma Shunzhang, Feng Muyu, Hou Dianzhi, Zhou Sumei

Food and Machinery

From the orientation of the global baked food industry toward health and sustainable development in recent years, this paper systematically reviews the innovations and progress across three core dimensions: raw material substitution, process optimization, and packaging improvement. First, regarding raw materials, conventional wheat flour is replaced with ingredients such as whole-grain flours and plant-based food by-products. Natural functional additives and novel protein sources (e.g., plant proteins, insect proteins, and microbial proteins) are developed to enhance the nutritional and health value of products and realize the efficient utilization of resources. Second, in the core process, techniques such as dough mixing, fermentation, …

Research Progress On Strain Identification And Wall-Breaking Technologies Of Wall-Broken Ganoderma Lucidum Spore Powder And Its Industrial Prospects, Han Lingxian, Liang Zengenni, Ji Hainan, Zhao Chan, Zhang Mengling

Food and Machinery

Ganoderma lucidum spore powder consists of reproductive cells released during the mature stage of the fungus and concentrates the core nutrients and bioactive components of Ganoderma lucidum. Recent advances in the field of wall-broken Ganoderma lucidum spore powder were systematically summarized, with a focus on four core directions: the permitted scope and identification techniques of Ganoderma strains for health foods, optimization of wall-breaking processes and quality control, safety evaluation, and functions and mechanisms. Combined with policy orientation and market demand, future development suggestions were proposed, including strengthening strain management at the source, establishing a full-chain quality system, deepening mechanism research, …

Analysis Of Composition Variation In Ginseng With Different Fruit Colors Using Desorption Electrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometry Imaging Technology, Han Lusheng, Wang Yudan, Li Genyue, Yang Kaili, Wang Enpeng

Food and Machinery

[Objective] To investigate the differences between red-fruit and yellow-fruit ginseng from the perspective of compositional tissue distribution using mass spectrometry imaging technology. [Methods] Desorption electrospray ionization mass spectrometry imaging (DESI-MSI) is employed to visually characterize saponin components in fresh ginseng tissues with two distinct fruit colors. Additionally, the total saponin, total flavonoid, and total polysaccharide content in the samples are quantitatively determined. [Results] Under the condition of mass spectral errors below 15 mg/kg, a total of 14 saponin components, including malonylated ginsenosides such as mRb 1, are identified. Significant spatial distribution differences in saponins are observed across tissues within the …

Purification, Enzymatic Properties, And Stabilizer Screening Of Acid Protease From Trichoderma Reesei, Wu Yao, Yu Huashun, Chen Rui, Yang Zhaoshi, Li Ming, Gao Jie, Zhang Yan

Food and Machinery

[Objective] To purify and study the enzymatic properties of acid protease from the Trichoderma reesei strain, and to screen the stabilizer formula. [Methods] The acid protease is purified by ammonium sulfate precipitation, dialysis, and anion exchange column chromatography. Then, its molecular weight is determined by sodium dodecylsulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE), and its enzymatic properties are studied. Finally, the stabilizer formula of acid protease is optimized, with an investigation into its effect on acid protease storage stability. [Results] For the purified acid protease, its specific enzyme activity is 4 849 U/mg, purification fold is 3.28 times, and relative molecular weight is …

Screening And Identification Of Tannin-Degrading Strains And Analysis Of Their Probiotic Functional Characteristics, Duan Wenjing, Yu Chong, Tian Yuan, Zhang Shumei, Su Ting

Food and Machinery

[Objective] Microbial strains with tannin-degrading capabilities were screened from natural samples, and their probiotic properties were systematically evaluated. [Methods] Three Lactobacillus plantarum strains (Y1, Y20, Y22) and Meyerozyma caribbica Y3 exhibiting high tanninase activity are selected. Probiotic characteristics including growth characteristics, antioxidant capacity, bile salt tolerance, and cholesterol degradation efficiency are investigated. Safety profiles were determined through hemolytic activity assays and standard antibiotic susceptibility testing. [Results] The experimental data reveal that M.caribbica Y3 demonstrates remarkable antioxidant activities, with a superoxide anion scavenging rate of 95.25 % in cell supernatants and a hydroxyl radical scavenging rate of 63.43 % in extracts …