Digital Commons Network^™

“I Know A Place Where You Don’T Need Protection, Even If It’S Only In My Imagination:” 21st Century Queer Politics And Cultural Positions Through Pop Music, Abbey Coe

Dartmouth College Master’s Theses

From Madonna to Britney Spears to Beyoncé, women have dominated and defined pop music for decades. Pop music is a vital part of American culture; it is both shaped by and capable of shaping the broader sociopolitical landscape. Thus, women in pop can utilize the deep relationship between music and culture to convey a stance on the role of women in American society. However, queer women in pop music are somewhat scarce, even in 2024 when acceptance of queerness is relatively high. As such, the queer women and queer themes that are present in pop necessitate nuanced analysis to understand …

Autonomous Hydroponic System, Bella Wanebo, Ashley Oh, Jason Slifka

Mechanical Engineering Senior Theses

Hydroponics is a potentially useful farming technique for growing food in climates where it is difficult to naturally farm. However, hydroponic systems in harsh climates are usually very large and unable to be easily moved around. The design of a portable, enclosed hydroponic garden using the soilless Nutrient Film Technique (NFT) with a vertical configuration that can grow spinach in Antarctica will be discussed. It will have a reversible flow to evenly distribute nutrients to stacked rows of plants. A tradeoff analysis shows that 3D printing a custom T splitter is the best option for controlling the flow within the …

A Microgenetic Learning Analysis Of Contextuality In Reasoning About Exponential Modeling, Elahe Allahyari

Dissertations

This work explores the complex cognitive processes students engage in when addressing contextual tasks requiring linear and exponential models. Grounded within Piagetian constructivism and the Knowledge in Pieces (KiP) epistemological perspective (diSessa, 1993, 2018), this empirical study in a clinical setting develops a Microgenetic Learning Analysis (MLA) of the reasoning of 14 students from an Algebra II course. It reveals the critical role of cognitive disequilibrium as an essential cognitive state for conceptual development and the process of reorganizing knowledge systems. The study uncovers the fluctuations in students’ reasoning patterns and the significant impact on students’ reasoning patterns of task-specific …

Macroevolution Meets Community Ecology: Does Species Interaction Influence Tempo And Mode Of Diversification In Fishes That Cross The Marine/Freshwater Boundary?, Victor De Brito

Dissertations

Evolutionary transitions between marine and freshwater ecosystems are an extreme ecological shift and expose fish lineages to novel abiotic and biotic settings. Yet, it remains unclear how those habitat transitions and the interaction with the newly invaded communities have altered the macroevolutionary dynamics of fish clades. The theory of ecological opportunity predicts that lineages that colonize species-poor regions will have greater potential for phenotypic diversification and speciation than lineages invading species-rich regions. Thus, transitions between marine and freshwaters in depauperate regions may promote adaptive radiation. While most major fish clades are restricted to either marine or freshwaters, so called transmarine/ …

The Synthesis, Characterization, And Application Of Polysaccharide-Based Additive To Improve Wet And Dry Strength And High-Barrier Properties Of Paper Products, Cornellius Marcello

Dissertations

Paper products play an essential role in our daily lives owing to their low cost, environment-friendly character, renewability, and recyclability. Paper manufacturers have been using petroleum-based strength additives (cPAM, GPAM, PAE) to meet the perceived needs of customers. On the other hand, paper produced from cellulose is hydrophilic and porous, leading to shallow water and grease resistance, causing paper manufacturers to use many kinds of coating materials such as poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and synthetic plastic to improve water resistance, especially for food packaging paper products like cups, plates, food boxes, and packaging. However, PFAS are identified as likely carcinogenic to …

Panel Presentation, The Criminalization Of Trans Lives And Health Care: Provider And Patient Perspective, Dana N. Johns

Utah Law Review

Bans on gender affirming care are going to take a group of individuals who, as a whole, are already marginalized and already at risk. And then within that group, it’s going to segregate them even more because you’re going to have the people who can do that. You’re going to the families who can take their kids eight hours to another state. Then you’re going to the family that can’t because they can’t pay out of pocket, or they can’t take off work or they can’t make it to a state where their child can get care. These laws will …

Examining The Constitutionality Of Legislative Medical Care Bans For Transgender Youth, John Mejia

Utah Law Review

As should be abundantly clear by this Article, the stakes of bans on genderaffirming health care for transgender adolescents are existential. The recent flood of state-law bans is a low point in the ongoing fight to ensure that all people truly enjoy the liberties and protections guaranteed by our state and federal constitutions. Stories like Utah’s are more likely the rule, not the exception. Legislatures around the country are rushing to push through this legislation as quickly as possible, seemingly to catch their opponents off guard. The overwhelming majority of federal district courts to consider these laws find them repulsive …

Working Well With Statisticians, Ryan A. Peterson, Emily Slade, Gina Maria Pomann, Walter T. Ambrosius

Biostatistics Faculty Publications

Statistical collaboration requires statisticians to work and communicate effectively with nonstatisticians, which can be challenging for many reasons. To identify common themes and lessons for working smoothly with nonstatistician collaborators, two focus groups of primarily academic collaborative statisticians were held. We identified qualities of collaborations that tend to yield fruitful relationships and those that tend to yield nothing (or worse, with one or both parties being dissatisfied). The initial goal was to share helpful knowledge and individual experiences that can facilitate more successful collaborative relationships for statisticians who work within academic statistical collaboration units. These findings were used to design …

Exploiting Dna Damage Repair For The Treatment Of Pediatric Tumors That Arise In Fanconi Anemia, Laura M. Price

Dartmouth College Ph.D Dissertations

The overall survival rate of pediatric cancer has continued to increase with new advancements in the field, however, it remains suboptimal for individuals with childhood cancer predisposition syndromes, such as Fanconi anemia. Patients with Fanconi anemia often have limited therapeutic options due to their hypersensitivity to the effect of interstrand crosslinking agents. Furthermore, the patients who do successfully respond to their cancer treatment experience significant late effects and chronic health conditions due to the treatment’s toxicity. This suggests that more targeted therapeutics are necessary to treat pediatric cancer while minimizing the toxicity to surrounding healthy tissue. This thesis aims to …

Once, I Was Very Very Scared And More: An Exploration Into Depictions Of Interpersonal Trauma In Children's Literature, Emma K. Siepmann

University Honors Theses

This thesis examines the ways in which experiences of interpersonal trauma are depicted in English-language contemporary literature for elementary-aged children (6-11 years). A review of academic literature suggests that interpersonal trauma can have devastating and ongoing repercussions for individuals and their communities, although establishing a sense of relational safety can help mitigate these effects and facilitate healing after a traumatic experience. This research explores age-appropriate literature as a therapeutic tool for developing relational safety and providing critical skills to children at risk for and recovering from interpersonal trauma. This study analyzes the depictions of interpersonal trauma found in 11 picture …

Death With Dignity: Queer Representation In Deathcare Systems, Esmé Ringelstetter

University Honors Theses

This thesis examines the ways that elderly members of the LGBT community lack representation within deathcare systems. Currently, the LGBT community is vastly underrepresented in research relating to the dying process and deathcare. This lack of representation creates barriers for LGBT individuals at the end of their lives and creates difficult end-of-life experiences. I utilized previous research that studied how LGBT populations interact with and are treated by a variety of death care-related systems, including health systems, legal systems, and therapeutic systems. This research highlighted the need for the LGBT community to be better represented within both research relating to …

At The Intersection Of Domestic Violence And Mass Shootings: A Qualitative Analysis Of The Relationship Between Ipv And Gun Violence, Troy Bleau

University Honors Theses

The intersectional study of domestic violence and mass shootings has only recently been the subject of inquiry within the psychology field. Within the past ten years research has been developed to examine the relationship between these two epidemics. What authors have found is that DV does play a role in shooting perpetration. This study aimed to identify domestic violence as a risk factor to predict, and subsequently intervene before future instances of shootings. 112 shootings were analyzed between the years of 2020 and 2023--they were then categorized as DV-related, non-DV related, and/or History of DV. The tested hypothesis was that …

Development Of A Two-Photon Imaging System, Jesseca Hollenbaugh

University Honors Theses

The objective of this project was to convert a Sarastro 2000 confocal laser scanning microscope (CLSM) into a system capable of far-field two-photon excitation (TPE) imaging for the use of the PSU Biology department. TPE microscopy operates on the ability of fluorophores to accept two photons each with half the energy of a desired transition in a single quantum event via a virtual energy state and then emit a higher energy photon upon relaxation. This is preferable to single-photon excitation (SPE) imaging due to lower photon imaging, causing less damage to delicate biological samples, as well as the inherent localization …

Fatigue And Depressive Mood In Chronic Low Back Pain, Anitha Saravanan, Hl Matthews, D Tell, A Starkweather, L Janusek

Faculty Articles, Papers, and Other Scholarship

Purpose

Design and Methods

In Pipe Biofilm Removal System, Caroline White, Abe Muldrow, Jack Catalano, Brendan Thomas Palmer

Mechanical Engineering

In many drinking water systems, biological build-up can accumulate over time and create contamination resistant to traditional chemical flushing techniques, thus creating systems that must be flushed constantly to be considered safe. The team analyzed how this biological build up occurs, the current methods of removal, and thought about different ways to remove this ENGR 459-03 7 biological buildup without further damaging the health of the water system. To do this, we preformed extensive academic research about how biofilm builds up in water systems, examined any existing products that remove containments from water systems, and developed a solution capable of …

What About Us? How Law Schools Can Help Historically Underrepresented Law Students Develop Their Professional Identities, David A. Grenardo

Mercer Law Review

Talking about race, gender, and sexual orientation can be painful, messy, and difficult. This country’s history of discrimination and violence against historically underrepresented, marginalized, excluded individuals—racial and ethnic minorities, women, LGBTQIA+, those living with disabilities, the socioeconomically disadvantaged/lower class—makes these topics fraught with controversy and risk. We can easily offend someone accidentally when we try to address these topics even with the best of intentions. For example, some people may get nervous trying to figure out whether to use the words African-American, Black, BIPOC, person of color, or all of the above when discussing these topics and referring to someone …

Acoustic Activation Imaging With Intravenous Perfluoropropane Nanodroplets Results In Selective Bioactivation Of The Risk Area, S. Li, C. Chen, J. Lof, E. A. Stolze, J. Sklenar, X. Chen, J. J. Pacella, F. S. Villanueva, T. O. Matsunaga, E. Carr Everbach, S. J. Radio, S. N. Westphal, S. Shiva, F. Xie, X. Leng, T. R. Porter

Engineering Faculty Works

Background: Acoustically activatable perfluoropropane droplets (PD) can be formulated from commercially available microbubble preparations. Diagnostic transthoracic ultrasound frequencies have resulted in acoustic activation (AA) predominately within myocardial infarct zones (IZ). Objective: We hypothesized that the AA area following acute coronary ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) would selectively enhance the developing scar zone, and target bioeffects specifically to this region. Methods: We administered intravenous PD in 36 rats and 20 pigs at various stages of myocardial scar formation (30 minutes, 1 day, and 7 days post I/R) to determine what effect infarct age had on the AA within the IZ. This was correlated with …

3d Bioprinting The Tumor Microenvironment For Immunotherapy Development, Molly Leyda, Tykeem Manor, John Szarejko, Douglas Myers, John M. Perry

Posters

The tumor microenvironment (TME) is a complex system that plays a crucial role in tumor progression, immune evasion, and therapy resistance. The TME is composed of various cell types, including tumor cells, stromal cells, and immune cells such as macrophages. Macrophages are versatile myeloid cells which can exhibit both pro-tumoral and anti-tumoral functions, depending on their phenotype and the TME context. M1 macrophages have demonstrated promising pro-inflammatory and anti-tumor effects, while tumor associated M2 macrophages (TAMs) play an anti-inflammatory role and promote tumor immune escape. Understanding the complex interactions between TAMs and the TME is, therefore, essential for developing effective …

Predictive Capacity Of Immune-Related Adverse Events And Cytokine Profiling In Neoadjuvant Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor Trials For Head And Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma, Angela Alnemri, Sruti Tekumalla, Annie Moroco, Ioannis Vathiotis, Madalina Tuluc, Stacey Gargano, Tingting Zhan, David Cognetti, Joseph Curry, Athanassios Argiris, Alban Linnenbach, Andrew South, Larry Harshyne, Jennifer Johnson, Adam Luginbuhl

Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery Faculty Papers

OBJECTIVES: Certain low-level immune-related adverse events (irAEs) have been associated with survival benefits in patients with various solid tumors on immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs). We aimed to investigate the association between irAEs and response to neoadjuvant ICIs in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) and to identify differences in circulating cytokine levels based on irAE status.

METHODS: This was a retrospective cohort study including three neoadjuvant clinical trials from July 2017 to January 2022: NCT03238365 (nivolumab ± tadalafil), NCT03854032 (nivolumab ± BMS986205), NCT03618654 (durvalumab ± metformin). The presence and type of irAEs, pathologic treatment response, and survival …

A User-Centric Continuous Authentication Modality Evaluation And Selection Scheme, Bharath R. Senthilkumar

Master's Theses

One of one-time authentication’s most prominent vulnerabilities is the possibility of lunchtime attacks. In such scenarios, an adversary could exploit an unattended device with an active session and no measures are taken to prevent them from committing malicious acts. To address this issue, continuous authentication is utilized by continuously verifying whether an individual is a device’s rightful owner through various modalities, with data sourced from sensors. In the current body of research within this rising domain, various single-modal and multi-modal continuous authentication systems exist, that focus on employing unique combinations of modalities and improving existing supervised learning models used to …

Modeling The Effectiveness Of Bioremediation On Methyl Tertiary-Butyl Ether In Groundwater, Logan Bundy

Master's Theses

Methyl tertiary-butyl ether (MTBE) and its degraded form tertiary-butyl alcohol (TBA) are both known carcinogens that have contaminated groundwater aquifers across the United States. MTBE is a synthesized compound, once widely used as an additive in gasoline to increase oxygenation. Because of its popularity, MTBE was released into the environment primarily through fuel combustion and leaking underground storage tanks. These two compounds are known to be recalcitrant to most conventional physico-chemical treatment methods. Previous studies have suggested that bioremediation is effective at degrading MTBE and TBA in contaminated groundwater. Bioremediation involves the injection of oxygen, nutrients, and pre-adapted bacterial cultures …

Kartu Prakerja Program And Youth Employment: Gender-Specific Outcomes In Indonesia, Rizki Tri Anggara

Economics and Finance in Indonesia

The Kartu Prakerja Program is a form of the active labor market policy in Indonesia, serving as a significant initiative to enhance competencies and job opportunities, including for vulnerable groups such as the young and female labor force. This study aims to analyze the program’s impact on youth employment, with a focus on gender differences. Using Propensity Score Matching (PSM), the results show a significant positive effect on employment probability, particularly for women. The findings suggest that skills training and financial incentives play a crucial role in enhancing employability. The study recommends expanding program access to vulnerable groups and continuously …

Age-Dependent Dynamics Of Breast Cancer Driven By Mutant P53: Insight From A Mouse Model, Jyotsna Devi Godavarthi

Dissertations (2016-Present)

Breast cancer (BC) incidence increases with age, and a substantial proportion of aggressive forms of BC are observed in older women. The mechanisms underlying BC's age dependence remain unclear. Genetic alterations in BC most frequently occur in the tumor suppressor gene p53, with most mutations occurring somatically at arginine (R) 248 to tryptophan (W) or glutamine (Q) (R248W/Q in humans, corresponding to R245W/Q in mice) mutation. Previously, a conditional mouse p53wmR245W allele was generated. It allowed inducing p53R245W mutant in the mammary epithelium of the p53wmR245W/+ mice by delivering adenovirus expressing Cre (Ad-Cre) into the mammary ducts, …

Rates Of Urinary Tract Infection In Transgender Women Postvaginoplasty Vs Cisgender Women: A Retrospective Cohort Study In A Large Us Health Network, David Gilbert, Aishwarya Gautam, Tomasz Tabernacki, Megan Mcnamara, Rachel Pope, Shubham Gupta, Kirtishri Mishra

Student Scholarship

Objective: To describe urinary tract infection (UTI) risk 3-month postvaginoplasty (VP) in transgender women (TW) compared to cis women (CW). Methods: Using TriNetX (TriNetX, Inc, Cambridge, MA), we built cohorts of 2041 TW and 48,374,745 CW. Outcomes were ≥1 instance of UTI or Cystitis, and assessed from 3-6, 3-12, 3-36 months, and 3 months-10 years post-VP. TW and CW were age-cohorted (18-39, 40-59, 60-74) and compared at each time interval. Kaplan-Meier was used to account for loss to follow-up, along with hazard ratios and log-rank tests to determine significance (P <.05). Results: For all time intervals and age ranges, TW had a significantly (P <.0001-P = .0088) higher probability of developing a UTI compared to CW. The largest difference was ages 40-59 ten-year post-VP. In this analysis, CW and TW had a 12.96% and 29.34% cumulative outcome incidence, respectively. Cox proportional hazard analysis demonstrated increased hazard for TW compared to CW. Hazard ratios between CW and TW ranged from 1.363 (ages 18-39 at 10 years, 95%CI: 1.119,1.660) to 3.522 (ages 60-74 at 12 months, 95%CI: 1.951,6.360). Conclusion: We found a significantly higher probability of TW developing UTIs compared to age-cohorted CW. Contributing factors may include difficulties with neovaginal perineal hygiene, lack of commensal bacteria and vaginal mucosa, larger urethral meatus, high rates of meatal stenosis, and nonnative bacteria introduced through dilators and douching. These findings may help improve quality of postoperative care in TW.

How Will Climate Change-Induced Increases In Wildfire Frequency Affect Soil Bacterial Communities?, Bahar Saadaie Saadaie Jahromi

Masters Theses

In the face of global climate change, wildfires are expected to become more common, significantly impacting soil bacterial communities. This research investigates how increased fire frequency (shorter fire return intervals) affects these communities and whether impacts depend on the aboveground tree species. Soil samples were collected in 2022 from under four tree species, Populus grandidentata, Acer rubrum, Quercus rubra, and Pinus strobus, across plots that experienced fire in 1998, 1980, 1948, and 1911, with additional samples from 2017 burn plot that did not yet have trees growing. Soil moisture, temperature, pH, total carbon and nitrogen contents, and the C:N ratio …

Manywheres: In Pursuit Of Social Justice In Developmental Science, Gabriel M. Velez, Séamus A. Power

College of Education Faculty Research and Publications

In this article, we articulate an innovative framework, manywheres, and argue that it can advance the work of fostering youth-led change and progressive world-making. We first root psychological and development science in an applied framework of developing more just, harmonious, and tolerant social worlds. Then, we introduce manywheres, a guiding framework of propositions of attending to the complexity and nuance of meaning-making across individuals without becoming lost in nihilism, relativism, or ethnocentric views of social justice. This leads to the construction of a more holistic developmental lens considering the age-related, contextual, and internal factors that shape meaning-making individual …

The Unexpected Influence Of Legacy Conspecific Density Dependence, Lukas J. Magee, Joseph A. Lamanna, Amy T. Wolf, Robert W. Howe, Yuanming Lu, Denis Valle, Daniel J. B. Smith, Robert Bagchi, David Bauman, Daniel J. Johnson

Biological Sciences Faculty Research and Publications

When plants die, neighbours escape competition. Living conspecifics could disproportionately benefit because they are freed from negative intraspecific processes; however, if the negative effects of past conspecific neighbours persist, other species might be advantaged, and diversity might be maintained through legacy effects. We examined legacy effects in a mapped forest by modelling the survival of 37,212 trees of 23 species using four neighbourhood properties: living conspecific, living heterospecific, legacy conspecific (dead conspecifics) and legacy heterospecific densities. Legacy conspecific effects proved nearly four times stronger than living conspecific effects; changes in annual survival associated with legacy conspecific density were 1.5% greater …

Modeling Blue Mondays: A Preclinical Evaluation Of 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine Binge Dosing On Responding Maintained By A Progressive Ratio Schedule Of Food Reinforcement In Male Sprague-Dawley Rats, Candace Brenda Johnson

Dissertations

3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) has been abused recreationally in the rave scene for decades. As pharmacotherapy research has progressed to develop alternative medications to treat trauma-related psychiatric symptoms, MDMA has become a prime candidate for medication-assisted psychotherapy in the treatment of PTSD and will soon be FDA approved for medicinal use. Despite convincing evidence for favorable clinical outcomes, this substance has been known to contribute to acute depressive states following excessive use. The sharp decrease in mood and cognitive impairment following MDMA use is colloquially termed Blue Mondays. Measuring lack of motivation or more broadly anhedonia through withdrawal of acute and chronic …

Dean's Update, June 2024, Neil W. Schluger

SOM Dean's Research Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Scientific Context, Suicide Prevention, And The Second Amendment After Bruen, Eric Ruben

Minnesota Law Review Vols. 106:2 onward (2021-present)

The Supreme Court declared in New York State Rifle & Pistol Ass'n v. Bruen that modern gun laws must be “consistent with this Nation's historical tradition of firearm regulation” to survive Second Amendment challenges. Scholarship has shown how this test of historical analogy presents difficulties because of how technological, legal, and social change has shaped policy over the centuries. This Article is the first to assess Bruen as it applies to suicide-prevention laws, and, in doing so, illuminates another form of change that complicates Bruen's implementation: scientific progress. As this Article shows, early generations of Americans fundamentally misunderstood mental illness …