Digital Commons Network^™

Gci Universal Conditioning Train, Michael Victor Caldwell Mr.

Defensive Publications Series

The GCI Universal Conditioning Train is a hypothetical, skid-mounted pretreatment platform intended to make difficult liquid streams easier, safer, and cheaper to process downstream. The concept is not presented as a proven refinery replacement, a direct fuel-maker, or a patented commercial product. It is an online invention proposal being passed on for real-world build and test evaluation by qualified engineers.

The system is designed to condition dirty liquid streams such as used oil, oily wastewater, sewage-adjacent waste, grease-laden water, and industrial sludge. Its purpose is to improve separability, reduce fouling, release trapped water and solids, and lower the burden on …

Intersecting Determinants Of Health: Correlating Food Insecurity And Sleep Deprivation Across Southern Adventist University Demographics*, Heaven Robles, Jesica Paralafox Ramirez, Kimberly Mongare, Joshua C. Jenkins, Melany Castillo, Philip Chen Dr, Aaron Corbit Dr

Campus Research Month

For university students, social determinants of health such as food security and sleep patterns heavily dictate both health outcomes and academic success. Using a cross-sectional study design, statistical analyses will be conducted using the Jamovi software platform to compare mean sleep durations and food access scores across multiple academic departments and ethnic demographic groups. The study evaluates four primary hypotheses: (1) Consistent food access positively correlates with sleep quality; (2) Food security and sleep metrics vary significantly across academic departments; (3) Systemic ethnic disparities exist in food accessibility; and (4) Underrepresented ethnic groups experience a compounded burden of food insecurity …

Gci #278 — Helium-Sparing Multi-Stage Vortex Cryocooling Stack With Modular Geometry And Arachne Thermal Interface, Michael Victor Caldwell Mr.

Defensive Publications Series

This disclosure describes a prototype-viable, nitrogen-class cryocooling system designed to reduce helium consumption and improve thermal stability for high-temperature superconducting (HTS) loads. The system combines staged Ranque–Hilsch vortex separation, spiral/tangential inlet geometry, modular flange construction, and a microfluidic Arachne-style thermal spreader. All geometry is defined using dimensionless design heuristics to enable rapid prototyping and tuning. The system is physically plausible and buildable using standard cryogenic hardware and CNC machining. Final temperature performance must be verified experimentally.

Zenbrain: A Neuroscience-Inspired 7-Layer Memory Architecture For Autonomous Ai Systems, Alexander Bering

Defensive Publications Series

Memory management remains a fundamental challenge for autonomous AI systems. Existing approaches employ operating system metaphors, flat storage with LLM-driven management, or note-taking paradigms, but none incorporate principles from cognitive neuroscience—despite memory science offering over a century of empirically validated models.

We present ZenBrain, a multi-layer memory architecture for AI agents that integrates twelve established neuroscience models into a unified system. ZenBrain implements seven distinct memory layers—working, short-term, episodic, semantic, procedural, core, and cross-context—orchestrated by twelve algorithms including Hebbian learning dynamics for knowledge graph co-activation, Ebbinghaus forgetting curves with FSRS spaced repetition scheduling, sleep-time memory consolidation, Bayesian confidence propagation …

Tensegrity Across Biological Scales, V. M. Andrianarijaona

Campus Research Month

Over the past two decades, biology has undergone a profound conceptual shift. Living systems are no longer viewed strictly as biochemical networks; they are now understood as mechanically integrated, energy-dissipating, nonequilibrium systems governed by physical laws. Tensegrity—structural stability derived from a balance of pre-stressed tension and compression—provides the essential linking framework between molecular architecture and organismal function. This approach moves beyond "chemistry-only" models to explain how biological integrity and "mechanotransduction" (the conversion of physical force into biochemical signals) emerge from hierarchical, force-regulated networks.

Ion Exchange Filter Monitoring, Thomas G. Hoffman

Defensive Publications Series

In some examples, a system includes a fluid line, an ion exchange filter configured to remove at least one contaminant from a fluid in the fluid line, an ultraviolet source, and an ultraviolet detector.  The ultraviolet source is configured to direct ultraviolet light toward the fluid.  The ultraviolet detector includes an ultraviolet transparent window and an ultraviolet sensor configured to detect the ultraviolet light transmitted through the fluid and across the ultraviolet transparent window.  The ultraviolet source and the ultraviolet detector are downstream of the filter.  The system further includes processing circuitry configured to receive a signal from the ultraviolet …

Not Just Static: Evolutionary Throughlines In The Female Voice, Maria Hand '26

Honor Scholar Theses

Vocal communication is essential for many forms of human interaction and discourse. As such, the human voice has been the subject of extensive scientific research in a variety of contexts, including that of potentially evolved characteristics. Researchers have long studied the various changes that occur in direct relation to hormonal shifts across the ovulatory cycle, but one particularly interesting facet of this research is the voice. There are numerous acoustic parameters that are highly socially salient, and thus an ideal means with which to study potential ovulatory cycle related changes. Studies of this subject additionally provide further insight into the …

Ideas For Learning Newsletter: Early April '26, Iwasaki Library

IDEAS for Learning Newsletters

This IDEAS for Learning Newsletter reached the faculty of Emerson College on April 6th, 2026. This is the first published issue of April 2026. This is the fourteenth issue of the third volume. It includes event reminders like Alternative Grading Community of Practice: Open to All Faculty, Robert Engel Research Grants Fund Applications due 4/7, and Co-Writing and Coffee. Near the top is a support for your story with insights from the Academic Assessment Culture @ Emerson Survey which shows the difference in overall faculty and collaboration with OAA from 2021 compared to 2026. Our spotlight stories are on Emily …

Using Metacognitive Strategies To Increase Student Success At A Community College, Adam Blair

Morehead State Theses and Dissertations

A capstone submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education in the Ernst and Sara Lane Volgenau College of Education at Morehead State University by Adam Blair of April 6, 2026.

The Experiences Of Systemic Invalidation In Chronic Pain Care Among Socioeconomically Disadvantaged Individuals: An Interpretative Phenomenological Study, Claira Moro, Stuart Spicer, Charley Hobson-Merrett

Peninsula Medical School

This study explored the lived experiences of individuals from socioeconomically disadvantaged communities living with chronic pain and prescribed pain-relief medication. Using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, eight participants were recruited from a single primary care network in England. Two Group Experiential Themes were developed. This paper reports one: From Dismissed to Disengaged: the trauma of seeking help, with three sub-themes: (1) “Being fobbed off” – dismissal across healthcare and benefit systems; (2) “It just seemed horrible to me, to take it off me” – pain relief as withdrawn, stigmatised, or conditional; and (3) “Do I want to poke the bear?” – disengagement …

Graduate Council Minutes 2026-04-06, Northern Illinois University

Graduate Council Archives

No abstract provided.

For Us, By Us: A Sensory Ethnographic Study Of Creating Queer Safe Spaces, Chelsea Dawn Liddell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

This sensory ethnographic study conducted in the summer of 2025 looks at the impact of for us, by us queer spaces on queer young adults working as counselors at a queer youth camp located in a rural Midwestern United States area. Interviews and a researcher journal were used to co-create data with the queer young adult participants and provide sensory information beyond spoken language. Queer theory as presented by Judith Butler (1990, 1993, 2004, 2015) and Sara Ahmed (2006, 2012, 2014, 2017, 2021) is considered throughout, as well as ideas of space and place as conceived by Doreen Massey (1993, …

Targeting Mitochondrial Fitness To Restore Immune Balance In Aging: The Role Of Urolithin A, Rafael Moura Maurmann

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

Aging drives systemic functional decline and represents the primary risk factor for comorbidities and mortality. Immune dysregulation is central to chronic age-related inflammation, with macrophages acting as key mediators of unresolved tissue damage. This functional compromise coincides with metabolic maladaptations including elevated mitochondrial stress and impaired mitophagy, which exacerbate oxidative stress and inflammatory overstimulation. However, the exact mechanistic links driving these phenotypes remain incompletely understood. Urolithin A (UA) has emerged as a promising strategy to enhance mitochondrial health via mitophagy stimulation, yet its immunoregulatory effects in the context of aging remain unexplored. Objectives: This study aimed to characterize mitochondrial dysfunction …

Explaining The Experiences Of Black Male Graduates With Pell Grants At A Public, Four-Year Historically White Institution In Tennessee, Travis Tyshawn Strattion

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

This qualitative narrative inquiry explains the factors that contributed to the success of Black male graduates who received Pell Grants at a public, four-year historically White institution in Tennessee. Situated within persistent racial and economic inequities in higher education, the study examines how Black men from low-income backgrounds navigated institutional systems not originally designed to support their success. Guided by African American Male Theory (AAMT; Bush & Bush, 2013b) and Padilla’s Expertise Model of Student Success (EMSS; Padilla, 1994; Padilla et al., 1997), the study centers participants as active agents who developed strategies, knowledge, and meaning-making practices to persist to …

Balancing Act: The Impact Of Feminine Expression, Name, Image And Likeness (Nil) On The Mental Health Of Female College Athletes, Sedaria Lanora Williams

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

Female college athletes navigate multi-faceted pressures at the intersection of gender, race, finances, and athletic identity. However, their lived experiences remain understudied. This qualitative study examined how feminine expression and Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) financial pressures intersected to impact the mental health of Division I female college athletes. Guided by a hermeneutic phenomenological framework and grounded in Brewer et al.’s (1993) Athletic Identity Theory and Crenshaw’s (1989) Intersectionality Theory, data was collected through semi-structured virtual interviews with eight participants representing a range of sports and racial backgrounds. The thematic analysis followed Braun and Clarke’s (2006) six-phase model which yielded …

Wired Youth: How Technology Shapes Adolescent Minds And Behavior, Kimario Davis '26

Honor Scholar Theses

Social media and digital technology are a huge part of adolescent life, and people worry a lot about how they affect mental health, behavior, and brain development. It’s easy to think technology is either “good” or “bad,” but the reality is more complicated. This thesis looks at social media’s evolution from early platforms controlled by users to today’s algorithm driven, highly visual environments and how these spaces interact with the developing adolescent brain, which is especially sensitive to social feedback and reward. These features make online interactions feel more intense and harder to step away from. At the same time, …

Plastics, Microplastics, And The Gut Microbiome: Restoring Scientific Communication To Fight For Public Health, Benjamin Sanders '26

Honor Scholar Theses

Over the course of eight years from 2016 to 2024, a study by Nature Medicine found that the concentration of plastics in the brain increased by 50%. Even samples from patients with a documented dementia diagnosis showed a greater accumulation of microplastics (Nihart, 2025). In one of the most protected regions of our body, microplastics have made themselves known. In one of the most exposed regions of the human body, the story is no different. With the emergence of gut microbiome science and understanding, researchers are just beginning to discover the unique interplay between the microbiota of our gastrointestinal tract …

Ud In The News March 28-April 3, University Of Dayton

News Releases

The Wall Street Journal, Axios, l'Opinion in France, BirdNote and several regional and local outlets featured UD faculty expertise, the Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop, Flyer Pitch, how UD is educating students in AI, and students seeking Catholicism.

Ratfish (Chimaera Monstrosa) Chondocranium, Riley B. Glogowski, David W. Kerstetter

All Scans: Kerstetter Fisheries and Avian Ecology 3D Scan Series

No abstract provided.

The Rider (2026-04-06), Daniela Chapa-Reyes

The Rider Archives

Vol. 11, No. 25

Elucidating The Structure And Binding Nature Of Thianaphthene Dimers Using Gas-Phase Infrared Spectroscopy, Gaia Zucali, Vincent J. Esposito, Sandra Brünken, Piero Ferrari

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Crucial for many biological systems, in astrochemistry, and for fundamental chemistry in general, the conformations adopted by weakly bound complexes of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) have been the focus of debate for decades. Still, there are great challenges in forming such complexes in the laboratory, measuring accurate spectroscopic information sensitive to structure, and computing molecular properties for systems subtly bound by dispersive interactions. Here, we employ a combination of gas-phase infrared spectroscopy with extensive density functional theory (DFT) calculations to unambiguously determine the preferred conformation adopted by dimers of neutral thianaphthene, a PAH composed of one six- and one five-membered …

Luminance-Based Mentally-Generated Images Indicate Pupillary Transformation In Novel Method Of Communication For Non-Verbal Patients, Anna Pak

Honors Theses

Can the luminance level of mentally generated images affect pupil dilation? The purpose of this study is to evaluate whether mental images in the brain can produce a physiological reaction in pupil dilations specifically. The hypothesis is that if a participant mentally generates images of differing luminance levels, then the pupils will either dilate or constrict accordingly. While this study achieved no statistical significance, it should be noted that further research and advancement of the protocol used in this study can potentially be used for non-verbal medical patients as a new means of communication that is easily accessible.

Lanthorn, Vol. 60, No. 14, April 6, 2026, Grand Valley State University

Volume 60, August 4, 2025 – current

Lanthorn is Grand Valley State's student newspaper, published from 1968 to the present.

Una To Put Names On 2 Buildings, Jennifer Edwards

Documents

the naming of the Academic Commons Building and the new Science and Technology Building at UNA

The Science And Technology Building University Of North Alabama, Barbie Hampel-University Advancement

Documents

Brochure and floor plans for the New Science and Technology Building at UNA

University Of North Alabama Science And Technology Building Grand Opening And Ribbon Cutting, University Of North Alabama

Documents

Invitation to the Grand Opening and Ribbon Cutting for the new Science and Technology Building at UNA

Identifying And Prioritizing Habitat For Ring-Necked Pheasants (Phasianus Colchicus) Conservation In Nebraska, Allison Joy Barg

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

As competing demands grow on agricultural landscapes, optimizing land use for economic and environmental benefit is crucial. A key way to improve conservation outcomes on working lands is to strategically target conservation efforts to land that is likely to provide the maximum benefit; however, this approach requires sufficient data to predict the outcomes of varying management decisions. Ring-necked pheasants are a recreationally and economically valuable species that were historically abundant in the agricultural regions of North America. The intensification and simplification of farm systems over the last half century have caused pheasant populations to decline, and while conservation programs such …

A Curious Companion: Care, Curiosity, And Companion Species In The Complete Adventures Of Curious George, Charlotte Brooks '26

Honor Scholar Theses

This thesis examines the Curious George series through Donna Haraway’s companion species framework in order to analyze how narratives of care, curiosity, and goodness structure human–animal relationships within the stories. Focusing on the first seven books written and illustrated by H. A. Rey and Margret Rey, as compiled in The Complete Adventures of Curious George (2001), the project uses close textual and visual analysis to examine how George’s curiosity repeatedly generates disruption that is managed through intervention, discipline, and forgiveness by human authority figures, particularly the man with the yellow hat. Drawing on Haraway’s concepts of companion species, naturecultures, and …

Evaluating Square Gradient Theory For Correlation And Prediction Of Surface Tension, J. Richard Elliot

University Research

The ESD EOS [Elliott, Suresh, and Dohohue, IECR 1990, 29, 1476] is incorporated into the open-source Square Gradient Theory (SGT) library published by Mejia et al. [Mejia, Müller, and Chaparro-Maldonado, J. Chem. Inf. Model. 2021, 61, 1244]. The combined formalism is evaluated for accuracy compared to experimental measurements and empirical correlation methods. Earlier evaluations of the ESD EOS have shown it to provide accuracy like other EOSs for vapor pressure, vapor–liquid, liquid–liquid, and solid–liquid equilibria where the databases covered roughly 500 compounds and 100–200 mixtures each. For surface tension, a database of measured values for roughly 1000 compounds has been …

Visualizing Perception: Systems Of Perception And Cognition In Animal Species, Felicia Soto

Theses

Animal species utilize various modes of perception based on their individual adaptations and survival needs. The sensory organs of an organism serve as an interface between the present environment and the organism’s central nervous system (Dangles et. al, 2009). An organism will make decisions based on the information being perceived and processed by that individual's nervous system. Studies investigate the mechanisms of these interactions in a variety of ways, from studying physiology and functional morphology, to conducting observational studies of perception. These studies concerning perception and cognition in animals can help to uncover parallels between animal species, as well as …