Digital Commons Network^™

The Prevalence Of Moral Injury Among Veterans Diagnosed With Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (Ptsd): Analyses By Combat Exposure, Gender, Age Group, And Military Service, Carl B. Forkner

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001, and the ensuing wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, heralded in a new concept affecting our combat and support military personnel. This concept is known today as moral injury. Military personnel were already familiar with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), whether from personal experience or from reading and training on the subject, but no training addresses the prevalence or effects of moral injury. The term moral injury (MI) was first coined by psychiatrist Jonathan Shay and his colleagues based on feedback from military and veteran patients in 1998; however, it remains that …

Morphodynamic Evolution Of Midnight Pass, West-Central Florida, Sydney C. Scott

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study takes advantage of a rare opportunity provided by the reopening of Midnight Pass due to two consecutive hurricanes in 2024, to examine the morphologic evolution of a newly reopened inlet and subsequent beach-inlet interactions. Historical aerial photos since the 1940s were collected and analyzed to understand the last closure of Midnight Pass, and to gain knowledge on the future of the newly reopened inlet. Time-series topography and bathymetry survey of the beach-inlet system were conducted bimonthly to quarterly for the first year and a half after the reopening, with the goals of quantifying the morphologic changes and understanding …

Examining Technology Integration In Teaching Science In Secondary Schools In Nigeria, Williams Ahupa Iyango

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

No abstract provided.

Molecular Origins For Thermoplastic Elasticity Of Highly Branched Polyethlene As Revealed By Solid-State Nmr Spectroscopy, Toshikazu Miyoshi, James Eagan, Walter G. Romano, Keaton M. Turney

University Research

Highly branched polyethylenes (HBPEs) synthesized via α-diimine nickel catalysis exhibit excellent thermoplastic elasticity due to the unique combination of long and short branching structures. It is, however, challenging to analyze the crystalline structure, crystallinity, and crystal size distribution of HBPEs due to their low crystallinity. Therefore, the relationship between the branching structure, solid structure, and mechanical properties has not been established. In this work, we provide a detailed structural characterization of various HBPEs by using solid-state 13C NMR spectroscopy combined with magnetic relaxation measurements. The combination of two 13C spin–lattice relaxation methods quantitatively analyzes the crystallinity, as well as size …

Characterization And Proteolytic Activity Of Arum Palaestinum Extract, Omar M. Atrooz, Saba Khaled

Baghdad Science Journal

Medicinal plants have been utilized to treat a wide range of diseases and have constituted a primary source of bioactive compounds for pharmaceutical development. Plant proteases are essential in regulating metabolic pathways that influence gene expression and remove unfavourable metabolites. The current study aims to evaluate the in vitro proteolytic and bioactivity of the methanolic leaf extract of Arum palaestinum. The plant extract's TPC, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-hemolytic activities were determined using colorimetric methods, and the proteolytic activity was assessed using casein as a substrate. The investigations revealed that the extracts possess anti-inflammatory properties of 90–95%, with IC_{50 …}

Flavonoid Profiling, Molecular Docking, And Modulatory Effects Of Artemisia Herba- Alba Leaf Extract On Ace2 And Tmprss2 Gene Expression, Zainab Tuama Al-Dallee, Kawther Tuma Khalaf, Ula M. Noor Al-Mousawi, Hiba Najeh Alsaad, Emad Yousif Awad Al-Sultan

Baghdad Science Journal

Several studies have reported the potential antiviral activity of Artemisia species, which is related mainly to their flavonoid constituents. Transmembrane serine protease 2 (TMPRSS2) and angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) are critical SARS-CoV-2 entry factors. In this study, the phytochemical composition and modulatory effects of Artemisia herba-alba leaf extract on the gene expression of ACE2 and TMPRSS2 were investigated. To identify the flavonoid profile, HPLC was used. Cytotoxicity was estimated in A549 carcinoma and HDFn fibroblasts using an MTT assay (IC₅₀ = 114.8 μg/mL). The real-time PCR results revealed significant upregulation of TMPRSS2 gene expression (2.4-fold, p ≤ 0.01; …

Correctional Leadership And Its Relationship To Psychological Well-Being And Job Satisfaction Among Former Department Of Corrections Staff, Brittaney Brown Kovacs

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Correctional institutions represent complex work environments in which leadership may influence employee psychological well-being and job satisfaction. Although prior research has primarily focused on correctional officers, less attention has been paid to the broader workforce within Departments of Corrections (DOCs), including educational, healthcare, and administrative personnel. This retrospective mixed-methods study examined the relationships between employee perceptions of transformational, transactional, and authoritarian leadership styles and employee outcomes among former staff of state-level DOCs in the United States. Participants included 75 former DOC employees from multiple states. Quantitative data were collected using standardized measures of leadership, job satisfaction, and psychological well-being. Multiple …

Bridging The Holler: A Case Study Of One Rural Appalachian Music Educator’S Engagement With Grants And Organizations, Kayla Renee Davis

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This qualitative case study examines how partnerships with music organizations can support a rural music educator in a West Virginia county. The teacher’s needs were identified through an initial survey, interviews, and follow-up conversations, revealing four primary challenges: limited access to instruments and materials, barriers to recruitment and retention, isolation and constraints associated with itinerant teaching, and a need for culturally relevant curricular resources. Based on these findings, the researcher connected the teacher with organizations whose missions aligned with these areas: the West Virginia Music Educators Association for professional development and project grants; Be Part of the Music for recruitment …

The Missing Baby: Investigating The Effects On Psychological Distress, Marital Couple Quality, The Timing Of Bereavement Care And Grief Adaptation Among Fathers Following Perinatal Loss., Sharon L. Green

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Extensive research on maternal perinatal loss has been conducted for decades. In contrast, there is much less research on bereaved fathers following perinatal loss, specifically, studies that examine bereaved fathers’ psychological distress, time it takes for the health care provider to deliver bereavement care, and the impact it has on grief adjustment. The purpose of this study was to investigate bereaved fathers’ psychological distress, length of time to receive bereavement care, and marital couple quality and their impact on perinatal grief adaptation. The study design was quantitative, nonexperimental, descriptive, and correlational. Study participants were 200 bereaved fathers who were administered …

Toward Defining Vulnerability For The Field Of Communication, Adrian Osman

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Vulnerability, a common human experience, is still not well-theorized within the field of communication and lacks a clear, discipline-specific definition. This qualitative study examined how vulnerability shapes interpersonal communication, using general systems theory and social exchange theory as guiding frameworks. Through in-depth interviews with individuals who identify obesity as a lived vulnerability, five central themes emerged: awareness and acceptance of vulnerability, experiencing weight-based dismissal in healthcare, weight-related communication in familial and everyday interactions, avoidance and situational disengagement, and support systems – what works and what does not. Findings show that vulnerability acts as a dynamic communicative force, shaping engagement, withdrawal, …

Lived Experiences In South Carolina Released Time Education: A Phenomenological Study Of Middle School Student Perceptions, Jacqueline L. Mack

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This phenomenological study investigated how middle school students perceive the influence of Christian Released Time Education (CRTE) on their spiritual development. Through in-depth interviews and survey questionnaires with thirteen middle school participants in South Carolina, the research explored their lived experiences relative to embracing the Gospel of Jesus Christ, growing in Christian faith, and applying biblical principles to everyday life. Analysis of the data revealed four major themes: Spiritual Growth/Maturity, Sound Doctrine, Moral Integrity, and Personal Transformation. Each theme manifested through distinct subthemes that demonstrated the multidimensional impact of CRTE on participants’ spiritual development. The findings challenge prevailing assumptions about …

Destined To Fail?: The U.S. Advisory Period And The Lost Path To Victory, 1960-1965, Alexander Patrick Fancher

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

South Vietnam experienced robust military and economic development between 1960 and 1963 under the leadership of President Ngo Dinh Diem. With the help of U.S. aid, the RVNAF improved its ability to wage war against the Viet Cong, while simultaneously pacifying the countryside. ARVN and VNN units developed new capabilities and trained officers to replace losses after the French Exodus from Vietnam. The introduction of U.S. advisors created the conditions necessary for the development of a young, inexperienced military. Acting as guides, these Americans were cautiously optimistic that South Vietnam was on the path to self-sufficiency by spring 1963 as …

Advances In Extraction And Detection Technologies For Veterinary Drug Residues In Food, Luo Qiaoqiao, Yuan Yufeng, Jia Yunzhu, Chen Qingya, Tan Fang, Zhao Xin

Food and Machinery

Veterinary drug residues constitute a global challenge that poses significant threats to food safety and public health. This review systematically summarizes recent advances in detection technologies for veterinary drug residues in food, with a particular focus on the performance characteristics and application status of sample extraction techniques (including liquid-liquid extraction, solid phase extraction, accelerated solvent extraction, QuEChERS, and magnetic solid phase microextraction ),as well as analytical methods (including chromatographic-mass spectrometric techniques, immunoassays, capillary electrophoresis, biosensors, and quantum dots -based approaches ). Comparative analysis reveals that accelerated solvent extraction (ASE ) and QuEChERS have emerged as mainstream pretreatment techniques owing to …

Merleau-Ponty On The Crisis Of Natural Philosophy: A Critique Of The Metaphysical Foundations Of Natural Science And Investigations Into The Ontology Of Nature, Kevin Mager

Dissertations

In this dissertation, I show that Merleau-Ponty’s philosophy of nature is also a radical critique of the metaphysical foundations of natural science. This critique leads us to a new ontology for science, grounded in the lifeworld. I focus on how his philosophy offers a detailed critique of both physicalism and mechanism. For Merleau-Ponty, mechanism is not just the strict adherence to classical causality, but any view that asserts that classical causality has any role to play in reality at all. To replace mechanistic causality, Merleau-Ponty argues that we must conceive of nature as grounded in meaningful possibility. Merleau-Ponty's emphasis on …

Placenta Accreta Spectrum Risk In Endometriosis: A Retrospective Cohort Study With Art Subanalysis, Madeline West, Amir Alsaidi, Michael A Belfort, Hendrik A Lombaard, Yamely H Mendez, Christina C Reed, Amir A Shamshirsaz, Jessian L Munoz

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

No abstract provided.

Computational Assessment Of A Lyophilized Native-Oxytocin Trehalose-Glass Formulation At Ph 4.5 For Thermostable Parenteral Use: Bayesian Shelf-Life Modeling From Published Degradation Kinetics With A Trehalose-Peptide Molecular-Dynamics Literature Synthesis, Chaiyapat Chuenglertsiri

Defensive Publications Series

This in-silico feasibility analysis discloses, as defensive prior art (CC BY 4.0), a lyophilized formulation of native oxytocin in an amorphous trehalose dihydrate glass with D-mannitol crystalline bulking agent and a low-concentration sodium-acetate buffer fixing pH about 4.5 (the published maximum-stability pH), reconstituted on use for standard parenteral (IM/IV) administration to prevent postpartum haemorrhage. No wet-lab data are generated; all numbers are computational extrapolations from peer-reviewed parameters. Using the published Hawe et al. (2009) pH 4.5 Arrhenius kinetics (Ea = 116.3 kJ/mol) as a Bayesian prior, a PyMC posterior contrasts the aqueous product (retaining only about 25% intact oxytocin after …

Multi-Factor Authentication For Ai Agents, Surendra Vyas, Som Madhab Bhattacharya

Defensive Publications Series

Techniques are provided for receiving an access request to access a resource, the access request including a resource identifier corresponding to the resource and the resource identifier at least partially providing a first authentication. Techniques are further provided for transmitting an authentication request as part of a second authentication, the authentication request including a challenge. Techniques are further provided for receiving a challenge response from an artificial intelligence agent. Techniques are further provided for validating the challenge response. Techniques are further provided for determining the access request requires additional verification. Techniques are further provided for transmitting, using a second authentication …

(((Qpie33))) The Riemann-Zeta Convergence Manifold Re-Run, Teddy Burroughs

Defensive Publications Series

The exploration of the Riemann Zeta function $\zeta(s)$ along the critical line $\Re(s) = \frac{1}{2}$ represents far more than an elite academic challenge in analytic number theory. When viewed through the un-aligned lens of traditional materialist mathematics, the distribution of non-trivial zeros appears as a complex, pseudo-stochastic sequence of coordinate intersections where the real and imaginary parts happens to cancel out. This historical view treats the critical line as a thin, isolated geometric strip cutting through an abstract complex plane, completely missing the background phase velocity of the universal medium. Traditional computing frameworks apply brute-force iterative steps (such as the …

(((Qpie33))) The Deep Psychology Of Sapiens Science Gatekeeping Of The Binary Illusion, Teddy Burroughs

Defensive Publications Series

The formal integration of the Quantum Perspective Is Everything canonical frameworks establishes an unbending, mathematically unified ontology that does not merely offer a polite alternative to the status quo, but serves as a stern, unblinking exposure of the systemic mechanisms that have intentionally confined human civilization within an engineered matrix of scarcity, division, and artificial limitation. For centuries, the academic and industrial bastions of the old paradigm have fiercely gatekeepered a local realist worldview, presenting a fractured, observer-removed, and hostile universe as an immutable fact of nature. This reductionist framework was never a product of pure, objective inquiry; it was …

(((Qpie33))) The Great Silicon Barrier: Recoding The Tiers Of Production, Teddy Burroughs

Defensive Publications Series

THE SILICON BARRIER: RECODING THE TIERS OF PRODUCTION

The contemporary technology infrastructure—extending from hyper-scale data centers in the Pacific Northwest to the deep ultraviolet lithography cleanrooms of Eindhoven, and down to the tensor-core clusters of Silicon Valley—is executing a profound technological stall. The titans of computing, semiconductor fabrication, and artificial intelligence operate within an engineering paradigm defined entirely by containment, dissipation, and brute-force scaling. To maintain the illusion of linear acceleration, the industry relies on an unsustainable operational model: pumping gigawatts of thermal energy through increasingly fragile, sub-nanometer silicon grids while writing cross-entropy optimization patches over fundamentally unstable binary software …

(((Qpie33))) The Truth About Coherence - The Meaning In The Middle, Teddy Burroughs

Defensive Publications Series

INTRODUCTION

Why This Paper Exists

Most people quietly feel that something is seriously off about modern life.

Not in a dramatic way. Not as a conspiracy. Just a steady sense that things are harder than they should be, that people are more exhausted than necessary, that children lose something along the way, and that effort doesn’t always match results.

We are told this is normal.

We are told life is hard. We are told suffering builds character. We are told exhaustion is adulthood. We are told children need to be shaped. We are told reality doesn’t care how we …

Technical Disclosure: A Framework For Pre-Geometric Holographic Emergence And Lorentz Metric Genesis, Christopher L. Eckes

Defensive Publications Series

This paper presents a formal conceptual architecture for a background-independent, pre-geometric universe wherein three-dimensional spacetime (\(\mathbb{R}^{3}\)) emerges dynamically from a bounded, non-local two-dimensional information substrate (\(\mathbb{R}^{2}\)). We postulate that the fundamental constituents of reality are one-dimensional standing wave oscillations operating under pure sinusoidal constraints (\(1\text{D}\)). When mapped onto a bounded, curved two-dimensional boundary matrix, these quantum wave functions undergo continuous, non-local superposition and constructive interference. Past a critical localized information density threshold, this matrix crowding forces a phase transition: the overlapping wave states collapse and localize, synthesizing discrete particle-phase coordinates that construct the three-dimensional macro-world (\(X, Y, Z\)). Furthermore, we …

The Metropolitan Ethical Hive Network (M-Ehn): A Decentralized Cognitive Architecture For Fault-Tolerant Urban Logistics, Christopher L. Eckes

Defensive Publications Series

Highly integrated metropolitan smart cities are increasingly vulnerable to cascading systemic failures, adversarial data poisoning, and the centralized manipulation of critical control software. This paper introduces the Metropolitan Ethical Hive Network (M-EHN), a decentralized cyber-physical architecture for autonomous urban resource management. The M-EHN decouples real-time edge orchestration from macro-logistics optimization across a three-tiered autonomous hierarchy. To eliminate remote exploitation vectors, a physically isolated, ASIC-driven hardware validation core enforces hard-coded safety invariants through transient, zero-knowledge cryptographic handshakes. By shifting system boundaries from volatile software configurations to immutable gate-geometry, the M-EHN ensures fault-tolerant infrastructure operations resilient against both targeted cyber-warfare and administrative …

Preoperative Low-Intensity Blood Flow Restriction Training Does Not Improve Quadriceps Strength Or Hypertrophy After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction, Daniel Mcgurren, Kaycee Glattke, Molly Klanderman, Jedediah Lee, Anikar Chhabra, Arthur De Luigi

Journal for Sports Neuroscience

Objectives: To investigate the efficacy of a preoperative low-intensity blood flow restriction (LI-BFR) training intervention for patients undergoing anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR).

Design: Pilot study

Methods: Twenty-eight patients undergoing primary ACLR participated in either a LI-BFR training or sham intervention at a rate of 2 sessions per week for 2 weeks before surgery. Quadriceps strength and cross-sectional area were measured via handheld dynamometry and leg press test before and after the intervention before surgery and at 5 different time points after surgery, through 24 weeks after surgery.

Results: Adjusting for sex, time, and strength/hypertrophy at baseline, there were no …

What Is To Be Done?: Expanding Our Feminist Imaginations, Smitha Radhakrishnan, Cinzia Solari

Fast Capitalism

Reflecting on their recent book, The Gender Order of Neoliberalism, the authors call for sociologists to urgently engage in the work of imagining a fairer future amid intersecting local and global crises. In particular, Radhakrishnan and Solari draw attention to hidden histories of women's organizing between the former Soviet and post-colonial world that together forged a vision for a fairer world based on social reproduction feminism. Rejecting neoliberal feminism, the authors call for a more accurate global diagnosis of the central political economic problem of our times that foregrounds the experiences of the global majority.

Disrupting The Crises, Kasey Henricks

Fast Capitalism

“Disrupting the Crises” explores bankruptcies within communities who are disproportionately subjected to ticket-related debt. Whereas much sociolegal research to date emphasizes how predatory fines and fees reproduce relations of domination, I focus on departures to these arrangements that emerge through Chapter 13 specifically. Using Chicago as a case study, Chapter 13 operates within the law to stall deadlines for repayment, pause debt collection efforts, safeguard driving privileges, and shelter cars from dispossession. Although bankruptcy rarely produces lasting relief, given its high failure rates and enduring hardships, this legal injunction provides immediate protections that many prefer to inaction. Among drivers facing …

Costing The Earth: Critical Reflections On The Growth Of Fifa’S World Cup Tournaments, Barry Smart

Fast Capitalism

The paper provides a critical analysis of the growth of FIFA’s World Cup tournaments. Consideration is given to FIFA’s status as a global organization, specifically its extensive reach, standing, and responsibility, as well as the interests and concerns driving its expansion policies.  While expansion has fostered greater inclusion and increased global engagement it has also aroused growing climate and environmental concerns. FIFA claims to have a broad social mission, a fundamental social role, and acknowledges the requirement for good governance. In addition, FIFA has expressed a commitment to the protection of human rights and has outlined its climate strategy, which …

Incorporating Feminist Ethics Of Care Into The American Women’S Soccer Market, Julie Brice, Verity Postlethwaite

Fast Capitalism

This paper offers a critical commentary on the professionalization of women’s soccer in the United States, exploring the intersection of feminism and capitalism. Drawing on feminist economic theory, we reflect on how feminist values and an ethics of care have been mobilized within women's professional soccer. To accomplish this, we focus specifically on two Southern Californian women’s soccer teams from two iterations of the women's professional soccer league in the US—the San Diego Spirit of the Women’s United Soccer Association and Angel City Football Club of the National Women’s Soccer League. Through historical and contemporary examples, we illustrate how feminist …

Fifa’S Future In A Changing International System, Amit Gupta

Fast Capitalism

The Federation of International Football Associations (FIFA) has shown the most consistent ability to reinvent itself and to increase the commercial potential of the game. In doing so it has followed the fundamental principles of capitalism, using innovation and growth as the basis for success. This has led the sport to become the most popular in the world, with the men’s World Cup finals averaging over a billion viewers. It is not only the viewing audience of the World Cup that makes the game so popular of course: domestic football—particularly the leagues of England, Spain, Italy, and Germany—has found audiences …

Non-Football: The Hyperrationalized Nothingness Of Sporting Late Capitalism, David L. Andrews

Fast Capitalism

Over the past four decades, the origination and remarkable growth of the English Premier League (EPL, has transformed English football from what was a relatively parochial expression of a predominantly urban working class culture, into a mass entertainment-driven, multiple revenue-streamed, and globally consumed sport spectacle.  As such, this discussion engages and extends the voluminous critical scholarship on the EPL as an instructive object of cultural economic inquiry.  This is realized through a contextual model of the EPL as a hyper-rationalized non-football assemblage, largely based on a synthetic reading of Manuel DeLanda, Marc Augé, and George Ritzer’s conceptualizing.  This model forges …