Digital Commons Network^™

Crispr-Cas9: An Emerging And Precise Genome Editing System For Crops To Combat Food Insecurity, Muhammad Faran Tahi̇r, Muhammad Hamzah Saleem, Sidra Aslam, Emi̇ne Orhan, Hayat Topçu, Tauqeer Ahmed Qadri, Khalid Ali Khan, Muhammad Anas

Turkish Journal of Agriculture and Forestry

Genome editing has emerged as a transformative tool to improve crop productivity, resilience, and nutritional quality, helping address global food insecurity. Among gene-editing platforms, clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/ Cas systems (notably CRISPR-Cas9) offer simple, efficient, and scalable methods for targeted modifications, including knockouts, base edits, and precise “search-and-replace” prime edits. In plants, recent advances such as improved base editors, optimized prime-editing platforms, and DNA-free delivery methods have expanded the scope of edits achievable while reducing off-target effects and regulatory concerns. This review summarizes CRISPR principles, highlights technical breakthroughs and crop applications that mitigate biotic and abiotic stresses, …

Interprofessional Team Approach To Analyzing Food Scarcity Using Value Stream Analysis, Janet Brown

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

Purpose: Food insecurity is a public health concern (Pereira, 2021), and 13.5 % of households in the United States experienced food insecurity during 2023 (Rabbitt et al, 2024). Older adults (age 65+) are disproportionately affected by food insecurity, which can cause serious consequences for their health and well-being (Alyward et al., 2020). Utilization of community-based resources can reduce food insecurity (Alyward et al., 2020). Value Stream Analysis (VSA), a tool traditionally applied in manufacturing and industry, has translated to healthcare settings and significantly improved operational performance (Aloga, 2025). VSA reveals waste, overlap, and hidden capacity when applied to a process …

Gw240925 And Gw250207: Astrophysical Calibration Of Gravitational Wave Detectors, A. G. Abac, I. Abouelfettouh, F. Acernese, Teviet Creighton, Mario C. Diaz, Raul Alberto Espinosa Perez, J. Lawrence, Francisco Llamas Villarreal, Soma Mukherjee, Gaukhar Nurbek, Volker Quetschke, Miriam Ramos Arevalo, Wenhui Wang

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Publications

GW240925 and GW250207 are two loud gravitational-wave signals from binary black hole coalescences observed with network signal-to-noise ratios ∼32 and ∼69, respectively, by the LIGO Hanford-LIGO Livingston-Virgo network. Gravitational-wave signals from coalescing binaries have characteristic phase and amplitude evolution predicted by general relativity. These signal waveforms, together with measured instrumental calibration uncertainties, are used to infer source parameters. However, for sufficiently loud detections, it is possible to constrain the calibration of the detectors directly using the signals themselves. We present the first informative astrophysical measurements of gravitational-wave detector calibration. For GW240925, we verify the inference of Hanford calibration from the …

Advancing Beyond An Entry-Level Job, Paul Hill, Osei Vega-Sandoval

All Current Publications

Entry-level positions are a gateway into the workforce, yet advancing beyond an early-career role is necessary to broaden one’s professional experience and earn a higher salary. Whether following the traditional path of moving up within an organization or developing extensive expertise, there are a variety of career paths and concepts to consider. This fact sheet provides strategies and insights for advancing to higher-level positions within organizations.

Documenting The Language Documentation Process In Dardosipcat, Part I, Enrique Rodríguez Sánchez, Robert Vann

DARDOSIPCAT Documentation

No abstract provided.

Documenting The Language Documentation Process In Dardosipcat, Part Ii, Diana S. Ovalle Martinez, Robert E. Vann

DARDOSIPCAT Documentation

No abstract provided.

Deciphering The Rules Of Odor-Driven Learning In The Fruit Fly Olfactory System, Cole B. Hanan

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Odorant identity is encoded by patterns of activity across olfactory receptor neurons (ORNs) and their corresponding glomeruli in the antennal lobe (AL). An odorant's valence can be modified by experience, allowing animals to associate previously neutral odors with appetitive or aversive outcomes. However, some odors appear resistant to such reassignment, and the factors determining whether an odor can acquire learned valence and whether that association generalizes to chemically related odors remain poorly understood. This thesis uses Drosophila melanogaster to address this question using a fully automated proboscis extension reflex (PER) conditioning assay. Odorants are presented via a computer-controlled olfactometer, reward …

Machine Learning Applications To Physical Processes, William Charles

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

This thesis demonstrates how machine learning techniques can solve computationally challenging problems across diverse areas of physics, from high-energy astrophysics to condensed matter systems, accelerating traditional computation. My first contribution addresses the computational expense of Monte Carlo calculations for radiative processes in relativistic plasmas. I develop a neural network sampling method that enables fast sampling from an arbitrary probability density, and demonstrate the method on inverse Compton scattering, achieving a speedup of up to an order of magnitude beyond standard methods. My second contribution addresses the structure and radiation of neutron star magnetospheres. I use physics-informed neural networks to model …

Rethinking Education For Sustainable Development: The Role Of Blended Learning Within Skill-Based Higher Education, Nessrin Shaya, Sandra Baroudi, Serena Aoun, Rawan Abukhait

All Works

Purpose – Drawing on Social Cognitive Career Theory, this study positions blended learning not merely as a technological enhancement but as a strategic pedagogical mechanism for operationalizing sustainable development. It examines how blended learning within interdisciplinary and skill-based higher education environments cultivate employability skills that support sustainable educational practices. Design/methodology/approach – The study adopts a survey design. Where data were collected from 782 undergraduate students across five universities in UAE. Two institutions offered blended, interdisciplinary and skill-based courses, while three delivered the same courses through traditional face-to-face formats. The structural model was examined using structural equation modeling (SEM) with bootstrapping …

A Functional Ultrasound Imaging (Fusi) Pipeline For Investigating Brain-Wide Hemodynamics During Torpor-Like Hypothermia, Owen J. Culver

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Torpor is a regulated state of reduced metabolic demand that enables animals to conserve energy under unfavorable environmental conditions. The controlled induction of a similar state, termed synthetic torpor, has potential applications in ischemic protection, organ preservation, cancer treatment, radiation protection, and long-term spaceflight. Although neuronal populations within the preoptic hypothalamus have been shown to initiate hypothermic and hypometabolic states, the distributed cerebral hemodynamic dynamics accompanying their induction and maintenance remain poorly understood. In this thesis, we developed an accessible functional ultrasound imaging (fUSI) acquisition and analysis pipeline and applied it to investigate cerebral hemodynamics during chemogenetic activation of the …

Effective Strategies For Implementing Artificial Intelligence To Improve Businesses’ Value Chains, Jehan Forsythe

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Organizational leaders are increasingly adopting artificial intelligence (AI) to improve business operations; however, leaders of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) continue to face challenges associated with AI adoption. Understanding strategies for effective AI integration may facilitate AI adoption in SMEs, helping to enhance organizational value and improve competitive positioning. Grounded in Porter’s value chain framework, the purpose of this qualitative pragmatic inquiry project was to identify and explore effective strategies that U.S. SME leaders use to integrate AI into their value chain to increase organizational value and gain a competitive advantage. The participants were six U.S. SME leaders who led …

Fellowship Graduates’ Perceptions Of The Professional Competencies Developed In A Local Orthopedic Manual Physical Therapy Program In The Southern United States, Margaret Elaine Lonnemann

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Orthopedic manual physical therapy (OMPT) fellowship programs focus on improving clinical skills and professional development in physical therapy. OMPT fellowship programs are 1–3-year postprofessional subspecialty training programs in manual physical therapy requiring prior orthopedic clinical experience. The problem that was addressed in this study is that professional competencies are not adequately assessed after program completion of an OMPT fellowship in the Southern United States. Grounded in Dreyfus’s skill acquisition model, the purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore OMPT fellowship graduates’ perceptions of the professional competencies developed and recommendations for assessing these competencies in future graduates. Data were …

Postsecondary Experiences And Impact On Career Choices And Employment Status For Cisgender Women With Autism, Maureen Bell

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Cisgender women with autism remain underrepresented in research on postsecondary education and career development despite experiencing distinct barriers within these systems. This qualitative study examined how cisgender women with autism perceived the impact of their postsecondary education experiences on career choices and employment navigation. Guided by the social model of disability and intersectionality theory, nine postsecondary participants formally diagnosed with autism and who self-identified as cisgender completed semistructured interviews exploring their educational and employment experiences. Thematic analysis identified seven interconnected themes. Findings indicated that academic success often masked significant internal distress, suggesting that performance did not reflect accessible environments. Participants …

Protecting America’S Critical Infrastructure: A Shared Responsibility In An Era Of Escalating Cyber Threats, Alan Saquella

Publications

The recent cyberattacks targeting municipal water facilities across multiple U.S. states serve as another reminder that America’s critical infrastructure remains under constant attack. According to the FBI, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), attackers successfully compromised operational technology (OT) devices, including programmable logic controllers (PLCs), by exploiting Internet-connected systems, changing administrator credentials, and disrupting normal operations. Fortunately, local operators responded quickly by isolating affected systems, restoring backups, and preventing what could have become a significant public health crisis.

While these incidents focused on water treatment facilities, they represent a much larger national security issue. …

Topology-Aware Graph Neural Network With Spatiotemporal Encoding And Contrastive Learning For Scalable Dynamic Network Representation, Wassan S. Hayale, Rasha S. Ali, Raghda Abd Ul Rab Abd Ul Hasan, Lateef Abd Zaid Qudr, Safwan Nadwe, Nitin S. Solke, Ravi Sekhar, Pritesh Shah, Reyad Omran Essa

Mesopotamian Journal of Big Data

Recently, Dynamic Graph Neural Networks (DGNNs) have become a potent candidate to model time-changing graphs, although other solutions, including Temporal Graph Networks (TGN), Evolving Graph Convolutional Networks (EvolveGCN), and Dynamic Self-Attention Networks (DySAT), still have significant barriers to scalability, computational efficiency, and temporal embedding drift. To overcome these drawbacks, this paper presents a Topology-Aware Graph Neural Network (TAGNN) model capable of incorporating graph-topology encoding and the spatiotemporal memory mechanisms into the learning process of dynamic node representation. The proposed framework includes three key components: (i) returns global and local structural data such as graph Laplacian-based feature transformations and position encodings, …

Excelling In An Entry-Level Job, Paul Hill, Osei Vega-Sandoval

All Current Publications

Experience in an entry-level job becomes more valuable over time, especially when performance is exceptional. Managers conduct periodic performance reviews to provide feedback that entry-level employees can use to improve. Performance reviews are an opportunity for employees to learn, share career goals, and seek tailored guidance for their career development. This fact sheet provides insights into the character and qualities an employee should demonstrate to become a high performer, and what organizations can do to retain such employees.

Obtaining An Entry-Level Job, Paul Hill, Osei Vega-Sandoval

All Current Publications

Entry-level jobs are designed for people with little to no work experience. These jobs do not require previous education or training. Entry-level roles range from labor-intensive jobs (e.g., stocking shelves, preparing food, cleaning equipment) to customer service jobs (e.g., cashier, bank teller, retail associate). Entry-level jobs are the most common gateway into an organization. This fact sheet explains how to find entry-level jobs and outlines the fundamentals to improve one’s prospects of gaining employment.

Effect Of Rangeland Quality On Rumen Development Of Angora (Mohair) Goat Kids And Bucks, Betül Zehra Sariçi̇çek

Turkish Journal of Veterinary & Animal Sciences

This study was conducted to determine the effect of rangeland quality on the rumen development of Angora goat kids and bucks. Twenty male singleton Angora goat kids with similar birth dates and birth weights were selected from each farm in an area with three different rangeland quality levels (good, medium, or poor) in Ankara Province. The kids were weaned at 60 days of age and then grazed completely on rangeland until slaughter. Rumen volumetric and papillary development of animals slaughtered at 4 and 7 months of age were determined. Empty rumen length, width, and weight were affected by rangeland quality …

Digital Markers For Passive Remote Monitoring Of Bipolar Disorder: Systematic Review, Thomas P Kutcher, Isha Chakraborty, Kristin Kostick-Quenet, Akane Sano, Nidal Moukaddam, Jeffrey A Herron, Wayne K Goodman, Sameer A Sheth, Ashutosh Sabharwal, Nicole R Provenza

Duncan NRI Faculty and Staff Publications

Background: Bipolar disorder (BD) features episodic shifts among mania, hypomania, depression, mixed states, and euthymia. Timely detection of mood transitions is difficult due to infrequent clinical touchpoints. Digital health technologies, including wearables and smartphones, offer a unique opportunity to passively and continuously monitor behavior and physiology that could reflect underlying mood dynamics in real-world settings.

Objective: This study aimed to systematically review passively collected digital markers for BD mood states, characterize devices/modalities and analytic approaches, appraise risk of bias, and identify design gaps and priorities for clinical translation.

Methods: Following the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) …

Multi-Ion Permeation And Dynamic Conductance Modulation In Connexin Gap Junction Channels, Bassam G. Haddad, Daniel M. Zuckerman, Steve L. Reichow

Chemistry Faculty Publications and Presentations

Gap junction channels formed by connexins mediate direct intercellular communication and are essential for electrical signaling and tissue homeostasis. Despite their large, solvent-accessible pores, connexin channels exhibit distinct conductance, selectivity, and rectification properties, but the molecular mechanisms underlying these behaviors remain incompletely understood. Here, we performed ~67 μs of all-atom computational electrophysiology simulations of connexin-46 (Cx46), connexin-50 (Cx50), and heterotypic Cx46/50 gap junction channels based on high-resolution open-state structures, enabling characterization of both ion permeation and long-timescale channel dynamics. Simulations reveal a multi-ion, multi-pathway permeation mechanism governed by isoform-specific energetic barriers and transient ion coordination sites that shape conductance and …

Sharp Inhale In The Shadow Of A Monument, Pauline Lacanilao Arnould

Kritika Kultura

No abstract provided.

Island As Mechanism: Island Narrative And Affective Landscapes In Ng Kim Chew’S “Fish Bones” And “Allah’S Will”, Chi Miao, Shu Li

Kritika Kultura

This article reframes Sinophone Malaysian (Mahua) literature through the perspective of island studies, foregrounding Malaysia’s cross-island configuration. We propose negative islandness as an operational category: a structurally produced negative affect of suspension, deferral, and dread generated by the island–sea regime’s simultaneous openness and boundedness. We argue that, in Ng Kim Chew’s “Fish Bones” and “Allah’s Will,” the island operates as a mechanism that interstitializes perspectives and tidalizes narrative time, thereby converting arrival into an unfinished passage and relocating trauma into embodied, material rhythms. Through close readings, we develop two interrelated strands: First, an interstitial perspective with the temporality of tides …

The Reception Of Jameson’S Works In China, South Korea, And Japan, Mingming Li

Kritika Kultura

An examination of data from the academic databases CNKI, DBpia, and CiNii indicates that the reception of Fredric Jameson’s works in China, South Korea, and Japan can be traced back to the early 1980s. Shaped by their distinct historical and political contexts, each country has developed its own academic discourse surrounding Jameson’s theories. In China, Jameson’s intellectual presence began in 1986, marked by Tang Xiaobing’s article “Postmodernism: Commodification and Cultural Expansion—An Interview with Fredric Jameson.” Since then, over 1,100 research documents on Jameson have been published in China, covering a wide array of topics such as Marxism, postmodernism, globalization, and …

Venezuelan Students Sent To Elbert Covell College By Government, University Of The Pacific News Bureau

Elbert Covell College

No abstract provided.

Latin American Newsletter—The Inter-American College, F. B. Champlin

Elbert Covell College

No abstract provided.

Spanish-Speaking College Operated By University Of The Pacific, University Of The Pacific News Bureau

Elbert Covell College

No abstract provided.

Model Oas Conference At Elbert Covell College, University Of The Pacific News Bureau

Elbert Covell College

No abstract provided.

Anuario De Graduados De Elbert Covell College 1965-1984, Elbert Covell College

Elbert Covell College

No abstract provided.

Administrative Report On Recruiting Trip To Mexico And Guatemala, Gary Hoover

Elbert Covell College

No abstract provided.

Full Issue, Volume 14, Number 1., Donna J. Peterson Dr., Scott Cummings, Elizabeth Gregory North

Journal of Human Sciences and Extension

No abstract provided.