Digital Commons Network^™

From Cafes To Competitiveness: The Influence Of Amenities On Office Values And Suburban Economic Development In Portland, Or, Jihye Kang

Dissertations and Theses

This dissertation examines the spatial and economic implications of urban amenities in the formation of suburban office markets in the post-pandemic period. The research applies principles from agglomeration theory, spatial econometrics, and urban planning to analyze the statistical relationships between amenity distribution, rent formation, and location behavior across central and non-central submarkets.

The research consists of three integrated papers focused on the Portland–Vancouver–Hillsboro, OR–WA Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). The first paper employs spatial econometric modeling, specifically a Spatial Autoregressive Model with Autoregressive Disturbances (SARAR), to examine the relationship between proximity to cafés and office rent levels in Portland’s central business …

Interview With Orca Award Winner John J. Janovy, Jr., Unl Biological Sciences; Parasitologist And Author, Mark Griep, John J. Janovy Jr.

UNL ORCA Interview Series

Professor John Janovy, Jr., was awarded the ORCA in 1998. John was born in Louisiana, but his family moved to Oklahoma, where he grew up in Tulsa and then Oklahoma City. Something in his youth must have sparked an interest in science because he earned three degrees from the University of Oklahoma in Norman: a bachelor of science in math in 1959, a master of science in zoology in 1962, and doctoral degree in zoology in 1965. Next, he ventured 1400 miles east to Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey, where he did post-doctoral work for about a year. …

Elevated Lactate In Aml Bone Marrow Contributes To Macrophage Polarization Via Gpr81 Signaling., Celia A Soto, Maggie L Lesch, Jennifer L Becker, Azmeer Sharipol, Amal Khan, Xenia L Schafer, Zhewen Li, Amanda R Streeter, Michael W Becker, Joshua C Munger, Benjamin J Frisch

Oncology Articles

Interactions between acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and the bone marrow microenvironment (BMME) are critical to leukemia progression and chemoresistance. In the solid tumor microenvironment, altered metabolite levels contribute to cancer progression. We performed a metabolomic analysis of AML patient bone marrow serum, revealing increased metabolites compared to age- and sex-matched controls. The most highly elevated metabolite in the AML BMME was lactate. Lactate signaling in solid tumors induces immunosuppressive tumor-associated macrophages and correlates with poor prognosis. This has not yet been studied in the leukemic BMME. Herein, we describe the role of lactate in the polarization of leukemia-associated macrophages (LAMs). …

Cracking The Shell: A Corpus-Based Analysis Of The Functions Of Shell Nouns In American Legal Contracts, Geoffrey T. Julian

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The forms and functions of shell nouns (SN), semantically abstract nouns that can package and characterize complex segments of discourse, have been documented in academic discourse and L2 English writing (e.g., Aktas & Cortes, 2008; Benitez-Castro & Thompson, 2015). The abstract nature of SNs lends itself to use where vague language might be favored to allow for a variety of contingencies (Benitez-Castro, 2015). Thus, SNs have also been found to be present in legal language where some of these functions are desirable (Ren et al., 2019). The present study examines the use of SNs in a corpus of 2,700 US …

Assessing Readiness For Point-Of-Care Ultrasound Implemenatation In A Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Stacy Lynn Brunquist

Student Projects for Graduate Degrees

Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) is an emerging diagnostic tool in neonatal care, yet widespread use in NICUs remains limited by provider training, confidence and organizational readiness. The purpose of this evidence-based practice project was to evaluate whether a brief POCUS educational intervention improved NICU provider readiness for adoption. Using a pre/post design, NICU providers at a regional tertiary NICU in Alaska completed the POCUS Readiness and Adoption Survey (PRAS) immediately before and after a structured 45-minute POCUS orientation presentation. The PRAS measured six domains: knowledge, attitudes, change efficacy, organizational support, intent to adopt, and perceived barriers. Twelve providers completed both surveys. …

Online Decision Mamba, Trenton W. Ruf

Dissertations and Theses

Online in-context reinforcement learning enhances offline-trained policies through online fine-tuning. We introduce Online Decision Mamba (ODM), an architecture that replaces the attention mechanism in Online Decision Transformers (ODT) with the Mamba module to improve long-context sequence modeling and overall RL performance. We performed in-depth evaluations on MuJoCo (OpenAI Gym) and Atari benchmarks, comparing ODM against state-of-the-art offline and online baselines—including Decision Mamba (DM) and ODT. Our results show that ODM achieves competitive or superior performance, with particularly robust gains when initial datasets lack expert demonstrations. In the Qbert Atari environment, ODM shows context-length sensitivity similar to offline DM; however, we …

Empowering Digital Fluency: A Course-Based Strategy For Practical Ai Tool Integration In Higher Education, Melissa J. Brooks

Teaching Repository of AI-Infused Learning

This course was designed to introduce students to a range of AI tools while enabling hands-on experience in their practical application. Students were required to explore multiple AI tools across domains such as content generation, data visualization, video production, note-taking, and accessibility. The course culminated in a final project where students selected and applied an AI tool (or set of tools) to create a resume, a cover letter, and a presentation about themselves and how they anticipate the use of AI in their chosen Industry. Tools recommended were Jenni.AI, ChatGPT, Slide bean, Canva, Grammarly, Gamma, Synthesia.AI, and Perplexity, Otter.AI. One …

Practicing Disciplinary Role-Play With Ai: Bioinspired Innovation Meets Business Strategy, Christine R. Rodriguez

Teaching Repository of AI-Infused Learning

Students use Blackboard’s AI Conversation tool to rehearse their team’s innovation pitch with a simulated investor. This role-play activity prepares students to confidently communicate scientific ideas in business contexts and strengthens final group presentations.

From Myths To Mastery: A Progressive Ai Literacy Course Using The Clear Framework And Authentic Problem-Solving, Laura J. Mcneill, Sierra Cantrell

Teaching Repository of AI-Infused Learning

"Digital Minds: Your AI Adventure Begins" employs a 14-week progressive scaffolding approach that transforms freshman students from passive AI consumers into critical collaborators through weekly hands-on experiments with tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Adobe Firefly. Each week features structured "AI Questions" that connect course concepts to students' lived experiences, combined with practical activities like creating Gemini GEMS projects that encourage students to investigate AI myths and cross-reference external sources in real-time. The course culminates in collaborative AI-human projects addressing real community problems, with ongoing peer evaluation and reflection that emphasizes critical thinking and ethical reasoning over technical outputs.

Impact Of Novel Rheumatic Heart Disease Education On Rwandan Nurses' Knowledge And Skills, Julie Carragher

Biennial Convention (CONV)

Untreated group A streptococcus pharyngitis, along with the resulting post-infection sequelae of acute rheumatic fever (ARF) and rheumatic heart disease (RHD) of young susceptible individuals occurs in lower income countries, including Rwanda. This is largely due to limited access health care and inadequate knowledge about the detection and treatment of the infection. Approximately 33 million people worldwide live with RHD. In Rwanda, the prevalence of RHD is estimated at 6.8 per 1000 school children. With only nine cardiologists serving a population of nearly fourteen million, there is a significant gap in accessible RHD care across the country. In Rwanda, nurses, …

Liahona Project Data Set 3 Up To June, 2021, Yoshihiko Ariizumi

Spiritual Proficiency

This document is a collection of highlights extracted from more than 1000 articles from the Japanese online Liahona magazines, spanning from the beginning of 2019 to June, 2021. Each article was individually checked to extract inspirational principles and highlights from personal experiences, serving as a resource to develop Spiritual Proficiency and build the foundation for Wits Psychology (With the Spirit Psychology). The document is 97 pages long.

Disrupting Cell Death: Ferroptosis And Pyroptosis Inhibition In Hepatic Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury Via Modulation Of Gpx4 And Cgas Pathways By Deferoxamine And Octreotide,, Rasha A. Tawfiq, Yasmeen Attia, Hameis M. Sleem, Mai Ghoneim Dr.

Pharmacy

Hepatic ischemia-reperfusion injury (HIRI) is a significant complication of liver transplantation, often precipitating postoperative liver dysfunction/failure. Given the rising global prevalence of end-stage liver disease, which necessitates liver transplantation, protecting against HIRI is crucial. Here, we investigated the effects of octreotide (OCT), a pyroptosis inhibitor, and deferoxamine (DEF), a ferroptosis suppressor, individually and combined in the HIRI model. Their impact on cyclic GMP-AMP synthase/stimulator-of-interferon (cGAS/STING) genes and glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4) activity was explored. Male rats (n = 4–5) were subjected to 30 min ischemia followed by 3 h reperfusion and treated with OCT (75 μg/kg; 30 μg/kg, i.p. & …

Healthcare Leaders’ Effective Strategies For Shaping Organizational Culture, Samuel H. Zoker

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Some leaders in healthcare organizations lack effective leadership strategies and practices to influence and shape organizational culture, leading to inconsistent cultural values and behaviors that undermine organizational effectiveness and employee engagement. Grounded in transformational leadership theory, the purpose of this qualitative pragmatic inquiry was to explore strategies healthcare leaders use to shape organizational culture and strengthen employee engagement. Using purposive sampling, seven healthcare leaders with three or more years of experience were recruited from a medical institution. Data were collected through semistructured interviews using a protocol refined with the IPR method. Using reflective thematic analysis, five themes emerged: (a) employee-engagement …

Examining Emotional Intelligence Strategies Of Human Resource Administrators For Women’S Leadership In Healthcare, Selenda Johnson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Gender-based distinctions between leaders create differences in leadership methods that reshape their choices and teamwork approaches. Human Resource Administrators are concerned with how the lack of organizational support for Emotional Intelligence (EI) in female leaders influences them to leave, potentially leading to increased organizational costs. Grounded in Emotional Intelligence theory, the purpose of this qualitative pragmatic study was to explore EI strategies used by healthcare administrators in the Southeastern United States to increase female leadership retention in their organizations. The participants were 6 HR administrators with at least 2 years of experience from healthcare organizations who successfully implemented EI strategies …

From The Margins To The Center: The Transformative Promise Of Philosophy For Children, Maughn Rollins Gregory, Megan Jane Laverty, Joe Oyler

Department of Educational Foundations Scholarship and Creative Works

What began as an innovative idea in the late 1960s—the recognition that even very young children are philosophically disposed—is no longer considered novel. While philosophy for children has transitioned from a fledgling initiative to a worldwide movement, it remains on the margins of education. In this article, we look back at key initiatives that have advanced its growth before looking ahead to what can move philosophy for children to the center of education. We consider the introduction and development of materials that invite children into philosophical spaces, the community of philosophical inquiry as a model of teachers' and children's philosophical …

How Does County Educational Composition Affect Mortality?, Heeyoung Lee, Tse-Chuan Yang

Population Health Research Brief Series

The gap in life expectancy between Americans with and without a bachelor's degree keeps growing. This brief summarizes findings from a study using data from the National Center for Health Statistics Multiple Cause of Death files and the American Community Survey on 3,122 U.S. counties from 2010-2022. The authors find that a county's educational makeup creates divergent mortality effects for residents. For every 1% increase in bachelor's degree holders in a county, mortality declines by 4.5% for degree holders but increases by 1.2% for those without degrees. This pattern holds across heart disease, cancer, and stroke. The findings suggest that …

Portable Skin Imaging Light-Box For Clinical Grade Skin Scans, Kayandra Lewis, Cayden Skidmore, Komi Atitsogbe Golo

Senior Design Project For Engineers

This project focuses on designing and developing a modular, portable skin-imaging light box to improve the consistency and accuracy of smartphone-based dermatological imaging. As AI-driven skin assessment tools grow in capability, a major limitation remains the variability in lighting, angle, and color fidelity in user-captured photos. To address this challenge, the team created a fold-flat, low-cost light box that attaches securely to a wide range of smartphones and provides uniform, high-CRI illumination suitable for clinical-grade analysis. Research into lighting technologies, human factors, smartphone specifications, and AI diagnostic tools guided the engineering decisions, ensuring the design aligned with real-world telemedicine and …

Consensus-Based Expert Recommendations For Diagnosis And Clinical Management Of Vanishing White Matter., Romy J. Van Voorst, Daphne H. Schoenmakers, Joshua L. Bonkowsky, Adeline Vanderver, Ingeborg Krägeloh-Mann, Geneviève Bernard, Enrico Bertini, Ali Fatemi, Paulo V. Sgobbi, Nicole I. Wolf, Samuel Groeschel, Davide Tonduti, Caroline Sevin, Jennifer L. Orthmann-Murphy, Ludger Schöls, Ettore Salsano, Bernard Brais, Nicole Jaffe, Kasper W. Ter Horst, Sabine E. Hannema, Katherine G. Hayes, Jochen Meyburg, Marc Van Heerde, Anne Marie Sbrocchi, Rosalina Van Spaendonk, Isabelle Thiffault, Geesje H. Hofsteenge, Carolina Sudmeier-Broek, Corrie Timmer, Donna Skwirut, Allyson Buck, Bret Hollberg, Ron Chapleau, Hanka Dekker, Susan G. Campbell, Truus E M Abbink, Prisca S. Leferink, Marjo S. Van Der Knaap

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

Vanishing white matter (VWM) is a rare disorder, characterized by degeneration of CNS white matter, clinically often exacerbated by stressors such as fever and minor head trauma. VWM is caused by biallelic pathogenic variants in the EIF2B1-5 genes, causing reduced activity of eukaryotic initiation of translation factor 2B, resulting in dysregulation of the integrated stress response (ISR). New scientific insights and increased clinical trials in experimental therapies highlight the need for clinical guidelines to improve and standardize care for patients with VWM worldwide. Standardized care is important for therapy development, as it lessens clinical variability of trial participants at study …

Liahona Project Data Set 5 Up To 2025, Yoshihiko Ariizumi

Spiritual Proficiency

This document is a collection of highlights extracted from more than 800 articles from the Japanese online Liahona magazines, spanning from the beginning of 2024 to the end of 2025. Each article was individually checked to extract inspirational principles and highlights from personal experiences, serving as a resource to develop Spiritual Proficiency and build the foundation for Wits Psychology (With the Spirit Psychology). The document is 61pages long.

Critical Nursing Interventions For Post-Extubation Icu Patients, Estevao Frederico De Souza, Tricia M. Grinder, Sarah Rigsby, Samantha Vallespi

Biennial Convention (CONV)

Introduction: The 24-to-72-hour period post-extubation is a critical phase for intensive care patients, and can result in many complications. Nurses must be expertly trained in the interventions available to reduce the risks associated with the procedure.

Objectives: This systematic review aims to critically evaluate the existing literature about nursing interventions associated with patients after extubation, providing evidence to guide the nursing practice to reduce extubation failure, reintubation rates, and hospital stays.

Methodology: This systematic review includes studies from CINAHL, PubMed Central, Medline, and Health Source Nursing Academic Edition, focusing on international peer-reviewed full-text research articles.

Setting: The study has a …

Critical Factors Influencing Breast Cancer Screening In Caribbean-American Women Of African Ancestry, Corvette V. Yacoob, Indra Hershorin, Michele Upvall, Ronica Subramoney

Biennial Convention (CONV)

Background: Breast cancer is one of the most commonly diagnosed cancers in women and the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths among women in the United States. Globally, a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer every 14 seconds, underscoring the urgent need for early detection through screening to reduce mortality rates. Black women experience higher mortality rates than other ethnic groups, emphasizing the importance of early detection and screening in improving clinical outcomes.

Purpose: This qualitative constructivist grounded theory study explored key factors influencing breast cancer screening practices among Caribbean-American women of African ancestry, that aided in the development of …

Tunable Phase-Change Metasurfaces Coupled With Mid-Infrared Molecular Vibrations, Haotian Tang, Liliana Stan, David A. Czaplewski, Xiaodong Yang, Jie Gao

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Chiral optical meta surfaces have emerged as a promising platform in coupling with molecular vibrational fingerprints through the enhanced light-matter interaction under different circularly polarized light illumination. This work reports the mode coupling between the mid-infrared phonon vibrations of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) molecules, and the thermally tunable chiral meta surfaces based on the phase-change material Ge₂Sb₂Te₅ (GST-225). Phase-change chiral meta surfaces with high circular dichroism (CD) in absorption and tunable plasmonic resonance in the frequency range of 48-56 THz are demonstrated, which covers the phonon vibrational frequency of PMMA molecules at 52 THz. The mode splitting features are observed in …

Are E-Cigarettes A Safer Alternative? Revisiting The Cardiovascular Cost Of Nicotine Delivery, Jason D. Gardner

School of Graduate Studies Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Rural Maternal Health And Information Exchange Challenges In Western New York, Stephanie Lynn Durfee, Sharon Hewner

Biennial Convention (CONV)

Background/Purpose: Our pregnancy healthcare work in Western New York (WNY) has revealed a pressing issue: high-risk patients are often forced to seek care outside their communities, leading to significant delays in addressing their medical and social needs. Our research, focusing on poor pregnancy outcomes in WNY rural areas, underscores the urgency. The challenges of limited resources and distance from healthcare facilities make it difficult for these individuals to receive adequate pregnancy care, resulting in gaps in health information due to fragmented care and disparate health information exchange databases.

Methods: To address this, we used the AHRQ CCSR to manually review …

The Patient Violence Framework, Laura Graham, Jennifer Bail

Biennial Convention (CONV)

Patient Violence against nurses is a widespread problem resulting in both emotional and physical injury to the nurse. Emergency Department (ED) nurses are at an increased risk due to the volume and variety of the patients they serve, and the general chaotic environment of the ED; however, little research has been done examining the characteristics of patients who offend and the physical environment of the ED where the event happened. The aim of this three-article dissertation was to develop a more thorough understanding of the personal attributes (endogenous) of the individual patient and external (exogenous) factors of the ED setting …

Orbital Reliable Printed Circuit Boards, Thomas Maxwell Starnes, Keegan Blake Jordan, Ian Griffith, Grant Monroe Pesqueira, Vishal Navin Patel

Senior Design Project For Engineers

Deep Interstellar Solutions is proposing a device to produce custom, serviceable printed circuit boards (PCBs) in low Earth orbit. This technology uses blank PCBs that are laser-etched and prepared for electrical components, then stored in the module. This method of PCB production allows for rapid repairs or prototyping without the need for subsequent resupply missions. By implementing this technique, future missions will achieve greater autonomy, sustainability, and resource efficiency. The goal of this development is to pioneer the creation of custom circuitry for use in deep-space missions where resupply is neither cost-effective nor timely.

Electrochemical Sensors For In Situ Monitoring Of Reactive Species During Cold Atmospheric Plasma-Based Therapies, Jonathan Thomas, Suneel Kumar, Gagana Karkada, Julia Sutter, Kristina Pattison, Jason Rainone, Dhruv Patel, Shashank Madhavan, Fred Krebs, Francois Berthiaume, Vandana Miller, Katharina Stapelmann

Kimmel Cancer Center Faculty Papers

Cold atmospheric pressure plasma (CAP) is emerging as a clinically relevant therapy for dermatological conditions such as actinic keratosis, warts, and chronic wounds. However, these therapies lack strategies to monitor CAP delivery in situ and to ensure delivery of an effective CAP dose without unwanted toxicity. CAP acts as a therapeutic agent in these biomedical applications primarily (but not solely) through reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS) generated at transiently high local concentrations. Here we demonstrate the use of bio-electrochemical sensors capable of real-time measurements of key CAP RONS: hydrogen peroxide and oxidation-reduction-potential (ORP). In in vitro scratch assays and …

Communities With Diverse Subsistence Needs Require A Variety Of Functional Tree Traits, Minoseheno Rakotovao, Cortni Borgerson, Kerry A. Brown, Joris P. G. M. Cromsigt, Steig E. Johnson, Onja H. Razafindratsima, Ruth Mendum, Onjaniaina O. Andrianjatovo, Harisoa B. Ravaomanalina, Seheno Andriantsaralaza, Sheila M. Holmes

Department of Anthropology Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Tree species preference is an understudied yet crucial component of sustainable forest management, as unsustainable harvesting can lead to non-random loss of functional traits. We examine wood resource preference across five regions of Madagascar's biodiverse eastern humid forests. We asked forest users in 19 men's and 19 women's focus groups to list their preferred tree species for common short- (charcoal, firewood) and long-term (house construction, furniture, tools) uses. We then measured functional traits of 260 preferred and common tree species: height, DBH, bark thickness, specific leaf area, wood specific gravity, and seed dispersal syndrome in the surrounding landscape. Using household …

I Can’T Believe It’S Not Social: Investigating The Relationship Between Loneliness, Parasocial Relationships, And Potential Moderators, Hannah I. Suozzi

Master's Theses

Increased loneliness trends coincide with increased media use. Media is turned to as a source of comfort and distraction from the real world. There is cause to believe that people also use media as a way to form parasocial relationships (PSRs), one-sided relationships audiences form with media figures (i.e., celebrities, influencers, and fictional characters). The connection between loneliness and PSR is thought to be moderated by social vulnerability, particularly the need to belong (NTB) and ethnicity. The medium from which PSRs originate lacks empirical study. To address the limitations, this study analyzed data collected from San Jose State University students …

Synthesis And Characterization Of Copper Nanoparticles: A Laboratory Experiment For Undergraduate Physical Chemistry, Jonathan Batey, Deborah Okyere, Sarah York, Feng Wang, Jingy Chen

Chemistry & Biochemistry Faculty Publications and Presentations

Nonprecious metal nanoparticles have been the subject of intensive research, due to their potential applications in promoting sustainability. This integrated laboratory experiment is designed to provide undergraduate students with hands-on experience in synthesizing and characterizing nonprecious metal nanoparticles, specifically copper nanoparticles. The experiment consists of three sections, each tailored to teach a unique aspect of nanochemistry. Section 1 focuses on the air-free synthesis of copper nanoparticles using a solution-based method with an emphasis on understanding their plasmonic properties and how oxidation impacts them. Section 2 explores the quantitative analysis of copper, where students apply crystal field theory to understand the …