Digital Commons Network^™

Is The Perfect Soccer Ball Still Out There? A Review And Optimization Of The Beautiful Game., Joshua Walker

Liberty University Research Week

Soccer, or football as known in the majority of the world, is the largest sport by fanbase in the world. One of the most critical components of the sport is the ball that is used in the game. The ball has seen many improvements made to every component of the ball and every step of the manufacturing process. Most notable of these improvements made is to the outside of the soccer ball. Old soccer balls were made using a leather cover. This covering would quickly affect the performance of the ball as excess moisture would be absorbed by the leather. …

Effects Of Noisy Galvanic Vestibular Stimulation (Ngvs) On Fall Prevention In A Geriatric Population: A Critically Appraised Topic, Aleia Dawson

Liberty University Research Week

A new treatment nGVS has recently been explored. To date, no studies have been performed that look at the nGVS effect on geriatric and the effect on specifically fall prevention. Therefore, the purpose of this CAT is in a commonly sedentary population what is the effect of Noisy Galvanic Stimulation treatment compared to balance training on fall prevention in older adults. Clinical Scenario: Falls are a common experience in older adults and have been treated with physical aids (canes, walkers, or wheelchairs). However, the effectiveness of this treatment does not rid or fully treat the specific population of the problem, …

Assessing Natural And Synthetic Red Food Dye, Victoria Maclean

Liberty University Research Week

Colorants have been a part of our world for a long time. They have been used in textiles, medicines, hair products, cosmetic products, and specifically food. Food coloring is an important sensory cue to how we expect foods and drinks to taste. There are synthetic and natural dyes that help us gain the bright color we associate with our food. Natural dyes are made from vegetables, fruits, plants, and sometimes insects. Synthetic dyes are made from the synthesis of chemicals compounds. Customers and vendors look for a dye that is vibrant, heat and light stable, low cost, provides health benefits, …

Researching And Comparing The Properties Of Anthocyanins With Fd&C Blue No 1, Kendall Boyle

Liberty University Research Week

Colorings and dyes are used to enhance the physical appearance of these items to make it more enjoyable for the human consumer. Vegetables and plants have been known to naturally dye clothing and food since the beginning. These natural dyes also had the ability to provide numerous health benefits that positively impact the human body system. Despite this, society has moved to synthetic dyes for lower cost, more supply and demand, and stronger pigmentation. Synthetic dyes tend to be brighter and more enjoyable to the eyes. Unfortunately, synthetic food dyes negatively impact human health in the process. This proposal will …

Molecular Geometry Changes In Some Carbonyls And Aromatic Rings Upon Electronic Excitation: Herzberg-Teller Vibronic Coupling And Unitary Duschinsky Rotation, Maryam Mohammed Al Sakkaf

Thesis/ Dissertation Defenses

The common assumption in probing the dynamical motion of molecules is that the molecular electronic activity depends weakly on vibrational coordinates on electronic excitation. Therefore, electron-vibration interaction, which is known as vibronic coupling (VC), may be ignored. The HerzbergTeller theory of vibronic coupling (HTVC) is a breakdown of the Born-Oppenheimer approximation (BOA) since nuclear and electronic degrees of freedom can no longer be separated. The inclusion of a single quantum of a non-totally symmetric vibrational mode changes the overall symmetry of the state and permits the transition. Often, this assumption may be invalid, especially in carbonyl and aromatic compounds. This …

Forefoot Gait Retraining As An Intervention For Patellofemoral Pain: A Critically Appraised Topic, Tanner Bohan

Liberty University Research Week

Context: Running is a popular and accessible athletic activity, but many individuals are deterred by the pain and injury associated with it. Gait retraining, particularly transitioning to a forefoot strike (FFS), has gained popularity as an intervention for patellofemoral pain, a common running-related injury. This critically appraised topic aims to investigate the impact of running gait retraining to FFS patterns on the incidence and management of patellofemoral pain. Methods: A computerized search was conducted in October 2023, focusing on terms related to patellofemoral pain, gait, and forefoot. Inclusion criteria encompassed articles from the last 10 years, studies with human subjects, …

The Acute Effects Of Caffeine Consumption On Muscle Performance Of A 1 Rep Max Bench Press Exercise: A Critically Appraised Topic, Kathryn Evans

Liberty University Research Week

Context In a strength-based population, caffeine supplementation has become popular because caffeine is known to increase energy. Many in the sports setting assume this will translate to improved strength in weightlifting. Currently, a mass variety of clinical studies are based on the results of performance from caffeine consumption in an endurance-based population, but specifically, within a strength-based population focusing on one exercise, the acute effects of caffeine dosage have limited data. This critically appraised topic focuses on whether there is an effect on performance when ingesting caffeine based on the exercise of a 1 rep max bench press. Methods Using …

Extensions Of Algebraic Frames, Papiya Bhattacharjee

Algebra Seminar

A frame is a complete lattice that satisfies a strong distributive law, known as the frame law. Frames are also known as Pointfree Topology, as every topology is a frame. Even though the concept of frames originated from topology, the idea has expanded to many other areas of mathematics and frames are now studied in their own merit. Given two frame L and M, we say M is an extension of L if L is a subframe of M. In this talk we will discuss different types of frames extensions, such as Rigid extension, r-extension, and r*-extension between two frames. …

Extensions Of Algebraic Frames, Papiya Bhattacharjee

Mathematics Colloquium Series

A frame is a complete lattice that satisfies a strong distributive law, known as the frame law. Frames are also known as Pointfree Topology, as every topology is a frame. Even though the concept of frames originated from topology, the idea has expanded to many other areas of mathematics and frames are now studied in their own merit. Given two frame L and M, we say M is an extension of L if L is a subframe of M. In this talk we will discuss different types of frames extensions, such as Rigid extension, r-extension, and r*-extension between two frames. …

Medical-Dental Staff Topics, 1991 January, Advocate Health - Midwest

Historical Documents - Combined

St. Luke's Medical Center, Milwaukee, WI: An issue of "Medical-Dental Staff Topics". This was an internal publication for ASLMC staff members reporting on news, research, events, and staffing updates. Includes a staff calendar and information on continuing education opportunities.

Medical-Dental Staff Topics, 1991 February, Advocate Health - Midwest

Historical Documents - Combined

St. Luke's Medical Center, Milwaukee, WI: An issue of "Medical-Dental Staff Topics". This was an internal publication for ASLMC staff members reporting on news, research, events, and staffing updates. Includes a staff calendar and information on continuing education opportunities.

Medical-Dental Staff Topics, 1991 March, Advocate Health - Midwest

Historical Documents - Combined

St. Luke's Medical Center, Milwaukee, WI: An issue of "Medical-Dental Staff Topics". This was an internal publication for ASLMC staff members reporting on news, research, events, and staffing updates. Includes a staff calendar and information on continuing education opportunities.

Medical-Dental Staff Topics, 1991 April, Advocate Health - Midwest

Historical Documents - Combined

St. Luke's Medical Center, Milwaukee, WI: An issue of "Medical-Dental Staff Topics". This was an internal publication for ASLMC staff members reporting on news, research, events, and staffing updates. Includes a staff calendar and information on continuing education opportunities. Contains a letter regarding a Wisconsin anti-discrimination law for patients who test positive with HIV and the medical center's policies.

Parental Kidnapping And Domestic Violence: The Need To Reform And Enforce State Action, Anna Ratterman

Georgia Criminal Law Review

When civil family issues intersect with criminal acts, the civil and criminal systems fail to effectuate a complete remedy. Specifically, there are few effective protections for victims of domestic violence during the pendency of domestic relations proceedings. Given the complicated gender dynamics and inequalities that have developed throughout history, it is unsurprising that the criminal and civil systems have failed to prioritize prosecution of crimes against women. Current criminal laws fail to treat domestic violence and parental kidnapping as serious crimes and instead adopt the view that domestic disputes are private issues to be handled within the family. In turn, …

The Use Of Virtual Technology In Federal Criminal Detention Proceedings During Covid-19, The Honorable Karen Wells Roby

Georgia Criminal Law Review

The COVID Pandemic presented unparalleled challenges to court operations and the administration of pretrial criminal proceedings. The combination of health concerns and constitutional considerations collided in a way requiring unprecedented creativity in court operations. While scholars have given guidance on how the state courts were functioning during the pandemic, researchers have not conducted an empirical analysis on how federal courts conducted pretrial detention hearings during COVID-19.

This analysis reports the results of both qualitative and empirical findings pretrial detention hearings in federal courts during COVID-19. I examined the state of operations of the district court in several the Fourth, Fifth, …

Medical-Dental Staff Topics, 1991 August, Advocate Health - Midwest

Historical Documents - Combined

St. Luke's Medical Center, Milwaukee, WI: An issue of "Medical-Dental Staff Topics". This was an internal publication for ASLMC staff members reporting on news, research, events, and staffing updates. Includes a staff calendar and information on continuing education opportunities. Contains policy and documentation for emergency use of investigational devices.

This is the final issue of this publication currently available. This title continues as Medical Staff Topics.

An Intelligent Framework Towards Fully Autonomous Driving Fueled By Smart Roads, Muhammad Jalal Khan

Thesis/ Dissertation Defenses

Autonomous vehicles (AVs) are transforming next-generation autonomous mobility. Such vehicles promise to increase road safety, improve traffic efficiency, reduce vehicle emissions, and enhance mobility. The development of AVs involves the integration of various disciplines and technologies, i.e., sensors, communication, computation, and artificial intelligence (AI), to achieve higher levels of autonomous driving (AD). The main objective of this dissertation is to design and develop a novel approach for achieving higher levels of automation in AD through an end-to-end intelligent framework. This involves addressing the challenges of technological augmentation of road infrastructure to support intelligent transport system (ITS) services, service satisfaction in …

Synthesis, Characterization And Biologcal Evaluation Of Safranal-Loaded Metalorganic Framework Nanostructures, Alia Musabbeh Alkaabi

Thesis/ Dissertation Defenses

Liver cancer remains a primary worldwide health concern, necessitating the development of innovative and effective treatment options. In this study, we present a biocompatible iron-based metal-organic framework (Fe-MOF) consisting of iron ligands connected by terephthalate linkers loaded with safranal, a natural biomolecule extracted from stigmas of Crocus Sativus flower (also known as saffron), a therapeutic intervention with dual efficiency. This compound not only meets the demand for improved liver cancer therapies but also exhibits antibacterial properties against Escherichia coli and Lactobacillus. The synthesis stage of the study focuses on preparing MIL-88B(Fe) and loading safranal into/onto its structure. The material's composition …

Volume 10 Full Text, Bjur Staff

Butler Journal of Undergraduate Research

No abstract provided.

Partake Or Be Departed: Insularity Of Setting Within The Dystopian Imagination And The Mark: The Beast Rules The World, Andrew Watkins

Butler Journal of Undergraduate Research

Insularity of setting within the dystopia is a motif that is shared between works of dystopian fiction and works in the utopian imagination as a whole. Each dystopia or utopia is unique in how it creates and uses insularity of setting to facilitate the confinement of its subjected society to a prescribed set of social, political, religious, and economic practices. Timothy LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins use the framework of rapture fiction and the motif of insularity of setting to create an international dystopia in their novel The Mark: The Beast Rules the World. The global insularity conceived within The …

Yayoi Kusama’S Depictions Of Mental Health, Anna Isabel Davis

Butler Journal of Undergraduate Research

This paper examines Yayoi Kusama’s usage of art as a coping mechanism for her mental illness, particularly through her pumpkins and “nets” motifs. It involves a close analysis of three artworks to emphasize this motif: her first depiction of pumpkins; “nets”; and, finally, her combination of both pumpkins and “nets” into one artwork. Her theme of repetitions as meditative force is evident in each of these works. As such, this paper posits that the goal of her art is not to heal from her mental illness but to better cope and adapt. This research draws on various primary sources, including …

Work-Life Balance In A Medical Unit Of U.S. Army Reservists: An Exploratory Study, Elizabeth A. Kleitz, Madelyn Huhn

Butler Journal of Undergraduate Research

Work-family life balance influences employee job satisfaction and quality of life. When work and family life are in balance, employees perform at higher levels and have fewer health problems. U.S. Army Reservists in both civilian and Reserve medical occupations may face work-life balance conflicts from both their full-time/ civilian and part-time/military medical occupations. Army Reservists in a medical unit were surveyed about their work-family life balance behaviors using the Work–Life Climate Scale in an exploratory cross-sectional study. Most reported rarely experiencing work-life conflict behaviors; however, many also reported that they worked late three to seven days of the week. Long …

The Influence Of Specific Diagnosis And Trait Self-Relevance On Positive And Negative Perceptions Of Individuals With Mental Illness, Sabrina L. Stock, Aedan S. Levy

Butler Journal of Undergraduate Research

We investigated how participants perceived an individual with either depression, schizophrenia, or no disorder on negative and positive traits and then examined how these perceptions linked to desire for social distance (DSD), trait self-relevance, positive former contact with a person with mental health problems, and continuum beliefs. One hundred fifty undergraduates completed an online survey that described a vignette character with depression (VCWD), vignette character with schizophrenia (VCWS), or control character with no mental disorder (CC) and assessed participants’ perceptions of the character’s traits, DSD from the vignette character, perceptions of one’s own traits, and demographic characteristics. In general, the …

Opening An Existential Window Into Wuthering Heights And The Metamorphosis, Sarah H. Lognion

Butler Journal of Undergraduate Research

This paper explores the existential theme of authenticity in two literary works, Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights and Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis, through the lens of Albert Camus’s philosophy as presented in The Myth of Sisyphus. The analysis focuses on the characters’ struggles to carve out meaningful existences, the symbolism of closed-in structures and the absurd, and failed attempts at rationalization. Through a literary exploration, this paper aims to acknowledge existential dilemmas presented in Brontë’s and Kafka’s works and the importance of recognizing the absurdity of life.

Modeling Employee Burnout And Stress Levels Using Generalized Linear Models, Madeline S. Neely

Butler Journal of Undergraduate Research

In recent years, mental health has become a more prominent problem worldwide. One specific area of rising concern is the increase in the amount of stress and burnout that many people are experiencing. This research seeks to investigate the factors that are affecting stress and burnout as they pertain to the workplace environment. A series of multinomial logistic regression models and Poisson regression models are used to identify the factors affecting employees’ stress and burnout with respect to the workplace environment using the most recent Work, Family, and Health Study (WFHS) dataset from the Work, Family, and Health Network. This …

Stream Gauging: Investigating The Flow Rate And Residence Time In Laguna Bacalar, Mexico, Elizabeth J. Kowalczyk

Butler Journal of Undergraduate Research

Stream gauging is a standard tool used to measure the flow rate of various bodies of water. Knowing the flow rate of a body of water allows for the residence time of a body of water to be calculated. Currently, there is very little information regarding the flow rate and residence times of Laguna Bacalar. This system has been observed hydrologically consistently only in the past 6 years. In this study, 13 stream-gauging locations of interest were identified and gauged for their respective flow rates using the midsection method. Once the flow rates were acquired, maps depicting the Laguna Bacalar …

Populism: A Comparative Study Of The Rise Of The Alt-Right In Germany And The United States, Kate O. Tobin

Butler Journal of Undergraduate Research

The far-right extremist movements in Germany and the United States have gained attention and proved concerning, manifesting in the forms of terrorism, nationalism, and xenophobia. The radical right often utilizes populism to undermine liberal institutions, with a proneness to discrimination and violence. Right-wing populism in Germany has been a movement founded on fear, which has expanded to include governmental and political institutions. In the United States, populists often criticize the political elite for catering to the needs of minorities. The influence of the economic crisis on the lower-income, blue-collar areas of the country has been impactful enough to allow for …

Punishment Versus Hope: Perceptions Of Social Media Portrayals Of Restorative Justice, Emily E. Leonard

Butler Journal of Undergraduate Research

Research focused on the intersection of social media messages and perceptions of restorative justice has the potential to provide insight on criminal justice reform. In light of national conversations about mass incarceration, restorative justice has become a topic of conversation on social media, particularly among activists. This research utilized qualitative interviews (n = 20) to ascertain Gen Z college students’ familiarity with, understanding of, and interpretation of messages about restorative justice as portrayed in social media posts that they have been exposed to during the course of their everyday lives. The study found that most participants learned about restorative justice …

Infiltrating The Boys’ Club: The Portrayal Of Women In Popular Crime Dramas, Emma D. Bergquist

Butler Journal of Undergraduate Research

The present study examines whether there has been a change in the portrayal of female criminal investigators over the past two decades. Cultivation theory suggests that media profoundly influences the views of the larger society, thus indicating significant implications of this portrayal. Five popular shows (Chicago P.D., Criminal Minds, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Hawaii Five-0, and Law & Order: SVU) were explored, with 200 episodes examined between the series using a mixed-methods approach. The main characters in each show’s first season and most recent season were coded and analyzed. Characters were coded for depth, authority, helplessness, and sexualization, among other …

Psychosocial Student Adaptations To Covid-19 In Higher Education: A Mixed-Methods Approach To Covid-19 Through The Theoretical Framework Of Anomie, Grace Johnson

Butler Journal of Undergraduate Research

The COVID-19 pandemic affected individuals and social institutions because of an abrupt and expansive change to norms and values, which are key characteristics of an anomic state. The purpose of this exploratory and descriptive study was to understand how students enrolled at a residential university perceived educational and societal pressures associated with COVID-19. This research applied a mixed-methods approach and relied upon three phrases of research: (1) pilot questionnaire (n = 54), (2) qualitative interviews (n = 14), and (3) quantitative questionnaire (n = 253). Findings suggested similarities in how university students responded to COVID-19 and how communities had responded …