Digital Commons Network^™

April 4, 2024, James Madison University

The Breeze, 2020-

The Breeze is the student newspaper of James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia.

Building Queer Families: Supports And Barriers, Annie Bright

Individual, Family, and Community Education ETDs

A qualitative study was conducted with six participants who identify as Queer and/or Lesbian investigating supports and barriers to family building using Assisted Human Reproduction. Semi-structured interviews were conducted allowing participants to share their experiences and self-identify the significant supports and barriers in their process. Interviews were transcribed and coded using Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis identifying three supports and four barriers. Results demonstrated that all participants identified their community and/or their Queer community and their partner and/or family as key supports and two-thirds of participants identified as a support their own background or knowledge. All participants described the high cost or …

2024 April 4 - Tennessee Weekly Drought Summary, Tennessee Climate Office, East Tennessee State University

Tennessee Climate Office Weekly Drought Summaries

No abstract provided.

Exploration Of Characteristic Curve In Fox Float 3 Shock Dampers To Expedite Shock Damp Tuning., Joshua R. Moore

Honors College Theses

The shock absorber is an integral part of a vehicle suspension system and has a strong influence on its performance, especially in the case of motorsports. It is important to study the force versus velocity relationship, commonly known as the characteristic curve of the shock absorber both during compression and rebound. Vendor-supplied characteristics often reflect the behavior of the shock absorber in a particular setting. However, during the installation, the settings inside the shock absorber are adjusted to increase the human comfort level and performance of the vehicle. This may change the characteristic curve of the shock. The available data …

Vulnerability Assessment Of Urban And Peri-Urban Areas In Dhaka: Exploring Ecosystem Service Loss, Md Tousif Tanzir, Kh Shakibul Islam, Md. Raihanul Islam, Hasan M. Abdullah, Abdul Kaium Tuhin

Cities and the Environment (CATE)

Rapid unplanned development, a primary cause of urban change, endangers ecosystems greatly. Quantifying ecosystem services helps portray the declining ecological functions caused by the urban land cover change. Dhaka, one of the most densely populated cities in the world, exerts little effort toward sustainability; affecting both the inner city and the outer periphery (peri-urban area) called extend Dhaka (5 km buffer from the city's border). This study examines Dhaka's urban growth impact on ecosystem service values (ESV) from 2004-2020 and projects these impacts to 2050, considering three scenarios: business as usual (BAU), conservation, and development. We employed Landsat images, different …

Enhancing Cybersecurity Awareness In The United Arab Emirates: An Assessment Of Current Practices And The Development Of An Ai-Enhanced Mobile Application, Meera Alalawi

Thesis/ Dissertation Defenses

In today's interconnected world, individuals, private corporations, public institutions, and governments face increasingly sophisticated cyber threats and attacks, highlighting the critical need for individuals and organizations to understand cybersecurity comprehensively. Cyberattacks have affected many countries and infrastructures in different sectors worldwide, including the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which has become a main target for cybercrime due to its booming economy and tourism. The UAE considers cybersecurity an increasingly critical issue in our digital world, and increasing cybersecurity awareness among residents is essential to protect themselves and their organizations from cyberattacks. The primary objectives of this study are to identify key …

Socio-Economic Effects Of Orisumbare Sawmilling Industries On The Residents Of Ikire, Irewole Local Government Area Osun-State, Nigeria, Umar Usman Jimoh, D R. Ogungbemi

CSID Journal of Infrastructure Development

The study examined the socio-economic effects of the Orisumbare sawmill industry on the residents of Ikire, Irewole local government area of Osun State. The objectives of the study include, examination of the socio-economic characteristics of the respondents, the positive effects of industry on the residents, the negative impacts of industry on the residents, and the perceived environmental-induced diseases caused by industrial activities. A case study research design was adopted, while both primary and secondary data were utilised. A multistage sampling technique was used, in which a buffer zone of 900m radius was made to delineate the zone of industries’ influence. …

Faculty Senate Chronicle April 4, 2024, Heather Loughney

The University of Akron Faculty Senate Chronicle

Minutes for the regular meeting of The University of Akron Faculty Senate on April 4, 2024.

Effectiveness Of Wellness Programs For Correctional Officers, Robert Salvatore Petralia

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

No abstract provided.

The Experiences Of Older Adult Learners In Higher Education Transitioning To Online Learning During The Pandemic, Naeemah Giovanni Hardison

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

No abstract provided.

Multi Base Station Energy Efficient Cluster-Aware Routing For Wireless Sensor Networks With Realtime Data Backup, Martinaa M

Theses and Dissertations

Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) is created, stemming from their applications in distinct areas. This research focuses on implementing an efficient clustering and routing protocols to maximize the lifespan of the WSN by proposing a novel method known as the Energy Efficient Cluster-aware Routing Protocol (EECR). The proposed method comprises of three steps: cluster formation, cluster head (CH) selection, and multi-hop data transmission. The factors needed are residual energy, the minimum distance to the base station (BS), and the minimum Load Count as given in the Energy and Distance CH selection algorithm. The shortest pathway is estimated by the Energy Route …

The Importance Of Urban Eco-Gardens For Biodiversity And Human Sustainability: A Case Study From Palestine, Mazin B. Qumsiyeh, Mohammad H. Najajrah, Elias N. Handal, Johanna Gideon, Mohammed A. Abusarhan, Ruediger Prasse

Cities and the Environment (CATE)

The situation in Palestine is of concern where global threats of climate change, overexploitation, habitat destruction, invasive species, and pollution are compounded by occupation and conflict. Thus, almost 1/3^rd of vascular plant species are rare and over 50 are listed as endangered or rare based on their abundance and presence in grids studied earlier. Here, we describe the development of a conservation botanic garden that works via research, education, and direct in situ and ex situ conservation of plant species. The garden now boasts 381 species of vascular plants (63 are rare). The team scientifically and selectively introduced some …

Induction Of Viral Mimicry Upon Loss Of Dhx9 And Adar1 In Breast Cancer Cells, Kyle A Cottrell, Sua Ryu, Jackson R Pierce, Luisangely Soto Torres, Holly E Bohlin, Angela M Schab, Jason D Weber

2020-Current year OA Pubs

UNLABELLED: Detection of viral double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) is an important component of innate immunity. However, many endogenous RNAs containing double-stranded regions can be misrecognized and activate innate immunity. The IFN-inducible ADAR1-p150 suppresses dsRNA sensing, an essential function for adenosine deaminase acting on RNA 1 (ADAR1) in many cancers, including breast. Although ADAR1-p150 has been well established in this role, the functions of the constitutively expressed ADAR1-p110 isoform are less understood. We used proximity labeling to identify putative ADAR1-p110-interacting proteins in breast cancer cell lines. Of the proteins identified, the RNA helicase DHX9 was of particular interest. Knockdown of DHX9 in …

Copper Toxicity And Calcium Supplementation On Nkx2.5 And Mt2 Gene Expression In Zebrafish Embryos, Sahib Mohammad Bakir, Theodore B. Henry, Richard D. Handy

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

Background: Heavy metals are pervasive pollutants in aquatic ecosystems, posing significant threats to the survival and development of aquatic organisms, particularly during their early life stages. While copper is necessary for fish growth and maturation, elevated levels of dissolved copper in water can lead to adverse effects on early developmental stages. The aim of this study was to evaluate the expression pattern of the nkx2.5 gene and the potential of Mt2 expression as a biomarker for metal toxicity. Methods: The study assessed the expression levels of the nkx2.5 gene at different time points during embryonic development, focusing particularly on its …

Bodies Of Evidence: The Criminalization Of Abortion And Surveillance Of Women In A Post-Dobbs World, Jolynn Dellinger, Stephanie Pell

Duke Journal of Constitutional Law & Public Policy

In the wake of Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, state laws criminalizing abortion raise concerns about the investigation and prosecution of women seeking reproductive health care and about the surveillance such investigations will entail. The criminalization of abortion is not new, and the investigation of abortion crimes has always involved the surveillance of women. However, state statutes criminalizing abortion coupled with surveillance methods and technologies that did not exist pre-Roe present new and complex challenges surrounding the protection of women's privacy and liberty interests—in addition to the interests of those who may provide or help pregnant people obtain reproductive …

Are Salmon Colonizing Northeast Alaska?, Emilie Entrikin, Jessica Glass

2024 Research and Creative Activity Day Posters

I collected 132 passive eDNA samples from three Arctic rivers in the summer of 2023 in hopes to track the colonization of salmon in Northeast Alaska. I have been working in the lab with PCR and dPCR to find traces of chum and pink salmon and using the Dolly Varden as a test control.

Clements Drama Production Materials: Finding Aid, Bethany Latham

Finding Aids

This collection (cataloged on Bib #2712213) contains playbills, printed programs, costume sketches, fabric swatches, and other materials related to plays performed by JSU’s Department of Theatre and Film (formerly the Drama Department). The materials were compiled by Dr. Lewis Frederick Clements, Distinguished Professor of Theatre & Film at JSU. Most of the materials were donated to the Library upon Dr. Clements’ retirement in 2023, with a few additional items donated in 2024.

The Adult Rights-Bearing Archetype And How It Stifles Young People's Equal Protection, Catherine E. Smith

Duke Journal of Constitutional Law & Public Policy

American constitutional law is defined by a rights-bearing archetype that prioritizes adults—and the Equal Protection Clause is no exception. The Supreme Court has recognized children as constitutional persons and proclaimed that "neither the Fourteenth Amendment nor the Bill of Rights is for adults alone," but courts mostly see autonomous, rational, individualistic, income-generating grown people as rights-bearers. For the first time, this article reveals six adult-rights-bearing analytical traps that limit children's equal protection, and proposes jettisoning the rigid Carolene Products test in favor of a nascent youth-based framework. Instead of shoehorning children's rights into a web of laws and principles designed …

Issue 440: April 4-14, 2023, The Local Voice

The Local Voice

No abstract provided.

Computational Modeling Of Nanoscale Interaction Of Plasmonic Materials With 2d Materials For Sensing Applications, Maria Iftesum

LSU Master's Theses

Plasmonics is a new and exciting field that has the potential to advance many different types of technology, from information processing and energy harvesting to sensing and imaging. The broad field of plasmonic materials and their potential to improve the functionality of cutting-edge technologies are examined in this thesis.

The thesis explores the synthesis, characterization, and manipulation of plasmonic materials after providing an overview of the basic ideas behind plasmonics. Their distinct plasmonic properties and possible uses are clarified by a thorough investigation of a variety of materials, including noble metals, two-dimensional materials, metal oxides and hybrid structures.

A thorough …

Effects Of Treated Effluent Discharge On Tree Water Use And Growth In A Cypress Swamp., Devin Schexnayder

LSU Master's Theses

Inundated baldcypress (Taxodium distichum) trees generally respond to secondarily-treated and disinfected municipal effluent additions with increased growth rates and reduced mortality. Yet, the effects of effluent additions on the water-use and functional traits of inundated mature baldcypress are poorly understood. Because increased tree growth is associated with increased water use, effluent additions may affect the water budget in coastal swamps by increasing water uptake from the rhizosphere due to increased tree transpiration. I used sap flux density (f_d) measurements to assess water-use traits and tree-level daily transpiration (E) in seven mature inundated baldcypress trees that had …

Quantification Of Belowground Biomass And Sediment Accretion In Mangroves Of Different Coastal Environmental Settings Of The Costa Rican Pacific Coast, Denise M. Poveda

LSU Master's Theses

The adaptation of intertidal ecosystems such as mangroves to anticipated accelerated relative sea level rise is dependent on net increase of sediment surface elevations and forest migration inland. Ecosystem models developed to simulate trajectories of ecosystem adaptations have determined that rates of soil formation are most sensitive to surface sediment (organic and inorganic) deposition and subsurface organic production by mangrove roots. Mangrove belowground biomass contributes to soil organic matter accumulation, while mangrove litter has minor contribution due to export and annual decay. In addition to belowground biomass production, inorganic sediment loading is also key contribution to soil formation and accretion. …

Combating Terrorism To Promote National Security In Nigeria: Libraries And Information Centres To The Rescue, Udemezue Joseph Ogugua, Jovita Amarachi Ikeagwuani Mrs

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Terrorism is a hydra-headed monster and should be stamped out for the benefit of humanity. Fighting terrorism to enthrone national security should be at the front burner of government stakeholders especially this time that non-state actors operate with impunity. The paper discusses the role of libraries and information centres in combating terrorism and promoting national security in Nigeria. Specifically, the paper examines terrorism and national security, terrorism in Nigeria, the role of libraries and information centres in the fight against terrorism to promote national security. It also looks at the challenges encountered by libraries and information centres in the fight …

Beach Processes Controlling Erosional Hotspots And Their Influences On Beach Nourishment Performances: A Case Study Along West-Central Florida Barrier Island Beaches, Sophia Gutierrez

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the long-term performance of repeated beach nourishment over an approximately 35-year period at two barrier islands, Sand Key and Treasure Island along the west-central Florida coast, USA. Five cycles of beach nourishment on Sand Key and six on Treasure Island were conducted during the study period. Three erosional hotspots were identified along a combined 14-km stretch of the nourished beach. The processes that cause the erosional hotspot were examined through numerical modeling of nearshore wave and current fields.

The most recent three nourishments since 2006 were monitored systematically by this study. Beach profiles were surveyed bimonthly to …

Starting Small Or Big: An Artificial Language Paradigm, Rachel Evans

LSU Master's Theses

Previous research on language acquisition has raised two competing hypotheses: Starting Small and Starting Big. Starting Small states that limitations (small working memory capacity, simple structure, short string length, etc.) are beneficial for language learning, which explains why children are able to acquire language more easily than adults. Starting Big proposes the opposite, that input of chunks of language rather than individual units creates a stronger and more fluid understanding of grammatical relations between words. The current study aimed to investigate these theories in the context of an artificial language paradigm using a forced-choice task, a production task, a working …

Two New Catalysts For Oxidation Of Water To Oxygen, Takia Sultana

LSU Master's Theses

If fuels, such as hydrogen or methanol, are to be produced from renewable energy (solar or wind) in the future, efficient catalysts will be needed, not only for fuel production reactions but for the essential simultaneous oxidation of water to O₂. Ruthenium complexes are among the more promising water oxidation catalysts (WOCs). Two new isomeric ruthenium WOCs have been prepared based on the benzylpyridyltriazole ligand (Figure 3); trans-py-[Ru(tpy)(bpt)(H₂O)]²⁺ (trans-py-1) and trans-trz-[Ru(tpy)(bpt)(H₂O)]²⁺ (trans-trz-1) (tpy = 2,2’:6’,2’’-terpyridine, bpt = benzylpyridyltriazole). Ceric ammonium nitrate [(CAN)/Ce(IV)] oxidants were …

Settling Preference Of Nipponaclerda Biwakoensis (Hemiptera: Aclerdidae) On Phragmites Australis Stems, Alexia Catherine Desoto

LSU Master's Theses

Phragmites australis, a wetland grass that stabilizes the Louisiana coastline, has been undergoing a major die-off near the Mississippi River Delta (MRD) since the autumn of 2016. One suspected cause for this plant decline is the attack of an invasive scale insect, Nipponaclerda biwakoensis. We lack information on the host preference of the crawlers, the life stage that decides where to settle and when to start feeding on the plant. The objectives of this study were to identify what positions along the vertical stem N. biwakoensis prefers to settle and what host-plant traits may be influencing this choice. We recorded …

Soil Health Cycle, Bijesh Maharjan, Saurav Das, Vesh R. Thapa, Bharat Sharma Acharya

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Soil health is pivotal to agricultural sustainability. Promoting and sustaining soil health management is challenging since it involves many interdependent components and steps and is an iterative process. Herein, the soil health cycle (SHC) is proposed as a soil health management cycle encompassing human dimensions, management practices, and their effects on soil health indicators (SHIs), leading to subsequent impacts on soil functions. The SHC provides a structure for an iterative testing of changes to improve soil health. A systematic review of research publications was also conducted using the Web of Science database supplemented by Elicit AI and Scopus API searches …

The Relationship Between Perceived Patient Safety Outcomes And General Practice Physician Burnout, Tiffany Evon Robinson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

No abstract provided.

Round Ii: Exploring The Experiences Of Black, First-Generation Graduate And Professional Students At Historically Black Colleges And Universities (Hbcus), Derrick D. Lathan

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This phenomenological study explores the experiences of Black, first-generation (first-gen) students pursuing advanced degrees at historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs), following the COVID-19 pandemic and racial justice movements like Black Lives Matter. Additionally, this study examines the present-day motivations to pursue advanced degrees, particularly the benefits of doing so at an HBCU. The main research question guiding this study is: What are the experiences of Black, first-gen graduate and professional students at historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs)? The sub-questions are:

1. How do Black, first-gen graduate and professional students describe being a first-gen student?
2. What barriers and supports impact …