Digital Commons Network^™

Resource Assessment Report No. 10: Southern Nearshore And Estuarine Scalefish Resource: Sandy Sprat (Whitebait) 2026 Assessment, Daniel E. Yeoh, Brett Crisafulli, Rubie Evans-Powell, Sybrand A. Hesp

Resource Assessment Reports

Sandy sprat Hyperlophus vittatus (‘whitebait’) is a small-bodied clupeid which occurs in temperate nearshore marine and estuarine waters throughout southern Australia. In Western Australia, this species is almost exclusively caught by the commercial sector on the lower west coast, between Perth and Geographe Bay, where it is considered to comprise a single biological stock. Since 2010, sandy sprat has primarily been caught by the South West Beach Net Fishery (SWBN) in the Bunbury region. This is a shore-based fishery which utilises beach seine nets to target a variety of finfish species in shallow nearshore waters.

Commercial catch is monitored and …

From Innovation To Impact: Evaluation Of The Shape Accelerator Cohort, Iryna V. Lendel, Chloe Wieber

Upjohn Institute Technical Reports

The Solutions Hub for an Alternative Packaging Ecosystem (SHAPE), a Michigan-Ohio partnership operated by the Michigan State University Research Foundation as part of a National Science Foundation Regional Innovation Engine, co-funded a special cohort of the NextCycle Accelerator focused on sustainable packaging and circular economy ventures. This report evaluates how the accelerator contributed to firm-level advancement and ecosystem-level change, drawing on program data and interviews with participating companies, program facilitators, stakeholders, and SHAPE management.  Participants most consistently credited coaching, network connections, and the Pitch Showcase with meaningfully impacting their business trajectory, gaining market traction, advancing technology readiness, and gaining access …

Wmu Board Of Trustee Board Meeting, Thursday, October 29, 2026, Wmu Board Of Trustees

WMU Board of Trustees Meetings

• Acceptance of the Agenda
• Approval of the Minutes (September 10, 2026)
• Remarks by the Chair of the Board
• Remarks by the President
• Updates by the Faculty Senate President
• Updates by the Western Student Association President
• Updates by the Graduate Student Association President
• Air Race Classic Team (College of Aviation)
• Public Comments Regarding Action Items

Action Items

• Five-Year Capital Outlay Master Plan and Project Request
• International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees Labor Agreement (IATSE)
• Asylum Lake Interlocal Agreement and Declaration of Conservation Restrictions

Consent Items

1. WMU Foundation Bylaws Revision
2. Authorization to Submit a Tax Registration to the People’s Republic of China …

Otterbein Towers Fall 2026, Otterbein University

Towers Magazine

Table of Contents:

• Around the 'Bein
• The Future is Now for These 2026 Graduates
• The Heart of Health and Sport Sciences
• Alumna Returns to Lead Belonging Efforts
• Otterbein and Church of the Master have been Partners with Purpose for 175 Years
• Otterbein READY Makes Career Readiness a Graduation Requirement
• Homecoming Weekend
• Philanthropy
• Alumni Matters
• Class Notes

What Controls The Spatial Variation In Thermal Sensitivity In A Cascades River Basin During An Extreme Heat Year?, Savannah Milburn, Michael Krochta, Heejun Chang

Geography Faculty Publications and Presentations

Increasing stream temperatures resulting from climate change and consequent detrimental impacts on temperature‐dependent aquatic species have signalled the need to better understand how different streams respond to changes in air temperature. This research generates a new assessment of thermal sensitivity in the Clackamas River Basin, Oregon, USA by analysing how underlying geology, climate, hydrology and land cover explain spatial variation in stream thermal sensitivity. Multiple linear regression analysis using spatially explicit landscape predictors across 72 sites identified upstream High Cascades geology, elevation, baseflow index, total upstream area and upstream shrubland area as the most significant and stable predictors determining thermal …

Approaching Chinese Art Songs: A Mandarin Diction Guide For English-Speaking Singers, Tianming Qi

Doctoral Scholarly Projects & Capstones

This article presents a graded Mandarin diction guide for English-speaking singers studying Chinese art song. Responding to the limited availability of Mandarin diction resources organized by level, it examines Qing Zhu’s “The Great River Goes East,” Yuanren Zhao’s “How Can I Not Think of Him?,” and Yong Chen’s “Love of the Sea” as beginning, intermediate, and advanced case studies. The analysis considers initials, finals, lexical tones, tone-sandhi, syllable structure, text density, and their coordination with rhythm, legato, and melodic phrasing. The study shows that diction difficulty arises not from isolated sounds but from the concentration and interaction of these features …

The Survival Of Sugar In Post-Emancipation British Guiana: East Indian Indentured Immigration And The Cheapening Of Labor, Wazir Mohamed

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

This Paper revisits the post-emancipation changes in the labor market of British Guiana. British Guiana, Mauritius, Trinidad and Tobago, Fiji, and several other locations were spaces where East Indian Indentured Immigrants from Idia became pivotal in the economy.[1] In the decade after emancipation (1838-1848), the rise of global free trade in sugar spurred by the equalization of duties in sugar factored in the search for a cheaper and the importation of a more pliable labor force to keep the wheels of sugar turning in British Guiana. With this background in mind this paper focuses on indentured immigration of East …

Holding Hope: Maternal Experiences Of Kangaroo Mother Care Within Sociocultural Contexts In Ethiopia., Miraj Fuad Alemar, Betelehem B. Kassa, Mahlet Abayneh, Hanan N. Mohammed, Stephanie Kukora

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

BACKGROUND: Kangaroo mother care (KMC) is a crucial method for improving the health outcomes of preterm and low birth weight (LBW) infants, particularly in resource-limited settings. However, barriers hinder mothers from effectively practicing KMC. This study aims to explore mothers' perceptions, hopes, and buy-in regarding KMC in a tertiary care center in Ethiopia.

METHODS: A semistructured interview guide was developed on the basis of a literature review. In-depth interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of mothers who had practiced KMC within the past two years at Saint Paul's Hospital Millennium Medical College (SPHMMC), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The interviews, which …

Lightweight Open-Source Reasoning Large Language Model For Evidence Synthesis Screening, David M Dávila-García, Amanda Gilbert, Adam B Wilcox

2020-Current year OA Pubs

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate performance and efficiency of a lightweight open-source reasoning large language model (LLM) against an expert-derived reference standard for screening scientific publication databases.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: Two expert reviewers screened subsets of database records across 3 stages: (1) base eligibility (

RESULTS: Interreader agreement was near-perfect (

DISCUSSION: The LLM achieved high performance and efficiency relative to an expert-derived reference standard for screening.

CONCLUSION: The use of lightweight open-source reasoning LLMs shows promise to support screening in evidence synthesis workflows.

A Deep-Learning Based Biomarker Of Systemic Cellular Senescence Burden To Predict Mortality And Health Outcomes, Shangshu Zhao, Chia-Ling Kuo, Eric J Lenze, Julie L Wetherell, Laura Haynes, Perla El-Ahmad, Richard Fortinsky, George Kuchel, Trevor Harris, Breno S Diniz

2020-Current year OA Pubs

The accumulation of senescent cells is a recognized hallmark of biological aging and is associated with the onset of multiple chronic medical conditions. Senescent cells exhibit a distinct secretory profile, known as the senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP), which can propagate cellular senescence to neighboring and distant tissues. Measuring SASP factors in blood serves as a practical proxy for cellular senescence burden and may help track disease states and intervention outcomes. We developed and validated a composite SASP Score by integrating large-scale population proteomics data with a semi-supervised deep learning framework. The analytical workflow included: (1) selection of biologically curated SASP …

Factor Structure Of The Neuropsychological Battery In The Mexican Cognitive Aging Ancillary Study (Mex-Cog), Lily Kamalyan, Zachary J. Kunicki, Sangha Jeon, Guanyi Yang, Silvia Mejia-Arango, Alejandra Michaels Obregon, Rebeca Wong, Joseph Saenz, Emily M. Briceño, Miguel Arce Rentería

School of Medicine Publications

Objective: The Mexican Cognitive Aging Ancillary Study administers a comprehensive cognitive assessment based on the Harmonized Cognitive Assessment Protocol. To ensure accurate measurement of cognition for older adults in Mexico, we sought to determine the cognitive factor model of the Mexican Cognitive Aging Ancillary Study battery at Wave 1. Method: Participants were 2,042 adults over the age of 55 living in Mexico in 2016, selected from the Mexican Health and Aging Study survey of 2015. We used confirmatory factor analysis to assess and refine a theoretically driven multiple domain hierarchical factor structure. Correlation estimates between cognitive scores and age and …

The Last Days Of Judas Iscariot

Theatre and Performance Studies Programs

The Last Days of Judas Iscariot 2026 program

Aidws3: Stubborn And Hallucinating Agents, Inal Mashukov

Paul English Applied Artificial Intelligence (AI) Institute Publications

This workshop, part of the AI Demo Day Workshop Series hosted by the Paul English Applied AI Institute (PEAAII) at UMass Boston, explores the bias-variance tradeoff and how it affects the performance and reliability of AI models and agents. Led by Inal Mashukov, PhD Researcher at UMass Boston, the session covers concepts such as underfitting, overfitting, and regularization techniques to improve model performance. Through practical examples and hands-on exercises using PyTorch, participants explore why AI agents may hallucinate, repeat mistakes, or struggle to adapt, and learn approaches to building more reliable AI systems.

Legalist Verses Realist Accounts Of United States V. Skrmetti, Neil S. Siegel

Faculty Scholarship

Although the Supreme Court is increasingly adopting an understanding of sex discrimination that is biologically focused and/or formalistic, this Article argues that the Court does not consistently apply that conception when doing so benefits transgender Americans. The Court’s conclusion in United States v. Skrmetti that no facial sex classification exists in Tennessee’s law banning gender-affirming care for transgender—but not cisgender—minors is irreconcilable with its conclusion five years earlier in Bostock v. Clayton County that Title VII’s prohibition on sex discrimination prohibits employers from firing employees just because they are transgender. Perhaps tellingly, only Justice Gorsuch, Bostock’s author, and Chief Justice …

Aidws1: Building With Llms And Ai Agent, Olivier Kepler Francois

Paul English Applied Artificial Intelligence (AI) Institute Publications

The Paul English Applied Artificial Intelligence Institute (PEAAII) at the University of Massachusetts Boston hosted the first session of its AI Demo Workshop Series, “Building with LLMs and AI Agents,” on October 5, 2026, led by Olivier Kepler Francois, Founder and Researcher of WebAIAgent. This hands-on workshop introduced participants to developing AI-powered web applications using Large Language Models (LLMs), Next.js, React, HTTP communication, and the OpenAI API. Through guided demonstrations and practical exercises, participants explored frontend and backend development, API integration, user interaction, and the end-to-end process of building an interactive AI application. The session provided foundational knowledge and practical …

Deflation-Based Preconditioning For Parallel Time Stepping Algorithms, Marina Nacianceno, Josef A. Sifuentes

School of Mathematical & Statistical Sciences Faculty Publications

Often, in solving large systems of differential equations using a time-stepping algorithm, one must solve multiple linear systems where the coefficient matrix is unchanged or shifted by a constant multiple of the identity. This can be computationally expensive when the coefficient matrix involved is very large. Where direct methods like Gaussian elimination are infeasible, iterative methods like GMRES are often used. It is especially useful when the matrices involved are sparse or allow for fast matrix multiplication algorithms. In this paper, we propose preconditioning strategies that glean information from previous runs of GMRES to build an effective preconditioner for subsequent …

Student Perceptions Of Artificial Intelligence-Generated Child Sexual Abuse Material: A Qualitative Content Analysis, Paige Horton, Amanda Isabel Osuna

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

The rapid growth of artificial intelligence (AI), especially generative AI and deepfake technology, has introduced new challenges in the production and dissemination of child sexual abuse material (CSAM). While existing research has examined the technological and legal implications of AI-generated child sexual abuse material, less is known about how the public, especially young adults who are most likely to use AI technologies, perceive these developments. The present study addresses this gap by examining undergraduate student perceptions of AI-generated child sexual abuse material at a medium-sized private university in the Southeastern United States. Using data from a Qualtrics survey, this study …

Spirituality And Resilience Among Survivors Of Child Sex Trafficking: A Ten-Year Longitudinal Study In Cambodia, Glenn M. Miles, Lim Vanntheary, Nhanh Chantha

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

Sex trafficking causes profound trauma requiring comprehensive healing. While spirituality is central in many survivors’ lives, it remains under-researched. In Cambodia, Christian organisations provide most aftercare despite 93-97% Buddhist population, creating complex religious dynamics. This study examined how spirituality affects trauma recovery, the factors that support or hinder spiritual practice, and how religious identity is negotiated over time. Butterfly Longitudinal Research project followed 128 sex trafficking survivors (80% female, 20% male, ages 6-30 at baseline) in Christian-founded aftercare programs throughout Cambodia, beginning 2010. A mixed-methods longitudinal design employed structured questionnaires and in-depth interviews 2-3 times annually over 10 years, …

Identity Through Violence: Collective Integration And Symbolic Self-Completion Across Extremist, Cartel, And Non-Ideological Mass Violence, Amanda N. Moeller, Abi K. Leyden, Isaac J. Moelter, Erin Johnson, Gina Scott Ligon, Samuel Hunter

Reports, Projects, and Research

Formal organizational membership alone can obscure perpetrators’ connections to broader violent communities. Drawing on Symbolic Self-Completion Theory, we examine how collective integration relates to the ways attacks communicate identity, affiliation, and meaning. We analyzed 102 mass violence incidents spanning U.S. domestic violent extremism, foreign and foreign-inspired terrorism in the United States, non-ideological mass violence in the United States, and cartel violence in Mexico. Our framework distinguishes five levels of integration, from no documented collective connection to formal membership. Incidents involving any collective connection contained more symbolic content and used more communicative channels than those without one. Loosely integrated perpetrators incorporated …

Society Of Tennessee Archivists Annual Meeting Program, 2026, Society Of Tennessee Archivists, Janine Winfree, Jill E. Anderson, Sandra Campbell, Kathleen Feduccia

Society of Tennessee Archivists Annual Meeting programs

Program of the Annual Meeting of the Society of Tennessee Archivists held in Memphis, Tennessee on 2026 October 8-9.

Retention Rates: A Qualitative Study Exploring Teachers’ Perspectives Of Teaching In Northeast Florida, Dawn J. Kell

Doctor of Education (Ed.D)

This qualitative phenomenological study explored workplace experiences and motivational factors influencing teacher retention among Northeast Florida charter school educators. With nearly half a million teachers leaving the classroom annually and approximately 41% leaving within their first five years, understanding why educators remain in the profession is imperative for sustaining student success and educational quality. The purpose of this study was to explore motivational factors that lead teachers to remain in the profession despite current challenges. Using a purposeful sampling method, 12 certified Northeast Florida charter school teachers participated in 30-minute semi-structured interviews conducted via Zoom. Each 30-minute interview was recorded, …

Beyond Satisfaction: Predictors And Correlates Of Marital Health, Erin C. Smalley

Doctor of Education (Ed.D)

This quantitative, nonexperimental, cross-sectional study evaluated factors associated with and predictive of marital health. Marital health was identified as a more holistic evaluator of marital connection and commitment, moving beyond individual satisfaction. The original sample was taken from the archived Marriage Health in America survey data. The sample included 3,808 United States adults. Participants completed a marital satisfaction index and a marital health measure, while simultaneously ranking 32 identified factors of marital health. The results found that love for each other was the strongest predictor of marital health, followed by communication through listening, respect, trust, and sexual intimacy. These findings …

Guided By Innovation: A Phenomenological Study Of Virtual Elementary Teachers’ Perceptions Of Generative Artificial Intelligence Integration, Lisa M. Berry

Doctor of Education (Ed.D)

The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of elementary virtual teachers who integrate generative artificial intelligence (GAI) tools in their pedagogical practices at a large elementary virtual school. Participants were purposively sampled because those in the specified virtual school program provided relevant, experience-based insights and allowed the researcher practical, feasible access (Creswell & Poth, 2018). The participant sample for this study consisted of virtual elementary teachers who taught students in kindergarten through fifth grade. The researcher conducted semi-structured interviews with 10 teachers. The researcher followed Creswell and Poth’s (2018) data analysis spiral to systematically …

Operationalising Equity In Ecosystem-Based Fisheries Management, Riley Bibaud, Tom Mullier, Matthew Ashley, Holly Niner, Lauren Stewart, Siân Rees

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

Equity is increasingly recognised as a critical dimension of sustainable ocean governance, yet operational frameworks for incorporating equity considerations into marine governance remain limited. Fisheries management practices have traditionally concentrated on stock sustainability and commercial extraction, often without fully addressing the broader ecosystem dynamics that underpin fish populations throughout key life stages. This study explores how Ecosystem-Based Fisheries Management (EBFM) can support more equitable outcomes by applying a beneficiary-centric natural capital framework to the Celtic Sea and Western Channel Pelagic Fisheries Management Plan. A typology of beneficiaries was developed to assess the distribution of ecosystem service benefits, followed by a …

Loma Linda Nurse - Vol. 35, Loma Linda University School Of Nursing

Loma Linda Nurse

FEATURES

4 | From Behind the Lens to by the Bedside—Nicole Mackey

6 | Coming Home— CRNA Alumni Faculty Feature

8 | From NICU Miracle Baby to Nurse—Nito Gil

10 | Change the Game— Miguel Aguayo

12 | Standing in the Shadow of a Miracle—Joyce Rusch

LLUSN HIGHLIGHTS

14-21 | ALUMNI NEWS

22-29 | ACADEMICS

30-33 | HOMECOMING

34-38 | FACULTY UPDATES

Cumulative Gravitational Time Dilations Across The Universe, Richard Petarius, Robert J. Nemiroff

Michigan Tech Publications

Matter dilates time in its surroundings, typically quantified by the Schwarzschild metric. Extrapolating, mass-energy in the universe creates a cumulative time dilation at the Earth, a dilation different from the commonly invoked (1+z) cosmological redshift. In Newtonian cosmology, it is shown that the diverging amount of distant mass-energy with distance causes a similarly diverging cumulative time dilation at the Earth. In several relativistic Friedmann-Lemaitre-Robertson-Walker cosmologies, the Newtonian gauge is used to estimate a conceptually similar cumulative time dilation by successively replacing mass-energy shells by voids and tallying the cumulative difference. As a function of redshift, it is found that this …

Improving Outcomes Through Early Management Of Pre-Eclampsia Risk Factors, Ada Licin-Odnez

All Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Scholarly Projects

Problem: Pre-eclampsia is a serious pregnancy condition characterized by high blood pressure and proteinuria, typically occurring after 20 weeks. Pre-eclampsia affects 2–8% of pregnancies globally. Early detection and proper care are essential. The OBGYN clinic reports a 20% rate among high-risk patients, significantly higher than the national 5–8%, attributed to limited education, poor care coordination, and inadequate postpartum support. A medication-only approach without proper education has not effectively reduced the rates.

Aim of the Project: The overarching aim of the Quality Improvement project was to improve maternal and infant outcomes by managing pre-eclampsia risk factors. The QI project reduced the …

Improving Hospital Throughput Through Early Mobilization And Proactive Case Management, Sadaf Mir

All Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Scholarly Projects

Problem: Prolonged length of stay (LOS) reflected through throughput inefficiency at a Level II trauma center in western United States. Average hospital LOS was 5.3 days, exceeding the organizational benchmark and national average of 4.9 days. Gap analysis identified lack of standardized early mobilization (EM) and inconsistent case management (CM) participation in rounds, contributing to delayed progression, reactive discharge planning, higher costs, reduced bed capacity, and complication risk.

Aim: To reduce hospital LOS by targeting adult trauma patients as a pilot population, aiming to decrease average LOS from 5.3 to 4.9 days over 12 weeks through an early mobility bundle …

Where Are Linearized Gauge Invariants Encoded For Plane Waves In Linearized Gravity, Ramesh Radhakrishnan, David Mcnutt, Delaram Mirfendereski, Eric Davis, William Julius, Gerald Cleaver

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Publications

In this work we will investigate the structures of invariants within the class of plane waves in linearized General Relativity, to introduce a new approach to determine the linearized gauge invariants encoding the polarization of the plane waves. The Newman–Penrose (NP) formalism is traditionally used to analyze the polarization content of gravitational waves, while the gauge-invariant Bardeen formalism provides a complementary description based on the irreducible scalar, vector, and tensor perturbations of the metric. We will apply the Bardeen formalism to compute all scalar, vector, and tensor gauge-invariant variables explicitly and verify that only the two transverse–traceless tensor modes survive. …

Festivalization As A Tool For Revitalizing Historic Sites The Case Of Maqa’Ad El-Sultan Qaitbay, Cairo, Egypt, Mona Helmy, Sherin Ashraf

Architectural Engineering

Historic sites are vital components of cities' urbanism, embodying distinctive spatial, architectural, and cultural narratives that shape their character. Their significance extends beyond the built environment, arising from the interplay between tangible elements, such as building forms and spatial organization, and intangible socio-cultural aspects. In many historic sites in Egypt and the Arab world, underuse has led to a decline in social vibrancy, reducing their contribution to the urban fabric. To address this issue, global strategies and tools such as adaptive reuse, placemaking, and festivalization have been employed to revitalize historic public spaces. This research explores the potential of festivalization …