Digital Commons Network^™

2026-01-21 Redhawks Men’S Basketball Drops Rematch Versus No. 9 Gonzaga, Maddie Rodriguez

The Spectator Online

No abstract provided.

Early Atopic Dermatitis And Risk Of Later Autism Spectrum Disorders, Annissa Courtney Heslope-Mathieu

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Early-onset atopic dermatitis (AD) affects approximately 10-20% of children in the United States, and emerging evidence suggests potential links between early immune dysregulation and neurodevelopmental outcomes. Limited research has examined whether early AD serves as a specific risk factor for later ASD diagnosis. Guided by life course theory, the purpose of this study was to examine whether AD diagnosed within the first two years of life predicts later diagnosis of ASD among U.S. children younger than five years. A secondary analysis of the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study was conducted using a retrospective cohort design. The sample included 2,949 …

International Human Rights Law And Forced, Coerced And Involuntary Sterilization In Africa, John Mukum Mbaku

Fordham International Law Journal

In the last several years, courts and tribunals at the international, regional, and national levels have tackled the issue of forced, coerced, and involuntary sterilization, especially as it affects the rights of members of vulnerable or marginalized groups (e.g., women and girls with disabilities, or those living with HIV). International, regional, and national human rights bodies have described forced and coerced sterilization as a violation of human rights and fundamental freedoms, which include the right to the highest attainable standard of mental and physical health, the right to information, the right to found a family, and the right to be …

Revisiting Collective Efficacy: Insights From Cognitive Interviews And Experimental Surveys, Tori Kay Olson

Dissertations

This three-part study revisits the collective efficacy scale developed by Sampson and colleagues in the 1990s to see if the scale needs updating. Defined as community cohesion and social control, collective efficacy is often used in community research to explain crime rates. The first phase uses cognitive interviews to understand how survey respondents interpret the original collective efficacy survey. The interview data then helps create new versions of the ten questions in the second phase. In the third phase, ChatGPT generates a revised version of the collective efficacy scale. The study employs a split-ballot experimental survey to test whether the …

Maturity-Onset Diabetes Of The Young (Mody) In A Racially/Ethnically Diverse Pediatric Population, Shilpi Relan, Guido Alarcon, Danielle Guffey, Charles G Minard, Mary E Fang, Kelly Timmons, Rona Y Sonabend, Mustafa Tosur, Maria J Redondo, Jennifer E Posey

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Context: Current practice guidelines recommend considering a diagnosis of maturity-onset diabetes of the young (MODY) in patients with diabetes with an affected parent but without typical features of type 1 or type 2 diabetes.

Objective: To test if these criteria apply to a real-world cohort of racially/ethnically diverse children with diabetes.

Methods: We performed a retrospective case review of electronic medical records of youth diagnosed with MODY in a large academic pediatric hospital in Southwestern United States. Cases were ascertained based on the identification of a molecular diagnosis of MODY.

Results: We studied 50 genetically confirmed cases of MODY: 60% …

Adaptable Ai Apprentices: Law Practice Sidekicks, Henry H. Perritt, Jr.

University of Miami Law Review

Two case studies involving motorcycle-accident negligence and administrative law in the context of drone regulation violations explore the transformative potential of generative AI in legal practice. Four AI engines—DeepSeek, Claude, ChatGPT, and Grok—were asked to analyze transcripts of client interviews by identifying legal claims and assessing their strengths and weaknesses.

The results demonstrate that current AI technology effectively processes natural-language client interviews, identifies viable legal theories, and assesses claim strengths and weaknesses in both tort and administrative law contexts. The AI systems demonstrated proficiency in parsing legal theories and citing relevant statutes and administrative regulations, though case citations were frequently …

From Pirates To Corporations: The Evolving Battleground Of The Alien Tort Statute, Marin Larkin

Notre Dame Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

A Comparative Analysis Of The Rule Of Lenity And National Power Structures, Albert Kwon

Notre Dame Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Studies Of Rhenium(I) Complexes With Protic Ligand Backbones: Base-Enabled Substitution And Co₂ Reduction, Konkanok Mathuros

Theses and Dissertations from DePaul University

Carbon dioxide is a major contributor to global climate change, and developing efficient electrocatalysts for its reduction to useful products remains an important challenge in renewable energy and sustainable chemistry. Rhenium(I) tricarbonyl complexes have been widely studied for selective CO₂-to-CO conversion, and recent efforts have focused on understanding how ligand structure and proton-coupled electron transfer (PCET) processes govern catalytic activity. In this work, two families of rhenium complexes with protic backbones, fac-Re(PyBim)(CO)₃L and fac-Re(BidmimH)(CO)₃L (PyBimH = 2-(2′-pyridyl)benzimidazole; BidmimH₂ = 2,2′-bis(4,5-dimethylimidazole); L = neutral ligands), were synthesized and characterized to investigate the influence of axial ligand electronics on CO₂ reduction behavior. …

The Role Of Familism In The Relationship Between Ethnic Identity And Sleep In Hispanic/Latino Adults: Results From The Hispanic Community Health Study/Study Of Latinos (Hchs/Sol), Tetyana Krutsik

Theses and Dissertations from DePaul University

Hispanic/Latino individuals in the U.S. face sleep health disparities, reporting higher rates of short sleep duration and fragmented sleep compared to non-Hispanic white individuals. While Hispanic/Latino immigrants initially report better sleep health than their U.S.-born counterparts, prolonged residence in the U.S. is associated with worsening sleep, possibly due to acculturative stress. Ethnic identity and familism are cultural factors that have been correlated with positive health outcomes, even mitigating the adverse effects of acculturative stress and discrimination. However, little is known about the associations between these cultural factors and sleep health outcomes. This study aimed to examine the effect of ethnic …

The Optical Counterparts Of Compact X-Ray Binaries In The Globular Cluster Ngc 6266, Scott Legeza

Theses and Dissertations from DePaul University

Globular clusters provide valuable insight into the formation of galaxies and stars. As some of the oldest structures in the Milky Way Galaxy, the stars that make up clusters are some of the oldest witnesses to the formation of our Galaxy, and in some cases, the Universe itself. Additionally, clusters are an excellent source of X-ray information, and the positions of X-ray sources tend to correlate with the positions of globular clusters. As such, studying globular clusters is an excellent way to study galactic compact X-ray binary stars. We present a study of the globular cluster NGC 6266, and perform …

Chinese Young Children's Science Learning From Viewing Big Bird Looks At The World, Minxi Cheng

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

This study examined how cognitive and contextual factors jointly predict Chinese preschoolers’ science learning from the educational television program Big Bird Looks at the World (BBLW). Grounded in Fisch’s capacity model and Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological theory, the research aimed to clarify how children’s cognitive resources and ecological conditions interact to shape learning from media. Using secondary data from a large experimental sample of Chinese preschoolers (N = 849) across multiple regions, hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) was employed to estimate the relative contributions of predictors at the child and regional levels. Child-level variables included prior science knowledge, memory capacity, interest, age, household …

Broken Symmetry Effects On Anisotropy And Switching In Magnetic Thin Films, Kazi Zahirul Islam

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

The performance of spintronics devices such as data storage, magnetic memory, read heads, logic technology and magnetic sensors are driven by a complex interplay of a variety of material parameters, which in turn determine a wide range of performance metrics such as radiation hardness, scalability, speed and energies needed for operation. Magnetic anisotropy represents one of these key material properties influencing magnetization dynamics, and ultimately, functionality of a variety of spintronic devices. Therefore, understanding and controlling magnetic anisotropy is essential for the further development of the devices. While magnetic anisotropy can be intrinsic to a specific material, symmetry breaking is …

Clinical, Imaging And Blood Biomarker Outcomes In A Phase 3 Clinical Trial Of Tau Aggregation Inhibitor Hydromethylthionine Mesylate In Mild Cognitive Impairment And Mild To Moderate Dementia Due To Alzheimer’S Disease, Claude Wischik, Richard G. Stefanacci, Peter Bentham, Serge Gauthier, Henrik Zetterberg, Gordon Wilcock, Lutz Froelich, Alistair Burns, Emer Macsweeney, Clive Ballard, Jin-Tai Yu, Tay Siew Choon, Vahe Asvatourian, Natalia Muehlemann, Jan Priel, Karin Kook, Tenecia Sullivan, Diane Downie, Sonya Miller, Carol Pringle, John Storey, Tom Baddeley, Charles R Harrington, Lewis Penny, Mohammad Arastoo, Roger Staff, Anca-Larisa Sandu, Helen Shiells, Serena Lo, Nafeesa Nazlee, Emily Evans, Claire Hull, Bjoern Schelter

College of Population Health Faculty Papers

BACKGROUND: Hydromethylthionine mesylate (HMTM) targets tau pathology and has tau-independent symptomatic activity.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the safety and efficacy of HMTM in participants with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and mild to moderate dementia due to Alzheimer's disease (AD).

SETTING: 82 centres in Canada, European Union, United Kingdom and United States of America.

PARTICIPANTS: A total of 598 amyloid β-PET positive participants were included; 44% (263) met clinical criteria for MCI due to Alzheimer's disease and 56% (335) were diagnosed with mild to moderate dementia due to AD.

INTERVENTION: HMTM 16 mg/day and 8 mg/day were compared with methylthioninium chloride (MTC) …

Lindenwood Digest, January 21, 2026, Lindenwood University

Lindenwood Digest

Primary Figures: Payroll Director Monica Seiter; Elaine Ragland; Staff Council; Lindenwood Learning Academy; the Gender Studies program.

Key Events: Faculty Performance Evaluation sign-offs are due January 22, 2026; nominations for the Sibley and Easton Awards must be submitted by February 20, 2026; paper 2025 W-2 tax forms are scheduled for mailing on January 30, 2025.

Date/Location: The digest covers institutional updates and events occurring between January 21, 2026, and April 29, 2026, at the Saint Charles, Missouri campus and online.

Archival Significance: This document records the Spring 2026 Gender Studies Book Club selection of Ace Voices by Eris Young; the …

Consumer Vs. Code: The Future Of Consumer Smart Contracts From Code To Legal Practice, Amir Bushansky

Fordham International Law Journal

This Article evaluates the feasibility of implementing consumer contracts—including standard-form agreements—as smart contracts and assesses their adaptability through the lens of consumer protection law.

Specifically, it examines whether the traditional consumer contract framework can be meaningfully implemented in the form of smart contracts. It further considers whether such implementation necessitates adaptations—both in the technological architecture of the contracts themselves and in the underlying legal framework. By addressing these questions, the Article aims to contribute to a more coherent and forward-looking approach to regulating automated, code-based contracting in consumer markets.

Heterogeneous Catalysis Of Large Biomolecules: Insights From Platinum Particle Size In Nad+Regeneration, Jianwei Li, Samuel Robertshaw, Shouying Huang, Shelley D. Minteer, Xiaodong Wang

Chemistry Faculty Research & Creative Works

Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD⁺) cofactor regeneration is essential for enabling dehydrogenase-promoted biosynthesis for value-added chemicals. Heterogeneous catalytic cofactor regeneration, using supported metal catalysts, is an emerging approach and has shown great promise. However, mechanistic insight remains largely unexplored. In this work, a series of silica-supported platinum (Pt) catalysts have been prepared for NAD⁺ cofactor regeneration, to understand the roles of Pt particle size and structure. A turnover frequency (TOF) 'volcano plot' was obtained for Pt clusters in the range of 2.2–7.1 nm, with the maximum TOF (136 h⁻¹) observed at 5.6 nm. Selective Pt site …

I Wasn’T Prepared For That”: Uk Social Worker Experiences Of Training In And Knowledge Of Acquired Brain Injury, Alyson Norman, Mark Holloway

School of Psychology

Summary: Acquired brain injury is a major cause of death and disability. Due to the impact of acquired brain injury on an individual's and a family's functioning, social workers are likely to encounter individuals and families affected by the condition. This study aimed to (1) identify the existing level of knowledge and skills of social workers in working with individuals with acquired brain injury and their families and (2) examine the training needs of social workers to improve their knowledge and skills in working with those with acquired brain injury. A series of semi-structured interviews with newly qualified social workers …

Distress Calls As Social Stressors Affecting Chicken Welfare, Katherine A. Herborn, Benjamin Wilson, Sarah A. Collins, Malcolm A. Mitchell, Alan G. Mcelligott, Lucy Asher

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

Social signals about current environmental risks can shape development in young animals. Distress calls made by young chickens (Gallus gallus domesticus) may also encode affective state, with high arousal, potentially ‘anxiety-like’ state characterized by continuous calling, and learned helplessness or potentially ‘depression-like’ state by a more intermittent pattern. During early life (age 4–7 days), we played chicks artificial stimuli mimicking these two call patterns. Growth effects suggest caller affective state can modulate this social signal: chicks exposed to bouts of ‘Continuous’ calls grew faster and were heavier by late commercial life (day 43) than Controls. In contrast, chicks exposed to …

Spatial Strategies In Non-Territorial Societies: How Feral Horses Maintain Boundaries With Other Groups, Tamao Maeda, Sota Inoue, Monamie Ringhofer, Satoshi Hirata, Shinya Yamamoto

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Encounters between competitive individuals or groups are common in social animals and can involve costly aggression; thus, animals often employ strategies to minimize direct conflict. However, research on whether and how animals adjust their group spatial structure when they encounter or spatially co-occur with a different group remains limited. We investigated how non-territorial units in feral horse multilevel societies manage spatial encounters with neighbouring units. We observed 25 reproductive units in northern Portugal, using drones, and employed statistical analyses to quantify spatial dynamics. We found that horses actively adjusted their spatial formations depending on the proximity of other units. Units …

Marine Cold-Spells In The California Current System: Modeling Changes In Frequency And Impacts On Endangered Species Habitat, Kaila J. Frazer, Heather M. Welch, Michael G. Jacox, Nerea Lezama-Ochoa, Briana Abrahms, Mercedes Pozo Buil, Scott R. Benson, Daniel M. Palacios, L. David Smith, Thomas A. Clay, Steven J. Bograd, Elliott L. Hazen

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Marine cold-spells are an understudied phenomena which can both negatively impact marine wildlife and provide thermal refugia for species displaced by climate change. To develop forward-looking and climate-ready management schemes, it is critical to examine how marine species respond to cold-spells, how long-term warming will affect marine cold-spells over the next century, and how these future cold-spells will in turn affect species of conservation concern, particularly in marine protected areas. To this end, we detect marine cold-spells across the California Current System, a productive Eastern Boundary Upwelling System, relative to a fixed baseline (1980–2009) and to a detrended time series …

Analisis Biaya Transaksi Peternak Sapi Perah : Studi Kasus Pada Anggota Koperasi Di Kabupaten Kuningan Jawa Barat (Analysis Of Dairy Farmer’S Transactions Costs: A Case Study Of Cooperative Member In Kuningan, West Java), Cahyono, Nunung Nuryartono, Kuntjoro

Jurnal Ilmu Ternak Universitas Padjadjaran

Dairy farmers are groups of people who face problems of low levels of well-being. General school of

thought (mainstream) views the problem of poverty is caused by low productivity factor. The use of productivity approach in solving the poverty problem of dairy farmers needs to be supplemented by another approaches in terms of non-productivity factors. This non-productivity approach which is rarel y

used is transaction cost approach. Starting from this, the study is carried out by transactions cost approach. This study specifically aims to analyze the structure of the cost transaction and the factors leading to the emergence of transaction …

Power, Privilege, And Perceptions: A Critical Case Study Of Ffa And Gsa Members’ High School Experiences In A Southern Rural High School, Eric Moser, Stacy Vincent, Rebekah Epps

Journal of Queer and Trans Studies in Education

There is an urgent need to address the rampant homophobic and transphobic systems and rhetoric in the United States. School cultures reflect the systemic privileging of heterosexual and cisgender identities, which places queer students at an increased risk of victimization and harassment. Rural schools have been found to uphold heteronormative and cisnormative cultures more than suburban and urban schools, which increases safety concerns for rural queer students. Rural schools commonly offer school-based agricultural education (SBAE) and FFA programs, which have been found to struggle in their inclusion of racial minority students. To combat hostile school cultures, many schools offer a …

Beyond The Bathroom: Systemic Barriers To Trans Student Success, Andrew Leclair

Journal of Queer and Trans Studies in Education

At the intersection of educational inequity and systemic marginalization, transgender youth face some of their greatest obstacles upon walking through the schoolhouse door—ranging from legislative attacks and gender negation to denied facility access and pervasive bullying. In rural K-12 public schools—where populations are often smaller, more demographically homogenous, and vie for more socially conservative policies—trans youth are particularly vulnerable. Within this context, this piece centers the experiences of transgender students in rural K-12 public schools—highlighting the sociocultural dynamics and systemic barriers that continue to marginalize them within the United States education system today. Through a blend of literature synthesis and …

"What Are They Going To Do? Fire Me?" The Paradoxical Empowerment Of Nonbinary Teachers In Rural South Carolina, Chris Cyan Divens, Jonathan M. Coker

Journal of Queer and Trans Studies in Education

Nonbinary teachers are seldom the focus of teacher studies, particularly in challenging places such as the rural Southeastern United States. Through a critical ethnographic case study, we explored the stories of two nonbinary teachers who grew up and worked in rural South Carolina. We examined their cultural contexts, including legislative factors, school policies, and school cultures, and we highlighted how these systems created a hostile environment for queer and trans* individuals. Our participants shared how their lived experiences as queer and gender-diverse individuals provided them with an insider perspective about rural South Carolina culture and its limitations. We also found …

Sissies At The Cafeteria Table: Toward A Queer Black-Town Sense Of Place, Education And Life, Ezekiel Joubert Iii

Journal of Queer and Trans Studies in Education

Contemporary research has shown rural communities to be places with diverse identities and ideologies, disrupting much of the mainstream images of rural spaces as isolated, White, monocultural, and conservative. However, the persistent tendency to imagine racial inequality and queer life as urban contributes to the invisibility of intersectional struggle. Drawing from Critical Pedagogy, Black geographies, Black Queer Studies, and Mobility Studies, this study examines the collective educational experience and storytelling of Black rural queers in a Metro-Rural community in the Upper Midwest. Using an autogeographic approach, building from auto-ethnography and archival praxis reveal how the spatial structures that reproduce educational …

Queer Methods And Rural Education: Studying The Foxfire Program, Brooke Boling

Journal of Queer and Trans Studies in Education

During the summer of 2023, I conducted a study in rural Rabun County, Georgia, with a cohort of high school students as they worked to create a magazine focused on Appalachian culture. The magazine, known as Foxfire, has been published since 1966 by rural high school students who were led by writing teachers. In its heyday, the Foxfire Magazine was seen as a bastion of critical education, as its teachers and founder implemented Deweyan pedagogy and asked students to critically reflect on issues of rural Southern Appalachian culture in their writing. The Foxfire Magazine was wildly successful, resulting in a …

Reading About Gender Identity In A Rural Community: Discourse Around Young Adult Literature And Social Justice, Ashley S. Boyd, Rachael R. Wolney

Journal of Queer and Trans Studies in Education

This study explores how a rural adult book club engaged with gender identity through young adult literature (YAL), focusing on Mason Deaver’s I Wish You All the Best. Facilitated by two teacher educators, the club brought together local residents and a guest speaker from a regional support organization to discuss gender, pronouns, and the experiences of nonbinary youth. Using critical discourse analysis and thematic coding, the authors examine how participants, cisgender adults, navigated unfamiliar concepts, reflected on their own beliefs, and considered implications for their personal and professional lives. Findings highlight the power of YAL to serve as a …

The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly: Personifying The South In Rural Queer Collegians’ Stories, Miranda N. Rutan, Leia K. Cain

Journal of Queer and Trans Studies in Education

In this study, we explore the complex interplay between queer identity and Southern cultural narratives among rural college students in the U.S. Bible Belt. We integrated narrative inquiry and arts-based research to examine how participants personify the South within their own stories, revealing nuanced understandings of belonging and identity. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, participant-created artwork, and discussions about these artworks. Our findings illustrate a dynamic representation of the South as both a source of support and a site of conflict, highlighting the dual roles of community and marginalization in shaping rural queer Southern identities. This research contributes to …

Queer Kids In The Country: Challenges, Resources, And Queer Cultural Capital Of Rural Lgbtqia+ Youth, Michelle L. Page

Journal of Queer and Trans Studies in Education

This qualitative study investigates the experiences of rural youth who identify as LGBTQIA+. Both rural young people and LGBTQIA+ youth are less likely to pursue higher education and more likely to report negative experiences in their schools and communities. Rural LGBTQIA+ youth face different challenges than do urban and suburban queer youth; therefore, different resources and strategies must be unveiled, developed, and employed in an effort to support rural LGBTQIA+ young people. This study explicates the challenges and assets of rural queer youth, finding that such young people continue to experience challenges in their schools and communities, particularly around identity …