Digital Commons Network^™

Quantitative Analysis Of Blue 1 Dye In Commercial Sports Drinks By Uv -Vis Spectroscopy And Hplc-Dad, Mikayla Bush

Forensic Science Master's Projects

Food dyes are natural or synthetic substances added to foods, beverages, and cosmetics to enhance color and visual appeal. Although they provide no nutritional value, they are widely used to attract consumers, particularly children. Concerns have been raised about the potential health effects of synthetic dyes, including links to hyperactivity in children, tumor formation at high doses, and possible impacts on gut and brain function. In response, regulatory efforts are ongoing. In April 2025, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced an initiative to phase out petroleum-based food dyes, including …

Development And Psychometric Validation With Normative Levels Of The Spotlight Effect Scale Among Students Of Physical Education And Sport Sciences, Raghda Hassan Alazawy, Mais Mahmoud Salman Alazawy

Modern Sport

The Spotlight Effect, defined as individuals' tendency to overestimate the extent to which others notice and evaluate them, has important implications for psychological functioning, social interaction, and performance in educational and sport environments. Despite previous studies have addressed the Spotlight Effect theoretically and empirically, no validated instrument has been specifically developed to assess this construct especially among students of Colleges of Physical Education and Sport Sciences. This study aimed to develop and validate a Spotlight Effect Scale and establishing normative levels for its interpretation. The descriptive survey approach was used, involving 555 students from Colleges of Physical Education and Sport …

Effects Of Magnesium Supplementation On Selected Strength And Speed Performance Tests In Elite Soccer Players, Dalshad Mohammed Abdulrahman

Modern Sport

Magnesium supports energy metabolism, neuromuscular regulation, and muscle contraction, yet direct evidence for its supplementation benefits on explosive strength and sprint performance in elite soccer players remains limited. This study examined the effect of eight weeks of magnesium supplementation, combined with regular training, on vertical jump height and 30-m sprint performance in elite soccer players. This exploratory, open-label, randomized controlled trial used a parallel pretest–post-test design. Twenty-four first-team players from Duhok Sports Club were randomly allocated (1:1) to receive either 350 mg/day elemental magnesium (as magnesium citrate) for 8 weeks or regular training alone. Primary outcomes were vertical jump height …

Strategies To Improve Outcomes Of Obstetric Emergencies In Sub-Saharan Africa: A Scoping Review, Serah Wachira, Ruth Wagathu, Beth Waweru, Rose Maina, Abednego Ongeso, Constance Sibongile Shumba, Benard Mutwiri, Diana Mbattude, Cliff Aliga, Lucy Kisaka, Peter Gatiti

School of Nursing & Midwifery, East Africa

Background: Obstetric emergencies remain a leading cause of maternal morbidity and mortality in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) despite increased access to facility-based deliveries and emergency obstetric care. Improving outcomes requires not only life-saving clinical interventions but also effective health system strategies. This review mapped published evidence on strategies used to improve outcomes of obstetric emergencies in SSA.

Objective: This scoping review aimed to identify strategies reported in the literature to improve outcomes of obstetric emergencies in SSA.

Methods: The review was reported in accordance with PRISMA-ScR. A comprehensive electronic search of PubMed, CINAHL, SCOPUS, and CORE identified studies published between January …

Alchemy Today! Critical Perspectives On Digital Hermeneutics: The Fifth Annual Conference Of The European Culture And Technology Laboratory., Connell Vaughan, Ioana Cecălășan, Mick O'Hara, Noel Fitzpatrick

Books/Book Chapters

The 5th Annual Conference organized by the European Culture and Technology Laboratory ‘ECT Lab+’ and this year hosted by Baltan Laboratories, Eindhoven, Netherlands aims to bring together experts from the Arts, Humanities, Social Sciences, Technology, and other fields exploring ways of enquiry that enrich (non-)positivist ways of knowing as well as post-structuralist critiques. The digital age is transforming the nature and practice of interpretation raising questions that range from the status of digital objects to the challenges of ethical practice.

Informed by the attitude of the alchemist as a proto-scientist, bridging disciplinary boundaries as well as the mystical and the …

Modeling Bald Eagle Habitat Suitability In The Del Rio Springs Ecosystem Using Lidar And Spatial Analysis, Noah Morales, Hank Vincent, Ronny Schroeder

Student Works

This study expands upon prior research that utilized NDVI-based hotspot analysis from UAS and satellite imagery (Morales et al. 2026) to identify potential bald eagle nesting and foraging areas. While NDVI effectively captures vegetation density, it does not distinguish between vegetation types or landscape structural characteristics necessary for nesting. To address this limitation, this research integrates LiDAR-derived canopy height, terrain slope, and proximity to stream networks to develop a more refined habitat suitability model within the Del Rio Springs ecosystem.

Airborne LiDAR data were used to generate Digital Surface Models (DSM) and Digital Elevation Models (DEM), which were employed to …

September 2026 Faculty Senate Packet, University Of Nebraska At Kearney Faculty Senate

Faculty Senate Packets

No abstract provided.

Exnovation And Digital Open Innovation: A Capability Pathway From Digital Dependency To Digital Sovereignty, Areeba Abid, Balqees Almessabi, Ajmal Waheed, Noor Ul Hadi

All Works

Digital transformation in emerging economies increasingly unfolds under conditions of dependence on externally controlled platforms, infrastructures, standards, and data ecosystems. Although digital sovereignty has become a prominent policy objective, the institutional processes through which public organizations move from digital dependency toward greater governance autonomy remain insufficiently theorized. To address this gap, this study develops a conceptual framework through a concept-driven hermeneutic narrative review to explain how digital open innovation can support the development of digital sovereignty. The framework conceptualizes digital sovereignty as an institutional governance capability that emerges through a sequential process rather than as a static policy objective. Specifically, …

Governing Agentic Ai: The Human Values Alignment Framework (Hvaf-A) As A Policy Tool, Mousa Al-Kfairy

All Works

Agentic artificial intelligence (AI) systems—software that plans, acts, and decides without step-by-step human approval—are already deployed in finance, healthcare, recruitment, and public services. They differ from earlier AI in one critical way. They do not produce outputs for a human to accept or reject. They take actions. Those actions may be irreversible. They may affect people who never used the system. Existing governance frameworks were not designed for this. Current alignment approaches—including reinforcement learning from human feedback, constitutional AI, and preference aggregation—assume that a well-aligned system satisfies what users ask for. This paper argues that the assumption fails in agentic …

Individualized Bayesian Inference Identifies Novel Genetic Variants For Parkinson's Disease, Jin Ren, Yasaman J. Soofi, Md Asad Rahman, Qing Lu, Jinling Liu

Engineering Management and Systems Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a complex neurodegenerative disorder with a significant genetic component. While genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have been instrumental in identifying genetic variants associated with PD, the reliance on large sample sizes and population-level analyses may overlook variants with lower minor allele frequencies or individual-specific relevance. Individualized Bayesian Inference (IBI) offers a promising method to complement GWAS by identifying and prioritizing candidate genetic markers at both the individual and patients-like-me subgroup levels. This study evaluates the application of IBI to PD genetics, using GWAS as a baseline for comparison. We analyzed genetic data from the Fox Insight online …

Usa V. Davone Walker

2026 Decisions

USDC for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania

Jose Aristy-Rosa V. Attorney General United States Of America

2026 Decisions

Agency

Usa V. Joseph Berger

2026 Decisions

USDC for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania

Bruce Norton V. Joseph Adams

2026 Decisions

USDC for the Middle District of Pennsylvania

2026-09-01 Rivisal To Uar 906.02, Morehead State University. Faculty Senate.

Faculty Senate Records

Proposed revisal to UAR 906.02 submitted to the Faculty Senate for review on September 1, 2026.

Introduction, Christopher Tremblay, Diana Camilo, Patrick J. O'Connor Phd, Laura Owen, Moya Malcolm

Journal of College Access

No abstract provided.

Do College Students’ Rap Sheets Matter To Faculty And Staff?, Andrea Cantora, Crystal C. Rodriguez, Joel Capellan

Journal of College Access

This study examines college faculty and staff attitudes toward students with criminal convictions. Electronic surveys were administered to faculty and staff at five public colleges and universities in Maryland and New York (N = 264), measuring support for inclusive campus policies across three conviction categories: non-violent, violent non-sexual, and sexual violent offenses. Support was strong for students with non-violent convictions, but declined sharply as offense severity increased. Two factors were associated with more inclusive attitudes: prior experience teaching or serving this population, and the presence of a campus support program. Both mattered, but they appeared to operate through different mechanisms. …

Methodological Optimization Of Microplastic Visualization For The Comparison Of Eastern Oysters Cultivated In Traditional Plastic Or Novel Non-Plastic Aquaculture Farm Gear, Mikayla Straube

All Theses And Dissertations

Microplastics (< 5 mm) are a pervasive physical pollutant. This study was predominately focused on the development and utilization of fluorescence microscopy to locate and identify microplastics and other particles in the presence of a background autofluorescing biogenic precipitate. Oyster digest samples are visualized with fluorescent microscopy using Nile Red (NR). Photobleaching, or concentrated light exposure, of the filters was tested to determine if it can quench the autofluorescence signal. It was found that photobleaching significantly decreased autofluorescence intensity of the biogenic precipitate in emission wavelengths 518, 580, and 670 nm even with the application of NR, while minimally impacting the fluorescence behavior when bound to plastic particles. In application, fluorescence microscopy still yields some gaps in microplastic identification  when compared to Raman spectral results. This methodology was broadly developed to be able to quantify ambient microplastic quantities in farmed oyster samples. The specific level of aquaculture’s contribution to plastic pollution in global waterways is difficult to estimate. The methodology was applied to a local case study that compared microplastic loading in cultured eastern oysters raised in traditional plastic farm gear and novel plastic-free farm gear. Marginal trends in the gear type treatment and microparticles identified across the harvest season were identified, however effect sizes were too weak, and evidence was too inconsistent to currently suggest that gear type and harvest date affect microplastics and other particle quantities g^-1 oyster tissue (d.w.).

Skin Carotenoid Scores Are A Valid Approximation Of Fruit And Vegetable Intake Among Adults With Obesity, Stephanie B Jilcott Pitts, Qiang Wu, Elizabeth Gates, Melissa N Laska, Andrew R Dinardo, Nancy E Moran

Children’s Nutrition Research Center Staff Publications

Skin carotenoid score (SCS) as measured using pressure-mediated reflection spectroscopy has been validated among adults with normal and overweight body mass index, with little validation research among adults with obesity. Therefore, the purpose of this exploratory study was to examine the validity of SCS as an approximation of fruit and vegetable intake among adults with obesity. We used samples from adults with obesity from three prior studies: The first study examined the validity of SCS among 213 adults, 34 with obesity; the second, examined sensitivity of SCS to a β-carotene-rich juice intervention among 162 adults, 14 with obesity; the third …

Neural Symphony Of Flow Experience: Evidence For High-Dimensional Metastable Dynamics, Abdelrahman B.M. Eldaly, Kris Zhangguang Kang, Fiona Fui Hoon Nah, Leanne Lai Hang Chan, Keng Leng Siau, Xiao Fan Liu, Richard Huskey, Langtao Chen, Tejaswini Yelamanchili, René Weber

Business and Information Technology Faculty Research & Creative Works

Flow, an optimal experience characterized by deep immersion and engagement in an activity, has been extensively studied in behavioral research. However, its neural dynamic mechanism remains poorly understood. In a within-subject video gaming experiment, we captured neural activity underlying flow, boredom, and anxiety using a 64-channel electroencephalogram (EEG) system. Compared to boredom and anxiety, flow exhibits the highest global functional connectivity, metastability, and dimensionality of dynamic functional connectivity patterns, suggesting that flow is a highly adaptable process that is supported by high-dimensional neural dynamics. Unlike previous studies that focused on identifying static or localized brain activity, we examine the neural …

Predicting Less, Understanding More: Shifting The Use Of Machine Learning From Individual Prediction To Structural Insights In Systems That Affect Children And Families, Amanda J. Fairchild, Joshua Gupta-Kagan, Andrew Barclay

Faculty Scholarship

Machine learning algorithms have been deeply embedded across domains, valued for their capacity to analyze large-scale data and to support a range of descriptive and predictive tasks. Despite their versatility, most applications to date have focused on individual-level prediction at the expense of broader structural insights. This paper shifts that focus by using comprehensive demographic, juvenile justice, and other key data from child-serving agencies in one southern state to examine how juvenile and family court intake structures shape case outcomes in delinquency referrals. Specifically, we combine machine learning algorithms with a doubly robust, potential outcomes-based modeling procedure to estimate the …

A Librarian's War The Man Who Fought World War Ii With Books And Brought The Joy Of Reading To Millions (2026), Molly Guptill Manning

Books

The untold story of Ray Trautman, the Greatest Generation's librarian, who made reading central to the Allied fight in World War II and transformed the role of books in American life.

Though unknown to most readers, no one made a greater contribution to reading habits in America than Ray Trautman. Growing up in the rural Midwest, Trautman looked to reading as a way of exploring the world--as both escape and enlightenment--and yet, as with many Americans, discovered that with no community library and limited funds finding books was a challenge. This sparked in him a lifelong passion to build libraries …

Steering Carbon Farming Transition: An Agent-Based Exploration Of Incentive Mechanisms, Elisa Grugni, Davide Bazzana, Mattia Guerini

Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei Working Papers

Carbon farming comprises land-use practices that enhance carbon sequestration and reduce greenhouse gas emissions while improving soil quality and long-term agricultural sustainability. Despite its potential as a naturebased solution to climate change, its large-scale adoption is hindered by high upfront costs, monitoring challenges, and carbon permanence risks. This paper develops an agent-based model to study the adoption dynamics of carbon farming under alternative policy designs. Farmers allocate land across different agricultural practices, including conventional farming, crop rotation, and afforestation, each characterized by distinct economic and environmental implications. The model is used as a laboratory to study the agricultural transition under …

Recruiting Research Participants With Community Research Partners, Will Hoard, Krys Standley, Catherine Ipsen, Rtc: Rural

Independent Living and Community Participation

This fact sheet examines recruitment experiences from the Rural Health Pathways Project, a community-based research initiative partnering with Centers for Independent Living (CILs) to deliver health promotion programming for people with disabilities in rural communities. Through interviews with staff from seven participating CILs, the project identified key factors that influenced recruitment success and challenges. Findings highlighted the importance of trusted relationships, team-based planning, clear communication about participant benefits, and individualized enrollment support. Common barriers included scheduling uncertainty related to study design, technology navigation difficulties, time commitments, language barriers, and concerns about sharing personal information. These insights demonstrate the critical role …

Closing Gaps In Urban Trauma Systems: Outcomes Of An Inner-City Community Emergency Department Multidisciplinary Trauma Protocol, Kory S. London, Alan Cherney, Sulabh Neupane, H. Alex Tomlinson, Joseph Cervone, Elaine Qian, Casey Fishman, Jennifer Davis, Sean Mcgann, Varsha Goswami, George Koenig, Frederick Randolph

Department of Emergency Medicine Faculty Papers

BACKGROUND: Non-trauma center (NTC) emergency departments (EDs) play regular but underappreciated roles in the management of severely injured patients, yet many lack formal protocols to guide care. We describe the implementation and outcomes of a structured trauma evaluation and transfer protocol at an urban NTC emergency department.

METHODS: A multidisciplinary trauma protocol was implemented on April 1, 2023, at an urban NTC, supported by a Level I trauma center, 2.5 miles apart. The study period ran from January 1, 2019, to June 30, 2025. Using pre-post study design, 62 patients treated prior to implementation were compared with 49 post-intervention patients. …

A National Study Of Tetanus Vaccine Knowledge, Receipt And Acceptance Among Emergency Department Patients, Francesco Sergi, Elisa Vaezazizi, Shaokui Ge, Christopher Alvarez, Jesus Torres, Brian Chinnock, Michael Gottlieb, Vijaya Arun Kumar, Kristin L. Rising, Efrat Kean, Stephanie Eucker, Robert M. Rodriguez

Department of Emergency Medicine Faculty Papers

OBJECTIVE: The Tetanus, Diphtheria, Pertussis (Tdap, "tetanus") vaccine is recommended for adults every 10 years. In a national sample of adult emergency department (ED) patients, we sought to determine (1) knowledge and up-to-date status of the tetanus vaccine; (2) reasons for nonreceipt of the vaccine; (3) vaccine acceptability if offered in the ED; and (4) reasons for nonacceptance in the ED if offered.

METHODS: This was a cross-sectional survey study among non-critically ill adults at 10 US EDs, asking questions about knowledge, receipt, and acceptability of the tetanus vaccine. Vaccine receipt was determined by self-report. Aggregate responses are reported as …

Reply, Jacqueline L. Chen, Amanda J. Lu, Rohan Verma, Li Wang, Douglas D. Koch, Allison J. Chen

Department of Medicine Faculty Papers

No abstract provided.

Bison Health Network Newsletter, September 2026, Bison Health Network

Bison Health Network News

Newsletter Content:

Updates
Network Demographics
Health Highlight: Parasites (Part 2)

An Observational Study Of The Effect Of Concomitant Levetiracetam On Apixaban Concentrations In A Hospital Cohort, Chazmyn Riley, Kevin Lam, Cristina Micale, Lynda Thomson, Douglas F. Stickle, Walter K. Kraft

Department of Pharmacology, Physiology, and Cancer Biology Faculty Papers

Despite the lack of evidence of a mechanism-based drug interaction, some professional organizations have advised caution coadministering apixaban and levetiracetam. Eligible patients taking apixaban with or without levetiracetam for any indication for at least 72 h were screened from the electronic medical records. Plasma samples from 77 patients were retrieved from salvaged clinical blood collections. Apixaban minimum and maximum concentrations (Cmin and Cmax) were compared using descriptive statistics in R. While the median Cmin and Cmax appear to be marginally elevated, there were no apparent differences relative to apixaban alone. These findings suggest no apparent interaction of levetiracetam and support …

The Cross-Section Of Empirical Evidence And Personal Experience: A Deeper Look At School Resource Officers Through The Lens Of Demarcus A. Jenkins' Research On The Public Opinion Of Their Potential Removal From Public Schools, Quin Armstrong

University Honors Theses

Following the 2020 Black Lives Matter and Anti-Police movements, there were many discussions across the nation about possible changes to law enforcement operations. Among these discussions included specific discussions about what to do about law enforcement officers stationed in schools. These law enforcement officers are known as school resource officers, or SROs.

The focus of this thesis is specifically on Portland, Oregon's Portland Public School (PPS) district's decision to sever ties with the Portland Police Bureau, and what may have contributed to that ultimate decision. This is accomplished through an analysis of a research paper written by fellow Criminal Justice …