Digital Commons Network^™

Applications Of Preclinical Magnetic Resonance Imaging In The Treatment Of Traumatic Brain Injury And Understanding Carotid Artery Atherosclerosis, Evan Timothy Curtis

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

Advances in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) provide the opportunity to investigate research questions that have been left unanswered. In the cases of traumatic brain injury (TBI) and carotid artery atherosclerosis, MRI is a resource for non-invasively viewing the phenomena taking place. Additionally, potential interventions and treatments can be observed without harm to the subject. This dissertation expands the understanding of two preclinical applications of MRI: traumatic brain injury and carotid artery atherosclerosis in mouse models.

TBI is a leading cause of death and disability for individuals between 15–45 years of age and effective pharmaceutical interventions for treating the secondary damage …

Thematic Analyses Of Session Data With Transgender And Gender Diverse Adults Obtained During A Clinical Trial, Brenna Rose Lash

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

Transgender and gender diverse (TGD) adults in the United States experience high rates of discrimination and marginalization, contributing to adverse mental health outcomes. While clinical guidelines for gender affirming care have been developed, these guidelines often lack empirical grounding or specific, actionable strategies for clinicians. Although theoretical models such as the marginalization stress model and the psychological mediation framework offer useful foundations for case conceptualization, they do not fully capture the lived experiences or the resilience mechanisms of TGD individuals in therapeutic contexts. This project aims to bridge the gap between research and clinical practice through thematic analysis of therapy …

Intergenerational Family Dynamics Among Caregivers And Children’S Social-Emotional Development In China, Weiman Xu

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

The early years of a child’s life are pivotal for social-emotional development. While extensive research has explored the role of family settings in fostering children's social-emotional development (Bornstein, 2005), the impact of grandparental involvement, particularly the caregiving dynamics between generations, remains less well understood. This study aims to fill this gap by examining two critical aspects of intergenerational dynamics among caregivers (i.e. parent-grandparent coparenting and parent-grandparent relationship quality) and their associations with children’s social-emotional development (i.e. social skills and problem behaviors). Two specific aims were delineated: 1) examine the unique contribution of parent-grandparent coparenting, especially the power and authority domain …

The Career Resilience Of Women Of Color Amidst Intersectional Racism-Sexism In The Us: A Consensual Qualitative Study, Hannah Ahmad Ridzuan

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

Women of color have historically and presently experienced both sexism and racism on interpersonal, institutional, and cultural levels (Sue et al., 2007). While discrimination based on racial-ethnic and gender identities has by far the most extensive literature base (Duffy et al., 2016), literature on the development of women of color career resilience is not as expansive. Informed by the Psychology of Working Theory (PWT) (Blustein, 2006; Duffy et al., 2016), the intersectionality framework (Crenshaw, 1989; Collins et al., 2021), and critical consciousness (Freire, 1971; Quiñones-Rosado, 2020), this consensual qualitative research (CQR; Hill, 2006) explored how women of color in the …

Flooding: Risk Assessment And Its Interaction With Population & Environmental Health, Shivendra Srivastava

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

Flood events have significant implications for both population and environmental health. This dissertation aims to explore flood risk and its interaction with humans and the environment. The key questions addressed in this dissertation include improving the existing flood risk framework to better assess population vulnerability and associated risk. Additionally, it explores how interactions among risk components vary across spatial scales and regions, and how these variations influence overall flood risk. The dissertation also investigates how to design a vulnerability component specific to flooding within flood risk estimation. Finally, it answers whether flood-specific vulnerability differs for a population compared to vulnerability …

The Tree That Would Not Fall: An Educator’S Autoethnographic Journey Of Healing Through Words, Raeanna Marie Carlson

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

To say the world has changed since the 2020 COVID-19 shut down is to minimize the micro and macro social changes that infiltrated the school system. In the wake of it all, we find a landscape marred by a both rising teacher attrition and struggling student motivation. This autoethnographic dissertation explores the deeply personal experience tethered to a deeply problematic system that contributes to not only teacher burnout but what I came to know as teacher demoralization. Personal traumas of teachers profoundly impact their experience in the classroom, and as I examined my own near departure from the classroom, I …

World Transit Research August 2025 Newsletter, Institute Of Transport Studies Monash University

World Transit Research Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Ferroelectricity And Multiferroicity In Ultrathin Films Of Unconventional Transition Metal Oxide, Xin Li

Department of Physics and Astronomy: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Ferroic orders of transition metal oxides, such as ferroelectricity and ferromagnetism, are determined by the intercoupling between spin, charge, lattice. Consequently, ferroic epitaxial thin films have attracted wide interest due to the profuse novel phenomena and the great application potentials for modern electronics. However, the mainstream of the study for transition metal oxides has focused on perovskite structure, limiting the understanding and discovery of novel phenomena associate with ferroic orders. In this thesis, the epitaxial films of hexagonal rare-earth ferrites (h-RFeO₃) and fluorite-structure hafnia oxide (HfO₂) are studied comprehensively, providing new experimental and theoretic …

Understanding The Dynamics Of Formal Mentoring In Professional Identity Development Of Early Career Extension Professionals: A Phenomenological Approach, Anuradha Choudhary

Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education, and Communication: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Formal mentoring plays a crucial role in shaping the professional identity of early-career extension professionals; however, limited research has explored how these dynamics affect professional identity development within formal mentorship structures. This study uses a transcendental phenomenological approach to understand how mentees and mentors perceive the impact of formal mentoring on professional identity development within the Nebraska Extension system. Using criteria-based random sampling and snowball sampling, the study engaged 10 mentees and 10 mentors, employing semi-structured interviews, focus groups utilizing ripple effect mapping, and document analysis of mentoring agreements, program guidelines, and mentoring checklists. Following Moustakas' (1994) transcendental phenomenology framework, …

Between Two Worlds: A Case Study Of Third Culture Identity And Reentry For Unl International Students, John S. Tessalee

Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education, and Communication: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Third Culture Kids (TCKs) and international students share many commonalities, such as their globalized nature, adaptability, and the adoption of cultural components from their host country versus their home country. However, they contain enough differences to be considered separate groups. Traditionally, people need to be immersed in a culture different from their parents’ culture between the ages of 0 and 18 to be considered a TCK, whereas international students are typically between 18 and 24 years old by the time they attend universities overseas. The cultural absorption of TCKs in their formative years is usually greater than that of international …

Exploring The Landscape Of Collective Leadership Practice In Rural Nebraska: A Qualitative Sequential Multimethod Study, Haden Myles Botkin

Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education, and Communication: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Rural communities across Nebraska face a myriad of complex challenges that cannot be solved by individual, heroic leaders. As such, collective leadership has begun to emerge in these communities as actors coalesce around local issues. However, little is known about collective leadership practice and development in rural contexts, resulting in a theory-to-practice gap. To that end, this qualitative sequential multimethod study sought to explore how rural community leaders and community development educators perceive, describe, and make meaning of collective leadership practices in rural Nebraska. Three phases comprise this study.

Phase I, the QUAL phase, was guided by the question, How …

The Scintillator Surface Detector Of The Pierre Auger Observatory, A. Abdul Halim, P. Abreu, M. Aglietta, I. Allekotte, K. Almeida Cheminant, A. Almela, B. Fick, K. Nguyen, D. Nitz, Et Al.

Michigan Tech Publications

Data collected so far by the Pierre Auger Observatory have enabled major advances in ultrahigh energy cosmic ray physics and demonstrated that improved determination of masses of primary cosmic-ray particles, preferably on an event-by-event basis, is necessary for understanding their origin and nature. Improvement in primary mass measurements was the main motivation for the upgrade of the Pierre Auger Observatory, called AugerPrime. As part of this upgrade, scintillator detectors are added to the existing water-Cherenkov surface detector stations. By making use of the differences in detector response to the electromagnetic particles and muons between scintillator and water-Cherenkov detectors, the electromagnetic …

Multimodal Deep Learning For Enhanced Breast Cancer Diagnosis On Sonography, Ting-Ruen Wei, Aileen Chang, Young Kang, Mahesh Patel, Yi Fang, Yuling Yan

Bioengineering

This study introduces a novel multimodal deep learning model tailored for the differentiation of benign and malignant breast masses using dual-view breast ultrasound images (radial and anti-radial views) in conjunction with corresponding radiology reports. The proposed multimodal model architecture includes specialized image and text encoders for independent feature extraction, along with a transformation layer to align the multimodal features for the subsequent classification task. The model achieved an area of the curve of 85% and outperformed unimodal models with 6% and 8% in Youden index. Additionally, our multimodal model surpassed zero-shot predictions generated by prominent foundation models such …

Outcomes And Resource Utilization In Hyperkalemic Emergency Department Patients Treated With Patiromer Or Sodium Zirconium Cyclosilicate., William Frank Peacock, Zubaid Rafique, Julie Gayle, James Neuenschwander, Harold Brown, Jennifer Kammerer, Jeffrey Budden, Ning Rosenthal

Ambulatory and Primary Care Articles

OBJECTIVES: Hyperkalemia (HK) is a life-threatening condition commonly treated in emergency department (ED). Real-world outcomes associated with ED administration of potassium binders are limited. This study assessed ED discharge disposition and resource utilization in hyperkalemic ED patients treated with patiromer or sodium zirconium cyclosilicate (SZC).

METHODS: We performed a retrospective cohort study using discharge data from 230 hospitals in the Premier PINC AI Healthcare Database. ED patients were included if they were ≥18 years old, had potassium ≥5 mEq/L, and received patiromer/SZC during January 1, 2019 to December 31, 2021. Descriptive statistics and multivariable logistic regression analysis were used to …

Regulating Cutthroat Business, Luke Herrine

Articles

The production of meat is almost entirely controlled by a small group of multinational agribusinesses. These "packers" own everything from animal genetics to feed to wholesaling to slaughtering to butchering-leaving only the raising of the animals to nominally independent farmers, who are, in turn, controlled through one-sided contracts. Packers use this power both to push down costs and make raising and slaughtering animals more specialized and efficient and to extract more money from farmers, workers, retailers, consumers, and state and local governments. They also wield their resources to avoid accountability for the costs they impose on others and to shape …

Structural Organization And Thermal Properties Of Polycaprolactone (Pcl) Nanofibers And Energetic Ionic Liquids (Eils) Investigated By Flash Differential Scanning Calorimetry (Flash Dsc), Aishorjo Paul Bablee

All Theses

This study explored the thermal behavior and structural organization of two materials, electrospun poly(e-caprolactone) (PCL) nanofibers and energetic ionic liquids (EILs). To this purpose, Flash Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) has been used. Both materials are of significant interest for advanced applications such as biomedical devices, drug delivery, propellants, and energy storage due to their tunable physical properties and responsive thermal behavior.

The first part of the study investigated the structure-property relationship of electrospun PCL nanofibers, a biodegradable, semi-crystalline polymer widely used in biomedical applications. Cooling rates ranging from 0.1 to 2000 K/s and a fixed heating rate of 500 K/s …

Performance Comparison Of Mobile Gpus For Object Detection In Edge Computing, Stabak Das

All Theses

In recent years, deep learning models for computer vision applications like YOLO (You Only Look Once) have become widely used for real-time object detection tasks. Mobile GPUs such as the NVIDIA Jetson series are highly promising for deploying these models in resource-constrained edge computing environments. The objective of this thesis is to examine and compare the performance of object detection of different versions of YOLO models deployed on different NVIDIA Jetson mobile GPUs using different versions of the COCO datasets. This allows for evaluation of the four performance metrics, including detection accuracy, model size, execution time, and power consumption, which …

The Role Of Cleavage And Polyadenylation Spcific Factor 6 (Cpsf6) In Hematopoiesis, Fengxi Ye

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Cleavage and polyadenylation specific factor 6 (Cpsf6) translocation is frequently reported in APLL, which is Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia (APL)-like acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and other types of blood diseases associated with abnormal hematopoiesis. CPSF6 is a subunit of the Cleavage Factor I mammalian (CFIm) complex, which regulates post-transcriptional alternative polyadenylation (APA) of pre-mRNAs. Previous research indicated that Cpsf6 plays an essential role in alternative polyadenylation, development, and tumorigenesis. However, the role of Cpsf6 in hematopoiesis is unknown. Given its roles in APA, development and cancer, we hypothesize that Cpsf6 plays a critical role in hematopoiesis and that its …

Enhancing Severely Compromised Premolar Strength: Role Of Cusp Reduction Design In Cad/Cam Composite Restorations, Hend Sayed Ahmed, Mohamed Fouad Haridy, Ahmed Refaat Mohamed, Shehabeldin Saber, Edgar Schafer, Samar Swelam, Youssef Mohamed Haridy

Dentistry

No abstract provided.

Does Ultrasound Guidance During Arthrocentesis In Women With Disc Displacement Without Reduction Reduce Procedure Time And Improve Outcomes? A Randomized Clinical Trial, Moataz Dr. Bahaa, Abdelrahman Fahmy Dr., Hisham Elsheikh Dr., Bassam Abulnoor, Amr Amin Prof., Sherif El Bahnasy, Karim Abdelmohsen Prof

Dentistry

Introduction: The goal of using ultrasound-guided (USG) arthrocentesis is to reduce number of needle insertion attempts, which is hypothesized to reduce procedure time, postoperative pain, and consequently, limitation in range of motion. Purpose: The objective of this study was to compare the therapeutic and operative efficiency of USG Single-Puncture Arthrocentesis (SPA) Type 2 and SPA Type 2 arthrocentesis without ultrasound guidance in the treatment of temporomandibular joint (TMJ) internal derangement (ID) “disc displacement without reduction (DDWOR).” Materials and methods: A double-blinded prospective randomized clinical trial (RCT) was conducted from December 2022 to December 2023 at Ain Shams University Hospital. It …

An Examination Of Legal Status, Law Enforcement Perception, And Crime Victimization And Reporting Among Hispanic Immigrants, Guadalupe C. Cabrera

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study relied on in-depth interviews with naturalized citizens and lawful permanent resident Hispanic immigrants to explore their perceptions of law enforcement and experiences with crime victimization and reporting. Past literature has explained that the absence of legal status may deter crime reporting. We added to this body of work by investigating relationships among legal status, trust, and reporting behaviors. This study finds that direct experiences with law enforcement and acquired knowledge may be a better indicator of law enforcement trust and crime reporting compared to legal status. While most participants expressed trust in law enforcement, others felt neutral due …

Expectations In Instructional Design: A Comparison Of Hampton Roads Industry Requirements And Old Dominion University’S Curriculum, Haley Aguilar

STEMPS Master's Level Projects and Papers

This master’s thesis aims to analyze the alignment between Old Dominion University’s Instructional Design and Technology program curriculum and employer expectations for instructional designers in the Hampton Roads region. The study examined job listings from 50 positions and curriculum content from 22 courses across six skill categories: technical skills, design and development competencies, communication and facilitation skills, analysis and assessment skills, project management capabilities, and specialized skills. The findings contribute to understanding the challenges of preparing instructional design graduates for workforce entry.

Empathetic Differentiated Instruction In Deaf Education: Examining Influencing Factors And Experienced Educator Practices, Laura A. Blackburn

STEMPS Master's Level Projects and Papers

This mixed-methods study investigated how experienced K–12 deaf educators implement empathetic, differentiated instruction (EDI) to support the academic and linguistic needs of deaf students who use American Sign Language (ASL) as their language of learning. Guided by Tracey and Baaki’s instructional design empathy model and grounded in constructivism, the study explored how teachers navigated the tension between standardized, English (sound-based) curriculum demands and the need to make instructional decisions aligned with signed language modalities and responsive to students’ real-time learning needs.

A custom electronic survey was distributed to a national sample of experienced educators, with 19 respondents completing Likert-scale items, …

Coastal Transition Zone Development Effects On Salt Marsh Ecology, Amanda Mei Pysher

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The coastal transition zone (CTZ) is a regional gradient linking terrestrial and marine systems, comprising of the terrestrial upland, the marsh-upland ecotone, and estuarine salt marshes. Along all US coastlines, including the South Carolina (SC) coast from Little River to Georgetown, increases in anthropogenic development of terrestrial uplands have altered the historically established vegetation, and various physical, chemical, biological, and geological gradients. Despite the CTZ's ecological importance, the trickle-down effects of terrestrial upland development on associated high marsh habitats remain understudied. Data were collected from developed (DEV) and undeveloped (UND) shorelines across three SC estuarine inlets. Multilevel modeling (MLM) was …

Migratory Patterns Of Juvenile Shortfin Makos (Isurus Oxyrinchus): Evidence Of A Nursery In The Western North Atlantic, Julia A. Crews

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Shortfin Makos, Isurus oxyrinchus Rafinesque, 1810, are lamnids that have a global distribution in temperate and tropical oceans. Locations of critical early life history events including birthing and nursery areas are unknown or unconfirmed for most populations. The objective of this study was to identify if a nursery area for Shortfin Makos in the northern waters of the Mid-Atlantic Bight using the criteria articulated by Heupel et al. (2007). Satellite tags were used to track the movement of juveniles (<200 cm TL, n=7) up to 5 months. Tag detections (n=882) confirmed that young makos stay in continental shelf waters of the northern Mid-Atlantic Bight off Long Island through the meteorological summer (June–August) and early meteorological fall (September–October) when sea surface temperatures are 18–23°C. There was clear migratory movement from juveniles once sea surface temperatures fell below 15°C. During late fall, some young sharks moved south towards Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, while one shark moved east up to 1,800 km into the open north Atlantic Ocean into meteorological winter. These movement data of juvenile Shortfin Makos combined with multi-year catches and sightings (2018–2024) provide strong evidence for a nursery area in the northern Mid-Atlantic Bight. By identifying a nursery area for Shortfin Makos, knowledge gaps that currently exist for this vulnerable species and support effective management can be closed.

Impact Of Aleks On Math Achievement For Students Who Were Socially Promoted, Jenifer Michelle Goff

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research examines the impact of ALEKS on student achievement in mathematics, specifically the correlation between mastering course concepts and preparedness for Algebra 1 as assessed by MAP RIT scores. The investigation focuses on the problem that many students lack the foundational skills necessary for success in Algebra 1 and higher-level math courses, leading to the research questions: "How does student completion in the ALEKS intervention course impact their performance on MAP?" and "How much more likely are students who completed the intervention course to be considered Algebra 1-ready based on MAP than those who did not?"

The study employed …

Comparison Of Nutrient Concentrations And Primary Production Indicators Across Plume Fronts, Taylor Dishon

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Coastal buoyant plumes carry low-salinity waters containing particulate and dissolved terrestrial materials with an abundance of nutrients into the coastal ocean, including inorganic nitrogen and phosphorous. Plume fronts act as transport barriers created from the convergence of a fresher plume with an older, saltier plume or with ambient waters, leading to potential accumulation of phytoplankton and nutrients. This accumulation creates an optimal environment for primary production. The primary goals of this study were: to investigate the distribution of and potential relationships between nutrient concentrations and chlorophyll a across plume fronts of the Winyah Bay River Plume, and examine potential relationships …

Site Fidelity, Seasonality, Movement, And Fish Associates Of Sand Tigers Carcharias Taurus In North Carolina, Ara L. Mcclanahan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Sand tigers Carcharias taurus are mackerel sharks with a disjunct global distribution in tropical and temperate seas. In the northwest Atlantic, sand tigers migrate along the coast of the eastern United States from the Gulf of Maine to Florida and occupy structurally complex benthic habitats. The long-term, underwater camera installation, SharkCam, at Frying Pan Tower, off Cape Fear, North Carolina, USA, sits atop an expanse of hard bottom reef frequented by sand tigers. The citizen-science platform Spot A Shark USA (SAS USA) uses images of sand tigers to identify and track individuals. This study utilized image encounters from SAS USA …

Perceptions Of First-Year College Students On Respect In The Classroom During Their High School Career, Jane Adele Bailey

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the influence of teacher respect on classroom climate, student- teacher relationships, and academic performance. Through interviews with college students reflecting on their high school experiences, this research identifies specific teacher actions and communication that foster respect in the classroom. By identifying what respectful communication and actions are through the interviews, teachers will be able to use these in their classrooms.

Six themes were identified by the participants lived experiences. They are: teacher demeanor, social interaction, attitude, emotional support, instructional management and facilitation, and listening. The results gave specific actions and communication, in the eyes of the participants, …

The Impact Of Social Marketing On Sustainable Development Goals: Aims & Challenges: An Analytical Study Of A Sample Of Mosul University Students, Anas Maaroof, Zainab Alhamdani, Omar Q. Alshebly, Abdulhamid Adam, Mohammed Alblewi, Murat Dedeoğlu

Journal of Economics and Administrative Sciences

This study aims to identify the impact of social marketing on the sustainable development goals at the University of Mosul. The study consists of two main variables: the independent variable, which includes social marketing, and the four dimensions: social product, social price, social promotion, and social distribution. The dependent variable represents the sustainable development goals, whose dimensions consist of: Goal 1: No Poverty, Goal 2: Zero Hunger, Goal 3: Good Health, and Goal 4: Quality Education. This research paper highlight on social marketing as a modern trend in business organizations linked to sustainable development goals, which has led many companies …