Digital Commons Network^™

William Webb, Jr. V. Kirk Neal

2026 Decisions

USDC for the District of Delaware

Lineage Tracing Reveals A Shared Cellular Origin For Supraclavicular Brown And Inguinal Beige Adipocytes, Yali Ran, Kai Zhang, Yi-Ting Shen, Qianxing Mo, Ziyi Wang, Hari Krishna Yalamanchili, Sharon John, Mari Kogiso, Xia Gao, Chunmei Wang, Tanvi Sinha, Brian L Black, Miao-Hsueh Chen

Duncan NRI Faculty and Staff Publications

The metabolic importance of brown adipose tissue (BAT) has been recognized, but its origins, particularly supraclavicular BAT (scBAT), remain unclear. Here, we traced scBAT to Mef2c-anterior heart field (AHF)-marked cells. Mef2c-AHF-marked cells isolated from scBAT can spontaneously differentiate into brown adipocytes, express mesenchymal stem cell markers, and can be isolated from the stromal-vascular fraction (SVF) of wild-type scBAT as [CD31

Frailty As A Framework To Understand Tuberculosis Severity, Recovery, And Sequelae, Yoscelina Estrella Martinez-Lopez, Benjamin W. Black, Jessica Lee, Brian J. Buta, Lisa Y. Armitige, William A. Fountain, Rafael Samper, Aanand D. Naik, Joanne Turner, Blanca I. Restrepo

School of Medicine Publications

Tuberculosis (TB) causes profound systemic illness, and many survivors experience long-term sequelae associated with disability and premature mortality. Current TB severity indicators capture isolated aspects of disease and may not reflect the integrated physiological impact of infection on the host. Frailty, a multidimensional syndrome characterized by reduced physiological reserve and increased vulnerability to stressors, predicts adverse outcomes and guides clinical management in geriatrics. We propose frailty as an integrative framework for understanding the systemic effects of TB across the life course, encompassing disease severity, recovery, and long-term sequelae. We discuss biological mechanisms through which Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection may erode physiological …

Low-Temperature Co2-Enhanced Reductive Bioleaching For Selective Nickel Recovery From Iron-Rich Silicate Tailings, With Concurrent Carbon Sequestration, Kwabena Boafo, Palas Kamlakar Borkar, Atharva Rane, Timothy Eisele

Michigan Tech Publications

Recovering nickel from iron-rich mine tailings by bioleaching is held back by the co-dissolution of iron, which gives pregnant leach solutions with high Fe/Ni mass ratios and heavy downstream purification costs. This study shows that running bioleaching at 0 °C under a CO2-enriched atmosphere, with no post-leach iron removal step, lowers the Fe/Ni mass ratio in the leachate from 13.87 at 25 °C to 2.25 at 0 °C, a 6.2-fold improvement against a feed Fe/Ni ratio of 119:1. Nickel recovery stayed near 45% at both temperatures, showing that the fen-derived psychrotolerant consortium remained fully active near freezing. The mechanism rests …

Electronic Structure Discretization And Compression Using Diagonal Basis Sets, Casey Lee Dowdle

Dartmouth College Ph.D Dissertations

Numerically solving the electronic structure problem is a fundamentally difficult problem due to the exponential growth in the dimension of the Hilbert space as the system size increases. In order to solve problems at a chemically relevant accuracy, both the choice of basis set and numerical method are important factors that are intrinsically connected.

In this thesis, we study the discretization and resulting compression of electronic Hamiltonians using diagonal basis sets. A diagonal basis set approximately diagonalizes the matrix and tensor representations of the one- and two-body potentials. This can reduce storage, simplify matrix-vector products, and lower the complexity of …

Advancing Maternal Health Equity In Nebraska: Examining Prenatal Care Access Disparities, Policy Context, And Doula Integration As A Complementary Solution, Marlette Grace Dulcinee Mabiala-Maye

Theses & Dissertations

Maternal health inequities persist across the United States, with Black, Native American, and immigrant-origin women facing disproportionate barriers to timely prenatal care. This dissertation examined access to prenatal care in Nebraska, a mixed rural and urban state with extensive maternity care deserts, through three interrelated aims. Aim 1 analyzed PRAMS data using survey-weighted regression with race-by-socioeconomic-status interactions to characterize disparities in the timing and barriers to care. Aim 2 evaluated the state’s October 2020 Medicaid expansion across pre-pandemic, acute pandemic, and post-expansion periods. Aim 3 applied qualitative description and the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research to interviews withtwenty-three maternity care …

For Weight Loss: Why Do Glp-1 Agonists Work, And How Can We Make Them Work Better?, Charlise Giang, Jieyi Meng, Mahmoud Ali Mohammad, Zhenqi Liu, Xinle Wu, Yi Zhu

Children’s Nutrition Research Center Staff Publications

Glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RAs) have revolutionized the management of not only type 2 diabetes but also obesity. However, even with rapid therapeutic advances in GLP-1RAs, questions regarding the fundamental principles of GLP-1-mediated weight loss and the enhanced efficacy of next-generation therapies remain. In this comprehensive review article, we first examine the milestones of GLP-1, from its initial discovery and biological characterization to its successful translation into clinical therapy. Furthermore, this review highlights the latest clinical trial data, specifically HbA1c reduction, weight-loss efficacy, and safety profiles, while exploring current pipelines of major pharmaceutical companies. Additionally, we delineate the mechanistic …

Church Tape Collection, Approximately 1969-2008, Ministers

Center for Restoration Studies Archives, Manuscripts and Personal Papers Finding Aids

No abstract provided.

Imsa Summer Symposium 2026, Student Inquiry And Research(Sir)

IMSAloquium Event Booklets

For nearly four decades, IMSA has worked to advance the human condition through educational innovation. The Summer Symposium is our annual showcase for the research projects that were conducted in IMSA’s experiential learning programs between May and August. These programs include Student Inquiry and Research (SIR), IN2 Business Internships, and the Student Research and Experiential Learning Opportunity (SRELO) program. For the first time, we are also excited to welcome IMSA Research, Inquiry Skills, and Experimentation (RISE) students to present at the Summer Symposium.

Fort Hays State University Tiger Weekly, August 14, 2026, University Relations

Tiger Weekly Newsletters

No abstract provided.

Mechanical Characterization Of Stereolithography 3d Printing Resins Using Tensile And Flexural Testing, Oliver Stitt

Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science Independent Study

This study characterized and compared Clear V5 and Tough 1500 Resin V2 specimens printed on a Formlabs Form 4 SLA resin printer using tensile and flexural mechanical testing. Tensile testing was based on ASTM D638-14 using Type IV specimen geometry, and flexural testing was based on ASTM D790-17 using three-point bending geometry. Clear V5 produced a mean tensile modulus of 1953.5 MPa and flexural modulus of 1479.1 MPa, compared with 1328.0 MPa and 1103.9 MPa for Tough 1500. Clear V5 also reached the higher maximum engineering stress in tension, while Tough 1500 showed a more compliant response. The results were …

Interpreting Title Vi: Translation Theory And The Making Of Language Policy, Olivia A. Allred

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Title VI of the Civil Rights Act provides the primary statutory basis for the development of policies supporting language access. Rather than explicitly requiring institutions to accommodate individuals with limited English proficiency (LEP), the statute establishes a broad prohibition against discrimination based on race, color, and national origin. This thesis examines the process through which that broad statutory mandate has been interpreted and applied to specific language-access policies.

To elucidate the application of language access polices at the federal level, this analysis focuses on three landmark Supreme Court decisions concerning Title VI: Lau v. Nichols, Regents of the University …

Helal V. Mclawrence

All Decisions

Tenant moved to extend the time to vacate an unregulated apartment after failing to locate alternative housing despite holding a CityFHEPS voucher. The court denied the motion, holding that RPAPL § 753 and CPLR § 2201 do not authorize further delay where the parties—each represented by counsel—entered into a clear, final stipulation of settlement after full litigation, and that courts must enforce such stipulations with rigor.

3338 Fish Ave Llc V. Malcolm

All Decisions

Tenant, who had been self-represented when she stipulated to a final judgment of possession, moved to vacate the stipulation on the ground that she unknowingly waived a complete defense—landlord's failure to plead the applicability of the Good Cause Eviction Law as required for proceedings filed after April 20, 2024. The court granted the motion, finding the stipulation was entered into inadvisedly, and vacated both the stipulation and the judgment and warrant of eviction.

Pushed To The Edges? Electivity Patterns Of Urban Stream Homeless Encampments In Environmentally Burdened Areas, Serena Alexander, Bennett Williamson, Jeff Wootton, Costanza Rampini, Gregory Brian Pasternack, Yufang Jin, Rune Storesund, Igor Lacan

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Urban stream corridors in the San Francisco Bay Area have increasingly become locations for homeless encampments, yet little is known about the environmental conditions of these spaces. This study uses a geospatial electivity index to examine whether urban stream encampments in Santa Clara and Contra Costa counties are disproportionately located in census tracts with high pollution burdens, as measured by CalEnviroScreen 4.0. Findings show a statistically significant overrepresentation of encampments in census tracts in the top 25% of pollution and vulnerability scores, and a significant underrepresentation in lower-pollution areas. These results suggest that homeless individuals are being pushed toward environmentally …

The Efficacy Of Transversus Abdominis Plane Block As An Adjunct To Spinal Anesthesia For Cesarean Delivery: An Evidence Synthesis And Implementation Toolkit, Alyssa Hebert, Alex Potts, Gabriela Robertson

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Capstones

Postoperative pain hinders cesarean delivery recovery and overall patient experience. Although spinal anesthesia with intrathecal opioids remains the standard of practice, associated side effects and concerns regarding opioid exposure highlight the need for effective opioid-sparing strategies. Anesthesia providers play a critical role in advancing postoperative pain management through evidence-based protocol development, provider education, and interdisciplinary collaboration to optimize maternal outcomes. The transversus abdominis plane (TAP) block provides somatic analgesia to the anterior abdominal wall by targeting the thoracolumbar nerves (T6–L1) and has increasingly been incorporated into multimodal postoperative pain management strategies for abdominal surgery. Nevertheless, a gap remains in obstetric …

Rickettsia Africae Discovered In A Short-Term Urban Traveller To South Africa: A Case Report, Zunairah Sikder

Binghamton University Undergraduate Journal

Rickettsia Africae is a pathogen that causes African tick-bite fever (ATBF). Transmission typically occurs from ticks within the Central and South African regions. Previous studies suggested that ATBF is not uncommon amongst travelers to rural sub-Saharan Africa, especially during the rainy months of November through April. However, this case report highlights a woman who contracted ATBF in novel conditions. The 70-year-old woman reported travelling strictly to and from the local church and hotel for her four-day stay in July. After returning to America, the patient experienced extreme irritation on her arm, as well as complaints of headaches. She presented to …

A Message From The Managing Editor, Carissa Bayack

Binghamton University Undergraduate Journal

A message from the 2025-2026 Managing Editor of the Binghamton University Undergraduate Journal, Carissa Bayack.

A Dosimetric Comparison Of Halcyon 6x-Fff And Truebeam 6x In Prone Left Whole Breast Radiation Therapy, Maritza Soto, Kelly Labant, M.S., Cmd, Rt(T), Kristen Vu, M.S., Cmd, Rt(T)

Masters Projects

Purpose:

This retrospective study compared dosimetric differences between prone left whole breast radiation (WBRT) treatment plans originally generated for Halcyon using 6X flattening- filter-free (FFF) beams and replanned for a conventional TrueBeam using 6X beams.

Methods:

Ten prone whole left breast treatment plans were paired and retrospectively analyzed. Clinically treated Halcyon 6X flattening filter free plans were replanned on TrueBeam using flattened 6X beams in Eclipse v16.1. Contours for all plans were generated using artificial intelligence-based autosegmentation, reviewed by a medical dosimetrist and radiation oncologist, and forward planned with a tangent technique in EZFluence to achieve identical planning objectives. Dose …

A Middle School Reading Intervention Framework, Ryan Patrick Eder

Masters Projects

Middle school students face increasing literacy demands as they transition from learning to read toward reading to learn content knowledge in science, social studies, and other subjects. However, reading intervention frameworks found in most elementary and middle schools may not fully meet the growing cognitive, academic, and affective needs of middle school students. The purpose of this project is to present a schoolwide reading intervention framework designed for middle school students. Drawing from current research, the proposed framework integrates daily, teacher-assisted intervention and enrichment with data-driven identification of students’ specific literacy growth points using rigorous, grade-level informational texts to provide …

Is Hanpp A Stressor Of Bird Species Richness?, Kaeli Mueller, Gustavo Ovando-Montejo, Christopher Lant

Environment and Society Student Research

One of the leading drivers of biodiversity loss is land use change due to the ever-increasing demand for food, livestock feed, biofiber, and biofuel. The concept of human appropriation of net primary production (HANPP) was developed to measure the impact that humans have on the environment by accounting for biomass removed from the environment in the form of crops, timber, and grazing. The species–energy hypothesis is an established ecological hypothesis postulating that greater species diversity is correlated with higher levels of energy from plant productivity; this can be measured as net primary production minus harvested HANPP or NPP_ecological. …

Enhancing Algae Biofilm Quantity And Value Through Controlled Light Intensity For Treatment Of Municipal Anaerobic Digestor Effluent, Joshua D. Wintch, Ronald C. Sims

Biological Engineering Student Research

Rotating algae biofilm reactors (RABRs) have been shown to remove nutrients from wastewater and to cultivate algae for bioproducts. Another key variable in RABR technology for cultivating microalgae biomass is light intensity. The goal of this study was to address a gap in the design and operation of algae biofilm reactors by analyzing the effects of light intensity on biomass quality and quantity, chemical precipitation of phosphorus, and phosphorus uptake into biomass. This study utilized a triplicate laboratory-scale experiment with PAR intensities from 10 to 2000 µmol m⁻²·s⁻¹. Municipal wastewater anaerobic digester effluent (ADE) was utilized …

Self-State Shifts During Nonsuicidal Self-Injury: Associations With Trauma History And The Functions Of Self-Harm, Katie E. Callahan

Dissertations, 2020-current

Nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) is a clinically significant behavior associated with substantial psychological distress and elevated suicide risk. Despite considerable research on the emotional triggers and functional implications of NSSI, the internal relational states activated during self-harm remain poorly understood. This study examined shifts in self-directed relational patterns during NSSI episodes using the Structural Analysis of Social Behavior (SASB) model and Interpersonal Reconstructive Therapy (IRT) theory. A cross-sectional secondary data analysis was conducted with 125 participants who reported current or past NSSI. Residualized change scores were computed to index shifts in self-state between general and NSSI conditions. Measures included the SASB-based …

Fall Risk In Community-Dwelling Adults: A Comparison Of English And Spanish-Speaking Individuals, Jesus D. Gomez

Dissertations, 2020-current

Falls are a leading cause of injury-related mortality among middle-aged and older adults. Although vestibular dysfunction, hearing loss, behavioral factors, and social determinants of health have been associated with increased fall risk, few studies have examined these relationships. Furthermore, limited research in audiology and vestibular science has investigated fall-risk vulnerability among Spanish-speaking individuals.

This study aimed to: (1) estimate the prevalence of fall risk among community-dwelling adults and compare prevalence between English-speaking and Spanish-speaking participants; (2) assess the prevalence of previously undiagnosed benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) and compare prevalence between language groups; and (3) develop predictive models of fall …

Performing Methods Of Beethoven’S Violin Concerto In D Major, Op. 61, Third Movement: “Rondo: Allegro”, Zike Qi

Dissertations, 2020-current

This document examines the third movement “Rondo: Allegro” of Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 61 by Ludwig van Beethoven, focusing on how structural relationships in the score are transformed into auditory experience through performance methods. Rather than treating performance as a direct reproduction of the text, this research understands it as a process in which structure becomes perceptible in time.

Combining structural analysis, recording comparison, and self-recording practice, the study interprets the movement within a rondo–sonata framework (A–B–A–C–A–B–A). It demonstrates that the rondo theme assumes different functions—presentation, transition, and development—depending on its structural position.

Through comparison of recordings by …

African American Gold Star Mothers: Race, Black Motherhood, Loyalism And European Superiority In The First World War, Giovanni Nickolette Gibbs

Masters Theses, 2020-current

This thesis examines the US government’s pilgrimages for Gold Star Mothers of the First World War. It focuses on the Jim-Crowing of black Gold Star Mothers. Through the analysis of archival records, letters, telegrams, newspaper articles, poems, and secondary literature, the thesis explores how two domineering forces, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the federal government of the United States of America, captured dissension when seeking to send black Gold Star Mothers on segregated pilgrimages to Europe. The War Department’s announcement that the widows’ pilgrimages to Europe in the 1930s would be segregated caused a great …

Imsa Summer Symposium 2026, Student Inquiry And Reserach Reserach (Sir)

IMSAloquium Event Booklets

For nearly four decades, IMSA has worked to advance the human condition through educational innovation. The Summer Symposium is our annual showcase for the research projects that were conducted in IMSA’s experiential learning programs between May and August. These programs include Student Inquiry and Research (SIR), IN2 Business Internships, and the Student Research and Experiential Learning Opportunity (SRELO) program. For the first time, we are also excited to welcome IMSA Research, Inquiry Skills, and Experimentation (RISE) students to present at the Summer Symposium.

Cover Design

Luke Berryman

Brain Perivascular Macrophages Regulate Endothelial Cell Function Via A Cmaf-Dependent Transcriptional Program In Mouse And Human, Simone Brioschi, Julia A Belk, Steffen E Storck, Yue Wu, Zhuoying Wang, Ziang Feng, Lynn Van Olst, Josie L Emery, Raki Sudan, Junjie Wu, Siling Du, Marco Genua, Federica La Terza, Alex J Edwards, Khai M Nguyen, Jessie Sanford, Daniel D Lee, Mattia Bugatti, Arnold J Federico, Yun Chen, Zuoxu Wang, Silvia Penati, Patrick Fernandes Rodrigues, Alina Ulezko Antonova, Hui Qi Loo, Igor Smirnov, Susan Gilfillan, Carmen M Halabi, Jennifer Ponce, Jun Yan, Howard Y Chang, Gwendalyn J Randolph, William Vermi, Marina Cella, Michael Meers, Renato Ostuni, David Gate, Aivi T Nguyen, Carlos Cruchaga, Song Hu, Jonathan Kipnis, Marco Colonna

The Brown Foundation: Institute of Molecular Medicine

Brain perivascular macrophages maintain brain physiology, yet their transcriptional regulators and functions in health and disease remain unclear. Using single-cell multi-omics and functional experiments, we identify cellular musculoaponeurotic fibrosarcoma oncogene (cMAF) as a key transcription factor for brain perivascular macrophages, and conditional deletion of cMAF disrupts their phenotype in vivo. Functionally, cMAF drives insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF1) expression in perivascular macrophages, enabling communication with endothelial cells. Consistently, cMAF deletion in perivascular macrophages causes transcriptional alterations in cerebral arteries, affecting vascular functions. Notably, cMAF emerges as the main transcription factor for human perivascular macrophages, suggesting conservation of this transcriptional module. During …

Infographic: The Lasting Impact Of Teachers, Dominique Russell

Teacher infographics

A national survey in the UK has looked into the long-lasting effects teachers have beyond the classroom. Adult respondents were asked about the qualities teachers have helped them carry into adult life, and their view of the profession.

Building Fluent Readers: Developing Comprehensive Reading Fluency In K-2 Classrooms, Erika Yersak

Masters Projects

Despite extensive research establishing reading fluency as essential to literacy development, many early elementary students fail to achieve grade-level fluency, compromising their reading comprehension and academic success.  Fluency instruction has been narrowed to measuring reading speed, dismissed beyond third grade, and taught as an isolated skill disconnected from authentic reading across content areas.  While research demonstrates that fluency encompasses accuracy, automaticity, and prosody and should be integrated meaningfully across disciplines, many K-2 teachers lack practical resources and guidance for implementing comprehensive fluency instruction in their classrooms.

To address this gap, this project presents a research-based fluency integration guidebook for K-2 …