Digital Commons Network^™

Exploring Antimicrobial Performance And Compostability Of A Pectin-Based Film, Jessica Hardiman

All Theses

Packaging is considered one of the most important parts of the food supply chain. Packaging affects many aspects of the food product, such as acceptability, safety, nutritional quality, and it also provides a means of communication with the consumer. Although many people are aware of the great benefits packaging provides to the food sector, fewer think about the repercussions that occur from the waste that is generated from packaging, or the waste from the food inside the package. There is little research done on the development of compostable and antimicrobial packaging, which could reduce plastic and improve food safety. In …

Community Wastewater Treatment Resilience Assessment, Tristan Veal

All Theses

With the rising threat of climate change and cascading impacts from infrastructure failure there is a growing need to strengthen community resilience. Theoretical and practical resilience frameworks are available, but they vary in aim and scope; there is no standard tool to assess resilience. This research expands on the resilience matrix (RM) application methods of previous research completed by the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and Clemson University. That work focused on drinking water treatment systems and developed a few dozen specific indicators, or metrics, to quantify resilience. This research adds wastewater infrastructure with the aim of identifying …

Pulse: The Monthly Newsletter Of Nnlm Region 2, May 2025, Network Of The National Library Of Medicine, Regional Medical Library 2

NNLM Region 2 Newsletters

No abstract provided.

Fixed Income Fund Report, May 2025, Archway Investment Fund

Archway Investment Fund

No abstract provided.

The Next Generation Of Free Expression Scholarship: A Very Short Manifesto (In Memory Of Fred Schauer), Mark Tushnet

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

This Manifesto begins with a discussion of the accomplishments of the prior generation of free expression scholarship. The core of the Manifesto starts with a description of the idea of epistemic authority and draws upon Leiter’s analysis to show its importance in free expression theory. It emphasizes, with Leiter, that epistemic authority is relational: between and among epistemic authorities, and between such authorities and “ordinary” citizens (that is, those who aren’t near the core of an epistemic community that, as a collective, defines the community’s core and boundaries).

That discussion is followed by a description of challenges to the idea …

Equity Fund Monthly Report, May 2025, Archway Investment Fund

Archway Investment Fund

No abstract provided.

Resilience In The Face Of Climate Change: Exploring The Ecophysiology, Adaptation, And Conservation Of Mytilus Edulis In The Gulf Of Maine, Mackenzie J. Arnott, Justin Baumann

Standard Theses

The Gulf of Maine is among the fastest-warming marine environments globally, facing rapid increases in temperature and ocean acidification. These stressors jeopardize the Blue Mussel, Mytilus edulis, a foundational species vital for maintaining biodiversity, water quality, and coastal economies. This research investigates the resilience and vulnerability of M. edulis under combined thermal and acidification stressors, with a focus on thresholds of physiological breakdown. Key findings reveal critical thermal limits (>25°C) and pH thresholds (<7.3) beyond which metabolic, immune, and shell formation processes deteriorate. Conservation strategies such as selective breeding, habitat protection, and adaptive management are essential to ensure the survival of this keystone species in a changing climate.

The Landscape Of Maine’S Urban Environmental Programming, Daisy Gallagher

Standard Theses

Urban areas are sprawling and usually distinctly unassociated with an environment where educational environmental programming occurs. Urban environments can have the connotation, at least within the continental United States, as lacking in green space and not being central to a city’s appeal, whether this is true or not, it means that there is a gap in what the development and integration of what environmental-based programming can look like within urban environments. If there is no green space or a lack of it compared to what is offered outside of the city, two opportunities arise for those residing in an urban …

The Benefits Of A Multi-Framework Approach To Social Movement Scholarship, Ananya Bhamadipati Rao

Standard Theses

There are many different social movement frameworks and approaches used to not only analyze social movements' outcomes but also to account for why they begin and what accounts for them. But in the development of social movement scholarship over the past decades, there has been a tendency in social movement scholarship to advance by rejecting or invalidating previous frameworks. This has left scholars of social movements with unnecessarily myopic approaches over the years. More recent approaches, often in conversation with Global South scholars, have produced more holistic and integrated studies. My thesis joins this field of scholarship. I ask What …

Land Use Matters: The Interactions Between Soil Characteristics, Ecosystem Cycling, And Anthropogenic Influences At Valley View Farm, Heidi Nydam

Standard Theses

Soil characteristics are the foundation of forest and agricultural productivity. Therefore, understanding how soils change as a reflection of changing landscapes is essential for sustainable management. Valley View Farm is a small, multi use farm in central southern Maine, which seeks to balance conservation and successful farming in terms of providing for the owner and the surrounding community. There are a variety of management practices across the farm, but three distinct areas were examined: the Older Forest, which has been only minimally managed for the last 100 years; the Newer Forest, which was selectively logged 15 years ago and left …

What's For Dinner: A Carbon And Nitrogen Stable Isotope Analysis Of Carcinus Maenas In Maine Salt Marshes, Sydney G. Schuster

Standard Theses

Carcinus maenas, AKA the European Green Crab, is a highly invasive species that has established populations in many non-native sites, altering trophic systems and ecological well-being. In recent years, C. maenas populations have drastically increased throughout the Gulf of Maine, and have been particularly harmful to Maine’s estuarine and intertidal ecosystems (Miller et. al., 2014). In this study, we used carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analysis of green crab tissue to examine their dietary patterns, with the hope of parameterizing how they are feeding in and depleting the resources of Maine’s coastal ecosystems. Specimens for this study were collected from …

Socio-Medical Factors Associated With Neurodevelopmental Disorders On The Kenyan Coast, Patricia Kipkemoi, Jeanne E. Savage, Joseph Gona, Kenneth Rimba, Martha Kombe, Paul Mwangi, Collins Kipkoech, Beatrice Mkubwa, Amina Abubakar, Charles Newton

Institute for Human Development, East Africa

Neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) are a group of conditions with their onset during the early developmental period and include conditions such as autism and intellectual disability. Occurrence of NDDs is thought to be determined by both genetic and environmental factors, but data on the role of environmental factors for NDD in Africa is limited. This study investigates environmental influences on NDDs in children from Kenya. This case-control study compared children with NDDs and typically developing children from two studies on the Kenyan coast. We included 172 study participants from the Kilifi Autism study and 151 from the NeuroDev study who had …

Diversity-Augmented Training For Generalizable Ai Agents, Wenjun Li

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

Deep Reinforcement Learning (RL) has achieved remarkable success over the past decade, from superhuman performance in video games to real-world applications like robotics. However, RL models often lack generalization, making them unreliable when deployed in unfamiliar scenarios. For example, robots must adapt to varying terrains with different slopes and obstacles, yet standard RL training does not explicitly promote such adaptability. While various methods have been proposed to enhance RL robustness, achieving reliable generalization remains an open challenge.

This dissertation focuses on improving the generalization capability of agents in three major settings: infinite horizon RL agents, finite horizon RL agents, and …

To Mitigate Or Adapt? A Construal Level Perspective On Agenda Setting For Climate Action, Shu Tian Ng

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

Climate change is no longer a distant threat, but a present crisis—making the question of how we act timelier than whether we act. This research investigates how people evaluate different approaches to climate action—specifically, mitigation (reducing emissions) and adaptation (coping with impacts)—through the lens of the Construal Level Theory (Liberman & Trope, 1998; Trope & Liberman, 2010). Across three studies, I examined how perceptions of desirability and feasibility influence preferences for different climate action strategies. Study 1 found that, to laypeople, mitigation was perceived as more desirable while adaptation was perceived as more feasible. Study 2 attempted to manipulate individuals’ …

Students Win Three Trophies At St. Louis American Advertising Awards, Lindenwood University

Archived Lindenwood Press Releases

No abstract provided.

Navigating The Tides Of Change: Girls’ Experiences In Scouts Bsa, Alexandra Rush, Olivia Kochis, Beth Belanger, Jennifer Brown Urban, Miriam R. Linver

Journal of Youth Development

On February 1, 2019, Boy Scouts of America officially accepted girls into its signature program (ages 11–18) and changed its name to Scouts BSA. This historic shift provided a novel opportunity for researchers to investigate the experiences of some of the first 13 girls to enter this traditionally all-boy space and examine how participation influenced sense of self and purpose. A qualitative phenomenological approach was adopted to explore girls’ experiences and perceptions and meanings they constructed, using secondary data consisting of 38 transcribed interviews from all 13 girls. Girls ranged in age from 12–18 years old (M = 13.72, SD …

Natural Resource Managment Department Roundup, May 2025, Department Of Natural Resource Management

NRM Newsletter

NRM Highlights: 
Society for Range Management (SRM) Spokane, WA | February 9-13, 2025
American Fisheries Society (AFS) Dakota Chapter Bismarck, ND | February 25-27, 2025
SD Chapter of The Wildlife Society (TWS) Brookings, SD | February 26-28, 2025
Wild Sheep Foundation (WSF) Midwest Chapter Minnetonka, MN | March 14-15, 2025
NRM Honors Students Present Capstone Research Mankato, MN | March 27-29, 2025 | Minnesota State University, Mankato

Extension and Outreach Activities:
Women in STEM Sioux Falls, SD | March 12, 2025 | Southeast Tech College
Northern Plains Water Voice - Episode 1

A Rare Case Of Adolescent Epiglottitis Secondary To Streptococcus Dysgalactiae, Kedar Tilak, Mohamed Aashiq Abdul Ghayum, Douglas Swanson, Rana El Feghaly

Posters

Streptococcus dysgalactiae causes pharyngitis, cellulitis, necrotizing soft tissue infections, sepsis, and streptococcal toxic shock syndrome • It can lead to both toxin-mediated and immune-mediated diseases • Mostly seen in adults, rare in pediatric patients • Here we present a 15-year-old with S. dysgalactiae- associated septicemia, and epiglottitis with extensive neck infection

Dental Considerations For A Pediatric Patient With Osteopetrosis: Case Report, Bethany Castro, Robin Onikul, Neena Patel, Jenna Sparks, Amy Burleson, Brenda S Bohaty

Posters

Introduction: Osteopetrosis is comprised of a group of rare hereditary disorders characterized by impaired osteoclast development or activity resulting in altered bone metabolism and high bone mineral density. Resulting bone is denser and heavier but more fragile than healthy bone. This condition can have oral manifestations such as malformed teeth, hypomineralization, or agenesis of teeth. The treatment for osteopetrosis can include hematopoietic stem cell transplantation and recommendations for prophylactic dental treatment7. The purpose of this report is to present a review of the literature regarding the dental considerations for patients with osteopetrosis. Case Report: This case report details a six-year-old …

Modeling Buprenorphine Treatment Discontinuation In Opioid Use Disorder – Predictors And Disparities Using Statistical And Machine Learning Approaches, Wanru Guo

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Background: Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) remains a major public health crisis in the U.S., and while buprenorphine is an effective treatment, early discontinuation undermines its impact. Existing statistical and machine learning (ML) models often overlook key social and healthcare-related predictors and fail to capture subgroup disparities, limiting their utility for equitable intervention design. This study addresses these gaps using a nationwide, longitudinal dataset and a two-stage modeling approach focused on disparity identification. Methods: We analyzed buprenorphine treatment episodes for OUD from the IQVIA Pharmetrics Plus database (2006–2023), defining discontinuation as episodes lasting under 180 days. A Cox proportional hazards model …

2024 Presidential Election Results, Ryan Carson, Noah Thomas, Katie Akateh, Jan Knoedler, Carrie Pirmann

Election Data

The data contained in this dataset cover the 2024 Presidential election results. Also included in this dataset are the winner results for the 2016 and 2020 election. Data were sourced from finalized (certified) state election board results wherever possible. All data is reported at the county level. Refer to the Presidential Election General Election 2024 Data Dictionary for a full list of data sources. To view a list of all variables included in this dataset, please see the Presidential Election General Election 2024 Codebook.

This dataset is already prepared for GIS mapping. Data for Alaska and Connecticut is not included …

2025 May - Tennessee Monthly Climate Report, Tennessee Climate Office, East Tennessee State University

Tennessee Climate Office Monthly Reports

Hi All,

For May 2025, the main weather/climate stories were the continued pattern of severe weather impacting Tennessee as well as Chattanooga recording their wettest May in the 147-year weather history of the city. Starting with the record rainfall in Chattanooga, the Chattanooga airport weather station recorded a total of 12.02-inches of rainfall over May 2025, 8.08-inches above normal and 0.02-inches above the previous record wettest May in 1929. Many other areas of East Tennessee and the Cumberland Plateau also had well above normal rainfall this month, but they were emerging out of a drought from last fall and winter …

Implementation Of Nurse-Driven Oral Care For Inpatient Oncology Patients Receiving Chemotherapy To Reduce Mucosal Barrier Injury Associated Bloodstream Infections, Ariana Av Allen

Doctor of Nursing Practice Final Project Abstract

PURPOSE

The purpose of this project was to reduce unit CLABSI rates by targeting mucosal barrier injury associated bloodstream infections through implementation of nurse-driven diligent oral care for all inpatient oncology patients receiving chemotherapy.

BACKGROUND

The project was implemented on a 23-bed inpatient oncology unit in a county, safety-net hospital in north Texas.

METHODOLOGY

The project utilized the PDSA framework for implementing nurse-driven oral care for all inpatient oncology patients receiving chemotherapy. Staff and patients were educated on the ideal frequency and methods of performing oral care during the project. Patients were provided unit-supplied oral hygiene items on admission. Nursing …

3d Bioprinting Of Hydrogel Scaffold Skin Equivalents For Cosmetic And Drug Testing, Allison Reno

All Dissertations

Tissue engineering scaffolds are a crucial element of generating larger 3D tissue equivalents for modeling and clinical grafting. Currently, much of scaffold technology has not been significantly updated since the introduction of manually pipetted hydrogels and electrospun fiber scaffolds. Both of these approaches have their advantages and disadvantages, but neither utilize emerging biofabrication techniques such as advanced 3D bioprinting and plotting. In addition to more precision in the outer geometries of the scaffold, the use of bioprinting also introduces the ability to shape hydrogels into very intricate porous inner patterns within the outer geometries. This allows for the design of …

Statistical Designs For Learning User Preference And Experience, William S. Fisher

All Dissertations

For any organization, designing a new product or planning the features of a new service is a complex decision-making process which depends on understanding its users' preferences and the experiences they have with prototypes of the new product or service. Design of experiments (DOE) offers a framework to aid in the modeling and collection of data to learn user preferences and experiences to facilitate this decision-making process. Questions such as ``which of our newly proposed products is preferred most by our customers" and ``which version of our new service results in the highest monthly revenue" can be readily addressed by …

Congress’S Power Over The Electoral Count, Larry Schwartztol

Vanderbilt Law Review

Does Congress have authority to pass legislation regulating the counting of electoral votes? This is a consequential question for the legal framework governing presidential elections. In 2022, Congress passed the Electoral Count Reform Act (“ECRA”), which overhauled the statutory regime governing the counting of electoral votes. The ECRA’s predecessor statute, which had been in place since 1887, had long been criticized as ambiguous and unnecessarily convoluted. Those deficiencies were widely seen as a contributing cause of the January 6, 2021, attacks on the Capitol, and a rare bipartisan majority in Congress passed the ECRA to address the earlier statute’s shortcomings. …

Disability Pride And Community Connection In Eastern Virginia: The Disability Resource Center Of The Rappahannock Area, Inc., Luke Santore, Lillie Greiman, Rayna Sage

Independent Living and Community Participation

The disAbility Resource Center of the Rappahannock Area, Inc (dRC) is a Center for Independent Living (CIL) that provides services that promote independence, advocacy, and leadership among the people with disabilities they serve. dRC focuses on disability-led services and programs to meet consumers' needs, with an extraordinary level of peer support. RTC:Rural researchers explore dRC's peer mentoring and peer support groups through the Rural Community Living Development project.

“I Now Have The Freedom To Do What I Want, When I Want, Like Anybody Else”: The Impact, Creation, And Management Of Transportation Voucher Programs, Luke Santore, Andrew Myers

Independent Living and Community Participation

Poor access to transportation is associated with negative results in life outcomes such as health, quality of life, employment, and community participation. Rural people with disabilities are particularly vulnerable to poor transportation access. Transportation voucher programs are an effective but underutilized resource that addresses transportation for rural people with disabilities. In this factsheet, RTC:Rural researchers explore how Center for Independent Living (CIL) staff establish and manage voucher programs, and illustrate how vouchers affected the people with disabilities who have used them.

Hickory Street Square Revitalization, Spencer Knight, Grace Dungan, Tim Kula, Evan Lauritsen, Lindsey Mennenga

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

The Hickory Street Square Revitalization Project seeks to transform a central public space in Sidney, Nebraska into a dynamic, community-oriented area that supports local events, economic activity, and cultural heritage. The project addresses six core objectives: 1) convertible street design, 2) parking lot reconfiguration, 3) public amenities, 4) event flexibility, 5) lighting and signage, and 6) old electric plant renovation. A conceptual design was developed by the design team (S.T.E.E.L. Sentinel Solutions) by synthesizing the most effective features of three preliminary alternatives, shaped further through community feedback and evolving project constraints. The final project design minimizes disruption to existing activity …

Adolescent Identity And Belongingness: Using Arts-Based Participatory Action Research, Vivian Boyer, Kam Brooks, Emily Camp, Hannah Checkwicz-Grosberg, Jenna Newman, Renee O’Connor, Jacqueline Tardie

LMU Theses and Dissertations

This study explores the concepts of empathy and belonging through the collaborative creative arts process among high school-aged girls at an all-girls Catholic school in Los Angeles County, California. Employing a Participatory Action Research (PAR) framework, researchers and participants collaborated as co-researchers, founded on the principles of cross-cultural art therapy and in the hope of fostering youth advocacy. In partnership with the school community and institution, as well as supported by an Anti-Hate grant from The Jenesse Center, this study examines the intersectional identities of participants and how empathy and belonging can be affected through the art-making process. The project …