June 2026 News Releases, University Of Montana--Missoula. Office Of University Relations

University of Montana News Releases, 1928, 1956-present

No abstract provided.

Title Page And Abstract: Diet Quality And Sustainability Based On Nut Intake Among Free-Living Adults, Raquel Aurora Martínez

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Background: There is increasing interest in dietary patterns that support both human and planetary health. Plant-forward dietary patterns commonly promoted within sustainability frameworks frequently include nuts. Despite concerns regarding resource use, particularly water demands, nuts may contribute to improved diet quality and sustainable dietary behaviors.

Objectives: To examine whether diets characterized by higher nut intake are associated with dietary quality, adherence to sustainable dietary patterns, and food-related sustainability behaviors among free-living adults.

Methods: Cross-sectional analyses were conducted using data from an online validated semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire integrated with sustainability-related survey items. Energy-adjusted nut intake was categorized …

Striveforpride: Online Program To Promote Sexual And Gender Minority Well-Being, Shayna R. Greenberg

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Sexual and gender minority (SGM) young adults are more likely to experience anxiety, depression, and stress relative to non-SGM peers. Digitally-administered mental health interventions show potential for reducing mental health distress in the general population. However, limited reporting of SGM demographics and adherence to online interventions constrain uptake and effectiveness. The present study explored the effect of an existing evidence-informed, self-guided, online-based mental health intervention, StriveWeekly, on internalizing symptoms among SGM university students. The sample consisted of 160 SGM university students, identifying as female, women, or feminine (63.1%), bisexual (36.10%), and Non-Hispanic (77.5%). Cluster randomization was employed on the basis …

Adversarial Robustness Of Perceptual Hashing Systems: A Unified Security Evaluation Framework, Avijit Roy

Student Theses

Social network platforms, child safety organizations, and image provenance systems use perceptual hashing to identify known child sexual abuse material (CSAM), support content moderation and reverse image search, and verify image integrity. Perceptual hashing works by producing similar fingerprints for visually similar images, even after common transformations such as compression, resizing, or minor brightness changes. This useful similarity-preserving property also creates an adversarial attack surface, as attackers can use AI-assisted or conventional image manipulation techniques to move a hash across a matching threshold while maintaining visual similarity, often without access to specialized hardware.

The security failures produced by adversarial attacks …

The Security Of Llm-Generated Code, Christopher Brian Gonzalez Ayala

Student Theses

The rapid adoption of Large Language Models (LLMs) in software development has transformed coding practices by enabling automated code generation, completion, and optimization. Despite these advantages, concerns persist regarding the security and reliability of LLM-generated code. This study presents a comprehensive evaluation of both the functional correctness and security of code produced by three prominent LLMs as of early 2026. A total of 4,800 code snippets were generated using 100 security-focused programming prompts derived from the OWASP Top 10:2025, translated across eight natural languages and two phrasing styles (literal and natural developer-oriented prompts). To assess performance, a multi-stage experimental framework …

The Comparative Chemical Analysis Of Colored Henna, Vani D. Bhagwandeen

Student Theses

Henna, a natural dye derived from Lawsonia inermis, is widely used for temporary body art, hair coloring, and cultural decorative practices such as Mehendi. Traditional henna produces a reddish-brown stain through lawsone, a naphthoquinone chromophore that binds to keratin in skin, hair, and nails (Badoni Semwal et al., 2014; de Groot, 2013; Kumar Singh et al., 2015). Commercial henna products have increasingly incorporated synthetic dyes, pigments, and glitter additives to produce a broader range of colors and effects (Blair et al., 2004; Manso et al., 2017; Blackledge & Jones, 2007). Despite their prevalence, limited forensic research has examined the …

Investigating The Detection Ability Of Presumptive Bloodstain Testing Through Concealment Obstacles, Skye E. Lehr

Student Theses

Bloodstain detection can provide valuable information on the ability of presumptive tests. When perpetrators seek to alter the scene of violent crimes to interfere with investigations or flee from justice, crime scene investigation becomes more complex. In this analysis, scenarios where bloodstain evidence is attempted to be removed by household cleaners and covered up by acrylic or oil-based paint, are tested using luminol and Kastle-Meyer direct testing. These bloodstains have been altered by bleach, dish soap or all-purpose cleaner and covered under multiple layers of acrylic or oil-based paint. Evidence is documented both photographically and visually to simulate crime scene …

The Three (3) Eras Of Compstat, Through Cultural Change. Lessons From The Past, Present And Future, Kevin Brown

Student Theses

Abstract

Using data and information from respondent surveys of current and former NYPD police executives, this study examines the cultural change, impact, and effectiveness of the NYPD’s CompStat system from the perspective of superior officers who have participated in it since its inception. CompStat was introduced in 1994 by NYPD, Police Commissioner, William Bratton.  Achieving cultural change in any police organization can be a monumental task, requiring CompStat’s transformational methods of data-driven accountability and four core principles that are aligned with organizational transformation evidence: timely intelligence, rapid deployment, effective tactics, and relentless follow-up.  This research explores how these principles have …

A Qualitative And Quantitative Comparative Analysis Of Ballistic Bone Trauma From Frangible And Full Metal Jacket Projectiles, Hajar S. Hassan

Student Theses

Ballistic bone research is essential as 90% of homicides with the use of a firearm include injuries to bone. Forensic anthropologists use ballistic bone trauma to gather details and reconstruct an event, but ballistic bone trauma depends on many intrinsic and extrinsic factors. These factors include the type of bone, the type of firearm, and the type of ammunition. As new ammunition and firearms emerge, the literature on ballistic bone trauma remains limited. This novel study compares the bone trauma from the most common projectile, the full metal jacket, to a frangible projectile which is made to break upon impact. …

Teaching Peace Where Borders Divide: Interdisciplinary Praxis In A Criminal Justice Program, Lucas Espinoza

Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

This article describes a criminal justice senior-level undergraduate course, CRIJ 4350: Peace, Nonviolence, & Justice, at a Hispanic-serving institution known as the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, in the U.S.-Mexico borderlands. The course centers five key frameworks: critical pedagogy, intersectionality, decolonial theory, restorative and transformative justice, and trauma-informed care, as this course departs from carceral models of justice education. Grounded in theory, literature, and research from criminal justice, criminology, peace and conflict studies, sociology, political science, ethics/philosophy, social justice, human rights, and critical pedagogy, the course centers student reflection from course evaluations, relationships, and experiences of a faculty member. …

A Fiftieth Year Retrospective On The 1976 Mw 7.5 Motagua Earthquake In Guatemala, Grant Clark, Trenton Mcenaney, Jeremy Maurer, Andreas Eckert, Stephen S. Gao, Omar G. Flores, Robin Yani, Tina Niemi, Christoph Grützner, Francisco Gomez, Jonathan Obrist-Farner

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

On 4 February 1976, an Mw > 7:5 earthquake ruptured ∼240 km of the Motagua fault in Guatemala, causing ∼23,000 fatalities. This event provided evidence for the fault's role as a major transform boundary between the North American and Caribbean plates. Field observations, seismological analyses, and postseismic studies helped constrain fundamental aspects of the 1976 earthquake mechanics and the spatial complexity of the rupture. This event opened a window for studies documenting past deformation along this plate boundary across multiple spatial and temporal scales. Five decades of research have established this earthquake as an important event for understanding strike-slip ruptures along …

Exploring Racial And Ethnic Diversity Trajectories And Diabetes Prevalence In The United States, Jiue-An Yang, Calvin P Tribby, Anna Dmowska, Qian Xiao, Marta M Jankowska

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

This study investigates whether long-term changes in neighborhood racial and ethnic diversity are associated with adult diabetes prevalence across the contiguous United States. We calculated diversity indexes for US census tracts (n = 72,033) using decennial census data from 1990 to 2020. Five diversity trajectory clusters were identified using K-means clustering. Diabetes prevalence in 2019 was obtained from the CDC's PLACES dataset. Linear mixed models (LMMs) assessed global associations between diversity trajectories and diabetes prevalence, adjusting for age, sex, poverty, marital status, and public insurance. Geographically weighted regression (GWR) examined local variations in these associations. Compared to the reference group …

Bridging The Diagnostic Gap: Expanding Dementia Care Navigation For Timely Diagnosis, Lucille Carriere, Morgan Minyo, David Bass, Katherine L Possin, Rafael Samper-Ternent, Joel Salinas, Nicole Deaner

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Over half of dementia cases remain undiagnosed, with persistent disparities across racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic groups. Dementia care navigation (DCN) has demonstrated value in post-diagnosis settings. If implemented earlier, DCN could address diagnostic delays and care gaps. We define the diagnostic window as the period from initial symptom awareness through diagnosis and early care planning. Drawing on deliberations from the Alzheimer's Association Dementia Care Navigation Roundtable, we present a pre-diagnosis DCN framework organized across six domains and describe navigator roles across three phases: pre-evaluation, diagnostic assessment, and immediate post-diagnosis and transition. We address special considerations, including people without a care …

Barriers And Facilitators To The Implementation Of The Diabetes Prevention Program (Dpp) In Health Settings: Protocol For A Mixed Methods Systematic Review, Miquel Colom-Rosselló, Manuela Abbate, Laura Capitán-Moyano, Elena Pastor-Ramon, Maria E Fernández, Aina M Yañez, Miquel Bennasar-Veny

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

This is the protocol of a Campbell Systematic Review. The objectives are as follows: to identify implementation determinants from the perspectives of both participants and implementers, and to assess their influence on specific implementation outcomes, thereby clarifying why certain aspects of the implementation process succeed or fail. If sufficient data is available, variations in perceived barriers or facilitators related to individuals and program characteristics will also be explored.

Evaluation Of A Novel Antegrade-To-Retrograde Femoral Sheath Conversion System: A Preclinical, Cadaveric Study, Ramakrishnan Ranganath, Kerry K Gilbert, Randy Hickle, Anuva Iyer, Ryan Um, Rex Johnson, Randall Torrence, Daniel I Sessler

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Peripheral arterial disease often affects the lower extremities, is frequently bilateral, and typically involves multiple leg segments. Symptomatic disease is usually treated endovascularly. Antegrade access may be necessary in some cases and can be challenging compared with retrograde common femoral artery access. The ability to convert a conventional retrograde access to antegrade access would thus be valuable. We developed and tested a novel system, named as antegrade-to-retrograde converter. Our aim was to establish antegrade superficial femoral artery access from initial retrograde entry and reconvert to retrograde access.

Methods: We tested the antegrade-to-retrograde converter bilaterally in 15 fresh (unembalmed) human …

Legends, Lies, & Rewritten Lives: After The Little Bighorn: Forgotten Struggles Of Those Who Walked Away, 2nd Edition, Thomas B. Davidson

DU Textbooks

This Story surrounds an event that occurred one summer on June 25, 1876, along the banks of the Little Bighorn River in what is now the state of Montana. Seen from a 21st century perch, it is a story of a collision between two very different civilizations or empires. Both empire’s military fought in the manner of their society. This narrative will attempt to balance the believable truth of what happened in that contest between the military representatives of both societies while also trying to tell an engaging story, without drifting into naked partisanship, purple prose, or sensationalism. The narrative …

Language Attitudes And Stereotypes Condition The Processing Of Contact-Induced Linguistic Variants, Sonia Barnes, Whitney Chappell

Spanish Languages and Literatures Research and Publications

This study examines the effect of language attitudes and stereotypes on vowel perceptions by two groups of listeners from Asturias, Spain that differ in their relationship with the languages present in their communities: Spanish, the national majority language, and Asturian, the regional minority language. The responses of 165 participants from the Nalón Valley (a mining area in the region) were compared with those of 156 listeners from Gijón (the largest urban area) as they categorized words containing synthesized productions of Spanish [o] and Asturian [u] in a task that combined binary forced-choice identification and visual priming. The results of a …

Infliction Of Precarity: Risk, Vulnerability, And Tort Law, Saad Al-Obaidi

Journal of Law and Policy

Imposing a risk of harm on someone should be a tort in certain unjustifiable circumstances, regardless of whether the harms at risk materialize. A doctrinal undercurrent exists that supports this proposal concerning latent or delayed harms as legally cognizable injuries. Even though it is a basic moral principle not to put others at risk of harm without justification, courts deny in principle recovery for risks that lack concomitant externalizations in some familiar form of harm, like physical, pecuniary, or emotional damage to the person. This Article argues that tort law should offer recovery for unjustified risk impositions in circumstances that …

G.I. Joe Behind Bars: Analyzing Military Sentencing Data, Sentencing Guidelines, And Court-Martial Reform, Sam Libby

Journal of Law and Policy

The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022 required the military to restructure its court-martial sentencing procedures to more closely resemble those utilized in federal civilian court. Previously, either judges or court-martial panel members themselves determined an appropriate sentence based on their collective intuition without the aid of specific guidelines. Critics have argued that leaving sentencing in the hands of inexperienced panel members has led to large disparities between servicemembers, especially compared to federal court where the United States Sentencing Guidelines are the lodestar. All the while, no comprehensive dataset exists for researchers to determine the extent of variation …

Two Strikes And A Prisoner’S Out: The Supreme Court’S Bad Call In Lomax V. Ortiz-Marquez, Molly Guptill Manning

Journal of Law and Policy

Since 1892, federal legislation has provided for the waiver of court filing fees so indigent plaintiffs can access the courts. In 1996, the Prison Litigation Reform Act amended the law. Citing an explosion in the number of prisoner filings (and ignoring the commensurate explosion in the size of the prisoner population), Congress sought to disincentivize prisoners from filing federal actions by denying them an outright waiver and instead requiring them to pay filing fees in installments. It also added a “three strikes” rule. Under the latter provision, if a prisoner files three or more actions or appeals that are dismissed …

Whose Ai Data Center Line Is It Anyway? Proposing A Regulatory Framework To Provide Redress To Communities Impacted By The Externalities Of Ai, Jane Franks

Journal of Law and Policy

In some ways, artificial intelligence is not new. Humans have theorized and dreamed about AI in some form or another for thousands of years. However, as AI becomes a reality and both companies and countries alike are racing to establish dominance in the field, AI does not feel too familiar. The increased amounts of power and water required by AI data centers are unprecedented, and the federal and state legislative response to the issues facing the communities surrounding AI data centers—and the country at large—has been fragmented at best, and non-existent at worst. This Note examines the externalities of AI, …

President Or King? What The United States Can Learn From Brazil’S Conviction Of Former President Jair Bolsonaro, Emma Al-Angurli Peltzer

Journal of Law and Policy

In the United States, January 6, 2021, became a defining moment. President Donald Trump’s conduct and the lack of consequences have been indelibly etched into the nation’s political memory. In Brazil, January 8, 2023, marked a similar political rupture, but one that sealed former President Jair Bolsonaro’s fate in a very different legal order. Through a comparison of the Unites States Supreme Court’s decision in Trump v. United States and Brazil’s criminal conviction of former President Bolsonaro, this Note demonstrates how two presidential democracies took sharply different paths when confronted with attacks on their constitutional order. Brazil’s 1988 Constitution, shaped …

Speak Up, Pay Up: Why New York Should Enact The Speak Your Truth Act And End The Chilling Effect On Sexual Assault Survivors Following The #Metoo Era, Maya Burnette

Journal of Law and Policy

Sexual assault is one of the most prevalent forms of violence in the United States. It is also one of the least reported. With criminal and civil avenues often providing little justice, many survivors turned to the public to tell their stories. In the wake of the #MeToo movement, thousands of survivors publicly shared their experiences, prompting significant social and legislative change. Yet many who spoke out faced retaliatory defamation lawsuits filed by alleged abusers to silence them. These suits, commonly known as Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (“SLAPP suits”), pose a substantial threat to survivors’ speech. Despite recent reforms, …

With All The Strings Attached: Analyzing Participation Of Disempowered Groups In Structuring New York’S Social Equity Cannabis Investment Fund, Nicholas Schuermann

Journal of Law and Policy

For decades, New York’s selective enforcement of cannabis prohibition has disproportionately targeted low-income Black and brown communities, resulting in mass incarceration, decimated economic opportunity, and entrenched generational harm. In 2021, New York enacted the Marihuana Regulation and Taxation Act (“MRTA”) with an explicit reparative mandate: to redress these harms by lowering barriers to enter the new recreational cannabis market for those severely impacted by prohibition. Central to this effort is the Cannabis Social Equity Investment Fund, a $200 million program designed to provide justice-impacted entrepreneurs with turnkey retail locations, low-interest loans, and business support. In practice, however, the Fund has …

Dental Care Utilization Among Sexual And Gender Minority Individuals, Ishita Singh, Oladipo Afolayan, Sarah S Jackson, Irene Tamí-Maury

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Objectives: Sexual and gender minority (SGM) individuals can experience notable health disparities, including higher HIV prevalence, social isolation, substance abuse, lack of culturally competent providers, and poorer health outcomes compared to heterosexuals due to stigma and discrimination. This study aims to identify predictors of dental care utilization across sexual minorities using the 2023 TEXAS PRIDE Survey.

Methods: We analyzed data from 517 SGM individuals, assessing sociodemographic characteristics, health behaviors, and recent medical and dental visits. Multivariable logistic regression identified predictors of dental care utilization (i.e., a dental visit in the past year).

Results: Among sexual orientation groups, reported dental care …

Content Release Form For Smu Digital Repository, Smu Digital Repository

SMU Scholar Administrative Documents

No abstract provided.

Improving Workplace Satisfaction And Staff Retention Among Nurses In A Staffing Resource Pool, Amy Harper, Amy Roscher

Creating Healthy Work Environments (CHWE)

This quality improvement project assessed how simple engagement strategies impacted job satisfaction and retention rates among resource nurses. Results showed exceedingly positive feedback, improved satisfaction, and a remarkable decrease in turnover. Findings suggest simple, low-cost interventions can enhance connection and retention among staffing resource nurses.

Design And Parametric Study Of A Mems-Based Reservoir Computer For Reinforcement Learning, Andrew P. Carr

Master's Theses

Single-node reservoir computing (RC) is a hardware-efficient approach to machine learning, leveraging the dynamics of physical systems. In this work, two reinforcement learning algorithms, Q-learning and Proximal Policy Optimization (PPO), are applied to a simulated micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS)-based reservoir computer to solve both discrete and continuous control tasks. MEMS-based reservoirs are low-power, compact, and their natural frequencies (kHz to MHz) pair well with real-time control loops. To explore the relationship between reservoir dynamics and learning performance, a parametric study is conducted on two reservoir hyperparameters, reservoir size and neuron separation, using CartPole-v1 and MountainCar-v0. The RC successfully learns multiple tasks …

Design For Repairability: Analyzing The Evolution Of Smartphone Repairability To Generate Design Insights, Pranav Peddinti

Master's Theses

Smartphones are a major part of daily life, allowing people to communicate, browse the internet, shop, and enjoy entertainment. However, smartphones tend to be replaced quickly and therefore contribute to the growing electronic waste problem. The lifecycle of a smartphone can be extended by designing them to be more repairable, making it easier for owners and users to perform the repairs themselves. By only replacing failing components, the device can be in use longer, reducing the waste and pollution generated by replacing the device entirely. Therefore, product designers and engineers must focus on designing smartphones to be more repairable. Design-for-repairability …

Alford Loop Antennas For Ultra-High Energy Neutrino Detection, John K. Kimura

Master's Theses

The neutrino is a fundamental particle of matter emitted by high energy phenomena, such as supernovae and black holes. Detecting neutrinos can give scientists information regarding the frequency of high-energy cosmic events, as well as point them towards specific high-energy events. Ultra-high energy (UHE) neutrino interactions in Greenland ice result in electromagnetic pulses between 200MHz and 800MHz. The Radio Neutrino Observatory - Greenland (RNO-G) seeks to observe the resultant electromagnetic waves. The Alford Loop antenna is proposed to detect these emissions, because of its dipole-like radiation pattern, horizontal polarization, and adequate dimensions to fit in a 10" diameter ice borehole. …