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Call For Papers: 97th Annual Conference Of The Indiana Academy Of The Social Sciences

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

No abstract provided.

Effective Postmerger Strategies To Enhance Shareholder Value In The Banking Industry, Olajide Farouq Adenrele

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Bank mergers continue to produce unintended declines in shareholder value, posing risks to financial stability, customer confidence, and long-term competitiveness in the southeastern United States. This challenge is especially critical for senior banking leaders, who must ensure that postmerger activities strengthen rather than undermine institutional performance. The purpose of this qualitative pragmatic inquiry was to examine the business strategies used by bank leaders in the southeastern United States to mitigate the unintended negative effects of postmerger activities on shareholder value. The study, grounded in agency theory, involved six senior bank leaders responsible for merger integration in the region. Data from …

Strategies To Improve Colorectal Cancer Screening In Rural Primary Care Clinics, Brenda Sue Holland

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Colorectal cancer (CRC) screening rates are lower in rural areas than in urban settings. Individuals in rural areas have lower screening rates due to geographic isolation, provider shortages, and socioeconomic barriers. The purpose of this integrative review was to identify and synthesize best practices for implementing evidence-based strategies to increase CRC screening rates in rural primary care clinics. A systematic literature search across multiple databases identified 24 relevant articles published between 2019 and 2025. The Johns Hopkins Evidence-Based Practice Model (JHEBPM) rated articles for evidence and quality, while the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF) guided the analysis. Thematic analysis identified four …

Developing A Community Partnership Toolkit To Expand Vocational Opportunitiesfor Adults With Disabilities In A Day Program Setting, Bonnie Chapman

Entry-Level Occupational Therapy Doctorate - Doctoral Capstone Symposium

This capstone project aimed to address the gap in community-based vocational opportunities for adults with disabilities within a day program setting. It was identified that participants lacked consistent opportunities to engage in real-world work experiences, which limited their ability to develop vocational skills and explore meaningful roles within the community. This gap was further compounded by a limited number of local businesses willing or prepared to establish partnerships with the program. Additionally, staff reported having insufficient resources and tools to effectively develop and sustain these partnerships, creating a significant barrier to expanding vocational opportunities.

The purpose of this project was …

Heck Coupling Of Α-Vinyl Β-Lactne, Adaobi I. Udokwu, Jimena Garcia Nunez, Barnabas Otoo

ASPIRE 2026

Antibiotic resistance remains a critical global health challenge, underscoring the urgent need for novel antibiotics with unique structural frameworks. β-Lactones represent a promising class of bioactive molecules with significant therapeutic potential. Interestingly, most β-lactone-based antibiotics reported to date share a common structural feature: relatively long α-side chains. Our research focuses on expanding the structural diversity of β-lactones to explore new biological activities. We have synthesized a series of β-lactones via boron-mediated aldol reactions of substituted acetic acids with aldehydes and ketones, followed by dialkyl carbodiimide-mediated lactonization of the resulting β-hydroxy acids. However, this approach imposes limitations on the length and …

The Qualitative And Quantitative Analysis Of Fresh Produce Distribution In Rockingham County And The City Of Harrisonburg, Lauren A. Fisher, Alisa Hart

ASPIRE 2026

Fresh produce is essential to a balanced diet; however, many families struggle to access consistent sources of it. In 2022, about 17 million households were without access to nutritionally sound food from an easy to access source (Godoy 2023). About 10% of the populations of Rockingham County (approximately 17,000 people) are considered to be food insecure with at least 1,000 of those being children (Map the Meal Gap 2016).  Many of those experiencing food insecurity rely heavily on the emergency food system (e.g. food pantries).  Highly processed foods tend to be less expensive and shelf stable than the healthier fresh, …

Artificial Intelligence Assisted Evaluation Of Fungicide Efficacy In Acorn Squash, Olivia Grace Daniels

ASPIRE 2026

Powdery Mildew is a common fungus that infects a multitude of plants. This project will be working with Podosphaera Xanthii, the fungal pathogen that causes powdery mildew in cucurbits. Cucurbitaceae is a plant family that includes squash, pumpkins, melons and watermelons. Powdery mildew ends up significantly reducing the plants yield and infection causes an economic loss for growers which poses a great threat to the farmer’s lively hood. Powdery mildew is also extremely contagious and spreads rapidly to nearby plants. It can be absolutely decimating to populations. So there has been a push to find methods to control the spread …

Competing For Power In Postwar Europe: The Marshall Plan, Comecon, And Authoritarian Strategies Of Control In Eastern Europe, Jordan R. Mongold

ASPIRE 2026

This presentation will examine the authoritarian tactics used by Joseph Stalin and the Soviet Union to consolidate control over Eastern Europe between 1945 and 1955. Case studies on Czechoslovakia, Poland and Romania are used to explore how Stalin weakened political and social systems in these states.

Minutes, Curriculum Committee Meeting, Tuesday, April 07, 2026, Curriculum Committee

Curriculum Committee Minutes

No abstract provided.

Perceptions Of Parents And Guardians Surrounding The Inclusion Of Their Autistic Child In The General Education Setting, Alyssa L. Napier

Undergraduate Theses

The prevalence of autistic students being taught in general education classrooms continues to rise, which emphasizes the need for strong and purposeful inclusive education. The characteristics of autism spectrum disorder (e.g., resistance to change and routines, difficulty in relationship building, sensitivity to environmental stimuli, etc.) can create challenges in the classroom setting that ultimately may impede social and academic growth. Having adequate knowledge and understanding about these challenges is important for teachers as they plan high-quality, differentiated instruction. Considerable amounts of existing literature examine teachers’ perceptions of inclusion, suggesting many general education teachers feel unprepared to meet the needs of …

Examining Moderators In The Relationship Between Injury/Injury Anxiety And Eating Disturbances In College Women Athletes, Lydia M. Reichley

Undergraduate Theses

Introduction: Injury and injury-related anxiety are common in collegiate athletes and may contribute to maladaptive psychological and behavioral outcomes, including eating disturbances. This study examined the relationship between injury/injury anxiety and eating disturbances, and whether athletic identity, injury self-efficacy, and body shame moderated this relationship. Methods: A cross-sectional design was used with 57 female collegiate and club athletes from Bellarmine University (M age = 19.98 + 1.37). Participants completed an online survey including the Sport Injury Anxiety Scale (SIAS), Athletic Identity Measurement Scale (AIMS), Athletic Injury Self-Efficacy Questionnaire (AISEQ), Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-26), and the Objectified Body Consciousness Scale (OBC; …

Evolution Of Polypyrrole Electrode During Electropolymerization And Its Effect On Energy Storage Performance, Duy Pham, Ryan Tcheutchoua Gouafong, Jake Irvin, Ben Mckinney, Jacob Dileonardi, Mason Cox, Ashish Aphale

Faculty Articles

This study investigates the influence of electropolymerization time on the evolution of morphology and the electrochemical performance of polypyrrole (PPy) electrodes. The PPy films were synthesized by varying the deposition time from 300 seconds to 1800 seconds, corresponding to 5 to 50 cycles. The electrodes were characterized by Raman spectroscopy, XPS, and SEM, and electrochemical analyses were conducted using cyclic voltammetry (CV), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), and galvanostatic charge-discharge (GCD). Experimental results showed that increasing deposition time yields large cauliflower-like structures, thereby enhancing capacitance. The 50 cycle electrode exhibited the highest specific capacitance of 412 F/g in a three-electrode configuration …

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

Faculty Senate Packets

No abstract provided.

Emerging Paradigms In Connectome-Guided Neurosurgery For Central Nervous System Tumors: A Narrative Review Of Structural And Functional Connectomics, Tirath Patel, Hamza Yousuf Ibrahim, Muhammad Abbas, Muzna Amir Ali, Sana Sohrab, Kinza Nawaz, Syeda Ramish Zehra Kazmi, Bhumi Daishik Patel, Nikhilesh Anand

School of Medicine Publications

Connectomics is a comprehensive mapping of structural and functional brain networks. It has introduced a paradigm shift in neurosurgery by redefining brain tumors as network disorders rather than isolated lesions. Unlike traditional surgeries, connectome-guided neurosurgery conceptualizes brain tumors as network disorders and aims to preserve brain function in resection. The objective was to study the role of connectome-guided neurosurgery in the management of Central Nervous System tumors and the use of structural and functional connectomics in tumor resection while preserving neurological function. Articles have been identified by searches of PubMed, Scopus and Google scholar from January 2000 to May 2025, …

It’S A Lawyers’ World!: A Commentary On Katharina Pistor, The Law Of Capitalism And How To Transform It, Ingo Venzke

University of Miami Law Review

Affirming Katharina Pistor’s significant contributions to understanding law’s centrality in capitalism, this commentary explores the tension between law’s stabilizing function and its potential for change. Regarding the drivers of change, the commentary highlights an unexpected, unspoken love for lawyers. Those “masters of the code of capital” have made the law into what it is today, and now they should remake it. Could they, even if they wanted to? What would that something else be? By freeing herself from the binary choice between capitalism and socialism, Pistor inevitably raises the question of what socioeconomic system will emerge instead. If The Code …

American Society For Testing & Materials V. Upcodes Inc

2026 Decisions

USDC for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania

Memphis Street Academy Charter School At J.P. Jone V. Philadelphia School District

2026 Decisions

USDC for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania

Budget Transparency Report, Isaac Slaven, Barbara Carlsward, Steve Brantley

Faculty Senate Reports

This budget transparency report focused on the benefits and costs of EIU being a Division I athletics school, compared to the benefits/costs of being Division II or Division III.

Validate-Perianal: An International Real-World Multi-Centre Exploratory Validation Of The Topclass Definition Of A Radiologically Healed Fistula In Perianal Fistulising Crohn's Disease, Easan Anand, Thirza J Van Croonenburg, Sami Samaan, Phil Tozer, Ailsa Hart, Parakkal Deepak, David H Ballard, Jaap Stoker, Phillip Lung

2020-Current year OA Pubs

OBJECTIVES: Radiological healing on MRI is the ultimate therapeutic goal in Class 2a perianal fistulising Crohn's disease (pfCD). The TOpClass consortium recently defined radiological healing (TOpClass-RH) by the absence of T2 hyperintensity, a completely fibrotic fistula tract, and the absence of contrast enhancement when used. This study aimed to validate TOpClass-RH in real-world clinical practice.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: VALIDATE-PERIANAL was a retrospective, multi-centre international study. Patients with pfCD with a baseline MRI scan showing active disease and follow-up MRI evidence of radiological fistula healing between 2021 and 2023 were identified. Paired scans were independently reviewed by three gastrointestinal radiologists using …

Reference Proteins To Improve Core 1 And Core 2 Alzheimer's Disease Csf And Plasma Biomarkers, Linda Karlsson, Nicolas R Barthélemy, Kanta Horie, Suzanne E Schindler, Brian A Gordon, Cyrus A Raji, Tammie L S Benzinger, John C Morris, Randall J Bateman, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Concentration-based fluid biomarkers represent an informative and cost-effective way to detect and monitor Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathology. However, non-AD-related interindividual variation in biofluids can also affect biomarker concentrations. Here, we investigated whether normalization of CSF and plasma biomarkers to reference proteins, such as amyloid-β40 (Aβ40) and non-phosphorylated mid-region tau (np-tau), improves their robustness and reliability of representing AD pathology load. Using the Swedish BioFINDER-2 cohort [n = 1702, 50.7% male, mean (standard deviation) age 68.4 (12.2) years], we compared the associations between tau/Aβ-PET load and fluid biomarkers alone versus biomarkers in a ratio with a reference protein (Aβ40 or np-tau) …

25 Rules Of Thumb For Field Crops, Matt Yost, Niel Allen, Grant Cardon, Earl Creech, Ryan Larsen, Rhonda Miller, Mark Nelson, Claudia Nischwitz, Matthew Palmer, Steven Price, Ricardo Ramirez, Corey Ransom, Benjamin Scow, Randall Violett

All Current Publications

This article is not a comprehensive list of the practices farmers need to be successful in their operations, but it represents an attempt to capture 25 common tips or “rules” from a wide range of Extension experts throughout Utah, from seedbed preparation, to harvesting guidelines.

On-Farm Research Guide, Matt Yost, Jody Gale, Earl Creech, Megan Baker, Jeffrey Austin, Grant Cardon, Cody Zesiger

All Current Publications

Many growers want to increase crop productivity and farm profitability. On-farm research is a way growers can achieve this goal by discovering answers to important questions about the benefits of using specific products or practices they are uncertain about or are unproven. Validating the efficacy of already-implemented practices is another important reason to do on-farm research trials (Nielsen, 2008). Each farm is unique and can benefit from individualized on-farm research, especially since university and industry researchers cannot study every product or practice for every unique field or farm growing condition. This how-to guide covers benefits and best practices for conducting …

Irrigation Water Loss And Recovery In Utah, Bradley S. Crookston, Troy Peters, Matt Yost, Burdette Barker

All Current Publications

When deciding which irrigation systems to adopt, permit, or promote, it is important to consider how their efficiency and losses affect the water balance of Utah’s watersheds and drainage basins. Irrigators have no control over precipitation and only limited control of surface waters entering and leaving the state, as most of those are controlled by legal agreements. However, Utah’s water managers, elected officials, and water users can consider how surface water flows and groundwater storage is affected by using more efficient irrigation systems. Sprinkler, surface, or drip irrigation systems each have trade-offs in irrigation application efficiency, cost, and other factors. …

Guide To Drought Tolerance Of Utah Field Crops, Matt Yost, Tina Sullivan, Dakota Boren, Luree Johnson, Melanie Mills, Earl Creech, Boyd Kitchen, Randall Violett

All Current Publications

Crop variety selection is one of the most important choices on the farm. Crop genetics determine a significant portion of the yield potential and resource use efficiency. Crop types and genetics that use water more efficiently will become increasingly important as water becomes scarcer. Throughout Utah and the Western United States, water availability is decreasing due to various factors, including reduced snowpack and rapid urban growth. Alfalfa, other hay, small grains, and corn are grown on more acres than any other crops in Utah and much of the Intermountain West. These crops all have varieties, hybrids, and cultivars with the …

Sorghum-Sudangrass Production Guide, Dakota Boren, Matt Yost, Luree Johnson, Tina Sullivan, Earl Creech, Grant Cardon, Corey Ransom, Randall Violett, Cheyenne Reid, Cody Zesiger, Kalen Taylor, Jacob Hadfield, Michael Pace, Jody Gale

All Current Publications

Sudex is a warm-season forage crop that performs well in Utah’s dry climate due to its drought tolerance. It can be especially useful during drought years or when irrigation supplies are limited. As well as being a high-quality feed, Sudex has many benefits, including weed suppression and soil-building properties. Although there are concerns for prussic acid and nitrate poisoning, these concerns can be reduced and often eliminated with proper management. This fact sheet provides information to producers about using Sudex and best production practices. Much of the information may also apply to forage sorghum and a few of the major …

Ex Vivo Effect Of Apixaban On Hemostatic Biomarkers In Children With Heart Disease: A Saxophone Trial Substudy, Ghada A Aborkhees, Amy J Barr, Kevin Dietrich, Christoph Male, Zhaoqing Wang, Chen Yao, R Mark Payne, Andrew C Glatz, Paul Monagle, Kristin M Burns, Alison M Reedy, Joshua L Dyme, Peter H Schafer, Antoinette Ajavon-Hartmann, Lesley G Mitchell

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: The SAXOPHONE (Safety of Apixaban on Pediatric Heart Disease on the Prevention of Embolism) trial demonstrated the safety of apixaban for thromboprophylaxis in children with heart disease. Included a priori in the trial design was an exploratory biomarker substudy to evaluate the effects of apixaban on surrogate biomarkers of efficacy, thrombin generation capacity, and hemostatic proteins. The study assessed changes in d-dimer, thrombin generation assay parameters, factor VIII, fibrinogen, protein C, and protein S in children receiving apixaban compared with standard-of-care vitamin K antagonists (VKAs) or low-molecular-weight heparin.

METHODS: SAXOPHONE participants aged >1 year (n=182) had blood samples for …

Phip Suppresses Nurd To Enable The Growth Of Swi/Snf-Mutant Cancers, Hayden A Malone, Francisca N De Luna Vitorino, Benjamin A Garcia, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

SWI/SNF chromatin remodeling complexes are perturbed in 20% of all cancers and in several developmental disorders, yet the mechanisms by which these mutations dysregulate transcription and drive disease are poorly understood. To both elucidate these mechanisms and identify vulnerabilities caused by these mutations, we leverage genome-wide CRISPR-Cas9 screening in hundreds of cancer cell lines and identify the chromatin reader protein PHIP as a specific dependency in cancers with broadly disrupted SWI/SNF function. Mechanistically, we reveal that PHIP cooperates with SWI/SNF to facilitate transcriptional activation by ubiquitinating and suppressing subunits of the repressive Nucleosome Remodeling and Deacetylase (NuRD) complex. We demonstrate …

The Gut Microbiota Shapes The Human And Murine Breath Volatilome, Ariel J Hernandez-Leyva, Amalia Z Berna, Maggie H Bui, Yang Liu, Anne L Rosen, Michael A Lint, Samantha A Whiteside, Natalia Jaeger, Ryan T Mcdonough, Nikhilesh Joardar, Jesús Santiago-Borges, Christopher P Tomera, Wentai Luo, Audrey R Odom John, Andrew L Kau

2020-Current year OA Pubs

The gut microbiota is crucial to health, yet implementation of microbiota-based therapeutics is limited by the lack of rapid diagnostics. We hypothesize that breath contains gut microbe-derived volatile organic compounds (VOCs) reflecting microbiota composition and metabolism. In healthy children, we found that breath VOC composition (or volatilome), assessed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, correlates with gut microbiome composition and function. By capturing exhaled breath from human-stool-colonized and monocolonized gnotobiotic mice, we profiled breath VOCs and discovered that murine breath is also significantly influenced by the gut microbiome. VOCs from cultured gut microbes were identified in vivo in monocolonized gnotobiotic colonized mice. …

Small Grain Forage Production Guide, Matt Yost, Megan Baker, Earl Creech, Justin Wyatt Clawson, Michael Pace, Kalen Taylor, Cory Farnsworth, Jacob Hadfield, Corey Ransom, Steven Price, Claudia Nischwitz, Clara Anderson

All Current Publications

Small grain forages can be used for pasture, hay, and silage and have become more common in cropping systems in Utah and the western United States. The most common small grain species used for forage production are barley, oat, rye, triticale, and wheat. Although there has been an increase in the use of small grains for forage production in the western U.S., little published information is available on best management practices for small grain forage production. This guide will discuss the key production practices for small grains used for forage.

Irrigation, Crop, And Soil Management Impacts On Water Use In Pivots/Laterals, Tejinder Singh, Matt Yost, Masoumeh Hashemi, Burdette Barker, Cheyenne Reid, Rebekah E. Iverson

All Current Publications

In this fact sheet, we describe evapotranspiration (ET), introduce a new tool, the soil moisture evapotranspiration (SMET) model, and share results from multi-year trials across Utah evaluating different center-pivot irrigation technologies, deficit irrigation strategies, crop types, drought-tolerant crop genetics, and conservation agriculture practices. These findings highlight how Utah growers can improve water productivity and maintain profitable production under limited water supplies.