Digital Commons Network^™

Chemical Profiling Of Star Anise (Illicium Verum) Via Gc–Ms: Identifying Compounds With Pharmaceutical Potential, Legacy Wilson, Yegor Bushnev

Discovery Day - Daytona Beach

Title: Chemical Profiling of Star Anise (Illicium verum) via GC–MS: Identifying Compounds with Pharmaceutical Potential   Abstract: Star anise (Illicium verum) has been used for both medicinal and culinary applications due to its diverse bioactive compounds. It is a primary natural source of shikimic acid (𝐶7𝐻10𝑂5), a key precursor in the synthesis of the antiviral drug oseltamivir (Tamiflu), used to treat influenza. Additionally, star anise has been used to treat respiratory and digestive conditions and is widely used for flavoring due to its licorice-like aroma, mainly from trans-anethole (𝐶10𝐻12𝑂) , its major component. Previous studies have also demonstrated mild central nervous …

Robotic Arm Development For Cone Penetration Testing On The Lunar Surface, Jonah Graff, Derek Zhang

Discovery Day - Daytona Beach

Just as on Earth, future lunar operations will require accurate characterization of surface conditions. On Earth, a proven method for this is Cone Penetration Testing (CPT), which evaluates soil bearing capacity and stratification. This information is vital for lunar operations, including habitat construction, resource extraction, and safe pathfinding. However, traditional CPT systems are designed for human operation and lack autonomy. This project addresses that limitation by developing an autonomous, in-situ terrain characterization system for lunar surfaces. The device is driven by ball-screw actuators powered by stepper motors and controlled through an Arduino Mega, using a combination of metal and 3D-printed …

Extending The Essentially Entropic Lattice Boltzmann Method To Three-Dimensional Turbulent Flows, Michael Derderian

Discovery Day - Daytona Beach

The Entropic Lattice Boltzmann Method (EELBM) has demonstrated strong numerical stability and accuracy for two-dimensional simulations, particularly at higher resolutions where the entropic formulation introduces only minimal stabilizing turbulent viscosity and eventually converges to the Lattice Bhatnagar–Gross–Krook (LBGK) formulation. This built-in stabilization can be interpreted as an implicit large-eddy simulation (LES) model, allowing EELBM to capture complex turbulent behavior without requiring explicit subgrid-scale closures. While these advantages have been thoroughly validated in 2D, understanding how the entropic constraint regulates dissipation in three dimensions is essential for assessing EELBM’s suitability for practical, turbulence-dominated applications. This work focuses on the development and …

Feasibility Of High-Throughput Onboard Ai For Mars Rovers Under Solar Constraints, Aashman Gupta

Discovery Day - Daytona Beach

This project evaluates the feasibility of sustained onboard AI autonomy for a solar-powered Mars rover by directly linking solar energy availability to achievable compute performance. While Mars solar irradiance and edge computing performance have been studied independently, no unified framework currently couples surface power generation to autonomy throughput in an experimentally validated manner. The project will begin with a simulation of solar power generation for a 1 m² rover-mounted array across a Martian sol, accounting for seasonal variation, dust opacity, and array configuration (fixed versus sun-tracking). The resulting power profile will then be coupled to representative compute platforms running autonomy …

Metabolic Regulation And Immunity In The Spaceflight Environment, Graeme Grainger, Riley Dienna, Astrid Senko, Angela Cebula, Arden Rodriguez Arden Rodriguez

Discovery Day - Daytona Beach

Long-duration spaceflight exposes astronauts to chronic ionizing radiation and microgravity that disrupts homeostasis in the immune system and cellular metabolism. While simulated spaceflight models demonstrate altered T-cell polarization and sex-dependent shifts toward regulatory phenotypes, the metabolic mechanisms driving these immune changes remain unclear. Immune cell function is tightly linked to metabolic programming, with effector T cells relying on glycolysis and regulatory T cells favoring oxidative metabolism, making them highly sensitive to shifts in nutrient availability and redox balance. Emerging research further suggests that neutrophils act as metabolic regulators capable of reshaping the immune microenvironment through oxidative stress, cytokine production, and …

Effects Of Human-Animal Interaction On Positive Youth Development: A Replication Study, Allison Pachunka, Jay Jeffries, Lisa Karr, Lena Luck, Bryan A. Reiling, Douglas H. Schultz, Jeffrey R. Stevens

People and Animals: The International Journal of Research and Practice

Interacting with animals can improve health and well-being across the lifespan. Some programs such as 4-H and FFA center around youth interacting with animals, potentially enhancing youth development. Mueller (2014) investigated whether these interactions and attitudes about animals influenced measures of positive youth development. The aim of our studies was to replicate Mueller’s methods and extend her work by evaluating whether membership in animal-focused youth programs moderate associations between interactions, attitudes, and positive youth development. We did not find strong relationships among human–animal inter-action and positive youth development, which failed to replicate Mueller’s findings. However, we did find relationships between …

Implementation Of Artificial Intelligence In Retinoblastoma Diagnosis, Zana Moldavsky

inSIGHT

The retina is essential for vision. It is composed of 10 distinct layers and contains specialized photoreceptor cells, rods, and cones that are responsible for converting photons of light into electrical signals through a process called phototransduction.¹ These electrical signals are transmitted to the brain via the optic nerve where they are interpreted as a visual picture.¹

Retinoblastoma is a rare but aggressive malignant tumor of the retina and represents the most common intraocular malignancy in the pediatric populabon.² The disease follows Knudson's two-hit hypothesis and occurs due to biallelic inactivation of the RB1 tumor suppressor gene …

Home-Use Oct For Neovascular Age-Related Macular Degeneration: A Rapid Review, Sneh S. Shah

inSIGHT

Neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) requires frequent monitoring to identify recurrent exudation and guide treatment with anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) therapy.1 Clinic-based optical coherence tomography (OCT) plays a central role in management but provides only intermittent assessments of a disease that changes over time. Home-use OCT technologies have recently been developed as a possible solution, allowing patients to perform self-imaging with remote clinician review and artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted analysis. This rapid review summarizes current evidence on home-use OCT for nAMD, including feasibility, diagnostic performance, clinical usefulness, and challenges related to implementation. Findings from feasibility studies, AI validation analyses, observational …

Glp-1 Receptor Agonists And Ocular Risk, Saharsh Satheesh

inSIGHT

Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs) have moved from second-line diabetes medications toward the frontline of type 2 diabetes, obesity, and cardiometabolic care.¹ A meta-analysis of 10 randomized cardiovascular outcomes trials (n = 71,351) demonstrated that longacting GLP-1 RAs reduce major adverse cardiovascular events by 14%, all-cause mortality by 12%, and composite kidney outcomes by 17%.² With GLP-1 RAs usage increasing, ophthalmology is also increasingly encountering patients who have recently started GLP-1 RAs therapy, often alongside substantial improvements in glycemic control.

In the context of GLP-1 RAs ocular complications, two specific topics currently dominate conversations: (1) worsening diabetic …

Dichoptic Therapy Versus Patching – State Of Literature Review, Eve Miller

inSIGHT

Amblyopia is the most common cause of vision loss in children. A meta-analysis performed by Hu et al. 2022 estimated the global prevalence of amblyopia to be 1.36%.¹ Amblyopia is defined as a reduction in best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) of one or both eyes caused by abnormal neurologic development in the critical period of visual development. Amblyopia may result from unequal refractive error, strabismus or ocular pathology.² Despite treatment of these inciting factors, suppression of one eye remains, resulting in unequal vision. The clinical consequences of untreated amblyopia include permanent reduction in vision in the affected eye and …

Novel Advancements In Glaucoma Surgery, Eshani Ragam

inSIGHT

Glaucoma is a degenerative ocular condition characterized by irreversible vision loss from damage to the optic nerve. This is usually secondary to increased aqueous production or impaired aqueous outflow, resulting in increased intraocular pressure (IOP). Aqueous outflow is managed by the trabecular meshwork and Schlemm’s canal, although secondary pathways may also be involved.¹ Injury to the nerve is permanent, and interventions are primarily aimed at slowing the rate of progression. While eye drops and laser procedures are first-line measures to lower IOP, more persistent or severe etiologies require surgical treatment to preserve sight.² In recent years, advancements in …

Novel Treatments For Keratoconus, Caroline Paik

inSIGHT

Keratoconus is a progressive condition in which the cornea gradually thins and bulges outward, causing it to become steep and irregular. This leads to irregular astigmatism and worsening vision, most often beginning in adolescence or early adulthood.¹ The management of keratoconus has evolved significantly over the past two decades, with novel therapeutic approaches emerging across three critical domains: halting disease progression, improving visual function, and providing surgical alternatives when conservative measures fail. This review examines the latest advances in keratoconus treatment, focusing on innovative approaches that are reshaping clinical practice.

Insight, Volume 6, Issue 1, 2026

inSIGHT

Contents

7 - Novel Treatments for Keratoconus
By Caroline Paik

12 - Novel Advancements in Glaucoma Surgery
By Eshani Ragam

16 - Dichoptic Therapy versus Patching – State of Literature Review
By Eve Miller

24 - GLP-1 Receptor Agonists and Ocular Risk
By Saharsh Satheesh

33 - Home-use OCT for Neovascular Age- Related Macular Degeneration
By Sneh Shah

40 - Implementation of Artificial Intelligence in Retinoblastoma Diagnosis
By Zana Moldavsky

Future Meteorological Droughts In The Southeastern Us, Kunal Bhardwaj, C. Prakash Khedun, Abdul A. Khan

Journal of South Carolina Water Resources

The Southeastern U.S., despite its humid climate, experiences recurrent meteorological droughts which impact agricultural, water resources, ecological systems, and the economy and society. Knowledge of future drought conditions can guide adaptation efforts. Here, we evaluate historical and projected droughts using the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) and the Standardized Precipitation-Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI) computed from an ensemble of eight bias-corrected Global Climate Models (GCMs) from the Climate Model Intercomparison Phase-6 (CMIP6). The historical performance (1950–2014) of the GCM’s mean was benchmarked against gridded observations from the Climate Research Unit (CRU). Future changes were assessed under 1.5°C, 2.0°C, and 3.0°C global warming levels.We …

Speculative Urbanism Versus Paddy Land Conservation: The Land Paradox In Policy Making, Neethu Das

Journal of Law and Public Policy

This paper argues that paddy land has become a contested space for competing policy objectives in Kerala, one of the southernmost Indian states. It critically examines two competing policy approaches in the state: one focused on fostering economic growth through investment-friendly policies and the other prioritising the preservation of ecological resources for long-term sustainability. It analyses how conservation laws are gradually weakened to foster an investment-friendly environment. In addition, it examines the shift from viewing land primarily as leverage, which has undermined efforts towards long-term sustainability. The insights informing this analysis were drawn from ethnographic fieldwork conducted in Thrikkakara, a …

System And Method For Collateralized Generative Advertising: Programmatic Truth-Bonding In Interactive Shopping Ad Units, N/A Anonymous

Defensive Publications Series

This disclosure describes systems, methods, and protocols for establishing programmatic financial and linguistic accountability in generative conversational shopping advertisements. An interactive ad unit parses a live dialogue stream of a generative conversational agent to identify a verifiable commercial assertion. Upon identifying the assertion, the system calculates a probability of model hallucination using token-level log-probabilities and softmax temperatures. A portion of an advertising budget or a pre-funded collateral pool is dynamically diverted into a smart contract escrow as a fidelity bond, where the bond amount scales with the probability of hallucination and a product category liability multiplier. Following a transaction, a …

A Self-Evolving, Multi-Agent Ecosystem For Autonomous Advertising, Aura Yavary

Defensive Publications Series

This disclosure describes a self-evolving, multi-agent architecture and associated methods for autonomous digital advertising orchestration, structured as a deeply interconnected network of specialized, goal-directed, and continuously learning agents. Each core function of the digital advertising lifecycle is embodied as an autonomous agent that possesses adaptive, modular capabilities, performs independent decision-making, and communicates via decentralized protocols. The architecture incorporates a synchronized, high-fidelity causal digital twin that models user behavior and competitor actions. This twin is queried by the agents to perform causal counterfactual analysis, massive offline training, and real-time simulation-to-real policy validation. As automated decision-making scales, it is critical to mitigate …

Generative Alteration Of Linear Media Streams Via Multimodal Context Analysis, Harsh Rajotiya, Akash Verma

Defensive Publications Series

Linear media consumption can be a passive experience, and some interactive media formats may be limited by pre-scripted decision trees. This disclosure describes systems and methods for the generative alteration of media streams. A system can analyze a playing media program's visual, auditory, and metadata streams to build a temporal, multimodal understanding of the narrative context. When a user provides an open-ended query, such as a what-if scenario, the system can use this ingested context to interpret the request and a generative rendering engine may synthesize a new, stylistically coherent audio-visual segment reflecting the proposed alteration. This approach can allow …

Nftdve-1.0 Caldwell Non-Invasive Fluid & Transport Discovery / Validation Engine A Modular, Quantitative, Artifact-Resistant Open-Hardware Research Instrument For Discovering, Comparing, And Reproducing Non-Invasive Transport Mechanisms In Standardized Phantom Systems, Michael Victor Caldwell Mr.

Defensive Publications Series

NFTDVE-1.0 is a modular open-hardware research instrument designed to answer a basic engineering question:

Can a proposed non-invasive physical excitation produce measurable, repeatable, and independently verified transport through a standardized phantom under controlled laboratory conditions?

The system is deliberately designed as an experimental measurement platform rather than a therapeutic device.

NFTDVE-1.0 combines a replaceable phantom cartridge, controlled fluid circuit, independently measured excitation system, optical tracer measurement, pressure and flow instrumentation, temperature monitoring, vibration measurement, synchronized data acquisition, calibration procedures, artifact rejection, automated experimental sequencing, and a standardized data structure.

The central design principle is that NFTDVE must be capable of …

The Active Metamaterial Structural Integrity Field (Sif): A Dynamic Stress-Routing Architecture For Advanced Spaceframes, Christopher L. Eckes

Defensive Publications Series

This white paper presents the design, architectural framework, and engineering specifications for a solid-state, real-time Structural Integrity Field (SIF). Traditional spaceframe engineering is bound by a rigid mass-to-rigidity paradox: mitigating extreme localized dynamic, kinetic, or thermal loads requires a proportional increase in material mass, which introduces severe propulsive and structural penalties. The SIF architecture breaks this paradox by shifting the burden of structural survival from structural mass to information-theoretic latency and active stress-routing. By treating structural loading as a continuous elastodynamic wave vector propagating through a medium, we define a modular, multi-vector design matrix.

This paper establishes three independent, hot-swappable …

Caldwell Highway Fire Shield (Chfs-1), Michael Victor Caldwell Mr.

Defensive Publications Series

The CHFS-1 (Caldwell Highway Fire Shield) is a retrofitted, remote-operated fire suppression unit designed to patrol highway shoulders during wildfires. It replaces human crews walking with hoses, utilizing a surplus military truck chassis, a slip-in water skid, remote-controlled monitors, and thermal/radar sensor fusion to operate safely in zero-visibility smoke.

Critical Advantage: High Wind Operational Capability Unlike aerial assets (helicopters and drones) which are grounded when sustained winds exceed 35–40 mph or when gusts create turbulence, the CHFS-1 remains fully operational in 60+ mph winds. Its 10,000+ lb anchored mass provides stability where aircraft cannot fly, and its low-altitude nozzle placement …

System Architecture For Cross-Domain Intent Orchestration, Institutional Latency Mitigation, And Distributed Post-Labor Commerce, Christopher L. Eckes

Defensive Publications Series

This disclosure specifies a multi-tiered software and network architecture designed to resolve the systemic bandwidth, cognitive load, and training-data saturation bottlenecks (collectively termed the Epistemic Squeeze) that occur when linear human operational capacity interfaces with exponentially scaling technological and informational systems. The architecture establishes a structured, three-tiered human-machine orchestration environment that shifts human input from low-level manual execution to high-abstract intent orchestration. By introducing a middleware context-translation layer (AI Scaffolding), the system automates semantic embedding mapping across hyper-isolated, domain-specific ontologies, drastically reducing the multi-decade training lifecycle traditionally required to reach technological frontiers.

Furthermore, to mitigate the socio-economic displacement of human …

The Helical Manifold Hypothesis: Time As A Latency Function Of Volumetric Quantum Wave Collapse, Christopher L. Eckes

Defensive Publications Series

This paper introduces the Helical Manifold Hypothesis (HMH), a unified geometric and informational framework that models 3D space and linear time as emergent macroscopic phenomena derived from a fundamental, timeless 2D quantum substrate. We propose that baseline energy fields exist on this substrate as highly coiled, localized topological structures. Upon interaction or observation, these wave functions undergo an asymmetric volumetric collapse, uncoiling outward into 3D space to form a visible matter vector, while their anti-matter counterparts remain anchored to the negative side of the substrate. This split establishes physical spacetime coordinates (x, y, z, t). Under this framework, linear time …

Physiologically Derived, Per-Control Input Debouncing For Tremor-Affected Touch And Key Input, Gerard Ziemski

Defensive Publications Series

This disclosure describes an accessibility technique, making no health claim: filtering the unintended repeated activations caused by hand tremor from discrete user input, deriving the rejection window from the physiology of the tremor rather than choosing it by feel or exposing it as a user setting.

A tremor at frequency f spaces its repeats approximately 1/f apart. The method sets the debounce window to one full tremor period, W = 1/f, and makes explicit the rule that follows: a window W rejects every repeat sooner than W, and so suppresses every tremor faster than 1/W. The uncovered edge is therefore …

System And Method For Adaptive Data Flow Optimization For Middleware Integration, Kirtee Shree Sinha, Prasenjit Das, Ramadurai Pandian

Defensive Publications Series

The present disclosure provides an adaptive orchestration framework for optimizing data transfer between enterprise sourcing systems and financial databases through a middleware integration layer. The framework employs an AI-driven optimization engine that analyzes business metadata from sourcing platforms, system telemetry from middleware, and transaction feedback from the database. A hybrid scoring algorithm computes a PriorityScore used to dynamically reconfigure middleware parameters, including thread concurrency, queue thresholds, and data routing, without interrupting ongoing data flows. The framework maintains consistency between forward and reverse synchronization through a Sync Controller that coordinates bidirectional data flows based on forward-flow completion and load metrics. The …

Global Architecture For Planetary Infrastructure Parity: The Unified In-Context Compilation And Runtime Execution Protocol (Apip-5), Christopher L. Eckes

Defensive Publications Series

Traditional computing architectures have reached an unyielding thermodynamic and informational bottleneck in 2026. The industry's reliance on autoregressive next-token prediction demands historic capital expenditures and unsustainable grid energy, while facing imminent mathematical decoherence due to the proliferation of low-variance, AI-generated synthetic data.

This comprehensive specification introduces APIP-5, a unified runtime execution protocol that bridges decentralized satellite/edge routing meshes (APIP-3) with raw silicon and cymatic substrates (APIP-2). By establishing a strict dual-track engineering paradigm, this paper provides an immediate, industrially viable deployment model utilizing commercial silicon and hardware filters (Level 3 on the Eckes Feasibility Matrix) alongside an evolutionary, low-entropy computing …

Operational Synthesis Matrix (Apip-4), Christopher L. Eckes

Defensive Publications Series

This specification establishes the final capstone module for the Global Architecture for Planetary Infrastructure Parity (APIP-4). It formalizes the Automated Cryptographic Resource Allocation Clearinghouse, the programmatic software engine that manages the Level 2 Regional Logistics and Energy Smart Grid layers.

APIP-4 replaces manual trade negotiations and political embargoes with a trustless, decentralized Resource Clearing Ledger driven by automated smart contracts. This engine balances global resource distribution dynamically based on real-time infrastructure telemetry, automatically executing system-level isolation or resource reallocation based on the compliance metrics established in MS #12661, MS #12662, and MS #12663.

By anchoring global logistics to objective network …

Architectural Framework For Decentralized Satellite Routing Schemas And Global Commons Connectivity (Apip-3), Christopher L. Eckes

Defensive Publications Series

This specification formalizes the network transport and routing topologies of the Global Architecture for Planetary Infrastructure Parity (APIP-3). It defines the Universal Civic Identity and Voting Application (UCIVA) transport framework, engineered to bypass state-level telecommunication shutdowns, Deep Packet Inspection (DPI) firewalls, and terrestrial routing interdictions.

APIP-3 implements an un-jammable, asynchronous, Delay-Tolerant Network (DTN) utilizing a cascading local mobile Peer-to-Peer (P2P) mesh topology that interfaces natively with an orbital Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite constellation. By utilizing hardware-bound, non-biographical cryptographic identity proofs generated via device secure enclaves, APIP-3 creates a zero-knowledge planetary consensus network.

This infrastructure decouples citizen-tier regulatory input from state-controlled …

Global Architecture For Planetary Infrastructure Parity: Silicon-Level Technical Specification (Apip-2), Christopher L. Eckes

Defensive Publications Series

This specification formalizes the micro-architectural and firmware-level layers of the Global Architecture for Planetary Infrastructure Parity (APIP-2). It establishes the precise hardware blueprints required to embed the Multi-Agent Symmetry of Agency Protocol (MSAP) directly onto the silicon processor die. By allocating custom Machine-Mode (M-Mode) Control and Status Registers (CSRs) within open-source execution pipelines, this specification moves computing nodes from software-dependent safety configurations to hardwired, physical-layer boundary enforcement.

The architecture includes the Asynchronous Deceleration Interrupt (ADI) loop—an un-bypassable microcode trap that forces processor clock attenuation or execution thread-fencing when autonomous system entropy anomalies are registered at the pipeline stage.

Integrated alongside …

Global Architecture For Trans-National Informational Infrastructure And Sovereign Risk Mitigation (Apip-1), Christopher L. Eckes

Defensive Publications Series

This specification establishes the Architecture for Planetary Infrastructure Parity (APIP-1), a deterministic, multi-layered technical framework engineered to eliminate the systemic risks of runaway, machine-velocity autonomous cyber-escalation. As distributed artificial intelligence systems reach agentic execution speeds that operate independently of human cognitive and diplomatic processing intervals, traditional international treaties become structurally obsolete. APIP-1 resolves this enforcement gap by embedding the Multi-Agent Symmetry of Agency Protocol (MSAP) directly into the firmware and core routing layers of the global digital commons.

By employing non-interactive zero-knowledge telemetry verification (zk-SNARKs), this framework allows sovereign states and multinational corporate entities to continuously audit cross-border system behaviors …