Life Sciences Commons^™

Transdisciplinary Perspectives On Ai: The Fourth Annual Conference Of The European Culture And Technology Laboratory, Connell Vaughan, Ioana Madalina Moldovan, Silivan Moldovan, Noel Fitzpatrick

Books/Book Chapters

The fourth annual conference of the ECT Lab+ was hosted by Technical University of Cluj-Napoca over two days in October 2024 at the Cluj Innovation Park. The conference brought together experts from the Arts, Humanities, Social Sciences, Technology, and other fields to discuss and reflect on the advent of Artificial Intelligence and how the associated technologies are transforming how we live, work and study. Under the title Transdisciplinary perspectives on AI: Alternative Histories, Current Practices and Possible Futures the conference moved beyond simplistic technophila and technophobia to consider whether we can co-evolve with these new technologies which combine machine learning …

2025 - The Sixth Annual Fall Symposium Of Student Scholars

Symposium of Student Scholars Program Books

The full program book from the Fall 2025 Symposium of Student Scholars, held in November 2025. Includes abstracts from the presentations and posters.

Renewal Of The Mind: Forgiveness Through The Lens Of Christian Faith And Neuroscience, Khelen Walsh

University Honors Theses

Within Christian theology, forgiveness is a foundational concept that is often understood as a divine command, a spiritual practice, and a path toward reconciliation and personal growth. Recent neuroscientific research further supports this viewpoint, providing data that shows forgiveness engages neural systems responsible for emotional regulation, empathy, moral reasoning, and perspective-taking. Through neuroplasticity, repeated acts of forgiveness reshape the brain, strengthen connections between prefrontal and limbic regions, reduce amygdala reactivity, and enhance emotional stability and cognitive flexibility. Although forgiveness offers many benefits, modern culture frequently distorts its meaning, framing it as a sign of weakness, gullibility, or a form of …

Harnessing Hyperspectral Imaging And Deep Learning For Terrestrial Habitat Mapping In Arid Landscapes: A Case Study In Saudi Arabia, Ali Elgendy, Hesham Morgan, Brandon Tran, Rejoice Thomas, Tamer Ismail, Yehya Kh. Shehadeh, Ahmed Elgharib, Ahmed Abdullah Al-Dughairi, Ali El Muburak, Khaled Allam Harhash, Hesham El-Askary

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

Arid ecosystems remain under-mapped at actionable scales despite their ecological importance. Decision makers lack reliable, high-resolution habitat maps in drylands to prioritize protection and target restoration. This research integrates spaceborne hyperspectral imaging from the Environmental Mapping and Analysis Program (EnMAP) with deep learning semantic segmentation models to produce an updated level of habitat classification based on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) for part of the Imam Turki bin Abdullah Royal Reserve, Saudi Arabia. Using ground control points and the full EnMAP spectral cube without band selection, U-Net and DeepLabV3+ architectures were each implemented with VGG19 and ResNet-101 …

Both Studying And Protecting Octopuses “On Their Own Terms”, Jennifer Jacquet, Janelle Kaz, Becca Franks, Christine Webb

Animal Sentience

Cephalopods – indeed, all animals – “must be seen on their own terms,” with respect for their autonomy and their ecological imperatives. This will provide greater scientific insight along with a more ethical and accurate understanding of minds beyond our own.

Designing And Writing Effective Data Management Plans For Grant Proposals, Rubab Shahzad, Ibis Anette Moreno-Lozano

Day Family Research Lab Workshop Series

Fundamentals of research data management and how to create effective Data Management Plans (DMPs).

Understanding Perceptions About And The Practice Of Integrated Pest Management And Biological Control Of The Filth-Breeding Flies By Individuals Involved In The Equine Industry In The United States, Virgillia Adele Beyer-Junfin, Theresa Pesl Murphrey, David Lawver, Barry Boyd, Amy Boren-Alpizar, Rilee Hall, Audra W. Richburg

Journal of Extension

Filth-breeding flies pose significant health risks and costs in the equine industry. Although an arsenal of management strategies exists, integrated pest management (IPM) utilizing biological control (BC) offers cost and labor efficient pest control for equine facilities. Yet, little data exists on IPM adoption across the equine industry in the United States. This quantitative study examines the knowledge, perceptions, and adoption of IPM of those involved in the equine industry. Findings reveal knowledge barriers and time constraints as major preventatives. Preferred communication channels for IPM information are also identified. Recommendations are made for further research and practice in IPM and …

Introducing Neuro Social Work: A Brief Reflection On Neuroscience And The Profession, Priscila Llamosa

Social Work Faculty Publications

Neuroscience offers language and evidence that can strengthen interdisciplinary communication, support advocacy in biomedically dominated settings, and validate relational practices long recognized in social work, including the impacts of early adversity, attachment, and healing through connection. At the same time, an epistemological tension underlies the profession’s unease with neuroscience when brain-based narratives are used to individualize structural harm or justify surveillance of marginalized families and communities. This teaching note introduces Neuro Social Work as a justice-oriented specialization that integrates contemporary neuroscience with social work’s person-in-environment commitments, relational practice traditions, and anti-oppressive ethics.The author argues that the key question is no …

11.17.2025 Ored Connect, Liz Williamson

ORED Newsletter

• Qualtrics training sessions
• Alcorn State University, Dr. Edmund Buckner

Cephalopod Consciousness On “Their Own Terms”: Who Are “They”?, Willa M. Lane, Victor Ajuwon, Nicola S. Clayton

Animal Sentience

Mather’s call to consider cephalopods’ consciousness “on their own terms” raises the question of the extent to which cephalopods can be considered a homogenous group. While coloeoid cephalopods share traits that strongly distinguish them from other molluscs and invertebrates, they show vast ecological and morphological diversity, with implications for the design of empirical investigations of consciousness. Extending Mather’s argument, we apply Birch et al.’s (2020) five-dimensional model to compare octopus, cuttlefish, squid, and nautilus. This comparison shows that even within a graded rather than categorical framework, putative consciousness profiles depend on which taxa are included in discussions of “cephalopod consciousness.” …

Turfgrass Weed Control For Professionals, 2024, Aaron J. Patton, Matthew T. Elmore

Purdue University Press Books

Turfgrass is used on everything from athletic fields, golf courses, and parks, to lawns, sod farms, and roadsides. Unfortunately, information on weed management for professionals maintaining these areas has often been inaccurate or out of date, and applicators are frequently unaware of the most effective methods for controlling weeds in turf. Written by experts in the field and featuring insights from contributors from sixteen states across the US, the 2024 edition of Turfgrass Weed Control for Professionals was developed to provide science-based information for those working in the field. It contains information about turfgrass management, weed biology and management, more …

Data Cleaning With Excel, Rubab Shahzad

Day Family Research Lab Workshop Series

This workshop will delve into the importance of cleaning research data and why clean data is an important part of the larger research data lifecycle. This session will also provide an overview of data cleaning and preprocessing using Microsoft Excel including a hands-on demonstration.

Scroll down for practice file

Cv: Philip Blankenship (Behavioral Neuroscience), Philip Blankenship

Psychology Department Faculty Curricula Vitae

No abstract provided.

11.10.2025 Ored Connect, Liz Williamson

ORED Newsletter

• Sherilyn Hulugalla winds Biosafety and Biosecurity Month Challenge

An Integrated Ca–Markov Modeling Framework For Forecasting Land Use And Land Cover Dynamics In Arkansas, Usa, Rasool Vahid, Mohamed H. Aly

Environmental Dynamics Faculty Publications and Presentations

Land use and land cover (LULC) changes significantly shape urban environments and directly impact ecological and socioeconomic systems. This study aims to explore these interconnections by employing the Cellular Automata–Markov (CA–Markov) model to assess and predict LULC dynamics in Arkansas. Historical LULC datasets from 2001 to 2021, obtained from the National Land Cover Database, were simplified from 11 into 5 classes to facilitate analysis and effectively map transitions. The model was validated by predicting LULC for 2016 and 2021 and comparing the predictions with the real maps, achieving an overall accuracy of approximately 91.9%, using model validation metrics, including precision, …

Analyzing Urban Space-Use Of White-Tailed Deer (Odocoileus Virginianus), Szandra A. Péter, Zehidul Hussain, Solena Kronstedt, Amira Roess, Jennifer Mullinax, Travis Gallo, Taylor Anderson

Annual Symposium on Biomathematics and Ecology Education and Research

No abstract provided.

Modeling Self-Organizing Networks In Life Sciences And Beyond, Nina H. Fefferman

Annual Symposium on Biomathematics and Ecology Education and Research

No abstract provided.

Michigan Academician Volume 50, Issue 1

Michigan Academician

2025 Michigan Academy Conference abstracts.

Program Transition Success: A Practical Guide For Educators Moving Sbae Programs, Evey Choat

Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education, and Communication: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

What tools, strategies, and support systems can help agriculture educators navigate leadership transitions and sustain program success when moving between schools or communities? Teacher mobility and leadership transitions within School-Based Agricultural Education (SBAE) present unique challenges to program continuity, community relations, and professional sustainability. Unlike other subject areas, SBAE teachers often manage multifaceted responsibilities—as classroom instructors, FFA advisors, and community liaisons—making transitions between programs especially complex. This project addresses the lack of structured support for educators navigating these transitions by developing a Program Transition Guide specifically tailored to the needs of agricultural educators in Nebraska.

Guided by Transformational Leadership Theory …

Artificial Light At Night Can Worsen Competitive Outcomes Between Native And Invasive Grasses, Shannon M. Murphy, Kylee Grenis, Anna A. Sher

Biological Sciences: Faculty Scholarship

Artificial light at night (ALAN) is an important global disturbance that affects community dynamics, but how it affects species interactions, such as competition, is not well understood and needs investigation. In plant communities, some exotic-invasive plant species seem to be facilitated by ALAN, which may alter competitive outcomes with native plant communities and promote invasion. Despite these intriguing results, whether ALAN affects competitive outcomes between native and invasive species is understudied. Here we tested how ALAN affects competitive outcomes between two native prairie grasses and two grasses that are exotic-invasive in North America. We planted each native species with a …

Deforestation Affecting Developing Nations, Nicole Villa

Sustainability Conference

Deforestation continues to be a growing problem around the globe, while it is affecting wildlife what can be overlooked is the challenges it’s creating for the livelihood of nations. This goes beyond losing the biodiversity of our ecosystems but social consequences with the scarcity of water in Malawi, rise in health risks in Democratic Republic of Congo and negative effects of agricultural expansion in Belize. Overall social conflict in these areas that are suffering to grow. Furthermore, I aim to cover the major challenges previously mentioned followed by counteracts of deforestation including action plan in Brazil, efforts of other countries …

Starting An Equine-Assisted Services Program, Makenna L. Pahlke

All Current Publications

Starting an equine-assisted services (EAS) program requires more than just access to horses and a passion for helping others. This fact sheet outlines the key considerations for communities and individuals interested in developing safe, sustainable, and impactful equine-assisted programs.

Impact Of Physiological And Environmental Variation On The Behavioral Response Of The Two Biological Control Agents Of The Emerald Ash Borer To Host-Associated Odors, Vanshika Jindal

LSU Master's Theses

Emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire; EAB) is an invasive pest that threatens ash trees (Fraxinus spp.) throughout North America and Europe. Since its introduction to North America, EAB has killed hundreds of millions of trees, resulting in severe ecological and economic damage exceeding 10 billion US dollars. Classical biological control involves the introduction of natural enemies from the native range of pests to manage their populations. Specialist parasitoid wasps have been released to reduce the populations of EAB. Detection and response to long-range attractants associated with EAB is critical for the location and parasitism by classical biological …

Losing Focus In The Age Of Tik Tok: Clinical Evidence For Policy Action On Social Media Use, Megan Conefrey, Robert Griffin

SURE Journal: Science Undergraduate Research Experience Journal

No abstract provided.

Tracking Livestock Heart Rate & Location Using Long-Range Radio Networks. An Immediate Solution For Farms Without Reliable Wi-Fi, Dermott Harkin, Martin Bradley

SURE Journal: Science Undergraduate Research Experience Journal

No abstract provided.

Voices Matter: Tackling Accentism In Ireland. A Study Addressing Accent-Based Discrimination Awareness In Education, Sadhbh Reddington, Victoria Graham, Holly Jordan, Mairead Moriarty

SURE Journal: Science Undergraduate Research Experience Journal

No abstract provided.

Supporting Single Parents: How Loneliness And Self-Stigma Can Impact Single Parents And Their Quality Of Life, Alana Powell, David Mothersill

SURE Journal: Science Undergraduate Research Experience Journal

No abstract provided.

Income Inequality And Attitudes Towards Immigrants – How Increased Inequality Drives Division, Niamh Anderson, Vincent O'Sullivan

SURE Journal: Science Undergraduate Research Experience Journal

No abstract provided.

Ireland Blossoms Through Multiculturalism - Designing For Community Connection, Julia Kuczera, Shirley Casey, Hilary Kenna

SURE Journal: Science Undergraduate Research Experience Journal

No abstract provided.

Unheard And Underserved: Exploring Support For Male Victims Of Partner Abuse, Michael Keenan, Colletta Dalikeni

SURE Journal: Science Undergraduate Research Experience Journal

No abstract provided.