Digital Commons Network^™

Activities Tailoring Within Agile Scrum Roles: A Case Of Nigerian Healthcare Information Systems Development, Yazidu Salihu, Julian Bass, Gloria Iyawa

Journal of International Technology and Information Management

Developing quality agile healthcare information systems requires understanding regulatory compliance and evolving healthcare needs through activities tailored within agile scrum roles. Agile scrum, a widely adopted philosophy, offers significant advantages in managing software development processes. This research explores how activities within the agile scrum roles are tailored to agile healthcare information systems development within the Nigerian context. This study adopted a qualitative case study methodology and interviewed 12 agile practitioners developing healthcare information systems within Nigeria using semi-structured open-ended interview guide questions. The practitioners were selected based on a snowballing process, a sunset of purposive sampling techniques from our network …

Modelled Effectiveness Of Nbs In Reducing Disaster Risk: Evidence From The Operandum Project, Paul Bowyer, Silvia Maria Alfieri, Bidroha Basu, Emilie Cremin, Sisay Debele, Prashant Kumar, Veronika Lechner, Michael Loupis, Massimo Menenti, Slobodan Mickovski, Jan Pfeiffer, Francesco Pilla, Beatrice Pulvirenti, Paolo Ruggieri, Arunima Sarkar Basu, Christos Spyrou, Silvia Unguendoli, Thomas Zieher, Silviana Di Sabatino

Publications

The use of nature-based solutions (NbS) to address the risks posed by hydro-meteorological hazards have not yet become part of the mainstream policy response, and one of the main reasons cited for this, is the lack of evidence that they can effectively reduce disaster risk. This paper addresses this issue, by providing model-based evidence from five European case studies which demonstrate the effectiveness of five different NbS in reducing the magnitude of the hazard and thus risk, in present-day and possible future climates. In OAL-Austria, the hazard is a deep-seated landslide, and the NbS analysed is afforestation. Modelling results …

Multirelational Twitter Bot Detection Using Graph Neural Networks, Ketan Jadhav

Master's Projects

Social media is a key resource in modern human communication as well as for information. Ease of access and global reach is a primary factor to the popularity of several social media platforms like Twitter. Social Media Bots are automated programs which are developed for social engagement. These bots, however, are being used with malicious intent as well, to spread fake news and manipulate the masses. Identification of social media bot accounts has become crucial since social media has become one of the primary sources of news and information for a lot of people. This project aims to propose Multirelation …

Deciphering Speech Through Vision: A Deep Learning Lip Reading System, Srujith Rao Ambati

Master's Projects

Lip-reading, a ubiquitous field between computer vision and speech processing, focuses on identifying what spoken words a person generates depending on their uttering lip movements. This paper presents a streamlined lip-reading solution that employs machine learning and deep learning. First, Our work utilizes the Multi-Task Cascaded Convo- lutional Networks to detect facial “landmarks,” including the face and lips region, and the aligns the face. The aligned faces are segmented to get the lip images. Lip images are preprocessed using the Real-Enhanced Super Resolution Generative Adversarial Network to enhance image resolution to identify subtle lip movement in video images: a critical …

Multi-Platform Cyberbullying Detection Using Nlp And Machine Learning, Chinmayi Lokeshwar Hegde

Master's Projects

The issue of cyberbullying is growing due to the online anonymity and due to online platforms having less repercussions. This research proposes for proactive measures to detect and prevent such behavior before it reaches the victim. By using data from various social media platforms and employing machine learning techniques, this research proposes an innovative system aimed at identifying and thwarting cyberbullying incidents preemptively. While existing methods have primarily focused on prediction and detection of cyberbullying incidents, there remains a significant gap in research regarding prevention strategies. This project aims to address this gap by leveraging machine learning, natural language processing …

Noteblocklib: A Library For Physics- And Animation-Driven Virtual Midi Instruments For Use In Video Games, Kevin Rotunni

Master's Projects

To better capture the relationship between the performer of a piece of music and the music itself in a video game context, I have designed NoteBlockLib, a system by which MIDI instructions are generated and processed in real time based on the motion and collision data of in-game objects. Ultimately, the movement of instruments made using this system would be driven by the animations of a character in the game. This system would thus allow the player character to interact with the performer in the game without sacrificing the relationship between the performer’s actions and the resulting music or to …

Instagram Data Analysis Using Machine Learning, Lakshmi Prasanna Gorrepati

Master's Projects

With enormous amount of social media content, we can draw valuable insights. In this paper, we apply different Machine Learning and Deep Learning techniques on Instagram data to determine the techniques that work well to discover the engagement class of a social media post. Out of all the social media platforms, Instagram is growing rapidly not just in the number of users but also in terms of Advertisement and marketing surpassing YouTube’s advertisement revenue. The end goal of this paper is to propose a technique to predict the engagement class. We applied Random Forest (RF), Stacking Classifier, Extreme Gradient Boost …

Considering A Unified Model Of Artificial Intelligence Enhanced Social Work: A Systematic Review, Michael Garkish, Lauri Goldkind

Social Service Faculty Publications

Social work, as a human rights–based profession, is globally recognized as a profession committed to enhancing human well-being and helping meet the basic needs of all people, with a particular focus on those who are marginalized vulner- able, oppressed, or living in poverty. Artificial intelligence (AI), a sub-discipline of computer science, focuses on develop- ing computers with decision-making capacity. The impacts of these two disciplines on each other and the ecosystems that social work is most concerned with have considerable unrealized potential. This systematic review aims to map the research landscape of social work AI scholarship. The authors analyzed the …

Numerical Analysis Of A Novel Elastohydrodynamic Seal For Supercritical Co2 Power Cycles With Experimental Verification, Ali Akbor Topu

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Supercritical carbon dioxide (sCO₂) power cycles outperform conventional thermodynamic cycles regarding the efficiency and equipment footprint because of its unique property of maintaining the density of liquid in the gaseous phase at supercritical state (304.13 K and 7.37 MPa). It has robust use in concentrated solar power, fossil fuel power plants, geothermal electricity, nuclear power, and ship propulsion. To fully utilize sCO2 power cycles, technology readiness must be demonstrated at 10-60 MWe scale, with a working temperature and pressure of 350-700°C, and 10-35 MPa respectively. A crucial obstacle to the full realization of this technology is the absence …

Mathematical Modeling Of Coupled Heat And Mass Transfer In Metal-Hydride Hydrogen Storage Systems, Muhammad Hasnain

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

As a promising clean energy carrier hydrogen has recently gained significant interest, but its efficient and safe storage is a major challenge. Compared to the gaseous state and liquid state, metal hydrides (MH) offer a potentially more effective storage approach for hydrogen. However, the main challenge in this approach is the low thermal conductivity of the MH bed that leads to low heat transfer and ultimately to higher charging and discharging times. The purpose of this work is to develop an in-house comprehensive heat and mass transfer model for hydrogen sorption in MH reactors to simulate the dynamic behavior of …

Natural Convection Heat Transfer Characteristics Of Sierpinski Carpet Fractal Fins In Horizontal And Vertical Orientations, Ayomide Ayoola

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

This study investigates the thermal performance of fins with perforations inspired by the Sierpinski carpet fractal pattern under natural convection conditions in both vertical and horizontal orientations. The objective is to analyze the effects of fractal iteration levels on three primary performance metrics: efficiency, effectiveness, and effectiveness per unit mass. Experimental evaluations were conducted for fractal fins from iterations 0 through 4, utilizing aluminum material, with each fin heated to controlled conditions. The results reveal that efficiency generally decreases with higher fractal iterations, reflecting increased thermal resistance associated with greater porosity and complex geometry. However, effectiveness per unit mass improves …

The Effects Of Various Nanoplastics On The Inflammatory Response In Primary Alveolar Epithelial Cells, Eunice J. Pak

Theses and Dissertations

As plastic pollution begins to multiply in the environment and the workplace, gradual degradation of these plastics creates an unseen threat to biological health: nanoplastics. These nanoplastics are common in day-to-day life, and have been found in various internal organs of the human body. The biological and health effects of these nanoplastics are still widely unknown, and only recently has research focused on the impacts of these particles on human health at the cellular level.

In this thesis, poly(methyl methacrylate) and three forms of polystyrene (carboxyl-modified, amine-modified, and neutral surface charge) have been tested on submerged primary C57BL/6 mouse alveolar …

The Effect Of 17Β Estradiol On Local Production Of Active Vitamin D3 Metabolites In Laryngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma, Tillat Batool

Theses and Dissertations

Laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC) has garnered attention as a sex-hormone-dependent cancer with notable responsiveness to 17β-estradiol (E₂), in which it’s tumorigenesis can be mediated through estrogen receptors (ER). The ESR1 gene encodes for the classical full-length ERα66, as well as splice variants ERα36 and ERα46. Previous studies have shown that an active vitamin D₃metabolite, 24R,25(OH)₂D_3. has pro-tumorigenic or anti-tumorigenic responses in LSCC cells with different ER profiles, and that the tumor cells have the capability of localized production of vitamin D metabolites at the cellular level when treated with 25(OH)D₃-d6 …

Spin Wave Devices For Embedded Applications And Information Processing, Raisa Fabiha

Theses and Dissertations

Device miniaturization is a prerequisite for modern day electronics. Spintronics offers immense potential in energy efficient data storage, solid states devices, ultrafast computing and other electronic applications because of their low power consumption, non-volatile nature and unique activation mechanism. The conventional nano-antennas used for wireless communication, biomedical and wearable devices and IoT applications are limited by the traditional Harrington limit. As we attempt to miniaturize the antenna size beyond its emitted wavelength (also called “subwavelength” antenna), its gain and efficiency plummet. To overcome this challenge, the researchers have proposed magnetoelectric antennas. The ultra-thin film based magnetoelastic antennas suffer from eddy …

Advanced Synthesis And Rational Design Of Support Structures For Nobel Metal Heterogeneous Catalysis: Towards Enhanced Activity And Continuous Processes, Brian R. Clark

Theses and Dissertations

The field of catalysis has a wide-ranging impact. Our group has identified the constant need for improved catalytic activity in high-impact applications such as hydrosilylation and cross-coupling reactions. For these reactions, precious metal catalysts often exhibit markedly better performance than their counterparts, but they can be a significant process cost that decreases overall economic efficiencies. To address this challenge, we explored support structures that can enhance catalytic activity at low metal loadings and improve precious metal recovery through simple filtration. We found that a platinum on graphene nanoplatelet catalyst (PtGNP) synthesized via strong electrostatic adsorption with microwave irradiation (SEA-MW) exhibits …

Applying X-Ray Fluorescence With Monte Carlo Methods For Analysis Of Surface Defects On Coated Zr4, James Tyler Cahill

Theses and Dissertations

Chromium-coated Zircaloy-4 cladding represents a novel solution for creating nuclear cladding that has passive safety features. This and related developments aimed at improving nuclear safety are broadly categorized as accident-tolerant fuel and cladding. However, implementing this material presents practical challenges such as the vulnerability that cladding has to surface damage such as fretting wear. This research aims to determine if the pre-existing technique of X-ray fluorescence analysis is applicable for detecting these defects on the surface of the cladding. This was done by developing Monte Carlo N-Particle Transport models of a handheld device, the XL-5, alongside experimental measurements using this …

T Cell Polarization Regulates The Inflammatory Response And Tissue Regeneration At The Peri-Implant Interface, Derek Avery

Theses and Dissertations

Unresolved healing and localized chronic inflammation are common occurrences after biomaterial implantation, resulting in unfavorable clinical outcomes such as implant failure or fibrous encapsulation. T cells are adaptive immune cells found in lymph nodes, thymus, spleen, bone marrow, and around biomaterials, significantly impacting the degree of inflammation and wound healing. T cells are vital for inflammatory cytokine production and modulation of innate immune cells, including neutrophils and macrophages. T cells can be differentiated into two primary subsets, CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ T cells, playing distinctive roles in various pathologies and disease states. While T cells have been characterized well …

An Assessment Of User Satisfaction On Remote Court Hearings In The Brunei Civil Court, Hazwani Masli, Seyed M. Buhari

ASEAN Journal on Science and Technology for Development

Remote court hearings (RCHs) have significantly benefited the Brunei Civil Court in maintaining its judicial system and reducing backlogs as a preventative measure, during COVID-19. RCHs have enhanced the judicial system's accessibility, saving resources and increasing court performance and productivity. However, technical problems and mistrust have slowed the RCH's adoption. This study assessed user satisfaction with remote court hearings using the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) framework. Three external variables influenced the perceived usefulness of remote court hearings: trust, perceived risk, and fairness expectations. This study also included moderator variables such as age group and professions. This study showed that trust, …

Artificial Intelligence In Education: Mathematics Teachers’ Perspectives, Practices And Challenges, Mohammad A. Tashtoush, Yousef Wardat, Rommel Al Ali, Shoeb Saleh

Iraqi Journal for Computer Science and Mathematics

Efforts have been made to include artificial intelligence (AI) in teaching and learning; nevertheless, the successful deployment of new instructional technology depends on the attitudes of the teachers who conduct the lesson. Few scholars have researched teachers' perspectives on AI use due to a general lack of expertise on how it can be used in the classroom, as well as a lack of specific knowledge about what AI-adopted tools would be like. This study investigated mathematics teachers’ perceptions of implemented AI systems and applications in Abu Dhabi Emirate schools. The sample study consists of 580 male and female math teachers …

Experimental Investigation And Performance Analysis Of The Transformational Challenge Reactor (Tcr) System Under Various Temperature And Pressure Conditions, Ahmed Mohamed Ali Soliman

Dissertations and Theses

The Transformational Challenge Reactor (TCR) represents a significant advancement in nuclear reactor technology, taking into consideration modularity, efficiency, and safety. This study explores the coupling between thermal behavior and the coolant gas flow behavior of the TCR’s 3D-printed ceramic core under various operating conditions. Using nitrogen as a coolant, experiments were performed at pressures ranging from 20.4 bar to 40.8 bar (300 to 600 psi) and temperatures from 100°C to 300°C. The main parameters including gas inlet and outlet temperatures, the TCR wall temperature at the inlet and outlet, and flow rates, were analyzed to evaluate heat transfer efficiency and …

An Optical Aptamer-Based Carbon Nanosensor For Cortisol Detection, Jessica Kretli Zanetti

Dissertations and Theses

Cortisol is a hormone related to numerous biological functions. This hormone is primarily associated with regulating the body’s stress response, including its effects on metabolism, immune function, and energy balance. Additionally, it plays a critical role in maintaining physiological homeostasis during periods of physical or psychological stress. Consequently, it is critical to monitor levels of this hormone to understand different vital processes it can impact. This work presents the development of an optical aptamer-based carbon nanosensor for the detection of cortisol. The sensor utilizes single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) functionalized with a specific DNA aptamer to achieve high specificity and sensitivity. …

Change Of Metal Oxidation State At High Temperature, Impact Of Temperature And Reactive Gases, Yegor Nikitin

Dissertations and Theses

The fundamental understanding of gas-solid reactions enables a wide range of applications to be developed and improved. Specifically, the use of metal-based materials is critical to ensuring robust, safe, and long-term operations. For example, in power systems where boilers are used to generate steam for heat or electricity generation the use of stainless metal alloys is critical to allow high quality steam to be produced in a very harsh environment. Alternatively, in catalysis, the use of metal doped heterogeneous catalysts are essential in achieving selectivity and conversion performance for chemical synthesis to emissions abatement. Typically, these metal alloys must withstand …

Nanoparticle Stabilized Interfaces And Their Effect On Foam Stability, Nicole T. Donovan

Dissertations and Theses

No abstract provided.

The Racial Disparities Of The Gamma-Secretase/Notch Pathway And Inhibition In Triple Negative Breast Cancer, Jobin Joseph

Dissertations and Theses

Triple Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC) continues to be a formidable challenge in oncology, characterized by its aggressive phenotype and limited treatment options. Alarming racial disparities in TNBC outcomes persist, with underrepresented populations experiencing disproportionately higher rates of mortality and poorer prognoses. This master's thesis aims to delve into the molecular intricacies that contribute to these disparities, with a specific focus on gamma secretase activity, a key regulator of cellular processes.

The research methodology encompasses a multi-faceted approach, amalgamating clinical data analysis with extensive in vitro and in vivo experimentation. The study employs cutting-edge molecular profiling techniques and gene expression analysis …

Hydrodynamics Of Drops And Particles Driven By Marangoni And Diffusiophoretic Forces, Subramaniam Chembai Ganesh

Dissertations and Theses

This study investigates the hydrodynamics of particles and drops driven by forces generated by an asymmetrical physical and chemical surrounding environment. In the first part, a novel colloidal motor design driven by surface tension forces is proposed, utilizing an active Janus particle encapsulated in an immiscible liquid drop to form a compound drop/particle. Marangoni forces induced by asymmetric solute adsorption at the liquid-liquid interface of the drop propels the compound system. The propulsion speeds of the motor are analyzed for various relative sizes and configurations of the Janus particle and the encapsulating drop and the effects of varying the transport …

Hyperspectral And Polarimetric Imaging Of The Ocean For The Characterization Of The Surface Effects And Measurement Uncertainties, Mateusz Malinowski

Dissertations and Theses

Ocean and coastal waters are monitored by Ocean Color satellite sensors to determine concentrations of chlorophyll and water properties and identify areas of algal blooms and other events. The light radiance from the ocean is weak in comparison with the sky radiance, which requires very accurate atmospheric correction of the radiance measured at the top of the atmosphere (TOA) on the satellite and heavy validation of the derived water leaving radiance by field measurements from the ships and ocean platforms. For TOA and especially above water radiance the skylight reflected from the ocean surface represents one of the main sources …

Keynote Address And Meeting Program, Academy Editors

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

No abstract provided.

Evaluation Of The Physicochemical Properties And Soil Biogeochemistry Of Fire Residues, Lingqun Zeng

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

Wildland fire is a main driving force in the Earth system and affects ecosystem properties and processes across spatio-temporal scales. The burning of biomass and production of solid fire residues (conventionally termed fire ash) that are a mixture of completely and incompletely burned materials (inorganic ash and pyrogenic carbon), represent the direct and prominent changes by fires. Cycling of the fire residues is an integral component of elemental cycles and can mediate other biogeochemical processes.

This dissertation aims to fill important knowledge gaps in understanding the disturbance of wildland fires to biogeochemical processes in soils. First, this work characterized and …

Descriptive Statistical Analysis Of Experimental Data For Wettability Alteration With Smart Water Flooding In Carbonate Reservoirs, Muhammad Ali Buriro, Mingzhen Wei, Baojun Bai, Ya Yao

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Smart water flooding is a promising eco-friendly method for enhancing oil recovery in carbonate reservoirs. The optimal salinity and ionic composition of the injected water play a critical role in the success of this method. This study advances the field by employing machine learning and data analytics to streamline the determination of these critical parameters, which are traditionally reliant on time-intensive laboratory work. The primary objectives are to utilize data analytics to examine how smart water flooding influences wettability modification, identify key parameter ranges that notably alter the contact angle, and formulate guidelines and screening criteria for successful lab design. …

Lessons Learned From Laboratory Study And Field Application Of Re-Crosslinkable Preformed Particle Gels Rppg For Conformance Control In Mature Oilfields With Conduits/Fractures/Fracture-Like Channels, Baojun Bai, Thomas P. Schuman, David Smith, Tao Song

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This Paper Surveys the Role of Re-Crosslink able Preformed Particle Gels (RPPG) in Addressing Conformance Challenges within Mature Oilfields. Despite Widespread Preformed Particle Gel (PPG) Application in 15,000+ Wells, their Limitations in Sealing Fractures and Conduits Prevalent in Mature Reservoirs Have Driven the Development of RPPG Formulations. Synthesized in Various Sizes from Micrometer to Millimeter Levels, These Environmentally Friendly RPPGs Are Tailored for Diverse Reservoir Conditions. Findings Showcase the Successful Laboratory-Scale Creation and Upscaling of RPPG Products, Offering Adaptability to Temperatures from 20 to 175°C, Customizable Sizes, Swelling Ratios (5 to 40 Times), and Re-Crosslinking Times Spanning Minutes to Days. …