Digital Commons Network^™

Sparse Bayesian Variable Selection Using Global-Local Shrinkage Priors For The Analysis Of Cancer Datasets, Zhuanzhuan Ma

Research Symposium

Background: With a rapid development of data collection technology, high dimensional data, whose model dimension k may be growing or much larger than the sample size n, is becoming increasingly prevalent in different fields of study, such as ecology, genetics, among others. This data deluge is introducing new challenges to traditional statistical procedures and theories and is thus generating a renewed interest in the problems of variable selection and classification in high dimensional regression models. In large k, small n settings, variable selection is usually the first step for dimension reduction to uncover significant covariates, which contribute to …

Factors Influencing The Availability Of Soil Cobalt And Its Uptake By Herbage, J E. Paterson, D A. Klessa, A Macpherson

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Severe cobalt (Co) deficiency is now rare in Scotland but subclinical deficiency, although difficult to diagnose, is com­monly thought to be reducing the profitability of many sheep and beef farms (COSAC/SARI, 1982). By understanding the factors which determine herbage Co content and Co availablity to ruminants, areas at risk may be predicted and preventative measures taken. To this end, a series of field and laboratory experiments were investigated:

Co adsorption and desorption characteristic of soils. Effects of fertiliser N on herbage Co content. Response of pasture and grazing ruminants to applied Co fertiliser.

Infrared Laser Ablation Of Biomolecules From Formalin-Fixed Tissue, Blessing Chisom Egbejiogu

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

In the research described in this dissertation, a high-precision infrared laser ablation microsampling method was utilized for spatially resolved proteomic and lipidomic analyses of formalin fixed paraffin embedded (FFPE) tissue, a widely used archival sample in biomedical research. Despite its extensive use, FFPE tissue presents challenges for proteomic analysis due to protein cross-linking and modifications introduced during fixation, which can hinder extraction and identification. Developing a streamlined high-resolution method to recover biomolecules from FFPE samples is critical for advancing biomarker discovery, retrospective studies, and multi-omics research. To address these challenges, this study employs an infrared (IR) laser ablation microdissection system …

Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis Uptake Among Black/African American Men Who Have Sex With Other Men In Midwestern, United States: A Systematic Review, Oluwafemi Adeagbo, Oluwaseun Abdulganiyu Badru, Prince Addo, Amber Hawkins, Monique J. Brown Ph.D., Mph, Xiaoming Li, Rima Afifi

Faculty Publications

Introduction: Black/African American men who have sex with other men (BMSM) are disproportionately affected by HIV, experience significant disparities in HIV incidence, and face significant barriers to accessing HIV treatment and care services, including pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). Despite evidence of individual and structural barriers to PrEP use in the Midwest, no review has synthesized this finding to have a holistic view of PrEP uptake and barriers. This review examines patterns of, barriers to, and facilitators of PrEP uptake among BMSM in the Midwest, United States (US).

Methods: Five databases (CINAHL Plus, PUBMED, PsycINFO, SCOPUS, and Web of Science) were searched …

Heart Disease Prediction Using Ensemble Tree Algorithms: A Supervised Learning Perspective, Enoch Sakyi-Yeboah, Edmund F. Agyemang, Vincent Agbenyeavu, Akua Osei- Nkwantabisa, Priscilla Kissi-Appiah, Lateef Moshood, Lawrence Agbota, Ezekiel N.N. Nortey

School of Mathematical & Statistical Sciences Faculty Publications

Heart disease stands as a leading cause of morbidity and mortality globally, presenting a significant public health challenge. Therefore, early prediction and detection are critical, leading to timely and appropriate interventions at early stages. Four ensemble tree-based algorithms were used in this study: adaptive boosting, extreme gradient boosting, random forest, and extremely randomized trees, investigating their ability to predict heart disease. Data related to heart disease clinical features was obtained from the open Kaggle Machine Learning Dataset repository. Adaptive Boosting stands out as the highest performer, achieving an average testing accuracy of 93.70%, precision of 93.71%, recall of 93.70%, and …

A Bland–Altman Comparison Of The Lead Care® System And Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry For Detecting Low-Level Lead In Child Whole Blood Samples, Christina Sobin, Tanner Schaub, Natali Parisi, Eva De La Riva

Departmental Papers (PH)

Chronic childhood lead exposure, yielding blood lead levels consistently below 10 μg/dL, remains a major public health concern. Low neurotoxic effect thresholds have not yet been established. Progress requires accurate, efficient, and cost-effective methods for testing large numbers of children. The LeadCare® System (LCS) may provide one ready option. The comparability of this system to the “gold standard” method of inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) for the purpose of detecting blood lead levels below 10 μg/dL has not yet been examined. Paired blood samples from 177 children ages 5.2–12.8 years were tested with LCS and ICP-MS. Triplicate repeat tests …

Magnetic And Optical Properties Of Airborne Dust Particles Nearby Coal-Fired Power Plants In Upper Silesia, Poland: A Mineralogical, Petrographical And Chemical Approach, Chrysoula Chrysakopoulou, Konstantinos Perleros, Małgorzata Wojtaszek-Kalaitzidi, Lambrini Papadopoulou, Nikolaos Kantiranis, Stavros Kalaitzidis

Journal of Sustainable Mining

Coal mining and exploitation pose certain challenges in terms of environmental management. The objective of this research is the study of airborne dust from Knurow region, Southern Poland, aiming to identify the level and the features of anthropogenic particles, mostly in the form of fly ash. Two samples collected from a domestic gutter system were analysed regarding their mineralogical, chemical and petrographical features, emphasizing the magnetic fraction and the carbonized organic particles. The airborne dust contains 22 wt.% of fossil and fresh organic matter, whereas the major mineralogical phase is magnetite. The magnetic fraction (up to 3 wt.%) appears in …

Leveraging High-Frequency Sensor Data And U.S. National Water Model Output To Forecast Turbidity In A Drinking Water Supply Basin, John T. Kemper, Kristen L. Underwood, Scott D. Hamshaw, Dany Davis, Jason Siemion, James B. Shanley, Andrew W. Schroth

Watershed Sciences Faculty Publications

As high-frequency sensor networks increasingly enhance data-driven models of water quality, process-based models like the U.S. National Water Model (NWM) are generating accessible forecasts of streamflow at increasingly dense scales. There is now an opportunity to combine these products to construct actionable water quality forecasts. To that end, we couple streamflow forecasts from the NWM to a gradient-boosted decision tree algorithm (LightGBM) trained on 5+ years of high-frequency monitoring data to forecast in-stream turbidity levels in the Catskill Mountains, NY, USA. Results indicate LightGBM models are capable of relatively skillful predictions, which enable robust forecasts for 1–3 days lead times. …

This One Weird Trick Gets Users To Stop Clicking On Clickbait, Ankit Shrestha, Arezou Behfar, Sovantharith Seng, Matthew Wright, Mahdi Nasrullah Al-Ameen

Computer Science Student Research

Clickbait, masked behind interesting headlines and thumbnails, is often used to spread misinformation and trick users into clicking on social media posts or links that direct them to malicious websites. To help users protect against clickbait, we examined interventions based on persuasion theories including designs that used social consequence, personal consequence, and badges. To this end, we first conducted a preliminary study to translate the participants’ feedback into improving our initial designs, followed by a lab study with 20 participants (60% Male, 40% Female; 18-44 years old) aimed at understanding their perceptions of the improved interventions; we further updated our …

Emerging Technologies For Forensic Genetic Identification, Lilly Llanos

Senior Honors Theses

There are many new innovations in forensic science that are being developed for the identification of biological evidence. These techniques include next-generation DNA sequencing, DNA phenotyping, and forensic genetic genealogy. This thesis will explore each, as well as newer applications of proteomics. The methodologies, reliability, practicality of cost and training, moral implications, and past research of each will be discussed. Finally, some ideas for future research and steps to drive growth and greater understanding will be suggested. This will encourage further innovations and the increased acceptance of forensic evidence in court. Each method was found to have both advantages and …

The Role Of Homocysteine Redox Chemistry In Biomolecular Mechanisms, Megha Gupta

Dissertations and Theses

Homocysteine at elevated levels is a well-known independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease. However, it is still unclear, after large scale clinical trials, involving tens of thousands of patients, whether homocysteine is a disease mediator or marker. The disconnect between the basic science showing the association of homocysteine with cardiovascular disease and the outcomes of clinical trials based on vitamin therapy for homocysteine lowering, highlights the need for insights into the molecular mechanisms linking homocysteine to cardiovascular disease and other pathologies. For example, elevated homocysteine levels have also been associated with risk for stroke, venous thromboembolism, Alzheimer's disease, neural tube …

Urban Heat Dynamics In Pune: The Influence Of Land Cover And Local Climate, Arpit Tiwari, Preethi Nanjundan, Ravi Ranjan Kumar, Ananya Karmakar, Satyaban Bishoyi Ratna

Northeast Journal of Complex Systems (NEJCS)

Urban areas with high population density and extensive infrastructure development have been experiencing an increasing strain on the local heat budget, leading to a surge in heat-related illnesses and discomfort. This study examined the impact of climate and land use as heat islands in Pune, India, from 2012 to 2023 at six different locations representing varying degree of urbanization. Satellite land cover observations revealed that 55.17% of the total area was urbanized in the city itself, which was limited to 44.8% in 2012. This urbanization has significantly impacted the increasing tendency of maximum temperature (T_max; 0.13℃ to 1.63℃ …

Analysis Of Systematic Trade-Offs Between Military And Healthcare Expenditure Alongside Gdp Growth Of Select Asian And Western Exporting Economies In The 21st Century, Rahul Balamurugan, Carlos Gershenson, Preethi Nanjundan, Hiroki Sayama

Northeast Journal of Complex Systems (NEJCS)

This study explores the complexity in the trade-offs between military expenditure, healthcare expenditure, and GDP growth across select Asian nations and major weapon-exporting countries, examining how nations allocate finite resources between national security and human well-being over the past two decades. Using a systems science approach, the research integrates Granger causality testing to analyze temporal and directional relationships among GDP growth, military expenditure, and healthcare expenditure, uncovering their dynamic interdependencies. The methodology includes trend and slope analysis, Granger causality testing, outlier detection, and clustering to identify heterogeneity in resource allocation strategies. Developed, weapon-exporting nations exhibit complementary trends, with strong causality …

Enhancing The Efficiency Of Eaop Degradation Using Ultrasound: A Study With Methylene Blue And Pfoa As Model Pollutants, Jamiu Busayo Ahmed

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Children Suspected For Developmental Coordination Disorder In Hong Kong And Associated Health-Related Functioning: A Survey Study, Kathlynne F. Eguia, Sum Kwing Cheung, Kevin K.H. Chung, Catherine M. Capio

Health Sciences Faculty Publications

Children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD) have motor difficulties that interfere with their daily functions. The extent to which DCD affects children in Hong Kong has not been established. In this study, we aimed to estimate the prevalence of children suspected of DCD (sDCD) in Hong Kong and to examine the relationship between motor performance difficulties and health-related functioning. We conducted a cross-sectional survey of parents of children aged 5 to 12 years across Hong Kong (N = 656). The survey consisted of the Developmental Coordination Disorder Questionnaire (DCDQ) and short forms on global health, physical activity, positive affect, and …

Energy Saving Through Climate Education: Climate Sensitization In School For Mindful Consumption At Home, Haritha Saranga, Satyajit Roy, Kanchan Mukherjee

Working Papers

An effective fight against climate change requires both a “top-down” approach and “bottom-up” changes; that is, adopting sustainable practices at the individual and household levels, which requires knowledge, belief, and willingness to engage in climate action. Extant research has shown a number of challenges in bringing about persistent changes in human behavior. We propose to bring about mindful energy consumption behavior at the household level by using children as the conduit for behavior change. Scalable interventions that create awareness about climate change and its impact through early self-regulation in middle and high schools are a promising and cost-effective opportunity to …

The Present And Future Of Ai: Ethical Issues And Research Opportunities, Ankita Srivastava, Marco Marabelli, Danielle Blanch-Hartigan, Jeffrey Moriarty, Evan Carey

Philosophy Faculty Publications

Healthcare is currently a fast-changing industry with AI and generative AI (GenAI) playing a prominent role in the transformation of clinical as well as managerial practices. Clinical practices involve AI to diagnose diseases and develop new drugs and compounds, while managerial practices concern AI-supporting processes such as billing patients and insurance companies, handling electronic medical records, and supporting remote connections with patients, increasingly using virtual and augmented reality. Yet, all these opportunities offered by AI come with challenges involving potential ethical issues, such as discrimination, bias, lack of accessibility, and privacy issues. In March 2024, we organized a panel with …

A Feedback-Guided Analysis Of Environmental, Health And Socio-Economic Factors Affecting Drivers’ Willingness To Shift To E-Jeepneys, Charlotte Kendra Gotangco Gonzales, Katrina Abenojar, Carlos Rosauro Manalo, Melliza Templonuevo Cruz, Maria Obiminda L. Cambaliza, James Bernard Simpas, Imee Delos Reyes, John Wong, Bernell Go, Krizelle Cleo Fowler, Rene Marlon Panti, Emma E. Porio, Jean Jardeleza Mijares

Environmental Science Faculty Publications

The Jeepney Modernization Program involves the replacement of traditional jeepneys with more efficient alternatives, including modern enclosed electric vehicles, alongside operational improvements to the public transportation system. This study aims to assess the environmental, health and socio-economic factors impacting drivers’ willingness to shift to e-jeepneys. Feedback-Guided Analysis was used as a framework for designing an interdisciplinary approach towards understanding the decision-making paradigms of drivers plying a specific route in Quezon City, Metro Manila. Measurements of drivers’ exposure to PM2.5 and associated health parameters were complemented by key informant interviews delving into income, expenses, valuation of benefits and decision-making paradigms. A …

The Virtual Wunderkammer: Integrating Neuroinclusive Design And Ai-Augmented Technologies For Immersive Museum Experiences, Piper Hutson, James Hutson

Faculty Scholarship

The Virtual Wunderkammer represents an innovative paradigm in museum exhibition design, integrating neuroinclusive principles with artificial intelligence (AI)-augmented technologies to foster immersive and cognitively accessible visitor experiences. Historically, the Wunderkammer, or "cabinet of curiosities," served as a precursor to modern museums, offering eclectic collections that stimulated intellectual curiosity and sensory engagement. The contemporary reimagining of this concept utilizes emerging technologies such as augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), haptic feedback, and olfactory-enhanced digital environments to create personalized, adaptive museum experiences. This study explores the critical intersection of neuroaesthetics, cognitive science, and AI-driven interactivity in digital exhibitions, emphasizing their potential to …

Solid-State Crystallization Of Zeolites And Their Use In Plastic Upcycling Applications, Yixin Liao

Doctoral Dissertations

Plastics have been an irreplaceable component of modern technology as well as everyday life. They have brought much convenience to us with their characteristics of great malleability, durability, and stability. The versatile and low-cost nature of plastics also enables their wide engagement in many modern industries including automobile, medical, communication as well as aerospace. Polyethylene (“PE”), made from polymerization of ethylene, is one of the most widely used plastics in the world. Being cheap, flexible, and long-lasting, they are extensively used in the packaging industry, especially for plastic bags and other sorts of containers. However, the durability of plastics, on …

Real-Time Prediction Of Dynamical Systems Using A Hybrid Analog Computer: Network Traffic Modeling, Majd Zuhair Tahat

Doctoral Dissertations

As the number of online users grows exponentially, the number and severity of cyber threats escalate, urgently requiring advancements in real-time network modeling and response. Swiftly predicting and analyzing network traffic is crucial for effective network monitoring and control, preventing cyber breaches, and maintaining healthy network functionality. This research presents a novel approach to real-time modeling based on analyzing evolving properties and patterns in a dynamical network system using a hybrid analog-digital computer. An analog computer was utilized as a co-processor to compute differential equations that model the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) window size. A comparative analysis was conducted between …

A Human-In-The-Loop Framework For Scalable And Interpretable Event Triaging In Large-Scale Systems, Ibrahim Khaled Al-Agha

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation presents a comprehensive and scalable framework for real-time fault detection and event triage in industrial systems, addressing critical challenges such as class imbalance, ambiguous feature boundaries, and the prioritization of complex, high-dimensional event data. The proposed framework integrates advanced methodologies, including micro-batch processing, retrospective divergence-based event detection (DB-RED), association rule mining (ARM), clustering, and Dempster-Shafer Theory (DST) for conflict resolution. Together, these components enable the systematic stratification of events into actionable priority levels, ensuring robust and interpretable decision-making in real-time environments. DB-RED forms the cornerstone of the framework, leveraging KL-divergence and PE-divergence metrics to detect subtle and transient …

Maine Career Exploration: Final Evaluation Report, Julia Bergeron-Smith Mppm, Msw, Sarah Goan, Madison Burke, Becky Wurwarg, Amy Geren, Shannon Saxby

Publications

The Maine Career Exploration (MCE) Program was a two-year, $25 million pilot initiative launched in 2022 by Governor Janet Mills as part of the Maine Jobs and Recovery Plan. The program aimed to connect young people aged 16 to 24 with Maine’s economy through paid, age-appropriate career experiences that matched their interests, while also expanding career exploration opportunities in schools and communities and building long-term infrastructure to sustain these efforts. Managed by the Maine Department of Economic and Community Development, MCE distributed funding across three main streams: the Maine Children’s Cabinet Career Exploration Pilot Project, the Maine Department of Education’s …

Analysis Of Nuclear Security And Safety Integration Using Survey Responses And Pairwise Comparison Methods, Sheila V. Gbormittah, Theodore A. Thomas, Jason Timothy Harris

International Journal of Nuclear Security

Integrating nuclear security and safety is important for implementing and sustaining nuclear technology because it promises improved and effective management. This integration is an ongoing effort to ensure that both work together with minimal conflicts. This research aimed to determine the preferred level at which nuclear security and nuclear safety integrate by using the pairwise comparison methods of decision-making. This methodology used survey responses from women nuclear professionals to identify the most-desired criteria at three levels: strategic, operational, and cultural. The strategic level includes actions that government officials and regulators can take. The operational level encompasses actions that deliver the …

Wright State University's Celebration Of Student Research, Scholarship & Creative Activities From Thursday, March 13, 2025, Wright State University

Celebration of Undergraduate & Graduate Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activities Abstract Books

The student abstract booklet is a compilation of abstracts from students' oral and poster presentations at Wright State University's Celebration of Student Research, Scholarship & Creative Activities on March 13, 2025.

Lagging Brain Gene Expression Patterns Of Drosophila Melanogaster Young Adult Males Confound Comparisons Between Sexes, Flannery Mclamb, Zuying Feng, Jeanne P. Vu, Lindsey Griffin, Miguel F. Vasquez, Goran Bozinovic

Center for Life in Extreme Environments Publications

Many species, including fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster), are sexually dimorphic. Phenotypic variation in morphology, physiology, and behavior can affect development, reproduction, health, and aging. Therefore, designating sex as a variable and sex-blocking should be considered when designing experiments. The brain regulates phenotypes throughout the lifespan by balancing survival and reproduction, and sex-specific development at each life stage is likely. Changes in morphology and physiology are governed by differential gene expression, a quantifiable molecular marker for age- and sex-specific variations. We assessed the fruit fly brain transcriptome at three adult ages for gene expression signatures of sex, age, and sex-by-age: 6698 …

Why Ai’S Role In Advancing Sustainability Is Underestimated, Lipika Bhattacharya

CCX Research

AI has quietly, but powerfully, woven itself into the fabric of our everyday lives. Yet, AI's potential impact on creating a more sustainable world is undervalued. The author examined artificial intelligence's (AI) role in advancing sustainability. She outlined how AI can be applied in various domains such as agriculture, water management, industry, urban planning, and biodiversity conservation for transformative effects.

Assessment Of Water Pollution Levels In Lake Batur, Indonesia And Their Effect On Water Weed Presence, Syarif Prasetyo, Tri Retnaningsih Soeprobowati, Tirtaduna Tirtaduna, Agus Purnomo, Sri Hartati, Umi Chodrijah, Prihatiningsih Prihatiningsih, Ari Wahyono, Jumari Jumari, Rossi Prabowo

The Philippine Agricultural Scientist

Lake Batur in Bangli Regency, Bali Province is a priority area for ecological quality restoration in Indonesia due to its vulnerability to environmental changes caused by diverse and intensive utilization. Agricultural activities, fisheries, and tourism affect the lake’s water quality, leading to the uncontrolled growth of water weeds such as water hyacinth (Pontederia crassipes). To determine the relationship between water quality, community activities, and water weed presence, water samples were collected from 9 locations consisting of residential, tourist, aquaculture, and agricultural areas. In situ analysis was then conducted to measure turbidity, pH, temperature, dissolved oxygen (DO), total dissolved …

Lethality And Survivability Of Autonomous Self-Sensing Uavs, Jeffrey T. Wilson

Theses and Dissertations

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have seen increased usage over the past two decades during the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT), operating in low-risk environments against dispersed enemies with minimal counter-drone capabilities. However, as the U.S. military shifts focus to Multi-Domain Operations (MDO) and Large Scale Combat Operations (LSCO), UAVs face significantly higher risks, including frequent and successful attacks, as well as the exploitation of their technology. Battle damage assessment (BDA) is not new; however, autonomous self-assessment by UAVs represents a novel advancement. Currently, UAV BDA relies on manual inspection, requiring approximately eight hours per drone. By adopting self-sensing technology, UAVs …

Evaluating Dry Air Personnel Decontamination Of Methyl Salicylate As A Chemical Agent Surrogate In Extreme Cold Environments To Reduce Airborne Risks Using A Manikin, Lance E. Campbell

Theses and Dissertations

This research investigated a mobile air shower as an alternative to water washing for personnel chemical decontamination in Arctic environments, where traditional methods like disrobing and rinsing are impractical. Interest in Arctic operations has grown with recent U.S. military focus on strategic advancements by Russia and China, yet research on air shower effectiveness for chemical decontamination remains limited. This study examined whether a commercial off-the-shelf air shower could effectively decontaminate methyl salicylate (MES), a surrogate for chemical warfare blister agents, from a manikin outfitted in military cold-weather gear. Researchers used a ppbRAE 3000 photo-ionization detector to measure MES concentrations following …