Digital Commons Network^™

Cuentos (In)Creíbles: Ethnography As Faithful Witnessing For Transborder Epistemologies, Sarah Gallo, Melissa Adams Corral

Teaching and Learning Faculty Publications

Through the careful analysis of the border-crossing epistemologies that are collaboratively shared and validated by a fifth grader and ethnographer in liminal classroom spaces, we identify key methodological approaches for researchers working with border crossers to document the co-production of knowledge among researchers and participants, to engage in active reflection with trusted thought partners, and to understand the possibilities for personal epistemic expansion.

Vaccination Games Of Boundedly Rational Parents Toward New Childhood Immunization, Wei Yin, Martial L. Ndeffo-Mbah, Tamer Oraby

School of Mathematical & Statistical Sciences Faculty Publications

Infectious diseases harm societies through disease-induced morbidity, mortality, loss of productivity, and inequality. Thus, controlling and preventing them is critical for public health and societal well-being. However, societies can hinder efforts to control the spread of diseases by failing to adhere to public health recommendations, such as through vaccine hesitancy. Various disease-transmission models have been utilized to help policymakers respond to (re)emerging outbreaks. The usefulness of such models in assessing the effectiveness of public health policies is significantly dependent on human behavior. This paper introduces a new model of parental behavior toward a new childhood immunization. The model incorporates societal …

Identical Vanishing Of Coefficients In The Series Expansion Of Eta Quotients, Modulo 4, 9 And 25, Tim Huber, James Mclaughlin, Dongxi Ye

School of Mathematical & Statistical Sciences Faculty Publications

Let A(q)=:∑∞n=0anqn and B(q)=:∑∞n=0bnqn be two eta quotients. In some previous papers, the present authors considered the problem of when

an=0⟺bn=0.

In the present paper we consider the “mod m” version of this problem, i.e. for which eta quotients A(q) and B(q) and for which integers m>1 do we have (non-trivially) that

an≡0(modm)⟺bn≡0(modm)?

(We say “non-trivially” as there are trivial situations where an≡bn(modm) for all n≥0). The m for which we found non-trivial (in the sense just mentioned) results were m=p2, p=2,3 and 5. For m=4 and m=9, we found results which …

Encapsulation Of Cannabidiol In Chitosan-Stabilized Argan Oil Nanoemulsion As A Potential Dermal Drug Delivery System For Psoriasis Treatment, Yousra Mdarhri, Vinicius De-Monte-Vidal, Camila De-Almeida-Perez-Pimenta, Selene Cuello-Rodríguez, Ahmed Touhami, Fakhita Touhami, Mohamed Chabbi, Victoria Díaz-Tomé

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Publications

Background: Cannabidiol (CBD), a non-psychoactive compound derived from Cannabis sativa, exhibits therapeutic potential for various conditions, including inflammation, pain, and skin disorders, making it a promising candidate for the topical treatment of psoriasis. However, its poor water solubility and instability limit its therapeutic efficacy. This study focuses on the development and characterization of CBD-loaded nanoemulsions using argan oil as the lipid phase, with and without a chitosan coating, which serves as a stabilizing and functional biopolymer. Methods: Nanoemulsions (NE) and chitosan-stabilized nanoemulsions (CS-NE), both without CBD (serving as controls), and CBD-loaded variants (CBD-NE and CBD-CS-NE) were prepared and characterized for …

Anomalous Spontaneous Induction Of Magnetic And Electric Fields In Dense Quark Matter, Efrain J. Ferrer, Jose Miguel Perez-Fernandez

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Publications

In this paper, we will demonstrate that a dense quark-matter system in the dual chiral density wave (DCDW) phase behaves as a ferromagnet in the sense that its magnetic-field dependent magnetization remains different from zero even at 𝐵 →0. The corresponding permanent magnetization is a function of the baryonic chemical potential 𝜇, decreasing up to zero as 𝜇 increases in the range of intermediate densities (312  MeV⩽𝜇⩽342  MeV) and then increasing from zero in the higher density interval 490  MeV⩽𝜇⩽550  MeV. We will show that this system’s ability to generate permanent magnetization, together with the existence of the axial anomaly, …

Hybrid Vision Transformer–Cnn Framework For Alzheimer’S Disease Cell Type Classification: A Comparative Study With Vision–Language Models, Md Easin Hasan, Md Tahmid Hasan Fuad, Omar Sharif, Amy Wagler

School of Mathematical & Statistical Sciences Faculty Publications

Accurate identification of Alzheimer’s disease (AD)-related cellular characteristics from microscopy images is essential for understanding neurodegenerative mechanisms at the cellular level. While most computational approaches focus on macroscopic neuroimaging modalities, cell type classification from microscopy remains relatively underexplored. In this study, we propose a hybrid vision transformer–convolutional neural network (ViT–CNN) framework that integrates DeiT-Small and EfficientNet-B7 to classify three AD-related cell types—astrocytes, cortical neurons, and SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells—from phase-contrast microscopy images. We perform a comparative evaluation against conventional CNN architectures (DenseNet, ResNet, InceptionNet, and MobileNet) and prompt-based multimodal vision–language models (GPT-5, GPT-4o, and Gemini 2.5-Flash) using zero-shot, few-shot, and chain-of-thought …

The Rider (2026-02-23), Daniela Chapa-Reyes

The Rider Archives

Vol. 11, No. 20

Discrete Quantization On Spherical Geometries: Explicit Models, Computations, And Didactic Exposition, Mrinal Kanti Roychowdhury

School of Mathematical & Statistical Sciences Faculty Publications

This article presents a comprehensive and analytically explicit study of optimal discrete quantization on spherical geometries equipped with the geodesic metric. Focusing on highly symmetric configurations on the unit sphere 𝕊2, we investigate three explicit models of discrete uniform distributions and derive closed-form expressions for their optimal quantizers and corresponding mean square quantization errors. (I) For N equally spaced points on the equator, we obtain exact error formulas for both divisible and non-divisible cases 𝑛 ∤𝑁, demonstrating that optimal Voronoi cells form contiguous arcs with midpoint representatives. (II) For two antipodally symmetric small circles at latitudes ±𝜙0, each with M …

The Rider (2026-02-16), Daniela Chapa-Reyes

The Rider Archives

Vol. 11, No. 19

Electrocatalytic Degradation Of Methylene Blue Using Rgo, Sb2o3, And Rgo-Sb2o3 Composite Ink-Based Electrodes, Maria Irene Myers Armas, Andrea M. Fletes, Thomas Eubanks, Arnulfo Mar, Jason Parsons, Helia Magali Morales

School of Integrative Biological & Chemical Sciences Faculty Publications

Water pollution from industrial dyes is a critical challenge due to the resistance of these types of compounds to degradation and potentially harmful effects on living organisms and human health. In this study, the electrochemical degradation of methylene blue (MB) was investigated using ink-based copper foam electrodes with reduced graphene oxide (rGO), antimony trioxide (Sb2O3), and rGO/Sb2O3 composites. The materials used to synthesize the electrodes were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), which showed the successful synthesis of GO, rGO, and the Sb2O3-rGO composite. Additionally, the synthesized electrodes were examined using SEM. The MB degradation was studied using kinetic behavior and …

A 682-Second X-Ray Periodicity In Ch Cygni: Evidence For A Magnetic White Dwarf, Manuel Pichardo Marcano, Thomas J. Maccarone, Liliana E. Rivera Sandoval

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Publications

Symbiotic stars are interacting binaries consisting of a red giant and typically a white dwarf (WD), which are important as potential Type Ia supernova progenitors. Despite theoretical predictions that WDs in symbiotic systems should often be magnetic, direct evidence has been elusive. We report the discovery of a 682.5 ± 7 s periodicity in the XMM–Newton X-ray light curve that we interpret as the spin period of the WD in CH Cygni. This detection provides strong evidence for a magnetic WD in CH Cygni, making it only the second WD symbiotic star with confirmed X-ray pulsations after R Aquarii. Our …

Models Of Change: Communicating To Your Funder And Stakeholders How You Believe Your Project Will Succeed, Jean Mclaughlin, Thuy Vu, Noe Vargas Hernandez, Arturo A. Fuentes

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Kinematic Anisotropies In Pta Observations: Analytical Toolkit, Maximilian Blümke, Kai Schmitz, Tobias Schröder, Deepali Agarwal, Joseph D. Romano

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Publications

The reported evidence for an isotropic gravitational-wave background (GWB) from pulsar timing array (PTA) collaborations has motivated searches for extrinsic and intrinsic anisotropies. Kinematic anisotropies may arise as a consequence of a boosted observer moving with respect to the frame in which the GWB appears isotropic. In this work, we present an analytical toolbox to describe the effects of kinematic anisotropies on the overlap reduction function. Our analytical results differ from previous findings at the quadrupole order and are detailed in three appendices. For the first time, we also derive the corresponding auto-correlation using two approaches, taking the pulsar distances …

Systematic Synthesis Of Crispr/Cas Applications For Enhancing Salt Tolerance In Crops: A Decade Of Progress And Challenges, Xindi Sun, Fusheng Wu, Zhuanzhuan Ma, Guohao Liang, Shumei Chen, Xutong Hu, Shugao Fan, Ying Zhao

School of Mathematical & Statistical Sciences Faculty Publications

Soil salinity is a major constraint on global crop productivity, driving the need for salt-tolerant varieties. While CRISPR-Cas genome editing offers targeted solutions for trait improvement, significant biological and technical bottlenecks limit its application in conferring salt stress resilience. This systematic summarizes findings from 83 peer-reviewed studies (2015–2024) employing CRISPR/Cas technologies to improve salt tolerance in five major crops (rice, wheat, maize, sorghum, barley). Our systematic review reveals that early single-gene edits achieved modest gains (30–50% Na⁺ exclusion) but often showed limited yield gains in field settings, potentially due to compensatory regulation and environmental variation. The literature suggests that multiplex …

Prevalence Of Premenstrual Syndrome, Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder, And Dysmenorrhea In Nursing Students: A Systematic Review, Meta-Analysis, And Evidence-Based Recommendations, Sabyasachi Maity, Bharathi Gadad, Hansapani Rodrigo, Seham Noorani, Ayesha Usman, Chloe Lark, Mona Attarpour, Ivy Mageto, Lucas Schwartz, Nikhilesh Anand

School of Medicine Publications

Introduction: Menstrual disorders—including premenstrual syndrome (PMS), premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD), and dysmenorrhea—are highly prevalent among women of reproductive age and are associated with impaired academic performance, psychological distress, and reduced social functioning. Nursing students are particularly vulnerable due to the combined demands of intensive academic schedules and clinical training, yet prevalence estimates and institutional responses remain inconsistent.

Methods: A systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted in accordance with PRISMA 2020 guidelines and registered in PROSPERO (CRD420251109363). PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, CINAHL Ultimate, and APA PsycINFO were searched for studies published between 2016 and 2025. Eligible studies reported prevalence or …

Hyperdensity On Head Ct—An Imaging Review, Ramsis Benjamin, Christian Menard, Erik Larson

School of Medicine Publications

The 3D images derived from non-contrast Computed Tomography (NCCT) scans provide a glimpse into the intra- and extracranial structures, based on the ability of electromagnetic X-rays to penetrate through various tissue densities. The gray matter, for example, possesses a higher density than the white matter, absorbs more X-rays, allows less penetration (attenuation), and thus has larger Hounsfield units (HU), the mathematical value of attenuation coefficient. The CT scanner’s wide availability and ease of use allow for quick assessment of acute neurosurgical abnormalities, such as hemorrhages, mass effect, hydrocephalus, and traumatic injuries. An attenuation value of +60 to +90 HU generally …

Artificial Intelligence And Additive Manufacturing As A Coupled Design System: Rethinking Inference, Manufacturability, And Design Education, Charul Chadha, Garth Crosby, Sabit Ekin, Mohamed Gharib, Eman Hammad, Congrui Jin, Ali Ahmad Malik, Noemi Mendoza Diaz, Calahan Mollan, Monsuru Ramoni

Manufacturing & Industrial Engineering Faculty Publications

Artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming deeply integrated into additive manufacturing (AM) workflows, reshaping how designers approach geometry, materials, and process constraints. AI holds significant potential by accelerating design exploration, revealing complex patterns in AM behavior, and supporting earlier assessment of manufacturability. At the same time, it introduces new risks related to model transparency, data quality, physical validity, and the potential for overreliance by students and practitioners. This perspective examines these issues through four guiding questions that address the role of AI in AM-enabled design, the gaps that limit or enable AI contribution, the implications for engineering education, and the responsibilities …

The Rider (2026-02-02), Daniela Chapa-Reyes

The Rider Archives

Vol. 11, No. 17

A Solution To The Tension Of Burning On Neutron Stars And Nuclear Physics, Yuri Cavecchi, D. K. Galloway, A. Heger, P. Santillán-Ortega, M. Nava-Callejas, F. M. Vincentelli, Liliana E. Rivera Sandoval, A. Goodwin, Z. Johnston

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Publications

When neutron stars accrete matter from a companion star, this matter forms a disk around them and eventually falls on their surface. Here, the fuel can ignite into bright flashes called Type I bursts. Theoretical calculations based on state-of-the-art nuclear reactions are able to explain many features of the bursts. However, models predict that the bursts should cease at high accretion rates, whereas in many sources they disappear at much lower rates. Moreover, their recurrence times also show strong discrepancies with predictions. Although various solutions have been proposed, none can account for all the observational constraints. Here, we describe a …

Flips In Two-Dimensional Hypertriangulations, Herbert Edelsbrunner, Alexey Garber, Mohadese Ghafari, Teresa Heiss, Morteza Saghafian

School of Mathematical & Statistical Sciences Faculty Publications

We study flips in hypertriangulations of planar points sets. Here a level-k hypertriangulation of n points in the plane is a subdivision induced by the projection of a k-hypersimplex, which is the convex hull of the barycenters of the (k−1)-dimensional faces of the standard (n−1)-simplex. In particular, we introduce four types of flips and prove that the level-2 hypertriangulations are connected by these flips.

Constrained Quantization For Probability Distributions, Megha Pandey, Mrinal Kanti Roychowdhury

School of Mathematical & Statistical Sciences Faculty Publications

In this work, we extend the classical framework of quantization for Borel probability measures defined on normed spaces ℝ𝑘 by introducing and analyzing the notions of the nth constrained quantization error, constrained quantization dimension, and constrained quantization coefficient. These concepts generalize the well-established nth quantization error, quantization dimension, and quantization coefficient, which are traditionally considered in the unconstrained setting and thereby broaden the scope of quantization theory. A key distinction between the unconstrained and constrained frameworks lies in the structural properties of optimal quantizers. In the unconstrained setting, if the support of P contains at least n elements, then the …

Demographic And Other Correlates Of Non-Prescription Drug Use Among College Students During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Subi Gandhi, Sidketa Fofana, Md Rafiul Islam, Tamer Oraby

School of Mathematical & Statistical Sciences Faculty Publications

Background and objectives: Substance use among college students in the U.S. remains a pressing concern and may have intensified during the COVID-19 pandemic due to increased stress, uncertainty, and academic disruptions. This study investigates the relationship between non-prescription drug use and various demographic, mental health, and behavioral factors among college students during the pandemic's early stages.

Methods: Data were collected through online and in-person surveys in the summer semester of 2021. Behavioral health was assessed using validated instruments: the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) for depression and the Drug Abuse Screening Test-20 (DAST-20) for substance use. Demographic and behavioral variables were …

Ubiquitination Of Oncogenic Mutant P53 Via Attenuation Of Ribosome Biogenesis Machinery Effectively Inhibits Pancreatic Tumor Growth, Mudassier Ahmad, Sahir Sultan Alvi, Haider Ahsan, Carlos Perez, Vivek Kashyap, Neeraj Chauhan, Dae Joon Kim, Nirakar Sahoo, Tamer Oraby, Murali Yallapu, Subhash Chuahan, Bilal Hafeez

School of Medicine Publications

Dysregulated ribosome biogenesis and p53 mutations are known to play oncogenic roles in various cancers, including pancreatic cancer. In this study, we demonstrated the therapeutic potential of BMH-21, a pharmacologic inhibitor of RNA polymerase I, against pancreatic cancer by uncovering a novel molecular mechanism involving RPA194-mediated ubiquitination of mutant p53 without affecting the ubiquitination of wild-type p53. Our key findings are that (i) BMH-21 selectively induces apoptosis and cell growth inhibition of pancreatic cancer cells with no effect on normal human pancreatic ductal epithelial cells; (ii) BMH-21 degrades RPA194; (iii) BMH-21 inhibits recruitment of both RPA194 and RPA135 on rDNA …

Student-Faculty Partnerships In Mathematics Undergraduate Coursework, Alyssa G. Cavazos, Luis Miguel Fernández, Isabel Amaro, Elianna Olivo, Cristina Villalobos

Writing and Language Studies Faculty Publications

This study examines how student–faculty partnerships are experienced within undergraduate mathematics coursework at a majority Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI). Drawing on the Student as Partners (SaP) theoretical framework and using an interpretive phenomenological research design, we examined the lived experiences of student and faculty partners who participated in a series of professional development sessions on student-faculty partnerships and equitable teaching and learning practices in mathematics courses. Findings indicate that student partners’ lived experiences in the partnership program contributed to the development of sense of belonging, self-efficacy, and awareness of the need to link real-world and culturally responsive applications to mathematics …

Reachability In Interactive Chemical Reaction Networks, Aberto Avila-Jimenez, Bin Fu, Elise Grizzell, Robert Schweller, Tim Wylie

Computer Science Faculty Publications

This paper studies the effects of interactivity on molecular computation, specifically in the Step Chemical Reaction Networks model (Step CRNs), by adding the ability for a user to interact with the system by selecting which species to add at each step, or by having some control over which reactions execute. The two proposed variants are Interactive CRNs and Randomized Interactive CRNs. We show that in Interactive CRNs, even when restricted to void (deletion-only) rules of relatively small size, if a user can decide which species to add at each step based on the configuration, reachability is PSPACE-complete when bounded and …

Black Hole Spectroscopy And Tests Of General Relativity With Gw250114, A. G. Abac, I. Abouelfettouh, Teviet Creighton, Mario C. Diaz, Raul Alberto Espinosa Perez, J. Lawrence, Francisco Llamas Villarreal, Soma Mukherjee, Volker Quetschke, Miriam Ramos Arevalo, Wenhui Wang

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Publications

The binary black hole signal GW250114, the loudest gravitational wave detected to date, offers a unique opportunity to test Einstein’s general relativity (GR) in the high-velocity, strong-gravity regime and probe whether the remnant conforms to the Kerr metric. Upon perturbation, black holes emit a spectrum of damped sinusoids with specific, complex frequencies. Our analysis of the postmerger signal shows that at least two quasinormal modes are required to explain the data, with the most damped remaining statistically significant for about one cycle. We probe the remnant’s Kerr nature by constraining the spectroscopic pattern of the dominant quadrupolar (ℓ =𝑚 =2) …

Recurrence Of Locally Perturbed Random Walks With Long Jumps, Tamer Oraby, András Telcs

School of Mathematical & Statistical Sciences Faculty Publications

We study the effect of local perturbations on the recurrence of random walks with long jumps. Such walks serve as discrete models for infinite-horizon Lorentz processes, in which a particle can take arbitrarily long steps in specific directions. Motivated by a question of Sinai in the finite-horizon case and its extension by Szász to the infinite-horizon setting, we give recurrence and transience criteria for long-jump walks on Z2 and certain classes of graphs, and we prove that local perturbations in a bounded region do not change the recurrence property. Our proofs combine the Markov chain approach with the electrical network …

Weather Conditions Associated With Citrus Canker Incidence Caused By Aw Strain In The Lower Rio Grande Valley Of South Texas, Amit Sharma, Teresa Patricia Feria-Arroyo, George Yanev, Madhurababu Kunta

School of Integrative Biological & Chemical Sciences Faculty Publications

Citrus canker, caused by bacterium Xanthomonas citri subsp. citri (Xcc), affects the citrus industry by making the fruit unmarketable due to unsightly lesions on the fruit. Citrus canker caused by a relatively new AWstrain of Xcc was reported on the citrus trees in the residential areas of the Lower Rio Grande Valley (LRGV) of South Texas. Xcc AW has a limited host range, predominantly affecting limes and a few other citrus species. Previous work has reported prevailing environmental conditions that influence the incidence and spread of the citrus canker caused by the Asiatic A strain. However, no information is available …

A Transferable Force Field For Simulating Adsorption In Metal–Organic Frameworks With Open Metal Sites Based On The 12–6–4 Lennard-Jones Potential, Meng Du, Alan Rodriguez, Matthew Z. Lin, Haoyuan Chen

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Publications

Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) that contain coordinatively unsaturated open metal sites (OMSs) provide strong host–guest interactions, making them promising sorbents for low-concentration gas adsorption applications such as direct air capture and atmospheric water harvesting. However, accurately modeling host–guest interactions involving OMSs remains challenging for classical force fields (FFs) based on the 12–6 Lennard–Jones (LJ) potential, as the polarization effect of the guest molecule induced by the positively charged OMS is not considered. Here, we introduce an FF based on the 12–6–4 LJ potential, which incorporates charge–induced dipole interactions and is parametrized against a diverse set of host–guest potential energy surfaces (PESs) …

Rogue Peakon, Posedness And Blow-Up Phenomenon For An Integrable Camassa–Holm Type Equation, Mingxuan Zhu, Zhenteng Zeng, Zaihong Jiang, Baoqiang Xia, Zhijun Qiao

School of Mathematical & Statistical Sciences Faculty Publications

In this paper, we study an integrable Camassa–Holm (CH) type equation with quadratic nonlinearity. The CH type equation is shown integrable through a Lax pair, and particularly the equation is found to possess a new kind of peaked soliton (peakon) solution – called rogue peakon, that is given in a rational form with some logarithmic function, but not a regular traveling wave. We also provide multi-rogue peakon solutions. Furthermore, we discuss the local well-posedness of the solution in the Besov space 𝐵𝑠𝑝,𝑟 with 1 ≤ p, r ≤ ∞, 𝑠 >max⁡{1+1/𝑝,3/2} or 𝐵3/22,1 , and then prove the ill-posedness …