Digital Commons Network^™

Early Detection Of Parkinson's Disease Using Deep Learning And Machine Learning, Wu Wang, Junho Lee, Fouzi Harrou, Ying Sun

Faculty Publications

Accurately detecting Parkinson's disease (PD) at an early stage is certainly indispensable for slowing down its progress and providing patients the possibility of accessing to disease-modifying therapy. Towards this end, the premotor stage in PD should be carefully monitored. An innovative deep-learning technique is introduced to early uncover whether an individual is affected with PD or not based on premotor features. Specifically, to uncover PD at an early stage, several indicators have been considered in this study, including Rapid Eye Movement and olfactory loss, Cerebrospinal fluid data, and dopaminergic imaging markers. A comparison between the proposed deep learning model and …

Do Microcredit Loans Do What They Are Intended To Do? A Case Study Of The Credit Village Microcredit Programme In China, Meishan Jiang, Krishna P. Paudel, Fan Zou

Faculty Publications

© 2020 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. The purpose of this study is to assess if the credit village is an effective way to develop a microcredit programme in China from the perspective of poverty reduction policy and risk monitoring. Cross-sectional household survey data from three credit villages in the Yunan County of China are analysed using 3SLS and IV probit models. The major finding is that the credit village loosens credit restrictions to some extent. However, it has no impact on educational expenditures, medical expenditures, long-term assets, short-term assets and women's rights. It is our observation that the microcredit …

The Influence Of Language Background And Second Language Phonetics Training On The Perception Of Lexical Stress In A Second Language, Todd A. Gibson, Carolina Bernales

Faculty Publications

Language background and second language (L2) training both have been found to contribute to L2 lexical stress perception. To explore their relative contributions, a lexical stress perception task was administered to a total of 129 university students of different language backgrounds. A group of 62 monolingual English-speaking students in the U.S.A. and 67 English-as-a-foreign-language students in Chile were asked to identify lexical stress in trochees and iambs. Chileans with previous phonetics training performed better than Chileans without the training and performed as well as their U.S. peers. U.S. participants and those Chileans without previous phonetics training performed better with trochees …

Determination Of Clinical Parameters Sensitive To Functional Voice Disorders Applying Boosted Decision Stumps, Patrick Schlegel, Andreas M. Kist, Marion Semmler, Michael Dollinger, Melda Kunduk, Stephan Durr, Anne Schutzenberger

Faculty Publications

Background: Various voice assessment tools, such as questionnaires and aerodynamic voice characteristics, can be used to assess vocal function of individuals. However, not much is known about the best combinations of these parameters in identification of functional dysphonia in clinical settings. Methods: This study investigated six scores from clinically commonly used questionnaires and seven acoustic parameters. 514 females and 277 males were analyzed. The subjects were divided into three groups: one healthy group (N01) (49 females, 50 males) and two disordered groups with perceptually hoarse (FD23) (220 females, 96 males) and perceptually not hoarse (FD01) (245 females, 131 males) sounding …

Running Local: Gender Stereotyping And Female Candidates In Local Elections, Nichole M. Bauer

Faculty Publications

An implicit assumption underlying the gender stereotyping literature is that female candidates have an advantage in local elections. Two factors motivate this assumption. First, some local issues, such as the provision of social services, fit into the stereotypic strengths of female politicians. Second, as the level of office increases, so too does the perceived masculinity of the office. Research on local policymaking, however, indicates that the tasks associated with local political offices, such as economic competition with other cites, require masculine rather than feminine qualities. I integrate research on local policymaking with the gender stereotyping literature to clarify the role …

Emerging Infectious Disease, The Household Built Environment Characteristics, And Urban Planning: Evidence On Avian Influenza In Vietnam, James H. Spencer, Melissa L. Finucane, Jefferson M. Fox, Sumeet Saksena, Nargis Sultana

Faculty Publications

Recent concerns with pandemic outbreaks of human disease and their origins in animal populations have ignited concerns regarding connections between Emerging Infectious Diseases (EID) and development. As disasters, health, and infectious disease become part of planning concern (Matthew & McDonald, 2007), greater focus on household infrastructure and EID disease outbreaks among poultry is warranted. Following Spencer (2013), this study examines the relationship between the mix of household-scale water supplies, sanitation systems, and construction materials, and Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) among poultry in a developing country: Vietnam. Findings of our multivariate logistic regressions suggest that a non-linear, Kuznets-shaped urban transition …

The Love Of Aerial Practice: Art, Embodiment, Phronesis, Maria Kosma, Nick Erickson

Faculty Publications

Background of study: Given the importance of movement and low exercise adherence among young adults, it is imperative to understand reasons for the love of movement. Objective: The purpose of this phronetic, qualitative study was to examine if the values of aerial practice encompassed elements of embodiment, techne (art), and phronesis (practical wisdom). Method: Participants were 13 undergraduate college students in an aerial practice class. Individual-based interview topics included exercise behavior and the values and meaning of aerial practice. Results: All participants were active regardless of aerial practice classification (e.g., beginners vs advanced). Beyond aerial practice, other exercises included dancing, …

Celebrating The Twentieth Anniversary Of The Voice And Speech Review, Rockford Sansom, Rena Cook, Julia Guichard, Jeff Morrison, Mandy Rees, Lynn Watson

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Evaluation Of Yield, Marketability, And Nitrate Levels Of Lettuce Cultivars Produced In Southern Louisiana, William D. Afton, Kathryn K. Fontenot, Jeff S. Kuehny, Carl E. Motsenbocker

Faculty Publications

Forty-five cultivars of lettuce (Lactuca sativa) were field-grown using best management practices at the Louisiana State University Agricultural Center (LSU AgCenter) Botanic Gardens in Baton Rouge during the Fall 2011 and Fall 2012 seasons. Recommended cultivars were selected for commercial production in Louisiana based on fresh weight and lettuce size (width and height). Nitrate (NO3– ) concentration was analyzed for each cultivar, as lettuces are known to accumulate and concentrate NO3–, and were then compared with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) oral reference dose (RfD—the EPA’s maximum acceptable oral dose of a toxic substance) of 1.6 mg NO3-nitrogen (N) …

Boxed In: Beliefs About The Compatibility And Likability Of Mother-Occupation And Father-Occupation Role Combinations, Mary C. Noonan, Freda B. Lynn, Mark H. Walker

Faculty Publications

Researchers have long noted that role expectations of a “good” mother conflict with those of a “good” worker, described as the “cultural contradiction” of motherhood. But given that work roles vary tremendously in terms of the cultural meanings the public assigns them, the authors examine variability in the perceived compatibility of mother-occupation and father-occupation combinations. Building on previous research, the authors hypothesize that (1) some parent-occupation pairings will be viewed as significantly less compatible because of incongruent expectations and meanings, and (2) incumbents of supposedly compatible parent-occupation pairings will be evaluated more favorably than incumbents of incompatible pairings. Both hypotheses …

Gender Contexts, Dowry And Women's Health In India: A National Multilevel Longitudinal Analysis, Samuel Stroope, Rhiannon A. Kroeger, Jiabin Fan

Faculty Publications

Gender-biased contexts may impact women's lives across a variety of domains. This study examined whether changes in district prevalence of a salient gendered practice - dowry - are associated with changes in poor health for women in India. Two waves of national multilevel panel data were used to assess the relationship between changes in district-level dowry prevalence and changes in self-rated health for 23,785 ever-married women aged 15-50 years. Increased dowry prevalence was found to be associated with increased poor self-rated health for women. This relationship remained when controlling for potentially confounding factors including household socioeconomic status, caste, infrastructure, mobility …

Effects Of Intrinsic And Extrinsic Visual Cues On Consumer Emotion And Purchase Intent: A Case Of Ready-To-Eat Salad, Pitchayapat Chonpracha, Ryan Ardoin, Yupeng Gao, Pamarin Waimaleongoraek, Georgianna Tuuri, Witoon Prinyawiwatkul

Faculty Publications

With increasing demand for ready-to-eat (RTE) fresh vegetables, it is important to understand how visual information cues, both intrinsic and extrinsic, affect consumer perception of these products. This study developed an emotional and wellness lexicon related to RTE salads. Subsequent questionnaires with images of salads were used to quantify consumer (N = 150) emotional and hedonic perceptions related to green color shade, shape/size of pieces, multicolor scheme, product name, and packaging. The different visual cues significantly impacted emotions and their intensities. Qualitatively, feelings of health and wellness predominated across salad samples. Negative emotions were more influenced by size of piece …

Consumer Perception Of Extruded Snacks Containing Brown Rice And Dried Mushroom, Benjarat Tepsongkroh, Kamolwan Jangchud, Anuvat Jangchud, Pitchayapat Chonpracha, Ryan Ardoin, Witoon Prinyawiwatkul

Faculty Publications

Effects of mushroom type, seasoning and health benefit information (HBI) on consumers’ saltiness expectation, sensory liking, elicited emotions and purchase intent (PI) of extruded snacks were investigated. Five snacks were evaluated: straw mushroom (Volvariella volvacea) extrudates without (SME) or with seasoning (SMES), phoenix mushroom (Pleurotus pulmonarius) extrudates without (PME) or with seasoning (PMES), and the control without mushroom and seasoning. Hedonic scores and positive emotions were generally higher for seasoned mushroom-containing snacks (SMES and PMES) with 65% and 75.83% of consumers reporting willingness to purchase, respectively, after receiving HBI. Bored, interested and satisfied were identified as significant emotional predictors for …

Mass Concentration And Size Distribution Of Particles Released From Harvesting And Biomass Burning Of Sugarcane, Sanku Dattamudi, Jim J. Wang, Syam K. Dodla, Ronald Delaune, April Hiscox, Howard Viator, Changyoon Jeong

Faculty Publications

We evaluated size distribution and mass concentrations of fine (particulate matter < 2.5 μm, PM2.5) and coarse (particulate matter = 2.5–10 μm, PM2.5-10) particles released during sugarcane (Saccharum spp.) harvesting operations, including cutting of green cane (GH), burning of standing cane (SB), cane harvest cutting after SB (BH), and ground burning of harvest residues left in the field (GB). Total number of PM2.5 released from GB was 1.63 times greater than that from SB. Total time of burning (flaming + smoldering) phase during GB was 1.5 to 2.1 times longer than SB. The flaming phase for both GB and SB was shorter than the smoldering phase but emitted 5.2 to 7.5 times more PM2.5. Average particle density of PM2.5 from burning operations was 1.12 g cm−3 for GB and 0.52 g cm−3 for SB. The GH and BH released lower PM2.5 but higher PM2.5-10 as compared to SB and GB. Overall, biomass burning, regardless GB and SB difference, released significantly higher PM2.5 than harvest-cutting operations.

Optimization Of Uas-Based High-Throughput Phenotyping To Estimate Plant Health And Grain Yield In Sorghum, Giovanni Galli, David W. Horne, S. Delroy Collins, Jinha Jung, Anjin Chang, Roberto Fritsche-Neto, William L. Rooney

Faculty Publications

High-throughput phenotyping (HTP) has enabled the acquisition of vast amounts of data. Therefore, finding the most informative phenological stage(s) and high-throughput traits could lead to significant optimization of HTP-assisted selection. An investigation as to when phenotypic data should be collected and how it should be processed from unmanned aerial system (UAS) imagery for the optimization and assessment of two primary traits in grain sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L). Moench], namely, grain yield and plant health (based on anthracnose scores) was conducted. By evaluating multiple flight dates across the growing season via multispectral UAS-based imagery, a set of scenarios composed of combinations …

Agency Legislative Fixes, Leigh Z. Osofsky

Faculty Publications

Legislative drafting mistakes can upset statutory schemes. The Affordable Care Act was nearly undone by such mistakes. The recent Tax Cuts and Jobs Act is rife with them. Traditional legal scholarship has examined whether courts should help resolve Congress’ mistakes. But courts have remained stubbornly resistant to implementing fixes.

In the face of legislative error and judicial inaction, administrative agencies have taken it upon themselves to fix legislative drafting mistakes.

This Article provides the first comprehensive analysis of these “agency legislative fixes.” It identifies features and complexities of such fixes that existing scholarship does not capture. It also describes the …

Development Of A Clinical-Academic-Community Collaboration To Improve Health Literacy, Daniela B. Friedman Ph.D., Michelle A. Arent, Brooks Yelton Ma, Lmsw, Mayank Sakhuja, Venice E. Haynes, Samuel Noblet, Heather M. Brandt Ph.D., Ches, William D. Isenhower, Abraham Wandersman, Diana Zona, Cyndi New, Delores Fedrick, Jonathan Scaccia, Larisa Bruner

Faculty Publications

Limited health literacy is associated with poor patient health outcomes and increased hospitalization rates. Patient-provider communication plays an important role in patient health literacy and the understanding of medical terminology. This study demonstrates how a collaboration between clinical, academic, and community partners was instrumental in the design and implementation of a clinic readiness assessment and a clinic-based pilot intervention to encourage patient-provider communication and improve patient health literacy. A state hospital association, academic research team, and community adult literacy center director collaborated to develop a 60-item clinic readiness assessment and an evidence-informed pilot intervention. The clinic readiness assessment captured clinics’ …

Traveling For Abortion Services And The Rural Women "We Must Not Forget" (Review Of Abortion Across Borders Edited By Christabelle Sethna And Gayle Davis)., Hannah Haksgaard

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Fake News On Trial: The Jury Trial As A Guard Against Societal Entropy, Neil Fulton

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Erosion Of Common Law Privacy And Defamation: Reconsidering The Law’S Balancing Of Speech, Privacy And Reputation, Patrick Garry

Faculty Publications

Privacy and reputation have come under siege because of new technologies, the general communications practices of society, and the changing journalism environment. At the same time, the common law's ability to provide an effective remedy for privacy and reputation harms has diminished. A major reason for this shortcoming is that the common law does not give enough weight to privacy and reputation when balanced against speech interests. Even in common law torts, where the constitutional protections of speech may not apply-free speech is seen as a vital foundation in the structure of democratic society. This Article argues that privacy and …

When Anti-Establishment Becomes Exclusion: The Supreme Court’S Opinion In The American Legion V. American Humanist Association, And The Flip Side Of The Endorsement Test, Patrick Garry

Faculty Publications

In The American Legion v. American Humanist Association, the Court addressed the Establishment Clause issues surrounding a longstanding Latin cross veteran’s memorial located on public property.  Although the Court upheld the memorial with a narrow ruling, an unresolved issue lurking beneath the surface of passive display cases like American Legion is whether a government dismantling of a longstanding religious symbol might itself, under certain circumstances, constitute an independent Establishment Clause violation.  Such a dismantling of a religious symbol built decades earlier before the property became publicly owned might well be considered a government act hostile to religion, especially as America …

Old Colony Mennonite Women's Lives In Mexico From The 1920s To The 1940s, Rebecca Janzen

Faculty Publications

This article explores documents and photographs that record the migration of two Old Colony Mennonite women from Canada to Mexico in the 1920s. It focuses on the lives of two women, Sara Wiebe and Anna Enns, and their families. The archival materials document their arrival and travel companions. This study illustrates a researcher’s ability to analyze a limited archival record to broaden our understanding of Mennonite immigration to Mexico and the role of women in the Mennonite community at this time. Not only do these archival documents help us understand how women helped establish villages and schools in ways that …

Survival And Inactivation Of Human Norovirus Gii.4 Sydney On Commonly Touched Airplane Cabin Surfaces, Dorra Djebbi-Simmons, Mohammed Alhejaili, Marlene Janes, Joan King, Wenqing Xu

Faculty Publications

Human norovirus (HuNoV) is one of the leading causes of acute gastroenteritis globally. HuNoV outbreaks have been recently reported during air travels. Contaminated surfaces are known as a critical transmission route at various settings. The aim of this study was to provide key information about the survival and the decontamination of HuNoV on three commonly touched airplane cabin surfaces. In this study, we monitored the survival of HuNoV on seat leather, plastic tray table, and seatbelt for 30 days, with and without additional organic load (simulated gastric fluid). The efficacy of two EPA registered anti-norovirus disinfectants were also evaluated. Results …

The Critical Literacies Advancement Model (Clam): A Framework For Promoting Positive Social Change, Petra A. Robinson

Faculty Publications

This paper outlines the development and structure of the Critical Literacies Advancement Model (CLAM) and discusses its usefulness as a framework for promoting positive social change through the advancement of critical literacy skills which have been classified into five major categories.

The Pulse Of Recent Research On School-Based Physical Activity And Wellness, Senlin Chen, Richard R. Rosenkranz

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Open Data In Cultural Heritage Institutions: Can We Be Better Than Data Brokers?, Sl Ziegler

Faculty Publications

Treating collections in cultural institutions as data encourages novel approaches to the use of historic collections. To reframe collections as data is to focus on how digitized collection material, collection metadata, and transcriptions can be used and reused for various types of computational analysis. Scholars active in the field of digital humanities have long taken advantage of computational data. This paper focuses on the work of cultural heritage institutions, which are increasingly offering collections as data. This paper outlines the collections as data project and examines specific examples of cultural institutions active in this space. The paper then details the …

Pollution And Polluter Pays, Aaron Lercher

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

A Short History Of Pandemic Coverage On The Internet: Sars, H1n1 And Mers, Will Mari

Faculty Publications

This short history of previous online pandemic news coverage (of SARS, H1N1, MERS, c. 2003–2012) draws on Pew Research Center data and then-contemporary primary sources, including meta-journalistic analysis, to explore continuities and divergences to the present and our ongoing coranavirus pandemic. Numerous trends, including a cycle of neglect and panic, emerged on the Internet in the 2000s, and have become exacerbated over time. Other, more positive trends, such as more interactive and helpfully mediated/curated access to health experts, have also emerged. This study provides important context for our current moment.

Italian Adaptation Of The Group Questionnaire: Validity And Factorial Structure, Gary Burlingame, Francesca Giannone, Cinzia Guarnaccia, Salvatore Gullo, Maria Di Blasi, Cecilia Giordano, Gianluca Lo Coco

Faculty Publications

The Group Questionnaire (GQ) is a measure recently developed by Krogel et al. (2013) for the evaluation of the therapeutic relationship in group. The GQ identifies a three-factor model of the relationship that allows to measure quality (Positive Bonding, Positive Working and Negative Relationship) and structure (member-member, member-leader and member-group), dimensions in group. This work shows the results of a first study on the Italian validation of the GQ. In this study the GQ was administered to 536 subjects from 32 non-clinical groups of undergraduate students. The cross-cultural validity of the GQ in the Italian population has been examined by …

White, Mary Ellen Kelsey (1857-1890), Jerry A. Moon

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.