Digital Commons Network^™

A Statistical Approach To Provide Explainable Convolutional Neural Network Parameter Optimization, Saman Akbarzadeh, Selam Ahderom, Kamal Alameh

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Algorithms based on convolutional neural networks (CNNs) have been great attention in image processing due to their ability to find patterns and recognize objects in a wide range of scientific and industrial applications. Finding the best network and optimizing its hyperparameters for a specific application are central challenges for CNNs. Most state-of-the-art CNNs are manually designed, while techniques for automatically finding the best architecture and hyperparameters are computationally intensive, and hence, there is a need to severely limit their search space. This paper proposes a fast statistical method for CNN parameter optimization, which can be applied in many CNN applications …

Knowledge Management Overview Of Feature Selection Problem In High-Dimensional Financial Data: Cooperative Co-Evolution And Map Reduce Perspectives, A. N. M. Bazlur Rashid, Tonmoy Choudhury

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

The term "big data" characterizes the massive amounts of data generation by the advanced technologies in different domains using 4Vs volume, velocity, variety, and veracity-to indicate the amount of data that can only be processed via computationally intensive analysis, the speed of their creation, the different types of data, and their accuracy. High-dimensional financial data, such as time-series and space-Time data, contain a large number of features (variables) while having a small number of samples, which are used to measure various real-Time business situations for financial organizations. Such datasets are normally noisy, and complex correlations may exist between their features, …

Intertwined Strands For Ecology In Planetary Health, Pierre Horwitz, Margot W. Parkes

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Ecology is both blessed and burdened by romanticism, with a legacy that is multi-edged for health. The prefix ‘eco-’ can carry a cultural and political (subversive) baggage, associated with motivating environmental activism. Ecology is also practiced as a technical ‘science’, with quantitative and deterministic leanings and a biophysical emphasis. A challenge for planetary health is to avoid lapsing into, or rejecting, either position. A related opportunity is to adopt ecological thought that offers a rich entrance to understanding living systems: a relationality of connectedness, interdependence, and reciprocity to understand health in a complex and uncertain world. Planetary health offers a …

Addressing The Environmental, Community And Health Impacts Of Resource Development: Challenges Across Scales, Sectors And Sites, Margot W. Parkes, Sandra Allison, Henry G. Harder, Dawn Hoogeveen, Diana Kutzner, Melissa Aalhus, Evan Adams, Lindsay Beck, Ben Brisbois, Chris G. Buse, Annika Chiasson, Donald C. Cole, Shayna Dolan, Anne Fauré, Raina Fumerton, Maya K. Gislason, Louisa Hadley, Lars K. Hallström, Pierre Horwitz, Raissa Marks, Kaileah Mckellar, Helen Moewaka Barnes, Barbara Oke, Linda Pillsworth, Jamie Reschny, Dionne Sanderson, Sarah Skinner, Krista Stelkia, Craig Stephen

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Work that addresses the cumulative impacts of resource extraction on environment, community, and health is necessarily large in scope. This paper presents experiences from initiating research at this intersection and explores implications for the ambitious, integrative agenda of planetary health. The purpose is to outline origins, design features, and preliminary insights from our intersectoral and international project, based in Canada and titled the “Environment, Community, Health Observatory” (ECHO) Network. With a clear emphasis on rural, remote, and Indigenous communities, environments, and health, the ECHO Network is designed to answer the question: How can an Environment, Community, Health Observatory Network support …

Intergenerational Influences Of Hunger And Community Violence On The Aboriginal People Of Western Australia: A Review, Francesca Robertson, David Coall, Dan Mcaullay, Alison Nannup

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

There is a consensus in the literature that hunger and community violence inaugurates adverse health impacts for survivors and for their descendants. The studied cohorts do not include Western Australian Aboriginal people, although many experienced violence and famine conditions as late as the 1970s. This article describes the pathways and intergenerational impacts of studied cohorts and applies these to the contemporary Western Australian context. The authors found that the intergenerational impacts, compounded by linguistic trauma, may be a contributor to current health issues experienced by Aboriginal people, but these are also contributing to the resurgence in population numbers.

The Effects Of An Eight Over Cricket Bowling Spell Upon Pace Bowling Biomechanics And Performance Within Different Delivery Lengths, Samuel J. Callaghan, Robert G. Lockie, Warren A. Andrews, Walter Yu, Robert F. Chipchase, Sophia Nimphius

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Pace bowlers must often perform extended bowling spells with maximal ball release speed (BRS) while targeting different delivery lengths when playing a multi-day match. This study investigated the effect of an eight over spell upon pace bowling biomechanics and performance at different delivery lengths. Nine male bowlers (age = 18.8 ± 1.7 years) completed an eight over spell, while targeting different lengths (short: 7–10 m, good: 4–7 m, full: 0–4 m from the batter’s stumps, respectively) in a randomized order. Trunk, knee and shoulder kinematics and ground reaction forces at front foot contact (FFC), as well as run-up velocity and …

Application Of The Nia-Aa Research Framework: Towards A Biological Definition Of Alzheimer’S Disease Using Cerebrospinal Fluid Biomarkers In The Aibl Study, S. C. Burnham, P. M. Coloma, Q.-X. Li, S. Collins, G. Savage, S. Laws, J. Doecke, P. Maruff, R. N. Martins, D. Ames, C. C. Rowe, C. L. Masters, V. L. Villemagne

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

BACKGROUND: The National Institute on Aging and Alzheimer’s Association (NIA-AA) have proposed a new Research Framework: Towards a biological definition of Alzheimer’s disease, which uses a three-biomarker construct: Aß-amyloid, tau and neurodegeneration AT(N), to generate a biomarker based definition of Alzheimer’s disease. OBJECTIVES: To stratify AIBL participants using the new NIA-AA Research Framework using cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers. To evaluate the clinical and cognitive profiles of the different groups resultant from the AT(N) stratification. To compare the findings to those that result from stratification using two-biomarker construct criteria (AT and/or A(N)). DESIGN: Individuals were classified as being positive or negative …

From Rivers To Confetti: Reconfigurations Of Time Through New Media Narratives, Laura Glitsos

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

In the contemporary West, experiences of time are shaped by—and inextricably linked to—the nature of media production and consumption. In Derrida and Steigler’s estimation, teletechnologies bring time “into play” and thus produce time as an “artifact”, that is, a knowable product (3). How and why time becomes “artifactually” produced, according to these thinkers, is a result of the various properties of media production; media ensure that “gestures” (which can be understood here as the cultural moments marked as significant in some way, especially public ones) are registered. Being so, time is constrained, “formatted, initialised” by the matrix of the media …

Microbiological Evaluation Of The Ability Of The Deko-190 Washer/Disinfector To Remove Clostridium Difficile Spores From Bedpan Surfaces, Deirdre A. Collins, Kerry C. Carson, Thomas V. Riley

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

BACKGROUND: Clostridium difficile is a major nosocomial pathogen causing mild diarrhoea to life-threatening pseudomembranous colitis, and its spores frequently contaminate hospital environments and equipment. Washer/Disinfectors (WDs) are commonly used to clean and decontaminate soiled equipment in health care facilities. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of the DEKO-190 WD in removing C. difficile spores from bedpans.

METHODS: Plastic carriers were inoculated with suspensions of C. difficile spores in autoclaved (sterile) human faeces. The carriers were then taped to a sterile plastic bedpan which was subjected to short, long or intensive wash cycles in the WD using one of two …

Concert Recording 2019-04-15, Chiyuli Rieck, Tomoko Kashiwagi, Matthew Nelson, Daniel Voss, Emma Rolf, Evan Buckner, Charles Hartman, Nick Irby, Erica Roberts

Concert Recordings & Programs

[00:00]. Sonata in C Major for cello and piano, op. 40, no. 1. I. Allegro / Jean Baptiste Breval -- [04:53]. Concerto for cello and piano in D minor. I. Prelude, Lento - Allegro maestoso / Edouard Lalo -- [18:05]. Concerto for cello and piano in E minor. I. Adagio - Moderato ; II. Lento - Allegro molto / Edward Elgar -- [30:02]. String trio in C minor, op. 9, no. 3. I. Allegro con spirito ; II. Adagio con espressione / Ludwig van Beethoven -- [44:58]. Sonata for cello and piano in D minor, op. 40. I. Allegro non …

Concert Recording 2019-04-14a, Micah Walsh-Levi, Paul Sweet, Dennese Adkins, Sebastian Moorman, Katlyn Kckinney, Evan Buckner, Charles Hartman, Lia Uribe, Benjamin Grief, Rosabelle Zhou, Nick Irby, Sara Remoy

Concert Recordings & Programs

[00:00]. Let the bright seraphim / George Frideric Handel -- [06:12]. Concerto for trumpet and bassoon. I. Allegro spiritoso, agitato / Paul Hindemith -- [13:29]. Pastorale / Eric Ewazen -- [21:50]. Thinking. I. Outside the box ; About what was ; III. It over / James Stephenson.

Technologies For Lignocellulose Pretreatment To Produce Fuel Ethanol, J. M. Nie, R. J. Zhang, X. Y. Liu, F. Yang, J. J. Wang, J. Xiao, Jikai Zhao, C. F. Lv

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

Bioethanol is one of the alternatives to fossil fuels. Bioethanol production from lignocellulose has advantages on source richness, but it has poor performance on the conversion yield. In order to destroy the structure of lignocellulose and promote the cellulose and other components release, lignocellulose treatment was necessarily prior to bioethanol fermentation. In this paper, eight methods for lignocellulose pretreatment were reviewed, including physical method, dilute acid pretreatment method, dilute alkali pretreatment method, steam pretreatment method, ammonia pretreatment methods, organic solvent pretreatment method, ionic liquid pretreatment method and biological pretreatment, and those principles and novel progresses were briefly introduced.

Politics, Governance, And Leadership: What Can We Learn From The Academy Of Management’S Response To Eo13769?, Gerald Davis, Michel Anteby, Forrest Briscoe, P. Devereux Jennings, Samina Karim, Aseem Kaul, Sergio Lazzarini, Banu Ozkazanc-Pan, Paul Donnelly, Andreas Rasche, Anne S. Tsui, Thomas A. Wright, Todd R. Zenger

Articles

Organization design seeks to balance potentially conflicting objectives while achieving a broader mission. EO13769 created a challenge for the president of the Academy of Management in leading through these conflicts, as President Anita McGahan describes: how to be true to her own moral values while leading an organization with well-established design constraints, and members with diverse opinions. This article shares the perspectives of 12 scholars on the lessons we can learn from Professor McGahan’s leadership of a constraining organization through a challenging time.

Emotional Intelligence And Conflict Management Styles, Helen Chen, Xuemei Xu, Patrick Phillips

Articles

Purpose – This paper aims to use a multi-level approach to examine the effects of emotional intelligence (EI) components on conflict management styles of Chinese managers when the respondents were in conflicts with their subordinates, peers or superiors.

Design/methodology/approach – The primary research was conducted in Dalian, China, via a personal survey resulting in 885 usable observations for analysis. EI was measured using the Wong and Law Emotional Intelligence Scale (WLEIS; Wong and Law, 2002), which is made up of 16 questions measuring four dimensions. The conflict management component was measured via Rahim’s (1983) five conflict management styles, which are …

Using Drawings To Understand Perceptions Of Civic Engagement Across Disciplines: ‘Seeing Is Understanding’, Sharon Feeney, John Hogan

Articles

In this article, we wish to investigate if disciplinary differences exist among students when considering the topic of civic engagement. We use freehand drawing to create a learning environment in the classroom wherein students can seek to develop meaningful associations with civic engagement. The drawings examined here, produced by three different class groups, provide insights into how young adults perceive their society and their place in it, and thus communicate their understanding of civic engagement. Freehand drawing, in bypassing cognitive verbal processing routes, leads students to produce clearer and more holistic images. It allows them to put into visuals a …

The Moderation Effect Of Social Factors On Marketing Factors In Consumer Research, Xiaochuang Wu, Helen Chen, Xiaohong Li

Articles

Consumer research tends to isolate the impact of marketing and social factors. Little has been done to include both. This paper aimed to find out what would happen when these two sets of factors are included. Two models were built in this paper, Model I with the marketing factors only and Model II with both the marketing and social factors. Data was collected in Ireland among more than 1473 transition year students in a personal survey regarding their willingness to learn Chinese. Data were analysed by using structural equation modelling (SEM). Results showed the two social variables, acculturation and intergenerational …

Agents Of Change: Using Transformative Learning Theory To Enhance Courses In Business Ethics And Social Entrepreneurship, Christina C. Benson, Gary R. Palin, Thomas M. Cooney, Kathleen Farrell

Articles

How can we catalyze “entrepreneurial thinking” and cultivate a deeper understanding of social responsibility and sustainability in business education? Academic scholars have begun to explore the key characteristics and origins of an “entrepreneurial mindset” through new streams of research in the areas of “entrepreneurial cognition” and “design thinking”. Similarly, modern scholarship on “sustainable business” and “creating shared value” has offered a new sense of direction for research on social responsibility. If only a simple lecture or power point presentation could convey all the real-world complexities involved in actually creating shared value, or in effectively balancing “people, planet and profits.” If …

How Evangelical Ministries Create Social Identity On College Campuses: An Analysis Of The Salt Company, Hannah Gregor

Honors Program Theses

My initial interest in researching college evangelical ministries spurred from my own experience with a ministry on my campus, The Salt Company. As I dug into their media presence, I became fascinated with how The Salt Company creates and performs their social identity as a larger community. The current research over evangelical ministries on college campuses focuses primarily on students involved within the ministry, but there has been little to no research of how these evangelical ministries and their social power affect students who are not members of the ministries. I used media from The Salt Company’s website to do …

The Tuba And Tape: An Exploration Of Repertoire For Solo Tuba And Fixed Electronic Media, Adam Christopher Denner

Honors Program Theses

This project is a combination of my senior recital performance with the Honors Thesis project to present a recital of music that explores the genre of Solo Tuba and Fixed Electronic Media. Fixed Electronic Media is a form of accompaniment that is electronically created before the performance and played back through a data storage format, such as CD, DAT, or digital audio file; use of this is a comparatively narrow and new field that is one of the leading edges in compositions for the tuba. The main goal of this performance has been to provide the audience with a sampling …

The Effect Of Math Tracking On Students' Growth Mindsets, Amber Lawrence

Honors Program Theses

This study investigated the effects of tracking in math classes on students’ growth mindset in math. A survey was given to students to evaluate their growth mindset in a quantitative way. Students in the 6th, 7th and 8th grade were surveyed. The 6th grade students had not been officially tracked, the 7th grade students were in their first year of tracking, and the 8th grade students had been tracked for over a year. A one-way analysis of variance was performed and showed a statistically significant difference between the growth mindset scores of the students by grade level. A Student’s T-Test …

Learning And Literacy In Music: Activities For Integrating Children's Literature Into The Elementary General Music Curriculum, Taryn Jeanette Kroymann

Honors Program Theses

In summary, there is plenty of evidence that supports the use of reading children’s literature in a music classroom. While this concept certainly is starting to gain more traction, the purpose of this thesis is to provide a starting point for educators that have not yet begun to take advantage of the rich abundance of content that is found in such literature, or to assist educators who simply want more ideas and evidence to support their teaching choices. In order to improve our teaching and provide as best of an education as we can to our students, we must utilize …

Spent Coffee Waste As A Potential Media Component For Xylanase Production And Potential Application In Juice Enrichment, Rajeev Ravindran, Gwilym Williams, Amit Jaiswal

Articles

In this study, spent coffee waste (SCW) was used as the sole carbon source for xylanase production in solid state fermentation mode using Aspergillus niger. A Box–Behnken design was constructed using three parameters viz. temperature, initial moisture content, and log number of sporestodeterminetheoptimalfermentationcondition. Thebestfermentationconditionsforxylanase productionwerefound to beincubation at30◦Cwith aninitial moisture contentof 70%and usingan inoculum of 6.5×106 spores/g of dry SCW. Furthermore, the design of experiments revealed that maintaining a medium composition of 0.2 g of yeast extract, 0.04 g of K2HPO4, and 0.03 g of MgSO4 increased xylanase production. Under optimised solid-state fermentation conditions an enzyme activity of 6495.6 IU/g …

Direct Analysis Of Calcium In Liquid Infant Formula Via Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (Libs), Xavier Cama-Moncunill, Maria Markiewicz-Keszycka, Patrick J. Cullen, Carl Sullivan, Maria Piedad Casado-Gavalda

Articles

The present work illustrates the potential of laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) for the direct analysis of liquid food products. The aim of the experiment was to predict calcium content in ready-to-feed infant formula. The analysis was performed by a LIBS system coupled to a liquid sample chamber with a rotatory wheel that presents the liquid to the laser beam as a thin film. Multivariate analysis with partial least squares regression (PLSR) was performed to correlate LIBS spectral data to reference calcium contents. The obtained PLSR model exhibited a good fit and linearity, as indicated by the coefficients of determination for …

Southern Adventist University Annual Report 2018-2019, Southern Adventist University

Annual Reports

The Annual Report for Southern Adventist University for 2018 to 2019.

(E)-6,6′-(Diazene-1,2-Di­Yl)Bis­(1,10-Phenanthrolin-5-Ol) Tri­Chloro­Methane Disolvate: A Superconjugated Ligand, Muhib Ahmed, Michael Devereux, Vickie Mckee, Malachy Mccann, A. Denise Rooney

Articles

Phenanthroline ligands are important metal-binding mol­ecules which have been extensively researched for applications in both material science and medicinal chemistry. Azo­benzene and its derivatives have received significant attention because of their ability to be reversibly switched between the E and Z forms and so could have applications in optical memory and logic devices or as mol­ecular machines. Herein we report the formation and crystal structure of a highly unusual novel diazo-diphenanthroline compound, C24H14N6O2·2CHCl3.

Targeting Lipoprotein Biogenesis: Considerations Towards Antimicrobials, Toufic El Arnaout, Tewfic Soulimane

Articles

Decades have passed without approval of a new antibiotic class. Several companies have recently halted related discovery efforts because of multiple obstacles. One promising route under research is to target the lipoprotein maturation pathway in light of major recent findings and the virulence roles of lipoproteins. To support the future design of selective drugs, considerations and priority-setting are established for the main lipoprotein processing enzymes (Lgt, LspA, and Lnt) based on microbiology, biochemistry, structural biology, chemical design, and pharmacology. Although not all bacterial species will be similarly impacted by drug candidates, several advantages make LspA a top target to pursue …

Proximate Composition And Anti-Nutritional Factors Of Fava-Bean (Vicia Faba), Green-Pea And Yellow-Pea (Pisum Sativum) Flour, Kim A. Millar, Eimear Gallagher, Roisin Burke, Sinead Mccarthy, Catherine Barry-Ryan

Articles

Pulse grains were identified as a key resource for food innovation during the International Year of the Pulse (IYP), 2016. Pulse flour offers a sustainable source of plant protein for innovation in protein enriched cereal based foods. Fava-bean (Vicia faba), green- and yellow-pea (Pisum sativum) flour were analysed for proximate composition, minerals, amino acids, phenolic content, phytic acid and trypsin inhibitory activity. Fava-bean flour had the highest protein content (28 g/100 g), while green-pea flour had the highest total dietary fibre content (15 g/100 g). All three flours contained essential amino acids in adequate quantity, highlighting them as a source …

Efficacy Of Cold Plasma Functionalised Water For Improving Microbiological Safety Of Fresh Produce And Wash Water Recycling, Apurva Patange, Peng Lu, Daniela Boehm, Patrick J. Cullen, Paula Bourke

Articles

Atmospheric cold plasma (ACP) is an effective method for microbiological decontamination. This study evaluated an alternative water-based decontamination approach for inactivation of bacterial population from fresh produce and in the wash water generated from fresh produce washing. The study characterised ACP inactivation of attached Listeria innocua and Pseudomonas fluorescens inoculated on lettuce in comparison to chlorine treatment. P. fluorescens was sensitive to ACP treatment and was reduced below detection limit within 3 min of treatment. L. innocua population was reduced by ∼2.4 Log10 CFU/g after 5 min of treatment; showing similar inactivation efficacy to chlorine treatment. The microbial load in …

Effect Of Cold Plasma Treatment On The Antigenicity Of Peanut Allergen Ara H 1, Harshitha Venkataratnam, Chaitanya Sarangapani, Orla Cahill, Catherine Barry-Ryan

Articles

The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of cold atmospheric plasma on the antigenicity of protein Ara h 1. Dry, defatted peanut flour (DPF), whole peanut (WP) were subjected to cold atmospheric plasma at voltage of 80 kV for different treatment durations (0, 15, 30, 45 and 60 min). The allergen samples were analyzed using SDS-PAGE, immunoblot and competitive ELISA. Furthermore, the secondary structure was examined using circular dichroism. SDS-PAGE results revealed no change in the protein intensity bands corresponding to Ara h 1 for both DPF and WP. Competitive ELISA of samples showed a reduction in …

A Review Of Human Factors And Food Safety In Ireland, Ciara Walsh, Maria Chiara Leva

Articles

Increased product shelf-life and globalisation have led to longer and vastly more complicated food chains; potentially presenting greater opportunity for contamination and microbial growth to occur. Modern food safety management systems risk assess hazards (based on current scientific data) and strive to control these, often extensive and convoluted, food production/supply chains through appropriate good hygiene practices (GHP) and HACCP. Contamination of food as a result of human error can undermine even the most carefully prepared and executed HACCP system – culminating in foodborne infection, outbreaks, reputable damage, and erosion of consumer trust. This paper provides a review on the effect …