Digital Commons Network^™

Dach1 Mutation Frequency In Endometrial Cancer Is Associated With High Tumor Mutation Burden, Mckayla J. Riggs, Nan Lin, Chi Wang, Dava W. Piecoro, Rachel W. Miller, Oliver A. Hampton, Mahadev Rao, Frederick R. Ueland, Jill M. Kolesar

Obstetrics and Gynecology Faculty Publications

OBJECTIVE: DACH1 is a transcriptional repressor and tumor suppressor gene frequently mutated in melanoma, bladder, and prostate cancer. Loss of DACH1 expression is associated with poor prognostic features and reduced overall survival in uterine cancer. In this study, we utilized the Oncology Research Information Exchange Network (ORIEN) Avatar database to determine the frequency of DACH1 mutations in patients with endometrial cancer in our Kentucky population.

METHODS: We obtained clinical and genomic data for 65 patients with endometrial cancer from the Markey Cancer Center (MCC). We examined the clinical attributes of the cancers by DACH1 status by comparing whole-exome sequencing (WES), …

Harry Dondorp, David Ibbetson, And Eltjo J. H. Schrage (Eds.), Limitation And Prescription: A Comparative Legal History, Benjamin West Janke

Journal of Civil Law Studies

No abstract provided.

Students’ Academic Resilience Profiles Based On Gender And Cohort, Suciani Latif, Muhammad Amirullah

Jurnal Kajian Bimbingan dan Konseling

This study examined the differences in the students’ academic resilience based on gender and cohort. Participants were students of Department of Educational Psychology and Guidance, Faculty of Education, Universitas Negeri Makassar in the academic years of 2013, 2014, and 2015. They were comprised of 103 students, 77 females and 26 males. The instrument in this study was Academic Resilience Scale (ARS) adopted and modified from Martin and Marsh. Data were analyzed through Mann-Whitney statistical of non-parametric tests in order to measure the academic resilience level of gender difference and Kruskal Wallis to measure academic resilience of cohort difference. Results revealed …

An Efficient Design Methodology For Complex Sequential Asynchronous Digital Circuits, Tomasz Chadzynski

Master's Theses

Asynchronous digital logic as a design alternative offers a smaller circuit area and lower power consumption but suffers from increased complexity and difficulties related to logic hazards and elements synchronization. The presented work proposes a design methodology based on the speed-independent sequential logic theory, oriented toward asynchronous hardware implementation of complex multi-step algorithms. Targeting controller-centric devices that perform data-driven non-linear execution, the methodology offers a CSP language-based controller workflow description approach and the specification of a project implementation template supported by a two-stage design process. First, the CSP layer describes complex speed-independent controller behavior offering better scalability and maintainability than …

Influence Of Social Circles On User Recommendations, Chaitanya Krishna Kasaraneni

Master's Theses

Recommender systems are powerful tools that filter and recommend content relevant to a user. One of the most popular techniques used in recommender systems is collaborative filtering. Collaborative filtering has been successfully incorporated in many applications. However, these recommendation systems require a minimum number of users, items, and ratings in order to provide effective recommendations. This results in the infamous cold start problem where the system is not able to produce effective recommendations for new users. In recent times, with escalation in the popularity and usage of social networks, people tend to share their experiences in the form of reviews …

Transfer Learning For Hyperspectral Images Utilizing Channel Selection Techniques And Ensemble Methods, Scott Daniel Vogel

Master's Theses

Hyperspectral images contain information from a wider range of the electromagnetic spectrum than natural images which gives them potential for better classification ability. However, hyperspectral datasets are typically small due to the expensive equipment needed to obtain the images, which can limit classification performance. One solution to this problem is transfer learning, in which a model trained on one dataset is reused for a separate dataset. Research has shown that transfer learning between hyperspectral datasets can give improved performance over models without transfer learning when training data are limited. Since extra hyperspectral data are not always available, the solution proposed …

Lstm-Enabled Level Curve Tracking In Scalar Fields Using Multiple Mobile Robots, Kunj J. Parikh

Master's Theses

Autonomous mobile sensor networks are ideal candidates for exploring large-scaleunknown fields with tasks ranging from source seeking, level curve tracking, mapping an unknown field, and many more. In this work, we investigate the problem of level curve tracking in unknown scalar fields using a limited number of mobile sensors. The level curve tracking problem has been studied in many applications such as monitoring the propagation of fire boundaries and the algae blooms. We design and implement a long short term memory (LSTM) enabled control strategy for a mobile sensor network to detect and track the desired level curve. We develop …

Cat Tracks – Tracking Wildlife Through Crowdsourcing Using Firebase, Tracy Ho

Master's Projects

Many mountain lions are killed in the state of California every year from roadkill. To reduce these numbers, it is important that a system be built to track where these mountain lions have been around. One such system could be built using the platform-as-a-service, Firebase. Firebase is a platform service that collects and manages data that comes in through a mobile application. For the development of cross-platform mobile applications, Flutter is used as a toolkit for developers for both iOS and Android. This entire system, Cat Tracks is proposed as a crowdsource platform to track wildlife, with the current focus …

Cyber-Insecurity: The Reasonableness Standard In Internet Of Things Device Regulation And Why Technical Standards Are Better Equipped To Combat Cybercrime, Chynna Rose Foucek

Brooklyn Journal of Corporate, Financial & Commercial Law

While the Internet of Things (IoT) has created an interconnected world via phones, laptops, and even household devices, it is not infallible. As cyber-attacks increase in frequency, affecting companies of all sizes and industries, IoT device manufacturers have become particularly vulnerable, due in large part to the fact that many companies fail to implement adequate cybersecurity protocols. Mass data breaches occur often. However, these companies are not held accountable due to the use of the reasonableness standard in existing cybersecurity legislation, which is flexible and malleable. In 2019, the California Legislature enacted a cybersecurity law specific to IoT device manufacturers. …

A Radial Basis Function Finite Difference Scheme For The Benjamin–Ono Equation, Benjamin F. Akers, Tony Liu, Jonah A. Reeger

Faculty Publications

A radial basis function-finite differencing (RBF-FD) scheme was applied to the initial value problem of the Benjamin–Ono equation. The Benjamin–Ono equation has traveling wave solutions with algebraic decay and a nonlocal pseudo-differential operator, the Hilbert transform. When posed on ℝ, the former makes Fourier collocation a poor discretization choice; the latter is challenging for any local method. We develop an RBF-FD approximation of the Hilbert transform, and discuss the challenges of implementing this and other pseudo-differential operators on unstructured grids. Numerical examples, simulation costs, convergence rates, and generalizations of this method are all discussed.

Intercomparison Of Three Open-Source Numerical Flumes For The Surface Dynamics Of Steep Focused Wave Groups, Thomas Vyzikas, Dimitris Stagonas, Christophe Maisondieu, Deborah Greaves

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

NewWave-type focused wave groups are commonly used to simulate the design wave for a given sea state. These extreme wave events are challenging to reproduce numerically by the various Numerical Wave Tanks (NWTs), due to the high steepness of the wave group and the occurring wave-wave interactions. For such complex problems, the validation of NWTs against experimental results is vital for confirming the applicability of the models. Intercomparisons among different solvers are also important for selecting the most appropriate model in terms of balancing between accuracy and computational cost. The present study compares three open-source NWTs in OpenFOAM, SWASH and …

Deep Reinforcement Learning Based Path-Planning For Multi-Agent Systems In Advection-Diffusion Field Reconstruction Tasks, Deepak Talwar

Master's Theses

Many environmental processes can be represented mathematically using spatial-temporal varying partial-differential equations. Timely estimation and prediction of processes such as wildfires is critical for disaster management response, but is difficult to accomplish without the availability of a dense network of stationary sensors. In this work, we propose a deep reinforcement learning-based real-time path-planning algorithm for mobile sensor networks traveling in a formation through a spatial-temporal varying advection-diffusion field for the task of field reconstruction. A deep Q-network (DQN) agent is trained on simulated advection-diffusion fields to direct the mobile sensor network to travel along information-rich trajectories. The field measurements made …

Distributed Load Testing By Modeling And Simulating User Behavior, Chester Ira Parrott

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Modern human-machine systems such as microservices rely upon agile engineering practices which require changes to be tested and released more frequently than classically engineered systems. A critical step in the testing of such systems is the generation of realistic workloads or load testing. Generated workload emulates the expected behaviors of users and machines within a system under test in order to find potentially unknown failure states. Typical testing tools rely on static testing artifacts to generate realistic workload conditions. Such artifacts can be cumbersome and costly to maintain; however, even model-based alternatives can prevent adaptation to changes in a system …

Inventory Of Rock Glaciers In The American West And Their Topography And Climate, Allison Reese Trcka

Dissertations and Theses

Rock glaciers are flowing geomorphic landforms composed of an ice/debris mixture. A uniform rock glacier classification scheme was created for the western continental US, based on internationally recognized criteria, to merge the various regional published inventories. A total of 2249 rock glaciers (1564 active, 685 inactive) and 7852 features of interest were identified in 10 states (WA, OR, CA, ID, NV, UT, ID, MT, WY, CO, NM). Sulfur Creek rock glacier in Wyoming is the largest active rock glacier (2.39 km²). The mean area and elevation for active and inactive rock glaciers are 0.18 km², 3384 …

Sensitivity Analysis Of An Agent-Based Simulation Model Using Reconstructability Analysis, Andey M. Nunes, Martin Zwick, Wayne Wakeland

Complex Systems Faculty Publications and Presentations

Reconstructability analysis, a methodology based on information theory and graph theory, was used to perform a sensitivity analysis of an agent-based model. The NetLogo BehaviorSpace tool was employed to do a full 2^k factorial parameter sweep on Uri Wilensky’s Wealth Distribution NetLogo model, to which a Gini-coefficient convergence condition was added. The analysis identified the most influential predictors (parameters and their interactions) of the Gini coefficient wealth inequality outcome. Implications of this type of analysis for building and testing agent-based simulation models are discussed.

Effects Of Dam Gate Geometry On Pressure Variation Aided By Map Presentation, Sheeraz M. Ameen, Thamir M. Ahmed

Polytechnic Journal

The dam vertical lift gate is one of the most important operational parts that regulate the high head water flow to power plants as well as satisfying the water needs for projects and areas downstream of the dam. Due to the high water levels in the dam reservoir, the gates are subjected to many hydrostatic and dynamic pressures that affect their performance and stability. Hence, it became necessary to study all parameters that may cause excessive pressures which may lead to reduce the gate performance efficiency or even cause failure. In the current study, the pressure distribution along the bottom …

Simulation Of Mosul Dam Break Using Finite Volume Method, Ayhan H. Saleem, Jowhar R. Mohammad

Polytechnic Journal

Mosul dam is an earth-fill embankment located north of Iraq on the Tigris River forming a reservoir with 11.11 km3 water storage capacity which is the largest dam in the country. The dam is built on a rock bed foundation, in which the dissolution process is dynamic in the zone where gypsum and anhydrite layers present. During the construction development seepage locations were found in the dam foundation and the grouting process is in progress until now to control this problem. Therefore, the possibility of the Mosul dam break is highlighted by previous studies. In this research, a FORTRAN code …

Effect Of Straw Throwing Method And Some Operational Parameters On The Performance Of A Small Rectangular Baler, Affan O. Hussein

Polytechnic Journal

The experiment was carried out on a private farm in Karak village in 2017 to study the effects of the method of throwing the straw behind the combine harvester and some operational factors on the performance of a small rectangular baler. The field was planted with wheat (Triticum spp.) and barley (Hordeum vulgare). A small rectangular baler type (Ćicoria 454), Italian made was used to pick up and bale the straws, which were thrown as heaps and windrows in the field. The results obtained showed that picking up the straw as windrows improved the baler’s performance over the heaps in …

Association Of Lipid Profile With Body Mass Index In Public Employees In Halabja City, Kurdistan Region Of Iraq, Tareq H. Abdullah, Hardi R. Baqi, Salar H. Karim, Dashty A. Ghafor

Polytechnic Journal

Obesity and overweight are extensive phenomena that reached epidemics extent worldwide, including the Kurdistan region of Iraq. The aim of this study is to evaluate the values of total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), body mass index (BMI), and the state of physical activity in Halabja’s public employees. Overall 355 adults aged from 19 to 63 including 246 males and 109 females contributed to the study. The lipid profiles were tested in all subjects after over-night fasting. In addition, anthropometry measurements were taken; the mean height for males is 1.7129 m and 1.5732 …

The Influence Of Socioeconomic Status On Parental Involvement Among Filipino Parents, Melvin Jabar, Judith Garcia, Marie Anne Valerio

Asia-Pacific Social Science Review

Parental involvement plays a crucial role in the achievement of positive educational outcomes of children. However, the level of involvement among parents varies based on the confluence of individual, familial, and societal factors. Anchored on such premise, this paper aims to investigate the influence of the different socioeconomic related variables to parental involvement, such as monthly income, subjective assessment of living condition, weekly expenditures related to children’s education, and membership in Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) Program or the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps). It separately analyses parental involvement at home and in school, as these two distinctively involve nuanced practices. …

Understanding Teacher Accompaniment In Schools: The Development And Validation Of The Teacher Accompaniment Scale, Rito Baring, Teresa Camarines, Katherine Pia Cabatbat, Stephen Rysen

Asia-Pacific Social Science Review

In the present study, we examined the psychometric properties of the Teacher Accompaniment Scale (TAS) for senior high and college students from eight schools in Manila. We investigated the empirical basis to develop a reliable measure that assesses student attitudes towards teacher accompaniment. Participants included 1,618 Grade 12 senior high students and college students from selected public and private schools. The study design included exploratory factor analysis for data reduction and confirmatory factor analysis to examine the best fit model. The results showed two dimensions assessing teachers as sources of support and stress. In response to the limited scholarship on …

Principled Eclecticism: A Mix And Match Solution For Rural Thai Classrooms?, Andrew Biggs, Oranuch Limtasiri, Umporn Watchana

Asia-Pacific Social Science Review

The methodology of principled eclecticism employs a number of different teaching theories towards a specific set of goals. This quasi-experimental qualitative research examined whether principled eclecticism would affect learning achievements and attitude towards English by students in remote areas of Thailand, with a view to re-examining Thailand’s educational policy. A total of 20 hours of teaching was conducted on primary school students at a school in the remote rural northeastern province of Kalasin using principled eclecticism. Pre- and post-tests revealed improved learning achievements to a significant degree; however, when broken down into sections, significant learning achievements tended to be in …

Online Victimization, Social Media Utilization, And Cyber Crime Prevention Measures, Claudia San Miguel, Kristina Morales, Marcus Antonius Ynalvez

Asia-Pacific Social Science Review

Engaging concepts germane to lifestyle-routine activities theory (LRAT), this study examines how social media (SM) utilization shapes online victimization experience. It also explores how considerations about online prevention measures play a moderating role between utilization and victimization. This study focuses on the Facebook® utilization of a subset of the U.S. population hitherto understudied in cybercrime prevention studies: Hispanics. An online survey was used to collect information pertaining to respondents’ online victimization experience, social media utilization, and aspects of prevention measures. Logistic and negative binomial regression analyses were performed on two measures of online victimization (ever victimized and frequency of victimization). …

Linking Students Anxiety And Their Academic Achievements In The Subject Of Statistics At Ms-Library And Information Sciences Level In Pakistan, Saeed Ullah Jan

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Anxiety plays a very dynamic role in the academic performance of the students. A normal level of anxiety is beneficial for students. It motivates students for study and hard work that results into a prosperous future, but high level of anxiety badly affects the students learning process. This study explains the students’ anxiety and academic achievements of the MS-Library and Information Science students of Sarhad University of Science and IT, Pakistan. Survey based quantitative approach was applied for data acquisition. Descriptive statistics was used to analyze the data. Lack of motivation from teachers, class tests, and assignments were regarded as …

A Multidisciplinary Approach To Investigate Deep-Pelagic Ecosystem Dynamics In The Gulf Of Mexico Following Deepwater Horizon, April Cook, Andrea Bernard, Kevin M. Boswell, Heather Bracken-Grissom Dr., Marta D'Elia, Sergio Derada, Cole Easson, David English, Ron Eytan, Tamara Frank, Chuanmin Hu, Matt Johnston, Heather Judkins, Chad Lembke, Jose Lopez, Rosanna Milligan, Jon A. Moore, Brad Penta, Nina Pruzinsky, John A. Quinlan, Travis M. Richards, Isabel C. Romero, Mahmood S. Shivji, Michael Vecchione, Max D. Weber, R.J. David Wells, Tracey Sutton

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

The pelagic Gulf of Mexico (GoM) is a complex system of dynamic physical oceanography (western boundary current, mesoscale eddies), high biological diversity, and community integration via diel vertical migration and lateral advection. Humans also heavily utilize this system, including its deep-sea components, for resource extraction, shipping, tourism, and other commercial activity. This utilization has had impacts, some with disastrous consequences. The Deepwater Horizon oil spill (DWHOS) occurred at a depth of ∼1500 m (Macondo wellhead), creating a persistent and toxic mixture of hydrocarbons and dispersant in the deep-pelagic (water column below 200 m depth) habitat. In order to assess the …

Dialogue As Being With: An Antitoxin To Hate And Intolerance, Tony Osborne

Journal of Hate Studies

As the social and political landscape becomes more fearful, intolerant, and self-centered, the concept of dialogue offers a different path, a constructive way of approaching alien ideas and beliefs. Understanding the principles of true dialogue is the most effective way to foster inner and outer harmony, broaden one’s horizons, and check aggressive, intolerant impulses. Dialogue’s roots are ancient, related to a method of argument called dialectic. It is a special partnership based on mutual respect and humility. Dialogue isn’t easy to engender. It requires four pre-conditions: 1) non-empirically verifiable topic; 2) two-way flow; 3) fairness; and 4) willingness to risk …

Emerging From The Deep: Complexity, Emergent Pedagogy And Deep Learning, Sue L. T. Mcgregor

Northeast Journal of Complex Systems (NEJCS)

As indicated in the title – emerging from the deep – this paper proposes that an ability to face and deal with complexity can emerge from deep learning that is facilitated by pedagogies designed to ensure this outcome, especially an emergent pedagogy that instills deep education. Educators would view the classroom as a complex adaptive system (CAS) capable of self-organizing and operating at the edge of chaos where order emerges, just not predictably. Self-directed students would experience a learning environment that is appreciative of nonequilibrium, unpredictability, shifting and emerging patterns and co-evolution. Teachers would be coaches, activators and facilitators. Students …

Detectability Of Circulating Micrornas In Microrna Extracts With Low Purity And Yield Using Quantitative Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction: Supporting Evidence, Azmir Ahmad, Mohd. Arifin Kaderi, Afidalina Tumian, Vijaya Mohan Sivanesan, Kahairi Abdullah, Wan Ishlah Leman, Irfan Mohamad, Wan Mohd. Nazri Wan Zainon, Muhammad Izani Mohd. Shiyuti, Kamariah Mohamed Awang, Luqman Rosla, Mark Paul, Sharifah Nor Ezura Syed Yussof, Rosdi Ramli

Makara Journal of Health Research

Background: Circulating microRNAs (miRNAs) are a group of noncoding RNAs with promising potential as minimal invasive biomarkers for noncommunicable diseases. However, challenges exist in the preparation of these miRNAs from peripheral blood samples for quantification purposes. The low quality of miRNA extracts presents an obstacle. Acknowledging the superior performance of quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) as gold standard for gene expression analysis, we conducted this study to observe the capabilities of qPCR using the Taqman® protocol in amplifying circulating miRNAs from miRNA extracts with low purity and yield.

Methods: miRNAs were extracted from thirty-six plasma samples that …

Content Masking Attacks Against Information-Based Services And Defenses Thereto, Yao Liu, Zhuo Lu, Ian Davidson Markwood, Dakun Shen

USF Patents

The embodiments present a new class of content masking attacks against the Portable Document Format (PDF) standard. The attacks cause documents to appear different than the underlying content extracted from the documents by information-based services. The first attack allows academic paper writers and reviewers to collude via subverting the automatic reviewer assignment systems in current use by academic conferences. The second attack renders plagiarism detection software ineffective, targeting specific small plagiarism similarity scores to appear natural and evade detection. The final attack places masked content into the indexes for various search engines, which renders as information entirely different from the …

Medical Marijuana And Opioids (Memo) Study: Protocol Of A Longitudinal Cohort Study To Examine If Medical Cannabis Reduces Opioid Use Among Adults With Chronic Pain, Chinazo O. Cunningham, Joanna L. Starrels, Chenshu Zhang, Marcus A. Bachhuber, Nancy L. Sohler, Frances R. Levin, Haruka Minami, Deepika E. Slawek, Julia H. Arnsten

School of Medicine Faculty Publications

Introduction In the USA, opioid analgesic use and overdoses have increased dramatically. One rapidly expanding strategy to manage chronic pain in the context of this epidemic is medical cannabis. Cannabis has analgesic effects, but it also has potential adverse effects. Further, its impact on opioid analgesic use is not well studied. Managing pain in people living with HIV is particularly challenging, given the high prevalence of opioid analgesic and cannabis use. This study's overarching goal is to understand how medical cannabis use affects opioid analgesic use, with attention to Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol and cannabidiol content, HIV outcomes and adverse events. Methods and …