Digital Commons Network^™

Pokégan: P2p (Pet To Pokémon) Stylizer, Michael B. Hedge, Morgan Nelson, Thomas Pengilly, Michael Weatherford

SMU Data Science Review

This paper covers the development, testing, and implementation of an automatic framework for converting common images of pets into a Pokémon cartoon with the style of a Pokémon trading card. The technique will first implement object detection for common animals to facilitate image segmentation and apply the appropriate style transfer model to ensure the most aesthetic stylization. It explores various methods to address artifacts in the results of common neural style transfer techniques using Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs). This research sets up a framework to create an app that converts user-submitted pet pictures to Pokémon styled images using the most …

Machine Learning Approach To Distinguish Ulcerative Colitis And Crohn’S Disease Using Smote (Synthetic Minority Oversampling Technique) Methods, Kris Ghimire, Walter Lai, Yasser Omar, Thad Schwebke, Jamie Vo

SMU Data Science Review

Irritable Bowel Disease (IBD) affects a sizable portion of the US population, causing symptoms such as vomiting, abdominal pain, and diarrhea. Despite the disease’s prevalence, the precise cause is not fully understood. This study consists of endoscopic and histological data from patients diagnosed with IBD and a control population for reference. The machine learning models' focus is to classify patients into IBD types. Several models were analyzed, including decision trees, logistic regression, and k-nearest neighbors. In addition, various methods of SMOTE were applied to determine the most effective transformation and ensuring that the dataset is balanced. The best model with …

Urban Traffic Simulation: Network And Demand Representation Impacts On Congestion Metrics, Aaron Faltesek, Balasubramaniam Dakshinamoorthi, Sreeni Prabhala, Akbar Thobani, Anu Kuncheria, Jane Macfarlane

SMU Data Science Review

Traffic simulations are often used by city planners as a basis for predicting the impact of policies, plans, and operations. The complexities underpinning traffic simulations are often not described in detail yet can significantly impact the simulation outcome. Conflating underlying data for simulations is complex and hinders the interest in this type of exploration. This paper aims to elucidate critical features of traffic simulations that drive the generated metrics of the modeled urban environment. Specifically, this paper examines differences in two road graph networks for the metropolitan region of Houston, TX: a reduced network composed of 45,675 road links and …

Identifying Vacant Lots To Reduce Violent Crime In Dallas, Texas, Laura Lazarescou, Andrew Mejia, Tina Pai, Sabrina Purvis, Robert Slater, Owen Wilson-Chavez

SMU Data Science Review

Vacant lots have been associated with community violence for many years. Researchers have confirmed a positive correlation between vacant lots and vacant buildings with increased violence in urban and rural geographies. However, identifying vacant lots has been a challenge, and modeling methods were largely manual and time-intensive. This prevented cities and non-profit organizations from acting on the information since it was expensive and high-risk to develop remediation programs without clearly understanding where or how many vacant lots existed.

The primary objective of this study was to provide a predictive model that accelerates and improves the accuracy of prior land classification …

Machine Learning Forecasting Of Construction Demand In The Usa As Indicated By Economic, Geographic And Demographic Cues, Jayson Barker, Emil Ramos, John Rodgers, Saqib Shahzad

SMU Data Science Review

This paper aims to optimize the investment and position of a building supply company by using a predictive modeling approach that focuses on single-family housing starts in the United States. This approach aims to guide where capital investments such as truss-plants and lumber yards should be constructed before housing demand in a particular Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) rises. By accurately predicting these MSAs, a building supply company could save costs and improve service while establishing a competitive advantage in the market. This study leverages Multi-Linear Regressions, XGBoost Regression, and Artificial Neural Network (Multilayer Perceptron - MLP) algorithms to identify the …

Identification And Characterization Of Forest Fire Risk Zones Leveraging Machine Learning Methods, Joshua Balson, Matt Chinchilla, Cam Lu, Jeff Washburn, Nibhrat Lohia

SMU Data Science Review

Across the United States, record numbers of wildfires are observed costing billions of dollars in property damage, polluting the environment, and putting lives at risk. The ability of emergency management professionals, city planners, and private entities such as insurance companies to determine if an area is at higher risk of a fire breaking out has never been greater. This paper proposes a novel methodology for identifying and characterizing zones with increased risks of forest fires. Methods involving machine learning techniques use the widely available and recorded data, thus making it possible to implement the tool quickly.

Qualitative Leveraging Natural Language Processing To Establish Judge Incrimination Statistics To Educate Voters In Re-Elections, Aurian Ghaemmaghami, Paul Huggins, Grace Lang, Julia Layne, Robert Slater

SMU Data Science Review

The prevalence of data has given consumers the power to make informed choices based off reviews, ratings, and descriptive statistics. However, when a local judge is coming up for re-election there is not any available data that aids voters in making data-driven decision on their vote. Currently court docket data is stored in text or PDFs with very little uniformity. Scaling the collection of this information could prove to be complicated and tiresome. There is a demand for an automated, intelligent system that can extract and organize useful information from the datasets. This paper covers the process of web scraping …

Librarians Don’T Use Google!: Breaking Stereotypes And Myths About Smart Searching, Nora B. Wood, Dhy Edwardsberry

Urban Library Journal

Students often assume that librarians sit with their noses stuck in dusty volumes all day. These same students are typically surprised to learn that many librarians actually work extensively with online resources and are adept at navigating websites and databases to uncover the best information. What comes as even more of a surprise? Learning that librarians rely heavily on Google to conduct thorough and credible research.

In this article, the authors will discuss how they helped break this librarian stereotype and turned the tables on preconceived notions of how to conduct smart research using Google for a group of undergraduate …

Practice Development Trajectories Of Experienced Nurses: Adaptive Experts, Routine Experts, And Non-Experts, Dee Mulcahy

Nursing ETDs

This qualitative study examined practice development among experienced, acute care nurses (n = 9) with at least 10 years of experience. Using an interpretive biographical approach, with participants’ written practice narratives and in-depth interviews, the study focused on how the work environment and life experiences influenced or impeded practice development. Participants were classified as routine- or adaptive experts (n = 3 of each type) with one intermediate case and two not readily classifiable. Antecedents to becoming a nurse included family influences, personal interests, altruistic values, and financial need. Experience was necessary but not sufficient for adaptive expertise. Compared …

Board Of Trustees Meeting Minutes 2021-12-10, Bowling Green State University

Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes

The official meeting minutes of Bowling Green State University's Board of Trustees.

The Emission Spectrum Of The Hot Jupiter Wasp-79b From Hst/Wfc3, Trevor O. Foote, Nikole K. Lewis, Brian M. Kilpatrick, Jayesh M. Goyal, Giovanni Bruno, Hannah R. Wakeford, Nina Robbins-Blanch, Tiffany Kataria, Ryan J. Macdonald, Mercedes López-Morales, David K. Sing, Thomas Mikal-Evans, Vincent Bourrier, Gregory Henry, Lars A. Buchhave

Information Systems and Engineering Management Research Publications

Here we present a thermal emission spectrum of WASP-79b, obtained via Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field Camera 3 G141 observations as part of the PanCET program. As we did not observe the ingress or egress of WASP-79b's secondary eclipse, we consider two scenarios: a fixed mid-eclipse time based on the expected occurrence time, and a mid-eclipse time as a free parameter. In both scenarios, we can measure thermal emission from WASP-79b from 1.1 to 1.7 μm at 2.4σ confidence consistent with a 1900 K brightness temperature for the planet. We combine our observations with Spitzer dayside photometry (3.6 and 4.5 …

2021-12-10_Michiganoverview_Covidvaccinestats, Michigan Department Of Health & Human Services

Michigan COVID-19 Vaccine Data

The COVID Vaccine Dashboard page was obtained from Michigan's main COVID-19 page: https://www.michigan.gov/coronavirus/0,9753,7-406-98178_103214-547150--,00.html.

First-dose tracker above is for entire Michigan Population. Coverage maps below are for age 5+.

Previously reported numbers of administered vaccine doses may change as new data are received. A possible lag in reporting vaccine doses will result in increases in numbers previously reported.

This report is created by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Division of Immunization from data reported to the Michigan Care Improvement Registry (MCIR).

The dashboard contained the tabs Vaccines Delivered, Delivery Trend, Primary Series Doses Administered, …

Faculty Senate Agenda 2021-12-10, The University Of Texas Rio Grande Valley. Faculty Senate.

Faculty Senate Agendas

No abstract provided.

The Great Water Design Challenge: A Collaboration With Noaa Planet Stewards, Elizabeth Martinez

Publications & Research

Session Goals

• Define design challenge
• Generate ideas for classroom design challenge
• Outline design challenge for your classroom

NOAA Planet Stewards NESTA Article

A Leap Into Communion: Kierkegaard And Spiritual Practices In _To The Wonder_, Madeleine Hall

Honors Theses

The study of metaethics contains the question of where value comes from. Different theories of goodness encourage tracing goodness back to God, saying that goodness is that which is like God (the resemblance thesis) or that which perfects nature (the perfection thesis). Kierkegaard participates in these questions of goodness, and in Fear and Trembling concludes that the moral absolute of the akedah reveals a good, Divine mystery. Fear and Trembling is a work of Christian existentialism that encourages an internal faith that embraces mystery rather than attempting to conquer it. Rather than trying to understand exactly who God is, Kierkegaard …

Increasing Healthcare Providers' Intent To Utilize Alternative And Complementary Pain Management With Their Patients, Holli Boyles

Doctor of Nursing Practice Scholarly Project

The purpose of this scholarly project is to increase the willingness of healthcare providers to introduce alternative and complementary pain management to their patients. Two patient video tools were constructed and offered to healthcare providers to evaluate and potentially utilize the final products in their practice. One tool introduced music therapy, the other mindful meditation, along with resources for patients to investigate and learn from on their own. A total of seven healthcare providers responded to the project with a commitment to potentially utilize the final video and provided their feedback on the video tools. No changes were made to …

Freeing The “Whore”: Competing Feminist Theories And The Liberatory Potential Of Sex Work Policy, Flannery Mullin

Undergraduate Honors Theses

With a reputation as humanity’s oldest profession, sex work has been the subject of social and political debate for centuries. Feminist scholars, in particular, have given a great deal of attention to the profession, questioning whether the existence and prevalence of sex work have had a positive or negative impact on the advancement of women’s rights. This feminist debate has formed a binary between sex-positive feminists and abolitionists who starkly disagree on the role sex work plays for women, while each side simultaneously believes that their argument provides the greatest opportunity for the liberation of women from the oppressions of …

Hydrogen Peroxide Vapor Decontamination Of Polylactic Acid Fibers, Alexandra Craig

Mechanical Engineering Theses

Electrospun fibers have attracted attentions in topical drug delivery due to the ability to modulate drug release at high drug loading. While the pharmaceutical properties of these drug-eluting fibers were reported elsewhere, the compatibility of these fibers with hydrogen peroxide vapor, an effective decontaminant, is not fully established. In this work, polylactic acid (PLA) microfibers loaded with acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) were electrospun to examine their compatibility with hydrogen peroxide vapor. Results suggested a strengthening effect of the PLA/ASA fibers due to intermolecular interactions of ASA with PLA, which modulated the in vitro drug release rates. After exposing PLA/ASA fibers to …

2021-12-10_Michiganoverview_Covidstats, Michigan Department Of Health & Human Services

Cumulative Michigan COVID-19 Data

The COVID Overview page was obtained from Michigan's main COVID-19 page: https:/www.michigan.gov/coronavirus/0,9753,7-406-98163-520743--,00.html.

The State of Michigan is working around the clock to test and treat COVID-19 patients. Below is the most recent data healthcare experts across the state have compiled. COVID case and testing data will be posted three times a week on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

This report is provisional and subject to change. City of Detroit and Wayne County are reported separately. MDHHS began tracking probable cases April 5, 2020. FCI indicates federal correctional institute. MDOC indicates Michigan Department of Corrections. Diagnostic tests, including nucleic acid amplification/real-time …

Daily Eastern News: December 10, 2021, Eastern Illinois University

December

No abstract provided.

2021 Fall Commencement Program: Winona State University, Winona State University

WSU Commencement Programs

This is the Winona State University Fall 2021 commencement program. Commencement was on Friday, December 10, 2021.

Agricultural Land Usage In Mansfield, Connecticut: An Analysis Of The Town’S Past And Present Agricultural Landscapes And Recent Farmland Conservation Efforts, Julia Tillinghast

Honors Scholar Theses

The town of Mansfield has a long history within the agricultural sector of Connecticut, from producing the first successful silk mill in the state to housing Mountain Dairy, a dairy supplier which sells to local consumers. This paper examines the history and progress of agricultural land usage within Mansfield, beginning with an overview of farmland in the town’s first century and ending with the current status of resident farms. At the start of settlement by English colonists in the 1700s, the town was deforested to make space for farms, housing, and general expansion. Moving forward to the 20th century, industrialization …

Serving Our Students: Evidence-Based Sex Education Policies And Practices Needed In Ohio, Lily Mckenzie Rosenberg

Honors Projects

Ohio has very minimal state-wide sex education laws, requiring only venereal disease education that has many similarities with abstinence-only education. Abstinence-only education has been shown to be ineffective in delaying first sex and lowering teen STDs, pregnancy, and birth rates. When students receive ineffective (or no) sex education it can impact them in many ways, leaving them unprepared for sexual lives as adults. To analyze the state of sex education in Ohio, this paper will look at sex education throughout Ohio both in law and in practice. I will then explore the impact of these minimal sex education laws on …

Elsaesser V. Riverside Farms Inc Appellant's Reply Brief Dckt. 48701

Idaho Supreme Court Records & Briefs, All

No abstract provided.

A Parametric Computational Fluid Dynamics (Cfd) Study Of In-Line Horizontal Axis Wind Turbines (Hawts) With Yaw, North Alyster Yates

Masters Theses

Because of the constant use of non-renewable fossil fuels, and the enormous impact they have on global warming and pollution, there has been a push to use more eco-friendly and renewable sources for power. One such form is wind power via turbines. The most common form, Horizontal Axis Wind Turbines (HAWTs), can generate massive amounts of power. However, they also have a serious flaw in their design. As the wind passes through the swept area of the blades and past the tower, it creates massive disturbances in the airflow. These disturbances are called a ‘wake’. When trying to create a …

Henry D. Thoreau’S Color Red, Relationship To Nature, And Religious Imagery In Robert Frost’S “Rose Pogonias” And Other Poems, Jennifer Fry

English Department Theses

In the estimation of contemporaries such as book critic Julian Hawthorne, Henry David Thoreau sought to leave a legacy of influence behind him. He never saw such attention in his lifetime. Yet, he found a willing audience in Robert Frost, who began reading his works with gusto at the age of 22 and later listed Walden as one of his favorite books. Reading Frost’s own works reveals ample influence of Thoreau’s writings over Frost’s artistry—in terms of the color choices used, but also in advocating a certain view of nature, as well as the use of pagan imagery within his …

Developing Techniques For The Identification Of Non-Canonical Rna Pairing And Analysis Of Lc-Ms Datasets, Christopher Jurich

Department of Chemistry: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Non-canonical pairing dynamics in ribonucleic acid (RNA) structureand statistical analysis of metabolomics liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC-MS) datasets are two difficult problems that stand as open challenges.

RNA folding algorithms are used across a variety of disciplines to predict structures when experimental elucidation techniques are inconvenient or impractical. Though successful and widely adopted, folding algorithms make simplifying assumptions for loop regions due to their complex interactions and associated difficulty with generating energy parameters for relevant non-canonical pairing interactions. Modeling assumptions and a lack of energy parameters for loops limit accuracy in these functional critical regions of RNA. This work describes …

Covid-19, Human Rights And Public Health In Prisons: A Case Study Of Nova Scotia’S Experience During The First Wave Of The Pandemic, Adelina Iftene

Dalhousie Law Journal

The importance of preventing outbreaks in prisons during a pandemic, such as COVID-19, cannot be overstated. The risk of the infection spreading rapidly once inside these institutions is much higher than in the community, due to the underlying vulnerabilities of prison populations and the congregated living nature of prisons. This article documents the Nova Scotia provincial prison system’s experience in dealing with COVID-19 during the first wave, including its uniquely swift decarceration efforts. One goal of this investigation is to identify a set of best practices that can help Canadian prisons systems with their short-term responses to crisis in a …

Board Of Trustees Meeting Minutes, December 10, 2021

Board of Trustees Minutes

Minutes from the Wright State University Board of Trustees Meeting held on December 10, 2021.

Numerical Study Of The Seiqr Model For Covid-19, Caitlin Holt

Departmental Honors & Graduate Capstone Projects

In this research project, we used numerical methods to investigate trends in the susceptible, exposed, infectious, quarantined, recovered, closed cases and insusceptible populations for the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021. We used the SEIQR model containing seven ordinary differential equations, based on the SIR model for epidemics. An analytical solution was derived from a simplified version of the model, created by making various assumptions about the original model. Numerical solutions were generated for the first 100 days of 2021 using algorithms based on Euler's Method, Runge-Kutta Method, and Multistep Methods. Our goal is to show that numerical methods can help us …