Digital Commons Network^™

Combination Fixed-Dose Β Agonist And Steroid Inhaler As Required For Adults Or Children With Mild Asthma: A Cochrane Systematic Review, Iain Crossingham, Sally Turner, Sanjay Ramakrishnan, Anastasia Fries, Matthew Gowell, Farhat Yasmin, Rebekah Richardson, Philip Webb, Emily O'Boyle, Timothy S. C. Hinks

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Background:

In people with mild asthma poor adherence to regular therapy is common and increases the risk of exacerbations, morbidity and mortality. The use of fixed-dose combination inhalers containing an inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) and a fast-acting β2-agonist (FABA) is established in moderate asthma, but they may also have potential utility in mild asthma.

Objectives:

To evaluate the efficacy and safety of single combined FABA/ICS inhaler only used as needed in people with mild asthma. Design and setting: Cochrane meta-analysis of available trial data.

Participants:

Children aged 12+ and adults with mild asthma. Search methods: We searched the Cochrane Airways Trials …

Graphene Based Tunable Terahertz Holographic Antennas, Pengfei Ren, Lijun Jiang, Ping Li

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

In this work, several representative terahertz (THz) graphene holographic impedance surface antenna are presented. Different to the conventional impedance surface antenna that manipulates the surface impedance via varying the patch size in each unit cell, the surface impedance of the proposed antenna in this paper is readily controlled by applying a tunable DC biasing to each graphene patch cell, the physics behind which is that the conductivity of the graphene is a function of imposed voltage. Thus, the graphene patches of the proposed antenna have same size as well as equal spacing, which makes the modeling process more convenient and …

Dc Ir-Drop Analysis Of Power Distribution Networks By A Robin Transmission Condition-Enhanced Discontinuous Galerkin Method, An Fa Yang, Min Tang, Jun Fa Mao, Li (Lijun) Jun Jiang, Hakan Bagcii, Ping Li

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

In this work, a novel Robin transmission condition (RTC)-enhanced discontinuous Galerkin (DG) method is proposed for the dc IR-drop analysis of power distribution networks with Joule heating effects included. Unlike the conventional DG method, the proposed DG method straightforwardly applied to discretize the second-order spatial partial differential governing equations for the electrostatic potential $\Phi $ and the steady-state temperature $T$. The numerical flux in DG used to facilitate the information exchange among neighboring subdomains introduces two additional variables: the current density $J$ for the electrical potential equation and the thermal flux $q$ for the thermal equation. To solve them, at …

A Novel Data-Driven Modeling Method For The Spatial-Temporal Correlated Complex Sea Clutter, Yanming Zhang, Lijun Jiang, Hong Tat Ewe

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The sea clutter, referred to as the time-varying radar backscatter from the ocean surface, plays a significant role in marine radar development. The ocean's complex hydrodynamics cause it to exhibit non-Gaussian and nonstationary characteristics, which brings challenges in the sea clutter modeling, especially for establishing its spatial-temporal correlated and coherent model. In this article, a data-driven method based on the Koopman mode decomposition (KMD) is proposed for modeling spatial-temporal correlated complex sea clutter. The method decomposes the coherent sea clutter dynamic behavior in terms of Koopman modes and corresponding temporal patterns. Then, these spatiotemporal patterns are used to construct the …

Work-Based Concerns Of Australian Frontline Healthcare Workers During The First Wave Of The Covid-19 Pandemic, Michella Hill, Erin Smith, Brennen W. Mills

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Objective: This research sought to gauge the extent to which doctors, nurses and paramedics in Australia were concerned about contracting SARS-CoV-2 during the country's first wave of the virus in April 2020.

Methods: Australian registered doctors, nurses and paramedics (n=580) completed an online questionnaire during April 16–30, 2020 (period immediately following the highest four-week period (first wave) of SARS-CoV-2 confirmed cases in Australia).

Results: During April 2020, two-thirds of participants felt it was likely they would contract SARS-CoV-2 at work. Half the participants suggested Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) supplies were inadequate for them to safely perform their job, with two-thirds …

Independent And Interactive Associations Of Dietary Nitrate And Salt Intake With Blood Pressure And Cognitive Function: A Cross-Sectional Analysis In The Inchianti Study, Andrea M. Mcgrattan, Blossom C. M. Stephan, Oliver M. Shannon, Mohsen Mazidi, Mark Gilchrist, Miranda Smallwood, Paul Winyard, Nicholas Mcmahon, Lauren C. Blekkenhorst, Devi Mohan, Stefania Bandinelli, Louise Robinson, Luigi Ferrucci, Mario Siervo

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Blood pressure (BP) control is a key target for interventions to reduce cognitive decline. This cross-sectional study explored associations between objective (24-hour urine excretion) and subjective (food frequency questionnaire [FFQ]) measures of dietary sodium and nitrate intakes with cognitive function and resting BP in the InCHIANTI cohort. Baseline data from 989 participants aged >50 years were included. In fully adjusted models, participants with concurrent high nitrate and low sodium (Odds Ratio (OR)=0.49, 95%CI 0.32–0.76, p = 0.001) and high nitrate and high sodium (OR = 0.49, 95%CI 0.32–0.77, p = 0.002) 24-hour urinary concentrations had lower odds of high BP …

Creating A Novel Approach To Discourse Treatment Through Coproduction With People With Aphasia And Speech And Language Therapists, M. Cruice, S. Aujla, J. Bannister, N. Botting, M. Boyle, N. Charles, V. Dhaliwal, S. Grobler, Deborah Hersh, J. Marshall, S. Morris, M. Pritchard, L. Scarth, R. Talbot, L. Dipper

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Background:

Although spoken discourse is an outcome prioritised by all stakeholders in aphasia rehabilitation, assessment and treatment of discourse are not routine clinical practice. The small evidence base, varied clinical expertise, multiple barriers in the workplace, and challenges for clients in understanding their altered language abilities all contribute to this situation. These factors need serious consideration when developing a new treatment. Involving intended stakeholders as partners in the development process is recommended. This assists with future implementation by ensuring assessment and treatment are practical, feasible, and acceptable to those who will deliver and undertake it.

Aims:

This paper reports on …

How To Phrase Critical Realist Interview Questions In Applied Social Science Research, Andreas Brönnimann

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

The tenets of critical and social realism are well supported in the literature. However, researchers following a realist paradigm have concerns about the lack of methodical guidance for qualitative interviewing, despite their affirmation about the importance of in-depth interviews. A conducted review of empirical realist literature provides evidence of an absence of guidance and commonality regarding interview planning practices. To overcome this absence, this paper composes a guiding framework to assist researchers to phrase more appropriate interview questions in realist research. The steps are founded on critical and social realist concepts while guided by methodological realist principles. Its contribution aims …

Does Government Efficiency Mitigate The Effect Of Natural Disasters On Tourist Arrivals, Yang Yang, Songshan (Sam) Huang, Wei Li, Fangyu Zhong, Tian Lan

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Global tourism suffered its worst year in 2020 due to the widespread of COVID-19, and tourism industry-related professionals are looking for efficient measures to help tourism recover. Government efficiency was mentioned as an important factor for inbound tourism; however, its mitigating effect on the performance of inbound tourism in the context of natural disasters has not been empirically researched. This study attempts to address the gap through the analysis of a panel data set of 158 countries from 2002 to 2018. The results illustrate the mitigating effect of government efficiency on the negative impact of natural disasters on inbound tourist …

A Spline-Based Partial Element Equivalent Circuit Method For Electrostatics, Riccardo Torchio, Maximilian Nolte, Sebastian Schops, Albert E. Ruehli

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This contribution investigates the connection between Isogeometric Analysis (IgA) and the Partial Element Equivalent Circuit (PEEC) method for electrostatic problems. We demonstrate that using the spline-based geometry concepts from IgA allows for extracting circuit elements without an explicit meshing step. Moreover, the proposed IgA-PEEC method converges for complex geometries up to three times faster than the conventional PEEC approach and, in turn, it requires a significantly lower number of degrees of freedom to solve a problem with comparable accuracy. The resulting method is closely related to the isogeometric boundary element method. However, it uses lowest-order basis functions to allow for …

Chimeranet: U-Net For Hair Detection In Dermoscopic Skin Lesion Images, Norsang Lama, Reda Kasmi, Jason R. Hagerty, R. Joe Stanley, Reagan Harris Young, Jessica Miinch, Januka Nepal, Anand Nambisan, William V. Stoecker

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Hair and ruler mark structures in dermoscopic images are an obstacle preventing accurate image segmentation and detection of critical network features. Recognition and removal of hairs from images can be challenging, especially for hairs that are thin, overlapping, faded, or of similar color as skin or overlaid on a textured lesion. This paper proposes a novel deep learning (DL) technique to detect hair and ruler marks in skin lesion images. Our proposed ChimeraNet is an encoder-decoder architecture that employs pretrained EfficientNet in the encoder and squeeze-and-excitation residual (SERes) structures in the decoder. We applied this approach at multiple image sizes …

Hamiltonian-Driven Adaptive Dynamic Programming With Efficient Experience Replay, Yongliang Yang, Yongping Pan, Cheng Zhong Xu, Donald C. Wunsch

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This article presents a novel efficient experience-replay-based adaptive dynamic programming (ADP) for the optimal control problem of a class of nonlinear dynamical systems within the Hamiltonian-driven framework. The quasi-Hamiltonian is presented for the policy evaluation problem with an admissible policy. With the quasi-Hamiltonian, a novel composite critic learning mechanism is developed to combine the instantaneous data with the historical data. In addition, the pseudo-Hamiltonian is defined to deal with the performance optimization problem. Based on the pseudo-Hamiltonian, the conventional Hamilton–Jacobi–Bellman (HJB) equation can be represented in a filtered form, which can be implemented online. Theoretical analysis is investigated in terms …

Incremental Cluster Validity Index-Guided Online Learning For Performance And Robustness To Presentation Order, Leonardo Enzo Brito Da Silva, Nagasharath Rayapati, Donald C. Wunsch

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

In streaming data applications, the incoming samples are processed and discarded, and therefore, intelligent decision-making is crucial for the performance of lifelong learning systems. In addition, the order in which the samples arrive may heavily affect the performance of incremental learners. The recently introduced incremental cluster validity indices (iCVIs) provide valuable aid in addressing such class of problems. Their primary use case has been cluster quality monitoring; nonetheless, they have been recently integrated in a streaming clustering method. In this context, the work presented, here, introduces the first adaptive resonance theory (ART)-based model that uses iCVIs for unsupervised and semi-supervised …

Insertion Loss Reduction Using Rounded Corners To Mitigate Surface Roughness Effect In Pcb Transmission Lines, Yuandong Guo, Donghyun Kim, Yuanzhuo Liu, Xiaoning Ye, Jimmy Hsu, Jun Fan

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Signal integrity (SI) can be interpreted as a measure of the distortion of the incident pulse, which is attributed to various contributors, e.g., inter-symbol interference (ISI), crosstalk, jitter, etc. The channel insertion loss is generally the most critical concern in SI designs, since it determines the working bandwidth of a high-speed channel, and the bandlimited channels are known as the root cause of ISI. At the tens of Gigabit rates in use today, PCB transmission lines may have appreciable losses, which can be divided into frequency-dependent dielectric loss and conductor loss, and noticeable amount of losses can be generated at …

De-Embedding For Coupled Three-Port Devices, Yuandong Guo, Bo Pu, Donghyun Kim, Jun Fan

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

In many applications, the device under test (DUT) is embedded into a test setup. Various de-embedding techniques have been proposed to expose the real electrical behaviors of a DUT, e.g., the traditional thru-reflect-line and short-open-load-thru algorithms, where the T-matrix and its inverse form are adopted in the mathematical process. In the fields of radiofrequency and electromagnetic compatibility, a DUT may have three coupled ports, and the symmetry in the associated S-matrix breaks down, because the numbers of entry and exist ports are not equal, which results in a non-square T-matrix based upon the definitions. Given that the inverse expression of …

Concurrent Learning-Based Neuro-Adaptive Robust Tracking Control Of Wheeled Mobile Robot: An Event-Triggered Design, Krishanu Nath, Manas Kumar Bera, Sarangapani Jagannathan

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

In this paper, an event-based neuro-adaptive robust tracking controller for a perturbed and networked differential drive mobile robot (DMR) is designed with concurrent learning. A radial basis function neural network, which approximates an unknown perturbation, is used to design an adaptive sliding mode controller (SMC). The RBFNN weights and SMC parameters are estimated online using an adaptive tuning law to ensure performance with reduced chattering. To improve the convergence of RBFNN weight estimation error, a concurrent learning-based adaptive law is derived, which uses measured online and recorded data. Further, a suitable triggering condition is designed to achieve a reduced number …

I2Mtc 2021 Special Issue In Ieee Transactions On Instrumentation And Measurement, Pawel Niewczas, Kristen M. Donnell, Melanie Ooi

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

No abstract provided.

An Energy-Efficient Internet Of Things Relaying System For Delay-Constrained Applications, Abdullah M. Almasoud, Ahmad Alsharoa, Daji Qiao, Ahmed E. Kamal

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The emerging Internet-of-things (IoT) systems contain a large number of small wireless devices with limited energy, communication, and computational capabilities. In such systems, a helping station located between the IoT devices and backhaul servers can be deployed to broadcast the IoT devices to the backhaul networks. This paper investigates a hybrid energy-efficient framework using multiple energy harvested relays with data buffering capabilities. The relays are powered by a hybrid energy supply consisting of a traditional electric grid and renewable energy grid. We propose an energy efficient novel approach aiming to support the wireless uplink transmission from IoT devices to backhaul …

Pulsed-Active Microwave Thermography, Logan M. Wilcox, Mathias Bonmarin, Kristen M. Donnell

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Active microwave thermography (AMT) is a thermographic nondestructive testing and evaluation technique that utilizes an electromagnetic-based excitation with a subsequent infrared measurement of the surface thermal profile of the material or structure of interest. AMT has been successfully applied to several aerospace and civil infrastructure applications. This work seeks to expand the performance of AMT by incorporating a signal processing technique common to traditional (flash-lamp) thermography, referred to as pulsed thermography (PT). PT operates on the premise of a pulsed excitation, as opposed to a constant or step excitation (ST) over a given time-period that is typical to traditional active …

Generation Expansion Planning Considering Discrete Storage Model And Renewable Energy Uncertainty: A Bi-Interval Optimization Approach, Siyuan Wang, Guangchao Geng, Qy Jiang, Rui Bo

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Both discrete storage model (DSM) and continuous storage model (CSM) have been used in the power system planning literature. In this work, we conduct a sizing-error analysis for the use of CSM in generation expansion planning (GEP), which shows more reasonable storage sizing decisions are offered by the DSM in comparison to the CSM. However, when the DSM is considered in the context of interval optimization, the discrete status variables in mutually exclusive constraints and the strong temporal coupling in state-of-charge (SOC) constraints create significant challenges. To tackle this, a tailored interval optimization approach is proposed to consider both DSM …

Associations Between Eight Earth Observation-Derived Climate Variables And Enteropathogen Infection: An Independent Participant Data Meta-Analysis Of Surveillance Studies With Broad Spectrum Nucleic Acid Diagnostics, Josh M. Colston, Benjamin F. Zaithcik, Hamada S. Badr, Eleanor Burnett, Syed Asad Ali, Ajit Rayamajhi, Syed M. Satter, Daniel Eibach, Ralf Krumkamp, M Imran Nisar, Anita K. M. Zaidi, Zulfiqar Ahmed Bhutta

Department of Paediatrics and Child Health

Diarrheal disease, still a major cause of childhood illness, is caused by numerous, diverse infectious microorganisms, which are differentially sensitive to environmental conditions. Enteropathogen‐specific impacts of climate remain underexplored. Results from 15 studies that diagnosed enteropathogens in 64,788 stool samples from 20,760 children in 19 countries were combined. Infection status for 10 common enteropathogens—adenovirus, astrovirus, norovirus, rotavirus, sapovirus, Campylobacter, ETEC, Shigella, Cryptosporidium and Giardia—was matched by date with hydrometeorological variables from a global Earth observation dataset—precipitation and runoff volume, humidity, soil moisture, solar radiation, air pressure, temperature, and wind speed. Models were fitted for each pathogen, accounting …

Simulation Study Of A Probabilistic Measurement Terminator For Cloud Radar Systems Using Cloudsat Data, Jakob Delong, Joel T. Johnson

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This paper presents a novel probabilistic method that is used to identify low-SNR measurements in a cloud profiling radar application and terminate them before completion to save resources. The method uses a statistical model to predict the final SNR level of a measurement in progress and terminate it if it falls below a specified threshold at a specified level of confidence. The method is applied in a simulation study in which radar backscattered power profiles are obtained from CloudSat radar data, and is shown to achieve favorable performance.

Polypill For Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease Prevention In Haiti: Eligibility Estimates In A Low-Income Country, Lily D Yan, Vanessa Rouzier, Jean Lookens Pierre, Eliezer Dade, Rodney Sufra, Mark D Huffman, Alexandra Apollon, Stephano St Preux, Miranda Metz, Shalom Sabwa, Béatrice Morisset, Marie Deschamps, Jean W Pape, Margaret L Mcnairy

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: Multidrug therapy is a World Health Organization "best buy" for the prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases. CVD polypills, including ≥2 blood pressure medications, and a statin with or without aspirin, are an effective, scalable strategy to close the treatment gap that exists in many low- and middle-income countries, including Haiti. We estimated the number of Haitian adults eligible for an atherosclerotic CVD (ASCVD) polypill, and the number of potentially preventable CVD events if polypills were implemented nationally.

METHODS: We used cross-sectional data from the Haiti CVD Cohort, a population-based cohort of 3,005 adults ≥18 years in Port-au-Prince, to …

Assessing The Sustainability Capacity Of Evidence-Based Programs In Community And Health Settings, Caren Bacon, Sara Malone, Kim Prewitt, Rachel Hackett, Molly Hastings, Sarah Dexter, Douglas A Luke

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: Within many public health settings, there remain large challenges to sustaining evidence-based practices. The Program Sustainability Assessment Tool has been developed and validated to measure sustainability capacity of public health, social service, and educational programs. This paper describes how this tool was utilized between January 2014 and January 2019. We describe characteristics of programs that are associated with increased capacity for sustainability and ultimately describe the utility of the PSAT in sustainability research and practice.

METHODS: The PSAT is comprised of 8 subscales, measuring sustainability capacity in eight distinct conceptual domains. Each subscale is made up of five items, …

Development Of A New Measure To Assess For Poverty-Based Stress: The Poverty-Based Stressor Scale (Pbss), Brianna N. Allen

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Poverty, typically measured by economic well-being or depravation, is the result of systemic flaws built into the structure of society that adversely impact multiple dimensions of health and well-being. The specific stressors that disproportionately impact low-income individuals are called poverty-based stressors, and they encompass multiple categories of risk including physical, psychosocial, and financial risks. Currently, there is not an adequate measure of poverty-based stressors for low-income adults in the United States (U.S.), which restricts our ability to accurately determine the effects of poverty on important health-related outcomes. The purpose of this dissertation was to develop a psychometrically sound measure of …

Educational Transformational Leadership And Teacher Organizational Citizenship Behavior Motives, Jeremy T. Davis

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

A principal’s leadership is a key part to the success of a school as their leadership guides both instructional and organizational leadership. Teachers often work beyond their formal duties to see that all of their students have their needs met including academic, social, and physical. The performance of such behaviors is referred to as Organizational Citizenship Behavior, which is when followers display behaviors that benefit the organization or its members beyond their current job requirements. This study investigated the relationship between principal’s transformational leadership and teachers’ Organizational Citizenship Behaviors and related motivating factors. Participants from a single suburban school district …

Characteristics And Regions Of Hospital Locations And The Risk Of Postpartum Hemorrhage., Zahra Shahin

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Background: Postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) is one of the contributing factors to maternal morbidity and mortality that in addition to maternal risk factors, may be related to other factors such as obstetric practice and clinical management of postpartum hemorrhage. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the association of postpartum hemorrhage with characteristics and regions of hospital locations across the United States, as the outcomes may create opportunities to improve policies and protocols regarding PPH management more effectively. Method: A retrospective study was performed using the 2018 National Inpatient Sample (NIS) database. Low-risk delivery hospitalizations involving the third stage of labor with …

Counterstories Of High School Black Males And Their Experiences Of The Mainstream Curricula, Kayla Turner

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

This is an inquiry into the experiences Black males have with the current high school curricula. Theoretically drawing on critical race theory (Bell, 1992; Delgado, 1995; Dixson & Rousseau, 2006; Ladson-Billings, 2009; Solórzano & Yosso, 2001, 2004), I explore how high school Black males’ suggestions and ideas can be used to shift the current curricula to a curricula that is more culturally sustaining. I challenge deficit research on Black male learners by focusing on the educational successes of Black males. Methodologically, I utilize counterstorytelling (Delgado, 2017; Solórzano & Yosso, 2002) to illustrate the experiences of three academically successful high school …

The Tragedy Of Caspian: C. S. Lewis And His Trauma, Chandler Hanton

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

This thesis reconsiders C.S.Lewis’ The Chronicles of Narnia as a type of scriptotherapy that enabled Lewis to process and come to terms with a life full of serious and significant traumatic events. Trauma theory offers a vehicle for us to consider the alignments and connections between Lewis himself and his fictional creation, Caspian. In the specifics of both characterization and incident, Lewis mirrors the events and relationships that instilled and healed the trauma in his own life. In situating Caspian as his alter-ego, Lewis allowed his writing to function as a gender-specific therapeutic process for addressing the effects of his …

Stress, Stress Appraisal And Coping In Athletic Trainers During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Lawson Holton

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Introduction: There have been many studies conducted on the stress and mental health of frontline healthcare workers (HCWs) over the past months since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Very limited literature has examined the effect of the pandemic on athletic trainers (ATs). Objective: The aim of this investigation was to examine the stress, stress appraisal, and coping measures of ATs during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: Participants were recruited members from the National Athletic Trainers’ Association (NATA). The Perceived Stress Scale-10 was used to measure stress, the Stress Appraisal Measure was used to measure stress appraisal, and the Brief COPE was used …