Digital Commons Network^™

Deep Learning Models To Predict Finishing Pig Weight Using Point Clouds, Shiva Paudel, Rafael Vieira De Sousa, Sudhendu Raj Sharma, Tami M. Brown-Bandl

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

The selection of animals to be marketed is largely completed by their visual assessment, solely relying on the skill level of the animal caretaker. Real-time monitoring of the weight of farm animals would provide important information for not only marketing, but also for the assessment of health and well-being issues. The objective of this study was to develop and evaluate a method based on 3D Convolutional Neural Network to predict weight from point clouds. Intel Real Sense D435 stereo depth camera placed at 2.7 m height was used to capture the 3D videos of a single finishing pig freely walking …

Crop Dna Extraction With Lab-Made Magnetic Nanoparticles, Haichuan Wang, Xueqi Zhao, Li Tan, Junwei Zhu, David Hyten

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Molecular breeding methods, such as marker-assisted selection and genomic selection, require high-throughput and cost-effective methods for isolating genomic DNA from plants, specifically from crop tissue or seed with high polysaccharides, lipids, and proteins. A quick and inexpensive high-throughput method for isolating genomic DNA from seed and leaf tissue from multiple crops was tested with a DNA isolation method that combines CTAB extraction buffer and lab-made SA-coated magnetic nanoparticles. This method is capable of isolating quality genomic DNA from leaf tissue and seeds in less than 2 hours with fewer steps than a standard CTAB extraction method. The yield of the …

Harnessing The Power Of Student Voice: A Case Study Of Hybrid Proficiency-Based And Co-Created Curriculum And Assessment, Kaitlyn A. Seamons

Theses and Dissertations

Assessment has become a dirty word in arts education, because art is notoriously difficult to assess. Assessment, which is often disliked or even disavowed by arts educators, due to its history of incompatibility with the idiosyncratic nature of arts learning, should ideally be utilized as a means of measuring student progress and help teachers understand how to help students succeed. While assessment can also be used to evaluate programs and teachers and to compare student successes relative to those of other students, I will be focusing on measuring individual student progress for my thesis and building a curriculum to support …

The Contemporary Tax Journal’S Interview With Mr. Wayne Monfries, Enas Al-Mais

The Contemporary Tax Journal

No abstract provided.

Cárcel De Amor / The Prison Of Love, Laura Francis, Álvaro Garrote Pascual

Medieval Feminist Forum: A Journal of Gender and Sexuality

No abstract provided.

Olanzapine Pharmacokinetics: A Clinical Review Of Current Insights And Remaining Questions, Priyanka Kolli, Grace Kelley, Marianela Rosales, Justin Faden, Ryan Serdenes

Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior Faculty Papers

Olanzapine is one of the most widely used antipsychotics since its initial approval by the US Food and Drug Administration in 1996 and has undergone extensive pharmacokinetic study. Despite being utilized in clinical psychiatry for decades, there remain questions regarding the variety of available formulations, the utility of therapeutic drug monitoring, altered kinetic properties in special populations/medical illnesses, the use of high-dose olanzapine, and drug interactions, among many others. We performed a narrative literature review of olanzapine pharmacokinetics in June 2023 using the US National Library of Medicine's PubMed.gov resource (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed) and Google Scholar. Herein, we review clinically relevant aspects …

Implementation Of A Scalable Online Weight Management Programme In Clinical Settings: Protocol For The Props 2.0 Programme (Partnerships For Reducing Overweight And Obesity With Patient-Centered Strategies 2.0), Caroline M Apovian, Ashley C Mccarthy, Alexander J Blood, Lipika Samal, Naomi Fisher, John E Orav, Jorge Plutzky, Jason P Block, David Westfall Bates, Ronen Rozenblum, Michela Tucci, Marian Mcpartlin, Willam J Gordon, Katherine D Mcmanus, Cheryl Morrison-Deutsch, Benjamin M Scirica, Heather J Baer

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

           Introduction: There is an urgent need for scalable strategies for treating overweight and obesity in clinical settings. PROPS 2.0 (Partnerships for Reducing Overweight and Obesity with Patient-Centered Strategies 2.0) aims to adapt and implement the combined intervention from the PROPS Study at scale, in a diverse cross-section of patients and providers.

Methods and analysis: We are implementing PROPS 2.0 across a variety of clinics at Brigham and Women's Hospital, targeting enrolment of 5000 patients. Providers can refer patients or patients can self-refer. Eligible patients must be ≥20 years old and have a body mass index (BMI) of ≥30 kg/m^{2 …}

The Influence Of Boron (B), Tin (Sn), Copper (Cu), And Manganese (Mn) On The Microstructure Of Spheroidal Graphite Irons, A. V. Bugten, P. Sanders, C. Hartung, R. Logan, M. Di Sabatino, L. Michels

Michigan Tech Publications

Most spheroidal graphite irons (SGIs) have a matrix consisting of ferrite, pearlite, or a mix of the two. To achieve the desired matrix composition, pearlite promoters such as Mn, Cu, or Sn, are added to the molten metal. Among these elements, Sn is the most potent pearlite promoter. However, each has a different impact on the solidification, graphite precipitation, eutectoid transformation, and ultimately the final structure of the material. Research has shown that B promotes ferrite in fully pearlitic grades where Cu and Mn were used to promote pearlite. The present work investigates the effect of B in SGI with …

Parallel Neural Pathways Control Sodium Consumption And Taste Valence, Elin Kang, Kirsten Frieda, Richard Palmiter, Yuki Oka

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The hedonic value of salt fundamentally changes depending on the internal state. High concentrations of salt induce innate aversion under sated states, whereas such aversive stimuli transform into appetitive ones under sodium depletion. Neural mechanisms underlying this state-dependent salt valence switch are poorly understood. Using transcriptomics state-to-cell-type mapping and neural manipulations, we show that positive and negative valences of salt are controlled by anatomically distinct neural circuits in the mammalian brain. The hindbrain interoceptive circuit regulates sodium-specific appetitive drive , whereas behavioral tolerance of aversive salts is encoded by a dedicated class of neurons in the forebrain lamina terminalis (LT) …

Introduction To The Special Issue On Artificial Intelligence In Counselor Education And Supervision, Russell Fulmer, Wendell Callahan, Olivia Uwamahoro Williams

Journal of Technology in Counselor Education and Supervision

No abstract provided.

Counseling And Artificial Intelligence: Forging A Path Forward (Commentary), Russell Fulmer

Journal of Technology in Counselor Education and Supervision

The thesis of this editorial is twofold. First, counselors should work with Artificial Intelligence (AI), and AI should work with counseling. Second, counselors should increase their involvement with, essentially, all things AI. Counseling should forge a path forward with artificial intelligence. This editorial is a bit premature for pragmatists. Where is artificial intelligence (AI) in mental health? The answer is seemingly a paradox, everywhere yet nowhere. Everywhere, through AI subfields like machine learning, natural language processing applications, chatbots, and the myriad ways that large language models find correlations in data hidden from the human eye. Also, AI is nowhere to …

Using Ai-Supported Supervision In A University Telemental Health Training Clinic, Donna Sheperis, Shiri Sadeh-Sharvit

Journal of Technology in Counselor Education and Supervision

Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies have the potential of transforming clinical education and supervision in university-based telemental health training clinics. AI can improve the accuracy of diagnoses, automate routine tasks, and personalize treatment plans, potentially enhancing the accessibility and quality of mental health care. In this paper, we describe why training clinics serve as an optimal setting to adopt innovation and share lessons from the field to inform future integrations of AI in clinical supervision. The lessons include support for case conceptualization, feedback on session quality, and automation of routine tasks such as sending standardized assessments and writing progress notes. However, …

Artificial Intelligence, Virtual Reality, And Augmented Reality In Counseling: Distinctions, Evidence, And Research Considerations, Sidney Shaw, Sophie Oswin, Yue Xi, Fallon Calandriello, Russell Fulmer

Journal of Technology in Counselor Education and Supervision

Technology is experiencing a growing presence in counseling and mental health, attracting attention from counselors, researchers, and the general public. This growth has the potential to change counseling practice, counselor education, and how users access mental health services. In this article we provide definitions of and distinctions between three common technologies that are used in the counseling field—Artificial Intelligence, Virtual Reality, and Augmented Reality. We also provide examples of the use of each technology, ethical implications, research support, and recommendations for future research.

Artificial Intelligence For Mental Health Support During Covid-19: Experiences Of Graduate Counseling Students, Russell Fulmer, Eric T. Beeson, Carl Sheperis, Daniel Rosello, Rebecca Edelman

Journal of Technology in Counselor Education and Supervision

The purpose of this study was to examine how an AI chatbot could provide mental health support to counselors-in-training during the COVID-19 pandemic. The chatbot “Tess” was available to participants for two weeks. Participants responded to questions about their experience and the content of this qualitative data was analyzed. Themes emerged that focused on mental health during the pandemic, utility of the AI chatbot during the pandemic, and potential therapeutic use in general. Findings were mixed and suggest some skepticism among counseling students towards the use of an AI chatbot.

Towards Ethical Artificial Intelligence In Universities: Chatgpt, Culture, And Mental Health Stigmas In Asian Higher Education Post Covid-19, Michael James Day

Journal of Technology in Counselor Education and Supervision

Mental health can be interpreted as a social taboo in Asia, ensuring that students with mental health stigmas (SWMHS) face complex educational journeys that impact their wellbeing. This article provides a conceptual interdisciplinary commentary that illustrates how in Asian higher education (HE) settings, the psychosocial phenomena of face culture, a sociolinguistic blend of high-context power relations, sense-making, and cultural capital, defines human-to-human (HTH) dialogue. It suggests that human-to-computer-interaction (HCI) through artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, such as ChatGPT, could improve university wellbeing strategies in Asia. The article situates AI discussion into the sociolinguistic features of face culture in Thailand and China …

Optimizations Of Graphite Anode For High Capacity And High Power Usage, Poom Sittisomwong

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

The increasing demand for high-performance electric vehicles drives the need for fast-charging, high-capacity, and long-lasting energy storage devices. This thesis work consists of two sections.

In the first study, we focused on investigating the effect of silicon amount in silicon graphite anode on the capacity and cycle life. We found that the capacity of the anode does not increase if silicon content exceeds 40% of the mass of active material. In the second study, we focused on the effect of electrolytes on the fast-charging capability of graphite anode. We found that 1,3-dioxolane enables graphite anode to dedicate capacity up to …

Comparative Analysis Of Rectum Delineation: Inter-Observer Agreement Among Treatment Planners Versus Auto Segmentation In A Single Institution, Haley Douglas

Masters Projects

Abstract

Introduction

The past 20 years have seen a continuous rise in the cancer patient population, resulting in staffing shortages, longer wait times for patients, and potentially lower-quality care. Artificial intelligence has been incorporated into the healthcare system and has provided ease with understaffing. Using AI technology to delineate structures can reduce planning time and variation between planners. The objective of this research is to assess the level of consistency in the rectum boundary delineation performed by different dosimetrists working at a single institution, as compared to the performance of the AutoContour software. This analysis will help determine the efficacy …

An Autoethnography Journey: Social And Emotional Learning In A Post-Covid Classroom, April Edwards

Masters Theses (Archived)

In this autoethnography journey, we explore the question, "What resources are available for teachers to use to guide SEL instruction, and how effective are those resources post-pandemic?" Post-COVID-19 pandemic, we noticed that our students needed more social interaction time in the classroom. Student behaviors increased alongside teacher frustration. Districts immediately began to see this struggle in the school systems and the growing concern from parents and teachers. Our children were not taught how to respectfully express their social and emotional needs due to the lack of opportunity to practice with others. During this study, we found that teachers …

Study On The Combined Effect Of Municipal Solid Waste Incineration Bottom Ash Andwaste Shingle In Hot Mix Asphalt, Kyungwon Park, Behnam Golestani, Boo Hyun Nam, Juan Hou, Jongwan Eun

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Faculty Publications

This study investigated the positive effect of the combined use of recycled asphalt shingles (RASs) and municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) bottom ash (B.A.) in asphalt concrete, which contributes to enhanced sustainability in pavement engineering. In addition, unlike traditional approaches that employ individual recycling material in hot mix asphalt (HMA), the combined use of the two waste materials maximizes the mechanical performance of the asphalt mixture. The addition of RAS (with 30–40% aged binder) as an additive generally enhances the strength/stiffness of the asphalt mixture. The high porosity/absorption of MSWI BA results in an additional amount of liquid asphalt binder …

Combination Of Thymoquinone And Intermittent Fasting As A Treatment For Breast Cancer Implanted In Mice, Shatha Khaled Haif, Lina T. Al Kury, Wamidh H. Talib

All Works

Breast cancer stands out as a particularly challenging form of cancer to treat among various types. Traditional treatment methods have been longstanding approaches, yet their efficacy has diminished over time owing to heightened toxicity, adverse effects, and the emergence of multi-drug resistance. Nevertheless, a viable solution has emerged through the adoption of a complementary treatment strategy utilizing natural substances and the incorporation of intermittent fasting to enhance therapeutic outcomes. This study aimed to assess the anticancer activity of thymoquinone (TQ), intermittent fasting, and their combination using in vivo and in vitro methods. The anti-proliferative activity of TQ and fasting (glucose/serum …

Consistent Across Situations? A Person Specific Approach To Examining A Long-Standing Paradox., Muchen Xi

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

Bem and Allen (1974) address the person situation debate by proposing that there are some people behave more consistently, which can be better “explained” try personality traits, than others who are more influenced by situations. However, with failures to directly replicate Bem and Allen’s study, the existence of individual difference in cross situation consistency of behaviors remaining unclear. The current study addressed open questions that arose from the personality consistency debate by employing Mixed Effect Location Scale Model (MELSM) in an intensive longitudinal study. We found 1) there are individual difference in the overall behavioral consistency across situations; 2) there …

Missing The Point- The Disappointed Hope Of Self- Publishing Authors, Simone Schroff

School of Law, Humanities and Social Sciences

Trade book publishing is characterised by authors with weaker bargaining power than the commercial intermediaries, including publishers and distributors. One key solution representing the empowerment of authors is self-publishing works, thereby cutting out the gatekeeper. However, self-publication has failed to improve the position of authors: their incomes continue to fall across the sector. Using social network analysis as well as industry practices, this article examines UK trade book publishing dynamics. It argues that the reason for the self-publication route’s ‘underperformance’ is structural, explained by a realistic view of the publishing sector and the relationships it entails. The self- publishing author …

27-Hydroxycholesterol And Dna Damage Repair: Implication In Prostate Cancer, Gloria Cecilia Galvan, Nadine Friedrich, Sanjay Das, James Daniels, Sara Pollan, Shweta Dambal, Ryusuke Suzuki, Sergio Sanders, Sungyong You, Hisashi Tanaka, Yeon-Joo Lee, Wei Yuan, Johann De Bono, Irina Vasilevskaya, Karen Knudsen, Michael Freeman, Stephen Freedland

Department of Pharmacology, Physiology, and Cancer Biology Faculty Papers

INTRODUCTION: We previously reported that cholesterol homeostasis in prostate cancer (PC) is regulated by 27-hydroxycholesterol (27HC) and that CYP27A1, the enzyme that converts cholesterol to 27HC, is frequently lost in PCs. We observed that restoring the CYP27A1/27HC axis inhibited PC growth. In this study, we investigated the mechanism of 27HC-mediated anti-PC effects.

METHODS: We employed in vitro models and human transcriptomics data to investigate 27HC mechanism of action in PC. LNCaP (AR+) and DU145 (AR-) cells were treated with 27HC or vehicle. Transcriptome profiling was performed using the Affymetrix GeneChip™ microarray system. Differential expression was determined, and gene set enrichment …

Evaluating The Foundation Year – 'Foundation Sets You Up As A Student More Than Anything!', Louise Webber

School of Law, Humanities and Social Sciences

University entry requirements and programme structure can act as a barrier to many mature students wishing to embark on a university degree. A degree with a foundation year enables widening participation and access students, including mature students, an opportunity to enter universityand develop confidence and skills. This paper explores the experiences of five mature students on the Early Childhood Studies and Education foundation year programme at the University of Plymouth through a longitudinal, qualitative study. This evaluation focuses on the benefits of this foundation year programme and areas of challenge. Benefits of a foundation year include confidence building, identity change …

A New Addition To The Trademark Litigator's Tool Kit: A Neuroscientific Index Of Mark Similarity, Mark Bartholomew, Zhihao Zhang, Ming Hsu, Andrew S. Kayser, Femke Van Horen

Journal Articles

With trademark law always striving to keep abreast of new developments in science and technology, the authors of this article propose an innovative, neuroscience-based approach to answering the time-honored question of whether likelihood of consumer confusion exists in a particular dispute.

Metagenomic Analysis Unveils The Microbial Landscape Of Pancreatic Tumors, Sheema Khan, Goutam Banerjee, Saini Setua, Daleniece Jones, Bhavin Chauhan, Anupam Dhasmana, Pratik Banerjee, Murali M. Yallapu, Stephen Behrman, Subhash C. Chuahan

School of Medicine Publications

The composition of resident microbes in the human body is linked to various diseases and their treatment outcomes. Although studies have identified pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC)-associated bacterial communities in the oral and gut samples, herein, we hypothesize that the prevalence of microbiota in pancreatic tumor tissues is different as compared with their matched adjacent, histologically normal appearing tissues, and these microbial molecular signatures can be highly useful for PDAC diagnosis/prognosis. In this study, we performed comparative profiling of bacterial populations in pancreatic tumors and their respective adjacent normal tissues using 16S rRNA-based metagenomics analysis. This study revealed a higher abundance …

Efficacy And Safety Of Teprotumumab In Patients With Thyroid Eye Disease Of Long Duration And Low Disease Activity, Raymond S Douglas, Steven Couch, Sara T Wester, Brian T Fowler, Catherine Y Liu, Prem S Subramanian, Rosa Tang, Quang T Nguyen, Robi N Maamari, Shoaib Ugradar, Kate Hsu, Michael Karon, Marius N Stan

2020-Current year OA Pubs

CONTEXT: Early inflammatory thyroid eye disease (TED) can lead to symptomatic chronic disease, including disabling proptosis. Teprotumumab, an insulin-like growth factor-1 receptor (IGF-1R) inhibitor, previously demonstrated efficacy in acute, high-inflammation TED trials.

OBJECTIVE: We present data from the first placebo-controlled trial with teprotumumab in chronic/low disease activity TED.

METHODS: This randomized double-masked, placebo-controlled trial, conducted at 11 US centers, enrolled adult participants with TED duration of 2 to 10 years, Clinical Activity Score (CAS) ≤ 1 or no additional inflammation or progression in proptosis/diplopia for ≥1 year, proptosis ≥3 mm from before TED and/or from normal, euthyroid/mildly hypo/hyperthyroid, no prior …

Simvastatin In Critically Ill Patients With Covid-19, Thomas E Hills, Elizabeth Lorenzi, Lindsay R Berry, Murali Shyamsundar, Farah Al-Beidh, Yaseen Arabi, Carly Au, Abigail Beane, Zahra Bhimani, Marc Bonten, Charlotte A Bradbury, Frank M Brunkhorst, Aidan Burrell, Meredith Buxton, Carolyn S Calfee, Maurizio Cecconi, Allen C Cheng, Matthew E Cove, Michelle A Detry, Lise J Estcourt, Mark Fitzgerald, Ewan C Goligher, Herman Goossens, Cameron Green, Rashan Haniffa, David A Harrison, Madiha Hashmi, Alisa M Higgins, Christopher Horvat, David T Huang, Nao Ichihara, Deva Jayakumar, Peter S Kruger, François Lamontagne, Lamprini Lampro, Patrick R Lawler, John C Marshall, Alexina J Mason, Anna Mcglothlin, Shay Mcguinness, Zoe K Mcquilten, Bryan J Mcverry, Paul R Mouncey, Srinivas Murthy, Matthew D Neal, Alistair D Nichol, Cecilia M O'Kane, Rachael L Parke, Jane C Parker, Ebenezer Rabindrarajan, Luis F Reyes, Kathryn M Rowan, Hiroki Saito, Marlene Santos, Christina T Saunders, Christopher W Seymour, Manu Shankar-Hari, Pratik Sinha, B Taylor Thompson, Alexis F Turgeon, Anne M Turner, Frank Van De Veerdonk, Sebastian Weis, Ian S Young, Ryan Zarychanski, Roger J Lewis, Colin J Mcarthur, Derek C Angus, Scott M Berry, Lennie P G Derde, Steve A Webb, Anthony C Gordon, Daniel F Mcauley

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: The efficacy of simvastatin in critically ill patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) is unclear.

METHODS: In an ongoing international, multifactorial, adaptive platform, randomized, controlled trial, we evaluated simvastatin (80 mg daily) as compared with no statin (control) in critically ill patients with Covid-19 who were not receiving statins at baseline. The primary outcome was respiratory and cardiovascular organ support-free days, assessed on an ordinal scale combining in-hospital death (assigned a value of -1) and days free of organ support through day 21 in survivors; the analyis used a Bayesian hierarchical ordinal model. The adaptive design included prespecified statistical …

Current Biomedical Applications Of 3d-Printed Hydrogels, Allan John R Barcena, Kashish Dhal, Parimal Patel, Prashanth Ravi, Suprateek Kundu

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Three-dimensional (3D) printing, also known as additive manufacturing, has revolutionized the production of physical 3D objects by transforming computer-aided design models into layered structures, eliminating the need for traditional molding or machining techniques. In recent years, hydrogels have emerged as an ideal 3D printing feedstock material for the fabrication of hydrated constructs that replicate the extracellular matrix found in endogenous tissues. Hydrogels have seen significant advancements since their first use as contact lenses in the biomedical field. These advancements have led to the development of complex 3D-printed structures that include a wide variety of organic and inorganic materials, cells, and …

Mir-410 Is A Key Regulator Of Epithelial-To-Mesenchymal Transition With Biphasic Role In Prostate Cancer, Diana M Asante, Amritha Sreekumar, Sandip Nathani, Tae Jin Lee, Ashok Sharma, Matthew N Simmons

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The molecular basis of prostate cancer (PCa) progression from the primary disease to metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) followed by therapy-induced neuroendocrine prostate cancer is not fully understood. In this study, we elucidate the role of miR-410, a little-studied microRNA located on chromosome 14q32.31 within the DLK1-DIO3 cluster, in PCa. miR-410 expression analyses in primary and metastatic PCa tissues and cell lines show that its levels are decreased in initial stages and increased in advanced PCa. Functional studies were performed in a series of PCa cell lines. In LNCaP cells, miR-410 overexpression led to decreases in cellular viability, proliferation, invasiveness, …