Digital Commons Network^™

Cultivation Of Food And Fodder Crop Millets And Quinoa In The Aquaponics System For Sustainable Food Security In The United Arab Emirates, Salama Yousef Alkhoori

Thesis/ Dissertation Defenses

Aquaponics is a sustainable food production technology that integrates aquaculture with hydroponics. This study aimed to evaluate the possible impact of an aquaponics system on the cultivation of pearl millet, finger millet, and quinoa, utilizing water from tilapia aquaculture. The duration of the experiment is six months utilizing the manually constructed backyard aquaponics system. Tilapia fish serves as the principal biological material for nutrient generation in the experiment. This study investigated and recorded water quality indicators, including pH, temperature, dissolved oxygen, electrical conductivity, total dissolved solids, ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate levels over the experimental period. The parameters of fish growth, …

Convolutional Neural Networks For Dementia Severity Classification: Ordinal Versus Regular Methods, Ambresh Bhadrashetty, P. Sandhya

Iraqi Journal for Computer Science and Mathematics

Dementia, a chronic neurodegenerative disorder, progressively impairs cognitive functions such as memory, reasoning, learning, and recall, placing a significant burden on patients and healthcare systems. Early and accurate classification of dementia severity is crucial for personalized care and intervention. This study introduces a novel Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) designed to classify dementia into four ordinal severity levels (None, Very Mild, Mild, and Moderate) based on MRI brain scans. Utilizing the extensive Open Access Series of Imaging Studies (OASIS) dataset, which includes 86,437 MRI scans (67,222 ‘none,’ 13,725 ‘very mild,’ 5,002 ‘mild,’ and 488 ‘moderate’), our model addresses severe class imbalance …

Explainable Machine Learning Approach Enables Computer-Aided Identification System For Children Autism Spectrum Disorder (C-Asd), Karrar Hameed Abdulkareem, Zainab Hussein Arif, Mazin Abed Mohammed

Iraqi Journal for Computer Science and Mathematics

Neurodevelopmental disorders like autism spectrum disorder (ASD) cause significant cognitive, linguistic, object identification, communication, and social skills deficits. Although there is currently no cure for autism spectrum disorder (ASD), early detection can aid in diagnosis and implementing effective preventative measures. Artificial intelligence (AI) tools allow for an earlier diagnosis of ASD than was previously possible. Furthermore, many clinical and not clinical attributes can be used for identification of ASD but select the most proper ones still challenge. Therefore, in this study we propose a Computer-Aided Identification System based on machine learning concept and feature selection methods to diagnosis Children Autism …

A Comprehensive Analysis Of Partition Dimensions In Efavirenz Abacavir Lamivudine Doravirine Of Anti-Hiv Drug Structures, R. Nithya Raj, R. Sundara Rajan, Hijaz Ahmad

Iraqi Journal for Computer Science and Mathematics

The partition dimension of a graph in chemical graph theory refers to a graph invariant used to analyze the structural properties of molecules. It represents the minimum number of clusters or resolving partition set required to uniquely identify each vertex in the graph based on the neighborhoods within their respective clusters. In the context of chemical graph theory, the vertices of the graph correspond to atoms, and edges represent bonds between these atoms in a molecular structure. Determining the partition dimension of a chemical graph helps in understanding the relationships between molecular components and their spatial arrangements. It assists in …

Ethics And The Evolving Deployments Of Disciplinary Practices: A Foucauldian Analysis Of The Glamorization Of Bodies, Gerald Pio M. Franco

Budhi: A Journal of Ideas and Culture

The paper discusses how individuals are constituted by disciplinary practices as presented in Michel Foucault’s two major works: Discipline and Punish and The History of Sexuality, Volume 1: An Introduction. The workings of power-knowledge gave rise to the penal apparatus and deployments of sexuality, which affected entire populations. But even as these disciplinary practices evolve and become seemingly more humane and liberating, they continue to produce docile and normalized subjects. One particular example of this process, discussed here in detail, is the transition from the figure of the hysterical woman to the modern glamorous (beautiful) woman. Such a transition extends …

Why Should Universities Contribute To New Utopias?, Geert Bouckaert

Budhi: A Journal of Ideas and Culture

What would the ideal society look like, and its university? In 1516 the English humanist Thomas More tried his hand at imagining a perfect society on a distant island. His Utopia was first published in the Flemish town of Leuven, home of a university that was established almost a century earlier in 1425. Five hundred years later, university scholars revisit More’s exercise in an interdisciplinary range of science-based utopias.1 Like More’s Utopia, later and new utopias have to be read in the light of their own times. Utopias are connected to and embedded in their social realities. They belong to …

Helen De Cruz And Ryan Nichols, Eds. Advances In Religion, Cognitive Science, And Experimental Philosophy, Jovino G. Miroy

Budhi: A Journal of Ideas and Culture

Helen de Cruz and Ryan Nichols, eds. Advances in Religion, Cognitive Science, and Experimental Philosophy

The Practice Of Hermeneutics: The Legal Text And Beyond, George H. Taylor

Budhi: A Journal of Ideas and Culture

This article attempts to show the continuing practical relevance of hermeneutics through the example of legal interpretation. The article begins with the very concrete nature of legal hermeneutics that forms everyday legal practice—the interrelation of meaning and application— and expands at a more theoretical to show how legal hermeneutics, and hermeneutics more generally, offers what Ricoeur calls an interpretive “choice in favor of meaning.” The choice in favor of meaning underscores the restorative character of hermeneutics that legal hermeneutics can epitomize. The article concludes with some of the challenges facing contemporary legal hermeneutics.

Exemplarity And The "Law Of Superabundance", Roger W. H. Savage

Budhi: A Journal of Ideas and Culture

Paul Ricoeur’s critique of social emancipatory projects that claim to be absolutely radical sets the stage for my investigation into the exemplary value of esteemed moral and political acts. Like works of art, such acts reform or revolutionize praxis through refashioning the world from within. By placing textual hermeneutics under the theme of the increase in being evinced by the work of art, Ricoeur’s analysis on the way that metaphor as a work in miniature iconically augments reality forges a link between the imagination’s productive power and the “law of superabundance.” This law inheres in the logic of hope. The …

The Utah Statesman, November 25, 2024, Utah State University

The Utah Statesman

Weekly student newspaper of Utah State University in Logan.

A Call To Study The Bidirectional Relationship Between Healthcare Accessibility Issues And Medical Gaslighting For Marginalized Groups With Chronic Pain, Nikki Harnage

Honors College Theses

Chronic pain is an epidemic in its own right. Affecting 21% of American adults and costing $300 billion each year, chronic pain rivals cancer, diabetes, and hypertension combined. From psychological impacts on patients to worsening health outcomes further burdening the healthcare system and billions of lost productivity stressing the economy, chronic pain can affect all Americans. However, chronic pain disproportionately afflicts marginalized groups including non-whites, women, and disadvantaged socioeconomic classes. For decades, research has demonstrated disparities in diagnosis, treatment, and management of chronic pain are associated with accessibility issues in healthcare, a link that is likely the result of systemic …

Decomposition Rates Of Native (Indigo) Vs Non-Native (Cosmos) Plants, Siobhan Day, Emily L. Garner, Carmyn Harrison, Corinne Parker, Angela D. Panvini

Science University Research Symposium (SURS)

Decomposition is a crucial step in the cycling and recycling of nutrients in the natural world. As things die, detritivores such as bacteria, protists, and fungi break down the material into organic and inorganic matter, releasing nutrients into the soil to be used by living plants. This study aimed to determine the rate of decomposition of a native plant, Baptisia australis, (Blue False Indigo) compared to a non-native plant, Cosmossulphureus (Cosmos). Eight litterbags filled with Indigo and eight litterbags filled with Cosmos were left to decompose and the rate of decomposition was recorded over a period of eight weeks. Results …

Decomposition Rates Of Introduced C. Sulphureus Vs. Native A. Rhomboidei ​, Jonathan R. Loftis, Todd Hoskinson, Gabi Palumbo, Marven Roufail, Darlene Panvini

Science University Research Symposium (SURS)

Decomposition rates are important in measuring the health of an ecosystem. They can indicate the rate at which nutrients cycle through the habitat. However, not all leaves will decompose at the same rate, which impacts the rate at which nutrients can be recycled. The introduction of non-native species may bring about changes to the native nutrient cycle, as these plants may have a different rate of decomposition than those of native species. This can affect the amount of nutrients available in the soil surrounding native and non-native plant species, which in turn affect other native species. Using two species of …

Propagation Party: Comparing Root Development Across Techniques, Sumiah Muhsin, Aunalise Terreri, Edi Mihalcea, Indy Cockrill

Science University Research Symposium (SURS)

Plant propagation is a method of growing plants through various techniques that create genetically identical clones of the parent plant. Propagation maintains the preferred genetic material of a plant so that it can be further reproduced on a larger scale. To assess growth variations, sweet potato cuttings were propagated in soil and water, as well as in water with and without rooting hormone. Additionally, Monstera cuttings were propagated in water with and without rocks. Root development was observed across all conditions to determine the most effective propagation methods. Plants propagated in water appear to root more successfully than those propagated …

2024 November 25 - From My Notepads Newsletter, Office Of The President, East Tennessee State University, Brian Noland

From My Notepads: A Newsletter from President Brian Noland

No abstract provided.

Cmsi Translations #10: Transformation, How Significant Is The Role Of An Airfield Station?, Gao Hongwei, Shen Hongquan, Zhang Tong

CMSI Translations

In recent years, with the expansion of mission tasks, multiple services and multiple aircraft types organizing training at the same Southern Theater Command Navy aviation airfield station has gradually become the norm. In the face of increasingly heavy combat training support tasks, they closely monitor powerful enem(ies), accelerate transformation and construction, and have achieved a historic leap from single aircraft-type support to multiple aircraft-types support, from small flying periods of short-term deployed training support to large flying periods of regularized deployed training support, and from daytime simple meteorological conditions support to allweather support, with core support capabilities being comprehensively enhanced.

University Of New Hampshire 2024-2025 Faculty Senate Xxix - November 25, 2024 Minutes Summary, Faculty Senate

Faculty Senate Agendas & Minutes

No abstract provided.

Linking Education And Work: Understanding The Influence Of Community Schooling Models On Student Pathways, Takiyah N. Dixon

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation explores the integration of work-study programs, mentorship, and support systems at Cristo Rey Tampa Salesian High School (CRTSHS) and their role in preparing underrepresented students for post-secondary education and professional careers. Utilizing a case study methodology, this research centers on an in-depth analysis of a single participant's experience, which provides a qualitative insight into the impacts of these educational components. The study examines how the school's work-study program equips students with practical skills, how mentorship shapes their academic and personal development, and how support systems contribute to their readiness for higher education and employment.

The data for this …

Ioc Consensus Statement: Interpersonal Violence And Safeguarding In Sport, Yetsa A. Tuakli-Wosornu, Kirsty Burrows, Kari Fasting, Mike Hartill, Ken Hodge, Keith Kaufman, Emma Kavanagh, Sandra L. Kirby, Jelena G. Macleod, Margo Mountjoy, Sylvie Parent, Minhyeok Tak, Tine Vertommen, Daniel J. A. Rhind

Psychology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Interpersonal violence (IV) in sport is challenging to define, prevent and remedy due to its subjectivity and complexity. The 2024 International Olympic Committee Consensus on Interpersonal Violence and Safeguarding aimed to synthesise evidence on IV and safeguarding in sport, introduce a new conceptual model of IV in sport and offer more accessible safeguarding guidance to all within the sports ecosystem by merging evidence with insights from Olympic athletes.

Assessment And Prioritization Of Contaminants Of Concern Along Florida's Coral Reef, Ellen Regina E. Skelton

All HCAS Student Capstones, Theses, and Dissertations

Florida’s Coral Reef (FCR) is the third largest barrier reef in the world and faces significant stress from localized land, water, and air-based sources of pollution. Numerous chemical contaminants have been found in waters surrounding reefs and within corals, including pesticides, hydrocarbons, personal care products, pharmaceuticals, and trace metals. However, for most current and emergent environmental contaminants, little to no consistent information exists regarding environmental concentrations or toxicological effects on corals. Assessment of the levels of contaminants in coral reef environments is needed to conduct risk assessments to guide management, restoration, and recovery strategies, and the coral reef resource management …

Exploring How Personal And Program Characteristics Inform The Experiences Of Engineering Students Abroad, Kirsten A. Davis, David B. Knight

School of Engineering Education Faculty Publications

Background

As more universities seek to offer international experiences for engineering students, it is important to design such programs to effectively support student learning abroad. Previous research on study abroad has focused on a limited number of outcomes and therefore failed to consider the diversity of experiences students may have in the same program and the range of learning outcomes they may develop while abroad.

Purpose

We explored student experiences across multiple types of engineering study abroad programs to address the research question: How do the types of significant experiences students highlighted from their time abroad differ based on student …

Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation For Prevention And Treatment Of Post-Herpetic Neuralgia: A Narrative Review, Alan D. Kaye, Rahib K. Islam, Victoria T. Tong, Brynne E. Tynes, Kelly R. Sala, Brennan Abbott, Chandni R. Patel, Isabella B. Lentz, Raju Behara, Shilpadevi Patil, Uzayr Wasif, Sahar Shekoohi, Giustino Varrassi

School of Medicine Faculty Publications

The present investigation evaluated transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) for the non-pharmacological treatment of post-herpetic neuralgia (PHN). PHN is the most common complication of the Herpes Zoster virus, affecting one in every five patients with shingles, and presents as intense neuropathic pain that can persist for 90 days or longer after the initial onset of symptoms. Current pharmacological treatment options are mainly limited to symptom management, including oral medications such as tricyclic antidepressants and gabapentinoid preparations, as well as topical options such as lidocaine or capsaicin. TENS is a minimally invasive, non-pharmacological electrical nerve stimulation device currently approved for the …

Polyvinyl Alcohol Nanofibers With Embedded Two-Dimensional Nanomaterials And Metal Oxide Nanoparticles: Preparation, Structural Characterization, And Biological Activity, Islam Gomaa

Nanotechnology Research Centre

No abstract provided.

Socioeconomic Status, Obesity, Breast Cancer, And 5-Year Survival Among Men, Taye Oloruntobi Olabode

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Although male breast cancer (MBC) is rare, affecting 2,000 men in the United States each year and comprising approximately 1% of all breast cancer diagnoses, mortality for those diagnosed with MBC is significantly higher than for women diagnosed with breast cancer. Recent research on the disparities in mortality rates between men and women revealed that there may be unexplained factors for the diagnostic disparities between men and women. Bandura’s (1986) SCT was used as the theoretical framework for this quantitative study.The purpose of this quantitative cross-sectional study was to determine whether there was an association between socioeconomic status, obesity, stage …

Roles Of The Gut Microbiota In Human Neurodevelopment And Adult Brain Disorders, Rahul Mallick, Sanjay Basak, Ranjit Kumar Das, Antara Banerjee, Sujay Paul, Surajit Pathak, Asim K. Duttaroy

Health & Biomedical Sciences Faculty Publications

Growing evidence demonstrates the connection between gut microbiota, neurodevelopment, and adult brain function. Microbial colonization occurs before the maturation of neural systems and its association with brain development. The early microbiome interactions with the gut-brain axis evolved to stimulate cognitive activities. Gut dysbiosis can lead to impaired brain development, growth, and function. Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) is critically required for brain structure and function, modulates gut microbiota, and impacts brain activity. This review explores how gut microbiota influences early brain development and adult functions, encompassing the modulation of neurotransmitter activity, neuroinflammation, and blood-brain barrier integrity. In addition, it highlights processes of …

Broad-Spectrum Resistance To Fungal Foliar Diseases In Wheat: Recent Efforts And Achievements, Amira M.I. Mourad, Asmaa A.M. Ahmed, P. Stephen Baenziger, Andreas Börner, Ahmed Sallam

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Wheat (Triticum spp.) is one of the most important cereal crops in the world. Several diseases affect wheat production and can cause 20-80% yield loss annually. Out of these diseases, stripe rust, also known as yellow rust (Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici), stem rust (Puccinia graminis f. sp. tritici), leaf rust (Puccinia recondita), and powdery mildew (Blumeria graminis f. sp. tritici) are the most important fungal diseases that infect the foliar part of the plant. Many efforts were made to improve wheat resistance to these diseases. Due to the continuous advancement in …

A New Dxccdita Based Meminductor Emulator And Its Application In Chaotic Oscillator, Bhawna Aggarwal, Shireesh Kumar Rai, Harsh Jain

Turkish Journal of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences

This work introduces a new dual-X current conveyor differential input transconductance amplifier (DXCCDITA) based meminductor emulator, alongside its application in chaotic oscillator has also been presented. To realize the designed meminductor emulator, one DXCCDITA, two resistors, and two capacitors are employed. Pinched hysteresis loops are achieved across a wide frequency range spanning from 100 Hz to 1.5 MHz, encompassing both decremental and incremental topologies. Additionally, the proposed circuit offers the flexibility to switch between incremental and decremental configurations using a simple switch. Through examination of non-volatility and transient responses, the efficiency of the presented emulator is evidently demonstrated. To further …

Species Distribution Modeling With Environmental Time Series Data And Deep Learning, Austin M. Smith

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Species distribution models (SDM) are frequently used to gain ecological understanding and guide conservation decisions. These models are developed with a wide variety of procedures - from regression-based approaches to more modern machine learning algorithms - but a requirement almost all share is the use of predictor variables that strongly simplify the temporal variability of driving factors. These static features are chosen by the user, which can incorporate unnecessary bias into a study. Additionally, current data preparation techniques often remove variables from the process entirely, which inherently removes information that may still be of importance. Conversely, novel architectures of deep …

Narratives Of Resilience: The Power Of Creative Expression And Community Support During Familial Incarceration, Alana Alexander

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Existing literature stresses that the far-reaching effects of mass incarceration extend beyond prison walls, profoundly shaping familial experiences. Despite this, families remain consistently overlooked in criminal justice discourse, leading to heightened stress and diminished resilience. This thesis is a program review of a community-based program, referred to here as the Storytelling, Creativity, and Care (SCC) program, to protect the confidentiality of its participants and activities. The SCC program integrates neuroscience and narrative theory to explore how storytelling influences cultural perceptions, shapes lived experiences, and supports psychological and physiological healing. Additionally, this work investigates the socio-political narratives that perpetuate stigma and …

“It’S Essential We Learn How To Grow For Ourselves”: The Legacies Of Black Gardening In Racialized Food Systems., Funmi Odumosu

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In this thesis, I aim to investigate the impact of food racism on Black communities, with a specific focus on the importance of gardening in combatting food apartheid and fostering holistic connections to nature and community in school-aged children. Inequitable access to major retail supermarkets and unequal distribution of healthy food options are intentionally occurring patterns in the food spaces of predominately Black communities. These food system inequities exacerbate a lack of consumption and potential consequences on the health and well-being of children of color particularly during critical physical and cognitive developmental periods.

Many solutions to these inequities entail implementing …