Digital Commons Network^™

Enhancing Silicon Sampling In Large Language Models: Fine-Tuning Techniques Using Survey Data, Davis P. Forster

Theses and Dissertations

Large language models (LLMs) are increasingly used to simulate responses of human demographic groups, a task known as silicon sampling. This paper investigates whether supervised fine-tuning can improve algorithmic fidelity in such settings. We construct a dataset from the General Social Survey (GSS), converting demographic attributes into natural-language backstories and randomly selecting one attribute as a held-out target. Fine-tuning a LLaMA-3.1-70B model on this dataset yields significant improvements on two tasks: (1) imputing missing attributes at the individual level, and (2) reproducing response distributions for demographic slices, such as racial and age groups. Notably, these improvements are achieved with minimal …

Integrating Chatgpt Voice To Enhance German Language Communication, Michael B. Dettinger

Teaching Repository of AI-Infused Learning

In this course, students were required to write four essay topics, and in turn were assigned to use ChatGPT Voice in a task prior to each essay in order to assist them in framing their argument, as well as to practice working through their essay and presentation topic verbally in advance.

The Feasibility Of Transaldolase Inhibitors As Anti-Cancer Therapeutics, Daniel Scot Baer

Chemistry and Biochemistry

Metabolism was a major focus of cancer research 100 years ago, but its prevalence declined in the latter part of the twentieth century. In the last several decades, however, it has become clear that cancer cells frequently modify their metabolic programs to enable both their survival and rapid proliferation. Transaldolase (TA), an enzyme within the pentose phosphate pathway, contributes to these outcomes when its activity is increased, yet for a variety of reasons inhibition of the enzyme has remained comparatively understudied. Since TA flux enables nucleotide production and high levels of NADPH synthesis, aberrant, cancer-causing signaling pathways often increase expression …

Framing Of Immigration In The News And Its Effects On Social Media Discourse On The Southcoast Of Massachusetts, Mariel Surprenant

Political Science Undergraduate Theses

Why do immigrant communities often express anti-immigrant sentiment? This study will focus on examining what political discourse about immigration dominates the news ecosystem of the Southcoast of Massachusetts, and what effect that discourse has. Immigration in the U.S. has become an increasingly politicized issue, dominating political discourse, motivating voter behavior, and shaping regional political identities. This study will use content analysis of Southcoast newspapers to examine how the local news frames immigration and discourse analysis to examine the opinions of everyday citizens revealed as by their social media comments on posts about immigration by the same local news sources. The …

Comparative Analysis Of Machine Learning And Statistical Models For Railroad–Highway Grade Crossing Safety, Erickson Senkondo, Deo Chimba, Masanja Madalo, Afia Yeboah, Shala Blue

Civil and Architectural Engineering Faculty Research

Railroad-highway grade crossings (RHGCs) are critical points of conflict between roadway and rail systems, contributing to over 2000 crashes and 250 fatalities annually in the United States. This study applied machine learning methods (ML) techniques to model and predict crash frequency at RHGCs, using a comprehensive dataset from the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT). The dataset included 807 validated crossings, incorporating roadway geometry, traffic volumes, rail characteristics, and control features. Five ML models—Random Forest, XGBoost, PSO-Elastic Net, Transformer-CNN, and Autoencoder-MLP—were developed and compared to a traditional Negative Binomial (NB) regression model. Results showed that ML …

The Negative Impact Sleep Loss Has On Mental Health, Kaden Sayler

Psychology Student Publications

Many teenagers struggle with chronic sleep deprivation due to busy schedules, social media, and late-night habits. Research shows that lack of sleep severely affects adolescents’ mental health, increasing risks of depression, anxiety, poor attention, and impaired brain development. This paper highlights how modern factors like screen time and “social jetlag” worsen the issue, warning that sleep deprivation is a hidden but serious threat to teens’ well-being.

An Unclear Connection: The Asylum System's "One Central Reason" Test, Christopher R. Porter

William & Mary Law Review Online

Part I of this Note will provide relevant background information on the asylum system in the United States and the significant changes made in the REAL ID Act.

Part II will analyze the current requirements that asylum applicants must meet to succeed in their asylum petitions, including a brief explanation of each element and the legislative history of the REAL ID Act. Part II will assert that based on the legislative history, the “one central reason” standard is best understood as only slightly elevating an applicant’s burden of proof to further protect against threats to the U.S. without becoming overly …

The Effect Of Talker Intelligibility On Adaptation And Generalization To An Unfamiliar Accent, Kaitlyn L. Matthews

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

Hearing unfamiliar second language (L2) accented speech reduces intelligibility (i.e. accuracy of speech understanding) and increases the listening effort (i.e. deliberate allocation of cognitive resources) required to process the speech. However, listeners readily adapt to L2-accented speech, improving intelligibility and reducing listening effort. The type of exposure that may lead to lower listening effort when generalizing knowledge to a new speaker of the same accent has yet to be explored. We exposed native English speakers to English sentences spoken by native English speakers, highly intelligible Mandarin Chinese-accented English speakers, or less intelligible Mandarin Chinese-accented English speakers. While measuring pupil dilation …

Optimization Of Research Pipeline To Characterize The Effects Of Atp-Sensitive Potassium Channels Mutations On Native Skeletal Muscle Fibers And Evaluate Potential Drug Therapy, Yuezhou Chen

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

The ATP-sensitive potassium (KATP) channel is a critical metabolic sensor in skeletal muscle, yet its definitive molecular composition and functional roles remain contested. In this study, I conclusively demonstrate that the Kir6.2/SUR2 complex forms sarcolemmal KATP channel in mouse fast-twitch muscle. Genetic knock-out (KO) of Kir6.2 (Kcnj11−/−) or SUR2 (Abcc9−/−) resulted in a similar phenotype with increased fatigue resistance and a pathological rise in unstimulated resting tension at high-frequency stimulation. In contrast, SUR1 (Abcc8−/−) KO was ineffective. Furthermore, a CRISPR/Cas9 knock-in mouse model of a human SUR2A truncation variant (KCGV/KCGV) recapitulated the abnormal force accumulation, demonstrating that even loss-of-function of …

Functional Characterization Of Abcc8 Mutations Potentially Linked To The Transition From Hyperinsulinemic Hypoglycemia To Diabetes, Hao Zhang

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

ATP-sensitive potassium (KATP) channels, composed of the SUR1 and Kir6.2 subunits encoded by the ABCC8 and KCNJ11 genes, are critical regulators of membrane excitability and insulin secretion in pancreatic β-cells. Gain-of-function (GOF) mutations in these genes cause neonatal diabetes mellitus through impaired insulin secretion and persistent hyperglycemia, whereas loss-of-function (LOF) mutations lead to congenital hyperinsulinism (CHI) with hypoglycemia due to β-cell hyperexcitability. I have addressed a paradoxical form of maturity-onset diabetes of the young (MODY) arising from KATP mutations, in which patients transition from CHI to glucose intolerance later in life. My experiments indicate that many KATP mutations associated with …

Emotional Regulation In Adolescents, Its' Link To Social Media, & Potential Solutions, Jace Burke

Psychology Student Publications

This essay discusses emotional regulation in adolescents, and how social media has significant effects on its development. It also goes over potential solutions on how to fix irregular emotional dysregulation, and how society might be able to help prevent or teach adolescents to adapt emotional regulation to the modern digital landscape.

Can Deep Reinforcement Learning Help Robots Avoid Unexpected Obstacles?, Rachel Lewis

Computer Science

As the utilization of deep reinforcement learning (DRL) for mobile robotics increases, it is vital to ensure that agents can navigate safely in their environments. As these robots are often costly and fragile, a key part of this task is examining path planning and collision avoidance. This project focuses on the behavior of several DRL agents such as Soft-Actor Critic (SAC) and Proximal Policy Optimizer (PPO) in dynamic environments, particularly with intermittent obstacles—those that may not always pose a threat to the agent. This project does not include training with agent sensors to detect moving hazards. Rather, this work was …

Postoperative Anaemia: The Unseen Challenge In Cardiac Surgery, Matthew A. Warner, Jacob Raphael

Department of Anesthesiology Faculty Papers

Postoperative anaemia is an overlooked complication of cardiac surgery that is associated with adverse clinical outcomes. Although small clinical trials suggest that postoperative treatment with i.v. iron improves haemoglobin recovery and reduces transfusion utilisation, appropriately powered randomised controlled trials are necessary to definitively evaluate the efficacy of treatment on clinical outcomes of importance to patients, clinicians, and healthcare systems. A comprehensive approach to perioperative anaemia management demands a renewed focus on both prevention and treatment to improve patient outcomes.

100 Years: The Uniform System Of Accounts For The Lodging Industry (Usali) 12th Revised Edition, Agnes Defranco, Raymond S. Schmidgall

Journal of Hospitality Financial Management

No abstract provided.

Construction Of A Unified Knowledge Graph For Cyber Threat Intelligence, Moaz Usama Hassan Mr, Khaled , Nagaty, Noura Elmaghawry

Computer Networks

The rapid expansion and variety of cyber-threat information put enormous pressure on security operations centers (SOCs) that must convert unstructured data into understandable signals and make decisions upon it. This paper develops a Cyber-Threat-Intelligence (CTI) framework that integrates vulnerability information, product inventories, and weakness taxonomies into a domain-specific knowledge graph via automatic fusing. The proposed solution covers 284,296 CVEs, 101,644 CPE identifiers, and 965 CWE weaknesses, generating more than 800,000 typed edges linking threats, assets, tactics, and mitigations in an integrated CTI Knowledge graph. The graph was cross validated against four external standard datasets achieves full coverage of ATT&CK CAPEC, …

Pioneering Insights Into The Complexities Of Salt-Sensitive Hypertension: Central Nervous System Mechanisms And Dietary Bioactive Compound Interventions, Renjun Wang, Bo Xu, Xiping Liu, Qi Guo, Gregory Miodonski, Zhiying Shan, Dongshu Du, Qing Hui Chen

Michigan Tech Publications

Salt-sensitive hypertension (SSH) is an important and common subtype of hypertension, whose pathogenesis involves multi-level regulation, including the central nervous system (CNS), metabolic stress, and epigenetics. Dietary bioactive compounds have emerged as a research hotspot for SSH intervention due to their safety and multi-target effects. Although existing studies have focused on the CNS regulation of SSH or the role of individual dietary components, there is a lack of comprehensive analysis integrating multiple mechanisms, systematically summarizing multiple compounds, and incorporating a clinical translation perspective. This review first outlines the mechanisms of CNS pathways, endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, and epigenetic …

Minutes From December 17 2025, University Senate

University Senate Minutes

Minutes from December 17 2025 University Senate Meeting

The Conditional Nature Of The Value Premium: Interaction And Cross-Sectional Evidence Across Market Regimes, Samuel L. Klein

Honors Thesis

This thesis examines why value-based investment strategies generate strong returns in some environments yet weaken or collapse in others. Regressions test whether the performance of the book-to-market ratio depends on the investor’s perception of financial health as defined by F-Score and accruals. Across additive regressions, interaction models, cross-sectionals, and heatmap visualizations, a consistent mechanism emerges. The book-to-market effect is strongest when financial information is neither highly reliable nor severely distressed. In these “moderate-quality” environments, investors struggle to fully distinguish the transitory components of earnings from their persistent counterparts. This makes valuation ratios particularly influential. Accrual intensity and financial strength jointly …

Evaluating The Performance Of The Primary Heat Exchanger In A Sco2 Brayton Cycle While Firing Solid Fuels, Brian Jeffrey Schooff

Theses and Dissertations

The sCO2 closed-loop Brayton cycle is an alternative to the standard steam-Rankine cycle for generating electrical power from a heat source. The sCO2 Brayton cycle is advantageous because it can be more efficient, use less water, and have smaller turbomachinery than the steam-Rankine cycle. While there are several research groups advancing the technology necessary to utilize the sCO2 Brayton cycle on an industrial scale, none of these groups use solid fuel combustion as the heat source. A Brigham Young University-led project developed and tested a pilot-scale sCO2 Brayton cycle unit (1.6 MWth) using natural gas, pulverized coal, and pulverized biomass …

Trauma-Informed Training And Practices For Elementary School Lunchroom Supervisors, Heather C. Kostohryz

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

School lunchrooms often see behavior disruptions at a higher rate than other areas within a school. Of the numerous reasons as to why, the inadequate training of those who supervise the lunchroom can be remedied easier than other factors (Wheatley et al., 2009). Over the past ten years a growing recommendation is for all staff to be included in school-wide behavior management and training, and that the training be focused on trauma-informed practices as a way to aid all students (Nealy-Oparah & Scruggs-Hussein, 2018). As 68% of children will experience some form of trauma during childhood, it stands to reason …

Design, Synthesis And Biological Activities Of N-Substituted Phthalimide Derivative, Beaula Mangundah

Honors Theses

Phthalimides are a group of compounds among bicyclic non-aromatic nitrogen heterocycles that have gained recognition for their bioactivity across various fields, notably anti-cancer, anti-microbial, anti-oxidant, and anti-inflammatory. This study discusses the synthesis of a novel phthalimide derivative and provides an analysis of its biological activity. It was conducted through a Boric acid Imide synthesis and yielded a successful derivative using hexylamine. The product was evaluated in vitro for antimicrobial, anticoagulant, and anti-inflammatory properties using Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion, clotting time, hemolysis inhibition, and protein denaturation assays. It showed mild anticoagulant and anti-inflammatory activity.

Beyond The Standard: A Sociolectal And Probabilistic Turn In Philippine English Phonology, Teri An Joy G. Magpale

Journal of English and Applied Linguistics

This article advocates for probabilistic approaches as a key framework for understanding Philippine English (PhE) phonology, arguing that they reveal socially conditioned variation that traditional descriptive models overlook. Tracing five decades of research, it critiques early standardization efforts and studies centered on scripted speech and elite norms, and highlights the sociolectal turn initiated by Tayao (2004). The discussion foregrounds recent methods that combine instrumental phonetics with constraint-based frameworks, including Optimality Theory (OT) and Maximum Entropy grammar (MaxEnt), to model gradient variation across acrolectal, mesolectal, and basilectal speakers. By synthesizing findings on segmental features, phonotactic patterns, and speech rhythm, the article …

Top-Ranking Grammatical Keyword In Hong Kong English, Chi Wui Ng

Journal of English and Applied Linguistics

Most grammar research of Hong Kong English has been conducted from perspectives of error analysis and interlanguage studies. The present corpus-based study investigates the top-ranking grammatical keyword in Hong Kong English in relation to other English varieties to identify one-of-a-kind morphosyntactic attributes of Hong Kong English systematically. The grammatical keyword with the highest keyness in the Hong Kong component of the International Corpus of English was identified through comparison with a reference corpus comprising six other components of the corpus with the corpus analysis software WordSmith 5.0. The modal auxiliary verb “will” was identified as the top-ranking grammatical keyword in …

Reducing The Use Of Erythropoiesis-Stimulating Agents In Hemodialysis Patients, Myriamme Neree

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This Doctor of Nursing Practice project was a quality improvement (QI) initiative. Nephrologists were inconsistent in ordering iron studies and sometimes delayed the initiation of erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESAs) on admission to the inpatient site. These delays often led to suboptimal outcomes. The practice-focused question guiding the project asked whether a nurse-driven iron protocol would improve adherence to anemia management guidelines. The project’s purpose was to evaluate the impact of the evidence-based nurse-driven protocol. I used descriptive and inferential statistics for data analysis. Findings demonstrated a statistically significant improvement in the timely completion of iron studies and in intravenous (IV) iron …

Book Reviews, Usawc Press

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

No abstract provided.

Urinothorax And Empyema: Presentation Of An Unusual Complication Of A Rare Condition, Nolan Fox, Nicholas Fox, Shourjo Chakravorty, Neeraj Sinha

Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care Medicine Faculty Papers

A 68-year-old male with a history of metastatic bladder cancer and urinary obstruction presented with intractable hiccups and chest pain is presented in this case. He was found to have a unilateral pleural effusion in addition to ipsilateral renal metastasis abutting the diaphragm. Imaging revealed empyema. Thoracentesis revealed positive cultures and a lack of malignant cells on cytology. Comorbid urinary obstruction and urinary tract infection suggested the rare diagnosis of an infected urinothorax. Thoracentesis also revealed pleural fluid creatinine greater than serum creatinine, meeting the most specific diagnostic criteria for urinothorax and establishing the diagnosis. Treatment aimed at evacuating the …

Determination Of The Cecal Microbiota Profile Of Anadolu-T Broiler Breeder Chickens Using 16s Metagenomic Sequencing, Kürşat Teti̇k, İsmai̇l Özkan, Serpi̇l Kahya Demi̇rbi̇lek

Turkish Journal of Veterinary & Animal Sciences

The gut microbiota has significant effects on the performance, health status, and immune systems of chickens. The complex microbial community structure begins to form after chicks hatch with the intake of feed, water, and air into the digestive system. Disrupting the balance of this system can lead to the proliferation of pathogenic microorganisms. Until recently, studies on microbiota relied on traditional microbiological techniques that cultured only a small fraction of the microbial diversity. However, significant advancements in DNA sequencing and bioinformatics have enabled the identification of diverse bacterial populations in environmental samples. In this study, a total of 2000 broiler …

Parameter Optimization For Runs Of Homozygosity (Roh) Detection In The Pig Genome, Timofey Romanets, Anna Korobeynikova, Lyubov Getmantseva, Maria Kolosova, Elena Romanets, Ilona Bakoeva, Varvara Shevtsova, Anatoly Kolosov, Alexander Maksimov, Siroj Bakoev

Turkish Journal of Veterinary & Animal Sciences

The present study analyses the influence of various parameters on the accuracy and reliability of ROH identification procedures, as well as their relationship with inbreeding and genetic diversity in Duroc pig populations. The genotyping data of 70 Duroc pigs obtained using PorcineSNP80v1 chips were used, and the effects of LD pruning and ROH calling parameters were evaluated. It was found that the use of strict basic filters during the execution of the --homozyg command reduces the likelihood of false positives and contributes to the more accurate identification of ROH. The results show that LD pruning reduces the detection of random …

Endocrine Disruptors And Pregnancy, Betül Yi̇ği̇t Yalçin, Gamze Bi̇li̇k Oyman, Ayşe Kubat Üzüm

Turkish Journal of Medical Sciences

Sensitivity to endocrine disruptors is higher in early life. In pregnant women, endocrine disruptor chemicals can be passed to the baby through the placenta or through breast milk during lactation, leading to long-term and permanent adverse effects. These endocrine disruptors may cause adverse effects in women such as infertility, implantation defects, premature birth, spontaneous abortions, gestational hypertension, gestational diabetes. Exposure to endocrine disruptors in the intrauterine period may result in adverse effects on the reproductive system, metabolic changes, low birth weight, retardation in mental and physical development and also may be associated with congenital malformations. It is of great importance …

The Effects Of Endocrine Disruptors On The Female Reproductive System, Riza Gökhan Baykal, Reyhan Ersoy

Turkish Journal of Medical Sciences

Endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) are a diverse, comprehensive group of mostly synthetic chemicals that disrupt many physiological functions in humans and animals. EDCs are particularly disruptive to the female reproductive system. Reproductive function in women is a dynamic process regulated by the hypothalamic–pituitary–ovarian axis. EDCs show their effects on the reproductive system through estrogenic, antiestrogenic, androgenic, and antiandrogenic effects or by directly affecting gonadotropin-releasing hormone secretion. Disruption in the menstrual cycle, decrease in fertility, infertility, increased risk of miscarriage, polycystic ovary syndrome, endometriosis, early or delayed puberty, and hormone-sensitive cancers can be listed as the main negative effects of endocrine disruptors …