Digital Commons Network^™

Dispersion Relations And The Light-Hadron Spectrum, Arkaitz Rodas

Physics Faculty Publications

Light hadron spectroscopy sits in the non-perturbative regime of QCD, where flexible fits often compete with firm principles. Over the past two decades, dispersion relations have become a practical, numerical tool to solve these issues, enabling first-principles analyses and delivering robust resonance parameters. With ππ scattering as an example, we briefly summarize the current landscape, highlight dispersive work that has resolved long-standing debates and set precision standards, and include recent examples of dispersive analyses of lattice QCD results.

Real-Space Imaging Of The Electron-Pair Density Hole In Molecular Auger-Meitner Decay, Mats Simmermacher, Nathan Goff, Andres Moreno Carrascosa, Elke Fasshauer, Thomas Northey, Lingyu Ma, Haiwang Yong, Brian Stankus, Asami Odate, Xuan Xu, Wenping Du, Kyle Acheson, Joseph C. Cooper, Daniel Ratner, Mengning Liang, Ruaridh Forbes, Michael P. Minitti, Adam Kirrander, Peter M. Weber

Physics Faculty Publications

Electrons in matter can rearrange extremely quickly under external perturbations, underpinning subsequent structural and chemical transformations. Coulomb interactions between neighbouring electrons often shape this response, giving rise to correlated motion and strongly affecting the distribution of electrons in the system. Here we show that non-resonant hard X-ray scattering can directly access changes in the radial electron-pair density during the rapid rearrangement of core and valence electrons. We do this by studying sulfur hexafluoride molecules undergoing Auger–Meitner decay. We exploit a second-order interaction between the X-ray photons and the molecules to trigger and probe the decay dynamics with a single pulse, …

Medicaid's Broken Promise To Children, Jerron R. Wheeler

Faculty Articles

In the United States, poor children's access to necessary healthcare is determined more by geography than medical need. This variation is not the result of thoughtful local tailoring but of excessive state autonomy and passive federal oversight. The result is a fragmented and unequal system that obscures accountability and fails the Nation's most vulnerable children.

Building on scholarship showing how decentralized implementation of federal social programs can erode America's social safety net, this Article examines how one of Congress's most ambitious entitlements for children-Medicaid's Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnostic and Treatment (EPSDT) benefit has been quietly undermined. In light of …

It Takes A Village (To Raise Children’S Privacy), Mason R. Clark

Faculty Articles

Raising children is an expensive and (mostly) rewarding commitment. Many parents, guardians, and caregivers are willing to invest in indestructible car seats, private schools, and organic, farm-fresh, wholegrain, low-sugar, dye-free, naturally flavored foods. Is it reasonable to ask them to invest in children’s privacy? Surely companies can’t expect parents to stand guard at the edge of a digital playground they never built and never (knowingly) agreed to let their children enter.

The digital age has profoundly reshaped children’s privacy. It is hard to imagine listening to a podcast or scrolling on a social media platform without being bombarded by reports, …

The Distribution Of A-Numbers Of Hyperelliptic Curves In Characteristic Three, Derek Garton, Jeffrey Lin Thunder, Colin Weir

Mathematics and Statistics Faculty Publications and Presentations

In this paper we present a new approach to counting the proportion of hyperelliptic curves of genus g defined over a finite field Fq with a given a-number. In characteristic three this method gives exact probabilities for curves of the form Y 2 = f(X) with f(X) ∈ Fq[X] monic and cubefree, probabilities that match the data presented by Cais et al. in previous work. These results are sufficient to derive precise estimates (in terms of q) for these probabilities when restricting to squarefree f. As a consequence, for positive integers a and g we show that the nonempty strata …

Numerics: A .Net Library For Numerical Computing, Statistical Analysis, And Risk Assessment, C. Haden Smith, Woodrow L. Fields, Julian Gonzalez, Sadie Niblett, Brennan Beam, Brian Skahill

Mathematics and Statistics Faculty Publications and Presentations

Numerics is a free and open-source numerical computing library for .NET, developed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Risk Management Center (USACE-RMC). The library provides 43 univariate probability distributions with L-moment and maximum likelihood parameter estimation, eight Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) samplers for Bayesian inference, bootstrap uncertainty quantification, bivariate copulas, optimization algorithms, and numerical methods for integration, differentiation, root finding, and linear algebra. Numerics targets engineers, scientists, and analysts working in infrastructure risk assessment, flood frequency analysis, and Monte Carlo simulation within .NET-based enterprise systems. The library supports .NET 8.0 through 10.0 and .NET Framework 4.8.1 and is …

Congruences For Hecke Eigenvalues Via Period Polynomials, Liobomir Chiriac

Mathematics and Statistics Faculty Publications and Presentations

We study a conjecture motivated by Coleman and Stein’s work on approximating eigenforms of infinite slope by those of finite slopes, which was recast by Rustom [‘Congruences modulo prime powers of Hecke eigenvalues in level 1’, Res. Number Theory 5(1) (2019), Article no. 10, 27 pages] as a congruence for the second Fourier coefficient. We establish the weight condition required for this coefficient to be divisible by nine and obtain the full conjecture under a natural ramification hypothesis. The proof uses period polynomials, especially Zagier’s description of the Hecke action on them.

Library Guide Assessment Standards For Quality-Checked Review Workbook, Sarah H. Moukhliss, Trina Mccowan Adams

Library Presentations & Publications

This OER workbook introduces the Library Guide Assessment Standards (LGAS), a practical, rubric-based framework for evaluating and improving LibGuides. Adapted from established online course quality models, LGAS provides a shared language for reviewing guide design, accessibility, usability, and maintenance. Designed for both individuals and teams, this workbook offers adaptable tools that support consistent, sustainable assessment in academic library contexts.

Modeling Clinical Relevance And Risk In Yttrium-90 Radioembolization Of The Liver: Lung Shunt Fraction Variability According To Imaging Modality, Cancer Type, And Tumor Size, M Allan Thomas, Tharun Alamuri, Ryan C Lee, Dan Giardina, John Karageorgiou, Naganathan Mani, Daniel A Braga, Christopher D Malone

2020-Current year OA Pubs

PURPOSE: To test the hypothesis that lung shunt fraction (LSF) in yttrium-90 (

MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a retrospective analysis of 354 consecutive cases from a 34-month period at a single institution. Cancer type (hepatocellular carcinoma [HCC] vs non-HCC) and maximum tumor size were tracked. LSF was computed from planar imaging (LSF

RESULTS: Median LSF was significantly different (all P < .001) among LSF

CONCLUSIONS: Despite significant variations with imaging modality and correction methods, consistent trends in LSF magnitude with cancer type and tumor size were still uncovered. The relative risk of observing clinically relevant LSF can be modeled for different liver tumor …

The Pittsburg Micropolitan Area Economic Report, Quarter 3, 2026, Pittsburg State University

Pittsburg Micropolitan Reports

The Pittsburg Micropolitan Area Economic Report is created by the Business and Economic Research Center (BERC) at Pittsburg State University.

Acute Correction Of Acquired Genu Valgum Secondary To Post-Traumatic Growth Arrest At The Time Of Distal Femur Fracture., Josiah Wolf, Nicholas Pelz, Adam Mansour, Christopher Iobst, Allen Kadado

Surgery Articles

A 14-year-old male patient sustained a distal femur fracture after a ground-level fall. His history was notable for severe acquired genu valgum secondary to a childhood lawnmower accident, which had required multiple limb salvage procedures including a Syme amputation and soft-tissue skin grafting. Acute correction of the limb deformity was performed concurrently with fracture fixation using a retrograde intramedullary nail and poller blocking screws. Retrograde intramedullary nailing represents a viable treatment option for simultaneous acute correction of acquired genu valgum and stabilization of distal femur fractures.

The Ethics Of Dental Insurance Submission And Adjudication, Robert Rosenthal Dds

Journal of the American College of Dentists

Dental insurance claims sit at the intersection of professional ethics, contract administration, and regulatory oversight. This article argues that claim submission and payer adjudication should be treated as ethical practices grounded in truthfulness, fair use of shared resources, and respect for patient autonomy. Common failure modes range from misunderstandings of benefit provisions to intentional misrepresentations of diagnosis, procedure coding, dates of service, or supporting narratives. Because payer communications and attachments become part of the claim file, inaccuracies may create downstream harm, including patient financial confusion, audit exposure, recoupment, network consequences, and professional discipline. This article offers practical guidance to help …

Towards An Evaluation Of The Business Value Of Ai: A System Dynamics Approach, Ganesh Sankaran

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics Theses

In the early 2010s, when Artificial Intelligence (AI) emerged from the latest "winter" of disillusionment, discussions about its use in decision-making tended to be dichotomous: humans or AI. More recently, consensus has shifted toward a complementary humans-and-AI perspective, recognising that augmentation, not substitution, is the more appropriate frame for AI's role in the foreseeable future. This shift foregrounds the challenge of evaluating outcomes in collaborative decision-making contexts.The thesis proposes a simulation-based framework, drawing on system dynamics, to evaluate whether complex, time-varying interactions between humans and AI agents result in collectively rational behaviour. The framework extends the observation of dynamic complexity …

Oscillating Water Column Geometric Hybridisation And The Air Compressibility Effect, Gunay Gazaloglu

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics Theses

Oscillating Water Column (OWC) devices represent one of the most operationally robust wave energy conversion technologies, yet their commercial deployment remains hindered by narrow resonant bandwidth, geometry-dependent efficiency, and uncertainties in scaling thermodynamic effects between model and prototype. This thesis addresses these limitations through a coordinated investigation combining physical experimentation, empirical and machine-learning prediction, and high-fidelity computational fluid dynamics.A systematic experimental campaign was conducted on five single- and dual-chamber OWC geometries (Conventional, U-OWC, L-OWC, DCOWC-1, and DCOWC-2) under regular waves, with controlled compressible and incompressible chamber configurations. The thermodynamic scaling discrepancy is quantified for the first time across hybrid geometries, …

Self-Guided Functional Imagery Training To Reduce Anxiety, Jackie Andrade, Stephanie Hartgen-Walker, Caroline Morgan, Ayan, Idil Aytekin, Khadijah Sekoni, Kardelen Sengul, Jonathan Rhodes

School of Psychology

Objectives: Many university students experience high anxiety but have limited access to effective interventions. We evaluated a novel digital intervention for anxiety based on functional imagery training (FIT), designed to help individuals identify the impacts of anxiety, set engagement goals, and strengthen motivation for change. Functional Imagery for Keeping Anxiety low (FIKA) uses speak-aloud tasks, journalling, empathic questions, and personalised guided imagery for a person-centred approach. It builds motivation for engagement goals over safety goals through development and practice of vivid and emotionally laden multisensory imagery. Design: Study 1 used semi-structured interviews and thematic analysis to explore user experiences of …

Dampened Social Motivation In Dysphoria: The Role Of Negative Social Expectancies And Internal Causal Attribution Style, Julie L Ji, Nilly Mor, Colin Macleod

School of Psychology

Dysphoria is associated with dampening of social interaction intention, but the cognitive mechanisms that underpin this relationship are under-investigated. This study tested the hypothesis that heightened negative social expectancies mediate the association between dysphoria and dampened social motivation. Additionally, it tested the hypothesis that the association between dysphoria and negative social expectancies is mediated by an attribution style bias that attributes negative, but not positive, outcomes to internal causes. University students (N = 271) with varied levels of dysphoria read vignettes describing hypothetical situations where they initiate a social interaction that results in positive or negative outcomes. Participants rated their …

Others’ Requests May Dampen The Desire To Do Good: The Effect Of Requests On Children's Prosocial Motivation Across Five Cultures., Anneliese Skrobanek, Patricia Kanngiesser, Jahnavi Sunderarajan, Jorge David Mantilla Salgado, Saiwa Sisa Quimbo Yacelga, Shoji Itakura, Marie M. Morita, Masanori Yamaguchi, Nadia Chernyak, Lucy M. Stowe, Joscha Kärtner

School of Psychology

There exists cultural variation in how people react to prosocial obligations, but we still know little about when these differences emerge in development and how they can be explained. We investigated this in a study with 6- to 11-year-old children (N = 686) in five cultural contexts. Children listened to scenarios about spontaneous and requested (within-subjects) helping and sharing. They rated requested scenarios as less desirable and less satisfying, but there was significant cross-cultural variation in the magnitude of this effect, which was mostly stable with age. We also measured children's sense of individual agency and internalization of prosocial norms …

“The True Me”: Unravelling The Dual Narrative Of Borderline Personality Disorder And Autistic Spectrum Disorder, Robin Iliffe-Lewis, Alison Bacon

School of Psychology

Objectives: There is growing recognition that some individuals who receive a diagnosis of Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) are later diagnosed with autism. However, existing literature on this topic remains limited. This study aimed to explore the experiences of individuals diagnosed with BPD prior to autism, how they made sense of these diagnoses, navigated clinical systems, and learnt to manage the complex challenges associated with this diagnostic sequence.Methods: Thirteen (6 male, 6 female, 1 non-binary) adult participants took part in semi-structured interviews exploring their diagnostic journeys. Reflexive thematic analysis was used to develop a nuanced understanding of their experiences.Results: Three themes …

Psychophysiological Recovery From Viewing Nature And Urban Settings: A Multisite Replication, A. E. Van Den Berg, K. Dijkstra, D. Meuwese, F. Beute, P. M. Darcy, S. Dewitte, B. Gatersleben, C. J. Gidlow, C. M. Hägerhäll, J. A. Hipp, Y. Joye, Y. A.W. De Kort, S. C.M. Lechner, C. Neale, Sang Ode Sang, J. Roe, D. T. Scheepers, K. Smolders, H. Staats, R. S. Steensma, K. J. Wyles, S. L. Koole

School of Psychology

The idea that merely viewing nature can promote stress recovery has profound societal implications, driving the use of nature imagery in the design of environments where access to real nature is limited. Scientific support for this concept originates from a pioneering study by Ulrich et al. (1991), which demonstrated superior psycho-physiological stress recovery during exposure to nature videos compared to urban videos. Despite its influence, this foundational study has never been systematically replicated. To address this gap, ten research teams across the Netherlands, Belgium, the UK, Sweden, and the USA collaborated on a multisite replication. A final sample of 959 …

Integrating Neuroscience And Social Psychology In Researching Interprofessional Education: The Inspire Framework, Kimberley Schenke, Pamela Rae, Jaysan Charlesford, Phil Gee

School of Psychology

There is an increasing focus on the importance of interprofessional education as an integral part of health and social care training. However, the fundamental psychological processes underlying successful interprofessional education are not well understood. Here we propose a single framework, Integrating Neuroscience and Social Psychology In Researching Interprofessional Education (INSPIRE), grounded in evidence from social psychology and neuroscience that could be used to generate testable hypotheses to inform the design, development and evaluation of interprofessional education. The application of this framework offers a novel, scientifically grounded approach to improving the learning outcomes of interprofessional education and provides a foundation for …

Picturing The Past: The Role Of Photo Cue Visual Perspective On Positive Autobiographical Memory Recall In Dysphoria, Sarah Snow, Zachary Adolph Niese, Julie L Ji

School of Psychology

Positive autobiographical memory plays a key role in emotional well-being and is distorted by cognitive processing biases in dysphoria. This experiment investigated how the visual perspectives (first-person vs. third-person) of personal photographs influence recall of positive memories depending on dysphoria. Eighty-five participants (42 low dysphoria, 43 high dysphoria) submitted photos of positive events from both perspectives. Later, participants recalled these events while viewing either a first- or third-person photo before rating and describing their memory. While first-person photos promoted more recall from an own-eyes vantage point regardless of dysphoria level, dysphoria was still associated with greater observer-like recall, reduced mental …

Video Interaction Guidance With Adults With Intellectual Disabilities And Their Support Workers: A Service Evaluation, Áine Maguire, Vicky Anagnostopoulou, Joe Levi-French, Deanna J. Gallichan

School of Psychology

Background: This service evaluation focused on support workers' perceptions of Video Interaction Guidance (VIG) offered by an NHS Community Learning Disabilities Team. Methods: A mixed-methods design was employed. Support workers developed goals and rated their progress before and after VIG sessions. Thematic analysis was used to analyse qualitative data on the nature of the goals developed, and the strengths and working points identified. The differences between progress ratings before and after VIG were analysed using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Retrospective interviews helped to further understand support workers' experiences of VIG. Findings: Support workers identified goals, strengths and working points that …

Navigating Knowledge: Effects Of State Curiosity On Children's Word Learning And Information Seeking [Registered Report]: Effects Of State Curiosity On Children's Word Learning And Information Seeking, Anna Caunt, Shaun Dordoy, Rana Abu-Zhaya, Alastair Smith

School of Psychology

Early learning takes place within complex, multimodal environments where curiosity plays a critical role in guiding exploratory behaviors and supporting cognitive development. While trait curiosity shapes children’s early learning experiences, state curiosity is context-dependent fostering early learning, in-part, through information seeking behaviors. Here, we explore whether state-induced curiosity can influence exploratory behaviors and facilitate word learningwithin a multimodal search task that mirrors real-world learning environments.Children (2.5- to 4-year-olds) will be introduced to novel objects and labels via a storybook. After exposure to each novel object, participants will locate the target object (i.e., a sticker depicting the novel object), hidden within …

Performance Of Chatgpt-4, Gemini, And Deepseek-V3 On English-Translated Questions From The Taiwan National Dental Technician Licensing Examination Over A Three-Week Period, Yi-Pang Lee, Ching-Yi Huang, Andy Sun, Chun-Pin Chiang

Journal of Dental Sciences

Background/purpose: Large language models (LLMs) have shown potential in answering professional examination questions. This study evaluated the performance of ChatGPT-4, Gemini, and DeepSeek-V3 in answering English-translated questions from the 2023 Taiwan National Dental Technician Licensing Examination (TNDTLE) over a three-week period.

Materials and methods: A total of 194 English-translated, text-based multiple-choice questions were selected from the 2023 TNDTLE. ChatGPT-4, Gemini, and DeepSeek-V3 were used to answer the same set of English-translated questions at four time points: baseline and one-, two-, and three-week follow-ups. Accuracy rates (ARs) were calculated and compared to evaluate changes over time and differences among the three …

Vanadium-Functionalized Methyl Methacrylate-Based Primer Enhances Self-Curing And Bonding Of Resin Cement To Polyetheretherketone Restorations, Takeru Kondo, Jun Sato

Journal of Dental Sciences

No abstract provided.

A Visualized Ai-Assisted Framework For Pre-Surgical Evaluation Of Implant Pathways On Periapical Radiographs, Yuan-Jin Lin, Chiung-An Chen

Journal of Dental Sciences

No abstract provided.

Artificial Intelligence-Powered Chatbots’ Responses To Orthodontic Questions From The Dentistry Specialization Examination: Accuracy And Source Evaluation, Berrak Çakmak, Tevhide Sökmen, Burcu Balos‚ Tuncer

Journal of Dental Sciences

No abstract provided.

What Kind Of Democracy Is Energy Democracy? Reconsidering Energy Democracy Through Green Democratic Theory, Eric S. Godoy

Faculty Publications - Philosophy

This study examines an energy democracy framework for guiding a just transition to renewable energy, which incorporates democratic methods and values into energy policy decision-making. But as there are a variety of models of democracy (e.g. liberal, ecological, green republican, and socialist), energy democracy is a complex normative concept, which gives rise to ambiguities and confusions. Drawing from political theory, I argue that identifying with a particular kind of democracy provides the framework with a clearer definition, richer normative grounding, and resources for addressing some limitations its critics have identified, such as the reduction of democracy to participation.

Left-Hand Technique And The Limits Of The Possible, Ricardo Iznaola

Soundboard Scholar

This article conceptualizes classical guitar left-hand technique through a physiomechanical framework that places coordinated movement—particularly shifting—at the center of technical practice. Challenging traditional positional doctrines that privilege static hand forms and digital independence, the author argues that such approaches often disregard the functional anatomy of the limb, resulting in inefficiency, unnecessary tension, and potential injury.   Advancing the principle that form must follow function, the study proposes shifting as the fundamental technical category governing all left-hand procedures. A systematic typology—interpositional, intrapositional, and compound shifting—serves as the basis for analyzing arm-wrist-hand coordination across diverse technical contexts, including extensions and contractions, barrés, slurs, …

Open Contacts Adjacent To Posterior Dental Implants: Current Understanding And Emerging Preventive Concepts, Chiun-Lin Steven Liu, Shih-Cheng Wen, Ching-Jung Chang Chien, Je-Kang Du

Journal of Dental Sciences

Open proximal contacts between posterior dental implant restorations and adjacent natural teeth are a common yet underappreciated complication. This review examines the multifactorial etiology of open contact formation, including biomechanical discrepancies, prosthetic and surgical factors, occlusal force dynamics, and natural tooth migration. The clinical consequences-ranging from food impaction and gingival inflammation to proximal bone loss and diminished patient satisfaction-are also analyzed. These complications not only affected oral hygiene and comfort but might also contribute to peri-implant tissue breakdown and increased maintenance needs. Existing preventive and corrective strategies, such as prosthetic over-contouring, splinted restorations, and occlusal equilibration, are reviewed with attention …