Digital Commons Network^™

Security And Privacy In Deep Learning And Dynamic Decision Making, Feng Wang

Dissertations - ALL

Recent years have seen rapid advances in machine learning applications, such as deep reinforcement learning (DRL) for optimizing wireless resource allocation and federated learning (FL) for enabling privacy-preserving, distributed model training. In these systems, machine learning agents learn and control resources at the edge. However, these systems face significant vulnerabilities to adversarial threats. In a DRL-based mobile communication scenario, an intelligent attacker can selectively jam specific channels and cause critical failure in victim users' performance. In an FL system, a privacy adversary who eavesdrops on shared gradient information can reconstruct the users' private data. This dissertation focuses on both types …

Theorizing Technology Integration: The Case Of Smart Grid Technologies At Electrical Utilities In The United States, Ehsan Sabaghian

Dissertations - ALL

Over the past decade, the energy culture as a whole and electric industry specifically has been going through wide-scale disruptive and consequential transformation. The pressure for these changes comes from different fronts: Decarbonization (switching to renewable sources and implementing carbon reduction policies); Digitalization (adoption and investment on smart digital technologies, infrastructure, and networks), Decentralization (distributed nature of behind-the-meter resources), and Demand (growing demand from customers for high quality, affordable electricity). In response to these pressures, electric distribution utilities were continuously adopting smart grid technologies (most notably Advanced Meter Infrastructure (AMI) and enterprise-wide applications) to create new organizational capabilities. Now, utilities’ …

Characterization Of The Molecular Mechanisms Of Noise Stress On Developmental Plasticity In Gryllus Bimaculatus & Co-Teaching And Peer-Led Team Learning In Undergraduate Introductory Biology Courses Toward Expanding Participation In Stem For All, Takunda Maisva

Dissertations - ALL

As part of my training as a Discipline Based Education Researcher (DBER), I gained human subjects educational research experience as well as traditional biology research experience in the laboratory setting. This dissertation explores both my biology education research and traditional developmental biological research. The first and second projects focus on biology education research, examining how Peer-Led Team Learning (PLTL) and modifying introductory biology course instructional design can influence student outcomes in undergraduate Biology education. The third project examines how anthropogenic noise affects the developmental biology of the two-spotted field cricket Gryllus bimaculatus using a genetic approach. Peer-Led Team Learning (PLTL) …

Distributed Sovereignty: Law, Community, And Authority In The Political Theories Of Al-Māwardī, Al-Juwaynī, And Al-Fārābī, Ahmet Çelik

Dissertations - ALL

ABSTRACT This dissertation examines the concept of sovereignty in classical Islamic political thought through a comparative analysis of three major thinkers—al-Māwardī (d. 450/1058), al-Juwaynī (d. 478/1085), and al-Fārābī (d. 339/950)—each representing a distinct epistemic tradition: jurisprudence (fiqh), speculative theology (kalām), and philosophy (falsafa). Employing a conceptual and textual methodology, the study reconstructs a theory of distributed sovereignty in Islamic thought, in which political authority is not centralized in a singular sovereign but dispersed across three interrelated domains: legitimate authority, lawgiving, and governance. Drawing on primary texts—including al-Aḥkām al-Sulṭāniyya, Tashīl al-Naẓar, Ghiyāth al-Umam, al-Madīna al-Fāḍila, al-Siyāsa al-Madanīyya, Kitāb al-Milla, and Iḥṣāʾ …

Leveraging Artificial Intelligence (Ai) For Competency-Based Course Design: A Quality Improvement Project In Nursing Education, Lesslie Bull

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

This quality improvement project addressed inefficient, manual course design processes contributing to faculty workload and declining National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) pass rates at a rural Texas university’s baccalaureate nursing program. Guided by the Roy Adaptation Model and the Plan-Do-Study-Act framework, the project evaluated the effect of integrating artificial intelligence (AI) tools on faculty perceptions of technology adoption, specifically perceived usefulness (PU), perceived ease of use (PEOU), and behavioral intention (BI). Using a quasi-experimental pre-/post-intervention design, twelve faculty members completed a one-hour, evidence-based training using the Generative AI for Instructional Development and Education (GAIDE) framework, and eight faculty participated in …

An Examination Of Student Adherence And Intervention Complexity Within A Class-Wide Cover-Copy-Compare Intervention, Kaytlin Ann Nelson

Dissertations - ALL

Cover-Copy-Compare is a self-management intervention strategy developed to improve students’ academic performance, particularly in spelling. In academic intervention research, it is often assumed that students are completing the intervention as intended, yet this is seldom examined during intervention implementation or subsequent data analysis. The purpose of the present study was to extend the empirical literature on students’ intervention adherence by examining Cover-Copy-Compare permanent products to assess whether the complexity of the intervention (i.e., targeting six versus nine spelling words) contributed to a student’s ability to adhere to core intervention components. For the purposes of the present study, data from one …

A Model Of Blind Quantum Diffusion, John Carver Vining

Dissertations - ALL

We introduce the Blind Quantum Diffusion Network (BQDN), a quantum computational framework designed for distributed systems operating under conditions of partial observability and asynchronous communication. BQDN generalizes the structure of Generalized Boolean Networks (GBNs) by replacing classical multivalued logic nodes with quantum registers, enabling the use of superposition, entanglement, and unitary evolution to model distributed computation and state propagation. Building on the properties of W-states and quantum teleportation protocols, the BQDN leverages entangled coin registers and a token-based control mechanism to implement blind diffusion across a graph. The system achieves synchronization-free evolution without classical coordination by embedding decision-making within quantum …

The Antelope, University Of Nebraska At Kearney

The Antelope

The Back to Campus edition of The Antelope - Fall 2025.

Designing A Data Collection And Visualization Toolkit For Scalable Tensor Algebra In Quantum Chemistry Applications, Epiya J. Ebiapia

LSU Master's Theses

Large-scale quantum chemistry computations, such as those executed with the Tensor Algebra for Many-body Methods (TAMM) framework, require careful configuration of runtime parameters to achieve high performance and cost efficiency in high-performance computing (HPC) and cloud environments. Without effective performance analysis tools, researchers risk inefficient use of computational resources, leading to longer runtimes and higher costs.

To address this challenge, this thesis presents the design and implementation of a performance profiling and visualization toolkit for TAMM, developed as part of the DOE TEC4 project in collaboration with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Microsoft, and Louisiana State University. The toolkit collects detailed …

Wbd-Yolo-Am: Yolov8 With Attention Module And Iot-Based Wild Boar Detection And Deterrence System For Safeguarding Small Millets, Aditya Joshi, Neha Pandey, Manoj Diwakar, Prabhishek Singh, Achyut Shankar, Fayez Alqahtani

Turkish Journal of Agriculture and Forestry

Small millets are traditional and climate-resilient food crops that can grow in adverse weather conditions. Animal intrusion, specifically from wild boars, is a main threat to the production of small millets, which reduces interest in the cultivation of small millets and affects farmers’ incomes. To address the problem of wild boar attack on agriculture land, an improved YOLOv8 is proposed, with an attention module based on WBD-YOLO-AM and that works from the collection of data, its preprocessing, attention mechanism to improve the feature maps, training then building the model, after that the models hyperparameter are tuned to boost the performance …

Cost-Effectiveness Model For Reservoir Sediment Management Economics, Connor Ronald Hale

Theses and Dissertations

Reservoir sediment deposition poses a challenge to sustainable water supplies around the world. Sediment management has proven to be an expensive endeavor. Two models have been developed to guide economic analysis for reservoir sediment management, namely the Reservoir Sediment Economics Model (RSEM) and the Reservoir Conservation Model 2 (RESCON 2). While these are helpful tools for benefit-cost prefeasibility studies, they rely heavily on sometimes elusive estimations of the benefits of water supply. In this study, a new method for economic analysis is proposed that foregoes benefit-cost analysis in favor of a cost-effectiveness approach. The Sediment Management Cost-Effectiveness Model ranks sediment …

Retracted: Are Your Kidneys Ok? Detect Early To Protect Kidney Health, Joseph A Vassalotti, Anna Francis, Augusto Cesar Soares Dos Santos Jr, Ricardo Correa-Rotter, Dina Abdellatif, Li-Li Hsiao, Stefanos Roumeliotis, Agnes Haris, Latha A Kumaraswami, Siu-Fai Lui, Alessandro Balducci, Vassilios Liakopoulos, World Kidney Day Joint Steering Committee

Asian Medical Journal and Alternative Medicine

Early identification of kidney disease can protect kidney health, prevent kidney disease progression and related complications, reduce cardiovascular disease risk and decrease mortality. We must ask “Are your kidneys ok?” using serum creatinine to estimate kidney function and urine albumin to assess for kidney and endothelial damage. Evaluation for causes and risk factors for chronic kidney disease (CKD) includes testing for diabetes and measurement of blood pressure and body mass index. This World Kidney Day we assert that case-finding in high-risk populations, or even population level screening, can decrease the burden of kidney disease globally. Early-stage CKD is …

An Anesthesia Informed Consent Checklist And Ahrq Share Decision-Making Model For Labor And Delivery Patients: A Quality Improvement Project, Katherine C. Burnett

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Manuscripts

Abstract

Background and Significance: Informed consent is the disclosure of all benefits, risks, and alternatives to patients for a given intervention. Recalling all important details during the consenting process can prove difficult for providers. The process is further complicated for obstetric patients since healthcare decisions also have consequences for the fetus. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists’ Committee (ACOGC) (2021) recommends shared decision-making models (SDMs) for the obstetric patient population. SDMs engage patients in healthcare decisions by reaching a decision through provider expertise, best evidence, and patient values. In addition, surgical informed consent checklists have emerged as useful …

In Defense Of Metaphysics: A Defense Of The Value And Methodological Soundness Of Metaphysics Understood As Structural Modeling, Sean Nalty

Dissertations - ALL

The aim of this dissertation is to provide a defense of the value and methodological soundness of contemporary analytic metaphysics against a variety of recent anti-metaphysical and scientistic critiques. In Chapter 1, I attempt to answer (at least provisionally) a surprisingly difficult question: what is metaphysics, anyway? I suggest seven adequacy constraints on an answer to this question, and then test five historically and contemporarily influential candidate characterizations of metaphysics against these constraints. Finding each candidate lacking, I close by proposing an ecumenical conception of metaphysics — what I call the structural modeling conception — according to which metaphysics aims …

Staff Education To Nursing Leadership On Implementation Requirements Of A Nurse Residency Program, Sherri Ulfig

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Nurse residency programs provide new graduate nurses with a solid foundation to support their transition into practice. The DNP students completed a staff education project to educate nurse leaders on the implementation requirements of a nurse residency program at a not-for-profit hospital in the Midwest. The identified practice problem was that the organization paused its nurse residency program during the COVID-19 pandemic due to critical staffing needs, and the leaders wanted to redesign the program to meet current practice standards. The educational project question addressed whether education for site leaders would increase their knowledge of the implementation requirements of a …

20250822: Office Of Assessment, Program Reviews, 1983-2024, Academic Affairs

Guides to University Archives

These items include materials from the office of Academic Affairs at Marshall University from 1983-2004. Items were received in 2025 and include program reviews for undergraduate, graduate, and MU SOM programs. Of these programs include the MS in Communication Disorders; PhD in Biomedical Sciences; BA in Communication Studies; BS in Biomedical Engineering; BS in Civil Engineering; Doctor of Nursing Practice; MS in Dietetics; MS in Biomedical Sciences; BS in Dietetics; BS in Engineering; MS in Engineering; Associate of Science in Nursing; BS in Nursing; MS in Nursing; BS in Respiratory Care; Bachelor of Social Work; Associate of Applied Science in …

Ct Characteristics Of Signet Ring Cell Vs Non-Signet Ring Cell Gastric Cancer, Kaan Tangtiang, Thamonpon Pholpraserth, Wirana Angthong

Asian Medical Journal and Alternative Medicine

Background: While the incidence of gastric cancer has decreased, the incidence of signet-ring cell carcinoma (SRCC) is rising. Patients with advanced SRCC gastric cancer have a worse prognosis and lower chemosensitivity than those with non-signet-ring cell carcinoma (NSRCC).

Purpose: To determine the differential radiological features of SRCC from NSRCC gastric cancer on contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT).

Material and Methods: This study included 78 patients with pathologically proven gastric carcinoma, 41 patients with SRCC and 37 patients with NSRCC, diagnosed between January 2010 and December 2019 at Thammasat University Hospital. The demographic and histological characteristics were recorded. CT parameters were independently …

A Framework For Advancing And Strengthening The Veteran Entrepreneur Ecosystem, Rosalinda V. Maury, Adam Pritchard

Institute for Veterans and Military Families

This brief is designed for funders, program leaders, and policymakers working to build stronger veteran entrepreneurship ecosystems. This paper brings together insights about veteran entrepreneurial ecosystems from Military Entrepreneurship Forum (MEF) roundtable conversations, the National Survey of Military-Affiliated Entrepreneurs (NSMAE), and other entrepreneurship research. Rather than offering a one-size-fits-all solution, this paper lays out a set of components that communities can use to strengthen their own ecosystems. Veteran entrepreneurship is a lens into broader questions of economic mobility, local resilience, and civic leadership. But systems matter. With veteran-serving organizations facing revenue declines and donor fatigue, coordinated entrepreneurial ecosystems are a …

Impact Of Primary Care Providers’ Beliefs On Intentions To Conduct Brief Cognitive Assessments, Debra Antista-Bianchi

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The 2011 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) mandated that Primary Care Providers (PCPs) offer brief cognitive assessments during the Medicare Annual Wellness Visit (AWV), but this practice was inconsistent at best. This study investigated factors that influenced PCPs intentions to routinely assess cognition during the AWV. The theory of planned behavior (TPB) was used to assess the relationship between PCPs' behavior beliefs, subjective norm beliefs, perceived behavioral control (PBC) beliefs, and external control factors and their intentions to conduct brief cognitive assessments during the AWV. Using a quantitative correlational design, a cross-sectional online survey was administered to 86 …

Muscarinic Acetylcholine Receptor 1: Implications For Precision Medicine And Rett Syndrome Therapeutics, Mackenzie Smith

Dissertations

Rett syndrome (RTT) is a rare neurodevelopmental disorder caused by mutations in the gene coding for methyl-CpG binding protein 2 (MeCP2). Currently, there is no cure for RTT and few effective treatment options to address the social, cognitive, motor, and respiratory symptoms that patients face. With the goal of identifying novel targets, our lab performed RNA-sequencing experiments in human autopsy samples and found decreased levels of the M1 muscarinic acetylcholine receptor. We have established that potentiation of this receptor in a Mecp2+/- mouse model of RTT rescues social, cognitive, and respiratory phenotypes, providing support for using drugs that act on …

Black Mothers' Adhd Experiences, Attitudes, And Support-Seeking Decisions, Catherine L. Montgomery

Dissertations - ALL

Background: ADHD, particularly when left untreated, is associated with significant impairment in several domains. Black youth may still be under-diagnosed with ADHD, resulting in symptoms going untreated. Black mothers may determine non-professional delivered supports to be more appropriate and acceptable than medication for their children with ADHD. As they tend to be the primary healthcare decision makers, it is important to develop a greater understanding of Black mothers’ ADHD support-seeking decision making for their youth. Method: The present study used semi-structured interviews guided by Kleinman’s Explanatory Models of Illness to discuss Black mothers’ decision making for their youth with ADHD. …

Mental Health, Physical Activity, And Cardiovascular Disease Risk In International Migrant Populations, Andrew Rodriguez Heckel

Dissertations - ALL

International migrant populations, including immigrants, refugees, and international students, are a growing population worldwide that may be vulnerable to a heightened cardiovascular disease risk. Lifestyle factors, such as poor mental health and physical inactivity, may worsen cardiovascular disease risk factors that, in turn, increase cardiovascular disease risk. We sought to examine measures of cardiovascular disease risk and the lifestyle factors that may be affecting these measures in international migrant populations. In study 1, we compared hypertension prevalence between adult immigrants and non-immigrants in the United States. We found a lower hypertension prevalence in immigrants, which was mediated by their lower …

An Examination Of The Opt Out Movement In New York State, Selene M. Cammer-Bechtold

Dissertations - ALL

Public state education systems are required by federal law to assess student learning in order to receive certain federal funding for the state’s education system. Typically, the metric are standardized testing regimes. New York State is no exception and requires students in grades 3-8 to take annual English Language Arts and Mathematics exams to meet that requirement. However, New York State is a unique case, as it has the highest Opt Out rate, or noncompliance on taking the exams, in the country. While the majority of the literature on the Opt Out Movement has focused on who is more likely …

Technological Revolutions And Advertising: Historical Innovation Cycles, Ai, And The Future Of Platform Power, Christopher J. Lorusso

Dissertations - ALL

This study explores the future of advertising amidst a digital landscape increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence (AI). Leveraging Carlota Perez’s Technological Revolutions and Financial Capital framework, it examines how AI is poised to further disrupt the advertising ecosystem through the key elements of automation, user data, and inventory. Collectively, these dynamics have become key drivers of platform power, with implications for user behavior, competitive strategy, and the societal diffusion of AI technology more broadly. Employing a thematic analysis across historical and contemporary cases of advertising technology, the research identifies five themes worthy of strategic and scholarly consideration. Two primary themes—Dependency …

Ectopic Adipose Tissue In Subsistence Populations With Minimal Coronary Disease, Large Left Atria, And Very Low Rates Of Atrial Fibrillation, Randall C. Thompson, Benjamin C. Trumble, Daniel K. Cummings, Angela D. Neunuebel, Paul L. Hooper, Samuel Wann, Adel H. Allam, Frances Neunuebel, Benjamin D. Gans, Samantha I. King, Edmond Seabright, Caleb E. Finch, Margaret Gatz, Kenneth Buetow, Michael I. Miyamoto, Guido P. Lombardi, M. Linda Sutherland, James D. Sutherland, Christopher J. Ward, Madeleine J. Lee, Ashna Mahadev, Daniel Eid Rodriguez, David E. Michalik, Chris J. Rowan, Tianyu Cao, Jonathan Stieglitz, Cameron M. Quick, Gregory S. Thomas, Jagat Narula, Damini Dey, Michael Gurven, Hillard Kaplan

ESI Publications

Background

Methods

Challenging Life Events Of Undergraduate Students, Kristi Lewis, Gayle Roux, Catherine Dingley

The Qualitative Report

College students often face many difficult or stressful personal life events such as academic pressure, financial worries, family stress, or a relationship breakup. These events can impact their mental health and academic performance. Amid the growing mental health crisis on college campuses, it is important to explore the strategies that college students employ to tackle challenging life events. The purpose of this study was to (1) explore the experience of college undergraduates as they navigate challenging life events; and (2) examine strategies and resources utilized by the students. We conducted a qualitative descriptive study informed by phenomenology (Giorgi, 2009) using …

A 6-Month, Prospective Randomized Controlled Trial Of The Targeted Management (Team) Intervention Vs. Enhanced Treatment As Usual Among Ugandans At Risk For Stroke, Carla Conroy, Joy Yala, Christopher J. Burant, Shirley Moore, Martha Sajatovic

Faculty Scholarship

Background Among low and middle-income countries, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa, the stroke burden is severe, with increasing trends in stroke incidence, prevalence, and mortality. Aims This 6-month, prospective randomized controlled trial (RCT) compared a novel stroke risk reduction approach (TargetEd manAgeMent Intervention (TEAM)) vs. Enhanced Treatment as Usual (ETAU) in 247 Ugandans at risk for stroke. Methods Participants, enrolled across 3 Ugandan sites, were adults with high stroke risk. The primary outcome was a change in systolic blood pressure (SBP) from baseline to 6-month follow-up. Secondary outcomes included changes from baseline to 6 months on diastolic BP (DBP), serum lipids, …

The 10-Year Anniversary Of The Dissemination And Implementation Models In Health Interactive Webtool: History, Refinement, Use, And Guidance, Borsika A Rabin, Bryan Ford, Rachel G Tabak, Rebekah Gomes, Kera N Swanson, Sara Malone, Maggie Padek Kalman, Ross C Brownson, Russell E Glasgow

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Theories, models, and frameworks (TMFs) are essential tools in dissemination and implementation (D&I) research, yet selecting and applying the most appropriate TMF is routinely a challenge, particularly for those new to the field. To address this need, we developed the

Dynamics And Lipid Membrane Coupling Of The Ras-Raf Complex Revealed Via Multiscale Simulations, Timothy S. Carpenter, Fikret Aydin, Chris Neale, Que N. Van, Xiaohua Zhang, Harsh Bhatia, Jason W. Sidabras, Peter H. Frank, Konstantia Georgouli, Jeremy O.B. Tempkin, Violeta Burns Casamayor, Gulcin Gulten, Rebika Shrestha, Debanjan Goswami, Francesco Di Natale, Joseph R. Chavez, Liam G. Stanton, For Full Author List, See Comments Below

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

To gain molecular and mechanistic insights into initiation of the RAS-RAF signaling cascade, we developed and used a combination of multiscale simulation and experimental approaches. The influence and impact of the membrane on RAS and RAF proteins is a factor we are just beginning to understand and appreciate in more detail. Molecular simulation is an ideal methodology to further study this complicated relationship between the membrane and associated proteins. Our previous work using Multiscale Machine-learned Modeling Infrastructure investigated different lipid compositions solely around the KRAS4b protein and the interplay between protein behavior and these membrane environments. Multiscale Machine-learned Modeling Infrastructure …

Fort Hays State University Tiger Weekly, August 22, 2025, University Relations

Tiger Weekly Newsletters

No abstract provided.