Digital Commons Network^™

Development Of A Particulate Matter Sensor Network For Air Quality Monitoring In Indoor Settings And In Mines, Abdulrahman Bani

Masters Theses

"The importance of indoor air quality (IAQ), especially concerning particulate matter (PM), has become increasingly recognized due to its substantial impact on public health. Individuals spend a significant portion of their time indoors, where PM concentrations can exceed that of outdoors, leading to potential adverse health effects ranging from immediate irritation to long-term respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. The dynamic nature of indoor environments, combined with the diversity of PM sources, presents considerable challenges for effective IAQ monitoring and management. Traditional approaches to IAQ assessment often fall short, lacking the granularity and immediacy required to address these challenges adequately.

This abstract …

Bootstrapping Large N Qcd, Jan Albert Iglesias

Electronic Dissertations and Theses, 2010-current

We revisit from a modern bootstrap perspective the longstanding problem of solving Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD) in the large N limit. In particular, we set up a program to carve out the space of large N confining gauge theories using S-matrix bootstrap techniques, with the ultimate goal of cornering large N QCD. We begin by restricting to pion scattering. By simply imposing the full set of positivity constraints that follow from 2 → 2 pion scattering, we already derive universal bounds on the effective field theory (EFT) governing their low-energy interactions. We critically examine our exclusion plots, which exhibit some intriguing …

Disaggregating Longer-Term Trends From Seasonal Variations In Measured Pv System Performance, Chibuisi Chinasaokwu Okorieimoh, Brian Norton, Michael Conlon

Articles

Photovoltaic (PV) systems are widely adopted for renewable energy generation, but their performance is influenced by complex interactions between longer-term trends and seasonal variations. This study aims to remove these factors and provide valuable insights for optimising PV system operation. We employ comprehensive datasets of measured PV system performance over five years, focusing on identifying the distinct contributions of longer-term trends and seasonal effects. To achieve this, we develop a novel analytical framework that combines time series and statistical analytical techniques. By applying this framework to the extensive performance data, we successfully break down the overall PV system output into …

Qos-Aware Power-Optimized Path Selection For Data Center Networks (Q-Pops), Mohammed Nsaif, Gergely Kovásznai, Ali Malik, Ruairí De Fréin

Articles

Data centers consume significant amounts of energy, contributing indirectly to environmental pollution through greenhouse gas emissions during electricity generation. According to the Natural Resources Defense Council, information and communication technologies and networks account for roughly 10% of global energy consumption. Reducing power consumption in Data Center Networks (DCNs) is crucial, especially given that many data center components operate at full capacity even under low traffic conditions, resulting in high costs for both service providers and consumers. Current solutions often prioritize power optimization without considering Quality of Service (QoS). Services such as video streaming and Voice over IP (VoIP) are particularly …

Addressing The Complexity Of Spatial Teaching: A Narrative Review Of Barriers And Enablers, Ergi Bufasi, Ting Jun Lin, Ursa Benedicic, Marten Westerhof, Rohit Mishra, Dace Namsone, Inese Dudareva, Sheryl Sorby, Lena Gumaelius, Remke M. Klapwijk, Jeroen Spandaw, Brian Bowe, Colm O'Kane, Gavin Duffy, Marianna Pagkratidou, Jeffrey Buckley

Articles

Extensive research has established that spatial ability is a crucial factor for achieving success in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). However, challenges that educators encounter while teaching spatial skills remain uncertain. The purpose of this study is to develop a research framework that examines the interrelationships, barriers, and enablers amongst various educational components, including schools, teachers, students, classrooms, and training programs, that are encountered when teaching for spatial ability development. A thorough examination of international research, in combination with a detailed review of the primary Science and Mathematics curricula in Ireland, Latvia, Sweden, and the Netherlands, is undertaken to …

Reducing Falls In Adults On A Neurology Unit: An Evidence Based Quality Improvement Project, Kari Congenie, Sandra Scheidenhelm, Rachel Zastrow

DNP Scholarly Projects

BACKGROUND: Falls are a common concern in hospitalized adult patients affecting quality of life, length of stay, and cost.

LOCAL PROBLEM: A quality audit at a community hospital identified increased falls/falls with injury rates on a medical-surgical unit.

METHODS: A quality improvement initiative was implemented using a fall prevention toolkit to understand its effect on total fall/fall with injury rates, nursing knowledge, and nurse perceived efficacy.

INTERVENTIONS: The Fall Tailoring Interventions for Patient Safety (TIPS), an evidence-based toolkit, was implemented over five months.

RESULTS: Knowledge quiz scores were similar pre- and post-education. Fall rates and calls to the …

The Constitutionality Of Barring Undocumented Immigrants From Second Amendment Protections, Abby Vorhees

American University Law Review

Under current federal law, undocumented immigrants remain unable to access one of the most fundamental rights contained within our Constitution: the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms. Several undocumented immigrants have challenged the constitutionality of the federal prohibition (18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(5)(A)), resulting in a three-way circuit split on whether undocumented immigrants are protected by the Second Amendment. The Supreme Court, however, has remained silent on the issue, leaving undocumented immigrants unprotected.

The Supreme Court’s 2022 Second Amendment decision, N.Y. State Pistol & Rifle Ass’n v. Bruen, upended the traditional method of constitutional review, means-end scrutiny, in favor …

Today And Yesterday, Vol. 48, 2024, Illinois State University, Department Of History

Today and Yesterday

Newsletter of the Illinois State University Department of History

Responsible Governance And Tribal Customary Rights, Kekek Jason Stark

Faculty Law Review Articles

This article explores the question of how tribal constitutional law is interpreted and controlled by traditional tribal law principles in the context of tribal customary rights. Specifically, this article addresses the notion of whether an action, by the tribal government or a citizen, can infringe on the fundamental rights of citizens or whether the infringing action is limited by the customary obligation of responsible governance. This article addresses these competing views and argues that tribal courts can restore harmony—the goal of tribal law—by ensuring responsible governance through the appropriate balancing of tribal customary rights with the need for tribal government …

Wcbu Annual Report, 2024, Wcbu, Bradley University

WCBU Annual Report

Annual report for WCBU, an NPR Network radio station licensed to Bradley University and operated by Illinois State University via WGLT

Going Federal, Staying Stateside: Felons, Firearms, And The "Federalization" Of Crime, Jonathan Abel

American University Law Review

Scholars have long debated the federalization of crime. Proponents assert that federal prosecutions are more likely than state prosecutions to result in convictions and severe punishments, and thus more likely to deter crime. Opponents argue that federalization leads to the arbitrary, and even racist, punishment of a few unlucky defendants plucked from a sea of similarly situated peers. Everyone seems to agree about one thing, though: the federal system outstrips the state system in effectiveness and severity. Yet, no one has obtained the state-court data needed to substantiate these comparisons. This Article fills that gap with an examination of the …

Searching For Truth That Speaks To Power: Free Speech And Equality On Campus, Stephen M. Feldman

American University Law Review

University campuses are being rent apart in disputes pitting free expression against equality [read: diversity, equity, and inclusion]. Yet scholarly discussions and university declarations widely agree: While universities should encourage an inclusive educational environment, free-speech principles prohibit universities from restricting or punishing hate speech, group libel, and other forms of offensive expression. This Article argues that this prioritizing of free speech over equality on campus is mistaken. Equality should often be favored over free expression in campus settings. Although Supreme Court precedents are ambiguous, one can reasonably argue that the doctrine allows universities to restrict and punish offensive expression, including …

From Rancid To Reasonable: Unfair Methods Of Competition Under State Little Ftc Acts, Samuel Evan Milner

American University Law Review

When Congress gave the Federal Trade Commission the power to identify and enjoin unfair methods of competition, it did not create a parallel private right of action as it had for other antitrust laws. Yet approximately two dozen states have since enacted their own “Little FTC Acts,” under which private plaintiffs may sue for damages and other remedies. These poorly understood state laws are actively shaping American competition policy on a national scale. The Ninth Circuit recently affirmed the nationwide injunction that Epic Games obtained against Apple under California’s law despite concluding that Apple violated no federal or state antitrust …

Review Of Veterans Law Decisions Of The Federal Circuit 2022-2023 Edition, Yelena Duterte, Hugh Mcclean, Stacey-Rae Simcox

American University Law Review

In 2022 to 2023, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (“Federal Circuit”) continued its conversation with the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (“Veterans Court”), Department of Veterans Affairs (“VA”), and veterans to help sculpt the jurisprudence coming from the youngest of the federal courts, the Veterans Court. The Federal Circuit’s jurisprudence addressed ten main legal issues: class actions, petitions for writ of mandamus under the All Writs Act, defining standards of proof with the term “results from,” the benefit of the doubt doctrine post-Lynch, education benefits, less than honorable discharges, the rating schedule, implicit denials, equitable …

A Year In Review: The Federal Circuit's 2023 Government Contract Law Decisions, Sophie Marsh, Taylor Mcdaniels, Allison Moors

American University Law Review

This Article continues previous in-depth reviews of government contract law cases decided by the Federal Circuit and published by the American University Law Review. In 2023, the Federal Circuit clarified the appropriate standard of review, emphasizing that, more likely than not, the Boards of Contract Appeals should apply a de novo standard of review. Additionally, the court set significant judicial precedent by holding that the issues of party standing, timely raising a solicitation defect, and asserting a sum certain are nonjurisdictional. Finally, the court also issued decisions concerning implied-in-fact contracts, excusable delays, and the importance of reporting unallowable costs.

Healthcare Utilization And Clinical Characteristics Of Genetic Epilepsy In Electronic Health Records, Christian M Boßelmann, Alina Ivaniuk, Mark St John, Sara C Taylor, Gokul Krishnaswamy, Alex Milinovich, Costin Leu, Ajay Gupta, Elia M Pestana-Knight, Imad Najm, Dennis Lal

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Understanding the clinical characteristics and medical treatment of individuals affected by genetic epilepsies is instrumental in guiding selection for genetic testing, defining the phenotype range of these rare disorders, optimizing patient care pathways and pinpointing unaddressed medical need by quantifying healthcare resource utilization. To date, a matched longitudinal cohort study encompassing the entire spectrum of clinical characteristics and medical treatment from childhood through adolescence has not been performed. We identified individuals with genetic and non-genetic epilepsies and onset at ages 0–5 years by linkage across the Cleveland Clinic Health System. We used natural language processing to extract medical terms and …

Anesthetized Animal Experiments For Neuroscience Research, Shin Nagayama, Sanae Hasegawa-Ishii, Shu Kikuta

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Brain research has progressed with anesthetized animal experiments for a long time. Recent progress in research techniques allows us to measure neuronal activity in awake animals combined with behavioral tasks. The trends became more prominent in the last decade. This new research style triggers the paradigm shift in the research of brain science, and new insights into brain function have been revealed. It is reasonable to consider that awake animal experiments are more ideal for understanding naturalistic brain function than anesthetized ones. However, the anesthetized animal experiment still has advantages in some experiments. To take advantage of the anesthetized animal …

Rectifying Harm Through Care-Based Practices: How Journalists Might Tend To Disengaged Communities, Sue Robinson, Patrick R. Johnson

College of Communication Faculty Research and Publications

Journalists struggle to engage with disengaged communities, especially conservative and BIPOC groups. In this research, we suggest that an ethic of care, born from developmental psychology, can be a strategy for trust building. Using a multi-phased, multi-method approach through interviews, surveys, and a focus group, we found that community members believe journalists must be more careful and intentional with cultural and political language relating to ideology, racial identity, and sexual orientation. This study shows that journalists must address harm by contending with negative news experiences, nuancing labels and language associated with their communities, and adopting a combination of five care-based …

Extending Athlete Reputational Crises: Theorizing Underperformance Crises And The Flip Appeal, Lillian B. Feder, Diana Zulli

College of Communication Faculty Research and Publications

Crisis management scholarship recommends matching crisis response with crisis type to repair reputational damage. However, focusing on the corporate context has limited our understanding of crisis types and available responses. One crisis context yet to be extensively explored is sport/fan interactions online, an increasing site for athlete crises. This article addresses this gap, developing a theoretical framework for underperformance crises, where online publics perceive athletic underperformance as a norm violation that merits excessive hate toward athletes. Using the crisis case of basketball player E. J. Liddell, whose underperformance during a 2021 March Madness game resulted in widespread online harassment, we …

Simultaneous Submission Of Seven Ctsa Proposals: Um1, K12, R25, T32-Predoctoral, T32-Postdoctoral, And Rc2: Strategies, Evaluation, And Lessons Learned, Carolina Lema, Kwai Wa Cheng, Delanderia M Anderson, Charles C Miller, Daniel D Karp, David D Mcpherson, Satya Sree N Kolar

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Translation is the process of turning observations in the research laboratory, clinic, and community into interventions that improve people's health. The Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSA) program is a National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) initiative to advance translational science and research. Currently, 64 "CTSA hubs" exist across the nation. Since 2006, the Houston-based Center for Clinical Translational Sciences (CCTS) has assembled a well-integrated, high-impact hub in Texas that includes six partner institutions within the state, encompassing ∼23,000 sq. miles and over 16 million residents. To achieve the NCATS goal of "more treatments for all people more quickly," …

Error In Jump Height Estimation Using The Flight Time Method: Simulation Of The Effect Of Ankle Position Between Takeoff And Landing, Carlos Gonçalves, Roberto Baptista, James Tufano, Anthony J. Blazevich, Amilton Vieira

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

During vertical jump evaluations in which jump height is estimated from flight time (FT), the jumper must maintain the same body posture between vertical takeoff and landing. As maintaining identical posture is rare during takeoff and landing between different jump attempts and in different individuals, we simulated the effect of changes in ankle position from takeoff to landing in vertical jumping to determine the range of errors that might occur in real-life scenarios. Our simulations account for changes in center of mass position during takeoff and landing, changes in ankle position, different subject statures (1.44–1.98 m), and poor to above-average …

Measuring Attitude Change In Nursing Students After Completion Of A First Nations Peoples’ Health Unit: Embedding A Validated Tool In Learning And Assessment Practices, Kylie Mccullough, Angela Genoni, Melanie Murray, Darren Garvey, Linda Coventry

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

The health inequities experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, rooted in the historical and ongoing negative impacts of colonisation and disrupted traditional lifestyles, sees higher rates of illness and hospitalisations, increased morbidity and higher premature death rates than other Australians. Nurses represent the majority of Australia’s health workforce and nursing students must have knowledge to provide culturally safe care to Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. An Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples’ Health and Wellbeing unit was developed and introduced into an undergraduate nursing curriculum. This project aimed to determine the effectiveness of the unit content …

The Impact Of Domain Name Server (Dns) Over Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (Https) On Cyber Security: Limitations, Challenges, And Detection Techniques, Muhammad Dawood, Shanshan Tu, Chuangbai Xiao, Muhammad Haris, Hisham Alasmary, Muhammad Waqas, Sadaqat Ur Rehman

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

The DNS over HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure) (DoH) is a new technology that encrypts DNS traffic, enhancing the privacy and security of end-users. However, the adoption of DoH is still facing several research challenges, such as ensuring security, compatibility, standardization, performance, privacy, and increasing user awareness. DoH significantly impacts network security, including better end-user privacy and security, challenges for network security professionals, increasing usage of encrypted malware communication, and difficulty adapting DNS-based security measures. Therefore, it is important to understand the impact of DoH on network security and develop new privacy-preserving techniques to allow the analysis of DoH traffic …

Classification Of Vaginal Cleanliness Grades Through Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectral Analysis Via The Deep-Learning Variational Autoencoder: Long Short-Term Memory Model, Jia Wei Tang, Xin Ru Wen, Hui Min Chen, Jie Chen, Kun Hui Hong, Quan Yuan, Muhammad Usman, Liang Wang

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

In this study, it is aimed to establish a novel method based on a deep-learning-guided surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) technique to achieve rapid and accurate classification of vaginal cleanliness levels. We proposed a variational autoencoder (VAE) approach to enhance spectral quality, coupled with a deep learning algorithm long short-term memory (LSTM) neural network to analyze SERS spectra produced by vaginal secretions. The performance of various machine learning (ML) algorithms is assessed using multiple evaluation metrics. Finally, the reliability of the optimal model is tested using blind test data (N = 10/group for each cleanliness level). The data quality of the …

The Heroic Character, The Neo-Liberal Productive Citizen, And The Feminist Filmmaker, Catherine Gough-Brady

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

I recut an observational documentary about a woman called Bekti into a more conventional hero’s journey for a broadcaster. The hero’s journey narrative requires large obstacles to be overcome by the hero in their search for their ego. In this documentary the obstacle is connecting experimental science with communities with the aim to reduce dengue fever, and the hero’s ‘ego’ is to be an effective communicator. Using the hero’s journey style of narrative reduced the importance of the domestic aspects of Bekti’s life because these scenes did not contribute to overcoming obstacles or finding ego. To explore these changes use …

Blind Source Separation And Denoising Of Underwater Acoustic Signals, Ruba Zaheer, Iftekhar Ahmad, Quoc Viet Phung, Daryoush Habibi

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Due to the addition of new underwater vessels and other natural noise contributors, the underwater environment is becoming congested and noisy. Undersea monitoring sonobuoys receive multiple mixed acoustic signals from different vessels that need to be separated and identified in the presence of underwater noise (UWN). It is extremely challenging to separate highly correlated acoustic signals from a noisy mixture without prior knowledge of mixing process and propagation channel. Also, in many cases, the separated signals from the noisy mixture doesn’t accurately describe the correct signal. This study proposes a novel multi-stage method to separate underwater acoustic source signals from …

Cyberbullying Text Identification: A Deep Learning And Transformer-Based Language Modeling Approach, Khalid Saifullah, Muhammad Ibrahim Khan, Suhaima Jamal, Iqbal H. Sarker

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

In the contemporary digital age, social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube serve as vital channels for individuals to express ideas and connect with others. Despite fostering increased connectivity, these platforms have inadvertently given rise to negative behaviors, particularly cyberbullying. While extensive research has been conducted on high-resource languages such as English, there is a notable scarcity of resources for low-resource languages like Bengali, Arabic, Tamil, etc., particularly in terms of language modeling. This study addresses this gap by developing a cyberbullying text identification system called BullyFilterNeT tailored for social media texts, considering Bengali as a test case. The …

Fluid Biomarkers In Cerebral Amyloid Angiopathy, Seyed M. Savar, Bin Ma, Eugene Hone, Farzana Jahan, Shaun Markovic, Steve Pedrini, Soudabeh Shemehsavar, Vandhana Easwaran, Kevin Taddei, Samantha Gardener, Jasmeer P. Chhatwal, Ellis S. Van Etten, Matthias J. P. Van Osch, Daniel Clarke, Anastazija Gnjec, Mark A. Van Buchem, Marieke J. H. Wermer, Graeme J. Hankey, Steven M. Greenberg, Ralph N. Martins, Hamid R. Sohrabi

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA) is a type of cerebrovascular disorder characterised by the accumulation of amyloid within the leptomeninges and small/medium-sized cerebral blood vessels. Typically, cerebral haemorrhages are one of the first clinical manifestations of CAA, posing a considerable challenge to the timely diagnosis of CAA as the bleedings only occur during the later disease stages. Fluid biomarkers may change prior to imaging biomarkers, and therefore, they could be the future of CAA diagnosis. Additionally, they can be used as primary outcome markers in prospective clinical trials. Among fluid biomarkers, blood-based biomarkers offer a distinct advantage over cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers …

Performance Of Gender Diversity On Board Of Directors: The Case Of Indonesia, Juniarti, Ferry Jie

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

This study further explores women’s role in top management in Indonesia, where men still dominate that position. This study underlines the role of women’s boards of commissioners in producing better financial performance in the specific sectors, manufacturing and service sectors, where the power of women to lead these sectors is more optimal. The sample is selected from the Indonesia Stock Exchange for the period 2009–2018. The final sample is 780 observations. This study applies panel data, which is more robust when controlling heterogeneity. Data panel regression is applied to analyze data. This study finds that gender diversity harms market-based performance, …

Advancing Natural Hydrogen Exploration: Headspace Gas Analysis In Water-Logged Environments, Krista Davies, Lionel Esteban, Alireza Keshavarz, Stefan Iglauer

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Natural hydrogen has gained prominence as a potential contributor to the low-carbon energy landscape; however, exploration techniques are still evolving. Current methods primarily rely on dry soil gas studies or gas vent measurements. Because gas vents are scarce and groundwater inhibits hydrogen gas flux from the soil, other field detection techniques are necessary. This research paper presents a novel approach for advancing natural hydrogen exploration through the analysis of headspace gas of agitated groundwater extracted from dedicated shallow boreholes to better estimate the hydrogen gas flux and its variations with time. Several shallow boreholes were drilled in Western Australia on …