Digital Commons Network^™

Debiasing Session-Based Recommendation For The Digital Economy: Propensity-Aware Training And Temporal Contrast On Graph Transformers, Junru Si

Double Helix Methodology

Session-based recommender systems (SBRs) are critically impaired by exposure bias in observational training logs, causing models to overfit to logging policies rather than true user preferences. This bias distorts offline evaluation and harms generalization, particularly for long-tail items. To address this, we propose the Propensity- and Temporal-consistency Enhanced Graph Transformer (PTE-GT), a principled framework that enhances a recent interval-aware graph transformer backbone with two synergistic training-time modules. This Graph Neural Network -based architecture is adept at modeling the complex, graph-structured nature of session data, capturing intricate item transitions that sequential models might miss. First, we introduce a propensity-aware (PA) optimization …

Quantitative Assessment Of The Impact Of Soil–Atmosphere Coupling On Regional Climate In The Low-Latitude Highland Of Southeast Asia, Liqian Zhang

Double Helix Methodology

The low-latitude highland (LLH) of Southeast Asia is a hot spot of soil–atmosphere coupling, and variations in the soil temperature and moisture in this region have a significant effect on the regional climate. In this study, the characteristics of the soil–atmosphere coupling were analyzed, two decoupling numerical tests were designed, and the impacts of the soil temperature and moisture on the regional climate in the LLH were assessed. Finally, the key factors of the soil–atmosphere coupling were explored, and their contributions to air temperature and precipitation were evaluated. The primary conclusions are as follows. (1) The soil–atmosphere coupling in the …

Influencing Factors And Forecasting Of European Union Allowance Price: A Comparative Study Using Machine Learning Models, Zengming Liu

Double Helix Methodology

The European Union Allowance (EUA) is acknowledged as a significant mechanism to motivate EU enterprises to decrease emissions and fulfill the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Investigating the influencing factors and forecasting trajectory of the EUA prices is hindered by the nonlinearity and non-stationarity characteristics of the EUA prices. This study dissects the intricate relationships of energy prices, financial market variables, and climate factors influencing the EUA prices by the use of Vector Autoregression (VAR), Granger causality tests, Impulse response function(IRF), and Newey-West OLS model. The forecasting results of EUA prices are compared using machine learning models involving BP …

The Impact Of Industrial Structure And Economic Development On Environmental Quality: Evidence From Rural China, Shushu Li

Double Helix Methodology

Utilizing dynamic panel data from 29 Chinese regions (2012–2022) and a system GMM approach, this study investigates the nexus between industrial structure, economic development, and rural environmental quality. The findings indicate a U-shaped relationship for agriculture and real GDP per capita (supporting the EKC hypothesis), but an inverted U-shaped relationship for the secondary and tertiary industries. Additionally, a faster regional economic growth rate is significantly associated with better environmental quality, implying that economic growth has facilitated rural environmental improvement. © 2025 by the authors.

https://doi.org/10.3390/su18010112

Bridging Scale-Mismatch: Managing Neglected Anthropogenic Stresses On Environmental Sustainability On The Tibet Plateau, Jie Fan

Double Helix Methodology

Global plateau regions face intensifying anthropogenic activities, yet sustainability efforts are frequently constrained by uncertainties in stress assessment and mismatches between governance scales and environmental processes. To address this gap, we developed an integrated multi-source framework to assess anthropogenic stress, overcoming the limitations of traditional single-factor approaches. Empirical evidence from the Tibet Plateau indicates that although overall stress levels remain low, high-intensity stress exhibits notable clustering. This spatial heterogeneity is identified as the fundamental driver of governance scale mismatches. We further reveal compounded spatial and hierarchical mismatches between governance units and stressor distribution, evidenced by 48.6 % of township units …

Interpersonal Satisfaction And Classroom Silence In Chinese Universities: The Mediating Role Of Social Anxiety, Siguang Zhang

Double Helix Methodology

Introduction: Within Chinese universities, classroom silence, while culturally acceptable, may indicate underlying psychological distress that impedes academic engagement. Drawing upon social-cognitive theory, this study investigates whether social anxiety mediates the relationship between interpersonal satisfaction and students’ in-class silence. Methods: A cross-sectional survey of 565 undergraduates from six Chinese universities examined interpersonal satisfaction, social anxiety, and three distinct behavioral indicators of silence (large-lecture, small-discussion, and laboratory contexts). Confirmatory factor analysis established convergent and discriminant validity; Cronbach’s α coefficients ranged from 0.86 to 0.91, demonstrating good internal consistency. A structural equation model (SEM) was employed to test the hypothesized mediation pathway while …

An Impact Assessment Of The Effectiveness Of Utilizing Informal Health Communication Interventions To Spread Health Recommendations And Change Public Perception, Lina Mohamed Ezzat Ahmed Abdel Mawgoud

Theses and Dissertations

Brain health is an increasingly urgent but critically under-addressed public health priority in Egypt and the wider MENA region. Despite its centrality to aging, productivity, and overall quality of life, public understanding of brain health remains limited, and stigma continues to shape responses to dementia and cognitive decline. This study evaluates the effectiveness of informal, culturally adapted health communication as a tool to shift perception, increase awareness, and promote behavior change among non-medically trained adults in Egypt.

Grounded in global evidence on cognitive reserve, neuroplasticity, and the life-course approach to brain health, the intervention translated expert-informed brain health recommendations into …

A Computational Study Of The Chemomechanics Of Paracetamol Polymorphs: Towards Improving Drug Tabletability, Karim Nader Samra

Theses and Dissertations

The mechanical properties of pharmaceutical crystals are of great importance in tablet manufacturing. Also, knowing the mechanical properties of different polymorphs of the same crystal can reduce the overall production cost. In this study, computational work was done via performing density functional theory calculations on 3 paracetamol crystal polymorphs Form I, II, and III. Understanding the chemical bonding helps in predicting the key elastic properties for different crystallographic directions. In Form II, lattice vector C is dominated with the intermolecular hydrogen bond OH…O giving it the stiffest Young Modulus and the least Poisson’s ratio. Then comes the A-Axis which contains …

Reachability In Interactive Chemical Reaction Networks, Aberto Avila-Jimenez, Bin Fu, Elise Grizzell, Robert Schweller, Tim Wylie

Computer Science Faculty Publications

This paper studies the effects of interactivity on molecular computation, specifically in the Step Chemical Reaction Networks model (Step CRNs), by adding the ability for a user to interact with the system by selecting which species to add at each step, or by having some control over which reactions execute. The two proposed variants are Interactive CRNs and Randomized Interactive CRNs. We show that in Interactive CRNs, even when restricted to void (deletion-only) rules of relatively small size, if a user can decide which species to add at each step based on the configuration, reachability is PSPACE-complete when bounded and …

Developing A Welfare Index Based On Maqasid Shariah: Assessing The Contribution Of Hajj Fund Management In Indonesia, Agus Khoeron Fadli, Nugroho Bhanuaji Susanto, Fikri Rafif Nurcahyo

International Journal of Islamic Economics and Business Sustainability

Purpose – This study evaluates the welfare contribution of the Ummah’s Endowment Fund (Dana Abadi Umat, DAU) within Indonesia’s Hajj fund management by constructing a Maqasid Shariah-based Welfare Index (WI–DAU) to assess whether allocations translate into community welfare benefits.

Design/methodology/approach – Using Al-Najjar’s Maqasid Shariah framework, the research combines expert judgment and practitioner insights with the Analytic Network Process (ANP) to derive weights for welfare dimensions and program activities. The index is calculated from planned budgets and realized DAU allocations over 2018–2024.

Findings – The weighting results place safeguarding the physical environment as the most important dimension (0.299), while safeguarding …

Financial And Social Maslahah Efficiency Of Bpkh In Managing, Hapid Durohman, Nanik Shofiatin, Danial Muhammad Wirdyansyah

International Journal of Islamic Economics and Business Sustainability

Purpose – This study assesses the financial and social (maslahah) efficiency of Indonesia’s Hajj Fund Management Agency (BPKH) over 2018–2024, examining how effectively pilgrimage funds generate returns and public-benefit distributions consistent with Islamic finance principles and BPKH’s mandate.

Design/methodology/approach – An input-oriented Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) model under Variable Returns to Scale (VRS) evaluates the transformation of inputs—total managed funds and operational expenditures—into outputs: investment income, benefit disbursements to pilgrims, and allocations to social welfare programs. Data come from BPKH audited annual reports (2018–2024). Robustness is assessed using Bootstrap DEA and Stochastic Frontier Analysis (SFA) to test stability and cross-method …

Democracy And Environmental Sustainability: A New Study Based On Gdp Per Capita In Developing Islamic Countries (Oic), Basri Basri, Abdullah Abdullah, Herianti Herianti

International Journal of Islamic Economics and Business Sustainability

Purpose - This study investigates the moderating role of democracy in shaping environmental sustainability, measured by CO₂ emissions, across 35 developing member countries of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).

Design/methodology/approach - A dual-model econometric framework is employed, combining the System Generalized Method of Moments (SYS-GMM) to address endogeneity and dynamic panel bias with the Panel Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) model to capture both short-run dynamics and long-run equilibrium. This approach enables a nuanced analysis of how democracy conditions the effects of GDP per capita, agricultural productivity, and renewable energy on emissions.

Findings - The results reveal a complex and …

Design Of Novel Formwork System And Development Of Numerical Model For Comparison Between Formwork Systems, Ahmed Yehia Abdel Aziz El Sayed

Theses and Dissertations

The formwork industry has witnessed major breakthroughs in the last decades. However, they required huge amount of materials leading to negative environmental impacts. Also, the commercially available systems have big number of accessories and requires the extensive use of units to cover the areas to be poured. There was an attempt to target all these disadvantages by introducing the Funicular Arched Steel Truss (FAST) system. However, this system had its own drawbacks, and this is why the researcher introduced an extendable version named the “Extendable Funicular Arched Steel Truss (EAST) system.”

To reach the final version of the EAST design, …

Disinterestedness In Bankruptcy Cases: Does It Really Matter?, Michelle M. Harner

BYU Law Review

The title of this Essay asks whether disinterestedness (of professionals) in bankruptcy cases really matters. Spoiler alert: Yes, it really does.

The Role Of Reflexivity In Collecting And Selecting Leds In A Phenomenological Study, Pilar Folgueiras, Valeria De Ormaechea, Amanda Aliende Da Matta

The Qualitative Report

This article addresses the methodological tension between description and interpretation in a phenomenological study on young women's political participation. The researchers explore how this tension influenced decisions about data collection and selection in applied hermeneutic phenomenology. A reflexive, meta-analytic approach is employed to examine research materials—epistemological diaries, team discussions, working documents, and researchers’ accounts—tracing how empirical material was produced and selected. Four distinct stages in the data collection process are identified and reveal how interpretative dilemmas emerged in the formulation of interview scripts, data gathering strategies, and narrative selection. The findings indicated that participants’ descriptions already contain a first level …

Thresholds Of Wave Forcing: Implications For Atoll Reef Dynamics Under Sea Level Rise, Mathilde Lindhart, Gerd Masselink, Ashley Holsclaw, Tim Scott

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

We investigate the response of shallow reef flow to tidal variability and wave exposure during a 4-month field campaign in southern Huvadhu Atoll, Maldives. Incident waves breaking on steep fore reefs and reef crests generate a setup proportional to offshore wave height that drives a cross-reef flow. We emphasize a critical threshold—where the depth on the reef flat equals the depth at wave breaking—that separates two distinct reef flow regimes: one dominated by strong, unidirectional flow from the ocean into the lagoon and another where wave breaking ceases, flow rates decrease, and occasionally reverse direction. Recognizing the relative importance of …

Factors Associated With Upstaging In Patients With Resectable Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: A Modern Institutional Sample, Sneha Alaparthi, Hamza Rshaidat, Luke Meredith, Scott H. Koeneman, Christina Grindley, Jacob Heilizer, Purab Kothari, Prarthna Chandar, Tyler Grenda, Nathaniel R. Evans Iii, Olugbenga T. Okusanya

Department of Surgery Faculty Papers

BACKGROUND: There is significant value in predicting and better assessing patients who are at risk of post-surgery upstaging in lung cancer. The objective of this study is to review patients who were upstaged following resection and evaluate their clinical and demographic data to elucidate which factors portend an increased risk of pathologic upstaging at our institution (the Thomas Jefferson University Hospital).

METHODS: A retrospective review of institutional data was performed between 2011 and 2023. Patients with stage I-II non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) were included. Patients were excluded if they received neoadjuvant systemic therapy, including chemotherapy and/or immunotherapy, and were …

Student Mentees’ Perceptions Of Research Proposal Mentorship Using The Critical Incident Technique, Hendrik Jacob Maruanaya, Corneles Rubenaser Apalem, Karolis Anaktototy

The Qualitative Report

This qualitative study explored how undergraduate student mentees in an English-as-a-Foreign-Language (EFL) context perceive effective research proposal mentorship. Conducted within the English Education Study Program at Pattimura University, Indonesia, the study employed the Critical Incident Technique (CIT) to capture student reflections on specific mentoring experiences. Seven undergraduate students who had completed their research proposals participated in in-depth interviews, sharing both effective and ineffective mentoring incidents. Thematic analysis reveals three key characteristics of effective mentorship: (a) supportive mentorship that fosters emotional safety and sustained motivation; (b) effective guidance, characterized by dialogic, actionable feedback and modeling of research practices; and (c) mentor …

Preoperative Malnutrition Is Associated With Increased Postoperative Complications Following Lumbar Fusion: A Propensity-Matched Analysis, Ali Mehaidli, Muaaz Wajahath, Jad Lawand, Omar Abdalla, Lorenzo Deveza, Noah Hodson, Ryan J Berger, Kevin Taliaferro

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Background: Lumbar fusion (LF) is a common surgical intervention for degenerative spinal conditions but carries significant short- and long-term risks. Preoperative malnutrition, characterized by low serum albumin or leukocyte counts, impairs wound healing and increases susceptibility to infection, yet its influence on LF outcomes remains underexplored. This study evaluates the association between preoperative malnutrition and long-term postoperative outcomes following LF.

Methods: Adult patients undergoing LF between 2003 and 2023 were identified in the TriNetX US Collaborative Network. Malnutrition was defined as serum albumin < 3.5 g/dL or leukocyte count < 1,500/mm3 within 1 year preoperatively. A 1:1 propensity score match was performed for demographics, comorbidities, surgical approach, and body mass index (BMI), yielding two cohorts (n=20,693 each). Ninety-day and 5‑year postoperative outcomes were compared using hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs).

Results: Malnourished patients experienced significantly higher 90‑day rates of transfusion (8.4% vs. 4.5%; HR 1.87, 95% CI: …

Ai-Driven Stratified Modeling For Early Liver Disease Detection: A Comparative Study Of Ensemble And Conventional Machine Learning Classifiers, Ghadeer Murtadha Ali, Ali Aqeel Hadi, Mustafa Abdulkareem Abbas, Abdullah Alkarar Mohammad, Ahmed Fadhil Abdulhussein

AUIQ Technical Engineering Science

Background: Early prediction of liver disease remains challenging in routine clinical diagnostics due to the multifactorial nature of hepatic dysfunction and the limited discriminative capacity of conventional laboratory-only assessments.

Objective: This study aims to develop and rigorously evaluate a robust machine learning framework for binary liver disease classification, emphasizing predictive stability, diagnostic balance (sensitivity–specificity), and statistical reproducibility across repeated experiments.

Methodology: A structured dataset of 1,700 records with 11 features representing demographic, behavioral, genetic, and clinical determinants was used to train and compare five supervised models: CatBoost, AdaBoost, Random Forest, Support Vector Machine (SVM), and Decision Tree. Performance was assessed …

Review And Revision Of A Preclerkship Ophthalmology Curriculum By Senior Medical Students, Serina S Applebaum, Leena Surapaneni, Sofia Miguez, Christina Jayaraj, Phillip Braun, John Encandela, Ninani Kombo

Journal of Academic Ophthalmology

Background: Curricular time dedicated to ophthalmology is limited in undergraduate medical education. High-quality, early exposure to ophthalmology is necessary both as foundational training for all future physicians and to foster interest in the field.

Purpose: Through a student-led review, the present study aimed to evaluate and revise the preclinical ophthalmology curriculum at a medical school in the Northeastern United States.

Methods: Four senior medical students systematically evaluated the completeness and instructional effectiveness of preclinical ophthalmology curriculum materials for the 2024-2025 academic year. We evaluated alignment of content with the Association of University Professors of Ophthalmology (AUPO) standardized …

Human-Machine Communication: Complete Volume. Volume 12

Human-Machine Communication

This is the complete volume of HMC Volume 12.

Normalizing Ai: The Evanishing Effect And Rethinking The Machine Heuristic, Bumju Jung, Cameron W. Piercy, Patric R. Spence

Human-Machine Communication

This study examines how people evaluate factual claims attributed to human journalists versus artificial intelligence (AI) news bots, and how these evaluations are shaped by individual endorsement of the machine heuristic. An online experiment (N = 233) used a 2 (Agent: human vs. AI) × 2 (Information Veracity: accurate vs. inaccurate) design in which participants viewed a short tweet embedded in either a human or AI profile and then rated perceptions of source credibility, objectivity, bias, and accuracy. Endorsement of an AI-focused machine heuristic was significantly associated with higher source credibility, perceived objectivity, and perceived accuracy, and lower perceived bias, …

Ai Humanizers, Pragmatists, Skeptics: A Cluster Analysis Of Normative Attitudes For Ai’S Capabilities And Roles, Kate K. Mays, Ekaterina Novozhilova

Human-Machine Communication

This study explores people’s attitudes about artificial intelligence’s (AI) capabilities through a normative lens. Drawing from literature on phenomenological, ontological, and heuristic judgments about machines, we aim to better understand what capabilities people think AI should be able to have and how that relates to enthusiasm about having AI take certain roles in their lives. Survey participants (N = 601) were grouped via two-step clustering based on their attitudes, revealing three clusters: AI humanizers, who expect empathy and social interaction from AI; AI pragmatists, who expect cognitive capabilities; and AI skeptics, who prefer AI with limited human-like traits and emphasize …

Explain. Write. Edit. Summarise: An Exploratory Study On Agency Negotiations In Student-Chatbot Conversations, Árni Már Einarsson Mr, Ekaterina Pashevich

Human-Machine Communication

LLM-based chatbots such as ChatGPT have given technologies that traditionally operated on the back end a user-friendly, conversational interface. Their rapid adoption among students has prompted universities worldwide to issue guidelines and re-examine existing practices. Supplementing prior research based on discourse analysis and self-reported measures (e.g., surveys and interviews), we propose an approach for analyzing naturally occurring student–chatbot interactions, rooted in conversation analysis of chats (n = 503) donated by eight current Danish university students. The analysis identifies conversational patterns across three main types of activities and examines how agency is negotiated across the structural dimensions of signification, domination, and …

The Epistemic Power Of Human-Machine Communication, Katrin Etzrodt, Autumn P. Edwards

Human-Machine Communication

This editorial introduces Volume 12 of Human–Machine Communication by positioning communicative machines as epistemic provocateurs that unsettle inherited distinctions among agency, meaning, and relation. Rather than treating these disruptions as anomalies to be resolved, the editorial argues that Human–Machine Communication (HMC) is distinctively equipped to register, analyze, and sustain such epistemological tensions. Drawing on philosophical traditions from Aristotle to Marx and Heidegger, the authors show how contemporary communicative machines simultaneously strain multiple historical settlements that once stabilized human–machine boundaries. The volume frames HMC as a “seismograph” for and as a “practice of” epistemological change, tracing how agency and meaning are …

A Review Of Books And Borrowing 1750–1830: An Analysis Of Scottish Borrowers' Registers, Sophie Coulombeau

ABO: Interactive Journal for Women in the Arts, 1640–1830

No abstract provided.

Still Scribbling: Reflections On The Grub Street Project At Twenty Years, Allison Muri

ABO: Interactive Journal for Women in the Arts, 1640–1830

This article reflects on twenty years of the Grub Street Project, assessing its sustainability and the design principles and editorial practices that have supported its continuity and coherence from 2005 to 2025.

Teaching Phillis Wheatley Peters’S “On Being Brought From Africa To America” For The First Time In An Online Undergraduate Women’S Literature Course, Shazia Khan

ABO: Interactive Journal for Women in the Arts, 1640–1830

As one of Phillis Wheatley Peters’ most famous poems, “On Being Brought from Africa to America” is often introduced to undergraduates; however, it is also an often-misunderstood text by undergraduate and graduate students alike when they first read it. Students often believe that Wheatley Peters is happy about her condition as an enslaved person in America and out of Africa. But upon deeper analysis of her word choice, use of punctuation, and biblical references, a reader can see her unique voice as an enslaved person criticizing slavery through sarcasm. Such responses can discourage instructors from teaching the poem, especially in …

Managerial Forms: Narrative, Information, And Household Government In The Diaries Of Sarah Cowper, Robert Stearn

ABO: Interactive Journal for Women in the Arts, 1640–1830

The diary of Sarah Cowper (written 1700-16) is characterized by elaborate techniques of information management and a sustained attention to the fractious emotional dynamics of her household. Bringing together historical scholarship on domestic service and literary analyses of organizing practices in print and manuscript, the article argues that the finding devices in Cowper’s seven-volume diary disclose a practical knowledge both textual and social—one which took the affective dynamics of the household as its object, but which was also shaped by and afloat in those dynamics. The article is in two parts. The first explores how Cowper’s information management practices were …