Digital Commons Network^™

Recognition Of Handwritten English Numerals Based On Combining Structural And Statistical Features, Khawla Jalil, Hamsa D. Majeed

Iraqi Journal of Computers, Communications, Control and Systems Engineering

Generally, pattern recognition considered a strong challenge in many information processing research fields. The aim of this paper is to propose a highly accurate model for recognizing a handwritten English numeral through efficiently extracting the most valuable features of a certain handwritten numeral or digit. The handwritten English Numerals Recognition Model (HENRM) is proposed in this paper. The features extraction of the proposal based on combining both statistical and structural features of the certain numeral sample image. Mainly, the proposed HENCM has four phases which are image acquisition, image preprocessing, features extraction, and classification. In fact, four feature extraction approaches …

Interring The Immigration Rule Of Lenity, Patrick J. Glen

Nebraska Law Review

The immigration rule of lenity has haunted immigration jurisprudence since its initial iteration in 1947. But as with any spectral entity, its existence is more ephemeral than real. The rule was meant to be a tiebreaker of sorts: a canon that where a provision of the immigration laws was ambiguous, the courts should impose the more lenient construction. It has never, however, been the dispositive basis for a holding of the Supreme Court. Rather, to the extent it has been referenced, it has been trotted out only as a rhetorical device to sanction a decision reached on other grounds. Even …

Investing In Leadership Development: A Tool For Systems Change In The Community Health Center Field, Michael P. Arnold, Natalie J. Blackmur, Brenda Solórzano, Carolyn Wang Kong, Bobbie Wunsch, Sunita Mutha

The Foundation Review

Over the course of 12 years, the Blue Shield of California Foundation committed nearly $20 million to growing a pool of community health center leaders who were prepared to be effective agents of change in their organizations and in the safety net field. This signature investment, the Clinic Leadership Institute, was implemented in partnership with the Healthforce Center at University of California, San Francisco, in anticipation of a generation of California health center leaders beginning to transition into retirement.

During the institute's 10 cohorts, access to community health centers dramatically increased with the Affordable Care Act, and this — coupled …

Rethinking Streets For Physical Distancing, Marc Schlossberg, Rebecca Lewis, Aliza Whalen, Clare Haley, Danielle Lewis, Natalie Kataoka, John Larson-Friend

TREC Final Reports

This report summarizes the primary output of this project, a book of COVID-era street reconfiguration case studies called Rethinking Streets During COVID-19: An Evidence-Based Guide to 25 Quick Redesigns for Physical Distancing, Public Use, and Spatial Equity. COVID-era needs have accelerated the process that many communities use to make street transformations due to: a need to remain physically distanced from others outside our immediate household; a need for more outdoor space close to home in every part of every community to access and enjoy; a need for more space to provide efficient mobility for essential workers in particular; and a …

Second Languange Acquisition Of /S/ -Weakinging In A Study Abroad Context, Earl K. Brown, Alicia Harley, Bret Linford

Faculty Publications

This study examines the second language (L2) development of variable /s/-weakening in the spontaneous speech of L2 learners of Spanish who studied abroad in either Dominican Republic, where /s/-weakening is widespread, or central Spain, where /s/-weakening is much less common. Learners’ realizations of /s/ were coded impressionistically and acoustically by measuring voicing, center of gravity, and duration. The results show that regardless of the study abroad location, students did not change the amount of sibilance they produced over time. However, they became more nativelike with respect to /s/-voicing and duration. Additionally, whereas some linguistic factors were found to significantly constrain …

Understanding The Psychosocial Factors Affecting Prostate Cancer Screening In African Immigrant Men, Nipher M. Malika

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Prostate cancer(PCa) is the leading non-cutaneous cancer in men worldwide. Black men are disproportionately affected with a risk of 1 in 4 where they tend to develop PCa younger than most men, are diagnosed with a more aggressive disease, are more likely to advance to a higher metastatic state, and die at a higher rate than any other ethnic group. Age appropriate screening via the prostate-specific antigen test and digital rectal examination is critical and standard clinical practice, however, Black men have the lowest engagement in timely preventative health screenings and medical treatment. African-born immigrants are one of the fastest …

Affirmative Inaction: A Quantitative Analysis Of Progress Toward “Critical Mass” In U.S. Legal Education, Loren M. Lee

Michigan Law Review

Since 1978, the Supreme Court has recognized diversity as a compelling government interest to uphold the use of affirmative action in higher education. Yet the constitutionality of the practice has been challenged many times. In Grutter v. Bollinger, for example, the Court denied its use in perpetuity and suggested a twenty-five-year time limit for its application in law school admissions. Almost two decades have passed, so where do we stand? This Note’s quantitative analysis of the matriculation of and degrees awarded to Black and Latinx students at twenty-nine accredited law schools across the United States illuminates a stark lack of …

Whole-Body Acute Contact Toxicity Of Formulated Insecticide Mixtures To Blue Orchard Bees (Osmia Lignaria), Joseph Belsky, David J. Biddinger, Neelendra K. Joshi

Entomology and Plant Pathology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Blue orchard bees, [Osmia lignaria (Say) (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae)], have been developed as an important pollinator for orchard crops in North America over the last 40 years. The toxicity of several pesticides to O. lignaria and other Osmia species has been previously reported. However, the field-realistic toxicity of formulated premix insecticides comprised of multiple active ingredients (each with a different mode of action) to O. lignaria has not been assessed. Here, we use a customized spray tower in a laboratory setting to assess adult male and female whole-body direct contact exposure to four formulated pesticide mixtures: thiamethoxam + lambda-cyhalothrin (TLC), …

Optical Study Of 2-D Detonation Wave Stability, Eulaine T. Grodner

Theses and Dissertations

Fundamental optical detonation study of detonations constricted to a 2-d plane propagation, and detonations propagating around a curve. All images were processed using modern image processing techniques. The optical techniques used were shadowgraph, Schlieren, and chemiluminescence. In the 2-Dstraight channels, it was determined wave stability was a factor of cell size. It was also determined the detonation wave thickness (area between the combustion and shockwave) was a factor of how much heat available for the detonation. For the detonations propagating around a curve, it was determined the three main classifications of wave stability were stable, unstable, and detonation wave restart. …

School Of Music Faculty/Staff Newsletter, March 2021, School Of Music

School of Music Faculty/Staff Newsletter

Accomplishments and news from the faculty and staff of the School of Music at Illinois State University.

In Vivo Transplantation Of Human Intestinal Organoids Enhances Select Tight Junction Gene Expression, Mariaelena A Boyle, David J Sequeira, Eoin P Mcneill, Zachary K Criss, Noah F Shroyer, Allison L Speer

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Short bowel syndrome is a potentially fatal condition with inadequate management options. Tissue-engineered small intestine (TESI) is a promising solution, but confirmation of TESI function will be crucial before human application. We sought to define intestinal epithelial barrier function in human intestinal organoid (HIO)-derived TESI.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: HIOs were generated in vitro from human embryonic stem cells. After 1 mo, HIOs were collected for analysis or transplanted into the kidney capsule of immunocompromised mice. Transplanted HIOs (tHIOs) were harvested for analysis at 4 or 8 wk. Reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction and immunofluorescent staining were performed for …

Development Of 3d In Vitro Tissue Models For The Analysis Of Solar Radiation Damage Of Skin, Ulises Lopez Gonzalez

Doctoral

The aim of this work was to investigate changes to the molecular composition and conformation of HaCaT cells as a result of simulated solar radiation in a 3D in vitro skin model by Raman spectroscopy. The process to achieve this goal was performed in three main stages: (1) optimisation of the working concentration and volume of two 3D membranes, used as a structural support in the skin model; (2) the construction of the 3D in vitro skin model and; (3) the investigation of the dose-dependent effects of solar radiation on HaCaT cells in the skin model in comparison with the …

Does Hand Involvement In Systemic Sclerosis Limit Completion Of Patient-Reported Outcome Measures?, Tracy M Frech, John M Vanburen, Emily Startup, Shervin Assassi, Elana J Bernstein, Flavia V Castelino, Lorinda Chung, Chase Correia, Jessica K Gordon, Faye N Hant, Laura Hummers, Dinesh Khanna, Nora Sandorfi, Ami A Shah, Victoria K Shanmugam, Virginia Steen, Luke Evnin

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The objective of this analysis is to examine whether the severity of systemic sclerosis (SSc)-hand involvement influences patient-reported outcome measure (PROM) completion rate in a US cohort of early disease. Participants included SSc patients with less than 5 years disease duration consented and enrolled in the Collaborative, National, Quality, and Efficacy Registry (CONQUER) between June 2018 and December 2019. Participants' socio-demographics, hand clinical features (severe modified Rodnan skin score, presence of small joint contractures, acro-osteolysis, calcinosis, and digital ulcers), and completion rates of seven PROMs including a Resource Use Questionnaire were analyzed. Cohort characteristics and baseline PROM completion were evaluated. …

The Case For Biocalculus: Improving Student Understanding Of The Utility Value Of Mathematics To Biology And Affect Toward Mathematics, Melissa L. Aikens, Carrie Diaz Eaton, Hannah Callender Highlander

All Faculty Scholarship

The next generation of life science professionals will require far more quantitative skills than prior generations. Calculus is important for understanding dynamical systems in biology and, therefore, is often a required course for life science students. However, many life science students do not understand the utility value of mathematics to biology. Therefore, according to expectancy-value theory, life science students may experience lower moti-vation, which can impact their performance in a calculus course. This study examines how two different biocalculus courses, which integrated calculus and biological concepts and successfully halved the rates of students earning a D, F, or withdrawing (DFW), …

Uncertainty Matters: Bayesian Probabilistic Forecasting For Residential Smart Meter Prediction, Segmentation, And Behavioral Measurement And Verification, Jonathan Roth, Jayashree Chadalawada, K. Rishee Jain, Clayton Miller

Research Collection College of Integrative Studies

As new grid edge technologies emerge—such as rooftop solar panels, battery storage, and controllable water heaters—quantifying the uncertainties of building load forecasts is becoming more critical. The recent adoption of smart meter infrastructures provided new granular data streams, largely unavailable just ten years ago, that can be utilized to better forecast building-level demand. This paper uses Bayesian Structural Time Series for probabilistic load forecasting at the residential building level to capture uncertainties in forecasting. We use sub-hourly electrical submeter data from 120 residential apartments in Singapore that were part of a behavioral intervention study. The proposed model addresses several fundamental …

Implementing Culturally Diverse Strategies In Higher Education Classrooms, Christina M. Corona

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

In this qualitative case study, the researcher determined how student cultural differences influenced Western Coastal University (WCU, pseudonym) faculty pedagogies within their courses. Additionally, the researcher clarified how WCU faculty described their understanding and awareness of culturally diverse teaching strategies. Further investigation also uncovered what successes and challenges professors faced when implementing culturally diverse strategies in the classroom and what differences they discovered in their teaching and student learning as a result. The researcher used in-depth interviews, artifact documents such as the WCU’s Diversity Rationale Statement and Strategic Plan, and course survey data. Three overarching themes emerged from the …

A Qualitative Case Study Of A Transitional Program For Students In Middle School As They Transition To High School, Patrick Tremayne Moore

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Every school year, many U.S. students prepare to make the transition from being a middle school student to becoming a high school student. School transitions happen regularly and can be considered predictable. As students transition to high school, there are more challenges such as school work and peer influence. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore the perceptions of students who participate in a transition program as they transition from middle school to high school. Also, this study explored the perceptions of teachers who participated in the transition programs. The population of this study consisted of students …

An Analysis Of The Child Find Provision Due Process Hearings In Texas: Implications From The Special Education Cap, Katherine Hall Crites

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This legal qualitative content analysis described how special education due process hearing officers applied the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA) child find provision since the 2016 federal citations. The study found that districts often violated child find by not evaluating each disability condition, either known or previously suspected. The hearing officer decisions were most often focused on: (a) timely referral and evaluation, (b) comprehensive evaluation, and (c) having a reason to suspect that the student has a disability in need of special education. The decisions were represented as: (a) issues held for the prevailing party, (b) child find …

Perceptions Of Migrant And Seasonal Head Start Parents About Childhood Vision Care Utilization, Felicia R. Thomas

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The benefits of pediatric vision screening for very young children is not a new concept. However, not all children receive this valuable preventative intervention, or they do not receive an evaluation or examination to rule out or treat common visual refractive errors. This Doctor of Nursing Project sought to identify factors that impact a parent’s failure to follow up on recommendations for further evaluation or treatment following their child’s failed vision screening. The project utilized a phenomenological study to assess Migrant and Seasonal Head Start parents’ perceptions about their perceptions of the need for preventative vision screening and care. Three …

Restorative Strategies Used To Reduce Disproportionality In Texas Schools That Have Implemented Restorative Practices, Shenita Y. Alsbrooks

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to identify restorative practice strategies than can be used to reduce disproportionality in school discipline in Texas schools. Exclusionary discipline practices have created disproportionality in school discipline. While zero-tolerance policies are no longer considered effective in addressing conflict in schools, many schools are implementing restorative practices as a promising alternative. Restorative practices have shown to contribute to positive school culture, specifically by improving student achievement, improving attendance, improving student-teacher relationships, and lowering discipline issues. Interviews using semistructured questions were used to conduct this study. In this qualitative case study, participants at suburban …

Placing Bets In A Complex Environment: One Foundation’S Approach To The Opioid Epidemic, Jill Yegian

The Foundation Review

Across the globe, foundations grapple with how to tackle complex, cross-sector societal problems. A major effort by the California Health Care Foundation to reduce opioid-related morbidity and mortality, launched just as opioid use was becoming understood as a problem that could reach epidemic proportions, presents an instructive case study of impact.

Starting in 2015, the foundation placed several “big bets” on initiatives aimed at stopping overdose deaths and preventing new addiction. That early investment had dramatic returns, laying the groundwork for scaling pilot projects statewide as hundreds of millions of dollars in government funding became available to address the crisis. …

A Mission To Improve Health: Lessons From Missouri’S Expanding Coverage Initiative, Anna Saltzman, Shayla Spilker, Megan Klenke-Isgriggs

The Foundation Review

To support the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, in 2013 Missouri Foundation for Health launched the Expanding Coverage Initiative. The fiveyear effort sought to reduce Missouri’s uninsured rate from 13% to less than 5% by developing a broad-based state coalition and employing a three-pronged approach of awareness building and outreach, enrollment assistance, and increasing health literacy.

While the initiative did not achieve its rate-reduction goal, the rate of uninsured Missourians dropped to 9% during the ECI’s time frame, a decrease on par with the national average despite the fact that at the time Missouri was one of 17 states …

The Relationship Between Career And Technical Education Enrollment And College And Career Readiness Outcomes, Daniel Soliz Jr.

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

College and career readiness for K-12 students has become a priority of legislatures and educational leaders in the United States. In recent years, Texas public school leaders have emphasized the importance of maximizing the percentage of College, Career and Military Ready (CCMR) graduates. The specific problem studied was that a low percentage of students in Texas, in comparison to the state’s graduation rate, graduate with a CCMR distinction. Career and Technical Education (CTE), a component of K-12 education, can assist school leaders in maximizing college and career readiness for students. However, it was not clear how within schools, CTE enrollment …

A Systematic Review Of Acuity-Based Staffing In Acute Healthcare Environments, Demitria Idella Stafford

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Nursing leadership is responsible for considering the equity of patient care assignments when providing nursing care. Nursing leadership is responsible for assuring the delivery of patient care assignments with the intent to offer nurses an unbiased, evenly distributed patient load. Effective distribution of patient care assignments ensures patients receive the safest, most efficient, and highest quality of care. The purpose of this project was to provide nursing leadership with an executive summary of a systematic review of evidence-based research on the structure and process of making patient care assignments, and it provided evidence on how those patient care assignments affect …

Populist Supporters On Reddit: A Comparison Of Content And Behavioral Patterns Within Publics Of Supporters Of Donald Trump And Hillary Clinton, Andreas Jungherr, Oliver Posegga, Jisun An

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

The international rise of populism has been attributed, in part, to digital media. These media allow the backers of populists to share and distribute information independent of traditional media organizations or elites and offer communication spaces in which they can support each other and strengthen communal ties irrespective of their societal standing. Can we identify these functions in distinct usage patterns of digital media by supporters of populists? This could find expression through posting content that comports with the central tenets of populist ideology, higher activity levels, use of distinct vocabularies, and heightened levels of community building. We investigate differences …

Knowledge Infused Policy Gradients For Adaptive Pandemic Control, Kaushik Roy, Qi Zhang, Manas Gaur, Amit P. Sheth

Publications

COVID-19 has impacted nations differently based on their policy implementations. The effective policy requires taking into account public information and adaptability to new knowledge. Epidemiological models built to understand COVID-19 seldom provide the policymaker with the capability for adaptive pandemic control (APC). Among the core challenges to be overcome include (a) inability to handle a high degree of non-homogeneity in different contributing features across the pandemic timeline, (b) lack of an approach that enables adaptive incorporation of public health expert knowledge, and (c) transparent models that enable understanding of the decision-making process in suggesting policy. In this work, we take …

Cognitive-Emotional Processing In Alexithymia: An Integrative Review, Olivier Luminet, Kristy A. Nielson, Nathan Ridout

Psychology Faculty Research and Publications

Alexithymia is a multifaceted personality construct characterised by difficulties identifying one’s feelings and distinguishing them from bodily sensations, difficulties describing one’s feelings to others, and an externally oriented cognitive style. Over the past 25 years, a burgeoning body of research has examined how alexithymia moderates processing at the cognition–emotion interface. We review the findings in five domains: attention, appraisals, memory, language, and behaviours. The preponderance of studies linked alexithymia with deficits in emotion processing, which was apparent across all domains, except behaviours. All studies on behaviours and a proportion of studies in other domains demonstrated emotional over-responding. Analysis at the …

Applying The Vulnerability Stress Adaptation Model Of Marriage To Couples Raising An Autistic Child: A Call For Research On Adaptive Processes, Hillary Katherine Schiltz, Amy V. Van Hecke

Psychology Faculty Research and Publications

Parents of children on the autism spectrum are particularly susceptible to strain in their romantic relationships due to unique risk factors. While some relationships deteriorate, however, others endure and thrive. The Vulnerability Stress Adaptation (VSA) Model of Marriage (Karney & Bradbury, 1995; Fig. 1) offers a framework to explain, not only poor marital outcomes, but also the process by which degradation of relationships occurs over time. The VSA Model posits that a combination of internal (within-person) vulnerabilities and external stressors influence relationship quality and, in turn, stability, by affecting couples' abilities to collaborate to adapt to stressors and solve problems …

How Do Users Answer Matlab Questions On Q&A Sites? A Case Study On Stack Overflow And Mathworks, Mahshid Naghashzadeh, Amir Hagshenas, Ashkan Sami, David Lo

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

MATLAB is an engineering programming language with various toolboxes that has a dedicated Question and Answer (Q&A) platform on the MathWorks website, which is similar to Stack Overflow (SO). Moreover, some MATLAB users ask their questions on SO. This paper aims to compare these two Q&A platforms to see what kind of questions are asked and how developers answer these questions in each platform. The result of our analysis on 80,382 MATLAB questions on SO and 266,367 questions on MathWorks show that MATLAB questions on topics ranging from the MATLAB software installation to questions related to programming received high votes …

Learning To Assess The Quality Of Stroke Rehabilitation Exercises, Min Hun Lee, Daniel P. Siewiorek, Asim Smailagic, Alexandre Bernardino, Sergi Bermúdez I Badia

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Due to the limited number of therapists, task-oriented exercises are often prescribed for post-stroke survivors as in-home rehabilitation. During in-home rehabilitation, a patient may become unmotivated or confused to comply prescriptions without the feedback of a therapist. To address this challenge, this paper proposes an automated method that can achieve not only qualitative, but also quantitative assessment of stroke rehabilitation exercises. Specifically, we explored a threshold model that utilizes the outputs of binary classifiers to quantify the correctness of a movements into a performance score. We collected movements of 11 healthy subjects and 15 post-stroke survivors using a Kinect sensor …