Digital Commons Network^™

Ndls Communicator: Week Of 11.24.25, Notre Dame Law School

NDLS Communicator

The Latest News

• Four Notre Dame faculty invested as members of American Academy of Sciences and Letters
• Congratulations to Professor Derek Muller on being honored as a member of this year’s Notre Dame All-Faculty Team during Saturday's Notre Dame football game.
• Chief Judge William H. Pryor, Jr., delivers the 2025 Rice-Hasson Distinguished Lecture
• Bishop Kevin. C. Rhoades speaks to the law school about the Catholic Church's teaching on immigration and religious freedom

Alumni News

• Notre Dame Alumna Carmen Haydeé López Runs for Congress in Honduras

Faculty Briefs

• Rick Garnett
• Mary Ellen O'Connell
• Paolo Carozza
• Fr. John Paul Kimes
• Haley Proctor …

Optical, Electrical, And Structural Properties Of Nio Thin Films, Derived By Sol–Gel Method, Tatyana Ivanova, Antoaneta Harizanova, Nikolay Petkov

Physical Sciences Publications

NiO films were successfully deposited by sol–gel spin coating on Si, glass, and ITO-covered glass substrates. The impact of the film thickness (the different number of layers), annealing temperatures (from 300 to 500 °C), and the substrate type on the crystal structure, film morphology, optical, and vibrational properties was investigated. X-ray diffraction (XRD) revealed a polycrystalline structure and the appearance of the cubic NiO phase. Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM) was applied to explore the surface morphology of NiO films, deposited on glass and ITO substrates. The oxidation states of Ni were determined by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The …

Transformer Network On Global Self-Attention Mechanism For Brain Tumor Segmentation, Ammar Awni Abbas Baghdadi, Mohammed Al-Mukhtar, Ammar S Al-Zubaidi

Baghdad Science Journal

Transformers are a specific category of neural network design. Transformers often depend on extensive pre-training on a large scale and exhibit a notable degree of computational complexity. The disadvantage of using this method is a significant increase in computational complexity, which necessitates a significant commitment of time and computing resources in order to successfully work with these models. Transformer networks possess the desirable benefit of extracting distant characteristics effectively via their self-attention mechanism. In this paper, the Global Self-Attention Transformer module is applied to tackle these issues. The model is based on a segmentation problem called Brain-GS that works as …

Saussure’S Universal Distinctive Feature Dimensions, Thomas M. Eccardt

Publications and Research

This paper revisits Saussure’s scalar analysis of phonemes, offering a modern reinterpretation that replaces binary features with phonological dimensions grounded in measurement theory. By redefining Saussure’s [openness] and [backness] as ordered scales and Chomsky and Halle’s “combination and concatenation” as partially ordered scales, the paper introduces a notion of “[phono]logical simultaneity.” This framework renders the variously-defined phoneme and segment redundant, and shifts the focus of distinctiveness to the linguistic sign, the morpheme. It demonstrates how phonological dimensions link continuous articulations and acoustic signals (e.g., F1 and F2) with discrete linguistic signs through calibrated distinctive features. The analysis identifies Saussure’s two …

Stiefel Md Anderson Oropharynx Cancer (Mda-Opc) Cohort: A Single-Institution, Prospective Longitudinal Outcomes Study, Amy Moreno, Ariana J Sahli, Faye Johnson, Xiaowen Sun, Carly Barbon, Waree Rinsurongkawong, Wenye Song, Flavie M Luciani, Han Liang, Jun Li, Wei Liu, J Jack Lee, S J Frank, Stephen Lai, Clifton Fuller, Katherine Hutcheson

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Purpose: The MD Anderson Oropharynx Cancer (MDA-OPC) cohort is a unique single-institution, prospective longitudinal cancer cohort. The cohort aims to enhance the therapeutic index of OPC management by supporting data needs for independent investigators to conduct rigorous observational studies examining exposures and factors associated with acute and late toxicities, cancer progression, recurrence, new malignancies and quality of life in OPC survivors.

Participants: A total of 1811 patients with OPC with a minimum follow-up of 6 months have been consented to our prospective registry between 18 March 2015 and 29 December 2023. Clinical and treatment (Tx) data are available on all …

Mycobacterium Chelonae Outbreak Investigation At A Quaternary Pediatric Hospital Following The Opening Of A Leed-Certified Critical Care Tower: Where Does Water Sustainability Intersect With Infection Control?, Andrea L Ankrum, Silvia M Caceres, Michael Torsell, Elaine Epperson, Vinicius Calado Nogueira De Moura, Jennifer J Gilick, Michael Strong, Qingyun Liu, Matthew J Strand, Rachel N Wilsey, Jennifer R Honda, Jane E Gross, Felicia A Scaggs-Huang

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Objective: Investigate the increased incidence of Mycobacterium chelonae positive respiratory cultures in hospitalized patients.

Design: Apply the Healthcare-Associated Links in Transmission of Nontuberculous Mycobacteria (HALT NTM) toolkit to an outbreak investigation of M. chelonae.

Setting: Quaternary-care pediatric hospital and medical center in the United States with a recently opened LEED-certified critical care tower.

Patients: Adult and pediatric patients with M. chelonae positive respiratory cultures between June 2022 and January 2024.

Methods: An epidemiological investigation involving clinical and laboratory practices, water management, building construction and renovation projects. Environmental sampling of air vents, water sources and endoscope reprocessing equipment was performed. M. …

South Carolina Reemployment Services And Eligibility Assessments (Resea) Randomized Controlled Trial Design Report, Gabrielle Pepin, Ethan Jenkins, Christopher J. O'Leary, Aaron Sojourner

Upjohn Institute Technical Reports

No abstract provided.

Modified Artificial Neural Networks In Stochastic Differential Equations To Estimate The Occurrence Rate Of A New Process For Software Reliability Growth Modelling, Adel Sufyan Hussain, Zedan Zubair Mashikhin, Noora Taha Abduirazzaq

Baghdad Science Journal

This paper aims to utilize modified artificial neural networks under stochastic differential equations to improve the estimation of occurrence rates on models towards the growth of software reliability through such models. There has never been a time when reliable assessment methods have been more important as software systems grow ever more sophisticated. This study covers the risks arising from software bugs, security weaknesses, and the need to meet legal requirements. The authors use a new method that combines artificial intelligence techniques with classical reliability models to achieve their goal of a more efficient computational tool for predicting software reliability. It …

Serum Levels Of Uchl1 And S100b In Covid-19 And Multiple Sclerosis Patients: A Comparative Study In Erbil City, Krg, Iraq, Daldar Fares Jeejo, Mayada Noori Iqbal, Nisreen Sherif Alyasiri

Baghdad Science Journal

Ubiquitin carboxyl-terminal hydrolase L1 (UCHL1) and S100B are proteins involved in neuronal development and damage. Their levels in serum have been proposed as potential biomarkers for various neurological conditions, including COVID-19 and Multiple Sclerosis (MS). The study aimed to compare serum levels of UCHL1 and S100B among COVID-19 patients, MS patients, and healthy controls, and to assess the correlation between these biomarkers in the context of COVID-19. This cross-sectional study included 91 COVID-19 patients, 29 MS patients, and 50 healthy controls from the Kurdistan Region (KRG) of Iraq. Serum levels of UCHL1 and S100B were quantified using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay …

Enhancing Brain Mri Classification With Gray Wolf Optimization And Swin Transformers, Lamyaa Fahem Katran, Ebtesam N. Alshemmary, Waleed A. Al-Jawher

Baghdad Science Journal

With the rapid advancement of computational power, deep learning has become integral to medical imaging. Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) are widely applied to brain MRI scans for tumor classification due to their strong localization and recognition capabilities. However, their limited ability to capture long-range dependencies often leads to information loss and reduced performance in complex feature extraction. To overcome this, the Swin Transformer introduces a hierarchical attention mechanism with shifted windows that preserves spatial relationships and enhances the modeling of global contexts. This architecture improves the detection of intricate tissue textures and supports high-resolution reconstruction of MRI images. Furthermore, integrating …

Optimizing Artificial Neural Networks For Smart Grid Stability Analysis Using Tabu Search-Based Hyperparameter Tuning, Salwa Khalid Abdulateef, Armaneesa Naaman Hasoon, Moceheb Lazam Shuwandy

Baghdad Science Journal

Smart grids are supposed to make electricity networks more reliable, yet in practice their behavior can be surprisingly unstable when the load changes too quickly. During this work, we tried to understand that instability and to build a model that predicts when a grid remains stable or begins to drift. We used an Artificial Neural Network and tuned it with a Tabu Search routine that keeps adjusting the number of neurons and the activation functions until the results stop improving. It was not a single run; several training attempts were needed before the model settled. After applying the Tabu optimization, …

Enhancing Secrecy Rate For Cognitive Radio Based On 5g Communication Systems, Mohammed Kadim Shaybeth Al-Jorani, Hakem Beitollahi

Baghdad Science Journal

The non-orthogonal multiple accesses (NOMA) together with Cognitive radio network (CRN) are critical frameworks in the 5G remote transmission framework. Nonetheless, the framework is an outstanding method for the cognitive clients to get a telecommunication from the interference signals in different info numerous yield (MIMO)- NOMA-relied cognitive radio network. For here project, a modern beamforming strategy is introduced for getting a data trade inside similar units as well as adjoining units about every tempering client. The intervention is brought about through a blemished range detecting of the optional clients (SUs). The SUs is expected to get to the essential communication …

Final Butte Priority Soils Operable Unit (Bpsou) Insufficiently Reclaimed Sites Remedial Action Work Plan (Rawp): Bres No. 104 (Colorado Dump) North Slope, Pioneer Technical Services, Inc.

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

Low-Energy Multiphoton Scattering At Tree-Level And One-Loop Order In A Homogeneous Electromagnetic Field, James Edwards, Ivan Ahumada Hernandez, Patrick Copinger

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

We study low energy photons coupled to scalar and spinor matter in the presence of an arbitrary homogeneous electromagnetic field in a first-quantized (worldline) approach. Utilizing a Fock-Schwinger gauge for both the scattering photons and homogeneous background, simple compact expressions are found for both the photon- and background-dressed effective action and propagator in scalar and spinor quantum electrodynamics. The low-energy limit allows identification of the coupling of the scattering photons as one of an effective homogeneous superposition of their field strengths, with amplitudes following from application of a suitable linearization operator. To treat the linearization, several techniques are employed, including …

Chimes: November 24, 2025, Calvin University

Chimes

Student Senate welcomes LCS council by Ellery Johnson

Administrators respond to student questions in second academic transition town hall by Ian Tjoelker & Ashley Hammons

Matins: A poetry collection by Professor Otto Selles by McKenna Wilkinson

No Noise November: A spiritual, physical and mental practice by Ella Vanden Berg

Seminary: A "seedbed" for growth by Joe Toly

Calvin's Women's Rugby on the rise by Hendrik Beelen

Furry friends on campus keep watch over students by Ashley Hamons & Maya Oeverman

"You Will Be Like God": On freedom and the fall of Anakin Skywalker by Joe Toly

A Geothermal Amoeba Sets A New Upper Temperature Limit For Eukaryotes, H Beryl Rappaport, Natalie A. Petek-Seoane, Tomáš Tyml, Felix Mikus, Kurt Labutti, Godwin Ani, Jessica K. Niblo, Ethan Macvicar, Rachel M. Shepherd, Ignacio De La Higuera, Samuel J. Lord, Kenneth M. Stedman, Multiple Additional Authors

Center for Life in Extreme Environments Publications

The study of temperature limits has transformed our knowledge of the boundaries of life but has been largely focused on bacteria and archaea. We isolated a novel geothermal amoeba, , that divides at 63°C (145.4°F), establishing a new record for the upper temperature limit across all eukaryotes. We demonstrated cellular proliferation with growth experiments and visualized mitosis expansion microscopy. Using high-temperature live-cell imaging, we quantified movement up to 64°C. We assembled the genome of and using comparative genomics found an enrichment of genes related to proteostasis, genome stability, and sensing the external environment. Taken together, our findings challenge the current …

Between Sovereignty And Commons: Legal Frameworks For Digital Data Governance In India, Anushka Sachan

Journal of Law and Public Policy

This legislative note critically examines the Indian Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act, 2023, with a focus on its provisions that imply data sovereignty and their implications for the governance of digital commons. Drawing on the seminal works on data commons, the note explores the conceptual and practical tensions between centralised data sovereignty, participatory, and decentralised models of data stewardship. While data sovereignty is often justified on grounds of national security and control, it may inadvertently hinder the development of inclusive and accountable frameworks for managing data as a public good.

Modulation Of The Semi-Annual Oscillation By Stratospheric Sudden Warmings As Seen In The High-Altitude Jawara Re-Analyses, Jiarong Zhang, Yvan Orsolini, Kaoru Sato

All Physics Faculty Publications

The semi-annual oscillation (SAO) dominates seasonal variability in the equatorial stratosphere and mesosphere. However, the seasonally dependent modulation of the SAO in the stratosphere (SSAO) and mesosphere (MSAO) by sudden stratospheric warmings (SSWs) in the Arctic has not been investigated in detail. In this study, we examine the seasonal evolution of the SAO during 16 major SSW events spanning 2004 to 2024 using the Japanese Atmospheric General Circulation Model for Upper Atmosphere Research Data Assimilation System Whole Neutral Atmosphere Re-analysis (JAWARA). Basic features of the SAO are well captured by JAWARA, as evidenced by the SSAO and MSAO appearing at …

Exploring The Recognition Of Internalizing Problems Among Black Students: Delving Into The Youth Mental Health Help-Seeking Pathway, Marketta A. Adams

LSU Master's Theses

The mental health of Black adolescents is a growing concern, with high prevalence rates of internalizing disorders such as anxiety and depression. National studies report that nearly 47% of Black adolescents experience a mental health disorder by age 18, with over 60% reporting moderate to severe depressive symptomology. Despite these alarming rates, Black youth underutilize mental health services, often due to cultural stigma, limited access to culturally competent care, and under-recognition of their mental health needs. This study aimed to explore problem recognition as a key component in the mental health help-seeking pathway for Black adolescents in school settings. Grounded …

Sustained Cellular Survival Amid Amyloid Beta (Aβ) Burden, Giselle Shim

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2020 - Present

Amyloid beta (Aβ) accumulation is a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), persisting in the brain for years. Despite its neurotoxic potential, widespread neuronal death is not consistently observed. Histopathological analysis indicates that most neurons remain viable, suggesting an altered survival state under chronic Aβ burden. This study integrates clinical, imaging, and in vitro evidence to characterize this non-lethal state. FDG-PET imaging reveals reduced glucose metabolism. In vitro, Aβ exposure leads to decreased uptake of glucose and amino acids. Reductions in ATP levels and AMPK activity indicate impaired metabolic regulation. Despite these metabolic disruptions, cell death is not observed, implying a …

War Abstracted, Jay Hatfield

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2020 - Present

War Abstracted is an exhibition in response to the devastation of war. The body of work encapsulates three years of artistic exploration at Florida Atlantic University. The exhibit is a reaction to contemporary conflicts, both global and domestic. It is neither a glorification nor a condemnation of war. The exhibition reflects my experience as a Marine Corps Scout during the Gulf War, the challenges of reintegrating into society with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and uncertainty. It also engages broader themes of global warming and gun violence. Through a diverse range of materials, methods, and presentations, the work navigates personal and …

Analysis Of The Submergence, Landing, And Navigation Of An Autonomous Underwater Landing Vehicle, Theresa Wainwright

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2020 - Present

Autonomous Underwater Landing Vehicles allow for seafloor data to be taken in multiple locations with little to no human intervention. The movement of these vehicles needs to be analyzed through simulated to ensure the correct programming of vehicle missions. This analysis includes the surface navigation, the drift experienced by the vehicle during descent, and the seafloor stability of the vehicle. The results then inform the limitations of this vehicle and the necessary adjustments to subsequent versions. Surface navigation allows understanding of vehicle movement between ascent locations, waypoints, and descent locations. Drift during descent allows for visual of the vehicle’s movements …

The Influence Of Russian Folklore On Perceptions Of Female Heroism, Mariia V. Subbotina

Heroism Science

This article examines how Russian folklore traditions have shaped cultural perceptions of female heroism. The study addresses the limited attention given to gendered aspects of heroism, particularly “female” models, which are often linked to self-sacrifice and resilience, in contrast to “male” heroism associated with physical strength and risk. As the first stage of a larger project, this research aims to introduce the issue and identify key archetypes of female heroism. Based on an analysis of A.N. Afanasyev’s collection of fairy tales, three central archetypes of active heroines are identified: the Warrior Woman (Marya Morevna), the Wise Maiden/Enchantress (Vasilisa the Beautiful), …

Fish-Spec: Fast Identification System For Handheld Spectroscopy And Species Classification, Mitchell Sueker, Nicholas Mackinnon, Gregory Bearman, Amanda Tabb, Diane Kim, Rosalee S. Hellberg, Alireza Akhbardeh, Hamid Reza Marateb, Jianwei Qin, Moon Kim, Fartash Vasefi, Hossein Kashani Zadeh

Food Science Faculty Articles and Research

Accurate fish species identification is critical to prevent mislabeling and fraud in the seafood industry. We present a handheld multi-mode point spectroscopy system that combines fluorescence (365 and 395 nm excitation) and reflectance measurements in the visible to near-infrared (∼350–900 nm) and short-wave infrared (∼900–1700 nm) regions for rapid, non-destructive classification of fish fillets. Tissue spectra were acquired at 25 positions on 68 fillets from 11 species, in both frozen and thawed states. Feature-level fusion across all four modes enabled higher classification accuracy than any single mode alone. A global machine-learning model classified all species with 85 ± 2.8 %, …

Gboost-Ctl: A Novel Method In Multi-Tissue Transcriptome-Wide Associations Studies In Cross-Tissue Learner Incorporating Gwas Information, Md Mutasim Billah, Hairong Wei, Fengzhu Sun, Kui Zhang

Michigan Tech Publications

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have uncovered numerous genetic variants linked to complex human diseases, yet linking these variants to transcripts and tissues that drive pathology remains difficult. Multi-tissue transcriptome-wide association studies (TWAS) offer a powerful bridge, but existing analytical methods have some limitations, either by discarding important signals by separately analyzing and then aggregating results across tissues, implying imputation models in individual tissues, or fusing them with weights that ignore how much GWAS signal each tissue actually carries. Therefore, most of the existing methods do not work uniformly across different GWAS cohorts. Here, we propose GBoost-CTL - a GWAS-boosted cross-tissue …

Leveraging Consistency: Evaluating Ai Coders For Qualitative Research, Saríah López-Fierro, Carlos Chiriboga-Calderón, José López-Fierro, Rubén Pacheco-Villamar

Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Faculty Publications

This study provides insights of using Large Language Models (LLMs) for deductive coding tasks in market research. Deductive coding, which applies predefined codes to text, often demands consistency rather than interpretive nuance. 

We compare five closed-weight LLMs with a group of human coders in tagging instances of “Expansive Framing” across qualitative excerpts, using Fleiss’ Kappa, ANOVA, and Estimated Marginal Means. Results reveal that LLMs exhibit higher consistency and faster processing than humans. These findings suggest that integrating LLMs can improve efficiency, making them an attractive asset for firms managing large datasets.

Access To Healthcare For Irregular Migrants, Jessica Dykes

Journal of Law and Health

Access to Healthcare for Irregular Migrants is an assessment of the right to life, security of the person, and non-discrimination as viewed through the lens of Nell Toussaint's legal battle. It tells the compelling story of an irregular migrant's battle for access to health care. Highlighting a gap in the Canadian healthcare system, this piece raises valuable questions about why that gap exists. Toussaint's experiences with multiple levels of the legal system, both in Canada and internationally, are included. It tells the story from when Ms. Toussaint entered Canada to the present; wherein the matter remains before the court.

This …

Computer Simulation Of Zonal Adaptive Optics And Assessment Of Its Effectiveness Using Solar Images, Huda Shaker Ali, Raaid Nawfee Hassan

Baghdad Science Journal

Distortions in astronomical images caused by Earth’s turbulent atmosphere can be corrected using Adaptive Optics (AO). A Zonal-AO computer simulation approach for the correction of wavefront distortions in long-range astronomical observations, including those for solar prominences is presented. The primary task is to test the performance of AO system with solar image data. The distorted PSFs (point spread functions) and wavefronts caused by atmospheric turbulence are generated in the simulation, after that measured as well as corrected. The results of analyzing the impact of deformable mirror (DM) actuator stroke on both Strehl ratio as well as root-mean-square error (RMSE) show …

Harnessing Hyperspectral Imaging And Deep Learning For Terrestrial Habitat Mapping In Arid Landscapes: A Case Study In Saudi Arabia, Ali Elgendy, Hesham Morgan, Brandon Tran, Rejoice Thomas, Tamer Ismail, Yehya Kh. Shehadeh, Ahmed Elgharib, Ahmed Abdullah Al-Dughairi, Ali El Muburak, Khaled Allam Harhash, Hesham El-Askary

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

Arid ecosystems remain under-mapped at actionable scales despite their ecological importance. Decision makers lack reliable, high-resolution habitat maps in drylands to prioritize protection and target restoration. This research integrates spaceborne hyperspectral imaging from the Environmental Mapping and Analysis Program (EnMAP) with deep learning semantic segmentation models to produce an updated level of habitat classification based on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) for part of the Imam Turki bin Abdullah Royal Reserve, Saudi Arabia. Using ground control points and the full EnMAP spectral cube without band selection, U-Net and DeepLabV3+ architectures were each implemented with VGG19 and ResNet-101 …

An Experiential Learning Lab Activity On Skeletal Muscle Physiology In Undergraduate Md Pre-Clerkship Curriculum, Angela Martinez, Daniel Salinas, Meyer Maddox, Kelsey A. Potter-Baker, Amin Shah

School of Medicine Publications

Experiential learning is an important part of the medical education curriculum. Due to clinical relevance of skeletal muscle strength in evaluating patients’ complaints of muscle weakness or imbalance, skeletal muscle physiology is an important concept with extensive potential for experiential learning opportunities. Our goal was to establish an experiential learning skeletal muscle physiology lab activity that would improve undergraduate MD pre-clerkship students’ skill to collect muscle force measurements using a hand-held dynamometer (HHD) and expand knowledge of core physiological concepts. We developed a muscle lab activity where students performed two experiments using an HHD: (1) The Elbow Flexion Experiment and …