Digital Commons Network^™

Ling 571.01: Phonetics And Phonology, Mizuki Miyashita

University of Montana Course Syllabi, 2021-2025

No abstract provided.

Writ 201.01: College Writing Ii - The Art Of The Essay, Jolie B. Smith

University of Montana Course Syllabi, 2021-2025

No abstract provided.

Blockchain-Powered Dynamic Segmentation In Personal Health Record, Mishall Al-Zubaidie, Wid Alaa Jebbar

Mesopotamian Journal of CyberSecurity

Sensitive patient data must be handled securely in modern oncology care to protect patient privacy, regulatory compliance, and clinical decision-making integrity. Conventional centralized healthcare systems pose serious threats to patient confidentiality and treatment continuity because of their susceptibility to data breaches, illegal access, and single points of failure. This study suggests a blockchain-based decentralized cancer healthcare security solution. The proposed system is based on the idea of layers; each layer has a distinct function that gives it a feature that sets it apart from the others. A hierarchical clustering algorithm (HCA) is used in the first layer to determine the …

Unbound Bilirubin And Risk Of Severe Neurodevelopmental Impairment In Extremely Low Birthweight Newborns, Cody C Arnold, Ivana Maric, Ronald J Wong, Jon E Tyson, David K Stevenson

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Unbound bilirubin (UB) was measured on day 5 ± 1 in 1101 ELBW newborns in the Aggressive vs Conservative Phototherapy randomized controlled trial. We accessed this dataset to quantify the UB-mediated risk of severe neurodevelopmental impairment (sNDI) in extremely low birthweight (ELBW) newborns.

Methods: UB levels were standardized within laboratories as z-score percentiles. A dichotomous UB exposure variable was based on sharply increased risk of sNDI at the 85th percentile (UBz>85th). Targeted maximum likelihood estimation with ensemble machine learning (TMLE + ML) and logistic regression (LR) were used to estimate sNDI risk attributable to UBz>85th.

Results: UB …

Ev Battery Next Lives, Asma Aziz, Bassam Al-Hanahi, Daryoush Habibi, Iftekhar Ahmad

Other Reports

As the demand for lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries grows, ensuring the availability of raw materials and addressing the environmental and social impacts of battery production and disposal have become vital concerns. Business models that give batteries a second life – through reuse, repurposing and recycling – can substantially reduce material needs and environmental effects. Over time, these practices may also unlock new domestic value streams, create job opportunities and reduce battery costs. This project is a comprehensive analysis of the end-of-life (EOL) electric vehicle (EV) battery landscape, focusing on circular economy principles and market valuation. It also examines the supply chain …

Does Writing Have A Future?, David J. Gunkel

Proceedings of the New York State Communication Association

Professor David J. Gunkel is the Chair of the Department of Communication at Northern Illinois University – but that is his latest achievement in an extensive list of accomplishments. He is an award-winning educator, researcher, and the author of more than ninety scholarly articles and thirteen books. And it is his latest book, AI for Communication, and his latest thinking about what we have called artificial intelligence and writing that brought him to our 82^nd annual conference.

In his keynote address on Saturday, October 9^th, 2024, Dr. Gunkel argues that AI does not signal the “end …

Algorithmic Governance And The Boardroom: Empirical And Strategic Perspectives On Ai Integration In Corporate And Educational Oversight, James Hutson, Guarango Banerjee

Faculty Scholarship

The accelerating digitization of executive decision-making has prompted critical re-examination of the function and value of traditional boards of directors within corporate and educational institutions. Empirical research consistently reveals that human boards, while ostensibly tasked with strategic insight and fiduciary oversight, are frequently constrained by structural inefficiencies—such as director overcommitment, inflated compensation, and persistent conflicts of interest—that undermine organizational performance. Against this backdrop, the integration of Artificial Intelligence agents, either as analytic adjuncts or autonomous decision-makers, emerges as a plausible avenue for enhancing board effectiveness. This article synthesizes global case studies, peer-reviewed findings, and real-time technological developments to critically evaluate …

A Review Of The United States' Long Term War Support Capabilities In The Indo-Pacific Command Region, Brian J. Mullin Jr.

Theses and Dissertations

This study examines U.S. maritime transportation readiness in the Indo-Pacific, highlighting fleet age, mariner shortages, shipyard decline, and port vulnerabilities. It also considers contested logistics and technological threats. Recommendations include fleet recapitalization, mariner pipeline growth, port diversification, and defensive upgrades. The study concludes that secure sea line assumptions are outdated and calls for greater resilience, with follow-on efficiency analysis proposed for ports and ships.

Using Large Language Models To Investigate The Origin Of Chronic Wasting Disease, G. Kent Webb

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

This use case reports on the impressive output, hallucinations, instability, and limitations of three Large Language Models (LLMs): ChatGPT, Gemini, and Grok. The LLMs were prompted in an investigative sequence and responses checked. The collected information supports the common theory that chronic wasting disease (CWD) in North America originated in 1967 at a research facility in Fort Collins, Colorado, where deer were reported to have been exposed to sheep with a similar disease - scrapie. Findings include that: no sheep with scrapie were detected in the area around Fort Collins prior to 1967; domestic sheep reportedly exposed to scrapie were …

Beyond Frequency Of Use: Exploring Additional Metrics For Quantifying Cocaine Use And Their Relation To Life Functioning And Treatment Outcome, Samantha Ellis, Rachel Sun, Angela Heads, Jin Ho Yoon, Heather Webber, Joy Schmitz, Margaret Wardle

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Frequency of use - the number of days of use - is the most common metric for quantifying cocaine use and the most common target of treatment. However, frequency may not capture all important aspects of cocaine use. This study examined how other aspects of cocaine use (typical amount spent, variability etc.) relate to life functioning and cocaine use disorder (CUD) treatment outcomes.

Method: This is a secondary analysis of 3 clinical trials for CUD, N = 207 for the life functioning analysis and N = 173 for the outcomes analysis. Eight metrics of use were calculated from baseline …

Immune Impacts Of Fire Smoke Exposure, Mary M Johnson, Abhinav Kaushik, Olivia A Kline, Eric M Smith, Xiaoying Zhou, Yagiz Pat, Laura Buergi, Juan Aguilera, Shifaa Alkotob, Elisabeth M Simonin, Alberto Favaro, Miguel Couto, Oscar Bennett, R Sharon Chinthrajah, Ella Parsons, Mohamed Shamji, Marshall Burke, Melissa Bondy, Mubeccel Akdis, Cezmi A Akdis, Kari C Nadeau

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Fire smoke exposure has become a global health concern and is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. There is a lack of understanding of the specific immune mechanisms involved in smoke exposure with preventative and targeted interventions needed. After exposure to fire smoke, which includes PM2.5, toxic metals and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), epidemiology-based studies demonstrate increases in respiratory (e.g. asthma exacerbations), cardiac (e.g. myocardial infarctions, arrhythmias), neurologic (e.g. stroke) and pregnancy-related (e.g. low birthweight, premature births) outcomes. However, mechanistic studies exploring how smoke exposure disrupts cellular homeostasis are lacking. Therefore, we collected blood from smoke-exposed individuals (n …

Outcomes In Systemic Sclerosis-Associated Interstitial Lung Disease Based On Serological Profiles With A Focus On Anticentromere And Anti-Rna Polymerase Iii Antibodies, Elizabeth R Volkmann, Shervin Assassi, Christopher P Denton, Rozeta Simonovska, Steven Sambevski, Margarida Alves, Elana J Bernstein

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Objective: We aimed to compare the progression of systemic sclerosis-associated interstitial lung disease (SSc-ILD) based on serological status.

Methods: In a posthoc analysis of the SENSCIS trial (nintedanib vs placebo in SSc-ILD; ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT02597933), we analyzed the rate of decline in forced vital capacity (FVC) over 52 weeks in 3 subsets: (1) positive for anticentromere antibody (ACA), (2) positive for anti-RNA polymerase III antibody (ARA), and (3) negative for ACA, ARA, and antitopoisomerase I antibody (ATA).

Results: Among study participants who underwent baseline serological evaluation, 32/549 (5.8%) were ACA positive, 98/528 (18.6%) were ARA positive, and 127/526 (24.1%) were …

Shaping Youth Ministry: Exploring Influences On Youth Pastors’ Approaches To Programme Design, Timothy A. Mullen, Trudi Cooper

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

The literature on youth ministry practices is mostly anecdotal, and empirical research into the practices, goals, and meanings of youth ministry to youth pastors is rare, especially in Australia. In this study, 20 youth pastors in Perth, Western Australia, were interviewed about their goals, priorities, practices, training, and what influenced them. This study forms part of a larger doctoral research project. The interview data were analysed utilising a phenomenological approach, drawing upon Goffman’s framing analysis to examine the link between ‘meaning making’ and explicit and tacit motivations for youth ministry practice. The research found that youth pastors were most often …

Curing The Peasant's Disease : Frank Oldt’S Work And Research On Hookworm Disease In South China, 1905-1926, Jiaying Fu

Lingnan Theses (MPhil & PhD)

While current scholarship on “hygienic modernity” in China focuses on the construction of urban health systems and institutional infrastructures, this study proposes an alternative analytical lens by foregrounding the domain of agricultural health. It aims to investigate how early twentieth-century medical researchers uncovered public health models grounded in China’s agrarian conditions. Taking the case of Frank Oldt (1879–1976), a medical missionary living in Guangdong between 1905 and 1926, this research examines how he identified, interpreted, and sought to mitigate the problem of hookworm disease—a parasitic condition intricately linked to China’s farming practices and rural environmental conditions.

Specifically, this thesis aims …

A Large-Scale Multi-Centre Study Characterising Atrophy Heterogeneity In Alzheimer's Disease, Vikram Venkatraghavan, Damiano Archetti, Pierrick Bourgeat, Chenyang Jiang, Mara Ten Kate, Anna C. Van Loenhoud, Rik Ossenkoppele, Charlotte E. Teunissen, Elsmarieke Van De Giessen, Yolande A.L. Pijnenburg, Giovanni B. Frisoni, Béla Weiss, Zoltán Vidnyánszky, Tibor Auer, Stanley Durrleman, Alberto Redolfi, Simon M. Laws, Paul Maruff, Neil P. Oxtoby, Andre Altmann, Daniel C. Alexander, Wiesje M. Van Der Flier, Frederik Barkhof, Betty M. Tijms

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Previous studies identified atrophy-based Alzheimer's disease(AD) subtypes linked to distinct clinical symptoms, but their consistency across subtyping approaches remains unclear. This large-scale study evaluates subtype concordance using two data-driven approaches. In this work, we analyzed data from n=10,011 patients across 10 AD cohorts spanning Europe, the US, and Australia, extracting regional volumes using Freesurfer. To characterize atrophy heterogeneity in the AD continuum, we developed a two-step approach, Snowphlake (Staging NeurOdegeneration With PHenotype informed progression timeLine of biomarKErs), to identify subtypes and atrophy-event sequences within each subtype. Results were compared with SuStaIn (Subtype and Stage Inference), which jointly estimates subtypes and …

Automated Instance Segmentation And Registration Of Spinal Vertebrae From Ct-Scans With An Improved 3d U-Net Neural Network And Corner Point Registration, James Hill, Muhammad Rizwan Khokher, Chuong Nguyen, Matt Adcock, Ron Li, Stuart Anderson, Thomas Morrell, Tim Diprose, Olivier Salvado, Dadong Wang, Guan K. Tay

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

This paper presents a rapid and robust approach for 3D volumetric segmentation, labelling, and registration of human spinal vertebrae from CT scans using an optimised and improved 3D U-Net neural network architecture. The network is designed by incorporating residual and dense interconnections, followed by an extensive evaluation of different network setups by optimising the network components like activation functions, optimisers, and pooling operations. In addition, the network architecture is optimised for varying numbers of convolution layers per block and U-Net levels with fixed and cascading numbers of filters. For 3D virtual reality visualisation, the segmentation output of the improved 3D …

Occupational Exposure To Diesel Particulate Matter In Western Australian Mining: A Retrospective Analysis And Challenges To Future Compliance, Matthew Oosthuizen, Kerry Staples, Adelle Liebenberg, Kiam Padamsey, Marcus Cattani, Andy Mccarthy, Jacques Oosthuizen

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

De-identified diesel particulate matter (DPM) exposure data (n = 24,459) was obtained from the Western Australian mining regulator to assess compliance with the current Workplace Exposure Standard (WES) of 0.1 mg/m³, measured as submicron elemental carbon, and a proposed limit of 0.01 mg/m³, assessed as respirable elemental carbon. R and R-Studio were used to generate summary statistics comparing compliance to the current and proposed limits, stratified by industry and occupational groups. To examine temporal trends, a zero-adjusted gamma model was used to assess whether expected sample means changed over the past ten years, using commodity and …

Comparison Of Decision-Making Skill In 360° Video To The Field Setting In Highly Skilled Rugby Union Players, Hannah J. Vawser, Khaya Morris-Binelli, Benjamin Piggott, Sean Müller, Paola Chivers, Evan Dekker

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Little evidence exists of whether decision-making in immersive 360° video is representative of the field setting in sport. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether decision-making performance of a representative exemplar competition specific skill was similar between 360° video and a field task. Fifteen players from skilled junior rugby union pathways and professional rugby union teams in Australia were recruited to complete a 360° video decision-making choice response task involving four attackers and three defenders. Their decision-making was previously assessed in a similar field decision-making task that was representative of rugby game play. Decision-making was scored according to …

Do Companies’ Green Credentials Enhance Trade Credit Provisions? Global Evidence, Rashid Zaman, Nader Atawnah, Deepa Banigidadmath, Muhammad Nadeem, Jia Liu

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

We investigate the impact of corporate renewable energy (RE) adoption on suppliers’ trade credit provisions. Using a global sample of 30 countries, we establish that firms engaging in higher RE consumption secure increased trade credit. Our results remain robust to a variety of sensitivity tests and after accounting for potential endogeneity concerns using the Paris Agreement and companies switching to green energy as exogenous shocks. Our channel analysis reveals that RE take-up mitigates companies’ environmental risk (proxied by environmental violation fines, media coverage of environmental controversies, GHG emissions, and environmental policy stringency). Additional tests reveal that the relationship between RE …

Moderate Coffee And Tea Consumption Is Associated With Slower Cognitive Decline, Stephanie R. Rainey-Smith, Kelsey R. Sewell, Belinda M. Brown, Hamid R. Sohrabi, Ralph N. Martins, Samantha L. Gardener

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Background: Globally, coffee and tea are consumed extensively, potentially providing neuroprotection through anti-inflammatory and antioxidative stress effects. Objective: This study aimed to investigate associations between coffee and tea intake and cognitive function. Methods: In a longitudinal prospective cohort study, dementia-free (n = 8715; age range 60.0–85.2 years) older adults from the UK Biobank self-reported coffee and tea intake over the previous year; ‘never’, ‘moderate’ (1–3 cups/day), or ‘high’ (≥4 cups/day). Participants completed cognitive assessments at ≥2 timepoints (mean of 9.11 years). Results: Those ‘never’ consuming coffee and ‘moderate’ coffee consumers (β = 0.06, p = 0.005; β = 0.07, p <  0.001, respectively), as well as ‘moderate’ tea consumers and ‘high’ tea consumers (β = 0.06, p = 0.009; β = 0.06, p = 0.003, respectively) had slower fluid intelligence decline. Additionally, those ‘never’ consuming coffee and ‘moderate’ coffee consumers had a slower increase in pairs matching errors (β = −0.05, p = 0.022; β = 0.05, p = 0.013) compared to ‘high’ consumers. Conclusions: ‘Moderate’ coffee, and ‘moderate’ and ‘high’ tea intake may be a protective factor against cognitive decline. Randomized controlled trials are required to establish causal relationships leading to evidence-based recommendations regarding benefits of coffee and tea intake.

Waste By-Products In Asphalt Concrete Pavement Construction: A Review, Nuha S. Mashaan, Daniel O. Oguntayo, Chathurika Dassanayake

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

The use of mining by-products in bitumen and asphalt mixture modification has drawn a lot of interest lately since it can improve pavement performance while advancing the goals of the circular economy and environmental sustainability. Mining by-products such as steel slag, red mud, silica fume, and fly ash have demonstrated good results as sustainable materials for improving the chemical, mechanical, durability, and rheological properties of asphalt binders and mixtures while also reducing the environmental degradation brought about by the disposal of these by-products. This study reviews research efforts on mining by-products (specifically steel slag, silica fume, red mud, and fly …

Temporal Patterns Of New Product Introductions And Ipo Value: The Importance Of Recency, Dispersion, And Asymmetry, Suyun Mah, Rebecca J. Slotegraaf, Girish Mallapragada

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

A firm’s innovation activity is often judged by the number and type of new products it launches, but when these products are introduced may be equally important, especially before going public. This research investigates how the temporal pattern of new product introductions (NPIs) influences a firm’s initial public offering (IPO) value. The analysis uses data from 298 firms that went public between 2006 and 2023, and focuses on three patterns of timing: recency (how recently the latest product was launched before the IPO), dispersion (the degree to which NPIs before the IPO are spread out over time), and asymmetry (how …

Esg News, Future Cash Flows, And Firm Value, Francois Derrien, Philipp Krüger, Augustin Landier, Tianhao Yao

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

We investigate the expected consequences of negative environmental, social, and governance (ESG) news on firms' future profits. After learning about negative ESG news, analysts significantly downgrade their forecasts at short and longer horizons. Negative ESG news affects forecasts more strongly at longer horizons than other types of negative corporate news. The negative revisions of earnings forecasts following negative ESG news largely reflect expectations of lower future sales, rather than higher future costs. Quantitatively, forecast revisions can explain most of the negative impacts of ESG news on firm value. Analysts are correct to revise forecasts downward following negative ESG news.

Speculative Bubbles In The Recent Ai Boom: Nasdaq And The Magnificent Seven, Rerotlhe B. Basele, Peter C. B. Phillips, Shuping Shi

Research Collection School Of Economics

The recent artificial intelligence (AI) boom covers a period of rapid innovation and wide adoption of AI intelligence technologies across diverse industries. These developments have fueled an unprecedented frenzy in the Nasdaq, with AI-focused companies experiencing soaring stock prices that raise concerns about speculative bubbles and real-economy consequences. Against this background, this study investigates the formation of speculative bubbles in the Nasdaq stock market with a specific focus on the so-called Magnificent Seven (Mag-7) individual stocks during the AI boom, spanning the period from January 2017 to January 2025. We apply the real-time PSY bubble detection methodology of Phillips et …

Harnessing The Electronic Health Record To Identify And Enroll People With Epilepsy Into A Self-Management Program: Implementation And Scalability In A Clinical Setting, Clara Adeniyi, Richard Barigye, Jessica Black, Nicole Fiorelli, Carrie Rogers, Martha Sajatovic

Faculty Scholarship

Rationale: “Self-management for people with epilepsy and a history of negative health events” (SMART) is an 8-week, remotely delivered, Epilepsy Self-Management (ESM) program. The ongoing EXPANDing self-management support in healthcare networks (EXPAND) initiative leveraged the Electronic Health Record (EHR) to identify SMART candidates, simplify recruitment, and reduce staff workload. Methods: This is an ongoing implementation effort at two Level 4 Epilepsy Centers (Iowa and Cincinnati) using the Epic EHR which follows 9326 People With Epilepsy (PWE). The EHR uses pre-visit screening to identify PWE with a recent seizure; barriers to medication adherence; depression symptoms; age 18–25; or residence in rural …

Social Cognition As A Mediator Between Neurocognition And Functional Outcome In Early Course Schizophrenia, Anju Kotwani, Jessica A. Wojtalik, Douglas D. Gunzler, Wilson J. Brown, Rochanne L. Honarvar, Martha Sajatovic

Faculty Scholarship

Social cognition is an established mediator between neurocognition and functional outcome in schizophrenia, but there is limited evidence for this model specifically in the early course, which is a critical window for intervention to reduce long-term disability. This study aimed to test the social cognition mediator model in the early course of schizophrenia and identify social cognitive subdomains that may have stronger indirect effects on the relationship between neurocognition and functional outcome. This secondary analysis utilized baseline cognitive and functional outcome data from a cognitive remediation trial for outpatients with early course schizophrenia (N = 102). A path analysis approach …

The Effect Of Genotype On Self-Reported Dysarthria And Dysphagia In Parkinson's Disease: A Parkinson's Progression Marker Initiative Study, Matthew Dumican, Therese Reyers, Alyson Malczewski, Zoe Thijs

Communication Disorders and Occupational Therapy Faculty Publications and Presentations

Objectives The objective of this study was to examine baseline and longitudinal differences of self-reported dysarthria and dysphagia in the most common genetic subtypes of Parkinson's disease (PD) using the Parkinson's Progression Marker Initiative (PPMI) dataset. Methods This was a retrospective, longitudinal study utilizing data from the PPMI dataset. Dysarthria- and dysphagia-specific questions from the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) and Scales of Outcomes in Parkinson's Disease-Autonomic questionnaire (SCOPA-AUT) were extracted for people with Parkinson's disease (PwPD) with leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 gene (LRRK2), GBA, and SNCA genotypes across up to five research visits. Relevant patient (age, sex, etc.) …

Christian Character Formation In A Culture Of Anger, Rebecca Konyndyk Deyoung

University Faculty Publications and Creative Works

Anger is a hot topic, perhaps especially for Christians. We might concede that it’s OK to be angry sometimes—for example, when human rights are violated. It’s not right to be complacent or indifferent in the face of that kind of intentional injury! At the same time, we might be wary of justifying anger, given how many times we’ve been harmed—or seen others harmed— by people who get too angry. No one who has encountered Christians ranting on social media thinks we need more of that kind of witness.

Patterns And Implications Of Missed Injuries On Computed Tomography Imaging In Older Blunt Trauma Patients, Arnav Mahajan, Vanessa P. Ho

Faculty Scholarship

Background: Older adults sustain disproportionately morbid injuries from low energy mechanisms, yet guidance around computed tomography imaging is lacking for this demographic. We hypothesize that current imaging practices may lead to potentially missed injuries, increasing morbidity and mortality. Methods: A secondary analysis of a prospective multicenter study (11/2020–12/2021) of older blunt trauma patients was performed. Suboptimal imaging was defined as a mismatch between final injury diagnosis and initial computed tomography imaging. We compared optimally vs not optimally imaged patients to determine factors associated with suboptimal imaging and examined mortality, hospital length of stay, and critical care use with a multivariable …

Social Cognition As A Mediator Between Neurocognition And Functional Outcome In Early Course Schizophrenia, Anju Kotwani, Jessica A. Wojtalik, Douglas D. Gunzler, Wilson J. Brown, Rochanne L. Honarvar, Martha Sajatovic

Faculty Scholarship

Social cognition is an established mediator between neurocognition and functional outcome in schizophrenia, but there is limited evidence for this model specifically in the early course, which is a critical window for intervention to reduce long-term disability. This study aimed to test the social cognition mediator model in the early course of schizophrenia and identify social cognitive subdomains that may have stronger indirect effects on the relationship between neurocognition and functional outcome. This secondary analysis utilized baseline cognitive and functional outcome data from a cognitive remediation trial for outpatients with early course schizophrenia (N = 102). A path analysis approach …