Digital Commons Network^™

Daily Physical Activity And Cardiorespiratory Fitness In Adults With Down Syndrome With And Without Congenital Heart Disease., Julianne G. Clina, David A. White, Joseph R. Sherman, Jessica C. Danon, Daniel Forsha, Brian C. Helsel, Richard A. Washburn, Joseph E. Donnelly, Lauren T. Ptomey

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

BACKGROUND: Individuals with Down syndrome (DS) typically exhibit lower cardiorespiratory fitness and reduced moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) compared to persons without disability. Approximately 50-55 % of individuals with DS have congenital heart disease (CHD), which is associated with cardiopulmonary deficiencies and reduced MVPA participation in non-DS populations. It is unknown if CHD related comorbidities compound with DS associated deficits in physical activity and fitness.

OBJECTIVE: To compare physical activity, cardiorespiratory fitness, and cardiovascular function, of persons with DS with and without CHD.

METHODS: Baseline data were used from a 12-month randomized controlled physical activity intervention of adults with DS. Participants …

Volumetric And Diffusion Tensor Imaging Abnormalities Are Associated With Behavioral Changes Post-Concussion In A Youth Pig Model Of Mild Traumatic Brain Injury., Sanjida Islam, Alesa Netzley, Chenyang Li, Jiangyang Zhang, Bianca Dávila-Montero, Ana Vazquez, Shaun Subbaiah, Avner Moeded, Kirk Munoz, Aimee Colbath, Jie Huang, Ricardo Mejia-Alvarez, Jane Manfredi, Galit Pelled

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) caused by sports-related incidents in children and youth often leads to prolonged cognitive impairments but remains difficult to diagnose. In order to identify clinically relevant imaging and behavioral biomarkers associated concussion, a closed-head mTBI was induced in adolescent pigs. Twelve (n = 4 male and n = 8 female), 16-week old Yucatan pigs were tested; n = 6 received mTBI and n = 6 received a sham procedure. T1-weighted imaging was used to assess volumetric alterations in different regions of the brain and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to examine microstructural damage in white matter. The …

Electrochemistry Behind Pfas: Mechanistic And Analytical Approach For Sensing And Degradation Strategies, Jonathan Josue Calvillo Solis

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Understanding the fundamental electrochemistry of perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) is key to developing effective water remediation and sensing strategies. This work explores the thermodynamics and kinetics of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) electroreduction, focusing on C-F bond cleavage. These insights were applied to design a highly sensitive electrochemical sensor for detecting trace levels of PFOA in water. This dissertation focuses on the electrochemical investigation of the reduction reaction of PFOA in aqueous and organic media employing different electrode materials. This exploration allows to understand the defluorination reaction of PFAS to further propose potential strategies for water treatment and PFOA electrosensing. Through electrochemical, spectroscopical …

Instruct2see: Learning To Remove Any Obstructions Across Distributions, Junhang Li, Yu Guo, Chuhua Xian, Shengfeng He

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Images are often obstructed by various obstacles due to capture limitations, hindering the observation of objects of interest. Most existing methods address occlusions from specific elements like fences or raindrops, but are constrained by the wide range of real-world obstructions, making comprehensive data collection impractical. To overcome these challenges, we propose Instruct2See, a novel zero-shot framework capable of handling both seen and unseen obstacles. The core idea of our approach is to unify obstruction removal by treating it as a soft-hard mask restoration problem, where any obstruction can be represented using multi-modal prompts, such as visual semantics and textual instructions, …

Experimentally Driven Numerical Model Of Carbon/Polyaniline-Based Glucose Monitoring Sensors: An Evaluation Using A New Figure Of Merit, Ziad Khalifa

Chemical Engineering

This study presents an experimentally driven numerical model for evaluating carbon/polyaniline (PANI)- based glucose monitoring sensors (GMSs), focusing on innovative configurations using graphene-PANI and carbon nanotube (CNT)-PANI composites. We performed a thorough analysis of the morphological, electrophysical, and electrical properties of these materials, ultimately leading to the extraction of key electrical parameters for integration into a finite element model (FEM). This model simulates the entire sensor, enabling the estimation of critical performance metrics such as sensitivity, limit of detection (LOD), linearity, and power consumption. Our findings demonstrate that the CNT-PANI configuration significantly outperforms the laser-induced graphene (LIG)-PANI electrode, achieving a …

Experimentally Driven Numerical Model Of Carbon/Polyaniline-Based Glucose Monitoring Sensors: An Evaluation Using A New Figure Of Merit, Ziad Khalifa, Kyrillos Selim, Amira Ali, Sameh Abdellatif

Chemical Engineering

This study presents an experimentally driven numerical model for evaluating carbon/polyaniline (PANI)- based glucose monitoring sensors (GMSs), focusing on innovative configurations using graphene-PANI and carbon nanotube (CNT)-PANI composites. We performed a thorough analysis of the morphological, electrophysical, and electrical properties of these materials, ultimately leading to the extraction of key electrical parameters for integration into a finite element model (FEM). This model simulates the entire sensor, enabling the estimation of critical performance metrics such as sensitivity, limit of detection (LOD), linearity, and power consumption. Our findings demonstrate that the CNT-PANI configuration significantly outperforms the laser-induced graphene (LIG)-PANI electrode, achieving a …

Menguji Keberadaan N-Shaped Environmental Kuznets Curve Di Indonesia Dengan Model Ardl, Ridwan Pandu Sunaryo, Erny Tajib

Jurnal Ekonomi dan Pembangunan Indonesia

The study aims to test the existence of the N-shaped Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) and to determine the impact of fossil energy consumption and economic activity such as industrialization, urbanization, and trade openness on CO2 emissions in Indonesia from 1971 to 2021, using Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL). The results of this study show that the relationship between per capita GDP and CO2 emissions in Indonesia has a reversed N-shape. Industrialization and per-capita consumption of fossil energy have a positive impact, while trade openness has a negative impact on CO2 per-capita emissions both in the short and long term. Meanwhile, urbanization …

Ai And The Narrative Of The Everyday Life: Machine Learning Applied To The Social Mapping Of Rural Music Festivals., Enrique Villamuelas García, Eva Hurtado Torán, Eduardo Roig Segovia

Artículos científicos

Given the growing ubiquity of AI and the consequent valorization of data in territorial representation, it becomes crucial to analyze how multimodal algorithms interpret spatial narratives and community dynamics. This research studies the effects of algorithmic automation on social mappings. Using "Balboa Observa" project, a collaborative web mapping initiative that documents Observatorio Music Festival in Spain, the study explores the interaction between collective cartography, ethnographic analysis, and AIdriven data processing. Unlike conventional AI practices, the prioritizes analyses that avoid imposing structured categories on everyday narratives, allowing inclusion of sensitive information for deeper festival impact understanding. Through multimodal algorithms like CLIP …

July 2025 Louisiana Bar Exam, Louisiana Supreme Court Committee On Bar Admissions

Louisiana Bar Exams

No abstract provided.

Put-In Bay Current Conditions Report, Molly Schnoke, Jack Yochum, René-Simone Martin

All Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs Publications

This document serves as a current conditions report for the Put-In-Bay island chain of North, Middle, and South Bass Islands in Lake Erie. The following sections will cover financial, tax, and levy data; the geographic context of the three Bass Islands, including the land area of the Township and governmental structure; percentage of public and privately-owned land summary; public education; and demographic, housing, and economic data for the households on the islands.

Chat With The ’For You’ Algorithm: An Llm-Enhanced Chatbot For Controlling Video Recommendation Flow, Shuo Niu, Dikshith Vishnuvardhan, Venkata Sai Reddy Punnam

Computer Science

The rise of short-form video platforms like TikTok, driven by algorithmic recommendations, fosters immersive flow experiences. While users value personalization and engagement, they also seek greater agency over their For You recommendations. This paper designs, prototypes, and evaluates TKGPT, an LLM-enhanced conversational interface that helps users articulate their interests and understand recommendations. Through qualitative interviews and a user study, we examine how the TKGPT influences algorithmic folk theories and the sense of agency. Findings show that users primarily use TKGPT to seek relevant videos, explain preferences, and exert control over the algorithm. The resulting For You videos better reflect user …

Investing Hysteresis In Floodplain Dynamics Of Lakes In The Middle St. Johns River Using Sentinel-1 Sar Imagery, Keenan Hubbard

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Floodplain dynamics are often complex, with hysteresis potentially affecting the temporal relationship between flood stage and flood extent during subsequent inundation phases. This study leverages Sentinel-1 synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery to map flood extent in the Middle St. Johns River Lake floodplains and examine the presence of hysteresis during flood events. SAR scenes corresponding to river gauge readings were analyzed from the rising and falling limbs of a flood hydrograph. By comparing these flood maps, we assess differences in inundated areas at equivalent water levels during each stage of the flood event. The findings aim to enhance flood monitoring …

Aircraft Bird Strike Risk Prediction Using Machine Learning And Analytic Hierarchy Process, Jason Anthony Powell

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

To address the limitations of Next Generation Radar-based bird strike forecasting, this study modeled 12 spatiotemporal weather features from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration alongside bird strike risk using Long Short-Term Memory Recurrent Neural Network (LSTM-RNN), XGBoost regression tree, and Bayesian network algorithms. Five years of bird strike data from four geographically diverse airfields served as the target risk variable, categorized as low, moderate, or severe based on Department of the Air Force risk models. The ensemble model, which combines the LSTM-RNN and XGBoost regression algorithms, yielded the most accurate forecasts, achieving 80% to 93% accuracy across all airfields, …

Defending The Golden Fleece: A Study Of Disruption And Resilience In The Movement To Defund Public Libraries In Louisiana, Ciel Lane Quebedeaux

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

In this moment of societal change and institutional capture, public educational institutions have become sites of contention where national ideological and political debates are carried out in local school and library board meetings across the country. In Louisiana, the creation and expansion of a statewide conservative organization has led to the defunding of public libraries sparked by accusations of grooming and inappropriate programming. In response, local library defenders have created another statewide organization to share information and organizing strategies to combat disinformation campaigns propagated by conservative organizers at local and state levels. This qualitative study includes in-depth interviews with library …

Exploring Veteran And Non-Veteran Nursing Student Satisfaction Utilizing Marginality And Financial Stress, Juanita Nickols

Nursing Theses and Dissertations

It is widely recognized that there is a nursing shortage in the U.S. due to a growing aging population, nurses retiring, and a low nursing school capacity. Nursing schools can ameliorate part of this shortage by devising ways to increase nursing student success and graduation rates. This three-manuscript paper aims to present various ideas to help nursing schools in this endeavor. A relatively unstudied population is the veteran nursing student (VNS), the focus of this paper. The first chapter, Chapter 2: A Concept Analysis of Overload: Implications for Undergraduate Nursing Students Success, discusses the concept of overload so the …

Property Values: Accounting For Racial Valorization And Stigmatization In Development, Audrey G. Mcfarlane

Articles

No abstract provided.

Genetically Proxied Blood Pressure, Vascular Brain Injury, And Alzheimer's Disease Pathology, Iyas Daghlas, Michelle R. Caunca, Lincoln M.P. Shade, Malik Nassan, Kristine Yaffe, David W. Fardo, Dipender Gill

Biostatistics Faculty Publications

INTRODUCTION: Lower blood pressure (BP) is linked to reduced dementia risk, though it is uncertain whether this benefit stems solely from mitigating vascular brain injury (VBI) or also extends to directly influencing Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathology. We leveraged Mendelian randomization (MR) to assess whether lifelong lower BP is causally associated with neuropathological correlates of VBI and AD. METHODS: We identified genetic proxies for systolic and diastolic BP (n = 1,028,980) and applied them in MR analyses of post mortem neuropathological measures of VBI and AD (n = 6363–7786). RESULTS: Genetically proxied lower systolic BP associated with reduced risk of all …

Reevaluating Extremist Profiles Through Sociocultural And Psychological Perspectives, David Cowan, Avery Slater, Omi Hodwitz

Idaho Conference on Undergraduate Research

Research suggests there are key risk factors that facilitate offending. In addition, some studies suggest that specific factors may influence the presence of violence versus nonviolent offending. While these factors have been assessed with apolitical samples, their relationship with political offending has been underexplored. This qualitative study aims to address this question by examining factors that facilitate offending and nonviolent versus violent activities in an extremist sample. Using case study analysis, the authors assess the presence of key risk factors in a sample of twenty individuals convicted of terrorism-related offenses in the United States and Canada. Results indicate that traditional …

The Evaluation Of Anti-Factor Xa Levels In Hospitalised Patients Receiving Low Molecular Weight Heparin (Lmwh): A Prospective Study, Tandzile Thandwayinkosi Simelane

Master of Medicine in Clinical Pathology

Background 

Patients admitted to the hospital have been reported to have coagulation abnormalities due to various factors including immobilisation, preexisting disease, and current illness. The overall incidence of venous thromboembolism (VTE) in critically ill patients varies from 15% to well over 50%, even with the use of prophylactic measures in most patients. Low molecular weight heparin (LMWH) and unfractionated heparin (UFH) are the recommended drugs for VTE prophylaxis in inpatient care. Although not standardly recommended, the laboratory can offer monitoring of anti-Factor Xa using the gold standard method of chromogenic anti-Factor X assay. The anti-Factor Xa levels are notably affected …

Phylogenomic And Population Genomic Analyses Of Ultraconserved Elements Reveal Deep Coalescence And Introgression Shaped Diversification Patterns In Lamprologine Cichlids Of The Congo River, Fernando Alda, S. Elizabeth Alter, Naoko P. Kurata, Prosanta Chakrabarty, Melanie L J Stiassny

Biology, Agriculture and Chemistry Faculty Publications and Presentations

Understanding the drivers of diversification is a central goal in evolutionary biology but can be challenging when lineages radiate quickly and/or hybridize frequently. Cichlids in the tribe Lamprologini, an exceptionally diverse clade found in the Congo basin, exemplify these issues: their evolutionary history has been difficult to untangle with previous data sets, particularly with regard to river-dwelling lineages in the genus Lamprologus. This clade notably includes the only known blind and depigmented cichlid, Lamprologus lethops. Here, we reconstructed the evolutionary, population, and biogeographic history of a Lamprologus clade from the Congo River by leveraging genomic data and sampling over 50 …

Statistical Monitoring Of Hard Faults In Digital Systems, Dany Akshay Deep Isukapalli

Electrical Engineering Theses and Dissertations

Achieving a high test coverage is crucial for helping to ensure that integrated circuits are working correctly and are non-defective. Although scan-based structural tests are used throughout the industry, high-level functional tests may be needed to detect some defects— especially those that are environmentally sensitive. Unfortunately, the character of functional test makes it difficult to obtain high coverage, and it is even hard to estimate coverage because fault simulation times of large circuits are long. As a result, some method is required for predicting the ability of a functional test that has not been fault simulated to detect defects. In …

The Use Of Visuals In Preschool Settings To Improve Student Engagement And Student Participation At Group Timet, Lexie Flug

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

Engagement are participation in early childhood are essential for social growth and child development. Distractions at group time are a barrier to student engagement and participation. These distractions lead to less instructional time. Research shows higher levels of engagement and participation increase academic success. This inquiry-based research study aims to determine if the visual support of "Give Me 5" increases student engagement and participation at group time. The study utilized a qualitative approach, using classroom observations and teacher questionnaires for a preschool classroom. The findings revealed that implementing visual support at group time increased student participation with a slight increase …

Friends Of The Hilton M. Briggs Library, Summer 2025, Hilton M. Briggs Library

Friends of the Hilton M. Briggs Library Newsletters

Volume 10, Issue 3
Features:
Ben Reifel films opening to the public, thanks to Mary Chilton DAR grant
Dean of the Library
Briggs Library Helps SDSU Faculty Save Big on Publishing Fees
Kott retires from Briggs Library
Two Student Assistant Excellence Awards presented in spring semester

The Effect Of An Interdisciplinary Project On Students’ Understandings Of Mathematical Interdisciplinarity: A Qualitative Action Research Study, Jaime Krause

Theses and Dissertations

The siloed nature of education has likely caused some high school students to not recognize the interdisciplinary nature of mathematics, leading them to misunderstand its relationship to other subject areas. A misunderstanding of mathematical interdisciplinarity can cause issues when these students approach interdisciplinary problems later in life. The purpose of this study was to observe, investigate, and analyze the ways in which students understand mathematical interdisciplinarity following a collaborative and interdisciplinary project. I implemented a descriptive qualitative action research approach to determine how a collaborative interdisciplinary project on NASA technology in a high school mathematics course affects students’ understandings of …

Causal Neuro-Symbolic Artificial Intelligence: Synergy Between Neuro-Symbolic And Causal Artificial Intelligence, Utkarshani Jaimini

Theses and Dissertations

Understanding and reasoning about cause and effect is innate to human cognition. In everyday life, humans continuously engage in causal reasoning and hypothetical retrospection to make decisions, plan actions, and interpret events. This cognitive ability allows us to ask questions such as: “What caused this situation?”, “What will happen if I take this action?”, or “What would have happened had I chosen differently?” This intuitive capacity to form mental models of the world, infer causal relationships, and reason about alternative scenarios, particularly counterfactuals, is central to our intelligence and adaptability. In contrast, current machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) …

Investigating The Ecology Of The Homeless Court: The Promise Of Quasi-Experimental And Statistical Learning Methods, Dylan Wong

Theses and Dissertations

Interactions with the legal system are a crucial factor in maintaining homelessness. Difficulties in addressing legal issues are barriers to accessing services and finding employment and housing. Across the United States, the homeless court is an emerging legal program that has been developed to break this cycle, but they appear to face numerous capacity and coordination problems. Few empirical and systematic investigations have been conducted on homeless court programs. Further, previous studies of homeless courts focus their process and outcome measures on the priorities of the legal system. An investigation into the ecology, or environmental context, of homeless persons would …

The Effects Of Midwifery Students’ Simulation Training In Perineal Repair: A Quasi-Experimental Study, Zahra Sadat Pajohideh, Solmaz Mohammadi, Fatemeh Keshmiri, Azam Honarmandpour, Azam Jahangirimehr

Journal of Asian Midwives (JAM)

Background: The decrease in normal deliveries and episiotomies in midwifery practice has reduced the experience of midwifery students in perineum repair. This study examined the effect of perineal repair simulation training on the clinical skills of midwifery students by designing, implementing and evaluating simulation models in procedural education.
Methods and materials: This quasi-experimental study was conducted on 60 midwifery students in intervention and control groups at Shoushtar, Iran, from September 2018 to August 2021. The intervention group received simulation training before entering the formal clinical education courses, while the control group took part in workplace-based training. The clinical repair skills …

The Impact Of The Covid-19 Pandemic On Maternity Care Services: Lived Experiences Of Midwives In Indonesia, Mergy Gayatri, Oluwadamilare Akingbade, Indhar Wahyu Wira Harjo, Adepegba Folasade Rebecca, Salako Faith Adebola

Journal of Asian Midwives (JAM)

Background: There have been fundamental changes in global maternity care in response to the COVID-19 pandemic across the globe. However, there are limited studies in Indonesia that have explored the changes experienced by midwives in various health facilities during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Method: A qualitative phenomenological study was conducted among midwives with at least three years of clinical experience in midwifery practice and practicing at different levels of healthcare. Semi-structured interviews were conducted through WhatsApp or Phone calls, as face-to-face interviews were impossible during the pandemic. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis.
Results: In total, 24 midwives …

Implementing A Team-Based Approach To Reduce Blood Culture Contamination Rates In The Emergency Department: A Quality Improvement Initiative, Melissa Lockhart

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Background: Blood culture contaminations (BCC) present significant risks to patients, including adverse drug reactions and the exacerbation of antibiotic resistance. BCC can also result in millions of dollars in financial burdens for hospitals due to the need for follow-up testing, treatment complications, and antibiotic stewardship efforts. At this facility, the contamination rate in the emergency department (ED) consistently exceeds the national benchmark of 3%. Contributing factors include high patient turnover and increased nursing workloads, which can lead to shortcuts in essential practices such as hand hygiene and skin disinfection before collection.

Purpose: This project aimed to evaluate whether implementing a …

Unsuitable Underlying Cause-Of-Death Statements: Implementation And Evaluation Of A Structured Process For Healthcare Providers Certifying Natural Causes Of Death In An Outpatient Setting, Naida Rutherford

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Background: Accuracy in death certification is crucial for effective public health initiatives. Inaccuracies in unsuitable Underlying Cause-of-Death (UCOD) statements can distort mortality statistics, influence health policy, and impact resource allocation. In South Carolina, changes in the death registration process and the introduction of an unsuitable cause-of-death list highlighted an urgent need for structured training among certifiers to enhance accuracy in death documentation.

Purpose: The purpose of this project was to implement a standardized training program for healthcare providers certifying natural causes of death and assessing the impact of reducing the unsuitable underlying cause-of-death inaccuracies in an outpatient hospice setting.

Project …