Digital Commons Network^™

Impact Of Cessation Of Caffeine Citrate Therapy On Intermittent Hypoxemia Patterns Among Preterm Infants Born Before 34 Weeks, Peter Kipkurui Mashep, Roseline Ochieng, Jesse Coleman, Mary Waiyego, Amy Sarah Ginsburg, Dorothy Chomba, Morris Ogero Ondieki, Grace Irimu, William Macharia, Mark Ansermino

Paediatrics and Child Health, East Africa

Introduction: Intermittent hypoxemia (IH) is defined as oxygen saturation (SpO₂) drop ≥5% from the baseline (set at 90 s preceding the event) to a level less than 90% lasting for ≥5 s. Caffeine citrate, the standard of care for apnea of prematurity, reduces IH events. IH contributes to both short and long-term adverse neurologic outcomes. Standard patient monitors cannot detect IH events due to long averaging times.

Objective: Describe change in patterns of IH events in preterms < 34 weeks before and after cessation of caffeine citrate and factors associated.

Methods: Interrupted time series study design. Data was collected from 1 December 2022 to 30 June 2023. MASIMO RAD-G oximeter was …

Reverse Engineering Bring Up And Profiling Of Multi-Fpga Systems, Henry A. Evans

Master's Theses

FPGAs have long been used for prototyping and verifying high-speed digital designs in industry and in academic research. As ASIC designs have grown in complexity and size, prototyping those designs on FPGAs has required multiple FPGAs that sometimes span multiple servers. Western Digital donated multiple FPGA-based systems to Cal Poly in 2023. These servers contain multiple high-end AMD FPGAs that are ideal for prototyping large high-speed digital designs, however the full documentation on how to use the servers and how the servers work was not provided. The servers did not come with any information on how to program the FPGAs, …

Griddle: A Novel Hardware Based Matrix Multiplier Architecture, Seth Kiefer

Master's Theses

Matrix multiplication is a computational cornerstone in modern artificial intelligence and scientific computing, yet general-purpose processors struggle to perform these operations efficiently at scale. This thesis presents Griddle, a novel hardware architecture for matrix multiplication implemented on a Xilinx Artix-7 FPGA. Griddle focuses on flexibility and scalability by adopting a purely iterative approach that supports arbitrarily shaped input matrices without requiring padding or strict dimensional constraints. The architecture uses computational pipelines to execute a multiplication operation. Each pipe consists of a multiplication core and accumulation buffer that compute matrix products in parallel. The multiplication core contains a set of multiplier …

Streamlined Intelligence: Resource-Efficient Machine Learning For 5g Nr V2v Channel Equalization, Jacqueline G. Radding

Master's Theses

As autonomous vehicles continue to evolve, reliable and efficient real-time communication between vehicles is essential for safety and performance. This thesis explores Streamlined Intelligence: Resource Efficient machine learning for 5G NR V2V Channel Equalization, focusing on lightweight random forest decision tree models to address the challenges of channel equalization in 5G New Radio (NR) vehicle to vehicle (V2V) systems. Using orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) with QPSK modulation, the study simulates data transmission in nonlinear channels characterized by obstructions, Doppler shifts, and fading. Decision trees are proposed as a computationally efficient alternative to other machine learning methods while being compared …

Efficient And Robust Language Adaptation In Multilingual Llms, Bibek Upadhayay

Doctoral Works at the University of New Haven

Large Language Models (LLMs) have demonstrated significant capabilities in understanding and generating natural language, excelling in tasks such as question-answering, text generation, and classification. However, these models are predominantly monolingual, exhibiting limited proficiency in non-English and low-resource languages. Despite their problem-solving abilities and potential to enhance productivity, LLMs pose substantial risks by generating harmful, toxic, biased, or nonfactual content. Furthermore, even robust proprietary models have been susceptible to jailbreaks through sophisticated prompt engineering, particularly leveraging low-resource languages. This dissertation investigates the critical intersection of multilingual capabilities and security vulnerabilities in LLMs. Through five interconnected studies, I address these dual challenges …

Coherent Synchronization For Distributed Digital Phased Arrays, Zachary C. Numa

Master's Theses

Distributed digital phased arrays are rising technologies that help enable applications such as search and rescue operations, wireless communication, radar navigation, and military operations, among many others. Due to their improved angular resolution, digital phased arrays offer superior direction-finding capabilities compared to traditional analog phased array systems. However, this improvement comes at the cost of increased complexity—specifically, the need for precise synchronization of phase, time, and frequency across physically separated nodes. Without synchronization, the distributed phased array's gain and direction-of-arrival (DoA) estimations deteriorate significantly.

There are multiple aspects to implementing and synchronizing a non-stationary distributed digital phased array. This research …

Open Source Microgrid Integration, Zachary J. Kwast

Master's Theses

Microgrids are small-scale electrical systems that operate in tandem with a centralized grid to provide power to a smaller group of target devices. These microgrids are used for a wide range of different purposes, which invites the need for a generalized model that can be tweaked for a variety of uses. This document goes over the theory used to design an open source AC and DC microgrid meant for use by anyone. The microgrid is created using a Raspberry Pi that controls two different power converters so that a wide range of voltage and current characteristics can be achieved. These …

Statistical Investigations Of Strategies In The Game Ecosystem, Dylan Li

Master's Theses

This work provides a probability-based analysis of strategies in the board game Ecosystem. Ecosystem is a turn-based multiplayer tiling game, where players take turns picking a wildlife card from a limited pool of cards then placing that card on their personal 4x5 grid. The objective of the game is to place the wildlife cards to maximize your score, as each card’s scoring condition depends on the presence or absence of certain cards surrounding it. The goal of this project is to determine optimal strategies for tiling your grid using techniques such as simulation to find optimal grid arrangements and clustering …

When Trees Disappear: Understory Successional Implications Of Sudden Oak Death And High-Severity Wildfire In Big Sur, California, Sam J. Balthazard

Master's Theses

The rapidly emerging disease sudden oak death, caused by the non-native pathogen Phytophthora ramorum, is transforming coastal California forests by driving extensive mortality of tanoak (Notholithocarpus densiflorus) and increasing fire severity. As a novel disturbance, sudden oak death and its interaction with wildfire may catalyze unexpected shifts in successional trajectories and reconfigure forest understory communities. Furthermore, how tanoak influences the forest understory and how its decline might reshape understory dynamics remain poorly understood. We hypothesize that disease alone and the compounding disturbances of disease and wildfire alter successional dynamics, and that the potential functional extinction of N. …

Secretive Sheriffs: Opacity And Variation In California's Jail Responses To Covid-19, Aparna Komarla, Hadar Aviram

Nevada Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Exonerations For Wrongfully Convicted Disabled Inmates: The Path To Salvation Is Paved With Bad Intentions, Marc Consalo

Nevada Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Unarresting School Safety, Maryam Ahranjani

Nevada Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Decades Of Indifference And Failures In Accountability In The Provision Of Medical Care In Federal Prisons, Nicole B. Godfrey

Nevada Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Thriving In The Tropics, Hansika K. Herath, D. Nicholas Mcletchie

Biology Faculty Publications

Increasing frequency and intensity of global warming pose a profound threat to plant species persistence. Most investigations on plants' resilience to heat events focus on few genotypes of model species. Novel insights into resilience mechanisms will be gained by focusing on natural variation in thermotolerance and its relationship to local-abiotic factors. Additionally, studying species that survived 'ancient periods' of high temperatures provides insight into resilience mechanisms. Within a species, we assessed spatial thermotolerance variation, its association with temperature and light, while testing for thermotolerance sex differences and its relationship with population sex ratios. We used Marchantia inflexa, a species with …

Are Markets Better Than Law In Achieving Sustainability And Water Security In The Face Of Climate Disruption?, Joseph W. Dellapenna

UMKC Law Review

No abstract provided.

Hybrid Fea And Meta-Modeling For De Optimization Of A Pm Stator-Excited Motor With A Reluctance Rotor, Oluwaseun A. Badewa, Dan M. Ionel

Electrical and Computer Engineering Graduate Research

This paper presents an innovative method for designing high-performance electric motors by integrating machine learning (ML) based meta-modeling with a differential evolution (DE) optimization algorithm. The approach utilizes finite element analysis (FEA) data to train the ML meta-model, allowing for efficient optimization of high-power-density machines, such as the reluctance rotor and permanent magnet (PM) stator combined excitation motor, which is characterized by nonlinearities. The meta-modeling process employs an Artificial Neural Network (ANN) with 3 hidden layers and uses the motor’s geometrical variables as inputs. The accuracy of the meta-model in capturing the nonlinear relationships between design parameters, core losses, and …

The Continuing Unevolving Model Of Decency, Kennedy V. Louisiana In Peril, Patrick S. Metze

Criminal Law Practitioner

Professor Metze reflects on Kennedy v. Louisiana in its part in the development of Eighth Amendment jurisprudence and how the Supreme Court initially used Kennedy to further our understanding of the limits of the Eighth Amendment. The Court recently avoided a meaningful discussion of how our society is maturing and evolving by acknowledging a purposeful effort of some to reflect modern beliefs in opposition to those who would interpret everything through an 18th-century prism. After a case-by-case analysis of how the Court has used Kennedy, it is apparent the conservative majority now on the Court has decided there is no …

High-Significance Detection Of Correlation Between The Unresolved Gamma-Ray Background And The Large-Scale Cosmic Structure, B. Thakore, M. Negro, M. Regis, S. Camera, D. Gruen, N. Fornengo, A. Roodman, A. Porredon, T. Schutt, A. Cuoco, A. Alarcon, A. Amon, K. Bechtol, M. Becker, G. Bernstein, A. Campos, A. Carnero Rosell, M. Carrasco Kind, R. Cawthon, C. Chang, R. Chen, A. Choi, J. Cordero, C. Davis, J. Derose, H. Diehl, S. Dodelson, C. Doux, A. Drlica-Wagner, K. Eckert, J. Elvin-Poole, S. Everett, A. Ferté

Faculty Publications

Our understanding of the γ-ray sky has improved dramatically in the past decade, however, the unresolved γ-ray background (UGRB) still has a potential wealth of information about the faintest γ-ray sources pervading the Universe. Statistical cross-correlations with tracers of cosmic structure can indirectly identify the populations that most characterize the γ-ray background. In this study, we analyze the angular correlation between the γ-ray background and the matter distribution in the Universe as traced by gravitational lensing, leveraging more than a decade of observations from the Fermi-Large Area Telescope (LAT) and 3 years of data from the Dark Energy Survey (DES). …

X-Ray Polarization Of The Magnetar 1e 1841−045, Rachael Stewart, George A. Younes, Alice K. Harding, Zorawar Wadiasingh, Matthew G. Baring, Michela Negro, Tod E. Strohmayer, Wynn C.G. Ho, Mason Ng, Zaven Arzoumanian, Hoa Dinh Thi, Niccolò Di Lalla, Teruaki Enoto, Keith Gendreau, Chin Ping Hu, Alex Van Kooten, Chryssa Kouveliotou, Alexander Mcewen

Faculty Publications

We report on IXPE and NuSTAR observations beginning 40 days after the 2024 outburst onset of magnetar 1E 1841−045, marking the first IXPE observation of a magnetar in an enhanced state. Our spectropolarimetric analysis indicates that both a blackbody (BB) plus double power-law (PL) and a double blackbody plus power-law spectral model fit the phase-averaged intensity data well, with a hard PL tail (Γ = 1.19 and 1.35, respectively) dominating above ≈5 keV. For the former model, we find the soft PL (the dominant component at soft energies) exhibits a polarization degree (PD) of ≈30% while the hard PL displays …

A Polarized View Of The Young Pulsar Wind Nebula 3c 58 With Ixpe, N. Bucciantini, J. Wong, R. W. Romani, F. Xie, C. Y. Ng, S. Silvestri, N. Di Lalla, Y. J. Yang, S. Zhang, P. Slane, W. T. Ye, M. Pilia, N. Omodei, M. Negro

Faculty Publications

Pulsar wind nebulae (PWNe) are among the most efficient particle accelerators in the Universe; however, the physical conditions and magnetic geometry in their inner regions remain poorly understood. X-ray polarization now provides a unique opportunity to investigate the magnetic field structure and turbulence properties close to the sites where high energy particles are accelerated. Here, we report on recent X-ray polarization measurements of the PWN 3C 58 by the International X-ray Polarimeter Explorer (IXPE). 3C 58 is a young system that displays a characteristic jet-torus structure that, unlike those in other PWNe, is observed almost edge-on. This nebula exhibits a …

Quantum Classical Algorithm For The Study Of Phase Transitions In The Hubbard Model Via Dynamical Mean-Field Theory, Anshumitra Baul, Herbert Fotso, Hanna Terletska, Ka Ming Tam, Juana Moreno

Faculty Publications

Modeling many-body quantum systems is widely regarded as one of the most promising applications for near-term noisy quantum computers. However, in the near term, system size limitation will remain a severe barrier for applications in materials science or strongly correlated systems. A promising avenue of research is to combine many-body physics with machine learning for the classification of distinct phases. We present a workflow that synergizes quantum computing, many-body theory, and quantum machine learning (QML) for studying strongly correlated systems. In particular, it can capture a putative quantum phase transition of the stereotypical strongly correlated system, the Hubbard model. Following …

Irrigation Companies: Perspectives In The Great Salt Lake Basin, Bailey M. Holdaway, Courtney G. Flint

Environment and Society Student Research

In an effort to better understand the water management practices of Utah irrigation companies within the Great Salt Lake Basin, interviews and surveys were conducted with company representatives. These discussions aimed to capture insights across a variety of key topics related to water resource management. This report describes the interview and survey efforts undertaken to assess these irrigation companies. Findings from both interviews and surveys are organized by question topic and then by theme.

Measuring Children’S Reward And Punishment Sensitivity: An Initial Psychometric Evaluation Of The Contingency Response Rating Scale, Daniel A. Waschbusch, Vanessa T. Cao, Delshad M. Shroff, Pevitr S. Bansal, Michael T. Willoughby

Department of Psychology Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Existing research shows that children’s responses to rewards and punishments are essential for understanding attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, oppositional defiant disorder, conduct disorder, and callous-unemotional traits. The present study developed the Contingency Response Rating Scale (CRRS) to fulfill the need for a reliable and valid measure of children’s contingency response style that is brief, easy to use in applied settings, and provides additional information to existing clinical measures. We examined the psychometric properties of the CRRS in a sample of 196 children (ages 5–12), most of whom were referred to evaluate attention and behavior problems in an outpatient clinic. Using principal axis …

Enhancing Autonomous Vehicle Resilience Through Engineering Requirements And Snow-Adaptive Lane Detection, Alexandra Marie Masterson

Masters Theses

This thesis investigates two distinct but interrelated challenges in the development of resilient autonomous vehicle (AV) systems: the formalization of engineering requirements for AV perception subsystems and the enhancement of visual lane detection under snow-covered road conditions. In the first study, field experiments were conducted using a campus-deployed autonomous research vehicle to evaluate the impacts of perception related failures including GPS outages, HD map inconsistencies, and weather interference—on vehicle operation. These findings were used to develop a set of qualitative engineering requirements that promote AV resilience through proactive design. In the second study, a custom snow-focused lane detection dataset was …

Unpacking Open Source Bio, Jorge L. Contreras

Indiana Law Journal

For at least a quarter of a century, life science researchers around the world have undertaken initiatives loosely based on principles, goals, and institutional structures derived from the open source software (OSS) movement—approaches that I term “open source bio.” Yet open source bio lacks a clear definition and set of guiding principles. Given public calls for greater openness in life science research, it is useful to understand how open source bio projects have fared over the past quarter century: how they were structured, what they hoped to achieve, and, as social and policy experiments, whether or not they were successful. …

On Software Bugs And Legal Bugs: Product Liability In The Age Of Code, Asaf Lubin

Indiana Law Journal

Despite software’s ubiquity in modern life, its classification within product liability law remains unsettled. Is software a product, a service, a good, a component, a medium, a force, or something else altogether? Under the Restatement (Third) of Torts, a product is defined as a “tangible personal property distributed commercially for use or consumption.” But has this definition been embraced by states? And how has it been applied in the courts, since its adoption some twenty-six years ago?

Through a fifty-state survey and the canvassing of all relevant case law, this Essay reveals widespread doctrinal inconsistencies within the common law. Some …

Efficient Blending Of Large Language Models, Sandeep Chatterjee

Master’s Dissertations

Due to the limited capabilities of single Large Language Models (LLMs), multiple LLMs can be employed in tandem for better reliability of answers. Blending refers to combining the strengths of various LLMs to make use of their complementary capabilities for generating high-quality responses. It is a non-trivial problem, and the task becomes even more difficult when aiming for minimal latency and supervising the blending components. The standard framework, LLM- Blender, approaches this in three stages: response generation, candidate selection via ranking, and response fusion through summarization. However, this pipeline faces two critical limita- tions—high latency due to repeated ranking steps, …

Oviposition-Deterrent And Repellent Effects Of Synthetic Plant-Derived Compounds On The Pulse Beetle, Callosobruchus Chinensis (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Bruchinae), Akki Suma, M Rajadurai, Ac Lokesh, Mb Anusha, S Krishna Kumar

The Philippine Agricultural Scientist

The pulse beetle, Callosobruchus chinensis (Linnaeus, 1758), is a major stored pest of pulses (Fabaceae) in India. While effective control of this widespread and destructive insect pest is essential, continuous insecticide use poses environmental concerns, thereby necessitating alternative, eco-friendly control methods. This study evaluated the oviposition-deterrent effects of 7 synthetic compounds (linalool, guaiene, citral, estragole, 4-nonanone, alloaromadendrene, and citronellal) on C. chinensis. Linalool showed the strongest suppression of egg-laying at higher concentrations, with the lowest egg count at 500 ppm compared to the control, followed by citral, citronellal, and guaiene. Linalool was also effective in suppressing egg hatching at …

A Review On The Cytogenetic Integrity Of Micropropagated Plants [Review Paper], Eliaza Alumbro Peniton Jr

The Philippine Agricultural Scientist

Cytogenetic stability is essential for the survival of micropropagated plants. While micropropagation allows rapid propagation of plants with desirable phenotypes, it may also produce genetic variations that are, at times, cytogenetically observable. Factors affecting these variations are not fully understood, and micropropagation protocols are optimized to produce genetically stable regenerants. The genetic stability of micropropagated plants is traditionally assessed by comparing the phenomorphological traits of the regenerants to the mother plant. However, genetic variation does not often result in obvious morphological changes. Therefore, molecular and cytogenetic markers are typically used to evaluate the genetic variations of regenerants. Moreover, analyzing plant …

Effects Of Water Deficit Stress And Mycorrhiza, Azotobacter Chroococcum, And Azospirillum Lipoferum Biofertilizers On Yield And Morphological Traits Of Wheat (Triticum Aestivum L.) Cultivars, Mehdi Rashnou, Farshid Aref, Bahram Amiri, Masoud Rafiee, Mahdi Zare

The Philippine Agricultural Scientist

Crop production in various parts of Iran faces significant constraints due to insufficient water availability, which is a major challenge to agricultural productivity. To study the effects of water deficit stress on shoot and root growth characteristics and seed yield of different wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cultivars, an experiment was conducted using a randomized complete block design with a split-plot arrangement and 3 replications. The main factor was irrigation treatments (full irrigation during the growing season [S1], water withholding after flowering [S2], and water withholding after grain filling at the milk stage [S3]). The secondary factors were wheat cultivars …