Digital Commons Network^™

Artificial Intelligence In Biomedical Scientific Publishing, Tomasz J Guzik, Victor Aboyans, Stefan Agewall, Steven Bailey, Adrian Baranchuk, Magnus Bäck, Michael Böhm, Robert O Bonow, George W Booz, Giuseppe Boriani, Biykem Bozkurt, Nico Bruining, Davide Capodanno, Çetin Erol, Péter Ferdinandy, Alessia Gimelli, Gerd Heusch, Thomas Kahan, Chim Choy Lang, Gerald Maurer, Robert J Mentz, Marco Metra, Philip Moons, Daniel Piskorz, Massimo Piepoli, Piotr Ponikowski, Alexandra Popma, Bianca Rocca, Juan Sanchis Fores, Philipp Sommer, Rhian M Touyz, Zoltan Ungvari, Pascal Vranckx, Joseph A Hill, Thomas F Lüscher, Filippo Crea

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Artificial intelligence is now embedded across the scientific research and publishing ecosystem, influencing discovery, analysis, knowledge translation, authorship, peer review, and editorial workflows. In cardiovascular and biomedical sciences, these developments offer substantial opportunities to accelerate knowledge generation, integrate complex datasets, and improve efficiency and consistency. At the same time, they introduce new risks related to bias, transparency, data integrity, and authorship responsibility, potentially endangering trust in the scientific record. This commentary examines the evolving role of AI in biomedical publishing, with particular attention to generative models and machine learning tools. We review both benefits and limitations, highlight risks such as …

Plant-Assisted Synthesis Of Cobalt Oxide (Co3O4) Nanoparticles Using Ziziphus Jujuba And Capparis Decidua Extracts And Evaluation Of Antioxidant Activity, Muhammad Yaseen Khan

Journal of Applied Sciences and Nanotechnology

The plant-assisted synthesis method was employed to synthesize cobalt oxide (Co₃O₄) nanoparticles using the Ziziphus jujuba (Z. jujuba) (Jujube, Chinese Date, and Red Date) leaves and Capparis decidua (C. decidua) (Karira, Kair, and Bare Caper) stem. The Co₃O₄ NPs were characterized by various techniques. The ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectrum disclosed that Z. jujuba-based Co₃O₄ NPs had absorption peaks at 347, 384, and 423 nm. Whereas the C. decidua-based Co₃O₄ NPs showed absorption peaks at 327, 376, and 402 nm. The Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectrum showed the …

Laser-Ablated Au@Ag@Au Core-Double Shell Nanoparticles To Fight Multidrug-Resistant Bacteria, Ahmed A. Aktafa, Uday M. Nayef, Majid S. Jabir

Journal of Applied Sciences and Nanotechnology

This work involved synthesizing Au@Ag@Au core double-shelled structures in deionized water (DW) using various laser energies (300, 500, and 700 mJ). These compounds served as antimicrobial agents against two bacterial types: Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and Gram-negative Acinetobacter baumannii (A. baumannii). The findings showed that bactericidal efficacy increased with higher laser energy. During production, a pulsed Nd-YAG laser synthesized Au@Ag@Au core-double-shell nanoparticles (NPs) in a 5 mL DW solution. The laser generated 250 pulses at energy levels of 300, 500, and 700 mJ. The device operated at a wavelength of 1064 nm. XRD analysis confirmed the crystal structure, …

The Effectiveness Of Canva Based Dance Learning Media In Increasing Learning Interest Of Grade Viii Students, Maharani Prajustine Hakim, Agus Budiman, Saian Badaruddin

Jurnal Pendidikan: Teori, Penelitian, dan Pengembangan

This study aims to test how learning dance through the digital platform Canva affects the interest of students in learning dance at SMPN 2 in Bekasi City. This study uses a quantitative approach with a pre-experimental method through a one group pretest-posttest design. The research sample includes 39 students from class VIII.G, who were chosen through purposive sampling. Data collection was carried out by distributing a learning interest questionnaire that was given before and after the treatment was applied. The intervention included using Canva based learning media for the "Tari Piring" topic. It made use of interactive presentations, visual worksheets, …

Granular Phenotyping Of Neuromuscular And Cortical Adaptation In Elite Judo Athletes: A Three-Group Experimental Analysis Using Eeg And Emg Markers, Magdalena Prończuk, Dariusz Tadeusz Skalski, Wirginia Likus, Łukasz Jaworski, Adam Maszczyk, Kinga Łosińska

Baltic Journal of Health and Physical Activity

Background: Inter-individual variability in neuromuscular and cortical adaptation presents a significant challenge for the personalization of neurofeedback protocols in elite sports, particularly in judo. Objective: This study aimed to identify distinct adaptation phenotypes in elite Polish judo athletes by integrating electrophysiological and performance-based measures following an EEG biofeedback intervention. Materials and methods: Twenty-four male athletes from the Polish national judo team completed a 15-session EEG biofeedback protocol targeting frontal alpha asymmetry. Post-intervention assessments included surface EMG amplitude (RMS), median frequency (MF), percentage EMG change, composite EEG indices (EEG_SUM), and normalized lower-limb strength. A composite Global Adaptation Index (GAI) was used …

Medical Image Integrity Protection Through U-Net Based Roi Segmentation And Hybrid Integer Wavelet–Quadtree Embedding, Muna M. Jawad, Rasha F. Nadhim, Noor A. Yousif, Ashwaq T. Hashim

Journal of Intelligent Informatics, Networking, and Cybersecurity

For decades, secure techniques in medical images have focused on securing the sensitive information through limiting direct access to the images themselves. Nonetheless, these methods tend to cause distortion on the images that can affect the diagnostic value and cause loss of crucial information. There arises the fundamental problem of secure embedding of medical data in such a way that does not affect the diagnostic integrity of the image. To overcome this limitation, a secure yet hidden data-hiding mechanism is introduced that is exploited U-Net-based deep learning for accurate Region of Interest (ROI) segmentation. Therefore U-Net architecture is used for …

Audio Signal Correction Via Transformer-Based Fusion Of Facial Landmarks And Latency Metadata, Ruofei Du, Mahdi Tayarani Najaran

Defensive Publications Series

In remote communication, audio signals and visual signals are often unsynchronized. A mismatch between perceived visuals and corresponding audio leads to speech recognition errors and reduced audio quality. This disclosure provides an architecture for visual-audio speech correction. Features are extracted by a mouth landmark encoder, an audio encoder, and a visual encoder. These features are mapped to a target audio signal through an on-device visual-audio transformer. Simultaneous processing of signals from both visual and audio modalities is performed. Device latency and conferencing platform latency are integrated into transformer encoders during a preprocessing stage. Enhanced audio signals are then decoded to …

Gating Spatial Coordinates Utilizing Inertial Detection, Tushar Chugh, Aditya Shrikant Mone, Karthik Kumara

Defensive Publications Series

Extended reality (XR) input systems relying solely on optical hand-tracking face critical limitations, including contact ambiguity between hovering and touching, processing pipeline latency, and field-of-view occlusion. This disclosure describes a multimodal sensor fusion framework that addresses these challenges by integrating spatial coordinate mapping from head-worn devices with high-frequency inertial event detection from wrist-worn devices. When a wrist-worn sensor detects the sharp acceleration of a physical impact at a specific timestamp, the system triggers retroactive event gating. The system accesses historical visual buffers to retrieve spatial coordinates corresponding to the impact time, then applies an update that dynamically forces the depth …

Ai-Driven Application Policy Infrastructure Controller Managed Object Configuration And Validation System, Ramesh Babu Radhakrishnan, Bharathan Thangam Madhavenpillai, Amrit Tickoo, Praveen Kumar Tarikere Nagaraj

Defensive Publications Series

A system is proposed herein that provides an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven autonomous testing framework that programmatically transforms network-controller object schemas into executable validation pipelines. The framework enables systematic and scalable validation of managed objects (MOs) in an intent-based networking system, such as an application policy infrastructure controller (APIC). Large language models (LLMs) interpret structured MO metadata and synthesize hierarchically valid configuration payloads, attribute-complete valid, invalid, and boundary test cases, deterministic verification logic, and cleanup sequences.

Ai Agent Evaluation With Skill-Driven Test Cases And Lightweight Network Simulation, Ryan Holland, Elango Ganesan, Samer Salman, Yao Zhao

Defensive Publications Series

Presented herein is a system for automated generation, deployment, and evaluation of test cases for artificial intelligence (AI)-powered agents performing network operations. The system evaluates long-running agent trajectories rather than only single-turn outputs, validates whether required tool calls were executed, assesses whether a reasonable diagnostic process was followed, and checks whether conclusions were accurate and helpful. Procedural documentation, such as skills, is used as a proxy for coverage so that key use cases can be prioritized and test cases can scale with domain growth. The system also generates and pre-validates synthetic responses to anticipated tool calls, thereby avoiding physical networks …

Ensuring Symmetric Path Forwarding Of Ptp Packets Using A Dedicated Ptp Mac Address Steering Table, Anonymous

Defensive Publications Series

A mechanism is disclosed for maintaining path symmetry of Precision Time Protocol (PTP) message exchanges in a packet switched network. Each network node along a PTP packet path maintains a dedicated PTP Media Access Control (MAC) Address Steering Table that is separate from conventional data plane forwarding and MAC learning tables. PTP packets are identified by User Datagram Protocol (UDP) port 319 for event messages and UDP port 320 for general messages. Upon receiving a forward direction PTP packet from a PTP Grandmaster (GM) toward a Telecom Boundary Clock (T-BC), each node records the source MAC address, source Internet Protocol …

Ai-Powered Validation Of Screen Reader Output For Automated Accessibility Testing, Shubham Jain

Defensive Publications Series

This technology automates accessibility testing of user interfaces (UIs) by using an artificial intelligence (AI) model to validate screen reader output. The framework uses automation tools to navigate a UI, such as a web page or application, while recording the audio output generated by a screen reader. This initial recording establishes a baseline recording. For subsequent regression testing, the system runs the automation again and compares the new output to the baseline recording to detect any deviations. An AI tool performs the validation by either converting the audio to text for comparison or conducting a direct audio and video comparison. …

Techniques For Preventing Anchoring Bias In Ai Investigative Analysis Through Staged Data Redaction And Hypothesis-Gated Revelation, Avneet Singh Chhabra

Defensive Publications Series

Presented herein is a system for preventing anchoring bias in large language model (LLM) investigative analysis. Bias in LLMs is not typically addressed by instruction-level approaches; rather, it is most effectively mitigated by physically separating the biasing data from an LLM's input during the hypothesis formation phase. The proposed system includes five core components: a Data Redaction Engine, a Staged Analysis Protocol, a Structural Gate, a Corrections Bridge, and a Procedural Attestation Record. The Data Redaction Engine operates to separate source data into a redacted evidence set and an attribution set, validated by a multi-layer validation pass. The Staged Analysis …

Multimodal Handwriting Recognition: Fusing Stylus Dynamics With Synchronized Visual And Audio Biometrics, N/A, Purvam Pujari

Defensive Publications Series

Traditional handwriting recognition relies entirely on spatial geometry, leading to high error rates when characters share identical stroke patterns. This paper presents a multimodal system that resolves these geometric ambiguities by fusing spatial stylus trajectory data with synchronized acoustic vocal data (e.g., via a microphone) and optical perioral (mouth) movements (e.g., via a camera). When the system detects an ambiguous pen stroke, a verification loop cross-references the synchronized optical and acoustic data at that exact millisecond to confirm user intent. For example, if a stroke looks like both a "5" and an "S", the optical sensor detecting an "F" lip …

Usa V. Brian Phelps

2026 Decisions

USDC for the District of New Jersey

Differentiation Of Self As A Therapist Effect In Couple Therapy, Nathan D. Knebel

Theses and Dissertations

Murray Bowen proposed that a therapist's level of differentiation of self influences therapeutic effectiveness, particularly in clinically distressed relational systems. Although existing literature has demonstrated that therapist effects account for a meaningful portion of variance in couple therapy outcomes, differentiation of self has received limited empirical attention as a therapist-level predictor. The present article proposes a framework for empirically examining Bowen's hypothesis by investigating whether therapist differentiation predicts trajectories of couple relationship quality across treatment. Additionally, the article explores theoretical pathways through which therapists may increase their level of differentiation, assuming Bowen's hypothesis is supported.

1 Billion Birds Lost: Mechanisms Of Window Collisions And Possible Mitigation Strategies At Lawrence University, Shoshana Schmit

Lawrence University Honors Projects

Windows are currently the largest killer of birds on the planet, with an estimated 1 billion birds dying from collisions annually. If birds that hit windows do not die on impact, they may either die elsewhere shortly afterwards, resulting in the number of carcasses at collision sites being a conservative estimate of the actual number of fatalities. During the day, proximity to foraging sites and reflectivity play crucial roles in the danger of windows, and during the night, artificial illumination emitting from windows disorients and inhibits navigational cues. To explore this topic on campus, I documented bird collisions at Lawrence …

The Gender Complex: A Survey Of Choral Educators, Anna Milton

Lawrence University Honors Projects

For this pilot study, I created a survey that was shared with choral directors around Wisconsin. The survey was filled out by 10 choral directors that have experience with single-sex choirs and that teach within Wisconsin. Participants that took the survey are from varying backgrounds, choral education experiences, and identities. This pilot study looks at how previous research lines up and does not line up with teachers in Wisconsin. The survey results explore the common denominators and disagreements found within the answers. This research and resulting paper examines current research, identifies what aligns with the practices of choral educators, who …

Intestinal Transplantation: How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Bomb, Andres J. Gonzalez Salazar

Grand Rounds

At the conclusion of this activity, learners will be able to:

1. Trace the historical evolution of intestinal transplantation from experimental procedure to clinical reality.
2. Identify clinical indicators for transplant referral in pediatric patients with intestinal failure refractory to rehabilitation.
3. Interpret current intestinal transplant survival data and evaluate emerging innovations in rejection monitoring and immunosuppression.
4. Propose the programmatic requirements for establishing a pediatric intestinal transplant program using national benchmark centers as a framework.

Examining Data Access Gaps For Tribal Epidemiology Centers: Qualitative Interviews And A 50-State Syphilis Data Audit, Kathleen P. Conte, Ashley Hoover, Levi Mattoon, Brigg Reilley, Jessica Leston

Homelessness Research & Action Collaborative Publications and Presentations

Context: Federal law establishes American Indian and Alaska Native Tribes and Tribal Epidemiology Centers (TECs) as public health authorities with rights to state data to conduct public health activities. Tribal authorities, however, struggle to access public health data.

Objectives: To examine TECs’ access and barriers to public health surveillance data, and using syphilis as a case study, to assess data availability and timeliness nationwide.

Design: In-depth qualitative interviews and a desk audit of syphilis data by states.

Setting: All 12 TECs who collectively provide epidemiologic and public health support to 574 Tribes and 41 Urban Indian Centers nationwide.

Participants: Sixteen …

Unveiling The Complexity Of Post-Roman Polity Formation In Pannonia Using Ancient Dna, Yijie Tian, István Koncz, Norbert Faragó, Corina Knipper, Ronny Friedrich, Deven N. Vyas, Levente Samu, Olga Spekker, Tamás Szeniczey, Tamás Hajdu, Balázs Gusztáv Mende, Péter Tomka, Ildikó Katalin Pap, Dávid Czigány, Rita Radzeviciute, Luca Traverso, Guido Alberto Gnecchi-Ruscone, Paolo Francalacci, Bernd Schöne, Gábor Tóth, Anna Szécsényi-Nagy, Petrus Le Roux, Kurt W. Alt, Zuzana Hofmanová, Walter Pohl, Johannes Krause, Tivadar Vida, Patrick J. Geary, Krishna R. Vereramah

Ecology & Evolution Faculty Publications

The transformation of the Roman world [fourth to ninth centuries common era (CE)], culminating in the Western Roman Empire’s fall, marked a fundamental transition in European history. Key questions persist regarding the regionally specific nature of this transformation. We generated a paleogenomic dataset to reconstruct post-Roman organizations in the Little Hungarian Plain at microregional resolution. Genetic and archaeological analyses of two Roman (n = 68) and five post-Roman (n = 246) sites reveal a rise in Northern European ancestry, reflecting large-scale population movements into this region. Moreover, despite post-Roman sites sharing similar genetic profiles, material culture, and burial …

Bap1 Loss Links Myc Activation, Stress Response Vulnerability, And Disease Progression In Kidney Cancer, Ilya Strunilin

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

BAP1, a chromatin modifier, is a frequently mutated tumor suppressor in clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC). Mutations in BAP1 are associated with a more aggressive and lethal disease. However, the downstream mediators of BAP1 loss in ccRCC oncogenesis are not well understood. To better understand mechanisms of BAP1-mediated tumor suppression, I have extensively characterized the very early transcriptional mediators of BAP1 loss in a postnatal kidney-specific genetic knockout model. Because VHL loss is the initiating event in ccRCC, we modeled Bap1 loss in a Vhl-deficient background. I have found that Vhl/Bap1 double-knockout cells of PT segment S2 strongly activate …

Mixed-Signal Intergrated Circuit Design And Fabrication, Jack Demeulemeester, Aris Ozark, Alan Rieger

Electrical and Computer Engineering Senior Theses

Integrated circuit design is a key aspect of the quickly-growing semiconductor industry. Familiarity with high-level design, layout, and validation is critical for students seeking an industrial or academic career in the field. Learning full-stack design at an academic institution is made difficult by the amount of resources required and limited timeframe. In this project, we develop a thermometer-coded digital-to-analog converter from concept to fabrication as a means to create a new integrated circuit design and fabrication course at Santa Clara University. We also develop a design flow using software from Cadence Design Systems and the 250 nm CMOS process node …

Tools As The Lens: An Ai-Resistant Case Critique System That Builds Strategic Thinking, Francesca A. Dunlevy, Michael Houston

Teaching & Learning with AI

No abstract provided.

Experimental And Numerical Analyses Of Eccentric Bolted Connections Subject To Shear And Torsion, Mohannad Mahran Zanaty

Theses and Dissertations

Steel connections are one of the pillars of the steel structures construction industry, and yet, it still to this day holds some ambiguities in our design procedures. Several authors believe that the elastic-based methods constricted connection design into a conservative approach, and accordingly initiated a method called Instantaneous Center, which is a method indicating that the center of rotation is around a fictitious point. The method was investigated analytically by exploring the domain and found the method often present multiple roots, with one of the roots often indicating an unrealistic point of rotation with a marginally high exaggerated capacity of …

A Novel Design-For-Test Flow Using Librelane, Mohamed E. Gaber

Theses and Dissertations

Design-for-testing is a crucial element of application-specific integrated circuit design, yet, in the nascent open-source electronic design automation scene, the solutions for it are sorely limited. Design-for-test-enabled chips allow defects to be caught early on in the manufacturing process, avoiding incurring huge costs if hardware with defective chips is shipped to equipment manufacturers or, worse, end-users. Yet, the current open-source solutions rely on a brute-force utility that does not scale and negatively impacts the design by holding design-for-testing features as co-equal with the design’s regular operation, and a nominally layout-aware solution that does not holistically integrate into a larger flow. …

Media Literacy Education In Hadhramout Governorate, Case Study: Hadhramout University, Amal Omar Ba Qatyan

Theses and Dissertations

Media literacy is an essential skill in today’s digital environment (Khoirunnisa, Udiana, & Zahra, 2025), especially in conflict-affected societies where misinformation and propaganda spread rapidly through social media platforms (Uzochukwu et al., 2025). In Yemen, the ongoing conflict has weakened the education system and reduced access to reliable information, which increases university students’ vulnerability to misleading, biased, and inaccurate media content (Moharram, 2026). Despite the recognized importance of media literacy education, academic research on this topic remains very limited in Yemen, particularly in Hadhramout Governorate.

This study addresses this research gap by examining the current state of media literacy education …

Mapping The Neuroexposome: Integrative Analysis Of Dementia Risk Factors Through Multi-Omics And Environmental Profiling In The Egyptian Population., Mai Ahmed Saadzaghloul Othman

Theses and Dissertations

Background: Dementia represents one of the most pressing public health challenges of the twenty-first century, with the global burden projected to reach 153 million cases by 2050. Egypt, as the most populous Arab nation, faces a corresponding rise in age-related diseases, yet comprehensive data from low- and middle-income countries remain severely limited. The neuroexposome framework, integrating genetic susceptibility, environmental exposures, and metabolic alterations, offers a powerful strategy to characterize the complex interplay between internal and external risk factors for Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Alzheimer's disease Related Dementias (ADRD).

Objectives: This thesis aimed to: (1) examine the distribution of APOE alleles …

Leveraging Crisis Management For Minimising Brand Cancellation, Liyun Liu, Catherine Prentice, Susan Zeidan

All Works

Brand misconduct can trigger negative consumer responses and escalate into brand crises. Effective crisis management is therefore essential to mitigate such responses and enhance organisational resilience. This study investigates the impact of various crisis communication strategies on consumer engagement and subsequent brand cancellation, incorporating the mediating role of consumer engagement and the moderating influence of brand misconduct type. Two experimental studies using simple random sampling were conducted online. The findings reveal that crisis communication strategies exert significantly different effects on consumer engagement, which in turn negatively influences brand cancellation. However, the mediating role of consumer engagement varies depending on the …

Fatherhood In Egypt: Identity Formation And Role Theory Perspectives, Mahmoud Nasr Gawdat

Theses and Dissertations

Fatherhood is a central yet under-researched dimension of family life in Egypt, particularly from a psychological and identity-based perspective. This study explores how Egyptian fathers construct and experience fatherhood through the lenses of identity theory and role theory. Using a qualitative research design, seven focus groups were conducted with 43 Egyptian fathers to examine the meanings they attribute to fatherhood, their perceived roles, challenges, support systems, and personal transformations. Thematic analysis revealed six interconnected themes: (1) describing the father’s role, (2) learning the father role, (3) social and cultural influences on the father role, (4) meaning of being a father, …