Digital Commons Network^™

One Young World: #Togetherapart (Podcast Review), Talia Agee

Rushton Journal of Undergraduate Humanities Research

A podcast review of the podcast #TogetherApart produced by the London non-profit One Young World.

Optimized Resnet-18 Architecture For Multi-Class Oral Diseases Classification, Ahmed Ahmed

Karbala International Journal of Modern Science

In recent years, the classification of oral diseases has gained significant attention due to its influence on public health and the necessity for early and accurate diagnosis. Traditional diagnosis depends on manual clinical assessment, which can be slow and subjective. An optimized and subsequently quantized model is required to provide a faster and more consistent diagnostic support tool. This paper proposes an optimized ResNet-18 architecture for the classification of six oral diseases. The optimization process is based on removing the Rectified Linear Unit (ReLU), Batch Normalization (BN), and convolutional layers from the base ResNet-18 blocks that contain 128 filters. This …

Sperm-Associated Antigen 6 (Spag6) As A Potential Marker Of Sperm Function In Diagnosing Male Infertility, Ibtisam A. Al-Ali,, Kawkab A. Alsaadi

Karbala International Journal of Modern Science

Background: While male infertility has become a significant global health concern, conventional analysis of semen has not made progress in the detection of contraindicated molecular biomarkers, such as sperm-associated antigen 6 (SPAG6), which is a protein involved in axonemal structure and flagellar motility.

Hypothesis: Expression of SPAG6 correlates with sperm motility and structural integrity. This means that its dysregulation may serve as a molecular indicator of impaired sperm performance.

Methods: A comprehensive review of recent studies was conducted with a focus on SPAG6’s molecular characteristics, expression patterns in normal versus abnormal spermatozoa, and the role it plays in motility-related …

Optimized Co2 Gas Sensing With Sns:Sm2o3/N-Si Nanocomposites Fabricated Via Spray Pyrolysis, Wasan A. Khalaf, Mays A. Hammadi, Mohammed J. Alsultani, Yahya R. Hathal, Mohammed O. Salman

Karbala International Journal of Modern Science

In this work, tin sulfide:samarium oxide (SnS:Sm₂O₃) composite films were deposited using a spray pyrolysis technique for room-temperature CO₂ gas sensing. X-ray diffraction (XRD) confirmed a polycrystalline SnS nature of orthorhombic-phase crystallinity at 10 at.% Sm ions, while 20 at.% Sm induced Sm₂O₃ as a separate phase. Field emission-scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) induced uniform grains and increased the surface roughness, enhancing gas adsorption. UV-visible absorbance revealed band-gap narrowing. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis revealed vibrational band shifts, confirming the structural modifications. Gas-sensing measurements demonstrated 5.72%, 19.65%, and 9.65% for pure SnS, …

Marketing Strategy In The Age Of Ai, Mary C. Martin

All Open Educational Resources

Marketing Strategy in the Age of AI is an Open Educational Resource designed to help students master foundational marketing strategy while understanding how artificial intelligence is reshaping marketing practice. The textbook emphasizes core strategic thinking and positions AI as a tool that enhances, rather than replaces, human judgment and decision-making. The book covers key areas of marketing strategy across the marketing mix, including environmental analysis, market research, product development, pricing, distribution, and promotion. Each chapter introduces established marketing frameworks and then explores how AI-driven tools and data improve insight, speed, and effectiveness in real-world marketing decisions. Examples and cases highlight …

Rethinking Geoengineering Governance Utilizing The Playing God Argument: Considerations Of Knowledge, Control, And Benevolence, Julian Dreiman, Brian Patrick Green

Staff Publications and Research

Because greenhouse gas emissions continue to grow, it is increasingly challenging to limit global warming to 1.5 or 2.0 degrees Celsius. As such, there is a growing debate on whether or not to deploy geoengineering to reduce warming. Geoengineering is controversial, and many arguments have been raised against it, including the “playing God” critique. When understood through the philosopher Moti Mizrahi’s reinterpretation, the playing God critique does not eliminate the possibility of using geoengineering, but rather informs how its governance can be improved. We use Mizrahi’s interpretation of the playing God critique to claim that the existing governance literature lacks …

Acronyms And Definitions, Alice Dell'era

Course Materials

This file compiles a list of key acronyms and definitions.

Water Budget For Monitored Watersheds At The Edwards Aquifer Authority Field Research Park: Report For The Edwards Aquifer Authority, Keagan Farrell, Tatiana Flores, Isabella Lopez, Kemerling Obregon Lucio, Gisele-Elizabeth Perez, Andrea Realyvasquez, Magali Rodriguez, Kelly Swyers, Adan Vasquez

Hydrogeology

The purpose of the study was to determine the change in storage of two water sheds after the impact of two rain events, considering factors such as rainfall, discharge and infiltration, and evapotranspiration. The two sub-watersheds, located on the Edward’s Aquifer Authority Field Research Park, each had a weir. The larger of the two watersheds was named Watershed 1, while the smaller one was named Watershed 2. Watershed 1 was where the weir named Arnold was located, while watershed 2 was where the weir named Danny was located. Inflow and outflow were calculated by analyzing precipitation data and water flow …

Assessing The Effects Of Ehealth Literacy And The Area Deprivation Index On Barriers To Electronic Patient Portal Use For Orthopedic Surgery: Cross-Sectional Observational Study, Audrey Lynn Litvak, Nicholas Lin, Kelly Hynes, Jason Strelzow, Jeffrey G Stepan

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: As electronic patient portals (EPPs) continue to gain popularity and systems transition to online tools for scheduling, communication, and telehealth, patients without access or skills to use these tools may be overlooked.

OBJECTIVE: This study analyzed patient and neighborhood-level factors, including eHealth literacy level and the Area Deprivation Index (ADI), that may limit EPP access for orthopedic surgery.

METHODS: A cross-sectional, survey-based study was performed at a single urban tertiary academic medical center in the United States across foot and ankle, hand and upper extremity, and orthopedic trauma subspecialty clinics from June 21, 2022, to August 12, 2022. Survey …

Investigating The Role Of Team Chemistry In Winning Percentage Of Collegiate Women’S Soccer Teams At The End Of A Fall Competitive Season, Erin Kasmarik-Mallett

Doctorate in Kinesiology

This study examined the relationship between team chemistry and winning percentage in collegiate women’s soccer teams following a fall competitive season. Using a quantitative, correlational design, team-level survey data assessing cohesion, team mental models, collective efficacy, and leadership were aggregated and analyzed in relation to end-of-season performance. Pearson correlations and linear regression analyses indicated a positive association between overall team chemistry and winning percentage, with team mental models and collective efficacy showing the strongest relationships. These findings support team chemistry as a measurable, multidimensional contributor to performance success and provide empirical guidance for coaches seeking evidence-based strategies to enhance team …

21st-Century Mangrove Expansion Along The Southeastern United States, Lucia I.A. Enes Gramoso, Dustin Carroll, Kyle C. Cavanaugh, Remi Bardou, Michael J. Osland, Tom Van Der Stocken

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Warming winter temperatures are driving range expansion of tropical, cold-sensitive mangroves into temperate ecosystems. Along the Atlantic coast of North America, the mangrove range limit is particularly sensitive to climate variability and historical data demonstrate that the mangrove-salt marsh ecotone on this coast has shifted recurrently during recent centuries. However, a comprehensive understanding of how this mangrove-salt marsh ecotone may shift in the future remains lacking. Here, we combine ensemble forecasting of mangrove distribution for the next century with high-resolution oceanographic dispersal simulations, phenological observations, and historical hurricane data to project future mangrove-salt marsh dynamics at the rapidly changing range …

Re: Conditional Approval Letter For The Draft Final Butte Reduction Works (Brw) Smelter Area Mine Waste Remediation And Contaminated Groundwater Hydraulic Control Site Pre-Design Investigation (Pdi) Evaluation Report (Dated September 12, 2025), Emma Rott

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

Collaborating With ‘Blue Food’ System Stakeholders To Achieve Optimal Nutritional Health And Wellbeing In Less Affluent Communities, Clare Pettinger, Louise Hunt, Carol Wagstaff

School of Health Professions

UK food system transformation is urgently needed, but to date, minimal research has investigated ‘blue foods’ probably because they are ethically nuanced. There exists a paradox whereby materially deprived communities should be eating more fish to meet nutritional requirements, yet there is a global ‘red flag’ around global overfishing. New collaborative and creative solutions are, therefore, needed to tackle such food system inequities. By working together, all voices can be equally heard when decisions are being made to improve the system. Similarly, innovation and disruption of established supply chains will enable better access to healthy, affordable and tasty food that …

Integrated Road Usage Fee Management Within Digital Navigation Systems, Paula Marques

Defensive Publications Series

Digital navigation systems may identify routes with fee-based road segments, such as tolls or vignettes, but may not provide an integrated method for payment. This can result in a fragmented and manual process for drivers with varied and unfamiliar payment systems. A system is described for integrating road usage fee management within a digital navigation service. The system can utilize a route analysis engine to identify fees, a client-side geofencing module on a computing device (e.g., a smartphone, smart watch, wearable device, in-vehicle infotainment system, augmented reality glasses, etc.) To detect a vehicle's entry into a fee-based zone, and a …

Understanding Recruitment To A Randomised Controlled Trial (Rct) During Liver Transplantation: An Observational Mixed-Methods Study Within A Trial (Swat), Katherine Elizabeth Sarah Coppack, Ilya Kantsedikas, Edgar Brodkin, Ee Neng Loh, Gareth Ambler, Suneetha Ramani Moonesinghe, Jeremy Fabes, Vivienne Hannon, Michael Spiro, Duncan Wagstaff

Peninsula Medical School

Objectives Perioperative randomised controlled trials (RCTs) in liver transplantation are relatively infrequent. RCTs performed in this complex patient population need to be robustly conducted to maximise patient benefit and graft utility given the scarcity of donor organs. Recruitment challenges can compromise RCTs and studies in this population face unique challenges due to recipient illness severity, their comorbidities, demographics and the geographical constraints of specialist transplant centres. Emergency presentation and after-hours admission may further limit patients’ capacity or readiness to consider trial participation. This Study Within a Trial (SWAT) specifically explored motivators and barriers to recruitment in patients awaiting liver transplantation.Design …

Change Detection In An Electronic Device Using Resonant Frequency Analysis, Alan She

Defensive Publications Series

Detecting internal physical changes in an electronic device (e.g., a smartphone, smart watch, wearable device) may be difficult with some conventional methods, and is often limited to chemical or electrical monitoring that fails to detect structural changes. A system can perform a mechanical resonant frequency analysis using existing hardware components, such as a haptic actuator and one or more sensors (e.g., an accelerometer, a microphone). The haptic actuator can be configured to generate a vibrational stimulus across a range of frequencies, while the sensors can measure the device's corresponding response. This measured response data can be processed to generate a …

Advertising Targeting System For Products Dynamically Synthesized From User Specifications, Lakshmi Kumar Dabbiru, Sneha Sripadaraja Kudli

Defensive Publications Series

Online advertising systems that rely on static product catalogs may have challenges serving advertisements for custom products specified by users in real-time. A technical framework can use an image synthesis engine to generate a product image based on user input, such as text or images. This dynamically generated image may then function as an ad creative. An advertiser targeting module can match the creative to eligible advertisers who may validate the design, for example, through a real-time application programming interface call, and return dynamic metadata like pricing and material options. This system can facilitate the presentation of transactable offers for …

Centralized Qr Trust Repository (Cqtr) With Merchant Name Uniqueness For Fraud Prevention In Qr Code Payments, Alok Roy Mr

Defensive Publications Series

The disclosed systems and methods use a Centralized QR Trust Repository (CQTR) for securing and streamlining merchant onboarding and transaction validation, and to address critical challenges in QR-based payments such as cross-acquirer fraud and counterfeit QR codes system performs transaction validation. At the time of onboarding, merchant details such as merchant or business name, account information, and KYC are collected by client servers and CQTR conducts uniqueness validation to ensure name uniqueness across all acquirers. CQTR performs similarity checks, including fuzzy matching and phonetic analysis and prevents duplicate registrations. After successful validation, CQTR generates and registers unique QR codes static …

Coworkers' Lived Experiences Of Being Exposed To Healthcare Professionals Misusing Substances, Juratu Garuba-Agbebaku

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Despite the harm of substances, coworkers in hospitals, healthcare facilities, and urgent care centers found themselves among healthcare professionals who misused substances such as alcohol and prescription medication. Grounded in social cognitive theory, the purpose of this qualitative descriptive phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of coworkers who have been exposed to healthcare professionals’ substance misuse. The participants consisted of 12 healthcare professionals working in various hospitals, healthcare facilities, and urgent care centers in the United States. Data were collected using semistructured interviews. Through Colaizzi’s seven-step analysis, five themes emerged: (a) emotional experiences, (b) ethical reflections, (c) cognitive …

Exploring Parenting Experiences: Fathers And Mothers Raising A Child With Autism, Simmi Santha

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The experiences of parenting a child with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have been widely studied in Western contexts. Still, limited research has explored how sociocultural factors shape these experiences in India. This qualitative study aims to address this gap by exploring and comparing the lived experiences of mothers and fathers raising a child with ASD in Kerala, India. The purpose of this study was to investigate how gender roles, cultural expectations, and social structures impact parental adaptation, coping, and caregiving practices. Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory and Crenshaw’s ideas of intersectionality provide the conceptual framework of this study. Using an interpretative …

Cancer Literacy And Social Determinants Of Health: An Epidemiological Analysis Of Trust, Digital Engagement, And Healthcare Utilization In Cancer Information Seeking, Kimberly Leeann Hazel

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The rise of online health information has increased access to cancer resources but also amplified misinformation, creating trust gaps that threaten prevention, treatment, and health equity. This study examined how trust in cancer information sources, online information-seeking, and healthcare perceptions relate among U.S. adults. Guided by the health information seeking behavior, the socioecological model, and the structural influence model of health communication, data from the 2022 Health Information National Trends Survey (N = 6,197) were analyzed with logistic regression, mediation, and moderation modeling, controlling for demographics. Trust in government agencies predicted greater cancer information seeking (odds ratio [OR] = 1.94, …

Community College Faculty Experiences As Post-Pandemic Online Instructors, Irene Arshad

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The COVID-19 pandemic caused a sudden transition from face-to-face to online instruction. The problem that was addressed through this study is that little is known about the experiences of community college faculty members when teaching online in the post-pandemic era. Grounded in Hall’s and Hord’s concerns-based adoption model, the purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the experiences of community college faculty members’ perceptions of their teaching experiences working online post-pandemic. For this basic qualitative design, data were collected through semistructured interviews with 10 community college faculty. A thematic analysis of the data revealed the following six themes: (1) …

Impact Of Grain Size On Low-Temperature Carrier Phase Coherence Length In Polycrystalline Halide Perovskite Films, Aungkan Sen, Liam J. Scanlon, Axel Melchor Gaona Carranza, Jose L. Mendoza-Cortes, Johannes Pollanen, Richard R. Lunt, William J. Gannon

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

Halide perovskites are now being studied for a full range of optoelectronic devices due to their excellent electronic and optical properties. This work explores the impact of grain boundaries on low-temperature carrier transport in polycrystalline cesium tin iodide (CsSnI₃) within the quantum diffusive transport regime, comparing a range of polycrystalline samples with varying grain sizes with epitaxial counterparts. Low-temperature magnetoresistance measurements reveal the presence of weak anti-localization (spin-orbit effects) with a shorter coherence length (L_ϕ) than the epitaxial films. Surprisingly, L_ϕ is not found to be impacted by grain size, despite being nearly an order …

Distribution Of New Statistics Of Parking Functions And Their Generalizations, Stephan Wagner, Catherine H. Yan, Mei Yin

Mathematics: Faculty Scholarship

In this paper we present new results on the enumeration of parking functions and labeled forests. We introduce new statistics on parking functions, which are then extended to labeled forests via bijective correspondences. We determine the joint distribution of two statistics on parking functions and their counterparts on labeled forests. Our results on labeled forests also serve to explain the mysterious equidistribution between two seemingly unrelated statistics in parking functions recently identified by Stanley and Yin and give an explicit bijection between the two statistics. Extensions of our techniques are discussed, including joint distribution on further refinement of these new …

2025 Uninsured Adult Healthcare Safety Net Annual Report, Tennessee. Department Of Health.

Healthcare Safety Net Annual Report

No abstract provided.

Evaluating Impact Of Occupational Exoskeletons On Physical Fatigue Using Wearable Sensors And Deep Learning, Hardik Vora, Fatemeh Davoudi Kakhki, Armin Moghadam

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Musculoskeletal disorders remain a leading source of occupational injury in manufacturing and logistics industries, often resulting from repetitive lifting and load transfer tasks. While back-support exoskeletons have shown promise in alleviating physical strain, their biomechanical impact under realistic task conditions and their integration with intelligent monitoring systems require further exploration. This study investigates the efficacy of a passive lumbar-support exoskeleton in reducing muscle fatigue during manual material handling tasks by combining high-resolution surface electromyography (sEMG) data with a deep learning-based classification framework. Ten participants performed lifting and rotational (twisting) tasks with and without exoskeleton assistance, while EMG signals were collected …

National Survey Of Physical Therapists’ Participation As Health Educators In Physical Activity Promotion Among Older Adults, Casey Nicole Mokres

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Physical inactivity among older adults remains a major national and global public health concern linked to preventable morbidity, mortality, and rising healthcare costs. Physical therapists are uniquely positioned to promote physical activity (PA) through health education, yet their engagement in this role is not well defined. This quantitative cross-sectional study examined associations between clinical practice factors—years of experience, board certification status, and practice setting—and three domains of the theoretical domains framework (knowledge, skills, and behavioral regulation) related to PA promotion among older adults. The framework guided identification of behavioral and contextual factors influencing therapists’ delivery of PA promotion interventions. Data …

Social Workers' Perspectives Of Using Teletherapy To Foster Resilience Among Middle-Class Single Black Mothers, Yvonne Judge

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Inadequate mental health support, particularly from social workers, disproportionately affects middle-class single Black mothers. Prior studies have examined low-income single mothers’ access to mental health care and the potential of teletherapy as a tool for improving access; however, few have explored how middle-class single Black mothers navigate mental health challenges. Further, there is a lack of research on social workers’ perspectives of using teletherapy to foster resilience among middle-class single Black mothers. This is a critical gap, as social workers play a key role in tailoring mental health interventions. The purpose of this study was to explore social workers’ perspectives …

Enhanced Confocal Microscopy With Physics-Guided Autoencoders Via Synthetic Noise Modeling, Shyam Pokharel

All Publications

We present a Physics-guided deep learning framework to address common limitations in Confocal Laser Scanning Microscopy (CLSM), including diffraction-limited resolution, noise, and under sampling due to low laser power conditions. The optical system’s point spread function and primary CLSM image degradation mechanisms, namely photon shot noise, dark current noise, motion blur, speckle noise, and under sampling are explicitly incorporated into the model as physics-based constraints. A convolutional autoencoder is trained with a custom loss function that integrates these optical degradation processes, ensuring that the reconstructed images adhere to physical image formation principles. The model is evaluated on simulated CLSM datasets …

Embedding Interprofessional Education In Pediatric Clerkships: Lessons From Nebraska’S Tracking Infant Progress Statewide (Tips) Program, Grace E. Berentson, Liliana Bronner, Paige Hardy, Neil Kalsi, Brianna Brei, Kerry Miller

Posters and Presentations: Munroe-Meyer Institute

Background: NICU graduates experience disproportionate developmental and health challenges. Their families face barriers to equitable care including access to coordinated follow-up services. Traditional medical education rarely exposes students to authentic interprofessional models of care that address these inequities. The Tracking Infant Progress Statewide (TIPS) program provides developmental, social, and medical follow-up for NICU graduates across Nebraska, bringing together physicians, nurse practitioners, child developmental specialists, and nurses in a single family-centered visit. Embedding third-year medical students into this setting models collaborative practice, builds understanding of interprofessional competencies, and fosters awareness of systemic inequities affecting NICU families. This innovative curricular approach differs …