Digital Commons Network^™

Causal Discovery Methods For Single Cell Rna-Seq Data, Melanie Lambert

All Dissertations

The advancement of single cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) has enabled the study of causal relationships between genes at single cell resolution. Although many causal discovery methods have been applied to scRNA-seq perturbation data, they are not well-suited to capture the characteristics of scRNA-seq data. The overall goal of this dissertation is to enhance researchers' ability to gain insight into genetic relationships.

The scRNA-seq data is high-dimensional, typically containing thousands of genes, and is sparse and zero-inflated due to dropout events, as well as noisy and subject to biological variability. Traditional causal discovery methods, such as constraint or score-based approaches, do …

Distributed Coordination And Optimization Of Utility-Scale Battery Energy Storage Systems Via Multi-Agent Reinforcement Learning, Parthiv Debnath

All Theses

The increasing integration of renewable energies into modern power systems has created significant operational challenges, including transmission congestion, renewable energy curtailment, and increased real-time supply-demand variability, which makes effective coordination and optimization of multiple distributed Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) across power systems a critical problem, a useful solution, yet an unresolved challenge. Existing centralized optimization methods require perfect future information and are incompatible with the confidentiality constraints of deregulated electricity markets, while rule-based approaches fail to capture the multi-objective complexity of real-world power grid operations. This thesis proposed a Multi-Agent Proximal Policy Optimization (MAPPO) framework with Centralized Training and …

Scope: Deep Learning-Based Side-Channel Evaluation Across Classical And Post-Quantum Cryptographic Implementations, Nouf Nur Nabilah

All Theses

A cryptographic algorithm that is mathematically secure can still be broken since its hardware implementation leaks secret information through power consumption or electromagnetic emissions. These vulnerabilities are applicable to widely deployed classical encryption schemes as well as emerging post-quantum schemes which are standardized to provide quantum resistance. This thesis evaluated how deep learning changes such side-channel attacks across both through a unified study of four attacks, spanning a classical block cipher and two protected post-quantum schemes, and tested learned methods against the conditions that separated a laboratory result from a practical attack. Profiled deep-learning attacks recovered keys efficiently under favorable …

Understanding What Works In Disseminating Clinical Practice Guidelines: A Qualitative Evidence Synthesis, Sumanth Kumbargere Nagraj, Tandekile Lubelwana Hafver, Valerie Reinthaler, Stijn Van De Velde, Carlos Zaror, Yan Jiao Shen, Susan Banda, Talitha Mpando, Gertrude Kunje, Suzgika Lakudzala, Ameer Hohlfeld, Emmanuel Effa, Denny Mabetha, Thomas Agoritsas, Per Olav Vandvik, Nicolas Delvaux

Peninsula Dental School

Objective To identify the barriers and facilitators that influence the dissemination of clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) and to explore the perceived usefulness, practical utility, expectations, and unmet needs of end users in relation to current dissemination strategies. Methods This qualitative evidence synthesis (QES) is a part of mixed-methods evidence synthesis. We searched literature from MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, Web of Science, Scopus, Epistemonikos, and Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and Medical Guidelines Clearing house on January 30, 2025. Screening, data extraction and quality appraisal of the included studies were done by at least two authors independently and in duplicate. We …

Llm-Assisted Task-Adaptive Semantic Communication Over Non-Ideal Channels For Vision–Language Systems, Oluwagbenga Oluwapelumi Orimoogunje

All Theses

The growth of intelligent wireless systems and bandwidth-limited edge devices has created a need for communication methods that move beyond bit-level data transmission. Semantic communication addresses this by transmitting task-relevant meaning, which reduces bandwidth usage while preserving task performance. However, existing approaches often rely on frozen encoders without task feedback and are trained under fixed or ideal signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) conditions. These limitations lead to poor generalization in realistic noisy channels.

This thesis proposed a task-adaptive semantic communication framework for Visual Question Answering (VQA) over bandwidth-constrained Additive White Gaussian Noise (AWGN) channels. The system transmits a compact 16,384-dimensional semantic feature …

Improving Mobility Awareness And Jh-Amp Tool Utilization On A Cardiac Care Unit, Courtney Joe, Clarissa Chaires, Jocelyn Martin, Eunice Sanchez

ELMSN E-Portfolio. A collection of Scholarly and Creative Works

The quality improvement project evaluated the impact of staff education and a unit-wide mobility awareness campaign on the use of the Johns Hopkins Activity and Mobility Promotion tools and patient mobilization in a 48-bed Cardiac Care Unit (CCU). The project involved registered nurses, nursing assistants, unit leaders, and adult cardiac patients represented by aggregate mobility data. A preliminary survey completed by 42 CCU staff members, CCU Partnership Council focus group, meetings with clinical nurse specialists, and a baseline unit audit identified inconsistent mobility practices, uncertainty regarding Johns Hopkins Highest Level of Mobility tool, and limited completion of in-room mobility signs. …

Mind Over Scrubs – A Peer-Led Anxiety Reduction Program, Nhi T. Tran, Angelica Dirige, Adeleke Fashola

ELMSN E-Portfolio. A collection of Scholarly and Creative Works

Nursing students experience elevated anxiety during the transition into accelerated programs, which can negatively affect academic performance, well-being, and retention. This quality improvement project evaluated Mind Over Scrubs, a peer-led anxiety reduction program for incoming Entry-Level Master of Science in Nursing students at the University of the Pacific, consisting of four 45-minute sessions on evidence-based coping strategies. Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 surveys were administered at baseline, before and after each session, and at two- and four-week follow-ups; Wilcoxon signed-rank tests evaluated matched changes. Thirty-one of 62 enrolled students (50%) attended at least one session. Post-session scores fell below individual baselines for …

​​Hospital-Acquired Pressure Injury Prevention In The Sutter Sacramento Cardiac Care Unit ​Qi Proposal, Angelina Lucido, Amy Roderick, Karly Link

ELMSN E-Portfolio. A collection of Scholarly and Creative Works

Background: Hospital-acquired pressure injuries (HAPIs) remain a significant source of preventable patient harm despite established prevention protocols. In the Cardiac Care Unit (CCU) at Sutter Medical Center Sacramento, inconsistent patient education and limited patient engagement were identified as potential contributors to ongoing HAPI occurrence. This quality improvement (QI) project evaluated whether implementing structured, individualized patient education could strengthen existing pressure injury prevention efforts.

Methods: A seven-week QI project was conducted in the CCU using the Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) framework. The intervention consisted of nurse-led, individualized pressure injury prevention (PIP) education supported by a standardized patient handout tailored to each patient's risk …

From Birth To Better Health: Educating Mothers With Gestational Diabetes On Breastfeeding Benefits And Glucose Management, Jesse A. Soria Jr, Sarah Smith, Audrey Nolan Smith, Keeley Kosier

ELMSN E-Portfolio. A collection of Scholarly and Creative Works

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) increases a mother's risk of developing type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) later in life and can affect an infant's future health. Breastfeeding can help improve a mother's blood sugar control and may lower her future risk of diabetes, but many mothers with GDM do not know about these benefits. This quality improvement (QI) project evaluated a standardized education program on breastfeeding and diabetes prevention for postpartum mothers with GDM at the Family Birthing Center at St. Joseph's Medical Center (SJMC) in Stockton, California. The intervention included a 10- to 15-minute education session and an evidence-based educational …

Improving Clostridioides Difficile Prevention Practices Through Standardized Stool Collection And Hand Hygiene, Dunya Khateeb, Laura Martin, Jessica Zhang

ELMSN E-Portfolio. A collection of Scholarly and Creative Works

Healthcare-associated Clostridioides difficile (C. diff) infections increase patient morbidity, length of stay, and healthcare costs (Simor, 2010). Our quality improvement project seeks to reduce C. diff infection rates and enhance prevention practices on the Med-Acute Unit at Sutter Medical Center Sacramento (SMCS) by utilizing the Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) framework. Interventions will be implemented between March 2026 and July 2026. The project examined whether introducing a standardized stool collection tote and improving hand hygiene compliance would reduce C. diff infection rates. Participants included all nursing staff on the unit. Data is being collected through observational hand hygiene audits, collaboration with the SMCS …

Surgeon Health And Well-Being Initiative: A Survey Of General And Orthopedic Surgery Residents' Reports Of Musculoskeletal Pain., Maryam Mohamed, Grace J Kim, Kristen Conrad-Schnetz, Zhan Yang, Mary Carneval

Ambulatory and Primary Care Articles

Background Musculoskeletal (MSK) pain is a well-known risk among surgeons, resulting from the multifactorial physical demands of the occupation. Because of the demands faced by resident surgeons, many individuals find themselves with sometimes debilitating MSK pain. Although these risks are well documented and there have been proposed solutions, there is little discussion on the role that osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT) can play in relief of MSK pain over time in this population. Objective The purpose of this study is to determine the prevalence and distribution of MSK pain among general and orthopedic surgery residents at Cleveland Clinic Foundation (CCF). Based …

Spatial Structure And Energy Content Of Wakes Behind Single And Arrayed Undulated Cylinders, Taiga Naomi Drucker-Boisvert, OndˇRej FerˇCák, Jérémie Auzoux, Sarah E. Smith, Zein Sadek, Rowan Moore, Christain T. Murphy, Trevor Dunt, Jennifer A. Franck, Raul Bayoan Cal

Mechanical and Materials Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Biologically inspired undulated cylinder geometries significantly influence wake structure and vortex-induced vibrations in turbulent flows, yet the underlying mechanisms are not fully understood. It is further unknown how these influences extend to multi-cylinder arrays, where interacting wakes accumulate and mix. This study examines the wake characteristics of an undulated cylinder and a smooth elliptic cylinder in single- and multi-cylinder array configurations, using particle image velocimetry and proper orthogonal decomposition (POD). Relative to the smooth elliptic cylinder, the undulated geometry induces pronounced spanwise-axial variability, characterized by enhanced near-wake mean momentum and weak far-wake signatures, consistent with reduced turbulent kinetic energy. While …

The Use And Abuse Of Hearsay In Family Law Matters, Jessica Tueller, Monica Dionisio

Other Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Impunity: A Case Study Of Sex Trafficking In Nevada Brothel Prostitution, Christen Price

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

It is well-documented that legalization and other forms of official protection for prostitution lead to an increase in sex trafficking, including by encouraging demand for prostitution. This paper will consider the relationship between official protection, organized crime, and sex trafficking in pro-prostitution legal regimes, both historical and contemporary. Prostitution is legal in rural counties in Nevada that have fewer than 700,000 residents, if prostitution occurs within a brothel. There is significant overlap between sex trafficking and legal brothel prostitution in Nevada, as well as a nexus to corruption and organized crime, illustrating the normalization of coercion that occurs within legalized …

The Confluence Of Conflict-Induced Vulnerability, Organized Crime, And Sex Trafficking In Receiving States: A South African Civil Society Perspective, Monique Emser

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

The crime-conflict nexus has been well-documented in conflict-affected and post-conflict states. Criminal networks make use of manifold methods and strategies to exploit individual and structural vulnerabilities, particularly those affected by war, displacement, and precarious migration journeys, forming the backbone of most conflict-induced trafficking ecosystems, whether in countries of origin, transit, or receipt. This article examines the intersection of sex trafficking, diaspora communities, and organized crime within South Africa as a receiving state from a civil society perspective. It underscores the deficiencies in traditional, reductionist, enforcement-based approaches to counter-trafficking by the state, where nested subsystems, such as those produced by endemic …

Disrupting The Bonded Economy Of Sex Buying, Sex Trafficking, And Organised Crime Through Policy Change, Dellene Clark

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

Emerging criminological research underscores how the economic drivers of trafficking for sexual exploitation reinforce organised criminal markets while reproducing the structural vulnerabilities of those in prostitution. Using South Africa as a case study, this article argues that evidence-based legislative reform is necessary to confront the systemic conditions that enable exploitation. It contends that achieving substantive equality requires recognising the criminogenic role of sex‑buyer demand in sustaining trafficking pipelines and criminal profitability. The Swedish/Nordic demand‑reduction model illustrates how asymmetrical criminalisation can suppress demand, reduce reliance on trafficked persons, and diminish the financial incentives that underpin organised crime. Such an approach reorients …

Behind The Screen: Online Sex Buyer Networks And The Organized Criminal Promotion Of Exploitation, Ava Kamdem, Vanessa Bouché, Ben Silver, Nick Freeman, Justin Euteneier

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

This study investigates the extent to which online sex buyer communities in the United States function as organized criminal networks pursuant to the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime’s definition of organized criminal groups. Drawing from theories of organized crime, social network analysis, and digital ecosystems, we conceptualize sex buyers not as isolated actors but as participants in coordinated, mutually reinforcing networks that share information to facilitate exploitation, mitigate risk, and sustain criminal behavior. To test this framework, we scraped over 1.2 million posts from a publicly accessible sex buyer forum, comprising 72,974 unique users and nearly 800,000 direct …

Balancing War And Peace In Taekwondo Athlete Development: A Multi-Criteria Coaching Decision Support Framework Using Leadership Scale For Sports And Fuzzy Ahp, King Harold A. Recto, Hazel Jade L. Antonio, Jhyrald Anthony P. Dalida

Electronics, Computer, and Communications Engineering Faculty Publications

Coaching effectiveness is frequently evaluated through competitive outcomes, with the assumption that coaching behaviors directly influence athlete performance. This study examined the relationship between perceived coaching behaviors and individual win percentage among collegiate Taekwondo athletes using the Leadership Scale for Sports (LSS). Descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, and regression analysis were conducted across five coaching dimensions: Training and Instruction, Democratic Behavior, Autocratic Behavior, Social Support, and Positive Feedback. Results showed that none of the coaching dimensions demonstrated a statistically significant relationship with win percentage. Although coaching behaviors did not significantly predict win percentage, the findings suggest that athlete development is shaped …

Wind Effects Induced By Multivortex Tornadoes On A Low-Rise Building, Yi Zhao, Guirong Yan, Tetsuya Takemi, John Van De Lindt

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Multivortex tornadoes contain two or more subvortices that orbit within a parent vortex and can generate highly intermittent and localized near-ground wind fields. This study investigates how tornado flow structure affects wind effects on a low-rise building using large-eddy simulations. One single-vortex tornado and three multivortex tornadoes with different subvortex configurations are examined by systematically varying swirl ratio. Tornado translation is modeled using a relative-motion framework in which the building traverses the vortex field. Aerodynamic force and moment coefficients are evaluated along the traversing path. Additional stationary simulations are conducted to examine repeated load amplification associated with subvortex passages. Compared …

Non-Uniform Mixing Of Quantum Walks On The Symmetric Group, Avah Banerjee

Computer Science Faculty Research & Creative Works

It is well-known that classical random walks on regular graphs converge to the uniform distribution. Quantum walks, in their various forms, are quantization's of their corresponding classical random walk processes. Gerhardt and Watrous (2003) demonstrated that continuous-time quantum walks do not converge to the uniform distribution on certain Cayley graphs of the Symmetric group, which by definition are all regular. In this paper, we demonstrate that discrete-time quantum walks, in the sense of quantized Markov chains as introduced by Szegedy (2004), also do not converge to the uniform distribution. We analyze the spectra of the Szegedy walk operators using the …

Telling Their Intensive Stories: Black/African American Intensive Care Unit Nurses And Their Perceived Encounters With Icu Workplace Racism, Sharon M. Butler

Theses & Dissertations

The 2022 American Nurses Association (ANA) study on racism and racial inequality within the nursing profession both acknowledges the presence of racism in nursing and provides evidence of the diverse negative social and psychological effects of racism on minority nurses. Although the 2022 ANA study sets a precedent and shows evidence of racism’s effects across the broader professional nursing workforce, there is limited nursing research literature that offers a focused presentation and understanding of the lived experiences of minority nurses and their personal perceptions of workplace racism. There is also limited nursing research on how workplace racism impacts cultural and …

The Effect Of Cerebellar Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation On Anxiety, Shivangi Bhardwaj

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Anxiety is one of the most prevalent mental health disorders in the U.S. Individuals of all ages are affected by anxiety. Therefore, research into anxiety and its potential treatment has constantly been an area of interest. Newer approaches to managing anxiety include non-invasive stimulation techniques, such as Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS), because of its accessibility and effectiveness. Past tDCS work typically focused on regions in the frontal lobe. However, tDCS over the cerebellum has not received as much attention compared to the cerebrum, despite recent work demonstrating cerebellar involvement in emotion processing. Thus, a better understanding of how cerebellar …

Comparative Analysis Of Rigging Implementations, John E. Thomas

Master of Fine Arts in Digital Media Culminating Experience

Rigging acts as a bottleneck between modeling and animation, yet core rigging principles and procedures have largely stagnated over the past two decades. However, cutting-edge rigging systems have begun appearing recently in software not typically used for animation. These tools are proposed to mitigate the need for rigging artists. These novel systems now force teams to evaluate what system is best for their projects. Artists have focused their analysis of rigging tools on how they interact with, or compare to, existing pipeline structures, concepts, and deadlines. This research centers on the implementation and development of tools and systems ranging from …

Towards Confucian Economic Democracy: A Relational Alternative To Possessive Individualism, Sor-Hoon Tan

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

This article offers a Confucian conception of ownership and a different approach to equality based on a concept of relational person that could provide an alternative philosophical framework for economic democracy. The Confucian concept of nonexclusive and nonabsolute co-ownership, conditional on owners fulfilling their social responsibilities and sustained in networks of relationships mitigates the drive to appropriation and resistance to redistribution even without formalizing legal rights of equal ownership. Confucian texts’ condemnation of wide disparities between rich and poor corresponds with distributive ideas that balance equal satisfaction of needs with merit-based incentives for productivity constrained by social harmony. Without advocating …

Artificial Intelligence (Ai) In Forensic Psychology: An Umbrella Review Of Potentials And Pitfalls, Ysabel Thereze Ang Guevarra, Nur Eva Alisha Binte Mohamed Hisham, Andree Hartanto

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming increasingly embedded within forensic psychological practice, shaping how criminal risk, legal responsibility and public safety are assessed. AI tools are now used in recidivism prediction, behavioural analysis, deception detection and investigative support, high-stakes domains where errors can have profound consequences. Despite this rapid adoption, the existing literature remains fragmented, with most reviews confined to narrow subdomains and offering limited integrated synthesis of AI′s broader role in forensic psychology. Thus, this umbrella review addresses this gap by synthesising findings from 43 reviews obtained from five major databases, namely EBSCOhost ERIC, EBSCOhost PsycInfo, PubMed, Scopus and Web …

Transnational Social Protections And The Market: Seeking Support From The Global Cruise Industry, Yasmin Y. Ortiga

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Migration studies have mostly portrayed employers as paternalistic or exploitative, creating the very conditions that make migrants’ lives insecure and unstable. This paper challenges this view by showing how the market can also be an unlikely source of protections, where extractive work conditions co-exist with a certain degree of social support. Drawing on interviews with 45 Filipino cruise workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, I discuss how migrants used a logic of employee rights to claim benefits such as food, housing and insurance. Cruise lines willingly provided such protections, but only while workers maintained active contracts onboard their ships. Rather than …

A Longitudinal Analysis Of Hospital Consumer Evaluation In Virginia, Tulay Akmandor Inac

Health Services Research Dissertations

Suboptimal patient experience signals a need to improve clinical efficacy, patient safety, and healthcare quality. The COVID-19 pandemic intensified hospital resource and staffing demands, reducing hospitals’ capacity to invest in patient experience improvement. Prior studies remain limited because many lack longitudinal structure and organized theoretical models, making temporal inference difficult and weakening analyses of patient experience disparities. To address these limitations, this dissertation incorporates three studies examining patient experience and pandemic-related effects.

In state-level markets comparable to Virginia, limited research has examined longitudinal patient experience trends across regional hospital systems using HCAHPS scores. The first study uses descriptive trend analysis …

A Qualitative Case Study Of Leadership Development In A Graduate Medical Laboratory Science Program, Demetra Castillo

EVMS School of Health Professions Theses & Dissertations

Leadership development is increasingly recognized as an essential component of healthcare education, particularly as medical laboratory professionals assume expanded responsibilities involving collaboration, decision-making, systems thinking, and organizational leadership. Despite this need, limited research has explored how leadership develops within graduate medical laboratory science (MLS) programs. This qualitative case study examined leadership development through the lens of Experiential Learning Theory (ELT). Two research questions explored how the program fostered leadership development through students’ professional biographies, leadership questionnaires, final reflection papers, and leadership credos and how leadership reflections demonstrated growth over time. Secondary data from five student cases were analyzed using deductive …

Energy Transition In Africa: A Comparative Analysis Of Five African Countries, Boluwatife G. Ayankojo

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

Global energy transition remains a critical challenge for reducing carbon emissions and protecting the environment, with solar energy adoption driving improvements in both energy efficiency and conservation. This research focuses on Africa's transition from fossil fuels to solar energy. As population growth and blackouts increase, African countries must transition from unreliable, centralized national grids to decentralized, low-carbon alternatives that ensure quality household electricity. While some countries have advanced in this transition to sustainable solar energy, others lag behind. The limited access to electricity hinders the African continent's healthcare, education, economic growth, and mortality rates. This research establishes the importance of …

A Trombone Studio Teacher's Guide To Non-Injury-Related Embouchure Changes, Austin A. Handley

Dissertations

This dissertation is a pedagogical guide for trombone studio teachers who will lead students through embouchure changes. These changes and adjustments are normal in brass pedagogy, but there is limited literature that addresses how teachers should identify the need for change, initiate the process, and support students through it. There are a growing number of resources available about embouchure injury and dysfunction, rehabilitation, and long-term prevention. This leaves a gap for teachers who are trying to help students using an inefficient embouchure setup.

The purpose of this study is to provide a practical resource for teachers by examining the experiences …