Digital Commons Network^™

Optimizing Product Placement Using Purchase Pattern Analysis, Mohra Shamaa

Theses

Retail product placement has traditionally relied on static shelf layouts and techniques such as market basket analysis, often guided by managerial intuition and category based organization. However, such approaches frequently overlook the complexity of consumer purchasing behavior as reflected in the transactional data, and this study investigates how data driven analysis of purchase relationships can inform more effective product placement strategies in physical retail environments. Unlike the sequential models, this study focuses on co occurrence relationships due to dataset constraints, prioritizing interpretability for retail applications. Using transaction level data from the Instacart dataset, this research applies association rule mining through …

Assessing Programmatic Gaps In The Community Engagement To Reduce Victimization (Cerv) Program, Sam Marino

Theses

This capstone project examines and analyzes data for the Community Engagement to Reduce Victimization (CERV) program in Rochester, New York. By developing a logic model, gap analysis, and utilizing statistical models, the project not only better understands the program design, but also assesses gaps and their patterns in the data to provide structured recommendations to strengthen the data infrastructure, improving data completeness and reliability. These improvements will strengthen the program overall, helping to reduce community violence throughout Rochester. Across three working papers, the project begins by examining the current data and analyses on the program and develops a detailed logic …

This Moon In Your Throat, Hankyung Ryu,

Theses

This Moon in Your Throat examines the concept of Han, a haunted and inherited Korean affect that moves across bodies, generations, and diasporic life. Rather than treating Han as a fixed emotion, this thesis understands it as a lasting force shaped by historical trauma, family memory, and the unfinished effects of colonialism, war, capitalism, and displacement. Drawing on hauntology, the project asks how the past remains present through sensation, habit, bodily tension, and emotional atmosphere, especially in the lives of Koreans living in the United States. Night serves as the project’s spatial, temporal, and emotional ground, a setting in which …

Ai In Action: Redefining Loan Default Prediction For The Digital Lending Era, Joe Vinson Ukken

Theses

Credit risk assessment remains a very important part of financial institutions, particularly within the rapidly evolving digital lending environment. The research explores the effectiveness of five machine learning models—Logistic Regression, Decision Tree, Random Forest, Gradient Boosting, and Support Vector Machine—in predicting loan default using both financial indicators and categorical borrower attributes. The study is motivated by the growing availability of structured borrower data and the need to evaluate whether advanced machine learning algorithms can be implemented over conventional credit scoring methods. A publicly available L&T Vehicle Loan Default Prediction dataset comprising 233,154 borrower records and 41 structured attributes, the CRISP-DM …

An Evidence-Based Ethical Risk Classification Framework (Ercf) For Ai Policies, Ahmad Almarri

Theses

This thesis develops and evaluates an evidence-based Ethical Risk Classification Framework (ERCF) for analyzing substantive ethical engagement in AI policy documents. The study addresses the gap between high-level AI ethics principles and reproducible computational methods for comparative governance analysis. A secondary dataset of AI ethics policy recordswas used as the starting point. After retrieval, text extraction, and validation, a corpus of 44 policy documents was constructed from an initial 112 records (110 link-bearing entries). Supervised classification was implemented for four core dimensions: Accountability, Bias & Fairness, Privacy, and Transparency. A TF-IDF + Logistic Regression baseline was evaluated using stratified 5-fold …

From There To There, Daniil Kolchanov

Theses

From There to There is a semi-fictional journey, an attempt to figure out what home is, that uses photography as the main medium. It started with the physical act of leaving my country, but quickly turned into an internal journey. In this project, I am interested in themes of displacement, lack of belonging, and home as a utopian idea. Combining different ideas of home, metaphors, symbols and everyday moments, I talk about an idealized home, ideas of stability, connection, and a sense of belonging in an ever-changing environment. From There to There questions the internal relationship between identity, memory, community, …

Tom: Toward A Design Language For Object Personality, Mike Minerva

Theses

Design has been chasing seamless efficiency for decades, creating smoother interactions, more compliant objects, and experiences that disappear entirely. When an object is frictionless, it does not lack personality. It has a personality. One that is obedient, meaningless, and remarkably boring. An object that pushes back has boundaries, and that resistance comes from a position of caring. Objects have always been able to refuse. What is new is that the refusal can now come from inside the object, from memory, adaptive thinking and a disposition toward the person using it. Expressed consistently over time, that agency is perceived as personality. …

I Like The Color Pink Because It Is Pretty, Jennifer Smyczynski

Theses

This thesis investigates what it means to be hyper-visible yet completely overlooked in relation to appearance, gender, and intellect. The work embraces the decorative as it appears in visual art and in the surrounding domestic environment, as well as the often-dismissed aesthetics of girlhood—including the glitter, rebellion, and contradictions that accompany its cultural formulation. My intention is to navigate the expectations placed on femininity and its representation in both art and society. This includes the concept of feminized labor; the ways in which work associated with women is treated and valued; and how pop culture catered toward women is more …

A Machine Learning Based Analysis Of Traffic Accident Severity Using Environmental, Temporal And Road Condition Factors, Khalid Alaleeli

Theses

Traffic accidents on the road have been one of the most significant global issues as far as public safety is concerned, with the severity of crashes, as well as their fatalities, representing an undue burden on human and economic damages. The research constructs a machine learning-based model to examine and forecast the level of traffic accidents based on environmental and time, road and human variables. There were 798 valid observations and 14 variables discussing a dataset using the exploratory data analysis tool, supervised classification models (Decision Tree and Random Forest), and unsupervised K-Means clustering. The technique of feature engineering was …

Perceptual Evaluation Of Deep Learning Models For Hdr Reconstruction Under Severe Overexposure, Alireza Rabbanifar

Theses

Overexposure in imaging systems leads to irreversible loss of scene information due to sensor saturation, resulting in degraded perceptual quality and limited dynamic range. While recent deep learning approaches have shown promising results in correcting mild to moderate overexposure, their performance under severe overexposure and their perceptual quality in HDR image generation remain less understood. In this work, a comparative evaluation of four representative models—Multi-Scale Exposure Correction (MSEC), Illumination-Adaptive Transformer (IAT), LEDiff, and X2HDR—is conducted across multiple scenes and levels of overexposure, with particular emphasis on severe overexposure conditions. The evaluation focuses on the perceptual quality of the reconstructed HDR …

Revisiting A Historical Material: Casein As A Case Study, Evan Gerstein

Theses

The goal of this project is to use casein as a case study to explore historical methods of making and to show that these have uses for today. In the first half of the 20th century, casein, a milk protein, was a widely-used industrial material. Buttons, buckles, glue, and clothing, among other products, were made from it. The use of casein declined in the post-World War II economy because of reputational damage done by its association with Benito Mussolini’s fascist regime and the rise of petroleum plastics. This project argues that casein deserves to be revisited. Specifically, this project offers …

Migration Of The Spirit, Yaqub Shabazz

Theses

Migration of the Spirit examines interior transition through sustained painting practice. While migration is often understood as geographic displacement, this thesis reframes it as an interior reorientation shaped by halted time, disciplined solitude, and the act of reclaiming one’s own narrative. Grounded in lived experience within institutional systems and sustained decades of teaching and studio practice, the work reflects a movement from externally imposed narratives toward self-authored clarity. The paintings are marked by architectural compression, repeated motifs, and restrained palettes dominated by sienna, umber, and muted blues. Figures emerge within densely structured spatial fields shaped by assertive linear frameworks that …

Asobi: Play In Every Language, Jeffrey Gibbs

Theses

In the era of iPad kids and screenagers, toys are struggling to engage children. The modern toy industry prioritizes eye-catching designs over meaningful stimulation, choosing to profit off of media franchising rather than encourage creative expression. Toys are too often designed in a way that limits the scope of play, forcing kids down a specific path rather than opening a world of creative possibilities. This narrow scope prevents imagination and decreases the overall lifespan of the product by encouraging product turnover. All of this contributes to an abundance of toys in the home, a reality linked to negative development outcomes. …

Asl Language Development And Interpreting Instruction: A Nationwide Study Of American Sign Language Interpreter Education Programs With Comparison To Spoken‑Language Interpreter/Translation Education, Alianna Giudice

Theses

Interpreter training programs in the United States vary in how they structure language development and interpreting instruction, with particularly stark differences between American Sign Language (ASL) interpreter training programs (ITPs) and spoken‑language interpreting and translation programs. In many ASL ITPs, students begin interpreting coursework before achieving foundational fluency, resulting in language acquisition and interpreting skill development occurring concurrently. In contrast, spoken‑language programs typically require incoming students to demonstrate functional fluency prior to beginning interpreting training. These structural differences may overwhelm ASL learners, constrain their linguistic development, and contribute to the graduation of interpreters who are not yet prepared to meet …

The Next Generation Of Police Station Design: Integration Of Officer Wellness With Operational Demands, Kayla Zill

Theses

The design of police stations has traditionally prioritized efficiency of operations and security, overlooking the wellness of officers. This research analyzes the integration of Trauma-informed Design (TiD) and WELL Building Standards into police stations design to create environments that aid officer well-being while maintaining operational functionality. Through literature review, including research of current police station design guidelines, trauma endured by officers, Trauma-Informed Design principles, WELL building standards, and understanding of the need for wellness to be incorporated into police station design. Officer interviews then further understanding of the needs of officers to create a scorecard and program guidelines to refocus …

The Implications Of Expanding Solar Microgrids For Resilience In Puerto Rico, Adriana Dominguez Moret

Theses

Puerto Rico’s energy landscape is defined by a cycle of continuous disaster recovery, exacerbated by its location in a high-risk natural disaster zone and a centralized grid prone to failure. The human cost of this vulnerability was exemplified by the 328-day power outage following Hurricane Maria, a period that rendered vital spaces unusable and highlighted the dire consequences of accelerated infrastructure aging and a heavy dependency on expensive fossil fuel imports. This thesis addresses these critical challenges by investigating the integration of community microgrid systems into the urban landscape as a strategic framework for power continuity. Using Casa Pueblo’s existing …

Urban Illumination And Circadian Disruption: Examining Artificial Light At Night, Caitlin Mcmasters

Theses

Artificial light at night is increasingly prevalent in dense urban environments, yet it remains unclear how often typical city lighting conditions likely exceed recommended nighttime limits for residential circadian health. This thesis evaluates nighttime light exposure in two contrasting urban districts, Back Bay in Boston and Times Square in New York City, using satellite derived nighttime radiance, GIS based urban morphology, and documented lighting infrastructure characteristics. Rather than relying on calibrated photometric simulations, the study employs a qualitative, evidence based comparative approach to assess relative façade exposure and interpret conditions against established benchmarks, including the WELL Building Standard and ILP …

From Village Core To Urban Impact: A Method For Assessing Community-Centered Design Across Scales, Jessica Randise

Theses

By utilizing pioneered urban planning principles and design strategies that focus on creating human centric spaces, this research will contribute to a deeper understanding of intentional urbanism and the importance of place-based design. The built environment to which surround us plays a key role in impacting a community’s development and civic pride amongst its community members. By understanding and pinpointing the successful design strategies utilized in both the villages of Fairport and LeRoy, NY, other regionally similar places with lesser success can be revitalized. This will be accomplished through the understanding of key development categories across all three villages which …

Weathered, Haylee A. Dyess

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Weathered focuses on themes of change, accumulation, time, and acceptance. Each artwork holds layers of information and experiences that form a unique narrative for all its viewers. The construction of each piece is a symbol of the physical ability it takes to create each painting. After my mobility was hindered due to my medical conditions, a new appreciation for physical health and the world I live in was gained. Striving to pack this sense of appreciation into my work, my method became a way for me to cope with my illness and to enjoy being creative, freely.

My art is …

Ursodeoxycholic Acid Prophylaxis After Sleeve Gastrectomy And 1-Year Risk Of Biliary Complications, Arthur Chidi Igbo, John Stevenson, Chimezirim Ezeano, Muaz Alsabbagh, Amulya Suresh, Jason Browne

Aurora GME

Introduction: Real-world effectiveness data for ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA), commonly prescribed after sleeve gastrectomy to reduce the risk of biliary events, are limited. We evaluated whether UDCA within 6 months of sleeve gastrectomy reduces 1-year biliary complications across a multi-institution network. Methods: We performed a retrospective cohort study on TriNetX (Global Collaborative Network; 17 health care organizations). Adults (18–89 years) undergoing sleeve gastrectomy (CPT 43775) from 9/21/2015 onward were included. Exposure was UDCA (RxNorm 62427) within 6 months post-surgery vs no UDCA in the same window. The index date was the surgery date; outcomes were assessed for 365 days. Primary outcomes …

Safety And Efficacy Of Individualised Exercise And Nad+ Precursor Supplementation In Patients With Friedreich’S Ataxia In The Usa: A Single-Centre, 2 × 2 Factorial, Randomised Controlled Trial, Kimberly Lin, Anna Bucha, Kara Mcsweeney, Kristin Wade, Antoneta Karaj, Jaclyn Tamaroff, Shannon O'Malley, Nicole Chung, Nicolette Cilenti, Julianne Wanner, Gabriel Adzika, Clementina Mesaros, Ian Blair, Teerapat Rojsajjakul, Suraj Serai, Jennifer Farmer, Kyle Bryant, Yingying Lu, Michael Harhay, David Weber, Stephen Paridon, Erin Seifert, Mary Putt, Payman Zamani, Joseph Baur, David Lynch, Shana Mccormack

Department of Pathology, Anatomy, and Cell Biology Faculty Papers

BACKGROUND:Friedreich's ataxia is a rare, chronic, progressive, neurodegenerative condition affecting multiple organ systems, including neurological, musculoskeletal, cardiac, and endocrine systems, and is marked by low cardiopulmonary fitness. We tested the effect of exercise and NAD⁺ precursor supplementation with nicotinamide riboside, which have each shown benefits in animal and early clinical studies, on cardiopulmonary fitness in individuals with Friedreich's ataxia.

METHODS: This 12-week, outpatient, phase 2, single-site (Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, USA), randomised, 2 × 2 factorial clinical trial recruited individuals aged 10–40 years with an ejection fraction of 45% or greater who were able to exercise. A …

Dean's Research Newsletter, May 2026, Neil W. Schluger

SOM Dean's Research Newsletter

No abstract provided.

The Relationship Between Social Support And Social Negativity On Social Media For Virtual Socializing And College Students’ Anxiety Levels During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Ni Zhang, Hsin Yi Tseng, Yijia Guo, Jasmine Thai, Alida Thao, Tripti Ghanghas

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Objective During the COVID-19 pandemic, people were forced to socialize virtually. As virtual socializing proliferated during the COVID-19 pandemic, both social support and social negativity for virtual socializing on social media increased. This study examines how social support and social negativity on social media for virtual socializing are related to college students’ anxiety level during the pandemic. Methods Some 772 college students from a university on the west coast of the United States responded to an online Qualtrics survey from December 2020 to May 2021, when students were required to take all classes online. Descriptive analysis and multiple regressions were …

A Covalent Allosteric Molecular Glue Suppresses Nrf2-Dependent Cancer Growth, Nilotpal Roy, Ilah Bok, Harit Panda, Dhaval P Bhatt, Emily M Wilkerson, Soma Saeidi, Paul Zolkind, Michael B Major, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

UNLABELLED: The NRF2 transcription factor is constitutively active in cancer, in which it functions to maintain oxidative homeostasis and reprogram cellular metabolism. NRF2-active tumors exhibit NRF2 dependency and resistance to chemotherapy/radiotherapy (RT). In this study, we characterize VVD-065, a first-in-class NRF2 inhibitor that acts via an unprecedented allosteric molecular glue mechanism. In the absence of stress or mutation, NRF2 is rapidly degraded by the Kelch-like ECH-associated protein 1 (KEAP1)-cullin3 (CUL3) ubiquitin-ligase complex. VVD-065 specifically and covalently engages Cys151 on KEAP1, which in turn promotes KEAP1-CUL3 complex formation, leading to enhancement of NRF2 degradation. Previously reported Cys151-directed compounds decrease KEAP1-CUL3 interactions …

Skip The Grid: Turning Solar Planning Into Power For Navajo Nation Homes, Alexandr B. Miller

Construction Management

Skip the Grid is a cross-disciplinary experiential learning initiative that delivers clean energy infrastructure to households with school-age children residing in the Navajo and Hopi Nations. In March 2026, a cohort of 23 students drawn from five academic programs at California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly) joined forces with Heart of America (HOA), SOLV Energy, and NextPower to carry out the initiative's fifth consecutive year. The program aimed to enhance living standards and bolster academic achievement by ensuring dependable access to power, illumination, and food preservation in resource-limited communities. Participants were divided into five installation teams comprising Cal Poly students, …

Sb 1953 Field Execution Under Hcai Oversight: Seismic Retrofit At Zsfg Building 5, Victor Lucas

Construction Management

Every hospital in California must be seismically compliant by 2030 under Senate Bill 1953, which is enforced by the Department of Health Care Access and Information (HCAI). HCAI approves and inspects all hospital construction in the state, and its authority reaches into the field, so a contractor cannot simply build to an approved drawing the way it would on a commercial job. This paper explains how that approval system governs the work, written for construction professionals entering hospital work in California whose experience to that point has been commercial. It uses the ZSFG Building 5 Voluntary Seismic Upgrade, a 1976 …

Preconstruction Services For Slo Youth Baseball Bull Pen And Batting Cage, Sofia E. Cuevas

Construction Management

San Luis Obispo Youth Baseball is a nonprofit organization servicing the local youth of San Luis Obispo, California. Offering recreational, all-star, and club programs, SLO Youth Baseball provides the experience of baseball to all levels of skill in the community. In preparation for the Spring 2026 season and beyond, SLOYB has proposed the construction of a bull pen and batting cage on the third base line at their very own Stockton Field. In order to service the community at large, this design came with a set of strict parameters: accessibility, longevity, and serviceability. In doing so, SLOYB has requested flexibility …

Sympathetic And Parasympathetic Ganglion Blocks For Treatment Of Long Covid-19 Symptoms: A Scoping Review, Abhay Tyagi, Khushboo Singh, Preet Mohinder Singh, Frederic J Gerges

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: Long COVID-19 affects approximately 10-30% of individuals who are infected with SARS-CoV-2 and is associated with persistent functional impairment and reduced quality of life. The heterogeneous, multisystemic nature and nonspecific symptomatology of long COVID-19 makes its treatment challenging. This scoping review evaluates existing evidence on sympathetic and parasympathetic ganglion blocks as potential interventions for patients suffering from long COVID-19.

OBJECTIVE: Our primary objective was to assess the effectiveness of sympathetic and parasympathetic ganglion blocks in treating patients with long COVID-19 by identifying the most commonly reported symptoms, symptom response to different block regimens, and any adverse effects associated with …

Fort Hays State University Tiger Weekly, May 01, 2026, University Relations

Tiger Weekly Newsletters

No abstract provided.

Optical Coherence Tomography As An Emerging Technique For Identifying Pediatric Middle Ear Effusion, Roger Neuberger, Jeffrey Carter, Adriana Dives, Ana Sofia C Ibarrola, Maritsa Ixba, Elton Lambert, Yi-Chun Liu, Anna H Messner

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Objective: Acute otitis media (AOM) and otitis media with effusion (OME) rely on accurate characterization of middle ear effusion (MEE). Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a potential modality for noninvasive analysis of MEE, thereby assisting with otitis media diagnosis. This study aims to compare the diagnostic performance of OCT with otoscopy and tympanometry in pediatric patients.

Methods: A prospective convenience sample of 164 pediatric patients aged 6 months to 12 years was recruited from two tertiary care pediatric otolaryngology clinics. During their visit, each child underwent otoscopy, tympanometry, and OCT evaluation. Scans were reviewed by both a fellowship-trained pediatric otolaryngologist …