Digital Commons Network^™

Extension Of Imposter Detection During Online Tests To Detect Other Fraudulent Acts, Athula Seneviratne, Indika Perera, Shantha Fernando

Journal of Innovation in Science, Engineering and Technology

With more and more institutions adopting online delivery of education, the accompanying need for assessing students online is increasing. However, the tendency of some candidates to engage in fraudulent acts to gain undue advantage over other candidates undermine the integrity of the online testing process. It is a major challenge faced by test administering institutions. The most widespread fraudulent act is impersonation. Existing studies primarily focus on the detection of this particular fraudulent act. However, there are other fraudulent acts as well, resorted to by cheating candidates. Methods of detecting these other acts have not been sufficiently studied. The objective …

Novel Technique For Enhancing The Therapeutic Efficacy Of Coenzyme Q10 In Transdermal Drug Delivery Systems For Skin Rejuvenation, L. M. Hettihewa, K. G. P. Wasana, Y. M. Imendra, G. P. C. Weerasooriya, W. M. K. M. Rathnayake

Journal of Innovation in Science, Engineering and Technology

Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) is a very imperative compound for electron transport chain in mitochondria and exerts its effects as cutaneous antioxidant. All human cells have CoQ10, and sometime deficiency had been identified due to genetic defects or with ageing. Supplements with COQ 10 are commonly used enteral and dermal application for the prevention and treatment of aging. Delivery of dermal CoQ10 is very limited due to its poor penetration and unstable compounds. systematic review was conducted by our research group through electronic databases using preclinical and randomized controlled trials to evaluate the efficacy and stability of improved delivery systems of …

Assessment Of Antioxidant Retention Of Boiled And Non-Boiled Aqueous Extracts Of Broccoli, Cabbage, Kohlrabi And Cauliflower In Sri Lanka, D. M. S. S. Dassanayake, B. C. K. Kumari, P. R. H. Perera, G. M. Yasasvi, L. M. Hettihewa, W. M. K. M. Ratnayake

Journal of Innovation in Science, Engineering and Technology

The comparison of antioxidant activities between non-boiled and boiled aqueous extracts of selected vegetables from the Brassica oleracea L. species is an interesting study topic, particularly in a context like Sri Lanka, where traditional and modern medicinal practices often emphasize the role of dietary plants in health. Hence, this was aimed to evaluate the antioxidant potential of boiled and non-boiled aqueous extracts (BAE and NBAE respectively) of selected vegetables belonging to the Brassica oleracea L species, which are commonly consumed as a raw vegetable in fresh salads as well as a cooked vegetable in curry or fried form i.e. Brassica …

Assessment Of In-Vitro Anti-Diabetic And Antioxidant Activities Of Selected Edible Mushrooms, Agaricus Bisporus (Button Mushroom), Pleurotus Cystidiosus (Abalone) And Pleurotus Ostreatus (American Oyster) In Sri Lanka, E. J. Siriwardene, G. S. D. Nawaruwan, A. H. M. A. N. Abesinghe, H. D. Dedigama, K. H. E. Fernando, K. D. K. P. Kumari, W. M. K. M. Ratnayake

Journal of Innovation in Science, Engineering and Technology

Mushrooms are a valuable source of proteins and vitamins as well as a food source with several pharmacological values. Hence, Higher mushroom consumption can lower the risk of certain diseases. However, a literature survey revealed that published scientific information on the therapeutic potential of some edible mushrooms is still being determined. Hence, this study evaluated and compared the antioxidant and α -amylase potential of some of the three commonly used mushroom varieties in Sri Lanka i.e. Agaricus bisporus (Button mushroom), Pleurotus cystidiosus (Abalone mushroom) and Pleurotus ostreatus (American oyster). The antioxidant activity of hot aqueous extracts of the above three …

Body Mass Index And Clinical Phenotypes Of Primary Dysmenorrhea In Female University Students: Evidence From Sri Lanka Using Walidd Scoring, H. K. A. N. Senanayake, K. L. A. S. I. Liyanarachchi, J. K. M. Jagoda, S. A. S. A. Maheepala, L. C. Mallawa, P. W. T. M. Dayarathne, Y. T. R. Somisena, L. M. Hettihewa

Journal of Innovation in Science, Engineering and Technology

This research investigates the relationship between body weight and the severity and characteristics of primary dysmenorrhea among female undergraduates in Sri Lanka, using the WaLIDD Score as an evaluative tool. The study aims to assess the practicality of the WaLIDD Score in native settings, examining its correlation with pain intensity, pain location, and common medication patterns, while addressing gaps in previous research conducted in Sri Lanka. A quantitative cross-sectional study was conducted among 389 female university students aged 19–27 years from both state and non-state universities in Sri Lanka, selected through stratified random sampling. Participants with chronic or menstrual diseases, …

Conceptual Analysis Of Ārthavavaha Srotas (Female Reproductive System): A Review Of The Theories And Literature, Pushpa Kulanatha, H. L. M. G. Sajeewani

Journal of Innovation in Science, Engineering and Technology

The reproductive health of females during their fertile years is foundational for individual well-being and societal prosperity. The purpose of this study was to bridge the analytical and epistemological gaps currently existing in the literature regarding Ārthavavaha Srotas (ĀvS), the Ayurvedic concept of the female reproductive system. A comprehensive literature review was conducted using forward and backward searches to analyse authentic Ayurvedic texts (Caraka and Sushruta Samhitas) alongside contemporary research articles published between 2014 and 2024. The analysis identified ten specific aspects of the ĀvS where prior interpretations were superficial or unclear. The results of this study epistemologically validate ancient …

Understanding Perceptions Of A Peruvian Local Market Program: A Reflexive Thematic Analysis, Rosmery Ramos-Sandoval Dr., Jano Ramos-Diaz

The Qualitative Report

Despite growing global interest in short food supply chains (SFSCs), little is known about how consumers in developing countries perceive these models, especially through digital platforms like social media. This study investigates how Twitter users represent and perceive SFSCs in the context of the Peruvian government´s “De la Chacra a la Olla” program. The study analyzed 1,167 tweets from Peruvian Twitter users referencing the hashtag #DeLaChacraALaOlla between 2014 and 2020, using reflexive thematic analysis within an exploratory case study framework to examine consumer perceptions of SFSCs. The analysis revealed three key themes in consumer perceptions of SFSCs on Twitter: direct …

Implementation Of A Mindfulness Intervention Among Professional Firefighters And The Effect On Perceived Stress Levels, Rachel L. Mowry

Creating Healthy Work Environments (CHWE)

Problem Statement: Firefighters experience high levels of stress related to their occupation that negatively impacts their physical and mental health and can lead to loss of occupation, decreased work productivity, and suicide. Occupational stress in firefighters impacts firefighters as individuals, as well as their places of work and communities; therefore, this phenomenon should be investigated further. Mindfulness is a strategy which is shown to be effective in the reduction of occupational-related stress. Mindfulness-based strategies can be delivered through a variety of methods including mindfulness-based stress reduction, mindfulness-based cognitive therapy, virtual mindfulness interventions, and other structured programs. Increased mindfulness has been …

On Explaining The Sentiments In Prediction Of Stock Movement: An Xai-Based Analysis, D. J. Ranade, Sarthak Bhaya, Siddhanth Bhimakari, Moe Aye Chan, Keith Quille, Rajesh Jaiswal

Research Outputs: 2025-Present

Empirical evidence shows that short-horizon equity returns are not fully random; there is a degree of predictability, especially when traditional financial data is combined with public sentiment measures. Sentiment-based features have been used to improve prediction tasks, but there is limited explanation of their contribution. In addition, the impact of news on investor sentiment, and how that impact decays over time, has rarely been investigated. To bridge this gap, we integrate sentiment scores extracted from financial news headlines using HKUST FinBERT with daily market-based indicators to predict the next-day price direction. We evaluated two aggregation strategies: the most confident news …

Environmental And Social Strategies, And Sustainable Performance: The Mediating Role Of Management Control Systems, Zheng Siqi

Student Works (2020-2029)

This study investigates how environmental and social (E&S) strategies influence enterprise sustainability performance (SP), with a focus on the mediating roles of Environmental Management Control Systems (EMCS) and Social Management Control Systems (SMCS). Anchored in the Resource-Based View (RBV), the study conceptualizes E&S strategies, EMCS, and SMCS as internal organizational resources that support the implementation of sustainability-related strategic intent. Although Chinese manufacturing enterprises face increasing regulatory and societal expectations regarding environmental and social responsibilities, prior research has primarily examined the direct association between sustainability strategies and performance outcomes or has treated sustainability control systems as aggregated constructs, providing comparatively less …

Weather As A Weapon Of War: The Legality Of Cloud Seeding Under International Humanitarian Law, Fatemah Albader

Seattle Journal of Technology, Environmental, & Innovation Law

No abstract provided.

The Double-Edged Sword Of Ai In Elections: Navigating Risks And Opportunities In Washington State, Payvand Khastkhodaei

Seattle Journal of Technology, Environmental, & Innovation Law

No abstract provided.

Deepfake Danger: The Urgent Need For Federal Protections Against Ai-Generated Pornography, Benjamin Comfort

Seattle Journal of Technology, Environmental, & Innovation Law

No abstract provided.

Qualitative Methods For Health Research, 5th Edition: A Review, Rikki Mangrum

The Qualitative Report

Qualitative Methods for Health Research (5^th ed.; Green et al., 2025) is an introductory textbook that provides an overview of qualitative methodology as it is used in health-related fields, including public health, healthcare delivery, and medical science. It provides instruction on theoretical principles, core methods and their implementation, and related topics such as developing research proposals and publishing study results. This new addition includes updated content and new content pertinent to recent developments that have affected health research practices, such as the COVID-19 pandemic and broader awareness of the impact of colonialism and racial discrimination.

On The Automatic Image Captioning Task In Italian: A Human-Centric Approach, Valentina De Amicis, Rajesh Jaiswal, Fernando Perez-Tellez

Research Outputs: 2025-Present

Automatic Image Captioning (AIC) combines two distinct machine learning disciplines, Computer Vision (CV) and Natural Language Processing (NLP), forming a challenging research landscape. Much research has been carried out for AIC in the English language facilitated by the availability of English language datasets. However, this is not true for other languages. The aim of this work is to investigate existing AIC models' compatibility for the Italian language. The scope of this research will be aimed to reduced complexity, improved efficiency, and readily trainable models on smaller datasets while maintaining an acceptable level of caption quality. The popular Show and Tell …

Right-To-Be-Forgotten By Design In Adapter-Tuned Transformers, D. J. Ranade, Rajesh Jaiswal

Research Outputs: 2025-Present

Enforcing the Right-to-be-Forgotten (RtBF) in transformer models remains challenging: full retraining is costly, while post-hoc unlearning often leaves residual signal without guarantees. We propose an RtBF-by-design protocol for adapter-tuned models that combines differential privacy (DP) applied to Low-Rank Adaptation (LoRA) adapters with a matched-control Deletion Sufficiency Certificate (DSC). A DP-trained model on the full dataset is evaluated against an identically configured and trained redacted-control model using three complementary criteria - prediction agreement, membership-inference separability, and calibrated confidence exposure - to assess deletion sufficiency. The DSC offers an operational go/no-go decision for RtBF without requiring full retraining. Experiments on a text …

Sting-Induced Blood-Brain Barrier Opening Combined With Radiotherapy Potentiates Antitumor Response In A High-Grade Glioma Model, Shashwat Tripathi, Hinda Najem, Lisa Hurley, Ruochen Du, Crismita Dmello, Heba Ali, Kathleen Mccortney, Karl J Habashy, Peng Zhang, Craig M Horbinski, Lara Leoni, Ryan J Avery, Rimas V Lukas, Timothy L Sita, David R Raleigh, Sean Sachdev, Roger Stupp, Maciej S Lesniak, David M Ashley, Daniele Procissi, Michael A Curran, Irina Balyasnikova, Amy B Heimberger

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Radiation therapy (RT) is the standard of care for glioblastoma but is not curative. Triggering the cGAS/stimulator of interferon genes (STING) pathway with potent agonists, such as 8803, exerts activity across high-grade glioma preclinical models. To determine if the combination of 8803 with RT warrants consideration in the up-front treatment setting and to clarify the underlying mechanisms of therapeutic activity, C57BL/6J mice harboring intracerebral CT-2A or QPP8v gliomas were treated with RT, intratumoral 8803, or both. The treatment with the combination resulted in 80% long-term survival in the CT-2A model but not in the radiation-resistant QPP8v model. This therapeutic effect …

Discourses On Homosexuality And The Paradox Of The Closet In The New Life (2023) By Tom Crewe, Paramita Ayuningtyas, Shuri Mariasih Gietty Tambunan, Asri Saraswati

Bahasa dan Seni: Jurnal Bahasa, Sastra, Seni, dan Pengajarannya

This article offers a critical examination of Tom Crewe's biographical novel The New Life (2023), focusing on its representation of homosexual subjectivity in Victorian England—a historical context defined by restrictive moral norms and punitive legal regimes that criminalised same-sex relationships. Drawing on Michel Foucault's theory of discursive power, Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick's concept of the closet, and Michael Boucai's topology of the closet, the study demonstrates that the novel portrays the closet not merely as a private site of concealment but as a complex social mechanism shaped by legal regulation, gender norms, and class-based power relations. Building on this theoretical framework, …

Roles And Strengths Of Therapeutic Recreation Professionals In Service Provision: A Strengths-Based Approach, M. Rebecca Genoe, Linda Ostryzniuk, Kathy Park, Sherri Nelson, Douglas G. Cripps, Donna Boser

The Qualitative Report

Therapeutic Recreation professionals work in healthcare and community-based settings where they utilize recreation and leisure to improve quality of life. Despite their contributions, Therapeutic Recreation often goes unrecognized as an important component of the healthcare team. The purpose of this study was to explore the strengths and successes of Therapeutic Recreation professionals. We aimed to explore how Therapeutic Recreation professionals identify and perceive their roles, and what strengths they use within their roles. Data was collected through 19 individual interviews and eight focus groups with Therapeutic Recreation professionals and analyzed thematically. The theme of “nurturing well-being through leisure” was generated …

The Prospector, Februrary 16, 2026, Utep Student Publications

The Prospector

No abstract provided.

Mmu: 02/16/26-02/22/26, Student Bar Association

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Automated Quantification Of Movement Qualities In The Human Upper Extremity After Stroke Using A Wearable Robot., Yoon No Gregory Hong, Kyoungsoon Kim, Sheng Li, Marcia K O'Malley, Ashish D Deshpande, Jinsook Roh

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Stroke is a leading cause of long-term adult disability, with approximately 80% of survivors experiencing upper extremity (UE) motor impairments. Conventional tools like the Fugl-Meyer Assessment (FMA) are widely used but limited by ordinal scales and subjective visual observation. While wearable robotics offer high-resolution data, their clinical translation is hindered by a lack of standardized protocols and limited interpretability for clinical decision-making.

Objective: This study aimed to develop an objective, standardized, and clinically interpretable method to quantify UE motor qualities by integrating wearable robotic technology with traditional clinical assessment tasks.

Methods: Ten healthy individuals and ten stroke survivors performed …

Myelodysplastic Syndrome Secondary To Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-Cell (Car-T) Therapy For The Treatment Of Relapsed/Refractory Multiple Myeloma, Waqqas Tai, Daniel Kim, Joe Dib, Jessica Thomas, Swathi Gopishetty, Precious Idogun, Afoma Anyadibe, Anuoluwa Ayetoran, Syed Zaidi, Savitha Balaraman, Ishmael Jaiyesimi

Student Publications

We present the case of a 65-year-old man with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM) who developed therapy-related myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) following chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapy with idecabtagene vicleucel (ide-cel). The patient, initially diagnosed in 2019, underwent multiple lines of therapy, including high-dose melphalan with autologous stem cell transplantation, before receiving ide-cel for progressive disease. Despite initial remission, a day 100 bone marrow biopsy revealed MDS with a 7q deletion, a cytogenetic abnormality not present on prior marrow evaluations. While CAR-T therapy has revolutionized RRMM treatment, long-term complications such as therapy-related hematologic malignancy remain under-recognized.

The temporal relationship between CAR-T …

Riding The Rush: A Deep Learning Approach To Bus Overcrowding Prediction, Nikhitha Guttula, Akshay Vellanki, J. S.N. Sudhamayi Putchakayalapalli, Akhil Ratnam, Rajesh Jaiswal, Keith Quille

Research Outputs: 2025-Present

Overcrowding in public transport is often explained by common-sense factors such as peak hours and busy routes. While these patterns are well known, what remains unclear is whether machine learning can uncover less obvious interactions that go beyond human intuition. This study investigates whether predictive models can not only forecast bus overcrowding but also reveal overlooked dynamics within operational data that traditional analysis might miss. Using timestamped stop-level records containing temporal and route-based features (hour of day, day of week, stop ID, line ID, and vehicle capacity), we develop machine learning and deep learning models to identify high-load events. Explainable …

Data Preprocessing Methods For Automating Mlops Pipelines: A Comparative Study, Surya Teja Gowd Ayinavilli, Keith Quille, Tarry Singh

Research Outputs: 2025-Present

Preprocessing tools for data are increasingly being utilized in MLOps pipelines to develop models automatically. However, the fairness and reliability of automated processes are inadequately researched, risking causing performance degradation or bias. This discrepancy is addressed in this thesis with an evaluation of automated data preprocessing methods compared to a baseline approach, designed for integration into a TensorFlow Extended (TFX) pipeline. The performance of each method was compared in terms of classification measures and subgroup fairness to determine potential bias. Significance tests were employed to compare the performance of each automated method against the baseline. The results indicate that around …

Educators' Evaluation Of Explanation Types In Xai For Higher Education Dropout, Henry Maathuis, Jan Glazenborg, Meike Grol, Keith Quille

Research Outputs: 2025-Present

First-year student dropout rates represent a global challenge, particularly in Computer Science programs. In response, the Predict Student Success (PreSS) tool was developed over two decades using Naïve Bayes, a black box machine learning model, to identify students at risk of early withdrawal or academic failure. Given growing concerns about the use of black box models in high-stakes domains such as education, this study builds on former research by comparing the Naïve Bayes model to three glass box AI models: Decision Tree, Explainable Boosting Machine, and Automatic Piecewise Linear Regression. These models were used to generate four types of explainable …

Leveraging Graph Neural Networks For Explainable And Adaptive Seismic Risk Modelling (Work In Progress)), Shivam Tyagi, Musfira Jilani

Research Outputs: 2025-Present

Seismic risk modeling predicts the likelihood of earthquake occurrences in different regions over time. This presents a distinctive challenge as both the spatial structure of underlying geological features and the temporal evolution of seismic events must be accounted for accurately. In addition, for planners and decision-makers, it is essential that such models are not only accurate but also explainable. However, most existing models lack explainability, which limits their usefulness. This research proposes a novel graph neural network based seismic risk modeling methodology that is both explainable as well as adaptable, as it allows decision-makers the flexibility to choose the risk …

Ontology-Based E-Commerce Recommender System: A Hybrid Semantic Filtering Approach, Shaymaa Al-Juboori, Jocelyn Pua, Su-Cheng Haw, Lucia Dwi Krisnawati, Gee-Kok Tong

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

The rapid growth of e-commerce has led to product overload, which has resulted in personalized product discovery becoming a crucial problem for consumers. Classic recommender systems (RS), which rely heavily on content-based filtering or collaborative filtering, tend to face well-known problems such as cold start, data sparsity, and ignorance of semantics. Such constraints frequently result in irrelevant or redundant suggestions, thereby lowering the user satisfaction and conversions. This study presents a hybrid ontology-based e-commerce recommender system that combines symbolic reasoning with deep semantic matching. The system is based on a Neo4j graph database to capture structured product relationships and is …

An Autoethnographic And Relational Exploration Of Identity Negotiation Within Romantic Relationships Between Nonbinary Partners And Cisgender Women, Maddison L. Russell

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation explores how trans and cisgender partners negotiate gender identity, care, and relational well-being through an autoethnographic examination of everyday communication. The study draws from eighteen personal narratives across family, academic, and romantic contexts to trace how gender-based microaggressions and cisnormative expectations become embedded in ordinary talk, gestures, and silences, shaping identity development and relational stability. At its core, this work argues that relationality emerges as a pervasive and constitutive condition that shapes how affirmation, misrecognition, and belonging are experienced within trans/cis relationships and across time. Through examining moments of misunderstanding, minimization, and avoidance, the study reveals how microaggressions …

Metformin Exposure After Glioblastoma Diagnosis And Mortality: A Large Population-Based Study, Vittorio Maio, Roshani Shah, Manisha Lin, Patrick J. Moeller, Iyad Alnahhas, Richard Hass, Wenyin Shi, Scott W Keith

College of Population Health Faculty Papers

BACKGROUND: Glioblastoma (GBM) is an aggressive primary brain malignancy with limited therapeutic options and poor survival outcomes. Recent real-world studies and early-phase clinical trials evaluating metformin have yielded mixed findings. This study assessed the association between post-diagnosis metformin exposure and all-cause mortality in a large population-based cohort of older adults with GBM.

METHODS: A retrospective cohort study was conducted utilizing the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER)-Medicare linked database. Adults aged ≥66 years diagnosed with GBM between 2007 and 2018 were included, excluding those with other malignancies or diagnoses made by autopsy or death certificate. Metformin exposure was modeled as …