Digital Commons Network^™

2025 September 12 - Academic, Research And Student Success Committee Agenda And Minutes, Board Of Trustees, East Tennessee State University

Board of Trustees Agendas and Minutes

No abstract provided.

2025 Private Capital Markets Report, Craig R. Everett

Pepperdine Private Capital Markets Report

The Pepperdine private cost of capital survey was originally launched in 2007 and is the first comprehensive and simultaneous investigation of the major private capital market segments. This year’s survey specifically examined the behavior of senior lenders, asset‐based lenders, mezzanine funds, private equity groups, venture capital firms, angel investors, privately‐held businesses, investment bankers, business brokers, limited partners, and business appraisers. The Pepperdine survey investigated, for each private capital market segment, the important benchmarks that must be met in order to qualify for capital, how much capital is typically accessible, what the required returns are for extending capital in today’s economic …

Wave Intensity Analysis With Exercise Identifies Impairments In Pulmonary Hypertension, Christopher G. Lechuga, Farhan Raza, Mitchel J. Colebank, Claudia E. Korcarz, Jens C. Eickhoff, Naomi C. Chesler

Faculty Publications

Wave intensity analysis provides a novel approach to understanding the dynamic interactions between the right ventricle and pulmonary vasculature, particularly in pulmonary hypertension, a condition characterized by elevated pulmonary arterial pressures and vascular remodeling. This prospective study used wave intensity analysis to evaluate right ventricular and pulmonary vascular mechanics in 22 participants with pulmonary hypertension (including precapillary, isolated postcapillary, and combined pre/postcapillary pulmonary hypertension), and three without pulmonary hypertension. Forward and backward compression and decompression waves were quantified at rest and during incremental exercise (25, 50, and 75 W). Relationships between metrics of wave intensity analysis, hemodynamics, right ventricular function, …

Opposing Synovial Cannabinoid Receptor Type 2 And Transient Receptor Potential Vanilloid 1 Expression In Painful Osteoarthritis, Collin A. Toups, Lauren G. Guillot, Kaitlyn Redondo, Sydney Jensen, Jennifer Klein, Luis Marrero

School of Medicine Faculty Publications

Knee osteoarthritis (kOA) poses a major health challenge worldwide, but current non-surgical treatments have limited long-term success and do not address the underlying disease process. This study explores the complex relationship between the endocannabinoid system (ECS) and the endovanilloid system (EVS) in the synovial membrane of patients with kOA undergoing total knee replacement, focusing on how these systems relate to patient-reported pain and histological synovitis. Synovial tissues and fluid from patients grouped into high and low pain categories based on the Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS) were examined for cannabinoid receptor type 2 (CB2R), transient receptor potential vanilloid …

A Multicriteria Model For Assessing Item Importance And Risk Using Operational Data From Military Supply Chains, Manuel D. Rossetti, Juliana Bright, Andrew Freeman, Anna Lee, Anthony Parrish

Industrial Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

This paper is motivated by the need to assess the risk profiles associated with the substantial number of items within military supply chains. The scale of supply chain management processes creates difficulties in both the complexity of the analysis and in performing risk assessments that are based on the manual (human analyst) assessment methods. Thus, analysts require methods that can be automated and that can incorporate on-going operational data on a regular basis. Design/methodology/approach

The approach taken to address the identification of supply chain risk within an operational setting is based on aspects of multiobjective decision analysis (MODA). The approach …

Resolution Of Physics And Deep Learning-Based Protein Engineering Filters: A Case Study With A Lipase For Industrial Substrate Hydrolysis, Spencer Gardiner, Peter Dollinger, Filip Kovacic, Jörge Pietruszka, Daniel Ess, Karl-Erich Jaeger, Gunnar F. Schröder, Dennis Della Corte

Faculty Publications

Computational enzyme design remains a powerful yet imperfect tool for optimizing biocatalysts, especially when targeting non-natural substrates. Using design tools we investigated Pseudomonas aeruginosa LipA, a lipase with a flexible lid domain crucial for substrate binding and turnover, aiming to enhance its hydrolysis of the industrially relevant substrate Roche ester. We generated an initial set of single-point mutations based on structural proximity to the active site and evaluated their effects using a computational pipeline integrating molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, density functional theory (DFT) calculations, and ensemble-based energy scoring. While we identified several active variants, attempts to rank them by activity …

Integrating Identity-Based Identification Against Adaptive Adversaries In Federated Learning, Jakub Kacper SzeląG, Ji-Jian Chin, Lauren Ansell, Sook-Chin Yip

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

Federated Learning (FL) has recently emerged as a promising paradigm for privacy-preserving, distributed machine learning. However, FL systems face significant security threats, particularly from adaptive adversaries capable of modifying their attack strategies to evade detection. One such threat is the presence of Reconnecting Malicious Clients (RMCs), which exploit FL’s open connectivity by reconnecting to the system with modified attack strategies. To address this vulnerability, we propose the integration of Identity-Based Identification (IBI) as a security measure within FL environments. By leveraging IBI, we enable FL systems to authenticate clients based on cryptographic identity schemes, effectively preventing previously disconnected malicious clients …

A Federated Approach To Scalable And Trustworthy Financial Fraud Detection, Yaser Alhasawi, Aljwhrh Abdalaziz Almtrf, Muhammad Asad

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

Financial fraud remains a critical challenge for digital banking, requiring detection solutions that ensure both scalability and data privacy. Traditional centralized approaches face limitations due to security risks and system bottlenecks. This paper proposes FedFraud, a novel federated learning (FL) framework that detects fraudulent transactions without sharing raw data. FedFraud introduces two key innovations: (i) a trust-aware client aggregation mechanism that assigns weights based on update reliability and (ii) an asynchronous communication protocol enabling clients to contribute updates independently. Evaluated on the Credit Card Fraud Detection dataset under a nonidentically distributed (non-IID) data setting where client data distributions differ significantly, …

Reining In Plasticulture From Land To Sea: Pacific Northwest (Usa) Perspectives On Agriculture And Aquaculture, Susanne M. Brander, Gail A. Langellotto, Minal T. Mistry, Sebastian L. Singleton, Mackenna A. Hainey, Lauren M. Kashiwabara, Kelsey Arthur, Elise F. Granek, Kervelle Baird, Ricardo Palazuelos, Multiple Additional Authors

Environmental Science and Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

Plastic use in food production—known as plasticulture—has transformed agriculture and aquaculture globally. Plasticulture gained momentum in the mid-20th century with the development of novel plastic materials, and by 2009, U.S. farmers used over 200 million pounds of plastic films annually. Though plastics have increased yields and efficiency, they now pose environmental hazards through the release of microplastics (MPs) and chemicals. Despite extensive documentation of MPs in the environment, their role in U.S. food production and impacts on crop, livestock, and aquaculture health remain underexplored. In regions like the Pacific Northwest (PNW), with robust agricultural and aquaculture sectors, plastics from films, …

Conference Presentation: 'Ai Disruptions In Higher Education', Cristo Leon Ph.D., James Lipuma Ph.D., Maximus Rafla

STEM for Success Resources

Power Point presentation

Robotic System With Tactile-Enabled Leaf Tracking For High-Resolution Hyperspectral Imaging Device For Autonomous Corn Leaf Phenotyping In Controlled Environments, Xuan Li, Ziling Chen, Raghava Uppuluri, Pokuang Zhou, Tianzhang Zhao, Darrell Zachary Good, Yu She, Jian Jin

School of Industrial Engineering Faculty Publications

Hyperspectral imaging of individual corn leaves provides valuable data for analyzing nutrient content and diagnosing diseases. However, existing leaf-level imaging techniques face challenges such as low spatial resolution and labor-intensive processes. To address these limitations, this study developed a robotic system integrated with a high-resolution line-scanning hyperspectral imaging device to autonomously scan a corn leaf. The hyperspectral imaging device used a vision-based tactile sensor for active leaf tracking throughout the scanning process, ensuring high image quality. Additionally, the device incorporated an in-hand leaf manipulation mechanism that ensured the leaf was properly positioned on the tactile sensing area at the start …

The Diamond, September 12, 2025, Dordt University

Dordt Diamond

• Front Page: Staffing and Service Challenges in the New Atrium; Summer Storm Recap: Historic 'Derecho' Wind Hits Sioux Center; In God's Hands, On Our Helmets: Honoring Liam Sorensen's Life
• News: The Cottages: A Place to Call Home; Sioux Center Welcomes New Pickleball Courts
• Feature: Construction Updates and Ripples Seen on Campus; Dr. Justin Bailey and the 2025-2026 Chapel Vision; Dordt Welcomes Kristin Brouwer as New Director of Campus Ministries
• Politics: 'Pursuing Peace': Trump's Meeting with Putin; Funding Cuts Hinder the "Second Space Race"
• Opinion: Jersey on the Wall: Recent Reflection on Grief; Kraft Korner: …

A Picture Paints A Thousand Words: Understanding How People Conceptualise Autism Through Images, Gray Atherton, Emily Dawson, Andrea Piovesan, Lauren Hawksworth-Quill, Liam Cross

School of Psychology

Conceptions of autism and neurodiversity vary widely, with differing views on how they are portrayed in contemporary culture. Although autism scholars have long advocated for greater involvement of autistic individuals in knowledge creation, meaningful co-production between autistic stakeholders, researchers, and the broader community remains limited. To explore differences in autism knowledge between autistic and non-autistic people, we used a qualitative method called visual elicitation. We invited the public to upload an image they felt represented autism and explain their choice. Through thematic analysis of these images and their accompanying descriptions, we identified three key themes highlighting how autism is currently …

Re: Butte Priority Soils Operable Unit (Bpsou) Final Insufficiently Reclaimed Sites Field Sampling Plan (Fsp): Bres No. 181 – Mountain Con-3 Dump., Mike Mcanulty

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

Loss Of Ptdss1 In Tumor Cells Improves Immunogenicity And Response To Anti-Pd-1 Therapy, Jielin Liu, Shelley Herbrich, Sreyashi Basu, Yulong Chen, Ashwat Nagarajan, Swetha Anandhan, Sangeeta Goswami, Liangwen Xiong, Baoxiang Guan, Padmanee Sharma

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

PTDSS1 (phosphatidylserine synthase 1) encodes an enzyme that facilitates production of phosphatidylserine (PS), which mediates a global immunosuppressive signal. Here, based on in vivo CRISPR screen, we identified PTDSS1 as a target to improve anti-PD-1 therapy. Depletion of Ptdss1 in tumor cells increased expression of interferon-γ (IFN-γ)-regulated genes, including B2m, Cxcl9, Cxcl10, and Stat1, even in the absence of IFN-γ stimulation in vitro. Loss of Ptdss1 in tumor cells also led to increased expression of MHC-I, enhanced cytotoxicity of CD8+ T cells, and increased frequency of an iNOS+ myeloid subset. A gene signature derived from the …

Enhancement Of Spin Transport Properties In Angled-Channel Graphene Spin Valves Via Hybrid Spin Drift-Diffusion, Samuel Olson, Kaleb Hood, Otto Zietz, Jun Jiao

Mechanical and Materials Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Graphene has promise as a channel connecting separate units of large-scale spintronic circuits owing to its outstanding theoretical spin transport properties. However, spin transport properties of experimental devices consistently fall short of theoretical estimates due to impacts from the substrate, electrodes, or defects in the graphene itself. In this study, we fabricate both traditional non-local spin valves (NLSVs) and novel hybrid drift-diffusion spin valves (HDDSVs) to explore the impact of charge current and AC spin injection efficiency on spin transport. HDDSVs feature channel branches that allow investigation of charge-based spin drift enhancement compared to diffusion-only configurations. We investigate the modulation …

Hemispheric Asymmetry Of Phase Partition In Mixed-Phase Clouds Based On Near Global-Scale Airborne Observations, Ching An Yang, Minghui Diao, Yang Shi, Xiaohong Liu

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Mixed-phase clouds contribute to substantial uncertainties in global climate models due to their complex microphysical properties. Former model evaluations almost exclusively rely on satellite observations to assess cloud phase distributions globally. This study investigated mixed-phase cloud properties using near global-scale in situ observation data sets from 14 flight campaigns in combination with collocated output from a global climate model. The Southern Hemisphere (SH) shows significantly higher occurrence frequencies and higher mass fractions of supercooled liquid water than Northern Hemisphere (NH) based on observations at 0.2 and 100 km horizontal scales. Such hemispheric asymmetry is not captured by the model. The …

Bioelectrochemical Systems: Prioritizing Energy Density, Long-Term Stability, And Validation, Luana C.I. Faria, Steffane Q. Nascimento, Filipe C.D.A. Lima, Graziela C. Sedenho, Thiago Bertaglia, Rodrigo M. Iost, João C.P. De Souza, Senentxu Lanceros-Méndez, Shelley D. Minteer, Serge Cosnier, Ariel L. Furst, Frank N. Crespilho

Chemistry Faculty Research & Creative Works

Pioneering work in bioelectrochemistry, particularly the employing of yeast cells to generate electrical current, had substantially favored the comprehension of bio electrochemical reactions. This foundational research has boosted the development of bio electrochemical systems (BES), which are significant for sustainable energy solutions. BES technologies, such as biobatteries, bio supercapacitors, and enzymatic and microbial biofuel cells, harness organic and biological systems to provide environmentally friendly alternatives for energy storage and conversion. Despite their potential, these technologies face challenges in achieving competitive energy densities and long-term stability compared to traditional accumulators and converters. Here, we introduce a new Ragone plot for BES, …

Carbonation For Enhancement Of Fine Recycled Aggregate Applied To Mortar, Henrique Comba Gomes, Augusto Cesar Da Silva Bezerra, Conrado De Souza Rodrigues, Flavia Spitale Jacques Poggiali, Boksun Kim

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

Some of the challenges faced by the construction industry related to sustainability are the generation of construction and demolition waste (CDW), environmental impacts caused by the demand for natural aggregates, and associated carbon (CO₂) emissions. One potential solution is recycling CDW as recycled aggregates (RA). Though, RA generally performs poorly compared to natural aggregates (NA) in concretes. Researchers suggest that CO₂ curing via accelerated carbonation may improve the properties of RA. However, further investigation is needed to understand the impact of CO₂ curing on mortar made with fine recycled aggregates (FRA). This study explores the effects …

Inovasi Aplikasi Adhimukti Brata Care Stunting Berbasis Appsheet Untuk Pendataan Status Gizi Anak Di Kabupaten Banggai, Moh. Saputra Tambora, Imelda Hutasoit

Jurnal Biostatistik, Kependudukan, dan Informatika Kesehatan

Stunting merupakan masalah kesehatan serius di Indonesia, termasuk di Kabupaten Banggai dengan prevalensi 29,1% pada tahun 2023. Keterlambatan intervensi sering terjadi akibat keterbatasan data gizi anak yang akurat, terbaru, dan mudah diakses. Penelitian ini bertujuan mendeskripsikan pengembangan Aplikasi Adhimukti Brata Care Stunting berbasis AppSheet sebagai solusi pendataan gizi anak secara real-time. Metode yang digunakan adalah research and development (R&D) dengan model prototyping, meliputi tahap analisis kebutuhan, perancangan, implementasi, uji coba teknis, dan penyempurnaan. Data diperoleh dari hasil uji coba aplikasi, observasi proses input, serta masukan pengguna awal yaitu petugas DP2KBP3A, PKB, dan kader posyandu. Hasil pengembangan menunjukkan aplikasi …

Resilience In Health Science Education: An Integrative Review, Kylie Padron Newsom, Michelle Nichols, Susan D. Newman, Teresa M. Stephens, Diana Layne

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

Healthcare worker burnout in the US has reached crisis levels, leading to harmful consequences for healthcare workers, patients, communities, and the healthcare system (Murthy, 2022). Burnout-related turnover costs $9 billion for nurses and $2-6 billion for physicians annually (Murthy, 2022). Symptoms of burnout appear even before entering the workforce, with 44% of medical students and 30% of nursing students affected (Murthy, 2022). One way to decrease burnout is through resilience which reduces stress and anxiety while improving well-being (Stephens, 2013). The American Association of Colleges of Nursing (2021) and the National Academy of Medicine (2019) support incorporating resilience into education …

Should I Consider A Terminal Nursing Degree?, Nancy S. Goldstein, Melissa Hunter

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

The purpose is to provide information for nurses who desire continuation of nursing education, learn new skills, and understand differences in core concepts of the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) and Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) terminal nursing degrees.

Changing demands of national and global healthcare environment requires a high level of scientific knowledge and practice expertise to assure quality patient outcomes. Some factors building momentum for change in nursing education at an advanced level include: rapid expansion of knowledge underlying practice; increasing complexity of patient care; national concerns of quality of care and patient safety; shortages of nursing personnel which …

“A Field Beaten Bare Of Grass”: Samuel Youd’S The Death Of Grass (1956) And The Scouring Of The Shire, Kristine Larsen

Journal of Tolkien Research

One of the novels Tolkien admits to liking (according to his published letters) was Samuel Youd’s thriller The Death of Grass (1956), published under the pen name John Christopher. Among the novel’s aspects that might have particularly resonated with Tolkien included environmental concerns, analogs with Tolkien’s World War II experience (especially rationing), and an emphasis on fairy-story Consolation and Recovery, among others. But in addition, parallels with “The Scouring of the Shire” and other late episodes in The Lord of the Rings clearly deserve further analysis. This paper therefore engages with Youd’s novel through that specific lens.

A Feasibility Study Into The Usability And Application Of An Unmanned Aerial Vehicle For Aircraft Inspection And Quality Assurance Inspections, Reece P. Bhave

Journal of Aviation Technology and Engineering

The global aviation industry is often characterized as one of the safest modes of transportation in the modern world. With an abundance of quality assurance inspections and checks to determine operations safety, modern-day commercial aircraft that are utilized for passenger and cargo flights are held to a higher safety standard defined by regulatory bodies, such as the Federal Aviation Administration in the United States of America and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency in the European Union. While these quality standards are maintained via a series of inspections, checks, and preventative maintenance procedures, they are limited to only visual or …

Empowering Learners And Expanding Access With Open Educational Resources, Jennifer Pate

ACHE Open Educational Resources Workshop

Go beyond Open Educational Resources (OER) to understand the broader landscape of Open Educational Practices (OEP). This session will provide an overview of key OEP principles and demonstrate practical applications for fostering learner agency, enhancing cost-effectiveness, and expanding the reach of educational content. Participants will gain insights into integrating OEP into their own teaching and institutional strategies.

Designing The Future Of Open Through Innovation: Integrating Ai To Support Z-Degrees And Institutional Transformation, Josh Hill

ACHE Open Educational Resources Workshop

Josh leads and initiative at Hillsborough College that is among the first in the nation to integrate artificial intelligence with Open Educational Resources (OER) to help faculty create high-quality, zero-cost, and accessible course materials. Supported by the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) Open Education Capacity Building Grant, Hillsborough is developing Z-degree pathways through paid faculty opportunities, targeted training for academic advisors, and tools to track and expand OER adoption. This session shares lessons learned, explores AI-OER implementation strategies, and presents scalable, adaptable models for institutions in Alabama and beyond.

Customizing And Distributing Differential Intrusion Prevention Systems (Ips) Signatures In Software-Defined Wide Area Network (Sd-Wan) Deployments, Priyam Saikia, Prabhat Kumar Singh, Phil Petty, Shailendra Vinod Pardeshi, Salah Ramlawi, Sravani Gunda

Defensive Publications Series

Traditional intrusion prevention systems (IPS) do not support user-driven customization within centralized, managed environments (e.g., software-defined wide area network (SD-WAN) environment). More specifically, traditional IPS rely on manual rule edits, which are error-prone and unscalable across large deployments. Further, handling and rendering tens of thousands of rules requires efficient data models and backend optimizations. Therefore, there is a need for a system that allows users to edit, manage, and deploy IPS signatures in a SD-WAN environment with a unique emphasis on differential rule tracking and lightweight deployment.

Bus Wire Designs For Minimizing Visibility Of Diffraction Artifacts, Kellie Shaw

Defensive Publications Series

A transparent panel includes an optically transparent substrate, and a plurality of electrically conducting tracks disposed over a surface of the substrate, the plurality of tracks arranged in intersecting rows and columns and defining therebetween an array of pixels having substantially identical areal shape and dimensions, where the tracks have a periodic shape of varying amplitude and frequency, with a peak-to-peak variability in the amplitude being less than approximately 10%.

Neurolinkx: Advanced Ai-Powered Automation And Cloud Solutions Enabling Digital Transformation In Enterprises, Arjun N. Chaurasiya, Neurolinkx It Solutions & Services

Defensive Publications Series

NeuroLinkX IT Solutions & Services, headquartered in Kanpur Nagar, India, is pioneering innovative technology solutions that enable enterprises to transform digitally and remain competitive in the modern era.
This technical disclosure details our advanced contributions in the field of IT innovation, focusing on three core solutions:

1. AI-Powered Predictive Maintenance Platform – Utilizing advanced machine learning algorithms, this solution continuously monitors industrial equipment in real time, accurately predicting potential failures. It helps industrial enterprises reduce downtime, lower maintenance costs, and improve asset efficiency.

2. Real-Time Executive Analytics Dashboard – Designed for business leaders, this dashboard aggregates multi-source data into intuitive visualizations, enabling …

   ---

   Go to article

Comparison Of Liu-Type Estimator For Multicollinearity In Fuzzy Logistic Regression Model, Ayad Habib Shemail, Ahmed Razzaq Al-Lami, Amal Hadi Rashid

Iraqi Journal for Computer Science and Mathematics

This article addresses the fuzzy logistic regression model under conditions of multicollinearity, which causes instability and inflated variance in parameter estimation. In this model, both the response variable and parameters are represented as fuzzy triangular numbers. To overcome the multicollinearity problem, various Liu-type estimators were employed: Fuzzy Maximum Likelihood Estimators (FMLE), Fuzzy Logistic Ridge Estimators (FLRE), Fuzzy Logistic Liu Estimators (FLLE), Fuzzy Logistic Liu-type Estimators (FLLTE), and Fuzzy Logistic Liu-type Parameter Estimators (FLLTPE). Through simulations with various sample sizes and application to real fuzzy data on kidney failure, model performance was evaluated using mean square error (MSE) and goodness of …