Digital Commons Network^™

Tracking Change: A Follow-Up On The Culturally Adapted ¡Iniciando! La Adultez Program, Antonio F Pagán, Katherine A Loveland, Ron Acierno

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Introduction: Research on interventions for Latino young adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and their families often faces challenges in long-term engagement. This study aimed to assess the feasibility and effectiveness of the culturally adapted ¡Iniciando! La Adultez program through a long-term follow-up.

Methods: A cohort of Latino young adults with ASD and their families who participated in the ¡Iniciando! La Adultez program were followed for six months post-intervention. Participants were assessed at three and six months to evaluate continued engagement and outcomes. Retention rates at each follow-up point were calculated.

Results: The study demonstrated high retention rates, with 48 …

Family History Of Substance Use And Stressful Life Events Impact Adolescent Maturation Of Cerebral White Matter, Yizhou Ma, Ashley Acheson, Corneliu Bolbocean, Mustafa N Mithaiwala, Si Gao, Neda Jahanshad, Paul M Thompson, Bhim M Adhikari, Xiaoming Du, A Ankeeta, Alia Warner, Antonio F Pagán, L Elliot Hong, Peter Kochunov

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Family history (FH) of substance use disorders (SUDs) and stressful life events (SLEs) are known risk factors for SUDs in adolescents and young adults. Cross‐sectional studies suggest that FH and SLEs affect adolescent white matter (WM) development and form abnormal WM patterns. Here, we examined the effects of FH, SLEs and their interaction on WM integrity in youths in the Adolescent Cognitive Brain Development (ABCD) study at baseline and 2‐ and 4‐year follow‐ups. ABCD youths (N = 8939, age ± SD = 9.9 ± 0.6 years, 4302 female) completed baseline diffusion tensor imaging, of which 5661 repeated the scan …

Community Firearm Violence And Dental Care Use In Middle Adulthood, Alexander Testa, Luis Mijares, Daniel Semenza, Richard Stansfield, Ian Silver, Dylan B Jackson, Ana Neumann, Jeff R Temple, Rahma Mungia

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Prior research links violence inside the home to reduced dental care utilization, yet little is known about how community firearm violence affects dental care behaviors. The current study used data from wave V (2016-2018) of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health), linked to census tract-level fatal and nonfatal shooting data from the American Violence Project for the 100 largest cities in the United States. The analytic sample included 1925 respondents aged 33-42. The primary outcome was self-reported dental care use in the past year. Firearm violence exposure was categorized as 0, 1, or 2 + …

Tirzepatide For The Maintenance Of Body Weight Reduction: Rationale, Design, And Baseline Characteristics Of Surmount-Maintain, Deborah B Horn, Louis J Aronne, Sean Wharton, Harold E Bays, Elisa Gomez-Valderas, Avigdor D Arad, Palash Sharma, Julia P Dunn, Cagri Senyucel, Clare J Lee

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Objective: SURMOUNT-MAINTAIN aims to evaluate the efficacy and safety of reducing the tirzepatide dose and/or continuing the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) versus placebo in maintaining body weight (BW) reduction achieved with tirzepatide MTD.

Methods: This Phase 3b, multicenter, randomized, parallel-arm, double-blinded, placebo-controlled, 52-week clinical trial is in progress comparing treatment with once weekly tirzepatide (5 mg and/or MTD of 15 mg or 10 mg) versus placebo in achieving BW reduction maintenance from the initial 60-week open-label weight-loss period on tirzepatide MTD, in adults with obesity (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2 or ≥ 27 kg/m2 with ≥ 1 obesity-related comorbidity, excluding type …

Bipolar Spinal Correction Reduces Transfusion Rate And Hospital Stay Compared With Traditional Posterior Spinal Fusion In Children With Scoliosis Secondary To Cerebral Palsy, Kristopher Lundine, Matthias Lu, Timothy C Borden, Samuel Yoon, Mia Percival, Michael B Johnson

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Purpose: Patients with neuromuscular scoliosis due to Cerebral Palsy (CP) are complex due to their curve severity and associated medical comorbidities. Spinal fusion is associated with high risk of peri-operative complications and large blood loss requiring allogenic red blood cell (RBC) transfusion. In June 2017, our tertiary paediatric institution implemented a new minimally-invasive approach for the treatment of neuromuscular scoliosis, Bipolar Spinal Correction (Bipolar), a technique first published by Miladi et al. in 2018. This study represents an analysis of the initial experience of this technique to see if it achieves the goal of minimally invasive surgery by decreasing surgical …

Indomethacin Versus Ketorolac For The Prevention Of Heterotopic Ossification In Hip Arthroscopy Patients, Christopher S Frey, Thomas M Spears, Daniel Puczko, Alicia M Hymel, Candler G Mathews, Patrick M Luchini, Katherine D Van Schaik, Jessica R Leschied, Jaron Sullivan

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are commonly utilized to reduce the risk of developing heterotopic ossification (HO) after hip arthroscopy. However, it is not known which regimen is optimal.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to determine the rate of HO formation after hip arthroscopy in response to different NSAID protocols.

Methods: Consecutive cases of a single fellowship-trained surgeon at a tertiary referral center were retrospectively reviewed. Patients received a regimen of two medications, starting with four days of either Ketorolac or Indomethacin and ending with either Celecoxib, Meloxicam, Diclofenac, or Naproxen. Two reviewers assessed HO on postoperative radiographs.

Results: …

Accuracy Of Femoral Head Center Reconstruction Using A Straight Cementless Rectangular Stem: An In-Silico Study Comparing Elderly And Middle-Aged Patients, Hidde D Veldman, Ide C Heyligers, Philip C Noble, Tim A E J Boymans

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Introduction: Accurate reconstruction of the femoral head center (FHC) is essential for restoring hip biomechanics in total hip arthroplasty (THA). Previously described age-related morphological changes-such as canal widening and a mediocaudal FHC shift-may complicate anatomical reconstruction in all age-categories using a single non-modular cementless stem. This study assessed the capacity of such implant to achieve adequate FHC reconstruction across age groups and sexes.

Methods: Virtual implantation of a non-modular cementless stem (SL-PLUS™) was performed in CT-based 3D reconstructions of 148 femora from middle-aged (< 80 years) and very elderly (≥80 years) subjects. For each case, the optimal implant size, type (standard or lateral), and modular head (-4 mm, 0 mm or +4 mm) were selected. FHC deviation was measured in three dimensions; reconstructions were considered adequate if < 5 mm in all directions.

Results: Overall, 92.4 % of reconstructions were considered adequate. No significant differences in reconstruction accuracy could …

Relationship Between Quantitative Mri Ute T2* Of Acl Autografts And Bmi-Normalized Knee Laxity Within The First Year After Acl Reconstruction, Alonso Figueroa, Tomasz Bugajski, Dillon Humpal, Manickam Kumaravel, Walter Lowe, Payam Zandiyeh

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: The anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR) graft undergoes a remodeling process that affects its structural properties. Ultrashort echo time T2* (UTE-T2*) imaging has been instrumental in examining this process. However, more research is needed on the postoperative relationship between UTE-T2* of the graft and its mechanical properties.

Purpose: To longitudinally examine ACL graft changes after ACLR using UTE-T2* decay coefficients and knee laxity and explore their relationship.

Study design: Case series; Level of evidence, 4.

Methods: A total of 31 patients who underwent ACLR had magnetic resonance imaging of their knees at 1, 6, and 12 months after surgery …

Feasibility And Usage Of A Virtual Assistant Device In Cognitively Impaired Homebound Older Adults, Martin Cominsky

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Social technology in older adults can improve self-rated health; however, there can also be difficulties using it. Our study aimed to evaluate the feasibility and acceptance of virtual assistant device (VAD) use in cognitively impaired homebound older adults. 52 newly referred Meals on Wheels clients aged 60 and older were recruited for a three-phase study: 6 weeks of meals alone (control), followed by 6 weeks of meals+Alexa Echo Show 8 (AES8) basic usage, and lastly 6 weeks of meals+AES8 advanced usage. Technology acceptance with the AES8 was significantly higher by the end of the study and participants anecdotally enjoyed playing …

Adoption Of The T2-Flair Mismatch Sign Among Radiologists: How Well Are We Doing?, F Eymen Ucisik, Shekhar Khanpara, Burak Berksu Ozkara, Ziyi Li, Rasha Alfattal, Samir A Dagher, Max Wintermark, Gregory N Fuller

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background and purpose: The classic T2-FLAIR mismatch sign is a highly specific MRI feature that can aid in preoperative diagnosis of isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH)-mutant 1p/19q noncodeleted gliomas and affect surgical planning. This study aimed to assess the real-world utilization of the T2-FLAIR mismatch sign in clinical practice, and to explore the frequencies of classic- and partial T2-FLAIR mismatch within the IDH-mutant 1p/19q noncodeleted glioma population stratified by tumor grade.

Materials and methods: This retrospective cohort study from a dedicated cancer referral center included 251 patients with IDH-mutant astrocytoma diagnosed between 2017 and 2022. Pathology reports were reviewed for eligibility for …

Feasibility Study On Large-Scale Geologic Carbon Sequestration In Southern Colorado, Yanrui Ning, Ali Tura, David Herman, Jay Bridgeman, Dana Clark

Michigan Tech Publications

This study evaluates the feasibility of storing over 50 million metric tons of CO2 within a 30-year period in southern Colorado. The target for injection is the 7000 ft (2134 m)-deep Lyons saline aquifer formation, with the overlying alternating layers of anhydrite and shale serving as seals. Geological static models were constructed using seismic, well log and core data, followed by fluid flow modeling to understand the CO2 injection strategy, saturation distribution and plume size. The results indicate that approximately 60 million metric tons of CO2 can be injected with 2 wells into the formation over 30 years, with 85 …

Machine Learning Classification Of Eeg Responses To Pain-Related Vs Non-Pain-Related Stimulus In Preterm Infants, Lojain Hamwi, Hang Du, Sara Jasim, Xiaogang Wang, Vibhuti Shah, Carol Cheng, Lorenzo Fabrizi, Maria Fitzgerald, Judith Meek, Nicole Racine, Ian Stedman, Rebecca Pillai Riddell

Michigan Tech Publications

INTRODUCTION: Unmanaged pain in preterm infants can lead to long-term developmental consequences. Current pain assessment methods lack specificity, resulting in possible pain mismanagement in Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs). This study explores the application of machine learning (ML) to differentiate between pain-related and non-pain-related cortical activity in preterm infants. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the performance of ML models in distinguishing cortical EEG activity during a painful procedure in preterm infants across different postmenstrual ages (PMAs). METHODS: This observational study was conducted from June 2015 to May 2024 at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto, Canada, and University College London Hospital, United Kingdom. …

Alberta, Mi (Nrhp Initial Submission), Steven Walton

Michigan Tech Publications

This is the full initial submission for Alberta Village (the Ford Center) to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places. This application was submitted to the State Historic Preservation Office in August 2025. This application document was developed to support the consideration of Alberta Village (the Ford Center) as a historic site.

From the summary paragraph of the application:

The Village of Alberta in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan was originally built as a Ford company town and lumber mill in 1935. In 1954 the village and approx. 1,800 acres of surrounding timber lands were donated to Michigan …

Metaphysical Quandary Of Synthetic Media Transparency, Darrell G. Mottley

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

Artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping our view of reality. The interaction between human creativity and generative AI presents both opportunities and challenges concerning free speech and innovation. AI’s transformative impact on perceptions of innovation complicates discussions surrounding creativity and societal expectations. A human-centric perspective in the debate over government-mandated transparency for AI-generated creative works reveals a notable conflict. This conflict arises from the need to balance the protection of human creativity with an apparent obligation to provide information about the human or nonhuman origins of creative works. As society increasingly relies on AI technologies to produce art, literature, and other …

Pastors’ Experiences And Understanding Of The Role Of Adventist Education, Safary Wa-Mbaleka, David Trim

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Disagreement Among Ai Models As A Metric Of Economic Uncertainty: Testing Ai Disagreement Against Traditional Uncertainty Metrics, Peter Dunson, Andre Mccloud, Gwen Eisenbeis

IPHS 391/400: Frontiers in Generative AI

This study proposes an AI-based economic uncertainty metric built from disagreement among three frontier large language models (Claude, Google Gemini, and ChatGPT) that score daily market sentiment across five dimensions: equities, inflation, labor, consumer confidence, and forward guidance. We quantify both across-model and within-model disagreement using cosine distance between 5-dimensional sentiment vectors and assess whether these disagreement measures track or relate to established uncertainty benchmarks (VIX, EPU, and the Citi Economic Surprise Index). Results suggested that across-model disagreement moved more closely with new and policy-based uncertainty than with option-implied volatility, as it was strongly positively correlated with the Economic Policy …

Bone Mineral Density Of Willow Ptarmigan (Lagopus Lagopus) As A Potential Taphonomic Factor In Skeletal Part Attrition, Frank J. Dirrigl Jr., Samuel R. Buchanan

School of Integrative Biological & Chemical Sciences Faculty Publications

Agents of taphonomy can bias skeletal parts and the frequency of bones in archaeological sites. An important factor to consider is the possible effect of bone density-mediated attrition on archaeornithological assemblages. We scanned willow ptarmigan (Lagopus lagopus) specimens using a Lunar iDXA and an enCcore small animal body add-on to develop a rank-order scheme based on the volumetric bone mineral density (vBMD) of skeletal parts. Our results identified the tibiotarsus and femur to be the least dense bones, while carpometacarpus, 3rd digit, and coracoid were the densest. This novel scheme allowed us to evaluate a sample of 22 …

Ai-Enabled Multi-Layer Security Operations: A Combined Siem, Ids, And Threat Intelligence Model For Adaptive Cyber Defense, Mohamad Khayat

Dissertations

This dissertation presents a comprehensive framework for the evolution of Security Operation Centers (SOCs) through the integration of advanced artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain, and optimization techniques. Motivated by the increasing complexity of cyber threats and the limitations of traditional reactive SOC strategies, this work begins with a systematic literature review that identifies critical gaps in current SOC operations. Based on these insights, a reference architecture is proposed to guide the integration of intelligent components into SOC environments. To address the challenge of secure and trustworthy information sharing, a blockchain-based threat intelligence platform is developed, leveraging Byzantine Fault Tolerance and Zero-Knowledge …

Minors Or Miners? Analyzing Compensation Of User-Generated Content Under The Fair Labor Standards Act, J. Clayton Eaton

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

Roblox is an online platform where users, many of whom are under the age of eighteen, create games, virtual experiences, and digital assets that generate significant revenue for Roblox Corporation, the owner of Roblox. These young content creators are compensated primarily through platform-specific virtual currency, which can be difficult to convert into real-world money due to the high thresholds for conversion and the unfavorable exchange rates. Even though these systems resemble labor relationships, existing legal frameworks and government actions do little to address the creators’ rights to fair compensation. This regulatory gap has allowed platforms like Roblox to operate under …

The Public Health Cost Of Online Behavioral Targeting, Arthi Annadurai

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

Behavioral targeting is an increasingly popular marketing technique that utilizes users’ online activity to personalize advertisements aimed at consumers. However, since personalized advertisements aim to influence individual consumers, behavioral targeting can negatively impact vulnerable users. For instance, it may reinforce harmful behaviors—like showing alcohol advertisements to individuals with alcohol dependency—or worsen mental health struggles, such as prolonging grief by continuing to serve parenting advertisements to those mourning the loss of a child. These practices can perpetuate harmful behaviors, such as relapse or heightened psychological distress, and contribute to long-term health problems, such as addiction or other mental health problems, creating …

The Legal Framework Of Foreign Investment In The United Arab Emirates, Dr. Mohammad Saad Al Armman

Faculty Peer-Reviewed Papers | بحوث هيئة التدريس المحكمة

The UAE legislator has been keen to regulate the legal rules related to foreign investment due to the increasing importance of foreign investment companies and their growing role in the global economic system. Accordingly, the state has undertaken to create an appropriate legislative environment to attract capital and encourage investments. Although Federal Law No. 19 of 2018 regulating foreign direct investment was repealed as part of a forward looking initiative to enhance and modernize the economic sector, prosperity and growth can only be achieved through a fertile legislative environment that keeps pace with global economic developments. This ensures greater support …

Deep Learning For Hate Speech Detection: A Comparative Study, Jitendra Singh Malik, Hezhe Qiao, Guansong Pang, Anton Van Den Hengel

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Automated hate speech detection is an important tool in combating the spread of hate speech, particularly in social media. Numerous methods have been developed for the task, including a recent proliferation of deep-learning based approaches. A variety of datasets have also been developed, exemplifying various manifestations of the hate-speech detection problem. We present here a largescale empirical comparison of deep and shallow hate-speech detection methods, mediated through the three most commonly used datasets. Our goal is to illuminate progress in the area, and identify strengths and weaknesses in the current state-of-the-art. We particularly focus our analysis on measures of practical …

Lightweight Population-Based Policy Optimization For Pickup And Delivery Problems, Yizhou Liu, Li Li, Yixin Xu, Tang Liu, Rong Cheng, Die Wu, Jilin Yang, Jingwen Li

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

In recent years, applying deep models to automatically learn construction heuristics for vehicle routing problems has achieved remarkable advancements. However, they are less effective in searching solutions due to two primary limitations: relying on deterministic probability distributions and overlooking the strategic advantage of prioritizing nearby unvisited nodes during the route construction process, resulting in suboptimal policies In this paper, we propose a novel lightweight population-based policy optimization (LPPO) framework that learns a diverse population of solution strategies through the utilization of innovative perturbation factors, in order to facilitate search exploration. Moreover, we design a localized attention synthesis (LAS) network to …

What Students Really Think: Unpacking Ai Ethics In Educational Assessments Through A Triadic Framework, Lim Ming Soon Tristan, Gottipati Swapna, Michelle L. F. Cheong

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

The rise of AI in educational assessments has significantly enhanced efficiency and accuracy. However, it also introduces critical ethical challenges, including bias in grading, data privacy risks, and accountability gaps. These issues can undermine trust in AI-driven assessments and compromise educational fairness, making a structured ethical framework essential. To address these challenges, this study empirically validates an existing triadic ethical framework for AI-assisted educational assessments, originally proposed by Lim, Gottipati and Cheong (In: Keengwe (ed) Creative AI tools and ethical implications in teaching and learning, IGI Global, 2023), grounded in student perceptions. The framework encompasses three ethical domains—physical, cognitive, and …

Cookingdiffusion: Cooking Procedural Image Generation With Stable Diffusion, Yuan Wang, Bin Zhu, Yanbin Hao, Chong-Wah Ngo, Yi Tan, Xiang Wang

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Recent advancements in text-to-image generation models have excelled in creating diverse and realistic images. This success extends to food imagery, where various conditional inputs like cooking styles, ingredients, and recipes are utilized. However, a yet-unexplored challenge is generating a sequence of procedural images based on cooking steps from a recipe. This could enhance the cooking experience with visual guidance and possibly lead to an intelligent cooking simulation system. To fill this gap, we introduce a novel task called cooking procedural image generation. This task is inherently demanding, as it strives to create photo-realistic images that align with cooking steps while …

From Holistic To Localized: Local Enhanced Adapters For Efficient Visual Instruction Fine-Tuning, Pengkun Jiao, Bin Zhu, Jingjing Chen, Chong-Wah Ngo, Yugang Jiang

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Efficient Visual Instruction Fine-Tuning (EVIT) seeks to adapt Multimodal Large Language Models (MLLMs) to downstream tasks with minimal computational overhead. However, as task diversity and complexity increase, EVIT faces significant challenges in resolving data conflicts. To address this limitation, we propose the Dual Low-Rank Adaptation (Dual-LoRA), a holistic-to-local framework that enhances the adapter’s capacity to address data conflict through dual structural optimization. Specifically, we utilize two subspaces: a skill space for stable, holistic knowledge retention, and a rank-rectified task space that locally activates the holistic knowledge. Additionally, we introduce Visual Cue Enhancement (VCE), a multi-level local feature aggregation module designed …

Reproducibility Debt In Scientific Software, Zara Hassan, Christoph Treude, Graham Williams, Michael Norrish, Alex Potanin

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Reproducibility Debt (RpD) refers to accumulated technical and organisational issues in scientific software that hinder the ability to reproduce research results. While reproducibility is essential to scientific integrity, RpD remains poorly defined and under-addressed. This study introduces a formal definition of RpD and investigates its causes, effects, and mitigation strategies using a mixed-methods approach involving a systematic literature review (214 papers), interviews (23 practitioners), and a global survey (59 participants). We identify seven categories of contributing issues, 75 causes, 110 effects, and 61 mitigation strategies. Findings are synthesised into a cause-effect model and supported by taxonomies of team roles and …

Teaching Diffusion Models To Ground Alpha Matte, Tianyi Xiang, Weiying Zheng, Yutao Jiang, Tingrui Shen, Hewei Yu, Yangyang Xu, Shengfeng He

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

The power of visual language models is showcased in visual understanding tasks, where language-guided models achieve impressive flexibility and precision. In this paper, we ex tend this capability to the challenging domain of image matting by framing it as a soft grounding problem, enabling a single diffusion model to handle diverse objects, textures, and transparencies, all directed by descriptive text prompts. Our method teaches the diffusion model to ground alpha mattes by guiding it through a process of instance-level localization and transparency estimation. First, we introduce an intermediate objective that trains the model to accurately localize semantic components of the …

Visual-Enhanced Multimodal Framework For Flexible Job Shop Scheduling Problem, Peng Zhao, Zhiguang Cao, Di Wang, Wen Song, Wei Pang, You Zhou, Yuan Jiang

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Multimodal models leverage complementary information across modalities to enrich feature representations. While visual information shows potential in representing structure for some combinatorial optimization problems (COPs), its application to complex scheduling like the Flexible Job Shop Scheduling Problem (FJSP) remains underexplored. Current learning-based FJSP solvers predominantly rely on handcrafted state features. This dependence can lead to inconsistencies and may not fully capture the problem's intricate dynamics. Crucially, these methods overlook visual modalities. Visual representations offer a distinct advantage by inherently capturing the global topological structure and complex resource interactions within the FJSP state. Unlike localized handcrafted features, this holistic, structural view …

A Comprehensive Review Of Financial Knowledge Graphs, Jeyaraman Brindha Priyadarshini, Bing Tian Dai, Yuan Fang

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Knowledge Graphs (KGs) are increasingly used in finance to manage complex, interconnected data and support advanced analytics. This survey provides an overview of how KGs are applied across various financial areas, such as fraud detection, credit risk assessment, anti-money laundering, and regulatory compliance. We examine key techniques for building and using KGs in finance, including graph construction, embedding methods, and machine learning models. The survey also discusses challenges specific to finance, like handling private data, ensuring interpretability, and managing real-time data. Additionally, we explore the emerging combination of KGs with large language models and generative AI, which offers new possibilities …