Digital Commons Network^™

Centering English Language Learners’ Literacy Through The Use Of Ai-Powered Tools To Enhance Teacher And Student Success, Shalander Samuels, Alecia Blackwood

The Language and Literacy Spectrum

There has been an increase in the number of English Language Learners (ELs) and, therefore, an increase in the number of linguistic diversities in the general classroom nationwide (Clark-Gareca et al., 2020; Cullen, 2015). Technology has been utilized to promote and support English Learners' success as it can be a significant tool for scaffolding and differentiating instruction (Abobaker & Moleta, 2025; Wolf et al., 2016). Artificial Intelligence (AI), to be specific, has emerged as transformative when supporting ELs across K-20 academic spaces, especially with the increasing demand to integrate technology into learning. AI creates pathways to effectively support the needs …

Centering Black Girl Love: Unearthing Black Girls’ Truths In A Predominantly White, Loveless Elementary School, Tyana R. Velazquez-Smith

The Language and Literacy Spectrum

This study examines the transformative power of literacy as a tool for healing, resistance, and revolutionary love in the lives of BLACK girls navigating predominantly white elementary school spaces. Revolutionary love is conceptualized as practices of care, affirmation, and joy that challenge systemic oppression while fostering belonging and possibility. Conducted in an elementary school in upstate New York, this research follows eleven participants from kindergarten through fourth grade, exploring their lived experiences and literacy practices during English Language Arts (ELA) instruction.

Drawing on Brian Street’s (1984) assertion that literacy is a social practice shaped by cultural and power dynamics, this …

Route Guidance And Adaptive Suspension Damping Based On Road Quality Sensing, Prashant Surana, Matt Delmage

Defensive Publications Series

Drivers face challenges due to inconsistent and unpredictable road conditions, which can lead to discomfort, increased vehicle wear, and potential safety hazards. Existing digital map and navigation systems lack the ability to provide real-time data on road surface quality, including potholes, cracks, or unevenness. This disclosure describes the use of dash cameras (or other on-board cameras of a vehicle) and other on-vehicle sensors to automatically detect road surface anomalies. This can be achieved by analyzing image data of the road surface of an empty road and by observing the motion of other vehicles in response to road surface variation. The …

Smart Flags For Data Center Fleet Optimization, Na

Defensive Publications Series

Hardware and software systems such as data centers, compute clusters, etc., have a high degree of parametric configurability, e.g., dozens of true/false settings, constants, thresholds, etc. Parametric settings can significantly impact performance. The space of parameters is too vast to explore manually. Parametric settings in test environments may not predict behaviors in production environments. This disclosure describes techniques that leverage machine learning to explore the parameter space of a hardware/software system and to choose an optimal set of parameters that provides a performant system. Components used to implement the techniques include a control system for describing and adjusting parameters within …

College Corps: A 90 Day Onboarding Plan–And Beyond, Marylou Bagus-Hansen, John Caceres, W. Kent Rogers

Benerd College Student Articles

The University of San Diego (USD) is one of the participating campuses to host College Corps (CC) Fellows, and one of four private institutions among the 45. Assigned 130 fellowship members, USD has the largest cohort of its private counterparts and recently added three additional full-time staff members who started approximately four months ago. USD now has a total number of five staff, the largest staff to student ratio of private institutions (Top 10 Learnings, 2023).

While California Volunteers (CV) provided some guidance for the implementation and launch of the program, this guidance was disproportionately focused on the recruitment and …

Modeling Heterogeneity In Cognitive Trajectories In The Framingham Heart Study, Yuan Fang, Jiachen Chen, Jesse Mez, Claudia L. Satizabal, Michael L. Alosco, Wei Qiao Qiu, Margaret F. Doyle, Joanne M. Murabito, Kathryn L. Lunetta

Pharmacy Faculty Scholarship

Introduction: The prevalence of cognitive impairment in the population is growing; however, there is substantial heterogeneity in the rate of decline across different cognitive domains. Harmonized factor scores measuring memory, executive function, and language domains have been created in the Framingham Heart Study (FHS). Methods: This work identified FHS participants with two or more repeated factor scores after age 60 and fitted latent class mixed models (LCMM) to cluster cognitive trajectories within each domain. Non-linear shapes of trajectories were modeled piecewise linearly, followed by stepwise selections to select cluster-specific change points. Results: We identified different latent classes of participants with …

Effects Of Heating Orientation On Flow Boiling In Copper Manifold Microchannel Heat Sinks, Huigang Wang, Yue Qiu, Jennifer Carter, James Mcguffin-Cawley, Chirag R. Kharangate

Faculty Scholarship

Recently, two-phase cooling configurations are being proposed to meet the power dissipation requirements of high heat flux electronic devices. Flow boiling in Manifold Microchannel (MMC) offers high heat transfer coefficients with low pressure drops, making it a popular choice. While many studies have explored flow boiling in microchannels, the influence of heating orientation in MMCs with complex 3D flow paths has not been investigated thoroughly. In this study, experiments are conducted to investigate the effects of heating orientations and mass flow rates on heat transfer performance, pressure drop, and the hysteresis phenomenon during flow boiling in a copper manifold microchannel …

Phytoremediation Of Lead Heavy Metals In The Mangrove Ecosystem Of The Lembar Harbor Area, West Lombok Regency, Indonesia, Firman Ali Rahman/Firman, Muhammad Shohibul Ihsan, Dwi Agustini, Ervina Titi Jayanti

Makara Journal of Science

Mangroves play a vital role as bioindicator plants in port areas with the potential for non-essential heavy metal contamination. This study aimed to determine the potential for phytoremediation of lead heavy metal in mangrove vegetation resulting from port operations. The research was conducted in the mangrove ecosystem of Lembar Harbor, West Lombok Regency, West Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia. Substrate, leaf, and root samples were collected using a purposive random sampling technique and analysis for testing the lead heavy metal content using atomic absorption spectrophotometry. The results showed that the average heavy metal content of lead accumulated in the substrate in each …

In Vitro Regeneration Potential Of Pistacia Integerrima And Pistacia Khinjuk Rootstocks: A Modeling Approach For Optimal Medium Formulation, Heydem Eki̇nci̇, Beki̇r Erol Ak

Turkish Journal of Agriculture and Forestry

Micropropagation involves the development of whole plants from small meristematic tissues by culturing them in vitro under aseptic conditions on a nutrient medium. However, identifying a single nutrient medium suitable for propagating Pistacia, a recalcitrant species, remains challenging. While some species exhibit good growth on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium, Pistacia species generally yield insufficient results. To address this, a five-dimensional experimental design was developed using Design- Expert software (Stat-Ease Inc., Minneapolis, MN, USA). Thirty-three experimental databases were generated by the software using the modified I-optimal criterion. MS medium served as the control treatment. A response surface model (RSM) employing …

Advances In Research On Noble Gas As Tracers Of Geofluids And Helium Enrichment, Gao Yu, Liu Quanyou, Zhu Dongya, Wu Xiaoqi, Li Pengpeng

Coal Geology & Exploration

Background Noble gases emerge as significant tools for tracing the sources and evolutionary processes of geofluids due to their chemical inertness and different isotopic compositions across varying reservoirs. Helium serves as a noble gas tracer and a scarce resource, and its enrichment mechanisms and exploration potential have attracted wide attention.Methods Based on a summary of the geochemical data of typical gas reservoirs, volcanic gases, and surface hot springs at home and abroad, this study analyzed the interfering factors and end-member value screening in the source apportionment of noble gases. Furthermore, it summarized the applications of noble gas isotopes in …

Current Status And Future Trends Of Seismic Prediction And Assessment Technology For Coalbed Methane Reservoirs, Wu Haibo, Zhang Pingsong, Xu Shi’Ang, Huang Yaping, Dong Shouhua, Cheng Yan, Li Donghui, Zhang Sheng, Zhang Min

Coal Geology & Exploration

Background The seismic prediction and assessment technology for coalbed methane (CBM) reservoirs has undergone rapid development for over three decades, playing an indispensable role in CBM exploration. Methods This study reviews the development history and current status of core technologies within the seismic prediction and assessment technical system for CBM reservoirs, including seismic-petrophysical tests, modeling and inversion, seismic wavefield simulation, seismic amplitude versus offset (AVO) inversion and seismic attribute inversion, and integrated seismic prediction of the sweet spot areas of CBM reservoir resources and engineering. Furthermore, this study delves into the impacts and limitations of the characteristics of CBM reservoirs, …

Ai-Driven Emi Mitigation For Smart Healthcare: Generative Adversarial Networks And Edge Computing For Reliable Medical Systems, Mona Esmaeili

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

Electromagnetic interference (EMI) from radio frequency (RF) sources poses a major challenge to digital systems, especially in high-electromagnetic environments. Tradi- tional electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) analysis often focuses on continuous wave (CW) interference and overlooks the effects of waveform modulation on EMI coupling. This thesis explores how modulated waveforms influence EMI coupling and introduces a Generative Adversarial Network (GAN)-based classification framework to distinguish between harmful and non-harmful EMI signals. The study extends conventional EMC analysis using machine learning (ML), showing that modulated EMI waveforms can in- crease coupling by up to 27% compared to CW signals. This highlights the need for …

Geochemical Nature Of The Geothermal Water From Lanzhou Basin: Implications For The Genesis Of Shallow Helium-Bearing Fluids, Tang Jianzhou, Wang Shuangming, Zhang Zhicheng, Li Ke, Li Changpeng

Coal Geology & Exploration

Objective and Methods Investigations on the geochemical nature of geothermal water are vital to the comprehension of the origin of helium-rich fluids in shallow basins. To address this issue, this paper reports the results of the chemical analysis, H-O isotopes and ¹⁴C ages from geothermal water and soluble gas components from the well BY-1 in Lanzhou Basin, northeastern margin of Qinghai Tibet Plateau. Chemical analysis of geothermal water samples reveals that the chemical type of geothermal water is NaCl. The show δD value of –78‰, high δ¹⁸O value (–8.7‰), low ³H value (<0.4TU), and old ¹⁴C …

Impacts Of Metakaolin And Fly Ash On The Performance Of Cement-Based Grouting Materials In Anchoring Engineering, Cheng Zhiyuan, Yang Junpeng, Xue Wei, Wei Daidong, Wang Yimin

Coal Geology & Exploration

Objective The filling of grouting materials plays a significant role in ensuring the performance of anchoring structures. This study aims to further enhance the fluidity of grouting materials, reduce their dry shrinkage in the curing process, and ensure complete filling. This will help improve the bonding property between the anchoring body and the rock and soil mass to be reinforced. Methods Using cement as the primary material, as well as fly ash and metakaolin as admixtures, this study designed and prepared 20 groups of binary and ternary mixtures and one control group. Through tests of the fluidity, bleeding ratios, and …

Organ Of Corti Macrophages: A Distinct Group Of Cochlear Macrophages With Potential Roles In Supporting Cell Degeneration And Survival, Mengxiao Ye, Celia Zhang, Dalian Ding, Guang-Di Chen, Henry J. Adler, Rania Sharaf, Bo Hua Hu

Pacific Faculty Work

Macrophages are the primary immune cells in the cochlea, essential for maintaining cochlear homeostasis and orchestrating inflammatory responses to pathological events. Although these cells have been found in various parts of the cochlea, their presence in the organ of Corti, a critical structure for acoustic sensing, remains poorly understood. The present study was designed to examine macrophage responses to ototoxic drug-induced cochlear damage and age-related cochlear degeneration, with a particular focus on the pathological conditions that trigger macrophage recruitment into the organ of Corti. We used a model of ototoxicity induced by cyclodextrin, a cyclic oligosaccharide known for its ability …

Development Of Fiber Composite Joints To Improve Folding Of Deployable Arrays, Luke Q. Gardner

Theses and Dissertations

An origami-inspired deployable array, despite being commonly made from rigid materials, must be able to fold into its stowed configuration. This necessitates the employment of discontinuities between the panels of the array and the use of specialized joints to connect them. Compliant joints, with all their typical advantages, are useful in this application. Membrane hinges and lamina-emergent torsional (LET) arrays are two classes of compliant joints, or surrogate folds, which each feature unique benefits and drawbacks. Membrane hinges in principle are simple and flexible, providing a wide range of motion while experiencing little stress. However, perhaps their most robust variation, …

Pulse: Full Issue Download

Quill & Scope

Dear Readers,

I am the soothing beat you hear when your head hits the pillow at night.
I am louder in the silence when you want to be alone with your thoughts.
I am not just a measurement made up of red pixels on a screen.
I keep you alive.
Steady. Persistent.
Who am I?

Pulse. It is one of the first things we check for life. It’s the subtle thrill beneath the surface that reminds us we are here, and we are moving forward. In medicine, the pulse is not just a vital sign; it’s a symbol of …

Affirmation And Aspiration: Black Women Enrolled In Doctoral Programs At A Pwi Striving For The Tenure-Track, Anayah Alicia Walker

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Black women remain vastly underrepresented in tenure-track positions at research universities in the United States, facing systemic barriers that hinder their academic progression. This study examines the experiences and strategies that contribute to Black women’s preparation for tenure-track positions while enrolled in doctoral programs at a predominantly white institution. Grounded in Black feminist thought coupled with an appreciative inquiry lens, this study utilized the sista circle methodology to capture the narratives of seven Black women from various academic disciplines. Findings revealed three experiences that contribute to Black women’s preparation for tenure track positions: intrinsic motivation, funding and institutional resources, and …

Foreward: Environmental And Energy Regulation Reformation: Challenges And Solutions After West Virginia V. Epa, Sackett V. Epa, And Loper Bright Enterprises V. Raimondo, Shannon Schooley

Minnesota Law Review Vols. 106:2 onward (2021-present)

No abstract provided.

Big Techs. The Dilemmas Of Regulation And Competition In Ai Research And Development, Włodzimierz Szpringer

Studia i Materiały Wydział Zarządzania Uniwersytet Warszawski

Objective: The article aims to examine the market power relations in artificial intelligence (AI) research and development, particularly the impact of AI basic models on the market power of big techs and platformization in the digital economy, regulation and competition.

Methodology: The research methods used are interdisciplinary literature studies (economics, law, management), regulation and case law, economic analysis of the law and regulatory impact assessment.

Results: Bigtechs use their collective monopoly on computing power, data, technical knowledge and infrastructure to gain an advantage in the R&D of basic AI models. Smaller companies, which do not have access …

Deep Reinforcement Learning-Driven Decision Support System Design For Precision Agriculture: Optimizing Farming And Resource Use, Qingshan Bai

Turkish Journal of Agriculture and Forestry

This study focuses on enhancing the efficiency of agricultural decision support systems by integrating deep reinforcement learning techniques to optimize the path planning of agricultural vehicles. By decomposing the system into dynamics, action, strategy, reward, and discount factor components, a robust framework is established. A value-based reinforcement learning algorithm is introduced, enriched with policy gradient (PG) methodology to enable continuous and adaptive state-to-action decision-making process. A deep neural network (DNN) was used to approximate the state-action value function, resulting in the innovative DNN-PG-Q-learning algorithm. This algorithm leverages an empirical playback pool to enable efficient and intelligent path planning for agricultural …

Technology-Related Continuing Professional Development Activities In Supporting Digital Transformation In Academic Libraries In Uganda, Sarah Nakaziba, Patrick Ngulube

School of Nursing & Midwifery, East Africa

Background of the study: To survive and thrive in a technologically advanced academic setting, librarians working in academic libraries need to revamp their competencies and knowledge through technology-rated continuing professional development.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the role of technology-related continuing professional development activities in enhancing digital transformation in selected Ugandan academic libraries.

Method: A convergent parallel mixed methods design was used to collect qualitative and quantitative data from six universities in Uganda. Qualitative data were obtained from six university librarians working in these universities, and quantitative data were collected from 76 librarians with a …

[Excerpt From] Evidence-Informed Health Policy (2nd Ed., Rev.), Jacqueline M. Loversidge, Joyce Zurmehly

Sigma Publications: Book Excerpts

What happens in health policy at local, state, and federal levels directly affects patients, nurses, and nursing practice. Some healthcare professionals, though, are intimidated by the complex and often nonlinear policy process or simply don’t know how to take the first step toward implementing policy change. In the second edition of Evidence-Informed Health Policy, authors Jacqueline M. Loversidge and Joyce Zurmehly demystify health policymaking and equip nurses and other healthcare professionals with the knowledge, tools, and confidence to navigate the first of many steps into health policy. This book translates the EBP language of clinical decision-making into an evidence-informed health …

Why Gen Z Is More Anxious Than Ever? Turning To Social Chats For Answers, Yi Luo, Jin-A Choi, Bond Benton

College of Communication and Media Scholarship and Creative Works

As social media has evolved into a prominent part of Gen Z’s social interaction, this study attempted to enrich our current understanding of Gen Z’s mental health struggles through their conversations surrounding anxiety on social media. Highlights of the findings included the following. First, the overwhelming presence of fear (83%) illustrates that anxiety is an emotionally draining experience for many Gen Z users. The use of emotionally charged language to publicly share their struggles with anxiety reflect increasing self-awareness and a cultural shift toward normalizing mental health conversations. Second, the open, candid conversations on anxiety indicate that anxiety is experienced …

Diffusion Mechanisms Of Coal-Measure Helium And Their Implications For Helium Accumulation: A Case Study Of The Taiyuan Formation, Northern Qinshui Basin, China, Ma Yong, Xin Zhiyuan, Chen Jianfa, Li Yuhong, Zhang Xiutao, Jiang Haojie, Chen Zeya

Coal Geology & Exploration

Objective The global helium-rich gas reservoirs are dominated by conventional natural gas reservoirs. In recent years, helium-bearing natural gas has been discovered in the Carboniferous-Permian coal measures in the Ordos Basin and surrounding regions, revealing the resource potential of coal-measure helium. However, there is almost a total lack of studies on mechanisms underlying the diffusion and migration of coal-measure helium. This severely restricts further research on the accumulation patterns of coal-measure helium.Methods This study investigated a coal seam in the Taiyuan Formation in the northern Qinshui Basin and mudstones in the coal seam roof. Using physical diffusion experiments on …

Accurate Crop Yield Prediction Via Temporal Convolutional Network And Variational Autoencoder, Lei Liu, Xiaoling Song

Turkish Journal of Agriculture and Forestry

With the advancement of technology, smart agriculture assumes a pivotal role in enhancing the efficiency and sustainability of agricultural production. Nevertheless, accurately forecasting crop yields and understanding their determining factors often faces limitations inherent in conventional data processing techniques. To address this challenge, this study proposes a TCN-VAE framework, amalgamating temporal convolutional networks (TCNs) and variational autoencoders (VAEs), to tackle the crop yield prediction task in smart agricultural systems. The framework intricately models four principal categories of features—meteorological conditions, soil conditions, agricultural management, and environmental conditions—via TCN and compensates for missing data using VAE, thereby achieving a comprehensive analysis and …

Comprehensive Characterization Of Purified Naringinase: Effect On Naringin Content, Antioxidant Activity, Phenolic Profile, And Grapefruit Juice Quality, Arzu İmece, Memnune Şengül, Bülent Çeti̇n, Ömer İrfan Küfrevi̇oğlu, Arzu Öztürk Kesebi̇r

Turkish Journal of Agriculture and Forestry

Bitterness arising from naringin is a problem in citrus juices, especially grapefruit juice, in terms of consumer preference. Naringinase enzyme is used to eliminate the bitterness. In this study, naringinase was extracellularly extracted, isolated, and characterized from an Aspergillus niger strain in different media. The extracted enzyme was added to grapefruit juice at different concentrations (0.1%, 0.5%, 1%) (0.078, 0.39 and 0.78 EU) and stored at different temperatures (25, 35, and 45 °C) for 5 h. At the end of the first and fifth h, the amount of naringin, physicochemical properties, phenolic profiles, and antioxidant activities of the grapefruit juice …

Human Settlement Environment And Architectural Ecological Design Based On Artificial Intelligence Technology, Mingxing Xu, Xiongjun Tao

Turkish Journal of Agriculture and Forestry

The main purpose of this paper was to use artificial intelligence (AI) technology to improve the coordination between architectural design and the natural environment, so as to optimize resource utilization and reduce negative environmental impacts and improve the quality of human settlements. To do this, multiple types of data covering the environment, buildings, and user feedback were first collected and preprocessed. Based on these data, the long short-term memory model was used to predict future environmental changes, and the particle swarm optimization algorithm was used for multiobjective optimization of architectural design. The experimental results showed that the AI-driven design scheme …

Circular Motion And Thermodynamic Characteristics Of Particles Around A Quintessential Nonrotating Black Hole, Indrajit Halder, Kamal Lochan Mahanta, Rakesh Ranjan Sahoo

Turkish Journal of Physics

This paper investigates the geodesics of the Schwarzschild black hole modified with the quintessence field and modeled as a barotropic fluid with a constant equation of state derived in Boyer Lindquist coordinates with natural units G = c = 1. Hamilton–Jacobi formalization is applied to investigate the geodesics in both static and nonstatic black hole spacetime. It specifically examines the formation of bound orbits of test particles around the black hole, highlighting that these orbits result from the interplay between the gravitational pull of the black hole and a repulsive force associated with quintessence. The thermodynamic properties of a black …

Plane Xanthoma, Connor A. Sheehan, Theresa N. Tran, Jason B. Lee, Jeffrey Y. Liu, Sylvia Hsu

Department of Dermatology and Cutaneous Biology Faculty Papers

No abstract provided.