Digital Commons Network^™

Strategizing Holidays: The Art Of Meaningful Togetherness, Paul Hong

KAUPA Letters

No abstract provided.

Pacific Rxtracts - December 2024, Pacific Rxtracts

Pacific RxTracts

Articles

• Attruby: A Promising Treatment for Transthyretin Amyloid Cardiomyopathy
• Triple Threat: GMRx2, An Emerging Low-Dose Triple Pill For Hypertension
• New Treatment for Hemophilia A or B
• Breaking the Placebo Barrier: FDA Review Challenges Effectiveness of Popular Decongestant
• Exploring Bempedoic Acid: Potential Benefits for Statin-Intolerant Patients and Liver Health
• The Flu Vaccine: Meeting You Where You Are
• Unique Application of Statins for Radiotherapy-Induced Cardiotoxicity
• One Shot, Two Solutions: How Semaglutide Combats Obesity and Knee Osteoarthritis

Geochemical Evidence Of Drying During The 4.2 Ka Event In Sediment Cores From The Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico, Derek K. Gibson, Jonathan Obrist-Farner, Alex Correa-Metrio, Alejandra Rodriguez-Abaunza, Carlos Castañeda-Posadas

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Tropical hydroclimate variability during the Middle and Late Holocene was investigated using geochemical indicators of local-scale precipitation and evaporation preserved in sediment cores from two sites in the Mexican Yucatán Peninsula. Scanning X-Ray fluorescence spectroscopy data show generally decreasing precipitation trends during the Early and Middle Holocene. During the transition between the Middle and Late Holocene, geochemical evidence of reduced watershed erosion and increased evaporation indicate that a centennial-scale drying event impacted the region between 4.3 and 4.0 ka (kilo-anum; thousand years before present). These findings suggest that the 4.2 ka drying event, which has been previously recorded in Europe, …

Decoding Emotions: Unveiling Facial Expressions Through Acoustic Sensing With Contrastive Attention, Guangjing Wang, Juexing Wang, Ce Zhou, Weikang Ding, Huacheng Zeng, Tianxing Li, Qiben Yan

Computer Science Faculty Research & Creative Works

Expression recognition holds great promise for applications such as content recommendation and mental healthcare by accurately detecting users’ emotional states. Traditional methods often rely on cameras or wearable sensors, which raise privacy concerns and add extra device burdens. In addition, existing acoustic-based methods struggle to maintain satisfactory performance when there is a distribution shift between the training dataset and the inference dataset. In this paper, we introduce FacER+, an active acoustic facial expression recognition system, which eliminates the requirement for external microphone arrays. FacER+ extracts facial expression features by analyzing the echoes of near-ultrasound signals emitted between the 3D facial …

Adan: Adaptive Nesterov Momentum Algorithm For Faster Optimizing Deep Models, Xingyu Xie, Pan Zhou, Huan Li, Zhouchen Lin, Shuicheng Yan

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

In deep learning, different kinds of deep networks typically need different optimizers, which have to be chosen after multiple trials, making the training process inefficient. To relieve this issue and consistently improve the model training speed across deep networks, we propose the ADAptive Nesterov momentum algorithm, Adan for short. Adan first reformulates the vanilla Nesterov acceleration to develop a new Nesterov momentum estimation (NME) method, which avoids the extra overhead of computing gradient at the extrapolation point. Then Adan adopts NME to estimate the gradient's first- and second-order moments in adaptive gradient algorithms for convergence acceleration. Besides, we prove that …

Ai Is A Viable Alternative To High Throughput Screening: A 318-Target Study, Izhar Wallach, Denzil Bernard, Kong Nguyen, Gregory Ho, Adrian Morrison, Adrian Stecula, Andreana Rosnik, Ann Marie O'Sullivan, Aram Davtyan, Ben Samudio, Bill Thomas, Brad Worley, Brittany Butler, Christian Laggner

Chemistry Faculty Research & Creative Works

High throughput screening (HTS) is routinely used to identify bioactive small molecules. This requires physical compounds, which limits coverage of accessible chemical space. Computational approaches combined with vast on-demand chemical libraries can access far greater chemical space, provided that the predictive accuracy is sufficient to identify useful molecules. Through the largest and most diverse virtual HTS campaign reported to date, comprising 318 individual projects, we demonstrate that our AtomNet® convolutional neural network successfully finds novel hits across every major therapeutic area and protein class. We address historical limitations of computational screening by demonstrating success for target proteins without known binders, …

Flexfl: Heterogeneous Federated Learning Via Apoz-Guided Flexible Pruning In Uncertain Scenarios, Zekai Chen, Chentao Jia, Ming Hu, Xiaofei Xie, Anran Li, Mingsong Chen

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Along with the increasing popularity of Deep Learning (DL) techniques, more and more Artificial Intelligence of Things (AIoT) systems are adopting federated learning (FL) to enable privacy-aware collaborative learning among AIoT devices. However, due to the inherent data and device heterogeneity issues, existing FL-based AIoT systems suffer from the model selection problem. Although various heterogeneous FL methods have been investigated to enable collaborative training among heterogeneous models, there is still a lack of i) wise heterogeneous model generation methods for devices, ii) consideration of uncertain factors, and iii) performance guarantee for large models, thus strongly limiting the overall FL performance. …

Converting Vocal Performances Into Sheet Music Leveraging Large Language Models, Jinjing Jiang, Nicole Teo, Haibo Pen, Seng-Beng Ho, Zhaoxia Wang

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Advanced natural language processing (NLP) models are increasingly applied in music composition and performance, particularly for generating vocal melodies and simulating singing voices. While NLP techniques have been effective in analyzing vocal performance data to assess quality and style, the automatic transcription of vocal performances into sheet music remains a significant challenge. Manual transcription tools often fall short due to the intricate dynamics of vocal expression. This study tackles the automation of vocal performance transcription into sheet music using innovative techniques, including large language models (LLMs). We propose a method to translate vocal audio input into display-ready sheet music effectively. …

A Strategic Insight Into The Market For Carbon Management Capacity, Mahelet G. Fikru, Ting Shen, Jennifer Brodmann, Hongyan Ma

Economics Faculty Research & Creative Works

This study presents the market for carbon management capacity via carbon capture, utilization, and storage technologies, identifying demand and supply forces, as well as clarifying the potential impact of market and non-market-based shocks on technology developers versus adopters. The paper addresses a prevailing gap in market analysis, introducing a microeconomic framework and unique dataset to identify key players, market forces, and policy incentives shaping the carbon capture, utilization, and storage landscape. The analysis equips industry stakeholders, policymakers, and investors with valuable insights regarding (1) leaders in the design, development, and manufacture of carbon capture, utilization, and storage technologies (supply), (2) …

Predictors In Help-Seeking Intentions For Friends With Eating Disorders, Allie M. Robb

Honors Theses

Emotional intelligence is a significant factor in one’s well-being as high emotional intelligence predicts sound mental well-being and a better quality of life as one can accurately understand emotions (Kulkarni & Velhal, 2023). However, low emotional intelligence has also been found to be a predictor not only of the development of mental health disorders but also have the lowest intentions to seek help (Ciarrochi et. al., 2002; Kulkarni & Velhal, 2023). Because they are unlikely to seek help, it is important for others who see the potential cause to help intervene. The purpose of this study is to investigate the …

Examining Primary Teachers' Concerns, Self-Efficacy, Attitudes, Intentions, And Challenges Of Implementing Inclusive Pedagogy In English Literacy Classrooms For Bilingual Dyslexic Students In The Uae, Robin Ogdol, Jose Roan Adorna, Romee Capate, Aisha Alteneiji

All Works

The United Arab Emirates has embraced inclusive education across all academic levels since 2006. However, the degree of teacher acceptance of inclusive practice varies. This mixed-methods case study investigated 48 primary school teachers’ concerns, self-efficacy, attitudes, and intentions regarding inclusive pedagogy in English literacy for bilingual dyslexic students aged 5-11. It also identified challenges faced by teachers in mainstream classes. Using correlation analysis, results showed negative associations between teachers’ concerns and efficacy, attitudes, and intentions for inclusive practices. On the other hand, positive associations were found between teacher efficacy, attitude, and intentions for inclusive practices. Challenges included reconciling the bilingual …

A Novel Approach To Sustainable Behavior Enhancement Through Ai-Driven Carbon Footprint Assessment And Real-Time Analytics, Ahmad Jasim Jasmy, Heba Ismail, Noof Aljneibi

All Works

This research introduces an Artificial Intelligence-driven mobile application designed to help users calculate and reduce their Carbon Footprint (CFP). The proposed system employs an Intelligent Sustainable Behavior Tracking and Recommendation System, analyzing users' carbon emissions from daily activities and suggesting eco-friendly alternatives. It facilitates sustainability discussions through its chat community and educates users on sustainable practices via an intelligent chatbot powered by a sustainability knowledge base. To promote social engagement around sustainability, the application incorporates a competition and reward system. Additionally, it aggregates behavioral data to inform government sustainability policies and address challenges. Emphasizing individual responsibility, the proposed system stands …

Site Position, Tillage, And Soil Depth Effects On Soil Properties In A Furrow-Irrigated Rice Field On A Silt-Loam Soil, Hannah Nobles, Kristofor Brye, Diego Della Lunga

Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences Undergraduate Honors Theses

The fundamental agronomic shift from conventional agricultural methods to conservation agriculture relies on understanding soil nutrient stratification with depth and under different tillage treatments. Assessment of nutrient stratification in the dynamic conditions of furrow-irrigated rice (Oryza sativa) systems in eastern Arkansas is absent. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of tillage [i.e., conventional tillage (CT) and no tillage (NT], site position (i.e., up-, mid-, and down-slope), soil depth interval (i.e., 0-10 and 10-20 cm), and their interaction on the difference (i.e., end of the season minus beginning of the season) in select soil chemical …

Sustainable Energysense: A Predictive Machine Learning Framework For Optimizing Residential Electricity Consumption, Murad Al-Rajab, Samia Loucif

All Works

In a world where electricity is often taken for granted, the surge in consumption poses significant challenges, including elevated CO2 emissions and rising prices. These issues not only impact consumers but also have broader implications for the global environment. This paper endeavors to propose a smart application dedicated to optimizing the electricity consumption of household appliances. It employs Augmented Reality (AR) technology along with YOLO to detect electrical appliances and provide detailed electricity consumption insights, such as displaying the appliance consumption rate and computing the total electricity consumption based on the number of hours the appliance was used. The application …

Factors Impeding Mental Health Help-Seeking: A Literature Review, Justin Benner

University Honors Theses

This article is an examination and review of a selection of research articles published in relation to factors that serve as barriers that inhibit the mental health help seeking process. Untreated mental illness is a significant problem within the United States, with a reported more than half of adults within the United States not receiving treatment. In order to discover possible causes, 28 articles all released within the last 20 years, had a primary focus on barriers to mental health treatment seeking and featured adult populations within the United States were chosen. Findings where that stigma both serves as a …

The Impact Of Generational Trauma In Educational Spaces: Inherited Strategies And Tools For Coping, Conrado Abando Julian Iii

Education Dissertations

This phenomenological study explored the impact of generational trauma on educational spaces. This research involved narratives from eleven participants with diverse ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds and explored the nuanced ways in which generational trauma impacted the academic settings and how it influences students' social, emotional, and academic experiences. It identified three primary themes: the perception of generational trauma, its impact on academic experiences, and the coping mechanisms employed by individuals. Findings revealed that participants experience innate pressure to excel, often driven by familial expectations, alongside a lack of support which hindered academic motivation. Coping mechanisms such as various involvement in …

A Girls Guide To Study Abroad, Emily Childress

Human Development and Family Sciences Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis, titled "A Girl’s Guide to Study Abroad," explores the multifaceted experiences of female students in international study programs through an autoethnographic lens. The research draws on my personal experiences during a semester abroad with the American Institute for Foreign Study (AIFS) in Italy. To document and analyze the diverse challenges, adaptations, and growth I encountered, I utilized the Diarium app to capture daily notes encompassing personal reflections, logistical hurdles, and emotional insights. These reflections were subsequently analyzed through thematic analysis using the Braun and Clarke method in NVivo 12 software to identify emergent themes categorized as positive, challenging, …

Test Anxiety In University Students: Exploring The Roles Of Conscientiousness, Neuroticism, And Progressive Muscle Relaxation, Hannah Gibson

Honors College Theses

Test anxiety is the fear of being negatively evaluated, which can lead to negative behavioral, physiological, or emotional responses and impact academic performance. The effectiveness of interventions varies widely; however, progressive muscle relaxation may be able to reduce anxiety. The current study randomly assigned students to watch a progressive muscle relaxation video or an educational video before an exam in an introductory psychology course. Self-report and physiological anxiety were measured pre-and post-intervention, and traits of test anxiety, neuroticism, and conscientiousness were also measured (pre-intervention only). Conscientiousness and neuroticism did not predict trait anxiety (p = .052). Pre-intervention self-report anxiety …

Northeastern United States Urban High Schools’ Preparation Of Black Student-Athletes Seeking Initial Academic Eligibility In Ncaa Divisions I And Ii Institutions: A Phenomenological Analysis, Olinka Crusoe

Education Doctoral

This phenological study explored a total of 11 participants who were employed as either high school principals, guidance counselors, or athletic directors by Northeastern United States urban school districts. The participants were interviewed regarding their knowledge of the NCAA initial academic eligibility standards for Divisions I and II student-athletes and the support they provided to prepare their Black student-athletes to succeed academically in high school and throughout college. The findings revealed significant organizational knowledge gaps regarding NCAA requirements, with only one school aligning its course programming to with NCAA standards while the other schools focused primarily on local graduation requirements. …

Comparison Of Statistical And Machine Learning Genomic Prediction Methods In Plant Breeding: Case Studies In Maize And Soybean, Igor Kuivjogi Fernandes

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Plant breeding is essential to increase genetic gain and food production worldwide. This study was conducted to evaluate new ways to use machine learning (ML) to tackle plant breeding challenges, where two ideas were tested — the first chapter focuses on how to combine genetic and environmental data using ML to improve the prediction of maize grain yield in multi-environment trials, while the second chapter centers on how to couple feature selection of molecular markers with ML to enhance prediction of yield in soybean, and, in both cases, ML approaches were compared to well-established statistical methods greatly adopted by the …

Establishing A Robust Decision Framework To Support Transportation Planning Decisions And Accommodate Connected And Autonomous Transportation Alternatives, Bobby Cottam

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Transportation planning involves complex decisions to provide high-quality transportation systems involving multiple stakeholders with numerous competing interests, on top of that they are trying to improve the quality and reliability of those systems on shrinking budgets. This decision is further complicated by the advent of new transportation methods e.g., ride-hailing and the promise of connected and autonomous vehicles (CAVs). While the actual short-term impact of these technologies is uncertain, they will most certainly have a significant impact within the 20-year planning horizon that transportation planners typically consider. These technologies are also blurring the lines between traditionally separate modes of transportation; …

Preventing Depression In Grandparents Raising Grandchildren: An Educational Video Series, Sabrina Casares

Student Capstone Papers

This paper presents a doctoral capstone project that created and implemented a self-help occupation-based educational video series to prevent and manage depression among grandparent caregivers. It consists of a literature review regarding the impact of depression on grandparent caregivers, the population’s barriers and statistics relating to the correlation of developing depression as a grandparent caregiver. It includes the process to create the video series including review of the literature and the development process. Texas Grandparents Raising Grandchildren (TXGRG) is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing resources and support to empower and advocate for grandparent caregivers. Problem: There is a lack …

Oceano Dunes Community Survey Results, Michele Romolini, Eric G. Strauss, Marni Goldenberg, Keri Schwab

Center for Urban Resilience Reports

This report presents the findings of a 42-question survey conducted by Loyola Marymount University and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo from June 2023-May 2024 among visitors and local residents regarding their perceptions and experiences at California’s Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area (SVRA). The survey aimed to gather insights into visitor and community demographics, frequency and types of use, barriers to use, environmental awareness and perceptions of use, and familiarity with park opportunities. In particular, we sought to seek responses from communities local to the parks, especially from the community of Oceano itself, and Latino and Hispanic community members. In …

The Effects Of Multiple Acute Turkesterone Doses On Indirect Measures Of Hypertrophy And Metabolic Measures: A Preliminary Investigation, Dillon R. Harris, Tomas Chapman-Lopez, Steven B. Machek, Jeffery S. Forsse, Tracey Sulak, Leslee K. Funderburk

Kinesiology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Turkesterone is a naturally occurring plant steroid touted for its medicinal, pharmacological, and biological properties with no reported adverse side effects compared with traditional anabolic androgenic steroids (AAS). However, this ostensible enhancement to increase muscle protein synthesis and facilitate augmented thermogenesis remains undescribed despite uninformed and potentially haphazard consumption. To investigate whether turkesterone enhances insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) and resting metabolic rate (RMR), eleven apparently healthy males (23.3 ± 2.2) volunteered to participate in the present study with samples collected pre-, 3H post-, and 24H post-ingestion. Subsequent analyses failed to reveal any significant main condition, time, or interaction main effects …

Feasibility And Safety Of A Cable Transmission Magnetically Controlled Capsule Endoscopy System For Examination Of The Human Upper Digestive Tract, Hang Yu, Yuan Tian, Long Rong, Yunlong Cai, Guanyi Liu, Yan He, Xinyue Guo

Saudi Medical Journal

Objectives: To evaluate the safety and feasibility of the cable-transmitted, magnetically controlled capsule endoscopy (CT-MCCE) system for examining the esophagus and stomach. Methods: A pilot study was carried out at the endoscopy facility of Peking University First Hospital; 30 volunteers were enrolled between September and November 2022. All participants were instructed to swallow the CT-MCCE capsule. An external magnetic robot arm was utilized to manipulate the capsule endoscope with string-facilitated control of the endoscope. This study assessed gastric preparation, safety, maneuverability, and mucosal visualization. Results: The participants exhibited favorable reactions to the gastric preparation and examination, with no reported adverse …

K-3 Teachers’ Self-Efficacy For Teaching Reading And Its Relationship On K-3 Students Reading Achievement: A Mixed-Methods Study, Adrienne Dowden

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Educators persistently grapple with heightened levels of accountability concerning their professional job performance, concomitant with the imperative to maintain commensurate standards in facilitating student achievement. Such circumstances engender heightened personal strain, potentially precipitating diminished self-esteem and consequently impeding the delivery of effective educational services to students, thereby compromising overall professional performance. Bandura (1997) delineated self-efficacy as the cognitive appraisal of one's capacity to orchestrate and execute specific tasks effectively. Moreover, he posited that individuals' anticipated outcomes are significantly influenced by their assessments of their competence to execute tasks in various contexts. Analogously, teachers' perceptions and attitudes regarding their students' overall …

Vol. 37 Iss. 1 [Full Issue], - -

A Midwestern Review: A Magazine of the Arts and Issues at DePauw University

No abstract provided.

Enhancing Mathematical Models For Covid-19 Pandemic Response: A Philippine Study, Timothy Robin Teng, Elvira De Lara-Tuprio, Ma. Regina Justina Estuar, Christian Pulmano, Lu Christian S. Ong, Zachary Pangan, Lenard Paulo V. Tamayo, Jasper John V. Segismundo, Mark Anthony C. Tolentino, Alyssa Nicole N. Ty

Mathematics Faculty Publications

Mathematical models supported by a robust automated data pipeline proved to be useful tools for a data-driven and science-based response and policy-making during the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines. In the first year of the pandemic, FASSSTER (Feasibility Analysis on Syndromic Surveillance using Spatio-Temporal Epidemiological modeleR) used a compartmental model to generate scenario-based projections of COVID-19 cases. The emergence of the Delta variant, however, and the administration of vaccines over the second half of 2021 caused significant changes in the Philippine pandemic landscape. This necessitated making adjustments to the model to better capture the local disease transmission dynamics and address …

Community Co-Production Of The Meaning Of Local Climate Resilience And Action: A Case Study, Michele Romolini, Mary Hillemeier, Dustin L. Herrmann

Center for Urban Resilience Scholarship

In the face of a rapidly urbanizing and warming planet, there is urgency for local governments to develop community resilience strategies. Successful climate change adaptation will likely require the inclusion of local knowledge, especially from historically marginalized communities. One pathway for this is through research projects and government planning activities that employ processes of co-production to generate actionable knowledge relevant to the community. This paper describes the approach, results, and reflections of a multi-sectoral partnership organized to engage residents of a small municipality to co-produce the meaning of community climate resilience, through methods including individual interviews, cognitive mapping, and a …

Populations Digitally Excluded From Education: Issues, Factors, Contributions And Actions For Policy, Practice And Research In A Post-Pandemic Era, Don Passey, Jean Gabin Ntebutse, Manal Yazbak Abu Ahmad, Janet Cochrane, Simon Collin, Asmaa Ganayem, Elizabeth Langran, Sadaqat Mulla, Ma. Mercedes T. Rodrigo, Toshinori Saito, Miri Shonfeld, Saunand Somasi

Department of Information Systems & Computer Science Faculty Publications

This conceptual paper draws on a wide range of research and policy literature, providing a contemporary view of issues, factors and practices that affect education for digitally excluded populations. Concern for how education for digitally excluded populations can be supported is focal to this paper, with different sections offering key related perspectives. From an analysis of issues, factors and practices, actions for policy, practice and research are identified. Given a key finding that power issues can have major effects on plans, implementation processes and outcomes when addressing needs of education for digitally excluded populations, the paper concludes by offering frameworks …