Digital Commons Network^™

Ai-Powered Continuous Health Monitoring For Chronic Disease Management In Malaysia: Real-Time Risk Prediction Using Wearable Sensors And Digital Biomarkers, Umi Najiah Ahmad Razimi, Yong Yoke Leng, Nor Hapiza Mohd Ariffin, Mohammed Hazim Alkawaz

Journal of Informatics and Web Engineering

Chronic Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs), such as diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease, make up a significant portion of the mortality cases in Malaysia, as well as impose consistent demands for costs related to health care expenditure. According to the cost reports at the national level, major NCDs (cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer) are responsible for RM 9.65 billion annually as direct healthcare cost [3]. However, the current approach to managing chronic diseases focuses heavily on periodic assessments in clinic setting at weekly or monthly intervals. Here, a predictive analysis framework based on AI technology, leveraging continuous monitoring with patient data …

Intelligent Telemedicine Systems For Contactless Heart Rate Estimation Using Deep Learning-Based Rppg, Do Duc Thinh, Nguyen Duc Manh, Nguyen Thi Bich Ngoc, Vu Van Huan

Journal of Informatics and Web Engineering

Over the last ten years, telemedicine has undergone significant developments, from simple communication-based healthcare to smart and data-driven solutions. The solutions are now powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), and Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) technologies. Physiological monitoring is traditionally done with contact-based sensors. The sensors include Electrocardiogram (ECG) and pulse oximeters. The sensors have various disadvantages, including hardware costs, difficulty in continuous usage, and discomfort for patients. Photoplethysmography (rPPG), a remote method of physiological monitoring, is a breakthrough technology. The method is used to estimate physiological signals, including Heart Rate (HR), from video streams captured by standard …

Users’ Searching Preferences In Accessing The E-Library Resources Of The Federal University Of Lafia, Nigeria, Alice Olije Odu, Samuel Otsonu Aboh, Olumide Johnson Akanmidu, Grace Sewuese Ape

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Online information activities in the academic environment keeps getting better and easier thanks to the internet that forms part of regular source of connection between users and other information resources. Access to e- library resources are normally via computers and mobile technologies using local network or the internet connection. This makes searching from e-library resource more appealing to academic library users. However, libraries still experiencing low users’ patronage with the e-resource collection, hence this study is undertaken to ascertain the searching preference by the Students of the Federal University of Lafia to help devise better ways of meeting their information …

The Thinnest Veil, Charles Butler

Dartmouth College Master’s Theses

The Thinnest Veil is a work of fiction set in a historical colonial world that traces the horrors of the transatlantic slave trade. The main character, Anuli, is abducted from her home in Nigeria and is sold into deeper levels of the American slave system. I wanted to write from a woman’s perspective in this project and think about what power this character would have in this world. I also wanted to explore West African culture and origin, and the influence they have left in other places they have been. In August 2025, I traveled to Barbados to research the …

A Poet Bears Witness: An Interview With M. L. Williams On The Function Of Literary Studies In Troubled Times, Leah Toth, M. L. Williams

Critical Humanities

Dr. M. L. (Marty) Williams is a poet and professor of literature at Valdosta State University, a comprehensive university in south-central Georgia. He is the author of Game (What Books Press 2021), Other Medicines (Redbone Chapbooks 2008) and co-editor of How Much Earth: The Fresno Poets (Roundhouse Press 2001). The focus of the interview that follows is the future of literary studies in the modern neo-liberal university, a daunting topic in 2026, in the face of what many administrators refer to as the "right-sizing" of literature programs nationwide in both the U.S. and the U.K. Anybody paying attention to the …

An Interview With Mohammed Bennis, Mohammed Bennis, Amine Oudghiri-Otmani

Critical Humanities

An Interview with Mohammed Bennis

Submitted: April 4, 2026

Accepted: May 24, 2026

The Possibility Of Post Binary Reflexivity: A Genealogy Of Binary Logic In Western Philosophy, Vaughan A. Bidois

Critical Humanities

This article traces a genealogy of binary logic within Western philosophy, from its origins in Platonic metaphysics through to its deconstruction in poststructuralist theory. Drawing on the genealogical methods of Friedrich Nietzsche and Michel Foucault, it critiques how oppositional structures, such as mind/body, reason/emotion, and truth/error, have persisted through shifting intellectual paradigms while shaping knowledge, power, and subjectivity. Structuralist and linguistic theories are examined for their role in reinforcing binary meaning-making, while poststructural critiques (notably Derrida and Foucault) are explored for their attempts to subvert such hierarchies. However, the article argues that these critiques remain paradoxically ensnared within the same …

Human Wisdom And Artificial Intelligence: Role Of Liberal Arts Education In A Neoliberal World, Purna Chandra Bhusal

Critical Humanities

Neoliberalism is an economic and political ideology that originated in the 1930s and 40s, gained momentum in the late 70s and 80s, and peaked in the 90s and 2000s. Since its inception, neoliberalism has promoted a free-market economy with minimal state intervention, granting individuals the freedom to compete and succeed. Since the last quarter of the twentieth century, the neoliberal system has invested in, incorporated, and promoted Artificial Intelligence (AI), valuing an AI-enhanced corporate ethos. As a result, the success of higher education is generally measured by the quantity of technologically sound, market-ready, AI-trained human capital it produces for industry. …

Why Literature Matters: Perpetrator Portrayal, Cultural Imaginaire And Poetry Of The Taliban, Inayat Ullah

Critical Humanities

The question of how perpetrators of violence are identified, represented and understood has become a central concern of Perpetrator Studies, an interdisciplinary field that emerged in the early twenty-first century. This article analyzes The Poetry of the Taliban in a bid to examine how the selected poems construct and negotiate multiple figurations of the perpetrator rather than presenting it as a singular or fixed category. While the poems frequently identify perpetrator through recognizable political, military and ideological structures, they also reveal the complexities involved in reducing the perpetrator to a clearly identifiable form or kind. In exploring these tensions, the …

Literature Carries Philosophy’S Open Secret: On Derrida’S Reading Of Romeo And Juliet, Rajesh Sampath

Critical Humanities

This paper attempts a close reading of Derrida’s texts, particularly with a focus on his brief but significant reading of Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet in “Aphorism Countertime” (originally published in French in 1986). We compare this short work with his more sustained engagement with the philosophy of death in Aporias (1993), which itself is an attempted critique of Heidegger’s Being and Time (1927); the latter is, arguably, the most influential work of twentieth-century continental European philosophy, particularly on issues of time, death, and authentic life. The paper tries to show that a fruitful engagement between philosophy and …

Fluvial-Tidal Controls On Dune Morphology And The Effects Of Nature-Based Morphology In Mitigating Storm Impacts, Abiola A. Adebiyi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2020 - Present

Nature-based morphological features in coastal areas, such as dunes, coral reefs, and seagrass, play dual roles as both receivers of threats from increasing human activity and climate change and defenders that mitigate potential impacts. Therefore, it is imperative to improve our understanding of how these features may affect hydrodynamic processes under various conditions. To address this need, the objectives of this research are two-fold: 1) to enhance our knowledge of changes of bedform morphology in response to different fluvial-tidal controls in the Lower Columbia River (LCR), and 2) to investigate how natural-based features may mitigate tropical storm impacts using a …

Healthcare Experiences And Needs Of Patients With Pregnancy Of Unknown Location: A Qualitative Study, Kavita Vinekar, Zahava Shimshi, Amanda Doty, Samantha Kolowrat, Rebecca Mercier, Agatha Berger, Kristin L. Rising

Jefferson Center for Connected Care Faculty Papers

BACKGROUND: Patients presenting with bleeding or pelvic pain in early pregnancy are commonly found to have pregnancies of unknown location (PUL), with no sonographic findings of intrauterine nor ectopic pregnancy. We aimed to explore healthcare experiences and needs of patients presenting with PUL.

METHODS: This was a qualitative study using semi-structured interviews to explore healthcare experiences among patients with PUL. Patients were eligible if they presented with bleeding or abdominopelvic pain to the OB/GYN office or emergency department and were found to have a PUL followed in an electronic health record tracking list; had an initial human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) …

Reclaiming Narrative Authority: Gendered Violence And Feminist Reauthorship In Sharon Pollock's Saucy Jack, Jennifer Jones Cavenaugh

Theatre and Dance Faculty Publications

This article examines Sharon Pollock’s Saucy Jack (1994) as a feminist intervention into the narrative structures that have sustained the cultural authority of Jack the Ripper mythology. Drawing on feminist historiography, particularly Judith Walkowitz’s analysis of male violence as narrative structure and Hallie Rubenhold’s reclamation of the murdered women’s lived histories, the essay argues that Ripper narratives depend on three interlocking conventions: killer-centered focalization, the erasure of women’s lives, and the aestheticization of death as spectacle. Through close performance analysis, the article shows how Pollock dismantles these conventions by centering Kate, a music hall actress whose reenactments transform performance into …

Mothers’ Childhood Maltreatment And Developmentally Appropriate Attributions Of 12-Month-Old Infants, Katelyn M. Lamberton

Undergraduate Theses, Capstones, and Recitals

This study examined associations between developmentally appropriate attributions (DAAs), an understudied construct, with maternal history of childhood maltreatment and maternal reflective functioning (RF) with their 12-month-old infants. The study examined if 1) DAAs at 12 months were concurrently associated with parental RF at 12 months for construct validity, and 2) higher levels of maternal childhood maltreatment were associated with lower DAAs for predictive validity. Participants were 156 mothers (40.0% White, 25.5% Latinx, 14.9% Black, 5.5% Asian, 2.1% Native-American, 12.0% biracial/multiracial) and their 12- to 15-month infants. Childhood maltreatment and RF were assessed by parental self-report at three-months and 12-months postpartum …

The Contentious Politics Of Abortion: Understanding The Black Protests And Women’S Strikes In Poland, Taubie Sanders

Undergraduate Theses, Capstones, and Recitals

In 1993, the Polish Parliament, the Sejm, passed a law called ‘The Abortion Compromise’ permitting abortion only in cases when there is a serious threat to the life or health of the woman, pregnancy is the result of a crime, or prenatal tests show the fetus to be severely or incurably damaged. The current abortion laws in Poland are the most restrictive in all of Europe. Poland’s abortion laws have undergone much contestation in recent years. In 2016, the Black Protests erupted across the country in opposition to a proposed total ban on abortion. In 2020, the Women’s Strikes commenced …

Rapid-Prototyping Nanofabrication: Lcd-Based Projection Lithography And Physical Vapor Deposition, Sabeel Saleem Mohammmed

University Honors Theses

The semiconductor industry's continued growth, driven in large part by demand for artificial intelligence hardware, has highlighted the need for greater workforce development in regions adjacent to major fabrication centers like Oregon's Silicon Forest. This capstone project lays the groundwork for a small scale and student led semiconductor fabrication lab at Portland State University by demonstrating two of the core steps in chip manufacturing: photolithography and thin film deposition. Rather than relying on conventional fixed reticles, this work explores a unique, low cost approach to patterning that uses an ultraviolet-compatible liquid crystal display (LCD) as a programmable reticle, allowing arbitrary …

The Role Of Urban Forests In Mitigating Flooding Effects: A Case Study In Savannah, Georgia, Gillian Bush

Undergraduate Theses, Capstones, and Recitals

Flooding in coastal communities is shaped by the interaction between natural systems and urban development. Chatham County, a low-elevation region in the Savannah, Georgia metropolitan area along the eastern coast of the United States, is prone to coastal storms and frequently affected by flooding. It serves as a useful case study to better understand the factors behind flooding and the areas that are most at risk. This study uses GIS-based analysis to examine the overlap between flood risk, urban forest cover, and impervious surfaces. The results indicate elevated vulnerability along major transportation corridors and barrier islands, where high-risk flood zones …

A Point-Of-Care Hormone Monitoring Platform For Postpartum Health Assessment, Ava Mcdonald, Avary Torres, Frances Warneke

Bioengineering Senior Theses

Our point-of-care hormone monitoring device for postpartum health assessment uses paper-based microfluidics to provide an accessible and affordable hormone monitoring tool, tracking biomarkers correlated with postpartum depression (PPD). The device features a 3D-printed spring-box housing and platform containing chromatography paper testing sheets that are lined with polydimethulsiloxane (PDMS) and wax paper, embedded with specific reagents that generate colorimetric hormone readouts from saliva samples. This device was motivated by the need to address critical shortcomings in PPD care, where societal stigma surrounding mental health and reliance on self-reporting diagnostic methods prevent mothers from truthfully reporting symptoms and receiving timely support and …

Trans And Gender Diverse Experiences With Healthcare Professionals, Victor N. Soto

University Honors Theses

There is a history of state powers working against the interest of Transgender and Gender Diverse (TGD) people, but since the second Trump election attacks on TGD have reached a new precedent; this suggests the state is engaging in necropolitical actions to gain and maintain power. To better understand how the current climate is impacting TGD people, and add to discussions about TGD-centered healthcare research, this thesis interviewed 15 TGD students from the Portland metro area about their experiences with healthcare providers. All fifteen of the interviews were transcribed and coded. Four primary themes were found: 1) bad provider experience; …

Esophageal Innominate Artery Fistula After Delayed Recognition Of Esophageal Foreign Body., Arianne J Abreu, Rahul Sinha, Robert T Sataloff

Otolaryngology (ENT) Resident Research

Esophageal innominate artery fistula (EIF) is a rare cause of life-threatening gastrointestinal hemorrhage. This condition occurs most often secondary to an aneurysm, tumor, or esophageal foreign body. After stabilization of airway and circulation, the management options vary from open to endoscopic and endovascular repair. The initial presentation, diagnosis and management of EIF in the literature focuses on adults primarily. In this case report, the clinical presentation of EIF in a pediatric patient, secondary to delayed recognition of a foreign body, highlights management considerations in this population.

Digital Bodily Autonomy: Consent Issues, Labor Displacement, And Legal Understandings Of Ai Generated Deepfake Pornography, Mariah Barrett

Undergraduate Theses, Capstones, and Recitals

In the United States, nonconsensual pornographic deepfakes are becoming an increasingly prevalent problem as AI deepfake creation software improves and becomes widely available. Despite this, patchwork legislation across the country is inconsistent and conflicting regarding this issue. In this paper, I explore the background of pornography and obscenity laws and demonstrate how these frameworks are not properly constructed to apply to the digital sphere. Then, I address major themes within deepfake literature such as consent issues, bodily autonomy, labor displacement, and verifiable identity as a commodity through the case study of OnlyFans. I explore current and proposed legislation within the …

“Three In A Jeep”: Exploring The Conditions For Successful Peacekeeping Through United Nations Special Political Missions, Audrey Duff

Undergraduate Theses, Capstones, and Recitals

This thesis examines a specific type of United Nations peacekeeping operation, referred to as Special Political Missions (SPMs) and their progress in transitions from war to peace. While traditional peacekeeping has made advances in separating conflict and human rights development, SPMs provide concentrated specialization in areas, including electoral support, government mediation, and disarmament. Through a structured focus comparison of three unique SPM case studies, this research explores what key dimensions are involved in successful Special Political Missions. By comparing the United Nations Mission in Nepal, United Nations Mission in Colombia, and United Nations Observer Mission in Bougainville, this thesis intends …

Differential Roles Of Moesin And Vasp In Β-Catenin-Associated Networks During Zebrafish Heart Regeneration, Allen Rutman

Undergraduate Theses, Capstones, and Recitals

With cardiovascular disease remaining as the leading cause of mortality worldwide, it is largely due to the limited regenerative capacity of the human heart. However, zebrafish (Danio rerio) can fully regenerate cardiac tissue following injury, providing a valuable model for studying the mechanisms of heart repair. To investigate these mechanisms, we used proteomics methods in the past. Proximity labeling is a technique that identifies proteins based on their physical proximity to a protein of interest. It can be applied in organisms and in living cells (Roux et al., 2012; Cho et al., 2020). We used proximity labeling to characterize protein …

Welsh, British, And Argentine: Identities Of Convenience In The Welsh Colonies Of Patagonia, Benjamin Welch

Undergraduate Theses, Capstones, and Recitals

In this thesis, I examine the Welsh colonies in Patagonia (in Welsh, Y Wladfa) and how the Welsh negotiated their complex identity. Founded in 1865 as a nationalist project intended to preserve Welsh language, culture, and religion, the colony faced extreme hardships and was forced to ask for help. Drawing on British, Welsh and Argentine sources, I argue that Welsh colonists adopted a pragmatic approach to identity, emphasizing their Welshness, Britishness, or Argentinity as needed. While this flexibility was necessary for the colony to survive, it undermined the original goal of a Welsh homeland free of outside influence. Ultimately, the …

Industrial Democracy: Unionization, Power, And Control In Rockefeller’S Southern Colorado, Ava Welty

Undergraduate Theses, Capstones, and Recitals

By 1914, democracy was clearly connected to America’s political ethos, and Wilson and Frank Walsh only amplified the term. Against this backdrop, labor and CF&I sought to define their movement as aligned with the national project of industrial democracy, despite having divergent understandings of the term. CF&I and Rockefeller built upon decades of social betterment, in addition to new ideas of company unionism to create their definition of industrial democracy, while workers returned to union recognition as a tool of power to construct their definition of industrial democracy. This paper argues that conflicting definitions of industrial democracy after the Ludlow …

The Disproportionate Impact Of Legal Deserts: A Policy Proposal To Address The Legal Needs Of Rural Nevadans, Madelyn Wold

Undergraduate Theses, Capstones, and Recitals

Despite the large number of attorneys in the United States, the disproportionate concentration of attorneys in urban areas leaves rural residents to navigate the complex legal system on their own. This uneven distribution creates ‘legal deserts’, or areas where residents lack access to attorneys. The Southwestern United States has especially dire legal deserts, and Nevada is no exception. While defendants in criminal matters are guaranteed legal representation, parties in civil legal issues are not granted the same right to representation. Civil legal issues largely impact vulnerable populations and can have profound impacts on individuals’ family, economic circumstances, and physical wellbeing. …

A Novel, Embedding-Based Approach To Longitudinal Survey Data Imputation, Julia Rezvani

University Honors Theses

Longitudinal surveys are ubiquitous in the social sciences as a means of tracking changes in behavior and opinions with time and identifying potential causal mechanisms. These surveys are frequently plagued by missing data and semantic drift, both of which limit their effectiveness and scientific utility. Imputation algorithms allow researchers to fill gaps in collected survey datasets, imperfectly reconstructing lost data. Although deep learning algorithms have been used in imputation to great success, approaches which simultaneously leverage the semantic and temporal structure of longitudinal surveys have not yet been developed. We propose a novel imputation architecture which is capable of leveraging …

Bias, Structure, And Inference In Applied Network Analysis, Anna Vasenina

Dartmouth College Ph.D Dissertations

This dissertation develops mathematical and statistical methods for extracting reliable information from network data across biological applications, with an emphasis on understanding what observed network structure can and cannot resolve. The first study leverages protein–protein interaction network topology in the c-di-GMP signaling system of Pseudomonas fluorescens, showing that node centrality measures accurately classify protein domain types and that physical interaction structure contributes statistically significant predictive power for biofilm formation phenotypes across nearly 200 environments, while gene expression does not. The second study examines sampling bias in lemur-plant trophic interaction networks in Madagascar, demonstrating that differential detection of diurnal versus …

Determinants Of Cardiovascular And Metabolic Noncommunicable Diseases Among People Living With Hiv In Rwanda: Protocol For The Ncohirwa Prospective Cohort Study, Valentine Dushimiyimana, Marc Twagirumukiza, Madeleine Durand, Ntobeko Ntusi, Brenda Asiimwe Kateera, Noella Bigirimana, Ladislas Nshimiyimana, Pacifique Ndishimye, Vivianne Niyonkuru Umuhire, Prosper Karame, Valens Ndagijimana, Joseph Mucumbitsi, Alfred Dusabimana, Cecile Ingabire, Yvonne Delphine Nsaba Uwera, Km Monirul Islam, Celestin Hategeka, Sabin Nsanzimana, Ernst Rietzschel, Steven Callens, Clarisse Musanabaganwa, Jean Claude Semuto Ngabonziza, Eric Remera, Jean Pierre Musabyimana, Claude Mambo Muvunyi, Albert Tuyishime, Gallican Nshogoza Rwibasira, Gregorie Muhorakeye, Simeon Tuyishime, Francois Uwinkindi, Evarist Ntaganda, Simon Pierre Niyonsenga, Noel Gahamanyi, Kayigi Etienne, Fidel Umwanankabandi, Theogene Kubahoniyesu, Alphonse Mbarushiman, Muhammed Semakula, Leopold Bitunguhari, Jean Damascene Kabakambira, Annette Uwineza, Marcellin Musabende, Felix Babane, Vincent Karamuka, Fidens Dusabeyezu, Alyson Kelvin, Pacifique Mukashema, Augustin Murindabigwi, Steven Karera, Katia Giguère, Godfrey Katende, Jean Berchmans Tugirimana, Deo Mutambuka

School of Nursing & Midwifery, East Africa

Background: Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), particularly cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), hypertension and diabetes, are major contributors to morbidity and mortality globally and in Rwanda, where the dual burden of HIV and NCDs is increasing. Evidence remains limited on how biological, behavioural, social, environmental and health-system determinants influence cardiovascular and metabolic outcomes among people living with HIV (PLHIV) in Rwanda. The NCOHIRWA cohort was established to prospectively investigate determinants associated with CVDs, hypertension, diabetes and related NCD outcomes among PLHIV, newly diagnosed PLHIV and people without HIV (PWoH). This manuscript presents the protocol for the NCOHIRWA cohort study.

Methods:  The NCOHIRWA study …

Prosocial Behaviors As A Protective Factor Against Suicide Risk: An Ecological Momentary Assessment Approach, Bradley A. Brown

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Suicidal ideation (SI) fluctuates substantially over short timescales, and the Interpersonal Theory of Suicide proposes that suicidal thinking emerges through dynamic interpersonal states involving perceived burdensomeness (PB), thwarted belongingness (TB), and hopelessness regarding these interpersonal states (IH). Although ecological momentary assessment (EMA) research has demonstrated that these risk factors fluctuate meaningfully within individuals and are associated with short-term changes in SI, comparatively little research has examined interpersonal processes that may attenuate suicide risk in real time. Prosocial behavior — voluntary actions intended to benefit others — may represent one such process, yet no known EMA study has examined whether prosocial …