Digital Commons Network^™

Volume 108, Number 1 (2024)

Judicature

No abstract provided.

Linkages Of The 2022 Unprecedented Global Heatwave Events To Triple-Dip La Niña, Sachi Perera, Joshua B. Fisher, Mohamed Allali, Hesham El-Askary

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

Heatwaves are influenced significantly by El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), which alters temperature and precipitation patterns throughout the world. Since 2020, we have witnessed a "triple dip" La Niña conditions persisting for three consecutive years resulting in severe weather and climate driven events globally. In this study, we identified the dominant frequency of Niño 3.4 Sea Surface Temperature (SST) signals and correlated them with regions experiencing unprecedented heat waves in 2022, namely, the Indian Ocean, the North Atlantic around England and Spain, and the Mediterranean Sea. The signal's power spectrum and its three highest power components are determined based on the …

Enhancing Sustainable Development Goals Through Future Vapor Pressure Deficit Analysis In The Nile River Basin, Surendra Maharjan, Wenzhao Li, Shahryar Fazli, Hani Sewilam, Hesham El-Askary

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

Vapor Pressure Deficit (VPD) is crucial in meteorology and agriculture for understanding plant-environment interactions. Its application as an indicator in agricultural practices notably advances Sustainable Development Goals such as Zero Hunger (SDG 2) and Climate Action (SDG 13). This research focuses on the impact of climate change on agricultural productivity and food security in the Nile River Basin (NRB), emphasizing the role of VPD, temperature, and precipitation. Utilizing Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6) datasets from NEX-GDDP-CMIP6, the study analyzes key climatic variables that influence agricultural conditions. The study applies the Mann-Kendall test to evaluate VPD trends from 2000 …

Attribute-Based Fine-Grained Access Control Using Verifiable Credentials, Srinivasa Dumpa

Student Theses

In the era of digital transformation, ensuring secure and privacy-preserving access control mechanisms is of paramount importance. Traditional identity-based access control systems often fall short in providing granular control and user autonomy over digital identities. This thesis presents a novel approach to access control by leveraging the power of verifiable credentials and attribute-based access control. The proposed system introduces a decentralized and user-centric framework that enables fine-grained access control based on specific attributes encapsulated within verifiable credentials. These tamper-evident digital credentials, stored in a user's digital wallet, contain a rich set of attributes that can be selectively disclosed to grant …

Comparative Study Between Transforamenal Lumbar Interbody Fusion (Tlif) And Traditional Discectomy In Treatment Of Patients With Massive Lumbar Disc Prolapse, Muhammed Hammid, Yasir Hamandi

Iraqi Postgraduate Medical Journal

Abstract:Background: disc prolapse is thought to cause one-third of all back pain, in which the spongy interior matrix of an intervertebral disc in the spine is drying out compressing the thecal sac and nerve roots. Traditional discectomy involves removing a portion of an intervertebral disc. TLIF is atechnique that is used to achive disc resection, decompression and circumferential arthrodesis in the lumbar spine, it fuses the anterior and posterior sections through a posterior unilateral approach.Aim: In this study, we aim to review cases of massive single level lumber disc prolapse treated surgically either with traditional discectomy or (TLIF) and compared …

Search For Gravitational-Lensing Signatures In The Full Third Observing Run Of The Ligo–Virgo Network, R. Abbott, H. Abe, F. Acernese, Teviet Creighton, Mario C. Diaz, Francisco Llamas, Soma Mukherjee, Gaukhar Nurbek, Volker Quetschke, Wenhui Wang

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Publications

Gravitational lensing by massive objects along the line of sight to the source causes distortions to gravitational wave (GW) signals; such distortions may reveal information about fundamental physics, cosmology, and astrophysics. In this work, we have extended the search for lensing signatures to all binary black hole events from the third observing run of the LIGO-Virgo network. We search for repeated signals from strong lensing by (1) performing targeted searches for subthreshold signals, (2) calculating the degree of overlap among the intrinsic parameters and sky location of pairs of signals, (3) comparing the similarities of the spectrograms among pairs of …

Understanding The Genetic Complexity Of Puberty Timing Across The Allele Frequency Spectrum, Katherine A Kentistou, Lena R Kaisinger, Stasa Stankovic, Marc Vaudel, Edson Mendes De Oliveira, Andrea Messina, Robin G Walters, Xiaoxi Liu, Alexander S Busch, Hannes Helgason, Deborah J Thompson, Federico Santoni, Konstantin M Petricek, Yassine Zouaghi, Isabel Huang-Doran, Daniel F Gudbjartsson, Eirik Bratland, Kuang Lin, Eugene J Gardner, Yajie Zhao, Raina Y Jia, Chikashi Terao, Marjorie J Riggan, Manjeet K Bolla, Mojgan Yazdanpanah, Nahid Yazdanpanah, Jonathan P Bradfield, Linda Broer, Archie Campbell, Daniel I Chasman, Diana L Cousminer, Nora Franceschini, Lude H Franke, Giorgia Girotto, Chunyan He, Marjo-Riitta Järvelin, Peter K Joshi, Yoichiro Kamatani, Robert Karlsson, Jian'an Luan, Kathryn L Lunetta, Reedik Mägi, Massimo Mangino, Sarah E Medland, Christa Meisinger, Raymond Noordam, Teresa Nutile, Maria Pina Concas, Ozren Polašek, Eleonora Porcu, Susan M Ring, Cinzia Sala, Albert V Smith, Toshiko Tanaka, Peter J Van Der Most, Veronique Vitart, Carol A Wang, Gonneke Willemsen, Marek Zygmunt, Thomas U Ahearn, Irene L Andrulis, Hoda Anton-Culver, Antonis C Antoniou, Paul L Auer, Catriona L K Barnes, Matthias W Beckmann, Amy Berrington De Gonzalez, Natalia V Bogdanova, Stig E Bojesen, Hermann Brenner, Julie E Buring, Federico Canzian, Jenny Chang-Claude, Fergus J Couch, Angela Cox, Laura Crisponi, Kamila Czene, Mary B Daly, Ellen W Demerath, Joe Dennis, Peter Devilee, Immaculata De Vivo, Thilo Dörk, Alison M Dunning, Miriam Dwek, Johan G Eriksson, Peter A Fasching, Lindsay Fernandez-Rhodes, Liana Ferreli, Olivia Fletcher, Manuela Gago-Dominguez, Montserrat García-Closas, José A García-Sáenz, Anna González-Neira, Harald Grallert, Pascal Guénel, Christopher A Haiman, Per Hall, Ute Hamann, Hakon Hakonarson, Roger J Hart, Martha Hickey, Maartje J Hooning, Reiner Hoppe, John L Hopper, Jouke-Jan Hottenga, Frank B Hu, Hanna Huebner, David J Hunter, Helena Jernström, Esther M John, David Karasik, Elza K Khusnutdinova, Vessela N Kristensen, James V Lacey, Diether Lambrechts, Lenore J Launer, Penelope A Lind, Annika Lindblom, Patrik K E Magnusson, Arto Mannermaa, Mark I Mccarthy, Thomas Meitinger, Cristina Menni, Kyriaki Michailidou, Iona Y Millwood, Roger L Milne, Grant W Montgomery, Heli Nevanlinna, Ilja M Nolte, Dale R Nyholt, Nadia Obi, Katie M O'Brien, Kenneth Offit, Albertine J Oldehinkel, Sisse R Ostrowski, Aarno Palotie, Ole B Pedersen, Annette Peters, Giulia Pianigiani, Dijana Plaseska-Karanfilska, Anneli Pouta, Alfred Pozarickij, Paolo Radice, Gad Rennert, Frits R Rosendaal, Daniela Ruggiero, Emmanouil Saloustros, Dale P Sandler, Sabine Schipf, Carsten O Schmidt, Marjanka K Schmidt, Kerrin Small, Beatrice Spedicati, Meir Stampfer, Jennifer Stone, Rulla M Tamimi, Lauren R Teras, Emmi Tikkanen, Constance Turman, Celine M Vachon, Qin Wang, Robert Winqvist, Alicja Wolk, Babette S Zemel, Wei Zheng, Ko W Van Dijk, Behrooz Z Alizadeh, Stefania Bandinelli, Eric Boerwinkle, Dorret I Boomsma, Marina Ciullo, Georgia Chenevix-Trench, Francesco Cucca, Tõnu Esko, Christian Gieger, Struan F A Grant, Vilmundur Gudnason, Caroline Hayward, Ivana Kolčić, Peter Kraft, Deborah A Lawlor, Nicholas G Martin, Ellen A Nøhr, Nancy L Pedersen, Craig E Pennell, Paul M Ridker, Antonietta Robino, Harold Snieder, Ulla Sovio, Tim D Spector, Doris Stöckl, Cathie Sudlow, Nic J Timpson, Daniela Toniolo, André Uitterlinden, Sheila Ulivi, Henry Völzke, Nicholas J Wareham, Elisabeth Widen, James F Wilson, Lifelines Cohort Study, Danish Blood Donor Study, Ovarian Cancer Association Consortium, Breast Cancer Association Consortium, Biobank Japan Project, China Kadoorie Biobank Collaborative Group, Paul D P Pharoah, Liming Li, Douglas F Easton, Pål R Njølstad, Patrick Sulem, Joanne M Murabito, Anna Murray, Despoina Manousaki, Anders Juul, Christian Erikstrup, Kari Stefansson, Momoko Horikoshi, Zhengming Chen, I Sadaf Farooqi, Nelly Pitteloud, Stefan Johansson, Felix R Day, John R B Perry, Ken K Ong

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Pubertal timing varies considerably and is associated with later health outcomes. We performed multi-ancestry genetic analyses on ~800,000 women, identifying 1,080 signals for age at menarche. Collectively, these explained 11% of trait variance in an independent sample. Women at the top and bottom 1% of polygenic risk exhibited ~11 and ~14-fold higher risks of delayed and precocious puberty, respectively. We identified several genes harboring rare loss-of-function variants in ~200,000 women, including variants in ZNF483, which abolished the impact of polygenic risk. Variant-to-gene mapping approaches and mouse gonadotropin-releasing hormone neuron RNA sequencing implicated 665 genes, including an uncharacterized G-protein-coupled receptor, GPR83, …

High Throughput Plasma Proteomics And Risk Of Heart Failure And Frailty In Late Life, Diego Ramonfaur, Leo F Buckley, Victoria Arthur, Yimin Yang, Brian L Claggett, Chiadi E Ndumele, Keenan A Walker, Thomas Austin, Michelle C Odden, James S Floyd, Sandra Sanders-Van Wijk, Joyce Njoroge, Jorge R Kizer, Dalane Kitzman, Suma H Konety, Jennifer Schrack, Fangyu Liu, B Gwen Windham, Priya Palta, Josef Coresh, Bing Yu, Amil M Shah

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Importance: Heart failure (HF) and frailty frequently coexist and may share a common pathobiology, although the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Understanding these mechanisms may provide guidance for preventing and treating both conditions.

Objective: To identify shared pathways between incident HF and frailty in late life using large-scale proteomics.

Design, setting, and participants: In this cohort study, 4877 aptamers (Somascan v4) were measured among participants in the community-based longitudinal Atherosclerosis Risk In Communities (ARIC) cohort study at visit 3 (V3; 1993-1995; n = 10 638) and at visit 5 (V5; 2011-2013; n = 3908). Analyses were externally replicated among 3189 participants …

Complete Handbook, Saint Mary's College Of California

Faculty Handbook

No abstract provided.

1. Mission, History, General Organization And Governance Of Saint Mary’S College, Saint Mary's College Of California

Faculty Handbook

No abstract provided.

Transgender Women With Suppressed Testosterone Display Lower Burden Of Coronary Disease Than Matched Cisgender Men, Jordan E Lake, Han Feng, Ana N Hyatt, Hongyu Miao, Paula Debroy, Nicholas Funderburg, Kate Ailstock, Adrian Dobs, Sabina Haberlen, Jared W Magnani, Joseph B Margolick, Kate Mcgowan, Frank J Palella, Mallory D Witt, Shalender Bhasin, Matthew J Budoff, Wendy S Post, Todd T Brown

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Context: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) in transgender women (TW) may be affected by gender-affirming hormone therapy (GAHT) and HIV, but few data compare TW on contemporary GAHT to well-matched controls.

Objective: We compared CVD burden and biomarker profiles between TW and matched cisgender men (CM).

Methods: Adult TW on GAHT (n = 29) were recruited for a cross-sectional study (2018-2020). CM (n = 48) from the former Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study were matched 2:1 to TW on HIV serostatus, age ±5 years, race/ethnicity, BMI category and antiretroviral therapy (ART) type. Cardiac parameters were measured by CT and coronary atherosclerosis by coronary …

Integration Of Control For Diverse Multi-Robot System, Lacey Hunt, John Shovic

Idaho Conference on Undergraduate Research

The University of Idaho’s Center for Intelligent Industrial Robotics (CI2R) aims to further research in the fields of precision agriculture and industrial automation. One ongoing project is an automated farming robot (FarmBot) which autonomously takes care of crops using light from a temporary, fixed lighting system. A new, Programmable Logic Controller (PLC)-controlled variable height Light-Emitting Diode (LED) lighting gantry robot has been designed and built, thanks to grants from the University’s Office of Undergraduate Research, but its software is yet to be fully integrated into the FarmBot autonomous plant care system. The use of a PLC, an industrial automation tool, …

Developing A Dual Vision Harvesting Bot Using Ros, Connor Ruybalid, Christian Salisbury, Duke Bulanon

Idaho Conference on Undergraduate Research

With increasing demand for labor in the orchard harvesting field and limited supply to meet that demand, creating a tool for farmers to meet this need is important. Northwest Nazarene University is developing a robot to help farmers by automating harvesting. This robot uses a dual vision system that allows the robot to detect apples on a tree and pick them using the attached arm. This system utilizes the Robotic Operating System, ROS, to allow each piece of the system to communicate to create a seamless package.

The Prohibition Of Annexations And The Foundations Of Modern International Law, Ingrid W. Brunk, Monica Hakimi

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

The international legal norm that prohibits forcible annexations of territory is foundational to modern international law. It lies at the core of three projects that have been central to the enterprise: (1) to settle title to territory as the basis for establishing state authority; (2) to regulate the use of force across settled borders; and (3) to provide for people within settled borders collectively to determine their own fates. Prohibiting forcible annexations is integral to each of these projects independently, and by tying them together, has had a transformative effect on the legal system as a whole. However, its significance …

The Effects Of Relational Human Resource Management: A Moderated Mediation Model Of Positive Affective Climate And Collective Occupational Calling, Pingshu Li, Yuanmei (Elly) Qu, Mengwei Li, Patrick E. Downes, Guofeng Wang

Management Faculty Publications

Relationship-oriented human resource management (HRM) contributes to organizational functioning by promoting employee relationships, coordination, and cooperation. We propose unit-level positive affective climate as a motivational mechanism through which relationship-oriented HR systems can positively influence unit service quality and relationships with beneficiaries, and prevent individual emotional exhaustion. Moreover, we propose collective occupational calling serves as an alternative motivational source that can substitute for the positive effects of positive affective climate. In analyzing a sample composed of 742 nurses from 48 nursing units of two hospitals in China with data collection at three time points before and after the COVID-19 outbreak, our …

Activity - Imagining Historical Civic Life, Megan Vangorder

Civic Engagement & Voting Rights Teacher Scholars

No abstract provided.

Course Syllabus - The City As History: Introduction To Public History, Patricia Rutenberg

Civic Engagement & Voting Rights Teacher Scholars

No abstract provided.

Assignment - Asset-Framing In Community Problem-Solving, Andrea Woodward

Civic Engagement & Voting Rights Teacher Scholars

No abstract provided.

In-Class Activity - Who Regulates This?, Jenny Presgraves

Civic Engagement & Voting Rights Teacher Scholars

No abstract provided.

Learning Activity - Document Analysis, Hannah Nabi

Civic Engagement & Voting Rights Teacher Scholars

No abstract provided.

Course Syllabus - American Democracy A Draft Syllabus Outline For A University-Level, Advanced Undergraduate Course, Michael Landis

Civic Engagement & Voting Rights Teacher Scholars

No abstract provided.

Course Syllabus - Introductory Psychology (Civic Engagement Emphasis), Chris Garris

Civic Engagement & Voting Rights Teacher Scholars

No abstract provided.

Investigating The Abilities Of Potentially Beneficial Bacteria For Increasing Nitrogen-Use Efficiency In Maize, Lexie R. Foster

School of Biological Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Global agriculture relies heavily on the use of synthetic nitrogen fertilizer to meet the current global food demand. Unfortunately, the average nitrogen-use efficiency (NUE) of maize (Zea mays) is approximately 50 percent. Improving the NUE of maize is essential for meeting the growing global food demand while also decreasing the negative environmental impacts caused by losses of nitrogen fertilizer due to runoff and volatilization. Harnessing the symbiotic relationship between plants and the soil microbiome may be one method for increasing the NUE in crops such as maize. In the present study, a set of potentially beneficial bacterial species …

Is Mechanism Of Injury Associated With Outcome In Spinal Trauma? An Observational Cohort Study From Tanzania, Chibuikem Ikwuegbuenyi, Julie Woodfield, François Waterkeyn, Scott Zuckerman, Beverly Cheserem, Andreas Leidinger, Albert Lazaro, Hamisi Shabani, Roger Härtl, Halinder Mangat

General Surgery, East Africa

Background Traumatic spinal injury (TSI) is a disease of significant global health burden, particularly in low and middle-income countries where road traffic-related trauma is increasing. This study compared the demographics, injury patterns, and outcomes of TSI caused by road traffic accidents (RTAs) to non-traffic related TSI.

Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted using a neurotrauma registry from the Muhimbili Orthopaedic Institute (MOI) in Tanzania, a national referral center for spinal injuries. Patient sociodemographic characteristics, injury level, and severity were compared across mechanisms of injury. Neurological improvement, neurological deterioration, and mortality were compared between those sustaining TSI through an RTA versus …

The Aridification Of The Great Salt Lake, David Thompson

Ballard Brief

Throughout Nepal, brick kilns employ thousands of families annually for the seasonal work of crafting and shipping bricks. As families migrate between work in brick factories and agricultural work at home, more factors block their children from a complete and quality education. The open invitation to begin working with their parents and to help provide for the family becomes a strong temptation that causes many children to give up on school. In addition, Nepal's lack of law enforcement frequently allows children to drop out of school early without consequence. Their parents do not attempt to stop them either, making little …

Implementation Of Universal Design For Learning In The K-12 School Setting, Jaecy Hauge

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

I am proposing a school improvement plan for Okoboji Elementary School. The goal is to implement a Universal Design for Learning (UDL) with best practices to support increased student achievement. Your support and active participation are crucial in this process. With your valuable input, we can successfully apply this flexible approach to teaching and learning, which has the potential to significantly improve student achievement. UDL operates through a framework that follows three core principles: representation, action/ expression, and engagement. UDL is based upon the most widely replicated finding in educational research: learners are highly variable (CAST, 2024).

Implementing A Flipped Classroom Model: An Improvement Plan For Professional Development In Flipped Classroom Implementation, Nick Demoss

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

This school improvement plan focuses on the implementation of the flipped classroom model at Carlisle Middle School to enhance student engagement and academic performance. The three-phase plan begins with research-based professional development for educators on effectively implementing the flipped classroom model. By reversing traditional teaching methods, this approach enables students to access instructional content outside the classroom via short videos or articles, while in-class time is dedicated to active learning, collaborative projects, and personalized instruction. This initiative aligns with the Carlisle Community School District’s mission of "Character, Service, and Excellence in Everything We Do," aiming to address disengagement and foster …

Building A Foundation Of Phonemic Awareness In Preschool Children, Marti Meissner

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

Building strong foundational literacy skills in preschool children has influences academic success positively in all curriculum areas, throughout their school years. Developing phonemic awareness skills is the biggest predictor of future reading success. Providing play-based instruction in the preschool environment is developmentally appropriate. However, researchers have shown that without direct, systematic instruction preschool children show little growth in these literacy skills. Studies have shown that the teacher professional development is necessary in their delivery of explicit and systematic instruction that focuses on phonemic awareness skills such as rhyming, segmentation, alliteration, and beginning and ending sounds in words. Following research findings, …

Enhancing Inclusion Through Universal Design For Learning And Collaboration, Arianna Lumpa

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

This school improvement plan focuses on enhancing student inclusion in the general education setting. Inclusion is a crucial topic in schools and this plan aims to clarify what it means and how it can effectively be implemented. The plan explores the barriers and challenges of inclusion, the perspectives of educators and leaders, the role of collaboration, and the use of Universal Design for Instruction in a supportive environment. Research shows that inclusion of students with disabilities is a highly effective strategy that can support students’ academic achievement when implemented correctly. The implementation of this school improvement plan will be facilitated …

The Impact Of Incorporating Technology On Student Engagement And Achievement In An Elementary Classroom, Amanda Donahoo

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

Schools across the country face distracted students who struggle to focus, leading to less engagement and lower academic success. Research has shown that student learning outcomes are often influenced by their level of engagement and that technology can be utilized as a powerful tool for motivation. This study aims to identify the effectiveness of incorporating educational technology, such as one-to-one computers, tablets, and interactive lessons, to increase student engagement and academic achievement so that elementary schools will benefit. Based on a literature review on technology’s impact on education, an online survey was distributed to elementary teachers at a rural, public …