Digital Commons Network^™

Enhancing Low-Light And Noisy Images Using Gaussian Denoising And Clahe (Contrast-Limited Adaptive Histogram Equalization)., Daniel Adesoji

SACAD: Scholarly Activities

Abstract

In digital imaging Low light image improvement is a crucial issue, with applications in medical imaging, surveillance and digital imaging. Images captured under substandard illumination usually appear dark and noisy: contrast is lower, hiding crucial details, while ISO (international Organization for Standardization) settings introduce grainy noise that devalue quality. These issues make images a problem for both human interpretation and automated vision system.

Traditional improvement methods such as histogram equalization and Retinex -based techniques enhance brightness but usually cause artifacts to boost noise. Deep learning approaches achieve strong results but require large datasets, heavy computation, and may fail to …

Evaluating The Impact Of Self-Care Strategies Incorporated Into Undergraduate And Graduate Nursing Curricula: A Systematic Review, Roseanne Moody Fairchild, Salena Tully

Creating Healthy Work Environments (CHWE)

Background/Significance: Self-care is defined as a person’s capacity to partake in preventative measures promoting emotional, physical, and spiritual health to maintain one’s well-being. Registered nurses represent a majority of the healthcare workforce, and a 2017 report by American Nurses' Association found nurses have elevated risk for: a) being overweight, b) lacking adequate rest and sleep and, c) experiencing high levels of stress. As effects of the Covid-19 pandemic rapidly spread, substantial proportions of nurses reported heightened levels of anxiety, depression, and burnout. Impact of the pandemic has brought forth increased awareness regarding the need to encourage self-care practices among nurses …

Relationship Between Gratitude And Job Satisfaction In Nursing Leadership, Tammy P. Aiken

Creating Healthy Work Environments (CHWE)

In the current healthcare climate, retaining our workforce has become increasingly important. Even more so the retention of nursing leadership has become even more crucial, as the need to have nurse leaders guide the profession during tenuous and difficult times is now even more apparent. Looking at ways hospital organizations can potentially increase their retention of leaders, which would assist in the retention of their staff, would be instrumental in easing labor shortage and therefore improve the quality of care. There has been a great deal of research that has shown that gratitude plays a significant role in a person’s …

Educational Policies Committee Agenda March 5, 2026, Utah State University

Educational Policies Committee

• Approval of Minutes - February 5, 2026
• Subcommittee Reports
• Curriculum Subcommittee
• Academic Standards Subcommittee
• General Education Subcommittee
• Center for Civic Excellence
• Other Business
• Adjourn: 4:00 pm

The Utilization Of E-Healthcare To Improve Mental Health: A Quality Improvement Project For Critical Care Nurses, Karlie J. Zafuta

Doctor of Nursing Practice Scholarly Project

The purpose of this study was to implement a quality improvement project to assess and improve the mental health of nurses working in an Intensive Care Unit (ICU). This project was completed by conducting a survey of critical care nurses at a Midwest hospital regarding their current mental health, how their work and environment affect it, and what can be implemented to improve their overall mental health. Data was collected on factors influencing nurses, the current resources they have, and whether the mindfulness project developed by the American Nurses Foundation was a beneficial resource for improving nurses' mental health. After …

The Indiana Statesman, March 5, 2026, Indiana State University

Student Newspaper

Winners: Olivia & Campbell for S.G.A. Pres & V.P.; Wear-Wolves takes first place in Indiana State Business Pitch Competition; Help Residential Life celebrate university faculty!

March 5, 2026, Caa

Minutes

No abstract provided.

Main-Chain Ion-Pair Polybenzimidazole Membranes Enabling Reduced-Temperature Ht-Pemfc Operation (Down To 120°C), Huina Lin, Brian C. Benicewicz

Faculty Publications

Proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells are promising for clean and efficient energy conversion across diverse applications. High-temperature PEM fuel cells (HT-PEMFCs) using phosphoric acid (PA)-doped polybenzimidazole (PBI) can operate up to 200°C, but at lower temperatures, water-induced PA loss often leads to performance degradation and reduced durability. In this work, we present a new class of main-chain ion-pair PBI membranes by integrating the imidazolium-biphosphate ion-pair units directly into the PBI backbone. This design results in membranes with high acid content, stronger acid-polymer interactions and stabilized acid retention. In single-cell tests, the Im⁺-PBI15-3 wt.% exhibits peak power densities …

Faculty Senate Chronicle March 5, 2026, Lisa Appeldorn

The University of Akron Faculty Senate Chronicle

Minutes for the regular meeting of The University of Akron Faculty Senate on 03/05/2026.

The Meaning Of The Practicum In Initial Teacher Training. The Educational Value Of Tutoring, María Pilar Sepúlveda-Ruiz, María José Mayorga-Fernández, Elena García-Vila

Higher Learning Research Communications

The theory-practice and practice-theory relationship is a fundamental axis in the learning of trainee teachers; therefore, the practicum must constitute the key element in their university training. The research described in this paper, in which students and teachers from the bachelor’s degrees in early childhood education and primary education programs at the University of Huelva in Spain have participated, has been carried out through a descriptive and interpretative qualitative study focused on case studies. This study highlights the need for greater communication between the work experience centers and the university and between the professionals who tutor the work experience period. …

Factors For Patient Trust And Acceptance Of Medical Artificial Intelligence, Ana Bracic, Kayte Spector-Bagdady, Sophie Towle, Rina Zhang, Cornelius A. James, Nicholson W. Price Ii

Articles

Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly used in clinical care, but widespread adoption requires patient trust. Trust may be enhanced through systemic governance mechanisms or frontline clinicians providing a human in the loop for AI oversight. However, it is unclear how different approaches specifically influence patient trust in the use of medical AI. The objective is to determine the extent to which patient trust in and choice of medical scenarios involving AI are associated with governance mechanisms, clinician presence, performance, and data quality.

Acoustic Levitation At Sub-Atmospheric Pressures And Reduced Temperatures: An Approach To Study Ice Crystal And Hypersonic Shockwave Interaction, Imteaz Osmani, David J. Delene, Hallie Boyer Chelmo

Graduate Research Achievement Day Posters

Micrometer-sized atmospheric ice crystals are commonly observed in high-altitude clouds. Inside clouds, they attach in different orientations, producing varied geometries, yet their formation mechanisms remain poorly understood. Their behavior under shock wave conditions remains underexplored due to lack of laboratory techniques capable of producing atmospherically realistic ice in controlled conditions. No experimental data and laboratory techniques exist to date on the interaction between atmospheric ice crystal aggregates and hypersonic shockwaves. To explore realistic atmospheric ice crystals’ thermodynamic and mechanical changes in hypersonic environments, we investigate the formation and behavior of ice crystal aggregates using acoustic levitation that avoids physical contact …

Domestic Violence In The Mountain West, 2026, Isabelle G. Graham, Olivia K. Cheche, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Criminal Justice

This fact sheet presents 2026 data on domestic violence in the five Mountain West states of Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah. The World Population Review report, “Domestic Violence by State 2026,” reports data on the percentage of women and men in each state who report experiences of domestic violence in their lifetime.This fact sheet highlights state-level data on different forms of domestic violence reported across the Mountain West.

Habitat And Conditions Of Poisoning Of Toxic Plants In North America, Michael H. Ralphs

Poisonous Plant Research (PPR)

This paper presents a list of important poisonous plants in North America that are toxic to both livestock and humans. The aim of this paper is to present information to help reduce the risk of poisoning. The paper emphasizes the particular plant communities in which these plants grow. Some of these plants are endemic, growing on specific soils or specific ecological sites. Others are distributed more broadly throughout a vegetation type. A few of the plants are widespread, ranging over several broad ecosystems. In diagnosing poisoning, it is important to know what plants are expected to grow in the communities …

Enforcing The Community Reinvestment Act, Jeremy C. Kress, Jeffery Y. Zhang

Law & Economics Working Papers

Nearly fifty years after the Community Reinvestment Act of 1977 (CRA) required banks to serve low- and moderate-income (LMI) areas, the systematic exclusion of disadvantaged communities from the mainstream financial system persists. This Article identifies a novel explanation for the CRA's limited impact: its enforcement mechanisms are ineffective.The CRA operates through two enforcement channels. Regulators must (1) consider a bank's CRA record when the bank seeks permission to merge or expand, and (2) publish periodic assessments of each bank's CRA performance. Using twenty years of CRA data, we show that neither enforcement mechanism works as intended. Banks strategically increase CRA …

Minutes From The March 5, 2026 Meeting Of The University Of Montana Faculty, University Of Montana--Missoula. Faculty

University of Montana Faculty Senate Meeting Minutes

Meeting minutes from the March 5, 2026 meeting of the University of Montana faculty.

Privacy Preserving Anomaly Detection System For Der Solar Inverters, Tanzim Jim Hassan, Prakash Ranganathan

Graduate Research Achievement Day Posters

Reliable operation of solar inverters depends on maintaining a stable frequency. Recent cyber attacks on solar DERs are concerning and increase the likelihood of such stealthy attacks leading to anomalies in DER. Therefore, a robust anomaly detection system (ADS) is crucial for solar inverters used in distributed energy resources (DERs), enabling timely detection and correction of frequency anomalies. Additionally, preserving data privacy is essential for the security and reliability of the power grid. This paper proposes a privacy-preserving anomaly detection system (PP-ADS) based on a multi-stage hybrid machine learning (MSHML) model specifically designed for solar inverter data in DER environments. …

Unh Ph.D. Student Wins Prestigious Nasa Award, Unh Communications And Public Affairs

UNH Today Archive

No abstract provided.

Strangulation And Domestic Violence: The Critical Need For A Forfeiture By Wrongdoing Rule In Montana, Andrew King-Ries

Montana Law Review

No abstract provided.

State V. Rodriguez: Blurring The Standard For Burglary In Montana, Rachel Leader

Montana Law Review

No abstract provided.

Caring For Future Caregivers: Using The Faculty Toolkit Of Teaching Strategies To Support Well-Being For Health Sciences Students, Erica Sciarra, Alice M. Teall

Creating Healthy Work Environments (CHWE)

Current literature supports the positive impact creating a culture of wellness has in promoting individual and organizational wellbeing. Faculty and institutions of higher learning have a responsibility to create a physically and psychologically safe learning environment. Modeling effective ways for students to prioritize their mental health and wellness within the context of the ten dimensions of wellness is paramount. The National Wellness Action Alliance (NWAA) Workgroup recognized and responded to the need to provide faculty with valuable strategies to promote wellness among health sciences students that can be implemented by individual faculty members as well as serve as a springboard …

Interfacial Structural Entropy (Ise): A Statistical Descriptor That Links Distributed Fluid Microstructures And Interfacial Properties, Zhu Jiahua, Mu Liwen, Ji Tuo, Ye Wenkai

University Research

Fluids at the nano/microscopic interface, particularly when influenced by external fields, exhibit significant variations in microstructures, resulting in complex properties that differ markedly from those of single molecules and bulk fluids. The diversity in microstructures leads to unique interfacial transport and reaction phenomena. Notably, the microstructure is a group of molecular clusters with different configurations distributed at the interface in a balanced state, yet the governing factors that determine the cluster structure and their distribution remain to be understood. Herein, we introduce interfacial structural entropy (ISE) as a metric to capture the combined effects of solid surfaces and external fields …

Health Histories, Tiffanie Walton

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

No abstract provided.

The Grizzly, March 5, 2026, Renee Washart, Nathaniel Nerone, Adam Denn, Claudia Tracy, Hadley Whitman, Erik Groff

Ursinus College Grizzly Newspaper, 1978 to Present

Tuition Promise to Incoming Montco Students • Mike Sielski: Covering the Hardest Sports Market in the U.S. • Too Much Light ... Makes the Baby Go Blind?! • The World Makers: Dungeons and Dragons on Campus • Ursinus' First Student Lighting Designer • Gundolf Graml is a Person, Too • As the Snow Melts, Softball is Ready to Take the Field • Bears Swim Teams Crush Conference Champs

Trust, Culture, And Conversation: How Athletic Training Leaders Navigate High-Stakes Interactions, Nicole A. Wilkins, Ashley B. Thrasher, Ericka P. Zimmerman

Clinical Practice in Athletic Training

Introduction: Engaging in difficult conversations is central to leadership growth and requires sustained effort to refine and strengthen these skills. Leaders not only need to navigate the complexities of their role within an organization, but also the intersectionality of interpersonal dynamics, emotional intelligence, structural hierarchies, and the nuanced environments that influence how communication occurs. Furthermore, leaders must adapt to role expectations that shift across clinical, academic, and administrative contexts, adjusting their approach to engaging in conversations based on these complexities. As part of a larger research project examining difficult conversations, this portion of the study explored how leaders in athletic …

Integrating Wearable Technologies Into Athletic Training: Bridging Innovation And Clinical Practice, Michael Douglas

Clinical Practice in Athletic Training

Athletic training is entering a transformative period driven by the convergence of wearable technologies, artificial intelligence (AI), and advanced biomechanical modeling. Historically, wearable technology in sport was primarily used for performance tracking, including workload monitoring, heart rate assessment, and movement quantification. However, advances in sensor accuracy and data analytics have expanded the clinical relevance of wearable systems, allowing athletic trainers to monitor fatigue markers, movement asymmetry, and neuromuscular control patterns that inform injury risk and rehabilitation progression. Wearable sensor technologies provide objective data that can support clinical decision-making when integrated with traditional evaluation methods.¹Despite these advancements, wearable technologies present persistent …

Performance On The Timed Single-Leg Step-Down Test Is Correlated With Hip And Knee Biomechanics As Measured By 3d Markerless Motion Capture, Ghislain Aminake, Anthony Drazick, Christ Focht, Chloe Roy, Emily Clark, Savannah Knighton, Edward Austin, Jeremy Burnham

Clinical Practice in Athletic Training

Introduction: The timed single-leg step-down (SLSD) test is widely used in clinical and sports settings to assess lower extremity function and injury risk, yet the specific biomechanical determinants of performance on this test remain poorly understood. The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between performance on the timed SLSD test and hip and knee biomechanics captured by a markerless 3-D motion-analysis system. Methods: Twenty (20) healthy high school athletes with no recent history of lower extremity injury completed a 60-second timed single leg step down test. The number of quality SLSD repetitions (REPS) constituted their SLSD score. …

Immune-Mediated Necrotising Myopathy Following Semaglutide Treatment: A Contributing Factor?, Brian Lam, Eleni Tiniakou, Xinhai Robert Zhang, Shervin Assassi

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

This report describes a female patient in her 60s with an immune-mediated necrotising myopathy (IMNM) occurring after semaglutide use. She was found to have progressive dysphagia, dysphonia, proximal muscle weakness and creatine kinase elevation over a 4-month course. Her symptoms were preceded by a single dose of semaglutide. Her work-up revealed features consistent with necrotising myopathy with inflammatory infiltrate on biopsy, and she responded to immunosuppression with corticosteroids and intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG). She gradually improved and successfully returned to her baseline functional status while off immunosuppression for several months and with continued avoidance of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists. Here, …

Effect Of Tall Oil-Based Hydrophobic Emulsions On The Mechanical And Water-Related Properties Of High-Density Fibreboards, John Tosin Aladejana, Sheikh Ali Ahmed, Benjamin Voogt, Valeri Naydenov, Adrien Letoffe, Svante Nordänger, Conrad M. Sala, Piotr Koprowski, Stergios Adamopoulos, Andreas Stephan, Reza Hosseinpourpia

Michigan Tech Publications

This study unravelled the intricacy of bio-based hydrophobic formulae as a substitute for the conventional emulsified paraffin wax (hydrowax), a hydrophobic additive currently utilised in high-density fibreboard (HDF) fabrication. Utilisation of hydrowax is not a sustainable practice due to the potential depletion of its fossil-based sources. The industrial acceptability of a renewable hydrophobic additive depends on several stages of trials. Therefore, through a pilot-scale trial, this study explored the substitution effect of bio-based tall oil distillation product (TODP) in the HDF panels, establishing its mechanical and water-related properties. While the mechanical properties of the panels were not primarily influenced by …

Do Emotions Matter In Ai? The Mediating Role Of Emotional Response Between Perceived Risk And Trust, Areej Babiker, Mohamed Basel Almourad, Sameha Alshakhsi, Magnus Liebherr, Raian Ali

All Works

Research shows that trust in AI is influenced by socio-ethical considerations, technical features of AI systems, and user characteristics. Yet, the mediating role of emotional response between perceived risk and trust remains underexplored, particularly across different AI contexts. This cross-sectional vignette experiment design aims to explore the relationship between users' perceived potential risk, emotional response, and trust in AI, and examine how these relationships vary across different levels of automation and criticality. An online survey included a total of 639 participants including 316 from the UK and 323 from Arab Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. Participants rated their perceived risk, …