Digital Commons Network^™

Estimating The Value Of 5c’S Of Credit Analysis In Newbuilding Ship Loans, Gwanglyong Park, Xinyi Ruan

World Maritime University Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Determinants Of Containership Time Charter Rates : A Hedonic Pricing Approach, Khusnul Khotimah, Thi Thu Ha Doan

World Maritime University Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Association Of Component Strategies Of The Target Stroke Phase 3 Nationwide Quality Improvement Program With Accelerated Door-To-Puncture And Door-In-Door-Out Times For Ischemic Stroke Endovascular Thrombectomy In The United States, Brian Mac Grory, Kaiz S. Asif, Haolin Xu, Brooke Alhant, Jay Lusk, David Hasan, Soojin Park, Amelia K. Boehme, Ameer E. Hassan, Kyle M. Fargen

School of Medicine Publications

Background: The Target Stroke Phase III program is a national quality improvement initiative led by the American Heart Association, which sought to improve the quality of care for patients with acute stroke undergoing acute reperfusion therapy including endovascular thrombectomy (EVT).

Methods: A retrospective, observational cohort study was performed using data from the American Heart Association Get With The Guidelines-Stroke Program between January 1, 2017, and March 31, 2022. Three categories of patients were analyzed: (1) patients who arrived directly at the thrombectomy hospital and had EVT, (2) patients who were transferred in from a nonthrombectomy hospital and had EVT, and …

Identifying Sex- And Gender-Specific Endocrinological, Lifestyle, Psychosocial, And Socio-Cultural Targets For Alzheimer's Disease Prevention In Africans: The Female Brain Health And Endocrine Research In Africa (Fember-Africa) Project, Chinedu Momoh, Benard Aliwa, Lukoye Atwoli, Karen Blackmon, Edna Bosire, Samuel Gitau, Harrison Kaleli, Ciru Kamanda, Linda Khakali, Rachel Maina, Peter Mativo, Sylvia Mbugua, Zul Merali, Kendi Muchungi, Anne Njogu, Douglas Nyankira, Alice Ondieki, Catherine Onyancha, Stanely Onyango, Jasmit Shah, Sheena Shah, Cynthia Smith, Dilraj Sokhi, Sheila Waa, Thomas Thesen

Brain and Mind Institute

Dementia rates are rising globally, with the burden increasing most rapidly in low- tomiddle-income countries. Despite this, research into Alzheimer’s disease and relateddementias (ADRD) among African populations remains limited, with existing modelsbased on Western cohorts that overlook sex-, gender-, and ancestry-specific factors.The Female Brain Health and Endocrine Research in Africa (FemBER-Africa) project,hosted at the Brain and Mind Institute, Aga Khan University, Kenya, will establish adeeply phenotyped cohort of 250 African individuals across the ADRD spectrum. Itwill assess sex-specific risk factors linked to ethnicity, lifestyle, and endocrinologicalvariables using fluid-based biomarkers (blood and saliva), neuroimaging (magneticresonance imaging and positron emission tomography), and …

Prevalence And Determinants Of Nomophobia Among Healthcare Workers In Nepal: A Cross-Sectional Study, Prakash Banjade, Asmita Itani, Munish Sharma, Reena Shah, Jasmit Shah, Aakansha Singh, Rahul Kashyap, Salim Surani

Brain and Mind Institute

Introduction: Nomophobia, the fear of being without a mobile phone, has become a significant concern in the current digital age. Healthcare professionals rely heavily on mobile devices for communication and information access. This cross-sectional study aimed to assess the prevalence and determinants of nomophobia among healthcare workers in Nepal.

Methods: A modified Nomophobia Questionnaire (NMP-Q) was used to determine nomophobia scores. Demographic characteristics such as age, gender, race, type of smartphone, hours spent on a smartphone, and type of medical specialty were considered to evaluate nomophobia in diverse groups of healthcare workers. Summary statistics were presented as frequencies …

Evaluating The Impact Of Alcohol On Dementia: Evidence From 13 Developing Countries, Cyprian Mostert

Brain and Mind Institute

Background: The 2024 Lancet Commission on Dementia Prevention identified alcoholconsumption as a risk factor contributing to a global increase in dementia cases by onepercent.

Method: We used a panel VAR model to analyze the impact of alcohol consumption ondementia prevalence in 13 developing countries with different alcohol tax systems.

Result: In countries with progressive alcohol tax systems, an increase in taxes onbeer and spirits leads to a 10 percent reduction in per capita alcohol consumption.This decline corresponds to a 4 percent reduction in dementia prevalence within fouryears. In countries with hybrid alcohol tax systems, a combination of alcohol bansand tax …

Pharmacy Matters November 2025, University Of Mississippi School Of Pharmacy

Pharmacy Matters Newsletters

Featured stories: $10 Million NIH Grant Fuels Next Chapter for UM Glycoscience Research, UM Pharmacy Alumna Appointed to National Immunization Advisory Committee, Inspiring the Next Generation: Fall Recruitment Recap, School of Pharmacy Featured in Oxford Economic Development Video, From OxfordRx to Alumni Leadership, Pharmacy Student Earns University Award for Expanding Access to Diabetes Care, Pharmacy Alumnus Creates New Scholarship Fund

Is Donation Funding A Dilemma For Microfinance Institutions?, Hamid Uddin, Masnun Al Mahi, Shabiha Akter, Sabur Mollah, Jia Liu

Management Faculty Publications

Microfinance institutions (MFIs) play critical roles in providing financial access to low-income communities worldwide. Yet, reliance on donation funding in the operations poses fundamental challenges to their long-term sustainability. These scholars argue that this dependence creates an unclear agency relationship between donors (principal) – providing cost-free funds – and the MFI managers (agent), heightening moral hazard concerns. Also, due to the nature of the business model, MFIs’ operating leverage increases as they increasingly expand lending operations with more cost-free donation funds. Based on a global dataset of 2653 MFIs across 119 countries over 20 years, they find that greater reliance …

The Center Cannot Hold: Structures Of Political Choice, Martin Zwick

Complex Systems Faculty Publications and Presentations

In times of political polarization, we are well-advised to heed Spinoza’s injunction, “Not to lament, not to curse, but to understand.” Understanding can be facilitated by ideas about the archetypal structures of political choice. The primary question is whether available or desirable political positions are dyadic or triadic, and if dyadic, whether they are good versus bad or complementary. Various modes of polarization are illustrated by locating two or more positions on a line, horseshoe, or circle. It behooves us to grasp the structure of the political situation we face to avoid making intellectual and/or moral mistakes.

Implementing Responsible Artificial Intelligence In Marketing, V. Kumar, Ashutosh Dixit, Priyanka Sharma, Sudipendra Nath Roy

American Business Review

Ethical use of AI ensures equity and fairness for all stakeholders, leading to enhanced business performance. This conceptual paper explores the ethical implications of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in marketing through a literature synthesis grounded in ethical theory. Drawing on frameworks such as utilitarianism, deontology, virtue ethics, ethics of care, and contractarianism, the study identifies five key ethical challenges—monopolization, privacy, corporate social responsibility, human rights, and accountability. Real-world cases illustrate how these challenges manifest in practice. The paper proposes theory-driven solutions including data democratization, contextual data use, adherence to human rights protocols, and the establishment of AI governance mechanisms like ombudspersons. …

Hey, Bruh . . . I Mean, Your Honor—The Evolution (Or Devolution) Of Legal Communications In Modern Times, Michael J. Fleck

Northern Illinois University Law Review

The ability to effectively communicate, whether such communication is oral or written, is a primary tool in any lawyer’s toolbox. How we communicate is a reflection on our level of professionalism, both as individual attorneys, and as the legal body at large. It is how we convey ideas with our client, with our colleague, and with the court. It is how we persuade through legal reasoning. There is no doubt that the style of communication has evolved over time. One need only to read legal opinions from a century ago to see what was acceptable as proper communication. The standard …

Revealing Hidden And Concealed Vehicle Compartments. A Survey Of States’ Efforts At Addressing Prohibition Era Tactics, Douglas A. Kash, Diya Rattan

Northern Illinois University Law Review

The transportation of contraband such as controlled substances, illegal firearms, stolen items, and proceeds from criminal activities can take many forms and are subject to the ever-evolving creative efforts by traffickers and criminal organizations to avoid detection by law enforcement. However, one of the simplest and most straightforward mechanisms of transport is in hidden or “trap” compartments in motor vehicles. However, given the legitimate use of discreet compartments (sometimes referred to as “automotive safes” or “traps”) in motor vehicles to secure personal items, important paperwork, and even licensed firearms, a question arises as to whether hidden and false compartments in …

Electronic Will Legislation: A Comparison Of The Uniform Act And Illinois, Jada Stephens

Northern Illinois University Law Review

The Illinois Wills and Remote Witnesses Act is a body of law that was created in response to evolving technology and the COVID-19 pandemic. It addresses how electronic wills and remote attestations should occur in Illinois. Picking up where the executive order allowing for remote attention in Illinois left off, the passing of this Act solidifies processes that allow for different modes of estate planning and attestation to occur. Pennsylvania will be examined as a state that exemplifies the consequences of a lack of electronic will legislation. Illinois is not the first and most likely will not be the last …

Pesticides, Pollinators, And Producers: The Epa’S New Herbicide And Insecticide Strategies And Illinois Farmers, Jonathan Jerkatis

Northern Illinois University Law Review

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has introduced new herbicide and insecticide strategies to comply with the Endangered Species Act (ESA), a move that will have significant implications for Illinois farmers and endangered species. Illinois, a leading producer of corn and soybeans, relies heavily on pesticides. Unfortunately, these chemicals have been identified as a key driver of monarch and other endangered species population decline. This note examines how the EPA’s new strategies aim to balance species protection with agricultural viability, addressing concerns over financial burdens of compliance, the complexity of the strategies, and a lack of enforcement provisions. While Illinois farmers …

Climatic Controls On Soil Production, Transport And Chemical Erosion: Insights From Modelling Topography, Soils And Cosmogenic Nuclides At Little Lake, Oregon, Miles M. Reed, Ken L. Ferrier, Jill A. Marshall, Josh J. Roering, J. Taylor Perron

Geology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Predicting physical and chemical erosion rate responses to climate change are an ongoing challenge in geomorphology. A promising approach for investigating this is by measuring transient variations in physical and chemical erosion rates during climatically variable time periods, which can be accomplished by measuring cosmogenic nuclide concentrations and chemical depletion in sedimentary deposits. Interpreting such measurements warrants applying landscape evolution models that track variations in topography, cosmogenic nuclide concentrations and chemical depletion in soils. We applied a recently developed model that tracks these quantities at Little Lake, Oregon. Previous studies documented variations in cosmogenic nuclide concentrations and chemical depletion in …

A Systematic Review And Integrative Framework Of Psychotherapy Microprocess: Linking The Science Of Psychological Interventions With The Art Of Moment-To-Moment Practice, Xiaochen Luo, Alytia A. Levendosky

Counseling Psychology

Despite advancements in psychotherapy research on effectiveness and critical therapy processes, there remains a significant gap between the science and the art of psychotherapy, specifically on how to understand what to do moment-to-moment with each patient. A burgeoning research literature addresses this question by examining psychotherapy microprocesses, which typically referred to within-session changes of therapy processes, aiming to bridge psychotherapy research with clinical practice. In this pre-registered systematic review, we reviewed 86 empirical quantitative studies examining observational psychotherapy microprocesses over 35 years. We extracted 28 microprocess constructs across six categories (affective/emotional, behavioral, cognitive, relational/interpersonal, linguistic, and movement), four key methodological …

From Prohibition To Preparation: Reframing Academic Integrity In The Age Of Ai, James Hutson

Faculty Scholarship

This study analyzes how U.S. universities reconfigure academic integrity during the 2024–2025 cycle in response to widespread generative AI adoption. The analysis foregrounds three loci: student ignorance and metacognitive blind spots; the expanded remit of Academic Integrity Officers prioritizing education over punishment; and deliberate AI-enabled misconduct that exposes the evidentiary limits of detection technologies. A mixed-methods design integrates a multi-site review at Arizona State University, Montclair State University, and Cornell University with synthesis of surveys, policies, and faculty development guidance. Findings show that detector outputs function as conversational prompts rather than adjudicative proof, necessitating dialogic resolution standards, process evidence, and …

The Hyper-Unitary Executive: Lessons From A Backsliding Democracy, Doruk Erhan

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

No abstract provided.

The Population History Of Central Europe In The Early Bronze Age (2200/2100–1600/1500 Bc) - A Craniometric Approach, Tamás Szeniczey, Eszter Melis, Július Jakab, Jozef Bátora, István Major, Mihály Molnár, Anikó Horváth, László Palcsu, Anett Gémes, Katalin Gyenesei, Hugo Reyes-Centeno, Viktória Kiss, Tamás Hajdu

Anthropology Faculty Publications

During the Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age, migrations and the advent of working bronze alloy materials triggered profound cultural, social, and economic shifts across Central Europe. As a result of this processes, many communities with distinct archaeological and cultural characteristics emerged during the Central European Early Bronze Age (between circa 2200/2100 and 1600/1500 BC) in Central Europe, and with the Middle Bronze Age of the Carpathian Basin (between 2000/1900 and 1500/1450 BC). This study examines the biological relationships among these populations through biodistance analyses, aiming to clarify connections between cultural and biological affinities within the emerging heterogeneous communities. Craniometric …

When It Comes To Scientific Information Extraction And Llms, Less Is More, Sameer Shaik

Theses and Dissertations from DePaul University

The scientific literature continues to expand rapidly, making manual extraction of structured scientific facts increasingly impractical. Traditional Machine Learning and Natural Language Processing (NLP) pipelines require large expert-annotated datasets, which are costly to produce. Novel Large Language Models (LLMs) face challenges in long-context scientific reasoning, hallucinations, and entity linking. This thesis investigates ELSIE-Blob, a domain-aware preprocessing method that segments scientific articles into compact text “blobs” containing components of entity relations (here, polymer names, melting point indicators, and numerical values). We test whether blob-based input allows lightweight, consumer-hardware-accessible LLMs to extract polymer–melting point (polymer–Tm) pairs accurately without training data. Experiments using …

Student Engagement In Early Education Classrooms: A Mixed Methods Study Examining Student And Teacher Perspectives, Jill Ann Derosa

Theses & Dissertations

Student disengagement is a persistent issue in U.S. public schools and has been linked to negative outcomes for students. When students are engaged in learning, they are more likely to achieve academic success and socioemotional well-being in school. This study evaluated multiple perspectives on student engagement to gain a deeper understanding of how students and teachers in one school are making sense of engagement in their classrooms. Using a mixed-methods approach, I employed student surveys and conducted focus groups with both students and teachers to gather data on participants’ perceptions of student engagement. The findings from this study highlight that …

Empowering Community Health Workers In Dementia Care In South Texas, Stephanie Santiago-Mejias, Shanae L. Rhodes, Fayron R. Epps, Robin C. Hilsabeck, Noe Garza, Sudha Seshadri, Neela K. Patel

School of Medicine Publications

Alzheimer's disease and related dementias disproportionately affect minority racial and ethnic communities. Community health workers are essential in addressing these disparities. We evaluated the impact of an educational workshop focusing on improving knowledge and preparedness in dementia care. Sixty-one CHWs attended in-person sessions in Texas and completed surveys to measure confidence and plans to apply the knowledge gained. Results revealed a significant increase in confidence in providing dementia care post-training (p < 0.001). Qualitative analysis identified five primary roles of CHWs. These findings demonstrate the potential of training interventions to improve knowledge gaps and empower CHWs to address dementia in underserved communities.

Development And Evaluation Of The Phenotypic 2g Test To Detect Drug-Resistant Tb, J. I. Garcia, E. T. Mambuque, Amberlee Hicks, Alyssa Schami, S. Munguambe, N. Gomez, G. Tembe, B. Saavedra, S.-H. Wang, Blanca I. Restrepo

School of Medicine Publications

Background: Early diagnosis of TB with drug susceptibility testing (DST) is critical to achieve successful treatment outcomes. We aimed to develop and test a novel colorimetric, 12-well, thin-layer agar-based test to assess its accuracy for TB diagnosis and DST in a clinical setting in Southern Mozambique.

Methods: Development of the first prototype of the second generation (2G) test in the laboratory setting followed by a cross-sectional diagnostic accuracy study with consecutive recruitment of subjects with microbiologically confirmed TB using GeneXpert MTB/RIF Ultra.

Results: In the laboratory setting, the 2G test showed 100% accuracy in detecting resistance of genotypically characterised drug-resistant …

Advancements In Metastatic Spinal Cord Compression Treatment: A Narrative Review Of Innovations, Challenges, And Future Directions, Tirath Patel, Fathimathul Henna, Iman Sharif, Anaya Noor, Hafiza Tooba Siddiqui, Zarhaish Barkat-Ullah, Mahnoor Ishaque, Najia Ali Khan, Christopher Hanani, Abhishek Goyal, Nikhilesh Anand

School of Medicine Publications

Objective: To synthesize recent advancements in metastatic spinal cord compression (MSCC) treatment, evaluating their efficacy in improving neurological function, pain relief, survival, and quality of life.

Background: MSCC is an oncologic emergency caused by the progression of cancer to the spine and is prevalent in approximately 3-5% of all cancer patients, with a relatively higher incidence of breast, prostate, and lung cancers. MSCC can lead to irreversible paralysis due to loss of vital sensory and motor functions, thus requiring an immediate diagnosis and treatment.

Methods: A systematic PubMed search identified studies published over the past 5 years focusing on advancements …

Front Cover

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Table Of Contents

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Submission Guidelines

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The Bishop And The Dragon: The 1920s Clash Between Catholics And The Kkk In Western Pennsylvania, Mark Holan

Gathered Fragments

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How A “Good Catholic” Helped The Pittsburgh Pirates Win The 1925 World Series, Mark Holan

Gathered Fragments

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Builder, Donor, Patriot, And Businessman: Oil City’S Father Thomas Carroll (1834-1898), Kathleen M. Washy

Gathered Fragments

No abstract provided.