Digital Commons Network^™

Advancing Wavelet-Adaptive Interference Cancellation To Enable Cubesat Constellations For High-Fidelity Ac Magnetometry, Surya S. Kalluri, Alex P. Hoffmann, Mark B. Moldwin, James W. Cutler, Yethinder Ragav Lakshmi Kumar, Lauro V. Ojeda

Small Satellite Conference

Dense CubeSat constellations equipped with science-grade AC magnetometers offer a transformative path toward high spatial and temporal resolution of several magnetospheric phenomena that large spacecraft missions cannot resolve. Realizing this vision demands boomless magnetometry– due to deployment risks and resource constraints on nano/micro satellite platforms in large scale –capable of operating in the presence of intense spacecraft-generated electromagnetic interference without the spatial separation that conventional booms provide. This paper advances the characterization of the Wavelet-Adaptive Interference Cancellation for Underdetermined Platforms (WAIC-UP) algorithm across different frequency regimes and two distinct classes of test data. In the 50 Hz to 30 kHz …

Toward Trainable Ai Agents For Satellite Operations, Haley Calderon, Vaibhav Bhosale, Ketan Bhardwaj, Ada Gavrilovska

Small Satellite Conference

Low Earth orbit is increasingly crowded, and a growing share of it is flown by universities and small operators. These teams must detect and respond to on-orbit anomalies with far less staff, expertise, and tooling than large operators, and a single missed anomaly can end a mission. We present COMET, a ground-based operator agent that helps a small team both detect anomalies and diagnose them. COMET pairs a learned detector with a retrieval-augmented diagnosis stage. An LSTM autoencoder flags anomalous telemetry windows, and a language model explains each one against the mission’s own documentation, procedures, and prior operational records. Because …

Passive Thermal Imaging And Failure Detection Of Large-Area Space Structures Using Spin Crossover Composite Skins, Edward Pomianek, Codrin Tugui, Denise Maria De Andrade, Mihai Duduta

Small Satellite Conference

Deployable solar arrays are among the most failure-prone structures on spacecraft, and on small satellites their large area, low mass, and mechanical complexity make faults both more likely and harder to observe. Electrostatic discharge, string arcing, and localized hot spots can degrade or disable an array, yet the mass and harness penalties of distributed point sensors are difficult to accommodate within CubeSat resource budgets. This paper presents a passive, camera-readable sensing skin based on spin crossover (SCO) composite films that converts thermal events on a large-area structure into persistent optical information. The active material, [Fe(NH₂trz)₃]Br_{2 …}

An Ai-Enabled Ground Processing Pipeline For Image Restoration And Super-Resolution In 1u Cubesat Missions, Juan Bernardo Calabrese, Manuel Alejandro González Mendoza, Eduardo De La Vega Segura

Small Satellite Conference

The inaugural 1U CubeSat mission of Universidad Panamericana represents a shift in academic remote sensing, prioritizing ground-segment intelligence to overcome the physical and computational constraints of a 10-centimeter cubic form factor. Given strict power limitations, the satellite utilizes a low-cost, space-qualified XCAM C3D imaging system providing moderate-quality 1.3MP imagery with a ground sample distance (GSD) of approximately 360 meters at an altitude of 550 kilometers. To transform these raw frames into high-value Earth Observation products, this paper details an automated ground station framework hosting a modular image processing pipeline. The pipeline combines traditional image processing—including histogram equalization and edge enhancement—with …

Itasat2 Conceptual Architectural Design Of A Multi-Band Communication Framework For Distributed Cubesat Formation Operations, Renan Guilherme Soares Menezes, Edson Wander Do Rego Pereira, Bruno Leonardo Schuster, Pedro Casarin, Pedro Henrique Antero Lira, Luiz Fernando Da Cunha Silva, Matheus Esteves, Lidia Shibuya Sato, Ana Di Iorio, Luis Eduardo Vergueiro Loures Da Costa

Small Satellite Conference

The growing operational complexity of distributed CubeSat missions in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) demands communication architectures that provide robustness, responsiveness, and mission-level adaptability. The ITASAT2 mission, composed of three coordinated CubeSats operating in controlled relative motion, serves as a representative case to investigate how a multi-layer communication architecture can support formation flying, responsive maneuver planning, space situational awareness (SSA), distributed payload operations, and increasing levels of onboard autonomy within strict SWaP constraints. This paper proposes and analyzes a multi-band communication architecture designed to improve both operational resilience and communication responsiveness. The architecture combines a primary telemetry, tracking, and command (TT&C) …

Autonomous Reinforcement Learning Astrobee Control With Low Swap Neuromorphic Hardware, Kenneth Stewart, Roxana Leontie, Samantha Chapin, Joe Hays, Sumit Bam Shrestha, Carl Glen Henshaw

Small Satellite Conference

We present an end-to-end pipeline for deploying neural networks on low SWaP neuromorphic hardware to control a CubeSat like robot. As a test case, we use a reinforcement learning (RL)-trained Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) on neuromorphic hardware by converting them into spiking Sigma-Delta Neural Networks (SDNNs) for controlling the NASA Astrobee free-flying robot, similar to a previously space-validated controller demonstrated on robotic hardware. We demonstrate that an ANN trained entirely in simulation can be transformed into an SDNN compatible with Intel’s Loihi 2 neuromorphic architecture, enabling low-latency and energy-efficient inference. The SDNN is deployed on Loihi 2, then evaluated in …

Whose Jesus? Which Christlikeness? On The Prospects Of Protestant Spiritual Formation, James K.A. Smith

University Faculty Publications and Creative Works

This article recounts the author’s path into the Protestant Spiritual Formation Movement (PSFM) as both a scholar and practitioner. The article then considers current challenges for Protestant Spiritual Formation, including environmental factors (political assimilation, pervasive distraction, and the couplet of anti-intellectualism and disinformation) and institutional challenges (the individualism of much of North American Protestantism and fragile educational networks). Given these contemporary challenges, the article proposes a strategic emphasis for the future of the PSFM: to articulate the criteria for Christian maturity (“Christlikeness”).

The Etsu Historian, Tyla Melkonyan

The ETSU Historian

No abstract provided.

Synthesis, Thermal Stability, And Ionic Conductivity Of Phenyl-Extended Viologen Ditriflate Salts: Tailoring Properties Via Oxyethylene Chain Length, Seonghyeok L. Cox, Emily Moon, Si L. Chen, David King, Haesook Han, Pradip K. Bhowmik, Calvin Ng Yi Bin, Thamil Selvi Velayutham, Alfonso Martinez-Felipe

Chemistry and Biochemistry Faculty Research

Six new phenyl-extended viologen salts with oxyethylene groups paired with triflate anions (OTF) have been synthesized using anionic ring-opening and ring-closing reactions (ANRORC) and metathesis reactions with LiOTf salts. The salts, which contain terminal oxyethylene chains of varying lengths ((CH₂CH₂O)_n, n = 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 7), are named PEOn-OTF. These materials exhibit a fluorescence response and possess high thermal stability, with processing windows up to approximately 300 °C, as confirmed by thermogravimetric analysis. While samples with short chain lengths (n = 1, 2, and 3) undergo crystallization observed …

Expanding Treatment Frontiers In Hidradenitis Suppurativa: Double Immunomodulator Therapy In Severe Refractory Cases, Christina Tolete, Adam Friedman, Teresa Duong, Leonardo Tjahjono

Student Papers, Posters & Projects

No abstract provided.

Effect Of Personal, Organizational, And Work Attributes On Long-Term Care Nurses’ Intent To Stay, Marilyn J. Hodgins, Caitlin Mcarthur, Janice M. Keefe, Rick Audas, Carole Estabrooks, Rose Mccloskey, Gail Tomblin Murphy

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

A stable workforce is key to creating and maintaining a positive work environment, enhancing productivity, reducing adverse events, and lowering recruitment and orientation costs (De Vries et al., 2023). Stability in staffing of long-term care (LTC) facilities is particularly important given the vulnerability of the residents and increasing complexity of their physical and psychosocial care needs (Calver et al., 2025; Virdo & Daly, 2025). However, before action can be taken to address high turnover rates among LTC staff (Gandhi et al., 2021), factors influencing such decisions need to be understood.

PURPOSE: To examine extent that LTC nurses’ intent to stay …

Advancing Quality In Online Nursing Education: A Global Perspective, Kaneez R. Odgers, Shantha Franks

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

The global shift toward online and hybrid nursing education has transformed how nurses learn, offering flexible pathways for students across diverse geographic and socioeconomic contexts. As nations continue to face nursing shortages, digital and distance education models have expanded access, yet ensuring high-quality, competency-based preparation in virtual environments remains a major challenge. Concerns include the adequacy of virtual learning for developing clinical reasoning, variability in clinical training standards across countries, and disparities in technological access that directly affect learning outcomes. These issues reflect findings in current literature, showing the need for evidence-based strategies to ensure that digitally educated nurses are …

Postpartum Depression Screening By Pediatric Clinicians In North-Central Florida, Jessica S. Bahorski, Sionika Thayagabalu, Stacy Wright, Dominick Lemas

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

Background: Perinatal depression is defined as an episode of depression during pregnancy or within the first year after birth (National Institute of Mental Health, nd; World Health Organization, 2022). Perinatal mental health disorders in women are underrecognized with screening recommended during pregnancy and the postpartum period (American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, 2023; Earls et al., 2019; World Health Organization, 2022). The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends screening for postpartum depression (PPD) at well child checks/visits (WCC) in the 6 months after birth (Earls et al., 2019). To determine if pediatric clinics incorporate this practice, this study aimed to …

Harnessing Expert Insights To Strengthen Hiv Care Through Innovative Programme Development, Mebelo Medupe, Deliwe Rene Phetlhu

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

Purpose: The aim of this study was to develop and validate an education programme designed to improve the quality of life (QoL) of people living with HIV (PLHIV) on antiretroviral therapy (ART) in the Johannesburg Metropole. The Delphi technique was employed to gather expert consensus on the content, scope, and relevance of the program to ensure its appropriateness and effectiveness.

Methods: A three-round Delphi process was conducted with ten purposively selected experts, including HIV/AIDS specialists, practitioners, nurses, and PhD students with relevant experience. Round one involved the development of an initial questionnaire based on literature review and previous research, which …

Usa-Kenyan Primary Care Teams Offer Phq-9 And Gad-7 Screening For Hiv+ Women In Kenya, Janet Meda, Laura L. Van Auker, Stephen J. Cavanagh, Miriam Carole Atieno Wagoro, Mariana Omenda

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

Background: As HIV treatment advances in sub-Saharan Africa, care for women living with HIV (WLWH) shifted from acute AIDS management to chronic disease care, with need to integrate mental health and HIV services. In low-resource settings comorbidities and antiretroviral (ARV) side effects can heighten anxiety and depression. Anemia, diabetes, hypertension, malaria, and ARV-related fatigue, pain, and neuropathy complicate diagnosis and treatment. Mental health screening in primary care improves identification and supports better outcomes. Rural and urban WLWH face different barriers and resources, emphasizing context-specific approaches. Expanding nursing education and advanced nursing roles may help reduce gaps in integrated care.

Objectives: …

Individual Factors Associated With Self-Management In People With Coronary Heart Disease In Colombia, Jennifer Rojas Reyes, Edith Arredondo Holguín, Maria Paulina Florez Gonzalez

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

Introduction: The rise in mortality from ischemic heart diseases such as acute myocardial infarction in Colombia—14,964 deaths by 2024 (1)—shows the need to identify factors that support self-management, an issue scarcely studied in Latin America, where most research focuses on cardiovascular risk (2–4) or other chronic diseases (4,5).

Objective: To examine correlations between individual factors and self-management in people with acute myocardial infarction in a quaternary hospital in Medellín, Colombia.

Method: A cross-sectional study with 177 participants with confirmed AMI who were close to hospital discharge. After ethical approval and informed consent, the adapted “Partners in Health Scale” (6) and …

Analyzing Proposed Federal Policy For Nurse-To-Patient Staffing Ratios: Insights From State Data, Brayton Amidon

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

Background: Approaches to nurse staffing in the United States is a highly debated topic. Nurses, policymakers, and hospital administrators are interested in improving patient outcomes and many researchers have looked to safe staffing as a way to improve these outcomes (Costa & Yakusheva, 2016). Mandated nurse-to-patient staffing ratios have been implemented at the state level and have been proposed at the federal level (Bartmess et al., 2021). Many state hospital associations oppose mandated staffing ratios as they claim these ratios could exacerbate the nursing shortage, deny nurses the flexibility to determine staffing needs, limit access to healthcare, and increase hospital …

Decisions Under Fire: Healthcare Students Reactions To An Active Shooter Simulation, Linda S. James, Sarah Hirsch

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

The Joint Commission (2021) recommended that hospitals train their employees on how to act and respond during an AS event. Students are required to complete agency trainings (i.e. fire, HAZMAT etc.) prior to attending practicum but are not required to complete AS response, sending them into clinical settings ill prepared.

The purpose of this study was to examine healthcare professional students’ moral and ethical challenges experienced from an interprofessional active shooter (AS) simulation. This simulation also explored ethical decision-making and provided students an opportunity to practice critical thinking in high-stress situation and had a secondary impact on their development of …

Metal Oxide Semiconductor Gas Sensors For Exhaled Breath Cancer Biomarker Detection, Guanglan Chen, Huihui Luo, Wenwen Peng, Shiyu Xu, Yuting Li, Huijie Ke, Sihui Zhong, Jiaao Wei, Tong Chen, Xiaokun Li, Youlin Zhang, Wei Chen

Online First

Early cancer screening can significantly improve therapeutic outcomes, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and other related gases in exhaled breath, as cancer-specific biomarkers, offer a novel approach for non-invasive diagnosis. Metal oxide semiconductor (MOS)-based gas sensors are pivotal for exhaled breath VOCs detection, featuring compact size, cost-effectiveness, and rapid response. This review summarizes the most recent five-year research advances in cancer biomarker detection and clarifies the core mechanisms of electrical property changes from sensing material-VOCs interactions and key performance metrics including sensitivity, selectivity, humidity tolerance, response/recovery time, stability, and operating temperature. This review highlights the optimization strategies of sensing materials such …

Development Of Nurse-Led Ultrasound-Guided Iv Access Using Novel Diva Scoring Too, Kevin Lamonica

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

Purpose: To develop and validate a novel Difficult Intravenous Access (DIVA) prediction tool for an urban emergency department (ED) and implement a nurse-led ultrasound-guided peripheral intravenous (USGPIV) access program.

Background: Difficult intravenous access affects 10-24% of ED patients, causing treatment delays and unnecessary central line placement (Egan et al., 2013; Loon et al., 2016). USGPIV demonstrates superior success yet procedures remain physician-restricted. Existing DIVA tools developed in European populations may not accurately predict risk in diverse urban settings. Expanding nursing scope requires validated risk stratification and standardized training.

Methods: This multi-phase quality improvement initiative utilized SQUIRE 2.0 guidelines. Phase I: …

The Dual Impact Of Professional And Community Interventions On Recidivism, Anjelika M. Dillard

Master of Arts in Human Services

This capstone project evaluates the effectiveness of professional and community interventions in reducing criminal recidivism and facilitating successful community reintegration for justice-involved individuals. Grounded in the Risk-Need-Responsivity (RNR) model, Desistance Theory, and Trauma-Informed Care frameworks, this study synthesizes contemporary behavioral health and criminological literature to examine how institutional programming and post-release community support interact to foster long-term behavioral change. The findings demonstrate that while evidence-based institutional treatments—such as Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), and targeted vocational training—provide essential foundations for cognitive restructuring and skill acquisition, institutional programming alone is insufficient to prevent re-offending. Long-term desistance depends on an …

Johnathan Aaron Wayne Lacey

African American Funeral Programs

No abstract provided.

The Ecological Impacts Of Un-Protecting Forests: The Case Of Gold Mining In Ghana, Tate Alexander Barend

Master's Theses

This paper estimates the causal effect of Ghana’s Legislative Instrument 2462 (L.I. 2462) on deforestation in protected areas. The policy redefined the regulatory regime governing small-scale gold mining in protected areas, moving from prohibition to discretionary permitting. I exploit the implementation of L.I. 2462 as a policy shock and apply a difference-in-differences event-study framework to a propensity score–matched sample of pixels derived from high-resolution satellite images. Contrary to widespread concerns that the policy would accelerate deforestation, the results provide no evidence of large-scale vegetation loss in exposed protected areas following the policy change. Instead, protected area pixels located within 5 …

A Four-Year Analysis Of #Orthotwitter Use During Match Week: Can X Be A Potential Equalizer For Students Left Unmatched?, Desiree E Ojo, Davis Hedbany, Brook Willett, Brandon D Rust, Geoffrey Deckard, Omar Guerrero, Jalen Warren, Michael Megafu, Morgan Turnow, Jaime Bellamy

Medical Education Articles

Background The orthopedic surgery match has changed. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, orthopedic surgery candidates and residency programs have used #Orthotwitter to promote, advocate, and educate their followers. This study aimed to evaluate changes in the use of #OrthoTwitter and #OrthoMatch during Match Week over a four-year period, including trends in author type, post content, institutional affiliation, engagement, and posting activity, with particular attention to posts involving unmatched applicants. Methodology The top tweets containing the hashtags #Orthotwitter and/or #OrthoMatch during the 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024 Match Week were reviewed and collected. Tweets between the years 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024 …

Impact Of Sleep On Glucose Metabolism In Individuals With Overweight Or Obesity: A Systematic Review, Trudy Abla Sitsofe Accorley, Patricia Casas-Agustench, Gail Rees, Kathy Redfern

School of Biomedical Sciences

INTRODUCTION: The obesity epidemic has coincided with chronic sleep deprivation. Sleep disturbances may contribute to metabolic dysfunction in individuals with BMI ≥ 25 kg/m 2. This review investigates associations between sleep patterns and glucose metabolism in this population.

METHODS: A PRISMA-guided search across five databases (PubMed, Embase, Cochrane, CINAHL, and MEDLINE) was conducted through January 2026. Studies examined sleep patterns and glucose metabolism in adults with BMI ≥ 25 kg/m 2. Quality was assessed using the Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool 2.0 and Newcastle-Ottawa Scale.

RESULTS: Eighteen studies (7715 adults) were included from 2993 records: crossover trials (n = 7), …

A Model Intercomparison Study Of Mixed-Phase Clouds In A Laboratory Chamber, Aaron Wang, Sisi Chen, Steven K. Krueger, Piotr Dziekan, Kotaro Enokido, Fabian Hoffmann, Agnieszka Makulska, Bernhard Mehlig, Gaetano Sardina, Grigory Sarnitsky, Silvio Schmalfuß, Shin Ichiro Shima, Fan Yang, Mikhail Ovchinnikov, Raymond Shaw

Michigan Tech Publications

Supercooled liquid water often persists in mixed-phase clouds for hours to days, even though a simple, well-mixed Wegener-Bergeron-Findeisen model predicts rapid depletion of liquid water in the presence of ice. The persistence is well documented, but the relative importance of the maintaining mechanisms remains uncertain. This model intercomparison study addresses this issue by comparing results from 10 model configurations against observations from the Pi Cloud Chamber at Michigan Technological University, which produces cloudy Rayleigh-Bénard convection. To simplify the problem, we exclude ice-nucleating particle processes and assume that the ice crystals are spherical. Each model was first tuned to reproduce the …

Interpretable Multimodal Learning For Integrating Neuroimaging And Genetic Data In Alzheimer’S Disease, Kun Zhao, Siyuan Dai, Yingying Zhang, Guodong Liu, Pengfei Gu, Chenghua Lin, Paul M. Thompson, Alex D. Leow, Heng Huang, Haoteng Tang

Computer Science Faculty Publications

Introduction: Early detection of Alzheimer's disease (AD) requires models that combine brain structure changes with genetic risk, but existing methods struggle to align these different data types.

Methods: We present R-GenIMA, an interpretable multimodal large language model that pairs a region-of-interest vision transformer with genetic prompting to jointly analyze structural MRI and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Each brain region becomes a visual token and SNP profiles are encoded as structured text, letting the model link regional atrophy to genetic factors through cross-modal attention. Tested on the ADNI cohort, R-GenIMA performs well in classifying four groups: normal cognition, subjective memory concerns, …

Bit-Flip Sensitivity And Selective Fp32 Protection For Onboard Neural Networks In Flight Software: In-Place Secded Healing Of An Fp32 Weight Buffer Inside Nasa Cfs, Ryan Goodman, Carson Cramer, Braden Eichmeier, Emily Gerber, Christopher Roscoe

Small Satellite Conference

Smallsat missions increasingly deploy neural networks on COTS processors. In orbit, a charged particle striking such a device can flip a single bit of memory, a single event upset (SEU). An upset in a network weight raises no fault condition: the network continues to run, returns incorrect values, and the control loop downstream acts on them. 

The standard cFS response to memory corruption is process restart, which interrupts service and discards runtime state.

In-Transit Debris Remediation: Dual-Use Logistics For Sustainable Cislunar Smallsat Constellations, Wanjiku Chebet Kanjumba

Small Satellite Conference

A Debris Crisis Meets A Logistics Boom: Low- and high-Earth orbit keep accumulating debris faster than the atmosphere can clear it, even as NASA's Artemis and CLPS programs establish routine trans-lunar traffic. The 2009 Iridium-Cosmos collision and later anti-satellite tests proved that single fragmentation events can irreversibly degrade critical orbital shells, raising the specter of Kessler Syndrome. 

• 46,600+ objects tracked on orbit today, with ~130 million sub-cm fragments (ESA, 2025)
• $500K-$2M cost per kilogram for dedicated ADR, fiscally intractable at system scale
• 5-10 / yr large objects must be removed to stabilize LEO (Liou & Johnson)

The Unit-Economics Problem: Purpose-built …

Polarization-Modulated Laser Satellite Experiment (Pulse-A) Thermal Control, Zane Ebel, Alexavier Moore, Samy Kouidri, Veryan Johnson, Robert Pitu, Juan Ignacio Prieto Asbun, Tian Zhong

Small Satellite Conference

• UChicago's first student-developed satellite, started in September 2023
• Accepted under Batch 15 of NASA's CubeSat Launch Initiative (CSLI) in March 2024
• 3U CubeSat demonstrating space-to-ground optical downlink using circular polarization shift keying (CPolSK)
• LEO, 400-500 km, ~90 min orbit
• Preparing for Critical Design Review in Fall 2026