Digital Commons Network^™

Sensitivity And Specificity Of Natural Language Processing Systems For Identification Of Hospitalized People Who Use Drugs, Leah Benrubi, Taisuke Sato, Leo K. Westgard, Kyle Zollo-Venecek, Brindet Socrates, Benjamin Sweigart, Jessica P. Ridgway, Joji Suzuki, Yoelkys Morales, David Goodman-Meza, Alysse G. Wurcel

Student Publications

Background: People who use drugs (PWUD) often lack access to optimal harm reduction and substance use disorder treatment tools. Tracking the epidemiology of acute care utilization by PWUD is crucial to improving systems of care. Chart reviews and International Classification of Diseases (ICD) codes are the most common systems of identifying hospitalizations of PWUD but are limited by high labor costs and inaccuracy. This study evaluates whether natural language processing (NLP) enhances the sensitivity and specificity of ICD-10 codes in identifying hospitalizations of PWUD.

Methods: We analyzed admissions at Tufts Medical Center between 2018 and 2023. Two NLP …

Low Surface Brightness Features Of Edge-On Galaxies In Deep Sky Surveys, Kyle R. Adams

Theses and Dissertations

In this thesis, we present a comprehensive visual analysis of low surface brightness (LSB) structures in edge-on galaxies using two statistically complete samples: 838 galaxies from the SDSS Stripe 82 region (ES82) and 5,745 galaxies from the Edge-on Galaxies in SDSS (EGIS) catalog, both containing galaxies with spectroscopic redshifts out to 𝑧 ∼ 0.2. Using deep imaging data from the SDSS, SDSS Stripe 82, DESI Legacy Imaging Surveys, and the HSC-SSP, we construct RGB and coadded images for comparison and to improve feature detection. Average limiting photometric depth for each survey in the 𝑟 band for the surveys analyzed in …

Week Of June 23, 2025, Student Life

College, School and Department Newsletters, Magazines, and Journals

Your summer hub for events, resources and updates.

Association Of Medicaid Expansion With Colon Cancer Care: Treatment Patterns And Survival In Non-Metastatic Cases From State Registry-Claims Data, Kirsten Y. Eom, Weichuan Dong, Richard S. Hoehn, Jeffrey M. Albert, Uriel Kim, Gregory Cooper, Johnie Rose, Siran M. Koroukian

Faculty Scholarship

Purpose: Despite growing research on Medicaid expansion’s impact on cancer outcomes, there remains a critical need for a more nuanced understanding of how expansion affects cancer care and survival. This study assesses whether Medicaid expansion was associated with improved receipt of standard treatment, timely treatment initiation, and overall survival among colon cancer patients, while examining the specific factors influencing these outcomes. Methods: Using Ohio’s state cancer registry linked with Medicaid records, we analyzed 688 Medicaid-enrolled patients with non-metastatic colon cancer diagnosed between May 2011 and December 2017. We employed multivariable Poisson and Cox proportional hazard regression analyses to evaluate the …

Multiscale Modeling Of Drug-Induced Liver Injury From Organ To Lobule, Alon Malka-Markovitz, Stelian Camara Dit Pinto, Mohammed Cherkaoui, Steven M Levine, Sharmila Anandasabapathy, Gagan K Sood, Sadhna Dhingra, Gao Yujia, John M Vierling, Nicolas R Gallo

Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy Staff Publications

Drug-induced liver injury poses significant challenges in drug development and in clinical care. This study builds on prior work developing a Human Liver Virtual Twin by creating a Multiscale Computational Fluid Dynamics framework that integrates patient-specific anatomical data to predict acetaminophen-induced liver injury as a demonstration of its capability. The model bridges vascular, lobular, and cellular scales to simulate dynamic blood flow, drug transport, and injury mechanisms that accurately reflect clinically observed spatial heterogeneity. Results demonstrate accurate blood flow dynamics, predictions of hepatocellular damage, and a scalable framework for studying spatial heterogeneity applicable to other hepatic pathologies. This work establishes …

Understanding The Effects Of Binder Dissolution Dynamics On The Chemistry And Performance Of Lithium–Sulfur Batteries, Saheed A. Lateef, John Chmiola, Fabio Albano, William E. Mustain, Golareh Jalilvand

Faculty Publications

Lithium–sulfur batteries (LSBs) are promising next-generation energy storage devices due to their higher theoretical specific energy and lower cost compared to conventional Lithium-ion batteries. However, their practical implementation has been hindered by severe performance degradation during extended cycling, primarily driven by shuttling of soluble sulfur discharge products (polysulfides) between the cathode and anode leading to capacity loss. In this work, we investigate the impact of selected binders and solvents, highlighting the effect of the dissolution process of the binder in solvent, on the structural properties and electrochemical performance of sulfur cathode. It is demonstrated for a variety of binders that …

The Nanograv 15 Yr Data Set: Search For Gravitational-Wave Memory, Gabriella Agazie, Akash Anumarlapudi, Anne M. Archibald, Zaven Arzoumanian, Jeremy G. Baier, Paul T. Baker, Bence Bécsy, Laura Blecha, Adam Brazier, Paul R. Brook, Sarah Burke-Spolaor, Rand Burnette, J. Andrew Casey-Clyde, Maria Charisi, Shami Chatterjee, Tyler Cohen, James M. Cordes, Neil J. Cornish, Fronefield Crawford, H. Thankful Cromartie, Kathryn Crowter

Pacific Faculty Work

We present the results of a search for nonlinear gravitational-wave (GW) memory in the NANOGrav 15 yr data set. We find no significant evidence for memory signals in the data set, with a maximum Bayes factor of 3.1 in favor of a model including memory. We therefore place upper limits on the strain of potential GW memory events as a function of sky location and observing epoch. We find upper limits that are not always more constraining than previous NANOGrav results. We show that it is likely due to the increase in common red noise between the 12.5 and 15 …

Understanding The Perspectives Of African American Women Towards Initiating A Fitness Program, Clarissa Sheneka Davis Best

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

African American women residing in rural communities have seen substantial increases in preventable diseases resulting from obesity. The research problem addressed in this study surrounded the perspectives that African American women have towards initiating a fitness program. The purpose of this study was to explore those perspectives utilizing a sample population of African American women living in Salisbury, North Carolina. This study embraced the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) created by Prachaseree et al., (2021) and the Self-Determination Theory (Deci & Ryan, 1991) as the conceptual frameworks. Three research questions guiding this study were: What specific barriers do African American …

Research Finds 'Attractiveness Advantage' In Customer Experience, Jordan Karnbach

University of Mississippi News

OXFORD, Miss. - Have you ever found yourself thinking a server, salesperson or customer service employee was especially attractive, and wondered if that changed the way you felt about the interaction or even the outcome?

Enhancing Learning Through Role-Play In A Low-Fidelity Disaster Simulation, Susan S. Braithwaite, Susan J. Barcinas, Colleen A. Hayes

Innovations in Health Sciences Education Journal

ABSTRACT

Background: This report shares a best practice approach to low-fidelity simulation as a pedagogical method in disaster triage training for undergraduate nursing students.

Methods: This study utilized multi-year quantitative data such as student age, gender, GPA, prior simulation experience, and self-reported confidence in the START Triage application. It also utilized a secondary qualitative analysis of the debriefing process.

Results: Students who participated in a simulation event playing the role of a disaster victim scored significantly higher on subsequent performance as TRIAGE practitioners than students without roleplay experience. Perhaps even more compelling, these learning outcomes were demonstrated 18 months after …

Respite Care Services And The Experiences Of Unpaid Adult Child Alzheimer’S Caregivers, Juanita Serena Elliott

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Primary unpaid family caregivers of Alzheimer’s care recipients endure physical fatigue, emotional stress, psychological pressures, and health issues that could hinder their capacity to deliver consistent care. Respite care services can help reduce caregiver burden and enhance health outcomes; therefore, examining and evaluating their effectiveness is beneficial in meeting the needs of primary unpaid family caregivers. This study was conducted to address a lack of information in the literature and to evaluate the efficacy of respite care services for primary unpaid family caregivers of Alzheimer’s care recipients in Alaska and their caregivers’ awareness of and motivation to utilize these services …

Social Determinants, Covid-19, And Geographic Disparities In African American Mental Health Access, Jennifer Marie Washington

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Disparities in service use of mental health care persist in the United States, and African Americans have been disproportionately affected. The COVID-19 pandemic worsened these disparities, increasing barriers such as stigma, lack of culturally appropriate care, distance, and affordability. The purpose of this quantitative, nonexperimental, and correlational study was to examine the relationships between sociodemographic factors and the use of mental health counseling or therapy services. Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory was applied to examine how the systemic factors in the mesosystem, exosystem, and macrosystem work together to influence care availability. Specifically, the study examined the relationship between race, income, education, …

Perspectives Regarding Creating A Community Of Inquiry In Online Versions Of Lab Courses, Yuna Buhrman

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The COVID-19 pandemic shut down science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) college labs due to the restricted physical access to resources. The problem that was addressed in this study was that there is a lack of understanding of how the three presences of the community of inquiry were implemented by STEM lab instructors when developing online lab courses during emergency remote teaching (ERT). The purpose of this generic qualitative study was to explore perspectives of college STEM lab instructors regarding social, teaching, and cognitive presences in online versions of their lab courses during ERT. Data were collected using semistructured interviews …

Disability And Leadership: Barriers And Business Culture Perspectives, Ernest Edward Garrett

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Persistent disparities in employment rates between people with disabilities (PWDs) and people without disabilities (PWODs) indicate that PWDs continue to face barriers and challenges to employment opportunities. The research problem is the underrepresentation of PWDs in leadership positions within business cultures and persistent barriers and challenges faced by human resource managers (HRMs) and leaders concerning their hiring and retention. The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to explore the varying perspectives of business leaders with disabilities (LWDs) and HRMs concerning the barriers and challenges associated with hiring and retaining PWDs for leadership roles. Critical realism, universal design, and human …

Maintaining Number Sense Mastery In Urban Primary Grades, Colese Brown

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The problem addressed in this study was that urban kindergarten to third grade students demonstrated decreased levels of number sense mastery on state-mandated assessments as they matriculated across grade levels. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore school-based educators’ perceptions on what they believe are the reasons urban students demonstrated decreased levels of number sense mastery, and to identify what improvements are needed to support teachers in determining students’ zone of proximal development (ZPD) while scaffolding students towards number sense mastery. The conceptual framework comprised Bruner’s theory of instruction and Vygotsky’s ZPD. A purposeful sample of six …

Effective Employee Retention Strategies Used By U.S. Hotel Organizations, Marian Yvette Woods

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

High employee turnover rates continue to represent a significant challenge for U.S. hotel organizations, impacting operational efficiency. Hotel leaders are concerned that turnover negatively affects profitability and organizational viability, making retention strategies critical for competitiveness. Grounded in Herzberg’s two-factor motivation-hygiene theory, the purpose of this qualitative pragmatic inquiry study was to identify and explore effective strategies that some business leaders in U.S. hotel organizations use to enhance employee retention. The participants were eight leaders who have implemented effective employee retention strategies in U.S. hotel organizations in Georgia. Data were collected using semistructured interviews, company website information, and publicly available documents. …

Tailoring Gel Polymer Electrolytes For Advancing Quasi-Solid-State Batteries, Linrui Duan, Juchen Zhang, Mataz Alcoutlabi, Hongtao Sun

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications

Gel polymer electrolytes (GPEs) have attracted considerable attention due to their advantageous properties, such as uniform lithium deposition, stable solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) formation, nontoxicity, nonflammability, and leak-proof characteristics. In this study, a polyvinylidene fluoride hexafluoropropylene copolymer (PVDF-HFP)-based gel polymer electrolyte is synthesized via photo-polymerization, with a focus on examining the effects of curing time on electrolyte performance. The findings reveal that UV irradiation conditions significantly influence key material and electrochemical properties of the GPEs, including lithium-ion transference number, ionic conductivity, crystallinity, morphology, and liquid electrolyte uptake. Notably, the GPE cured for 120 s exhibited optimized performance, achieving an ionic …

Free Speech In An Age Of Democratic Backsliding, Thomas Keck

Political Science - All Scholarship

The growth of judicial power globally has renewed scholarly debates about who benefits from increased judicial authority. Using original data, we examine the full universe of constitutional free expression decisions issued by three apex courts—in Colombia, India, and South Africa—across three categories of disputes that feature a diverse array of rights claimants. By so doing, we shed light on the limits of elite-driven accounts of judicial empowerment. We find that even where constitutional courts are empowered by elites seeking to advance their own interests, activist courts can develop a practice of rights-protection that benefits a diverse range of less-powerful actors. …

Cinematic Abuse: A Critical Analysis Of Disney’S “Happily Ever After” In The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, And The Princess And The Frog, Erin Michelle Gough

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines the manner in which three animated Disney princess films cultivate stereotypes and gendered behaviors consistent with domestic violence and thereby encourages viewers to accept and tolerate abuse against women. I argue that due to the dangerous, constricting, and sexist gender roles encouraged by the Walt Disney Corporation, films prime young girls and boys to react to social situations and encounters in a way that mirror the characters’ reactions. Because of the films’ entertainment value, most of the characters’ inappropriate, stereotypical, and often violent behaviors either go unnoticed or are passively accepted. The violence does not have to …

Exploring Culturally Responsive Literacy Practices In Prekindergarten: A Multimodal Approach By Teachers, Deeksha Thonta Aradhya

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Children from culturally and ethnically diverse backgrounds are often expected to learn within different cultural contexts than those they have experienced in their families, homes, and communities. Some children are rarely exposed to the dominant culture and practices that are highly valued in schools before entering early education settings. When they start (pre)school, young children are often expected to immediately participate in cultural practices that may differ from those at home, which are considered indicative of being successful, ready, or capable. This research aimed to investigate the culturally responsive literacy practices used by teachers in a laboratory prekindergarten classroom. The …

Assessing The Impact Of Home Environmental Exposures On Allergic Rhinitis Using Real-Time Air Quality Monitoring And Symptom Assessment: Observational Feasibility Study., Aero Cavalier, Anthony I. Dick, Vickie Johnson Ii, Emily Cramer, Kamal Eldeirawi, Jayant Pinto, Sharmilee M. Nyenhuis, Victoria S. Lee

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

BACKGROUND: Rhinitis is the most common sinonasal condition and poses a significant cost burden. Rhinitis symptom control is associated with exposure to environmental triggers (eg, aeroallergens, pollutants, and irritants). While people spend much of their time at home, studies examining the association of rhinitis symptoms with home environmental exposures, especially in low-income, urban, and racial or ethnic minorities, are limited. Frequently, 3 types of surveys are used in ecological momentary assessment (EMA): a survey conducted at a predetermined rate, an event-triggered survey, and a follow-up survey to gauge behavioral changes in response to the event.

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to …

Endings Of Half-Lines In The Middle English Alliterative Joseph Of Arimathea, Ian Cornelius

English: Faculty Publications and Other Works

The Middle English alliterative poem Joseph of Arimathea survives in a single copy, lacking verse lineation and the regular alliteration expected of this form. Several explanations have been advanced, but the poem has been treated with reserve: scholars and critics have been reluctant, perhaps, to attend closely to a text that has seemed unfinished, careless, or corrupt. The present study counters these impressions with a narrow metrical test. Joseph agrees very well with one of the ‘finer rules’ described in recent scholarship on alliterative metrics, namely the requirement that lines end with a trochaic constituent. Regular line endings support the …

The Binaural Interaction Component Is Enhanced With Chirps Relative To Clicks And Produces Better Behavioral Lateralization, Kerry A. Walker, Carol A. Sammeth, Matthew Mavandi, Nathaniel T. Greene, Daniel J. Tollin

Student Publications

The binaural interaction component (BIC) of the auditory brainstem response (ABR) is obtained by subtracting a binaurally-evoked ABR from the sum of monaural left and right ear ABRs. BIC amplitude is modulated by interaural time differences (ITDs) and has been proposed as a biomarker of binaural hearing ability. Traditionally, clicks are used to evoke ABRs; however, chirps are recommended to compensate for the cochlear traveling wave and enhance wave V. Whether chirps improve BIC measurements has not been systematically examined. Here, ABRs and BICs were measured in subjects (n = 6; 21-29 years) for three stimuli; 1) 100-µsec clicks, 2) …

Orbony Dublin V. Dixon

All Decisions

The court granted the Section 8 tenant's motion to dismiss the landlord's holdover proceeding. The dismissal was based on the landlord's failure to serve the Section 8 recipient tenant with a VAWA (Violence Against Women Act) notice, a mandatory requirement for such tenancies.

8787 Hillside Park Llc V. Sanchez

All Decisions

The court dismissed the landlord's holdover proceeding, finding the tenant established succession rights to the rent-stabilized apartment. The tenant credibly demonstrated co-residency with the former tenant for the statutory period and presented sufficient evidence to prove an emotional and financial commitment, fulfilling the Rent Stabilization Code's definition of a "family member." The landlord's attempts to rebut the tenant's primary residence claim were unsuccessful.

527 W. 48th St Llc V. Strotz

All Decisions

The Appellate Term reversed a Civil Court order, vacating a default final judgment against a tenant in a holdover proceeding. The court found the tenant demonstrated a reasonable excuse for default (out-of-town during conspicuous service) and a meritorious defense (illegal deregulation). Additionally, the petition was dismissed because the landlord failed to timely file proof of service at least 10 days before the petition's return date.

Updated Take Estimates Of Marine Turtles In The Guajira Peninsula, Venezuela, Royner Carrasquero-Labarca, Matthew Ware, Jordano Palmar, Daniela Rojas-Cañizales, Héctor Barrios-Garrido

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

The Guajira Peninsula is one of the most important foraging grounds areas for marine turtles in Venezuela. There, five species converging: the green turtle, hawksbill, loggerhead, leatherback, and olive ridley. The Wayuú indigenous people are inhabits of the Guajira Peninsula. They have a close relationship with these animals, and for generations, they have used these species as subsistence resources. Marine turtle take has always occurred in this area and has historically been high; it is still happening now, but the current extent is unknown. For that reason, we aimed to assess and update the estimate for marine turtles take in …

Enhancing Software Effort Estimation: A Comparative Analysis Of Machine Learning Models With Correlation-Based Feature Selection, Muhammad Abid, Momina Liaqat Ali

Sustainable Machine Intelligence Journal

Software effort estimation is a critical process in the management of software projects, essential for predicting the resources and time required for application development. Accurate estimation is paramount for delivering projects on time and computational resources. This paper investigates techniques that utilize machine learning models to ameliorate software effort estimation. We employ four popular machine learning models including the Linear Regression, Gradient Boosting, Random Forest, and Decision Tree and evaluate their performance across five diverse climate-related datasets: Antarctica Hotpoints/Climate Change NASA, Crop Production and Climate Change, Global Warming on Earth (Global Temp), Climate Change, and Climate Treasure (Marine). A key …

Decision Intelligence In The Age Of Industrial Transformation: A Survey From Industry 4.0 To Industry 7.0, Eman Sayed

Sustainable Machine Intelligence Journal

Industrial revolutions have continually redefined how production systems sense, decide, and act. However, much of the literature remains concentrated on Industry 4.0, offering limited insight into the Decision Support Systems required for the emerging paradigms of Industries 5.0, 6.0, and 7.0. This survey traces the progressive evolution of decision intelligence across these stages, examining both computational foundations and socio-ethical dimensions. In Industry 4.0, decision-making is guided by rule-based automation and data-driven analytics. Industry 5.0 introduces human-centric frameworks that emphasize explainability, fairness, and collaborative intelligence. Industry 6.0 integrates biological, cognitive, and computational feedback, demanding systems that adapt to neural and physiological …

Exploring Predictors Of Treatment Response To Glp-1 Receptor Agonists For Smoking Cessation, Luba Yammine, Constanza De Dios, Robert Suchting, Charles E Green, David A Nielsen, Consuelo Walss-Bass, Joy M Schmitz

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Introduction: Understanding predictors of smoking cessation medication efficacy facilitates the ability to enhance treatment effectiveness. In our pilot trial, exenatide, a glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist, adjunct to nicotine patch improved smoking abstinence compared to nicotine patch alone. This secondary analysis explores potential baseline characteristics associated with differential treatment response to exenatide.

Aims and methods: The parent trial randomized (1:1) 84 smokers with prediabetes and/or overweight to once-weekly placebo or exenatide, 2 mg, subcutaneously. All participants received nicotine patch (21 mg) and brief smoking cessation counseling, with biologically confirmed 7-day point prevalence abstinence at week 6 (end-of-treatment) deemed the primary outcome. …