Digital Commons Network^™

Volume 2, Issue 2 - Complete Issue

Wisdom & Compassion: The LUSON Journal

No abstract provided.

Tilings In The 3 Dimensional Lattice With L-Tetrominoes, Ian N. Bridges

Rose-Hulman Undergraduate Mathematics Journal

We consider three dimensional L-tetrominoes. We show that there exists at least one way to tile every three dimensional rectangle whose side lengths are at least $3$ and area is congruent to $1 \pmod 4$ such that one square goes untiled. In addition, we show that every three dimensional rectangle is tileable provided one side has length at least $2$ and the other is a multiple of $4$.

Evaluating The Effects Of Co₂ And Uv-B On Sporobolus Virginicus (L.) Kunth Growth Under Open Top Chamber: A Comparison Of Silicon Nanoparticle-Treated And Untreated Plants, Suhaila Humaid Ablooshi

Thesis/ Dissertation Defenses

This study looked at how silicon nanoparticles (SiNPs; 50 mg/L) affected the growth and health of Sporobolus virginicus in four different environments: normal conditions, high CO₂, UV-B radiation, and a mix of high CO₂ and UV-B. Plants treated with SiNPs showed much better growth, with more biomass, larger leaves, and better root development, regardless of what stress condition they faced (Ahmad et al., 2024). Additionally, SiNPs improved photosynthetic efficiency, as evidenced by increased levels of chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, and carotenoids. SiNP application also reduced oxidative stress by lowering malondialdehyde (MDA) levels and enhancing antioxidant defense mechanisms through the elevated …

Electrospun Membranes From Bio-Renewable Poly (Ethylene Furanoate)/Poly (Ethylene Teraphthalate) (Pef/Pet) Blend For Emulsification Application, Aya Sayed Ali

Thesis/ Dissertation Defenses

This thesis focuses on manufacturing electrospun fibrous membranes from a blend of poly (ethylene terephthalate) (PET) and poly (ethylene furanoate) (PEF) and using in premix emulsification. PEF, which is a 100% bio renewable polymer being blended with synthetic PET for membrane fabrication contributes towards sustainability in the production of food and pharmaceutical emulsions. The primary objective of this research is to optimize the fabrication conditions of PET/PEF porous membranes, characterize their properties, and evaluate their performance in emulsification. This study compares PET/PEF blend membrane with individual PET and PEF electro-spun membranes, demonstrating that the PET/PEF blend membrane exhibits superior thermal …

Changes In Insulin, Leptin, Resistin And Irisin Levels And Their Associations With Blood Pressure After An 8-Week Supervised, Online “Hiit Mama” Program Vs. Self-Performed Moderate-To-Vigorous Physical Activity During Pregnancy - A Randomized Controlled Trial, Anna Szumilewicz, Junjiang Sun, Rita Santos-Rocha, Jan Mieszkowski, Andrzej Kochanowicz

Baltic Journal of Health and Physical Activity

We aimed to determine changes in insulin, leptin, resistin, and irisin levels and their associations with blood pressure (BP) during pregnancy, following an 8-week high-intensity interval training (HIIT) or a self-performed moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA). The study involved 54 Caucasian women in uncomplicated, singleton pregnancy (age 32 ± 4 years, week of gestation 24 ± 4, mean ± SD). They were randomly allocated to the 8-week supervised, online “HIIT Mama” program (HIIT group, n = 34) or educational intervention and self-performed MVPA (EDU group, n = 20). All participants maintained normotension throughout the study. The HIIT program in-duced a statistically …

Economy Of Motion, Yatin Srinivash Ramesh Babu

be Still

This poem reflects the elegance and necessity of precision in medicine, particularly surgery, where "economy of motion" can mean the difference between life and death. Inspired by observing the intentionality of a surgeon's hands, I aimed to capture the poetry in their discipline—an artistry rooted in restraint.

Research Integrity In The Era Of Generative Artificial Intelligence, Andrea Wilson, Cheryl Burleigh

Journal of Educational Research and Practice

Protecting research integrity is crucial for maintaining trust in the scholarly record. Historically, threats to research integrity stemmed from deliberate human actions, such as data manipulation and misrepresentation. Generative artificial intelligence (GAI) is increasingly prevalent in higher education and is capable of generating research data and scholarly papers almost instantly. The immediate production of research data challenges traditional standards of academic rigor and integrity. The purpose of this study was to explore the role and impact of GAI on research integrity and the scholarly record, emphasizing the need for robust safeguards. For this study, we submitted Likert-type survey questions to …

Decade Celebrations 1994 - First National Symposium On "Health Care & Scientific Development”

University press releases and calendars

No abstract provided.

Retraction Notice: Enhancing Project Tracking Through Microsoft Power Platform Automation: A Case-Based Study Using Power Bi

AUIQ Technical Engineering Science

Reason for Retraction:

The authors have disclosed that the article includes confidential and proprietary data, specifically within one of the figures (Figure 9), which was published without authorization from the data-owning organization. This constitutes a violation of publishing ethics as defined by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and necessitates formal retraction.

Changes In Morphology, Phenology, And Demography Of Several Avian Species Over 18 Years At A Restored Grassland, Ashley Mcmahon, Katie Stumpf

Georgia Journal of Science

In response to a changing climate and the loss of habitat, avian species are displaying changes in body size, migration phenology, and demography. Several species have adhered to Allen’s and Bergmann’s rules by displaying increased wing length and decreased mass, respectively, over time in response to higher temperatures. Climate change has also resulted in earlier spring migration and depending on species, either earlier or later fall migration. Finally, species affected by habitat loss often display male-skewed sex ratios and juvenile skewed age ratios. Our goal was to determine how body size, migration phenology, and demography have changed for grassland birds …

The Aga Khan University's Economic Impacts In Pakistan

University press releases and calendars

No abstract provided.

Wheel Trim Removal Tool Integrated In Lug Nut Wrench Tool, Anonymous

Defensive Publications Series

This innovation project is looking to establish a permanent integration of a multi-functional tip directly into the wrench tool. This integrated tip offers adaptability to various wheel trim attachment designs as a universal tool. The integrated tool is pivotally connected to the wrench via a fastener, enabling rotation about its axis. This pivotal connection allows selective positioning of the tip in either a 'working' configuration or a 'storage' configuration.

Artificial Intelligence To Reduce Printer Ink Usage, Kevin Ngo, Ruifeng Xu, Benjamin M. Gordon

Defensive Publications Series

Print jobs, especially those involving printing images or non-standard text documents, can consume large amounts of ink resulting in a substantial expense that the user may be unaware of. This disclosure describes artificial intelligence (AI) techniques to optimize printer ink usage. An AI model is trained using a dataset of various types of print jobs, printers, and printer settings, and corresponding ink usage patterns. When a user sends a print job to the printer, the trained AI model is utilized to generate a prediction of ink usage. Depending on the type of print job, the AI model also generates alternatives …

Protecting Against Use-After-Free Exploits With Multiple Policy-Limited Memory Heaps, Joshua Mason

Defensive Publications Series

Bugs or errors in handling memory allocation and deallocation can lead to use-after-free (UAF) vulnerabilities. Such cases involve programs accessing memory locations that have been freed by deallocation. Malicious actors try to exploit UAF vulnerabilities to cause various adverse effects with potentially severe operational consequences. This disclosure presents an alternative protection approach by replacing the use of a single memory heap with multiple policy-limited memory heaps. At runtime, each of the distinct memory heaps can be randomly assigned a policy to limit the type(s) of objects that can exist within it. The random policy assignment reduces the likelihood of malicious …

Voice-Enabled Stylus For Contextual Command Input And Dynamic Content Enrichment, Hadi Zadeh

Defensive Publications Series

Current stylus devices lack integrated voice command capabilities, limiting the ability of users to efficiently interact with touchscreen devices while performing creative tasks with the stylus. This disclosure describes a voice-enabled stylus equipped with a microphone and a button for activating voice commands. Users can control the stylus by directly voicing commands to it. Unlike a general-purpose microphone on a mobile device, the stylus microphone supports specific stylus-related actions such as changing drawing tools, activating features like rulers, adding transcribed content during note-taking, etc. Commands can also be used to enrich diagrams or drawings with audio recordings, such as adding …

Enhanced Denoising With Voice Activity Detection, Sinan Hersek, Thomás Inskip

Defensive Publications Series

This disclosure describes techniques to enhance multi-channel speech denoising using voice activity detection (VAD). Per the techniques, VAD is leveraged to detect segments of microphone signals where the user’s speech is absent but where background noises are present. For such segments, the microphone output to the headset is set to silent. Effectively, VAD is used to gate the microphone output based on the presence or absence of the user’s speech. The gating action of the VAD results in a denoising, since noise is completely suppressed at least in segments where the user’s speech is absent. Denoising using VAD is described …

Audio Generation Using Piezoelectric Elements In Smartglasses, Craig Ranta

Defensive Publications Series

Integrating speakers into small-size devices is difficult. This is especially challenging for smart glasses, augmented/virtual reality (AR/VR) headsets, or similar devices due to the compactness of the arm or temple portion of the glasses or headsets. This disclosure describes techniques that leverage the piezoelectric effect to generate high-quality audio using components that can fit into the compact form factor of smart glasses. Smart glasses and VR headsets have glass or plastic lenses, which advantageously present an ample area for piezoelectric elements (crystals) to be affixed upon. When electrically excited, the piezoelectric elements cause the lenses to imperceptibly vibrate in synchronism …

Large Language Model Based Automated Labeling Of Keypoints In Images Of Rooms, Adam Zu, Fengtao Fan

Defensive Publications Series

Spatial applications require accurate geometrical measurements of physical spaces. Typically, room geometry can be determined based on the position of various corners in the room. A room keypoints model can provide the locations of corners in an image of a room. However, there is a dearth of diverse types of suitable images with labeled keypoints that can be employed to train keypoint models. Manual labeling does not scale because it is tedious, slow, and expensive. This disclosure describes an LLM-based agent to automate the labeling of keypoints, such as corners within room images at scale, thus enabling speedy generation of …

Cross-Realm Interaction Between Digital Wallet And Shopping Scenarios In Extended Reality, Yanhe Chen, Ruofei Du

Defensive Publications Series

While digital payment via mobile devices is common, there are no intuitive digital-payment mechanisms for new device categories such as augmented/extended reality (AR/XR) devices, smart glasses, etc. This disclosure describes cross-platform payment techniques designed for immersive extended reality (XR) environments. Per the techniques, a user can invoke a panoramic view of their linked credit cards within their XR display. The user can select their preferred payment method/instrument using intuitive gestures based on hand, eye, or head movements. The user can make a purchase from a virtual marketplace without interrupting the immersive experience. The XR headset can be linked to a …

Test Fixture And Test Methodology For Thin Glass Characterization, Maxim Sivov, Venkata Mk Akula, Benjamin H. Golub

Defensive Publications Series

This disclosure describes a test methodology and test fixture suitable for glass characterization of relatively thin glass materials. The test fixture for specimens measuring 0.5-0.7 mm in thickness includes an inner ring and outer ring with spans of about 5 mm and about 10 mm, respectively. For specimens measuring 0.3-0.4 mm in thickness, the inner ring span is about 4 mm and the outer ring span is about 8 mm. The fixture has independent degrees of freedom that allows the top ring carrying the loading force to compensate for any flexural deflection and loading misalignment. Additionally, the fixture enables precise …

Single Sideband Coherent Optical Detection, Na

Defensive Publications Series

This disclosure describes a coherent optical detection technique based on single sideband (SSB) reception that enables finer per-wavelength speed granularity while maintaining high efficiency in terms of power and components-count. By recovering real-valued pulse amplitude modulation (PAM) signals from either the lower or upper optical sideband, the SSB coherent receiver architecture reduces required component bandwidth and can achieve signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) performance comparable to or better than conventional coherent detectors. The technique supports integration with polarization-folding, time-diversity coherent optics to further enhance system scalability and reduce receiver complexity. This approach enables the design of cost-effective, high-speed, low-power transceivers for short-reach …

Evaluating The Profile Of Most Bacterial Species Isolated From Samples Containing Β-Lactamase Gene, Mohammed Farah Mohammed Abdelhameed, Ahmed Eltigani Almansoori, Mohamed T. Ibrahim, Fatma Al Otaibi, Louai Ahmed, R. H. Zayed

Journal of Agricultural and Marine Sciences

The primary cause of antibiotic use in dairy herds is mastitis, which requires microbiological identification for successful treatment and raises concerns due to increased antimicrobial resistance. This study aimed to highlight the profile of most bacterial species isolated from samples containing the β-lactamase gene from a dairy farm located in Dubai Emirate, UAE. We aseptically obtained a total of 83 milk samples from the herd of 9,000 Holstein milking cows that had clinically confirmed mastitis in March and April 2019. The real-time PCR and DNA extraction were done using the King Fisher™ Duo Prime Purification System, the Mag MAX™ CORE …

Productivity Of Common Bean (Phaseolus Vulgaris L.) And Availability Of Phosphorous Under Different Sources Of Phosphorous, Walelign Demisie, Tesfu Mengistu, Tigist Abrham

Journal of Agricultural and Marine Sciences

Common bean is the most widely grown nutritious pulse in the world and is favored by small-scale farmers in Ethiopia to ensure food security. However, the crop yield is low due to the lesser availability of phosphorous (P) in soil caused by P fixation (formation of insoluble compounds due to reaction of P with other minerals), and use of mineral fertilizers at a rate less than recommended because they are unaffordable for the poor farmers. Thus, a pot experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of different source of P on productivity of common bean and availability of P. An …

Current Practice In The Provision Of Psychological Assessment, Catherine R. Hanigan, Linda J. Baum, Anderson B. Rowan

Archives of Assessment Psychology

Understanding the assessment practices of psychologists has been a focus of research since the mid-twentieth century. Previous studies focused on the types of tests utilized as well as the amount of time spent on assessment. This updated research examined professional psychologists’ current practice and use of assessment, such as specific test usage, time spent on assessment, and feedback practices. A survey instrument was created, piloted, and administered to a sample of 293 currently practicing licensed psychologists. Results indicated that current assessment practices are largely consistent with previous surveys of psychologists. The tests identified as most frequently used were the Wechsler …

Reading Patients' Personalities The Sentence Completion Way, Stephen P. Joy, Lawrence Mccloskey, Wilson Mcdermut

Archives of Assessment Psychology

Previous research has shown that reliable, valid measures of major personality traits can be derived from a sentence completion test, the Rotter Incomplete Sentences Blank (RISB). However, all previous samples consisted of undergraduates. Here, we report findings for two clinical samples (N = 120) to whom a variety of self-report inventories and structured clinical interviews were also administered. RISB-based ratings of Extraversion and Neuroticism were consistently correlated with relevant variables in both samples and displayed convergent and discriminant validity vis a vis self-reported traits. RISB-based ratings of Psychoticism were clearly associated with relevant variables in one sample with mixed but …

Effect Of Artemia Nauplii, Microencapsulated Diet And Their Combination On The Growth Of Koi Carp (Cyprinus Carpio Var. Koi) Fry, Mohamed Khalfan Alwahaibi, Wenresti G. Gallardo, Ahmed Al Souti, Mohammed Al Qarni

Journal of Agricultural and Marine Sciences

Koi carp (Cyprinus carpio var. koi) is an ornamental and economically important freshwater fish. Despite its global trade, knowledge on the suitable diet for optimum growth remains limited. To address this gap, we investigated the effect of microencapsulated diet, Artemia, and their combination on the weight gain of koi carp fry reared in glass tanks for six weeks at temperatures ranging from 29.5°C to 35.8°C. A total of 900 koi carps were randomly assigned to three treatments receiving different feed types at the same feeding time. Koi carp fry fed microencapsulated diet exhibited significantly higher (P < 0.05) final weight (0.42 g), weight gain (0.27 g) and specific growth rate (5.08%) compared to those fed Artemia nauplii only or the combination of both feeds. These results suggest that feeding koi carp with microencapsulated diet significantly improves the growth of koi carp fry in indoor tanks.

Effect Of Temperature And Salinity On The Survival Of Early Larval Stage Of Scalloped Spiny Lobster, Panulirus Homarus, Mohamed Al-Wahaibi, Wenresti Gallardo, Jupit Donoso, Michel Claereboudt

Journal of Agricultural and Marine Sciences

The scalloped spiny lobster, Panulirus homarus, is one of the most valuable and highly demanded seafood species. Due to its limited supply from the wild and its high value, commercial aquaculture of this species has gained considerable attention. However, information on the basic water quality requirements is yet to be explored. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the effect of different levels of culture temperature and salinity on the survival of early larval stages of the scalloped spiny lobster, Panulirus homarus. Stage-one larvae were obtained from an egg-bearing broodstock and hatched at a temperature and salinity of 26 °C and …

Microbial Characteristics Of Cook-Chill Sandwiches: Technical Note, Ameer S. Al-Rawahi, Ismail M. Al-Bulushi, Mohammed H. Al-Rizeiqi, Lyutha K. Al-Subhi

Journal of Agricultural and Marine Sciences

Ready-To-Eat (RTE) foods such as sandwiches challenge food safety due to the initial microbial load of ingredients, unhygienic practices and improper temperature during handling and storing. Microbial load in RTE foods such as sandwiches is limited in Oman. Therefore, this study aimed to characterize RTE Cook-Chill Sandwiches (CCS) by microbiologically assessing the safety and quality of the products. Sixty CCS of eggs, chicken, tuna and meat sandwiches were collected from different cafés and supermarkets in Muscat, Oman. Microbial characteristics were evaluated by enumeration of the total bacteria, Enterobacteriaceae and Salmonella sp. The CCS had Total Bacterial Counts (TBC) of 6.0, …

Chemical Composition Of Omani Red Seaweeds (Gelidium Omanense And Melanothamnus Somalensis) And Their Phytochemicals As Extracted By Different Organic Solvents, Abdullah Al-Nassri, Ahmed Al-Alawi

Journal of Agricultural and Marine Sciences

Seaweeds are divided into three categories: green, brown, and red. Each group of seaweeds consists of several families that have differences in composition. Even at the genus level, there are differences in some ingredients, although in general composition, they are nearly the same. Environmental conditions, availability of nutrients, and maturity stage are the main reasons for composition differences. This study aimed to determine approximate composition, mineral profile, protein quality and phytochemical properties of Melanothamnus somalensis & Gelidium omanense seaweeds. Both seaweeds are very abundant in Oman and seaweed Gelidium omanense is one of the unique seaweeds to Oman. Five organic …

Managing Flash-Memory Reliability By Proactive Monitoring Of Bit Error Rate, Na

Defensive Publications Series

The lifespan of NAND-based flash memories is limited by physical properties of flash cells. The reliability of retrieving data stored in flash memories can deteriorate over time. This disclosure describes techniques to manage flash-memory reliability by monitoring bit error rate (BER) per physical memory block and by taking certain actions based on the observed BER. Such actions include ignoring BERs that are low enough to be recovered by an error-correcting code (ECC) without impacting performance or reliability and notifying the processor if the BER rises to high levels. Ignoring low BERs, e.g., not escalating low BER rates to the processor, …