Digital Commons Network^™

Development Of A Light-Based Platform To Assess Cervical Mucus Barrier Function And Physical Mucus Properties, Elizabeth J. Buzbee

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Preterm birth is the leading cause of neonatal morbidity and mortality worldwide, yet current clinical tools for predicting its risk lack specificity and reliability. Cervical mucus plays a crucial role in maintaining pregnancy by forming a barrier that protects the uterus against infection. This study investigates the use of laser speckle rheology as a noninvasive technique to assess cervical mucus biomechanics. Synthetic cervical mucus was fabricated at varying hydration levels and tested using a conventional rheometer that confirmed that the mechanical properties of the synthetic mucus samples were representative of physiological cervical mucus. These results were compared to the complex …

On The H-Property For Step-Graphons: Residual Case, Wanting Gao

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

We investigate the H-property for step-graphons. Specifically, we sample graphs Gn on n nodes from a step-graphon and evaluate the probability that Gn has a Hamiltonian decomposition in the asymptotic regime as n → ∞. It has been shown in Belabbas and Chen (2023); Belabbas et al. (2021) that for almost all step-graphons, this probability converges to either zero or one. We focus in this paper on the residual case where the zero-one law does not apply. We show that the limit of the probability still exists and provide an explicit expression of it. We present a complete proof of …

Enhancing Ion Transport And Electron Transfer In Redox Flow Batteries Through Component Design, Erfan Asadipour

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Redox flow batteries (RFBs) are large-scale and long-duration electricity storage systems with decoupled energy and power units, granting them design flexibility. Despite their expanding applications, RFBs are still more expensive than competitive electricity storage systems due to the high cost of materials and relatively low power density. Hence, either the cost of materials must decrease through the development of cheaper materials with enhanced properties, or the power density must improve through efficient component design. This dissertation focuses on optimizing two main components of RFBs: ion-exchange membranes (IEMs) and flow field plates (FF plates). Anion-exchange membranes (AEMs) innately prevent cation cross-transfer. …

Interpreting Spatial And Temporal Variations In Global Air Quality Using A Chemical Transport Modeling Framework, Deepangsu Chatterjee

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Air quality is a major health concern. Exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and nitrogen oxides (NOx = NO + NO2) is a leading mortality risk factor across the world. Numerous cohort studies conducted over the past two decades have identified strong associations between ambient air pollution and human mortality, highlighting the adverse health effects of PM2.5 and NO2 exposure. My thesis includes three studies that contribute to a better understanding of air quality. In many regions, including South Asia, elevated emissions from various sectors and sparse ground monitoring are significant challenges. The concurrent development and use of the high-performance …

Machine Learning - Driven Solar Forecasting In Dust-Prone Regions For Sustainable Energy Systems, Kadhim Hayawi, Husna Maliakkal, Neethu Venugopal, Thanveer Musthafa Hussain, Gomathi Bhavani Rajagopalan

All Works

This research focuses on improving solar energy forecasting in dust-affected regions such as the UAE, where frequent dust storms reduce photovoltaic (PV) efficiency by scattering and absorbing sunlight. Many existing models overlook the impact of dust events, leading to inaccurate forecasts during such conditions. To address this, the study develops machine learning models—including LSTM, GRU, and hybrid LSTM-GRU architectures—that incorporate solar, weather, and dust-related features. The models were evaluated across multiple forecasti24 hoursons (1, 6, 12, and 24 hours), demonstrating that including dust-related variables significantly enhances prediction accuracy, particularly for short-term forecasts. Temporal and seasonal analyses revealed that dust events, …

Sown In Soil: Black Mississippi Landowners, Heirs Property, And New South Neoliberalism, Jermicah Lott

Senior Honors Papers / Undergraduate Theses

This thesis examines the history of how Black Mississippians in the greater Madison County area have conceptualized land ownership since circa 1970 in order to understand how acquiring land has historically been seen as a significant source of financial, social, and mental security for Black folks in rural Madison County. By looking at oral history interviews from mostly the Garrett family and other Black Madison County citizens and archival materials, one will see how connection to land and place—despite the land being listed under heirs’ property— is the underpinning of familial affinity and association. To understand how heirs’ property is …

With ‘Great Promise’ For Treating Huntington’S Disease, Four Drug Programs Press Ahead (Part Ii), Kenneth P. Serbin Phd

At Risk for Huntington's Disease

No abstract provided.

Small Things / Bigger Picture: Foucault, Vygotsky And Exclusionary Practices In Schools, Elizabeth Done, Vicky Bamsey

School of Law, Humanities and Social Sciences

This conceptual paper seeks to identify resonances between the theorising of Vygotsky and Foucault that can explain how events which may not be perceived to be exclusionary by educators may contribute to school exclusion or the self-exclusion of students through home education. We explore the subjective conditions of actions that deviate from the normative standards enshrined in school behaviour policies, drawing on Vygotsky’s concept of perezhivanie which, following Chisholm, we situate in an ars pathetica derived from Foucault. The small things of our title refers to incidents, interactions or micro-practices that may be perceived as insignificant by educators but which, …

Comparison Of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (Mri) And Endoluminal Endoscopic Ultrasound (Eus) For Restaging Rectal Cancer After Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy, Judy Sheffeh, Amr Aref, Mohammed Barawi, Amer Alame, Amer Zeni, Ernesto R. Drelichman, Jasneet S. Bhullar

Conference Presentation Abstracts

Purpose/Background: Given the high incidence and mortality of rectal cancer, accurate staging and restaging are crucial for guiding optimal interventions. However, no consensus exists on the best imaging modality for restaging after neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy. This study aims to compare MRI and EUS in the restaging of rectal cancer following neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy.

Methods/Interventions: We conducted a prospective observational study and enrolled patients with rectal cancer. EUS and MRI were performed at diagnosis for initial staging and repeated after neoadjuvant chemotherapy and chemoradiotherapy for restaging. A total of 43 patients were enrolled, with 25 patients (10 males, 15 females) with rectal cancer …

Re: Physician And Advanced Practice Clinician Burnout In Rural And Urban Settings., Cody J Klinker

Ambulatory and Primary Care Articles

No abstract provided.

Examining The Relationship Between Teacher Characteristics And African American Vernacular English (Aave): A Quantitative Study, Mary Michelle Porter

Theses & Dissertations

African American Vernacular English (AAVE) is a distinct linguistic variety characterized by unique grammatical and phonological features. Despite its linguistic legitimacy, AAVE is often subject to negative perceptions that can adversely affect the educational experiences of students who speak it. The purpose of this study is to examine elementary school teachers’ attitudes toward AAVE and how these are influenced by demographic factors. Forty-eight teachers from Suffolk, New York, and Houston, Texas, participated in a survey that included demographic questions and the Language Attitude Scale (LAS), a validated instrument for assessing attitudes toward AAVE. Demographic variables included age, race, years of …

Case Note - Tousi V Gadydukova: Are You Transferring Your Joint Tenancy?, Goodtime Okara

School of Law, Humanities and Social Sciences

This case note reflects on the recent Court of Appeal’s decision in Tousi v Gadydukova [2024]ECWA Civ 203 which focused on transferring a joint tenancy under sections 53, 62(1), andschedule 7 of the Family Law Act (FLA) 1996. It interrogated if the parties to a “void” marriagewere included in the definition of “cohabitants” in paragraph 3 of the FLA 1996, or if paragraph2 would apply to them instead. Hence, this case note explores the facts in Tousi’s case, thecourt’s decision, and its implications on the transfer of tenancy under the FLA, housing, andproperty rights in England and Wales.

Beam Bending Data And Parsing/Visualization Script, Jared Hunter, Jared Erickson

ScholarsArchive Data

The beamsolutions.txt file contains beam information for 59,913 beams created from a latin hypercube sampling of values of alpha(0,10), Beta(-10, 10), and psi (-pi, pi). The data was generated from a Matlab script released as part of the publication referenced here.

Jensen, B. D., and Erickson, J. (December 12, 2024). "Full Forward Solution of Large Deflection, End Loaded Cantilever Beams Using Elliptic Integrals." ASME. J. Mechanisms Robotics. June 2025; 17(6): 061005. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4067170

The Data_Parsing_Visualization.py file uses numpy and matplotlib packages to decode and plot beam data. Individual beam solutions are plotted first. All beam solution endpoints are plotted in the …

Hadronic Vacuum Polarization For The Muon G-2 From Lattice Qcd: Complete Short And Intermediate Windows, Alexei Bazavov, David Anthony Clarke, Christine Davies, Carleton Detar, Aida X. El-Khadra, María Elvira Gámiz Sánchez, Steven Gottlieb, Anthony Grebe, Leon Hostetler, William Jay, Hwancheol Jeong, Andreas Kronfeld, Shaun Lahert, Jack Laiho, Gerard Lepage, Michael Lynch, Andrew Lytle, Craig Mcneile, Ethan Neil, Curtis Peterson, James Simone, Jacob W Sitison, Ruth S. Van De Water, Alejandro Vaquero Avilés-Casco

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

We present complete results for the hadronic vacuum polarization (HVP) contribution to the muon anomalous magnetic moment aμ in the short- and intermediate-distance window regions, which account for roughly 10% and 35% of the total HVP contribution to aμ, respectively. In particular, we perform lattice-QCD calculations for the isospin-symmetric connected and disconnected contributions, as well as corrections due to strong-isospin breaking. For the short-distance window observables, we investigate the so-called log-enhancement effects as well as the significant oscillations associated with staggered quarks in this region. For the dominant, isospin-symmetric light-quark-connected contribution, we obtain aμll,SD(conn)=48.139(11)stat(91)syst[92]total×10-10 and aμll,W(conn)=206.90(14)stat(61)syst[63]total×10-10. We use Bayesian model …

Defining Three Principles For Credible Evidence Synthesis And Reviews In Health Professions Education, Michelle Daniel, Morris Gordon, Hussein Uraiby, Peter Boedeker, Janice Hanson, Diana Dolmans, Satid Thammasitboon

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

As reviews become increasingly central to informing educational practice and guiding research in health professions education, the need for methodological clarity and quality has grown. This Commentary highlights three foundational principles - alignment, rigor, and transparency - that underpin high-quality reviews, regardless of type. We illustrate how these principles apply across commonly used review types, including systematic, scoping, realist, and narrative reviews. By aligning the research question with the appropriate review methodology, employing rigorous processes for evidence collection and synthesis, and maintaining transparency in methodological reporting, review teams can produce credible, transferable, and dependable findings. Embracing these principles not only …

Professional Identity Development Of Black Women Counselor Education And Supervision Students In Predominantly White Institutions, Demetria Kathryn Burleson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Black women in counselor education and supervision (CES) programs at predominantly White institutions (PWIs) accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) face unique challenges that significantly influence their professional identity development (PID). Systemic barriers, such as microaggressions, racial stereotyping, and limited institutional support, remain pervasive and underexplored in literature. The purpose of this qualitative hermeneutic phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of PID among Black women enrolled in CES doctoral programs at CACREP-accredited PWIs. This qualitative study, guided by Heidegger’s hermeneutic phenomenology and informed by intersectionality and social cognitive career theory, aimed …

Turn-On Fluorescent Glucose Transport Bioprobe Enables Wash-Free Real-Time Monitoring Of Glucose Uptake Activity In Live Cells And Small Organisms, Monica Soma Hensley, David Hutchings, Abdelrahman Ismail, Marina Tanasova

Michigan Tech Publications

The direct link between sugar uptake and metabolic diseases highlights the iminent need for molecular tools to detect and evaluate alterations in sugar uptake efficiency as approaches to identify disease-relevant metabolic alterations. However, the strict requirements of facilitative glucose transporters regarding substrate binding and translocation pose challenges for developing effective fluorescence molecular probes. Based on the state-of-the-art understanding of glucose recognition by facilitative transporters (GLUTs), we designed a glucopyranoside mimic - GluRho - that delivers the “turn-on” rhodamine B to live cells via glucose transport, including major transporters GLUTs 1-4. The high binding affinity achieved through the secondary interaction between …

Should Physicians Take The Rap? Normative Analysis Of Clinician Perspectives On Responsible Use Of 'Black Box' Ai Tools, Ben H Lang, Kristin Kostick-Quenet, Jared N Smith, Meghan Hurley, Rita Dexter, Jennifer Blumenthal-Barby

Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy Staff Publications

Background: Increasing interest in deploying artificial intelligence tools in clinical contexts has raised several ethical questions of both normative and empirical interest. One such question in the literature is whether "responsibility gaps" (r-gaps) are created when clinicians utilize or rely on such tools for providing care, and if so, what to do about them. These gaps are particularly likely to arise when using opaque, "black box" AI tools. Compared to normative and legal analysis of AI-generated responsibility gaps in health care, little is known, empirically, about health care providers views on this issue. The present study examines clinician perspectives on …

What Kind Of Hegemony? The European Union In Its Region, Patrick Holden

School of Law, Humanities and Social Sciences

Despite many crises the European Union has sustained deep geoeconomic power throughout Europe. This consensual, flexible and structural form of power is best understood as hegemonic in nature. The mix of supranationalism with enduring intergovernmentalism has forged a unique form of ‘regional hegemony’ that can be understood in Neo-Gramscian terms but differs from critical understandings of ‘neoliberal hegemony’. The challenge of Brexit inspired the latent power structures of the EU to the surface. The memoirs of EU leaders over this period offer insights into the justification of, and operation, of EU hegemony. The EU-27 controlled the Brexit process throughout, imposing …

Navigating Accountability: The Role Of Paradata In Ai Documentation And Governance, Scott Cameron, Patricia C. Franks, Isto Huvila, Norman Mooradian

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Purpose: The increased use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has prompted governments internationally to provide guidance and legislation to maximize the benefits of AI while minimizing the risks to humans and organizations. This paper explores how published requirements for documentation in a sampling of authoritative texts address the challenges of creating, capturing and preserving records of the design, implementation and use of AI tools for accountability and transparency, and how the analytical concept of paradata can help to meet the recordkeeping challenges presented by the design, development and implementation of AI systems. Design/methodology/approach: Inductive reading and conceptual analysis of a set …

Augmented Reality Microscopy To Bridge Trust Between Ai And Pathologists, Sunil Badve, Xiuli Liu, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Diagnostic certainty is the cornerstone of modern medicine and critical for maximal treatment benefit. When evaluating biomarker expression by immunohistochemistry (IHC), however, pathologists are hindered by complex scoring methodologies, unique positivity cut-offs and subjective staining interpretation. Artificial intelligence (AI) can potentially eliminate diagnostic uncertainty, especially when AI "trustworthiness" is proven by expert pathologists in the context of real-world clinical practice. Building on an IHC foundation model, we employed pathologists-in-the-loop finetuning to produce a programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) CPS AI Model. We devised a multi-head augmented reality microscope (ARM) system overlayed with the PD-L1 CPS AI Model to assess …

Hierarchical Log Bayesian Neural Network For Enhanced Aorta Segmentation, Delin An, Pan Du, Pengfei Gu, Jian-Xun Wang, Chaoli Wang

Computer Science Faculty Publications

Accurate segmentation of the aorta and its associated arch branches is crucial for diagnosing aortic diseases. While deep learning techniques have significantly improved aorta segmentation, they remain challenging due to the intricate multiscale structure and the complexity of the surrounding tissues. This paper presents a novel approach for enhancing aorta segmentation using a Bayesian neural network-based hierarchical Laplacian of Gaussian (LoG) model. Our model consists of a 3D U-Net stream and a hierarchical LoG stream: the former provides an initial aorta segmentation, and the latter enhances blood vessel detection across varying scales by learning suitable LoG kernels, enabling self-adaptive handling …

Risk Of Coronary Obstruction In Redo-Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement Between Bicuspid And Tricuspid Aortic Valves, Atsushi Okada, Syed Zaid, Miho Fukui, Evan Walser-Kuntz, Larissa I Stanberry, Marcus R Burns, John R Lesser, João L Cavalcante, Paul Sorajja, Vinayak N Bapat

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Background: Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) is approved across all risk profiles, including patients with bicuspid aortic valves. These patients are generally younger, with a higher chance of reintervention.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to compare the feasibility of redo transcatheter aortic valve (TAV) between bicuspid and tricuspid aortic valves.

Methods: A computed tomographic (CT) simulation of redo-TAV was conducted using 913 post-TAVR CT studies from patients who underwent TAVR with SAPIEN 3 or SAPIEN 3 Ultra (S3; n = 623) or Evolut R, Evolut PRO, or Evolut PRO+ (Evolut; n = 290) valves. Fifty-nine cases were for …

Structural Proteomics Defines A Sequential Priming Mechanism For The Progesterone Receptor, Matthew D Mann, Min Wang, Josephine C Ferreon, Phoebe S Tsoi, Michael P Suess, Antrix Jain, Anna Malovannaya, Roberto Vera Alvarez, Bruce D Pascal, Raj Kumar, Dean P Edwards, Patrick R Griffin

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

The progesterone receptor (PR) is a steroid-responsive nuclear receptor with two isoforms: PR-A and PR-B. Disruption of PR-A:PR-B signaling is associated with breast cancer through interactions with oncogenic co-regulatory proteins (CoRs). However, molecular details of isoform-specific PR-CoR interactions remain poorly understood. Using structural mass spectrometry, we investigate the sequential binding mechanism of purified full-length PR and intact CoRs, steroid receptor coactivator 3 (SRC3) and p300, as complexes on target DNA. Our findings reveal selective CoR NR-box binding by PR and unique interaction surfaces between PR and CoRs during complex assembly, providing a structural basis for CoR sequential binding on PR. …

Ndls Communicator: Week Of 05.12.25, Notre Dame Law School

NDLS Communicator

The Latest News

• Different Kind of Lawyers: Stories of the Class of 2025, Part 1
• Professor Jay Tidmarsh Selected by Class of 2025 for Distinguished Teaching Award
• Third-year ND Law School students honored for public interest work at Champions for Justice Ceremony
• Two Notre Dame Law Students awarded 2025 Shaffer Public Interest Fellowship to Advance Justice for Underserved Communities
• The Exoneration Justice Clinic has successfully exonerated its third client.
• Last week, a U.S. District judge blocked the sale of the sacred Oak Flat site by the federal government. The Religious Liberty Clinic has long supported this case.
• News outlets and …

Deglobalization, Tax Competition, And The Potential Revival Of The Welfare State, Reuven S. Avi-Yonah, Doron Narotzki

Articles

Before 1980 the world was relatively closed. There were significant barriers to cross-border trade and investment in the form of tariffs and exchange controls. Martin Feldstein, former President Reagan’s chief economic adviser, coauthored an article in 1979 that showed that investment in the U.S. economy was about equal to U.S. savings, so the United States could manage without any foreign direct or portfolio investment.

Temperature-Driven Air Circulation In Caves With Blind Passages, Chris Hendy Dr, David J. Merritt, Shannon Corkill, Cross Cross

International Journal of Speleology

Two blind-passage show-caves in the Waitomo district of New Zealand, Ruakuri Cave and Aranui Cave, have been monitored for the impact of visitors on their environment, especially focusing on partial pressures of carbon dioxide because high levels cause speleothem degradation. In Ruakuri Cave, annual cycles of daily mean pCO₂ correspond with annual cycles of visitor numbers, both peaking in summer. The origin of the high pCO₂ had been assumed to be anthropogenic due to respiration from visitors. Prolonged intervals with no visitation during the Covid-19 pandemic saw the daily mean pCO₂ continuing to show the annual cycle, …

Design Of An Artificial Intelligence System For Analyzing And Predicting User Behavior In Digital Spaces To Counter Soft Social Threats, Mahsa Mahsa Shishegar Hamedani

Defensive Publications Series

This invention introduces an AI-based system designed to analyze and predict user behavior in digital environments. By leveraging machine learning algorithms and behavioral data, the system identifies early signs of soft social threats such as misinformation and manipulation. It enables proactive threat detection, offering real-time analysis and predictive capabilities to enhance digital security and social stability across various platforms.

Protecting Security And Privacy In Mobile Ai Ecosystems, Zongyong (Vincent) Chen

Defensive Publications Series

This publication describes systems and methods for protecting security and privacy in mobile artificial intelligence (AI) ecosystems. The use of protected virtual machines (pVMs) serves to isolate the AI components of the ecosystem, ensuring both privacy and security for end-user data. By running the AI on a separate operating system (OS), even a compromise of the main OS does not threaten the integrity of the data and output of the AI. In addition, the AI can be implemented on separate hardware than that of the main OS, such as separate processor(s), memory, etc., making user data inaccessible to malicious actors.

Method To Increase Heat Dissipation Through Mda Heat Sink Metrology, Wei Leng Tee, Min Won Bae, Khin Yuupar Htaing, Thanakorn Sangrit

Defensive Publications Series

A hard disc drive (HDD) consists of many components such as a magnetic recording disc 103, base deck 102, and cover 101. In some embodiments, a cover 101 with a form-in-place gasket (FIPG) 104 and a base deck 102 are arranged to provide a sealed HDD. A final welding process is applied on final cover 100 to seal the drive hermetically. A magnetic recording disc 103 is rotatably supported within the housing. A data transducer is then controllably moved by an advance part to glide across the surface of the magnetic recording disc. Together with incorporated electronics linked to the …