Digital Commons Network^™

Does Differential Privacy Prevent Backdoor Attacks In Practice?

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Differential Privacy (DP) was originally developed to protect privacy. However, it has recently been utilized to secure machine learning (ML) models from poisoning attacks, with DP-SGD receiving substantial attention. Nevertheless, a thorough investigation is required to assess the effectiveness of different DP techniques in preventing backdoor attacks in practice. In this paper, we investigate the effectiveness of DP-SGD and, for the first time, examine PATE and Label-DP in the context of backdoor attacks. We also explore the role of different components of DP algorithms in defending against backdoor attacks and will show that PATE is effective against these attacks due …

Discret: Synthesizing Faithful Explanations For Treatment Effect Estimation, Ziyang Li, Emily J Getzen, Qi Long, Mayur Naik, Ravi B Parikh, Eric Wong

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Designing faithful yet accurate AI models is challenging, particularly in the field of individual treatment effect estimation (ITE). ITE prediction models deployed in critical settings such as healthcare should ideally be (i) accurate, and (ii) provide faithful explanations. However, current solutions are inadequate: state-of-the-art black-box models do not supply explanations, post-hoc explainers for black-box models lack faithfulness guarantees, and self-interpretable models greatly compromise accuracy. To address these issues, we propose DISCRET, a self-interpretable ITE framework that synthesizes faithful, rule-based explanations for each sample. A key insight behind DISCRET is that explanations can serve dually as database queries to identify similar …

Fedgmmat: Federated Generalized Linear Mixed Model Association Tests

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Increasing genetic and phenotypic data size is critical for understanding the genetic determinants of diseases. Evidently, establishing practical means for collaboration and data sharing among institutions is a fundamental methodological barrier for performing high-powered studies. As the sample sizes become more heterogeneous, complex statistical approaches, such as generalized linear mixed effects models, must be used to correct for the confounders that may bias results. On another front, due to the privacy concerns around Protected Health Information (PHI), genetic information is restrictively protected by sharing according to regulations such as Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). This limits data sharing …

Annual Report City Of Nashua, New Hampshire For The Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 2024, Nashua Town Representatives

Nashua, NH Annual Reports

This is an annual report containing vital statistics for a town/city in the state of New Hampshire.

2024 July, Morehead State University. Office Of Communications & Marketing.

Morehead State Press Release Archive, 1961 to the Present

Press releases for July of 2024.

Exploring The Mutual Benefits Of Reciprocal Mentorship In A Community-Based Program: Fostering Community Cultural Wealth Of Latino Students And Families, Elizabeth Gil, Ceceilia Parnther

GSE Faculty Publications

This case study examines reciprocal mentoring in a community-based program (CBP) serving immigrant Latino families with school-aged children. University student volunteers shared technological and college knowledge and grew in leadership skills. Simultaneously, they gained familial and cultural support and belonging from program families. The CBP fostered all forms of community cultural wealth capital. Study findings can inform educational leaders seeking to develop mutually beneficial partnerships between education institutions and community organizations to support student success

Talk Story Prompt Cards, Asian Pacific American Librarians Association, Family Literacy Focus Committee, Education Subcommittee, Becky Leathersich (Chair), Nicole Fernandez (Interim Co-Chair), Zoë Bowlus, Jessea Young, Tiffany Lee, Kim Nguyen

Librarian Publications & Presentations

These prompt cards were inspired by the Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association (APALA) and American Indigenous Library Association (AILA) presentation on “Talk Story: Centering Oral Traditions to Advance Literacy Justice and Transform Community Relationships” at the ALA Annual Conference 2023. One representative from APALA and one from AILA shared an oral storytelling experience. Afterward, a panel discussion was held discussing “Talk Story as a community of practice to recenter youth literacy programs as intergenerational literacy opportunities with an emphasis on oral histories and traditions, intersectional community building, and cultural sensitivities.”¹ The APALA Family Literacy Focus Committee decided it would be …

Serial Mediation Analysis Of Psychological Inflexibility And Daytime Insomnia Rumination In The Relationship Between Dysfunctional Beliefs About Sleep And Insomnia In College Students, Guadalupe G. San Miguel, Mercedes G. Woolley, Eric B. Lee, Brooke M. Smith, Demi Culianos, Michael E. Levin, Michael P. Twohig

Psychology Faculty Publications

Emerging research suggests that psychological inflexibility may be a factor contributing to the development and maintenance of insomnia. However, less is known about the potential cognitive pathways that may explain this relationship. In this study, we investigated the serial mediating effects of psychological inflexibility and daytime insomnia related rumination on the association between dysfunctional beliefs and attitudes about sleep (DBAS) and insomnia symptoms. The sample included 490 college students who underwent assessments at two time points over a one-month period. The results of our mediational tests yielded significant indirect effects, supporting the prediction that psychological inflexibility and daytime insomnia rumination …

Bridging The Nature-Cultural Heritage Gap: Evaluating Sustainable Entanglements Through Cemeteries In Urban Asia, David Ocon, Wei Ping Young

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

The expanding footprint of urban Asian settlements and increasing living standards have put pressure on cemetery sites. Public health narratives and the sanctity associated with death matters in Asian urban landscapes have fed into the rhetoric of cemeteries as undesirable heritage spaces. Often lacking protection, many cemeteries have been exhumed, cleared, and relocated to allow room for new developments and infrastructure, risking the survival of this quiet element of the urban cultural patrimony. Within an Asian context, synergies between nature and cultural heritage preservation are not prevalent in major cities like Singapore, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Manila, Kuala Lumpur, and Bangkok. …

A New Look For Library Resources & Technical Services, Rachel E. Scott, Michael Fernandez

Faculty and Staff Publications – Milner Library

[In the absence of an abstract, the opening of the editorial is presented.]

Those of you who enjoyed the double issue on open access likely noticed that Library Resources and Technical Services (LRTS) articles have a new look. After years of maintaining its signature double-column layout, LRTS is now published in a single-column format. What prompted the change, you ask? A few months ago, a reader reached out to request that LRTS switch to a single-column format. The reader rightly noted that the change would improve the accessibility of the content. Specifically, the formatting issue relates to screen …

Sexual Assault Disclosure: Understanding How The Reception Of Disclosure Effects Survivors’ Mental Health, Jade Buchanan

Undergraduate Theses and Capstone Projects

Sexual Assault is a rampant issue in the United States that affects Americans across race, gender, and lifespan. The United States’ continually fails to provide comprehensive physical and mental healthcare to Survivors post-assault. Survivors experience a lack of access to formal support systems and post-assault care that for Survivors of Sexual Assault could dramatically impact post-traumatic cognitions. Furthermore, there are several factors of a Survivors identity that interact with and shape their experience with these unique supports systems. The purpose of this research is to engage in a meta-analysis of how adult Survivors’ gender, race, support received, and experiences with …

Intersections Of Trauma And Grief: Navigating Multilayered Terrain In Music Therapy To Support Youth Through Bereavement, Katherine Myers-Coffman Phd, Mt-Bc

Music Therapy: Faculty Publications

Experiencing the death of a loved one as a young person is challenging in its own right, and underlying trauma can complicate one’s bereavement. With little available research exploring the intersections of trauma and grief, this paper aims to provide a foundational understanding of how trauma contexts and histories manifest in music therapy bereavement support programming for young people. Theoretical models that are culturally grounded, resource-oriented, and adopting an ecological, multisystemic lens are presented. The impacts of interpersonal trauma, trauma from systemic oppression, collective trauma, and intergenerational trauma are explored within the context of bereavement support. Diverse music therapy approaches …

Between The Stacks, 07-2024, Anna Swearengen, Michelle Dry

Between the Stacks

The July 2024 edition of the University Libraries monthly newsletter presenting information on the Events, Displays, the John Evans: A Life in Libraries Digital Commons exhibit, announcements, and the clothing drive.

How Does This End?: The Ukraine War And The Future Of Russia, Jonathan M. Acuff, Hannah N. Clegg

Journal of Strategic Security

We analyze a range of future scenarios for Russia related to the Ukraine War. Although regime change is a publicly-stated objective for several leaders of NATO countries, we find very little prospect for it. The Russian economy has largely evaded the effects of the sanctions. Despite enormous casualties and incompetence in the management of the war, both Putin and the war remain popular with the Russian public. Contrary to most analysis to date, the Wagner Group mutiny of June 2023 is not an indication of Putin’s weakness, but his strength. The coercive mechanisms of the Russian state remain intact. Indeed, …

Progress And Challenges In Combating Corruption In Ukraine: Pathways Forward, Semen Kravtsov, Kostiantyn Orobets, Nataliia Shyshpanova, Oksana Vovchenko, Olena Berezovska-Chmil

Journal of Strategic Security

In the context of war, the issue of corruption in Ukraine and abuse of office attracts great attention from experts, scholars, and civil society. The article aims to highlight the dynamics of combating corruption in Ukraine. This includes its main challenges, achievements, and ways of overcoming them in the context of war. The paper employs analysis and synthesis methods to study the dynamics of combating corruption in Ukraine. The authors have reviewed reforms in various sectors to identify key achievements in each corruption risk area. The article highlights the key achievements in the dynamics of combating corruption in Ukraine during …

Making Us Security Cooperation In Fragile States Work: Organizational Capital In Aid Provision, Randell Yi, Edward J. O'Connell

Journal of Strategic Security

The article examine how materiel and non-materiel organizational capital, as conveyed by military aid, differ in their effects on recipient nations with respect to governance. The authors analyze the Varieties of Democracy (vDem) dataset’s Regime Corruption Index alongside Security Sector Assistance expenditures as reported by the US Aid to Security Sector Actors (USASSA) dataset. They find that non-materiel forms of investment toward building partner nation capacity create generally better governance outcomes than materiel ones that involve transfers of weapons systems or supplies. They further contend that investments toward social cohesion and norms transmission “build the capacity to have capacity built.” …

Us Military Foreign Disaster Relief: Challenges And Proposed Mitigations, James M. Ward

Journal of Strategic Security

Climate Change will increase the frequency and intensity of disasters necessitating United States Department of Defense (DoD) intervention. The US Congress and DoD have produced reports and demanded action for climate change-related security concerns, but have largely left foreign disaster relief capacity unaddressed. The DoD does not have dedicated force structure for humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HA/DR), potentially compromising mission readiness and operational effectiveness as well as jeopardizing U.S. foreign interests. Proposed mitigations for the status quo include bolstering international organizations, expanding the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) capacity to respond to disasters, and creating dedicated DoD …

Video Games And Radical Movements: "Ein Prozent" And "Heimat Defender", Göksel Türker, Ali Gök

Journal of Strategic Security

The far-right, which poses a threat of escalating into terrorism or inciting violence, employs a variety of tactics to spread its ideologies among the general public. In this context, "Heimat Defender: Rebellion," a two-dimensional video game supported by the far-right Ein Prozent operating in Germany, draws attention. In the study, the game in question was examined on the far-right and especially Ein Prozent ideology and subjected to discourse analysis. The analysis revealed that the game plot was shaped according to the friend-enemy perception of Ein Prozent and the far-right. Accordingly, in the game in question, opposition to multiculturalism, immigration, globalism, …

The Handbook Of African Intelligence Cultures. Ryan Shaffer, Editor. London: Rowman & Littlefield, 2023., Edward M. Roche Ph.D., Jd

Journal of Strategic Security

No abstract provided.

Precision: A History Of American Warfare. By James Patton Rogers. Manchester, England: Manchester University Press, 2023., Amos C. Fox

Journal of Strategic Security

No abstract provided.

Cold Rivals: The New Era Of Us-China Strategic Competition Ed. Evan S. Medeiros, Georgetown University Press, 2023., Mark T. Peters Ii Ph.D.

Journal of Strategic Security

No abstract provided.

Nuclear War: A Scenario By Annie Jacobson, New York: Dutton, 2024., Edward M. Roche, Ph.D., Jd

Journal of Strategic Security

No abstract provided.

Illinois State University Annuitants Association Newsletter, Summer 2024, Illinois State University, Annuitants Association

ISUAA News

Illinois State University Annuitants Association newsletter

Surgical Opportunism For Hand Reconstruction Following A Mutilating Injury: A Case Report., Krishna A Patel, Tuna Özyurekoglu

Trauma and Acute Care Articles

We report our management of a 53-year-old female who suffered a wood planer hand-mutilating injury with significant dorsal soft tissue loss and partial metacarpophalangeal joint (MCPJ) amputations of the thumb, index, and middle fingers. The middle finger was deconstructed for "spare parts" and a vascularized osteochondral graft was utilized to reconstruct the metacarpal articular surface of the index finger proximal phalanx, allowing the pedicled transposition of the index finger to the third metacarpal. The middle finger's distal interphalangeal joint was transplanted non-vascularly to recreate the thumb MCPJ and the elevation of a middle finger fillet flap allowed dorsal wound coverage. …

Administrative Time Expectations For Residency Core Faculty: A Cera Study., Bryce A Ringwald, Stephen Auciello, Joseph Ginty, Melissa Jefferis, Stephen Stacey

Medical Education Articles

BACKGROUND: Academic family medicine (FM) physicians aim to balance competing needs of providing clinical care with nonclinical duties of program administration, formal education, and scholarly activity. FM residency is unique in its scope of practice, clinical settings, and training priorities, which may differ between university-based and community-based programs. In both types of programs, these competing needs are a source of faculty dissatisfaction and burnout. We performed this study to explore the allocation of nonclinical administrative full-time equivalents (FTE) for FM residency core faculty members.

RESULTS: Reported nonclinical administrative FTE time allocation is equivalent between university/medical school-based and community-based programs. The …

New Labor Curves Of Dilation And Station To Improve The Accuracy Of Predicting Labor Progress., Emily F Hamilton, Tilekbek Zhoroev, Philip A Warrick, Adi L Tarca, Thomas J Garite, Aaron B Caughey, Jason Melillo, Mona Prasad, Duncan Neilson, Peter Singson, Kimberlee Mckay, Roberto Romero

Women’s Health Articles

BACKGROUND: The diagnosis of failure to progress, the most common indication for intrapartum cesarean delivery, is based on the assessment of cervical dilation and station over time. Labor curves serve as references for expected changes in dilation and fetal descent. The labor curves of Friedman, Zhang et al, and others are based on time alone and derived from mothers with spontaneous labor onset. However, labor induction is now common, and clinicians also consider other factors when assessing labor progress. Labor curves that consider the use of labor induction and other factors that influence labor progress have the potential to be …

Why Montana Should Amend Its Uniform Commercial Code, Jonathon S. Byington

Faculty Law Review Articles

This Article is about needed updates to Montana’s Uniform Commercial Code. The Uniform Commercial Code provides a structure of rules to facilitate commerce. This Article begins by explaining where the Uniform Commercial Code came from and when Montana enacted it. It then summarizes Montana’s historical amendments to its Uniform Commercial Code and points out a pattern of amendments following new industries or significant changes to existing industries. It highlights the development and expansion of multiple new industries related to e-commerce and cryptocurrency. It then walks through insufficient or outdated aspects of Montana’s Uniform Commercial Code and explains how the Uniform …

Impact Of Lifetime Stressor Exposure On Neuroenergetics In Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders, Joshua Chiappelli, Anya Savransky, Yizhou Ma, Si Gao, Mark D Kvarta, Peter Kochunov, George M Slavich, L Elliot Hong

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

N-acetylasparate and lactate are two prominent brain metabolites closely related to mitochondrial functioning. Prior research revealing lower levels of NAA and higher levels of lactate in the cerebral cortex of patients with schizophrenia suggest possible abnormalities in the energy supply pathway necessary for brain function. Given that stress and adversity are a strong risk factor for a variety of mental health problems, including psychotic disorders, we investigated the hypothesis that stress contributes to abnormal neuroenergetics in patients with schizophrenia. To test this hypothesis, we used the Stress and Adversity Inventory (STRAIN) to comprehensively assess the lifetime stressor exposure profiles of …

Paying A Heavy Price: Costs Of Care For People With Severe Obesity In Nursing Homes, Luisa Fernandez, Bianca Shieu, Alison Trinkoff, Nicholas Castle, David G Wolf, Steven Handler, John A Harris

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background and objectives: The prevalence of resident obesity in nursing homes has increased dramatically from 22% to 28% between 2005 and 2015. To provide care for people with obesity, nursing homes have changed their admissions, staffing, and equipment, but underlying these changes are increased resources and financial costs of care. The purpose of this study is to describe nursing home organizational aspects of caring for older adults with obesity, with a focus on economic factors, from the perspective of nursing home staff and leadership.

Research design and methods: This qualitative study used descriptive approaches; data were collected through semistructured telephone …

Occupational Stress And Coping During A Public Health Emergency: A Mixed-Methods Approach To Understand The Experiences Of Lactation Professionals In Clinical Settings, Mya Michele Carter

Health Services Research Dissertations

Introduction: During public health emergencies, such as the coronavirus 2019 pandemic, breastfeeding is still the recommended feeding option, and mothers and babies may need additional support to reach breastfeeding goals. Pandemic-related, clinic-level restrictions posed new challenges for postpartum mothers and their healthcare teams, including lactation professionals (LPs). The pandemic and subsequent restrictions may have impacted lactation professionals’ work-related stress and limited their ability to provide lactation support. Coping strategies to mitigate occupational stress can be useful in preventing adverse outcomes for both the provider and the patient. The need for continuous support for this profession of healthcare workers is paramount. …