Digital Commons Network^™

Deep Learning-Based Crop And Weed Detection System For Precision Agriculture: Binary And Multiclass Classification Approaches, Ivan A. Velo Castaneda

SACAD: Scholarly Activities

As global food demand increases and environmental concerns grow, improving weed management has become essential for sustainable agriculture. Weeds significantly reduce crop yields, and traditional control methods often depend on widespread herbicide application, increasing costs and ecological impact. This study explores the use of deep learning to improve crop-versus-weed detection and multi-species weed classification, supporting more precise and efficient agricultural practices. The research utilizes two publicly available datasets from Kaggle: one for binary crop-versus-weed classification and another covering 12 weed species. Four preprocessing techniques (Baseline, Region of Interest (ROI), CLAHE, and ROI + CLAHE) were implemented to enhance plant features …

Photography Professor, Alumna Partner On ‘Price Of Eggs’ Exhibit At Moca Cleveland, Dave Larsen

College of Arts and Sciences Newsroom

The photo-based, socially engaged installation focuses on eggs as a critical assessment of our inequitable food system.

Community Of Open Hands: Reimagining The Classroom Through Beauty, Eunsub Cho

University Faculty Publications and Creative Works

One of the boldest decisions that I have ever made as an educator was taking twenty-four middle school students on a camping trip at the end of the school year. We had made our way through a couple of months of astronomy and what better way to conclude the project than to celebrate our learning by gazing at the celestial bodies with our own eyes! My time in the Midwest should have informed me that this was a naive plan, as Michigan skies have a mind of their own. Despite detailed planning, it started drizzling by the time our tents …

Effects Of Burnout And Resilience On Turnover Intention In Long-Term Care Nurses Post-Covid, Rosemary Fromer, Rhonda Oldham, Hannah G. Callaway

Creating Healthy Work Environments (CHWE)

Nurses constitute the most significant proportion of the healthcare workforce providing care for residents in long-term care (LTC) facilities (American Association of Colleges of Nursing, 2023, July). The number of licensed practical or vocational nurses who typically care for the most vulnerable populations in LTC has declined by 33,811 since the pandemic (Martin et al., 2023; National Council of State Boards of Nursing, 2023, April 13). LTC patients and staff accounted for 23% of COVID-19-related deaths in the United States (Chidambaram, 2022, February 3). A cross-sectional study conducted by Aiken et al. (2023) at magnet hospitals in the United States …

Creating A Healthy Work Environment To Improve Nurse Retention: An Evidence-Based Practice Project, Megan Hignight

Creating Healthy Work Environments (CHWE)

Background/Significance: Following the COVID-19 pandemic, a community emergency department (ED) faced a critical staffing shortage with nursing turnover rates as high as 46.2%. Strategies to mitigate the staffing shortage were primarily focused on recruitment methods without an intentional focus on evaluating why the nurses were leaving. Understanding the interdependent relationship between nurse attrition and the work environment, the ED Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) led an evidence-based practice project to improve the work environment. The purpose of the project was to create an environment in which nurses feel valued, respected, and fulfilled in their work; ultimately leading to decreased nurse turnover. …

Evaluating The Response Of Ageing Rc Bridge Piers To The 2023 Kahramanmaraş Earthquake Using Bouc-Wen Hysteretic Models, Negin Fayaz, S. Kocakaplan Sezgin, E. Ahmadi, M. M. Kashani, M. Zaker Esteghamati

Civil and Environmental Engineering Student Research

This study examines the seismic response of reinforced concrete (RC) bridge piers subjected to ground motion (GM) records from the 2023 Kahramanmaraş earthquake by comparing the impact of pulse-like versus no-pulse records. A suite of 300 nonlinear Bouc-Wen hysteretic models was developed to represent piers with varying nonlinear behavior. Each Bouc-Wen model was assessed under 24 pulse-like and 28 no-pulse GMs, resulting in 15,600 nonlinear time-history simulations. Subsequently, the relationship between Bouc-Wen parameters (i.e., period and yield displacement) and seismic responses (i.e., maximum displacement, residual displacement, and maximum acceleration) was analyzed. The results show that pulse-like records produce 5 times …

When The Student Surpasses The Teacher: Better Generalization In Ai-Based Seismic Waveform Quality Assessment Using Knowledge Distillation, Ali Namin, F. Jalaeifar, A. Kottke, M. Zaker Esteghamati

Civil and Environmental Engineering Student Research

This paper presents a knowledge distillation (KD)-based approach to reduce computational expenses and improve the generalizability of deep learning-based models for quality assessment of seismic waveforms. Using two different waveform datasets, teacher models are distilled into lightweight student models from two families of time-series-based and image-based models. Models from both student families are trained on a development dataset and evaluated on the testing portion of the development dataset, as well as on an entirely different external testing dataset. Results indicate that KD can provide student models with substantially reduced size (5%-10% of the teacher model's size) and latency while preserving, …

Fs Faculty Rights And Responsibilities Committee Agenda 2026-03-04, Northern Illinois University

Faculty Senate Archives

No abstract provided.

Fs Social Justice Committee Agenda 2026-03-04, Northern Illinois University

Faculty Senate Archives

No abstract provided.

Fs Social Justice Committee Minutes 2026-03-04, Northern Illinois University

Faculty Senate Archives

No abstract provided.

Detection Of Phosphite Fungicide In Persea Americana Fruits Using Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (Nmr) Spectroscopy At 400 And 80 Mhz, Andres Bernal, Yimin Wang, Philipp Nitschke, Samuele Sala, Rance Kwamen, Andrea Steck, Birk Schuetz, Dario Stefanelli, Henry Brockman, Julien Wist, Jeremy K. Nicholson, Rueyleng Loo

Horticulture Research Articles

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy is widely adopted for assessing biochemical composition in agriculture. This study evaluated the feasibility of 400 MHz NMR to detect biochemical differences in Hass avocados grown under conventional (N = 101) and regenerative (N = 105) farming practices in Southwestern Australia. Phosphite, associated with Phytophthora root rot management, was a key discriminating feature (area under ROC curve = 0.96), being detected in 90% of conventional avocados (mean: 49 mg/kg) and 6 regenerative samples (mean: 24 mg/kg). To assess translational potential, water extracts of five samples were analyzed using 80 MHz benchtop NMR. Phosphite was detectable …

Sb18-25/26, Chase O'Brien

Senate Resolutions, 2007-Present

This resolution passed on a roll call vote [16-0-0] during the March 4, 2026 meeting of the Associated Students of the University of Montana (ASUM).

Organizational Characteristics Associated With Health Information Systems Adoption In Local Health Departments During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Nardeen Shafik, Gulzar H. Shah, Timothy C. Mccall, Bettye A. Apenteng, Mansoor Abro, William A. Mase

Health Policy & Community Health: Faculty Publications

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic revealed persistent gaps in local health department (LHD) health informatics capacity. This study examines organizational characteristics of LHDs associated with the adoption of six health information systems: electronic case reporting (eCR), electronic disease reporting systems (EDRS), electronic health records (EHR), electronic lab reporting (ELR), health information exchange (HIE), and immunization registries (IR). Methods: We used a mixed-methods design, including multinomial or binary logistic regression analyses of quantitative data from the 2022 NACCHO National Profile of Local Health Departments (n = 441) and thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews with five LHD staff members. Results: About half (49.9%) …

March 4, 2026 Blazer Weekly, University Of Alabama At Birmingham

Blazer Weekly (student newsletter)

No abstract provided.

Leading With Dignity: Addressing Occupational Stigma Through Inclusive Leadership Practices In Early Childhood Education, Elizabeth Terry

Doctorate in Education

Early childhood education (ECE) leaders navigate a historically undervalued and stigmatized profession, facing unique challenges in advocating for workforce recognition. This study examined how ECE leaders enact inclusive leadership practices despite systemic constraints. By exploring leaders' experiences across diverse organizational contexts, this research contributes to understanding professional dignity and leadership in caring professions. This qualitative study used semi-structured interviews with six early childhood leaders across diverse organizational contexts in Western Washington. Through thematic analysis, five themes emerged: (a) advocacy as an integrated leadership identity, (b) confronting occupational stigma and professional invisibility, (c) relational leadership practices as a foundation for inclusion, …

Teaching And Learning Math In Prison: A Systematic Review, Giulia De Rocco, Enrico Angelo Emili, Elisa Miragliotta, George Richard Paul Santi, Alessia Muratori

Journal of Prison Education Research

The paper presents the first results of a systematic review of the literature on mathematics teaching and learning in prison. The paper explores, through a systematic review based on the PRiSMA method, the state of the art on the mathematics teaching-learning in prisons, focusing on theoretical frameworks that identify good educational practices, the role of affective aspects, the focus on inclusiveness and accessibility. The study is part of the LeMP project, 'Learning Math in Prison', which aims at exploring the conditions of mathematics teaching-learning in a prison context.

March 4, 2026 Faculty Senate Minutes, University Of South Carolina

Faculty Senate

No abstract provided.

Dual-Function Plasmonic Structure For Logic Operations And Circular Polarization Detection, Marjan Bazian, Mark C. Harrison

Engineering Faculty Articles and Research

Many integrated photonic devices have a high potential for dual applications, making them more versatile components in photonic integrated circuits. In this study, we show that a plasmonic XOR gate structure, originally designed to perform logic operations, can also be used as a circular polarization detector. This multi-purpose capability stems from the phase-encoded input mechanism that controls the output response of the structure. We adapted this mechanism to select the output based on the polarization state of light. The design of this structure, utilizing the subwavelength field confinement of plasmonic waveguides, enables the integration of logic and detection functions into …

An Ascendant In Scorpio: Dark Tourism In The Kingdom Of Cambodia, A Travelogue, Brenton Rossow

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

An eight-legged dark tourist with a freshly starched pith helmet, Sydney’s travels in Cambodia take him to the small town of Skuon, where people snack on fried tarantulas. The trip to Skuon, however, becomes more than just a tropical dark tourist tick box; instead, transforming into a sweaty pilgrimage into the crevices of Sydney’s ravaged psyche. During Syd’s journey, he must embrace his fears and ingest the beast within or forever wallow in the purgatory of his shadow self and its eternal torments. Caught in a web of vampiric arachnids, he must be careful not to become prey, tempted by …

Immigration Enforcement And Origin Country Labor Markets, Thomas Pearson

Center for Policy Research

This paper studies how increased immigration enforcement in the destination country impacts labor markets in the origin country. Using variation in Mexican migrant networks and Secure Communities (SC), a policy which expanded local immigration enforcement, I show that the deportation of Mexican migrants from the U.S. increases return migration to Mexico and decreases monthly earnings for workers in Mexico. The negative earnings effects are largest for workers most similar to return migrants in terms of their demographics, occupations, and employment types, and are consistent with increased labor market competition.

The Student Movement Volume 110 Issue 16: Running, Biking, And Swimming Into Women's History Month, Addison Randall, Ysa Dennis, Melanie Webb, Anna Pak, Esther R. Knott, Laura Pérez, Madison Vath, Corinna Bevier

The Student Movement V. 110 (2025-2026)

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Creativity and Talent on Display at the AU Composers Concert, Addison Randall

The Idea of Patrick Bateman: Yuppie Culture and Misinterpreting Films, Ysa Dennis

Bringing Home Full Numbers: A Review of AUTW's 'Much Ado About Nothing', Melanie Webb

HUMANS

Students Serving Through Their Studies, Anna Pak

NEWS

Administration Announces Endowed Chair for Stephen Zork, Addison Randall

IDEAS

'Until I Make My Brothers Understand...', Esther R. Knott

PULSE

Students Explore Relationships with Purpose at Makarios First Spanish Small Group Meeting, Laura Pérez

Senioritis Through a Temporal Context, Madison Vath

LAST WORD

The True Story of How 'National Treasure' …

Commonwealth Times 2026-03-04

Commonwealth Times, 1969-

No abstract provided.

National Organization Recognizes Ud Emergency Medical Services With Two Honors, University Of Dayton

News Releases

The National Collegiate Emergency Medical Services Foundation recognized the University of Dayton's student-run emergency medical services with two achievements for its emergency management operations and cardiac arrest care.

Hydrogen Defects In Labi2o4x (X = Cl, Br, And I) Sillén Oxyhalide Phases And Their Impacts On Ionic Transport, Shin Young Kang, Andrew J.E. Rowberg, Shenli Zhang, Joel B. Varley

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Sillén oxyhalides have recently emerged as promising materials for both photocatalytic and ionic transport applications, yet the role of likely-ubiquitous hydrogen-related defects in these layered compounds remains largely unexplored. Here, we employ first-principles defect calculations to investigate incorporation energetics for hydrogen- and oxygen-related defects, as well as their migration barriers in LaBi2O4X (X = Cl, Br, I) phases. We find that hydrogen interstitials, particularly protonic species (Hi⁺), are readily accommodated within the open Bi–O layers. Protons compete with oxygen vacancy donors (VO²⁺) and charge-compensate with oxygen interstitial acceptors (Oi²⁻). By linking hydrogen defect formation …

The Influence Of Noise On Uk Number Plate Letter Recognition In Humans And Convolutional Neural Networks, Gunnar Schmidtmann

School of Health Professions

UK number plates contain symbols based on the Charles Wright font. The Driver & Vehicle Licencing Agency (DVLA) regulations specify precise dimensions of the letters, e.g., a uniform width, leading to dissimilar distances between letter features (strokes), presumably resulting in different acuities. Using the method of constant stimuli with a single interval five alternative forced choice paradigm, we measured acuities for high-contrast DVLA letters (E, S, M, W, O), chosen based on their distinctiveness (O vs. E) and similarity (M vs. W). To assess the influence of noise, we measured acuities for letters with added Salt-and-Pepper noise (10%, 25% and …

Lindenwood Digest, March 4, 2026, Lindenwood University

Lindenwood Digest

• Primary Figures: Jen Shepard, Christy Weber, Mike Tiffany, Jen Fraser, Joey Jackson, Jessica Loyd, and Woody Ellis. 

• Key Events: Campus Operations sponsors a document shredding event on March 12; Lindenwood hosted the Region 6 Science Olympiad on February 7 and 21; Men’s Basketball plays Little Rock in the OVC Tournament on March 4; Women’s Basketball secured a share of the regular season OVC championship; Men’s hockey competes in the inaugural United Collegiate Hockey Cup starting March 5. 

• Date/Location: Events occurred between February 7, 2026, and March 12, 2026, at Lindenwood University, Centene Community Ice Center, and Evansville, …

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The Academic Lives Of Commuter Students: Examining The Use Of The Physical And Digital Spaces Within The Contemporary University, Rebecca Turner, Rao Namrata, Christie Pritchard, Oliver Webb, Emily Pinn, Asal Baharloo, Harriet Ball

Professional Services

It is estimated that 40% of UK undergraduates commute to study, travelling varying distances, and often daily. Although commuting can be challenging, many learners see it as a way to access university, whilst maintaining existing commitments and support networks, and offsetting growing costs of higher education (HE). This study employed a novel participatory mapping technique to stimulate focus groups of second- and third-year undergraduates who commute. We explored participants’ engagement with their institution’s campus, and online/digital spaces. Our findings show commuters have nuanced and intentional interactions with the University’s physical and digital landscape. We consider how these interactions may be …

Seafood, Mercury, And Human Health In Coastal South Carolina: Findings From A Community-Based Study, Russell Fielding, Julia Saltzman, Rylee-Jade Bean, Jenna Monroe, Theodore R. Them Ii

Honors College Faculty Publications

Mercury (Hg), an environmental pollutant, can harm human health. Seafood consumption is a major way that people are exposed to Hg and the analysis of human hair is a standard method to measure Hg exposure. This community-based study identified demographic and dietary factors associated with elevated Hg concentrations and health outcomes of individuals with elevated Hg concentrations throughout two coastal South Carolina (SC) counties. We collected hair samples (n = 85) at local barbershops and salons; participants completed an online survey with questions on demographics, diet, and health histories; and we analyzed hair samples using a DMA-80. Between 4.9–8.4% of …

Artificial Sentience: The Other Side Of The Story, Amanda Sharkey

Animal Sentience

There is another side to the story of the account of artificial sentience — one that makes the possibility of artificial sentience unlikely: the fundamental difference between living bodies and artificial systems.  Sentience occurs in strongly embodied, living entities, and not in disembodied artificial systems, nor in robots. The appearance of sentience is exacerbated by deceptive behaviour and anthropomorphism. The risks of keeping an open mind about the required underlying substrate are in wasted efforts to protect systems that cannot suffer, and in placing inappropriate trust in their abilities.

Student Senate Meeting Minutes March 4, 2026, Student Senate-Winona State University

Student Senate Meeting Minutes

This document is the official Winona State University Student Senate Minutes for March 4, 2026.