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Pymoo Dashboard: An Optimized Internet Dashboard for Algorithm Visualization and Performance Tracking
No full textIn a world of constantly changing technological advancements, users everywhere are looking for quicker, smoother ways to enjoy the internet. Therefore, the need for optimizations in the performance of technology is rapidly increasing. This project focuses on addressing that need by creating an optimization web application that aids user needs within the field. Our current design focuses on displaying optimization algorithms, such as the NSGA algorithms, through their various evolutionary stages. My hypothesis is that with adjustments to our current design, such as changing file types to promote quicker data processing speeds, and developing the project to provide more interface responsiveness and insight to the selected focus of our test algorithms, we will be able to effectively create a scalable web interface that can be universally implemented for various types of optimization work
ICAPP Explains: Agriculture in Ohio
Get PDFContributing $124 Billion to the state economy, agriculture is Ohio’s largest industry. In the third ICAPP Explains of a trilogy on major industries in Ohio, we consider the components and economic impact of Ohio’s agriculture. We also consider how Ohio’s farmland can be preserved, and the steps the Ohio Department of Agriculture is taking to this end
Applying Kohlberg’s Theory of Developmental Morality to Serial Killers and Why Society Is So Fascinated by Serial Killers
No full textWhen looking into the backgrounds of serial killers, many of their childhoods are rife with traumatic events. These stressors can have obvious effects. Lawrence Kohlberg, an American psychologist, developed a theory on moral development in 1958. Kohlberg’s theory of moral development tries to explain how children develop moral reasoning. This paper seeks to show that Kohlberg’s theory of moral development can help us understand why some serial killers commit the acts that they do, with a particular focus on those who experienced extreme childhood trauma. This paper also seeks to find out why society, or a small collection of it at least, is so intrigued by serial killers
The Economics of Dental Insurance: Addressing Oral Health Disparities in Low-Income Communities
No full textDental insurance, or lack thereof, can be a significant determinant of oral health. Adequate insurance can provide someone with access to routine and advanced dental care. Sometimes, this is the difference between a simple filling and an invasive surgery. Access to dental care remains a critical issue for low-income and underserved communities, where financial barriers often limit treatment options. Unlike general healthcare, dental care and dental insurance are frequently excluded from standard medical insurance plans, forcing many individuals to rely on employer-sponsored dental coverage or public assistance programs with limited benefits. This project will focus on preventative, restorative, and emergency dental care disparities with special emphasis on identifying how dental insurance coverage correlates with oral health outcomes in low-income areas. Additionally, it will address how limited coverage in both public and private insurance models contribute to the aforementioned disparities, the possibility of including broader dental coverage that includes preventative, restorative, and emergency dental care, and propose solutions to expand access to dental care and dental insurance for underserved communities. By highlighting the inconsistencies in dental insurance through a comprehensive essay, this project will contribute to the broader discussion of healthcare equity. The findings will offer insight into strategies that could help bridge the gap in dental care access, ultimately working toward a more inclusive and effective oral healthcare system
The Long-Term Effect of Playing a Wind Instrument or Singing on Measured Vital Capacity
No full textAraújo and his colleagues (2020) demonstrated that wind instrument players have higher vital capacities than non-players; however, Studer and colleagues (2019) found otherwise. In addition, a combination of wind instrument playing and singing has been found to lessen effects of asthma (Zhang et al., 2024) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (Okamoto et al., 2021). The current study aimed to compare the forced vital capacity (FVC) of various college-aged musicians (N = 28; woodwind [N = 13] and brass [N = 7] instrument players, singers [N = 9]) and non-musicians (N = 35). Participants provided demographic information before completing an FVC test using a spirometer. FVC was compared between instrumental groups, singers, and a non-musician control group by Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) followed by t-tests as necessary. While FVC was not significantly different between musicians and non-musicians, males had a significantly (p = 0.00000134) higher FVC than females. Additionally, positive correlation was shown between height and FVC (r = 0.6008) and between weight and FVC (r = 0.4615). Results from this study suggest that while gender, height, and weight likely enhance pulmonary function, musicianship alone may not significantly improve respiratory capacity
Turning Science into Art: The Creative Process of Scientific Journal Cover Illustration
No full textScientific journal cover illustration sits at the intersection of scientific concepts and visual storytelling. This presentation explores the connection between these fields through my artist-in-residence experience at Vanderbilt University’s Artlab Studio last summer. With a background in the arts, I learned on the job to analyze scientific articles and translate them into visually-appealing illustrations. Motivated by a desire to attract non-scientific audiences to scientific journals, my creative process evolved into a multi-step approach that relied on collaborative critiques and scientific review. The residency culminated in two of my three completed illustrations being selected as CellPress journal covers. By reflecting on my creative process, my presentation aims to demonstrate the value of a creative mindset in the scientific field and outline explicit steps for developing cover art illustrations that engage both the artistic and scientific communities
Implementation of a CPU Cache with the BipBip Tweakable Block Cipher
No full textThis research presents a novel cache controller design leveraging the tweakable block cipher BipBip to enhance hardware security in consumer computers. BipBip, introduced in 2023, is a 24-bit tweakable block cipher with a 40-bit tweak optimized for low latency, achieving a 3-cycle encryption latency on modern ASIC implementations. The cache controller integrates BipBip into a direct-mapped cache architecture to encrypt all data written to and read from the cache, thereby mitigating hardware-level security vulnerabilities. Data encryption is performed via a pipelined 6-clock cycle BipBip encryptor with data-forwarding capabilities, while decryption leverages a 3-clock cycle BipBip decryptor for efficient data retrieval. Additionally, the controller employs a second BipBip decryptor to decrypt the 52-bit cache tags, utilizing a padded 64-bit input format to accommodate BipBip\u27s cipher dimensions. The controller supports 128 cache sets, each storing 256-bit data blocks, divided into 64-bit words and 8-bit bytes, with address breakdown into a 52-bit tag, 7-bit set ID, 2-bit word ID, and 3-bit byte ID. By ensuring that all data within the CPU cache remains encrypted, this design addresses a significant security gap in consumer computing systems, where unauthorized hardware access can compromise sensitive information. The implementation highlights the feasibility of integrating BipBip\u27s low-latency cryptographic properties into practical hardware applications, offering a robust step toward secure memory systems. Keywords: cache encryption · tweakable block cipher · BipBip · hardware securit
Enhancing Healthcare-Associated Infection Prevention: The Role of Hand Hygiene, PPE, Isolation, and Vaccination Education
Get PDFHealthcare-associated infections (HAIs) represent a significant threat to patient safety in hospital environments. These infections are often linked to lapses in infection prevention protocols, including inadequate hand hygiene, improper use of personal protective equipment (PPE), and insufficient isolation procedures. This project aimed to evaluate compliance with infection control policies and identify areas for improvement at Lima Memorial Hospital. By focusing on auditing, education, and data analysis, the goal was to reduce HAI rates and strengthen overall infection prevention practices.
Methods included a comprehensive review of existing hospital infection prevention policies, followed by hand hygiene and PPE audits across the hospital’s second through sixth floors. Isolation (ISO) carts were also inspected to ensure appropriate PPE was available at the point of care. Educational handouts were distributed to staff, and in-person sessions were held to reinforce best practices. Additionally, during the fall 2024 influenza season, hospital employees were encouraged to document their vaccination status. A presentation on vaccine hesitancy was developed to promote awareness and improve vaccination uptake. Fourth-quarter data were analyzed to assess the correlation between compliance rates, vaccination status, and HAIs.
The results revealed a direct correlation between noncompliance with hygiene protocols and an increase in HAIs, including cases of Clostridium difficile, surgical site infections (SSIs), and catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs). In the final quarter of 2024, 7.5% of nurses failed to perform proper hand hygiene, also known as “gel in/gel out”, and 13.9% were found to be using improper or missing PPE. Despite these lapses, educational sessions saw a 96.2% participation rate among nursing staff. Influenza vaccination rates varied: 42.3% among associates, 81.6% among providers, and 95% among students, volunteers, and other hospital staff.
In conclusion, this study underscores the critical role of consistent hygiene practices, proper PPE use, and vaccine acceptance in preventing HAIs. While audits and educational initiatives improved staff awareness, continued efforts are needed to address gaps in compliance. Future recommendations include reinforcing education, making PPE more accessible, and expanding vaccine hesitancy interventions. These findings support the use of evidence-based, multidisciplinary approaches to infection prevention, with significant implications for public health policy and hospital practice
Novel RGS2-Gaq interaction inhibitors show anti-cancer activity
No full textThe protein regulator of G-protein signaling 2 (RGS2) is from a family of approximately 30 proteins that bind to the alpha subunits of G proteins (Ga) and are implicated in many human diseases. RGS2 is overexpressed in the majority of solid breast cancers and metastatic prostate cancers. RGS2 is a potent and selective inhibitor of the Guanine nucleotide-binding protein subunit alpha (Gaq), whose knockdown promotes cancer metastasis. We hypothesized that inhibiting RGS2-Gaq interactions would have anti-metastatic effects. Here and using a structure-based approach, we sought to develop selective RGS2 inhibitors targeting the RGS2-Gaq interaction face to block RGS2-Gaq binding. The structure of the RGS2-Gaq complex was used to develop a pharmacophore model which was subsequently used to search chemical databases to identify potential inhibitors. Retrieved hits were further screened by docking to identify leads with high selectivity and potency towards RGS2. The search resulted in 10 compounds (AJ-1 through AJ-10) that successfully blocked RGS2-Gaq binding in cell-based assays. All 10 compounds inhibited the growth of different cancer cell lines with AJ-10 causing over 80% growth inhibition of the glioblastoma SNB-75 cell line at a concentration of 10 uM. In addition, AJ-3 is shown to preferentially bind RGS2, not Gaq, and it inhibits the migration ability of the invasive prostate cancer cell line LNCaP in wound healing assays. These results show that RGS2 inhibitors have anticancer properties. These inhibitors have the potential to be the first-in-class chemotherapeutic agents targeting metastasis by inhibiting RGS2-Gaq binding