University Transportation Center for Railway Safety
Scholarworks@UTRGV Univ. of Texas RioGrande ValleyNot a member yet
35333 research outputs found
Sort by
Existence and mass collapse behavior of standing waves for Choquard equation with rotation
No full textWe are concerned with the existence and mass collapse behavior of standing waves with the prescribed mass for the Choquard equation with rotation, which serves as a model to describe the Bose–Einstein condensate of nonrelativistic particles with rotation of atoms. We establish the existence and mass collapse results for the mass subcritical and mass supercritical cases
Multisystem challenges in reproductive medicine: A case report of bicornuate uterus, fibroadenoma, and postpartum thyroiditis
No full textRationale: A bicornuate uterus is an uncommon mullerian duct malformation strongly associated with recurrent early pregnancy loss and adverse obstetric outcomes. When combined with endocrine disturbances such as hyperprolactinemia and postpartum thyroid dysfunction, fertility becomes even more challenging. This case highlights how coordinated reproductive-endocrine management can overcome multiple intersecting barriers to conception and successful pregnancy.
Patient concerns: A 24-year-old woman presented with a history of 3 first-trimester miscarriages, difficulty conceiving, and prior breast fibroadenoma excision. Following the birth of her first child, she later developed symptoms of palpitations, weight loss, and anxiety suggestive of thyroid dysfunction.
Diagnoses: Pelvic ultrasonography identified a bicornuate uterus. Additional evaluation revealed isolated hyperprolactinemia, a benign right breast fibroadenoma, and postpartum-onset hyperthyroidism occurring several months after initiating depot medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA) contraception.
Interventions: Management included empirical hormonal and metabolic support with progesterone, metformin, low-molecular-weight heparin, and low-dose aspirin, together with thyroid hormone therapy. She was followed jointly by obstetrics and endocrinology throughout conception, pregnancy, and the postpartum period.
Outcomes: The patient achieved a viable term pregnancy and delivered a healthy infant via cesarean section at 38 weeks. Postpartum thyrotoxicosis was confirmed biochemically and successfully managed with antithyroid medication.
Lessons: This case demonstrates that favorable reproductive outcomes are achievable even in the presence of significant uterine malformation and endocrine comorbidities when care is individualized and multidisciplinary. The temporal relationship between DMPA initiation and postpartum thyroiditis raises a clinically relevant question about progestin-triggered autoimmune thyroid dysfunction, warranting further study. Early imaging and endocrine profiling should be routine in women presenting with recurrent pregnancy loss
Neural Rewiring of Resilience: The Effects of Combat Deployment on Functional Network Architecture
No full textBackground: Although combat-deployed soldiers are at high risk for developing trauma-related psychopathology, most will remain resilient for the duration and aftermath of their deployment tour. The neural basis of this type of resilience is largely unknown, and few longitudinal studies exist on neural adaptation to combat in resilient individuals for whom a pre-exposure measurement was collected. Here, we delineate changes in the architecture of functional brain networks from pre- to postcombat in psychopathology-free, resilient participants.
Methods: Tier 1 infantry recruits (n = 50) participated in this longitudinal, functional magnetic resonance imaging study together with a comparison group of university students (n = 50). Changes in within- and between-network functional connectivity were analyzed as a function of exposure group.
Results: Significant group × time interactions manifested in the default mode, cognitive control, and ventral attention networks; significant increases from baseline in both within- and between-network connectivity were noted postdeployment in soldiers only.
Conclusions: These results indicate global changes in brain functional architecture in resilient combat-deployed participants relative to age-matched students, suggesting that neural adaptation may support resilience to combat exposure
A community sin vergüenza: Considerations when designing classroom spaces for bi/multilingual students to speak, listen, and be heard
No full textThis article explores the parallels experienced when pre-service teachers and those teaching multilingual students in elementary school design classroom spaces around the Right of the Learner to speak, listen, and be heard. We share examples of democratic commitments and shifts in our own understandings of the role of the teacher and professor. We also discuss the importance of being willing to be with students as they shed the shame that may have kept them silent in other classroom settings. This article explores what it means for educators to make room for Latinx students to use their voices and embrace their ideas sin vergüenza, without shame
Artificial Intelligence in Biofuels: Progress, Trends, and Directions
No full textBiofuels have the potential to improve the sustainability of transportation fuels. Production systems for biofuels are complex, and data-driven artificial intelligence (AI) modeling offers advanced capabilities for prediction, optimization, and quality control. However, large-scale applications of AI in biofuels production remain in their early stages compared to laboratory research. This article discusses how AI-based modeling is used for various bioconversion technologies in the effort to improve their efficiency, dependability, and management of biofuels. Furthermore, the applications of AI technology in various types of biofuels, including biodiesel, bioethanol, biobutanol, biomethanol, biohydrogen, biogas, and algal biofuels, are critically discussed. The benefits and drawbacks of applying AI-based modeling to manage, optimize, control, monitor, and predict biofuels yields are comprehensively investigated. Additionally, the use of fuzzy logic, genetic algorithms (GAs), artificial neural networks (ANNs), expert systems (ES), adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS), hybrid AI techniques, and other AI-based methods to increase biofuels production yield and quality, as well as end-user system performance, are thoroughly reviewed. Finally, a concise summary of the present state of research milestones is provided, and most recent state-of-the-art studies are discussed. The technology readiness level analysis indicates that integrating AI with established technologies is the most effective commercial approach
Mode of Production and the Historiography of Capitalism: Gender, Race and Eurocentrism
No full textBringing together leading scholars and activists, this edited collection calls for a return to the ‘mode of production debate’ to address often-overlooked dimensions: gender, race, and Eurocentrism.
The concept of mode of production is placed in dialogue with Marxist debates on domestic labour, racial capitalism and the ways in which Eurocentrism has shaped the historiographies of capitalism. In doing so, the book offers novel approaches to studying the origins, modalities and contradictions of capitalism.
Advancing an integrated framework that incorporates class, gender, race and ethnicity, the book opens pathways to new research for better understanding, resisting and transcending capitalism
The Paradoxical Impact of Smartphone Addiction on Innovative Performance: A Conservation of Resources Theory Perspective
No full textSmartphone addiction represents a growing challenge in organizational contexts, yet its impact on different types of work performance remains underexplored. Using the conservation of resources (COR) theory, we examine how smartphone addiction affects innovative and routine performance through stress and mindfulness. Using survey data from organizational employees, we find that smartphone addiction influences these two performance types through distinct pathways. This study reveals a fundamental paradox: smartphone addiction simultaneously enhances and undermines innovative performance through competing resource mechanisms. While addiction directly benefits innovation by exposing employees to diverse information and stimuli, it concurrently depletes critical cognitive resources (mindfulness) and increases stress, creating opposing effects on the same outcome. For routine performance, smartphone addiction shows only direct negative effects, with no mediating role for stress or mindfulness. Our results extend COR theory by showing how resource depletion affects work types through distinct mechanisms. Practically, organizations can leverage these insights to develop targeted interventions that mitigate stress and enhance mindfulness to protect innovative performance, while simultaneously addressing the direct negative effects of smartphone addiction on routine work
Vaccination games of boundedly rational parents toward new childhood immunization
No full textInfectious diseases harm societies through disease-induced morbidity, mortality, loss of productivity, and inequality. Thus, controlling and preventing them is critical for public health and societal well-being. However, societies can hinder efforts to control the spread of diseases by failing to adhere to public health recommendations, such as through vaccine hesitancy. Various disease-transmission models have been utilized to help policymakers respond to (re)emerging outbreaks. The usefulness of such models in assessing the effectiveness of public health policies is significantly dependent on human behavior. This paper introduces a new model of parental behavior toward a new childhood immunization. The model incorporates societal features, social norms, and bounded rationality. We integrate this model with the dynamics of childhood disease, as depicted by a standard susceptible-infected-recovered model, to offer a detailed perspective on vaccine acceptance dynamics. We found that the behavioral model provides a new population game theory\u27s replicator dynamical equation with an entropy-like term. Interestingly, societal norms and bounded rationality play a crucial role in shaping vaccine uptake through a novel function, which we term the critical societal vaccine cost. The results suggest that reduced vaccine costs below the critical societal vaccine cost and higher initial acceptance rates increase the probability of disease elimination. A gradual increase in vaccination costs, as an adaptive dynamic policy for disease eradication, is also possible. In particular, strong social norms and low levels of bounded rationality positively contribute to disease eradication even when the basic reproduction number of the disease in that society is large
Photograph of a NASA Astronaut - 01
No full textColor photograph. NASA astronaut floating in space with Earth seen in the background.https://scholarworks.utrgv.edu/kikadelagarzaphotographs/1146/thumbnail.jp