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Data-Driven Predictive Mathematical Model of Fish Population Dynamics

Mathematics

Studying population dynamics is key to protecting vital aquatic ecosystems and the economic activities they support, such as those of the Chesapeake Bay. Mathematics is a powerful tool that…

Data Set Filtering for Microlensing-Effect Identification

Physics and Astronomy

The effects of spacetime curvature, described in General Relativity, are made visible to us through gravitational lensing phenomena. Microlensing events (ML events) represent a type of gravi…

Debunked: Steroid Risk in Systemic Sclerosis

Biomedical and Health Sciences

Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is an autoimmune disease with multiple organ involvement, including lung, skin, gastrointestinal tract, and kidneys. A subset of SSc patients develops a critical ren…

Deciphering DUX4 (Year II): Is Transient Expression of the DUX4 Gene Sufficient to Cause Muscular Dystrophy?

Biomedical and Health Sciences

Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD) is a genetic, progressive myopathy and the second most common muscular dystrophy. Progression of the disease primarily begins in the facial, sho…

Decoding ASXL3: A Novel Biomarker for Neurodevelopmental Disorders

Cellular and Molecular Biology First Award

In a recent study, 33% of individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) carried mutations in ASXL3, whose function is unknown. To understand ASXL3’s role in NDDs, we used CRISPR techn…

Decoding Climate Resilience: Functional Profiling of Protein Phosphatase 2C Family Genes for Abiotic Stress Tolerance in Rice

Plant Sciences

Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is a staple food, providing 20% of the caloric needs for half of the global population. Rice production is adversely affected by abiotic stresses such as drought, sali…

Deep Generative Modelling for Robust fMRI Denoising

Biomedical Engineering

Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) is pivotal in understanding brain activity, but its efficacy is often hampered by slice-timing correction artifacts known as 'zebra-artifacts'. T…

Deep Learning Based Automated Platform for Sarcopenia Assessment and Outcomes Analysis in Head and Neck Cancer

Women’s Hospital The body composition status, which characterizes the levels of muscle and adipose tissue in a person’s body, is closely linked to cancer treatment risks and survival. Sarcop…

Deep Learning Based Brain-Computer Interface for Motor Actions

Robotics and Intelligent Machines

Brain-computer interface (BCI) enables direct communication between the brain and external devices, with applications ranging from the rehabilitation of motor disabilities to enhance human-c…

Deep Learning-Based Microscope Image Analysis for Cell Viability Estimation in MTT Assays

Computational Biology and Bioinformatics

Cell viability analysis (MTT assay) can detect subtle changes in cellular metabolic activity at low concentrations, providing a sensitive assessment of cytotoxicity and survival capability.…

Deep Learning Multi Modal Melanoma Detection

Translational Medical Science

The visual similarity of melanoma and seborrheic keratosis has made it difficult for elderly patients with disabilities to know when to seek medical attention, contributing to the metastasis…

Deep Learning on a Novel Ising Model To Study Arctic Sea Ice Dynamics

Physics and Astronomy Second Award

The centennial Ising model, which was initially proposed to explain ferromagnetism and phase transitions, has become a central pillar of statistical physics and a powerful tool in diverse ap…

DeepRet: Novel Multi-Stage Deep Learning-Based Low-Cost Retinal Imaging System to Enable Accessible Glaucoma Screening in Low-Resource Environments

Biomedical Engineering Fourth Award

The world's leading cause of irreversible blindness, glaucoma is an aggressive collection of progressive optic neuropathies degrading the retina-brain connection. The primary challenge of gl…

Deep-Sea Octocoral Biogeography: Exploring Genetic and Oceanographic Patterns through MutS Phylogenetic Analysis

Animal Sciences Fourth Award

Despite covering less than one percent of the ocean floor, coral reefs sustain an estimated one-third of all known marine species, with most coral species inhabiting deep or cold waters acro…

Degradation of Residual Dyes from the Hydrolysis of PETE Plastic

Plastic pollution remains a problem, with over 170 trillion pieces of plastic in the world's oceans. A process that can efficiently degrade PETE plastic is hydrolysis, where the PETE is brok…

DEList: Identifying Cancer Genes Associated With Circadian Regulator ARNTL2 Using a Novel RNA-Seq Multi-Dataset Strategy

Biomedical and Health Sciences Third Award

Circadian disruptions have been implicated in the oncogenesis of multiple cancers. However, the underlying mechanisms linking circadian rhythms and cell cycles remain unclear, posing a signi…

Democratizing Desalination: Study of Materials and Methods To Make Desalination Less Energy Intensive and Affordable

Environmental Engineering Third Award

Many in my grandfather's village are engaged in manual salt-farming, spending long hours by the sea under the blazing sun with little access to potable water. I researched suitable materials…

Democratizing Multi-Species Object Detection in Drone Imagery for Cost-Effective Population Monitoring of Endangered Animals

Robotics and Intelligent Machines

Animal populations worldwide are rapidly declining, and a low-cost, efficient technology that can accurately count endangered species could be vital for monitoring population changes over ma…

DengueScreen: A Novel Computer Vision-Based Diagnostic Alternative for Dengue Fever Prioritizing Efficiency, Cost-Effectiveness, and Accuracy

Biomedical Engineering

Dengue (break-bone fever) is an endemic viral infection in more than 100 countries. Each year, approximately 3.9 billion people are at risk. Dengue fever infects 100-400 million of them. It…

De Novo Drug Design as GPT Language Modeling: Large Chemistry Models with Supervised and Reinforcement Learning

In recent years, generative machine learning algorithms have been successful in designing innovative drug- like molecules. SMILES is a sequence -like language used in most effective drug des…

De Novo Drug Design as GPT Language Modeling: Large Chemistry Models With Supervised and Reinforcement Learning

Computational Biology and Bioinformatics Second Award

In recent years, generative machine learning algorithms have been successful in designing innovative drug-like molecules. SMILES is a sequence-like language used in most effective drug desig…

Depolymerization of PLA Plastics: A Novel Investigation of the Effect of Iron and Zinc Catalysts on Biodegradable Compounds

The use of biodegradable plastics is becoming more and more widespread, and this project’s aim is to depolymerize manufactured PLA products in order to obtain reusable polylactic acid. Zinc…

Design and Analysis of Non-Pneumatic Tires With Hybrid Metamaterial Spoke: A Novel Approach

Engineering Technology: Statics & Dynamics Fourth Award

As the market for Off-the-Road (OTR) tires grows (annual growth of 5.2%, valuing at $32 billion), consumers continue to demand driving efficiency and productivity, even as the equipment plac…

Design And Construction of an Articulated Prosthetic Prototype Based on Fiberglass and Polylactic Acid for the Front Leg of a Canis Lupus familiaris

Mrs. Linda Correa, UPRP The demand for prostheses for animals is still low, mainly due to the cost involved. A prosthesis is a device designed to replace a body part. These devices can be us…

Design and Development of an Open-Source, Myo-Electric Robotic Upper Limb Prosthesis Using Additive Manufacturing

Biomedical Engineering Third Award

Background: Developing functional prostheses for the upper limb has historically posed challenges. Amputation of the hand due to military combat injury, disease, or other trauma carries sign…

Design and Evaluation of a Trap for Tracking the Settling Preferences of Adolescent Crabs

The purpose of this study was to design a trap that would be used to track whether or not crabs during their megalopa stage had a settlement preference. Knowing their settlement preferences…

Design and Testing of a Floating Archimedes' Screw Turbine

Engineering Technology: Statics & Dynamics

The Archimedes screw is one of the most recent editions in the wave of renewable energy. The obstacles posed by a regions geography for the construction of industrial plants and the devastat…

Design, Facile Synthesis, and Evaluation of a Chalcone-Based Small Molecule ULK1 Agonist for the Treatment of Huntington’s Disease

Huntington’s Disease (HD) is a fatal neurodegenerative disorder caused by a mutation in the huntingtin gene (HTT). This abnormal sequence codes for a mutated version of the huntingtin protei…

Designing a Cost-Effective Lateral Flow Assay for Hypercalcemia Detection and Formulation of Therapeutic Supplements to Modulate Serum Calcium Concentrations

Biochemistry

Hypercalcemia is a condition where the levels of calcium in the blood are greater than normal, having the ability to weaken bones, create kidney stones, and disrupt the heart and brain conne…

Designing a Drone-Based Sensor Deployment for Improved Forest Monitoring

Robotics and Intelligent Machines

Within forest ecosystems, there is a need to collect real-time data on insect outbreaks, disease outbreaks, wildfires, pollution, and climate change impacts. Engineers have used systems, suc…