Georgia Southern University

Deep Learning for Protein Secondary-Structure Segmentation in Intermediate-Resolution Cryo-EM Maps: A Resolution-Stratified Benchmark Dataset and Controlled Evaluation

Abstract Accurate segmentation of protein secondary structures in cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) maps is crucial for protein tracing and atomic model building, yet remains challenging at intermediate resolutions. Although deep learning architectures have recently been applied...

Long COVID and Incident Multimorbidity in the United States: Evidence from a Nationally Representative Longitudinal Study

Background/Objectives: Long COVID has been associated with elevated risks of individual chronic conditions, but its association with the transition to multimorbidity remains unclear. This study aims to examine whether retrospective COVID-19 status was associated with incident mul...

The Role of Artificial Intelligence in Research-Based Educational Products

This special issue brings together 11 manuscripts that examine the evolving role of artificial intelligence (AI) in research-based educational products and practices, with particular attention to students with disabilities and the educators who support them. Across empirical stud...

Vaccine recipient and volunteer experiences from COVID-19 mass vaccine clinics at a university campus: drive-through and walk-through approaches

Purpose This cross-sectional study characterized the implementation and differences between drive-through (DTCs) and walk-through vaccination clinics (WTCs) during a 2021 mass vaccination effort at Georgia Southern (GS) University to inform future clinic designs. Methods Students...

Leaf damage is associated with alteration of microbiome composition and abundance in the Spartina alterniflora phyllosphere

ABSTRACT Spartina alterniflora , the dominant plant species in salt marshes along the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coastlines of the Americas, is affected by disease and sudden vegetation dieback. Despite the foundational role of S. alterniflora in low-elevation salt marshes, the...

Interval-Censored Survival Analysis: A Comparative Monte Carlo Study of Weibull AFT and Cox Proportional Hazards Models

This study investigates the comparative performance of the Weibull accelerated failure time (AFT) model and the Cox proportional hazards (PH) model for interval-censored Weibull data. The study emphasizes baseline survival function precision and confidence interval coverage at ke...

Eating disorder-related content in Reddit suicidal ideation posts: an LLM-assisted analysis of mental health comorbidities, substance use, and demographic patterns

Eating disorders are severe psychiatric conditions characterized by a markedly elevated risk of suicidal ideation and behavior. Although prior research has documented these associations in clinical settings, the underlying psychosocial and behavioral dynamics of such co-occurrenc...

Examining the Role of Race and Sector of Employment in Public Participation

With the racial gap in political-electoral participation well established in the U.S., less is known about racial disparities in other forms of public engagement in governance. This study examines racial differences across nine distinct public participation strategies. It also in...

Beyond the Classroom: Factors Associated with Job-Related Suicide Among Educators

Going beyond the classroom, this study emphasized the well-being and support of educators, shifting focus from the traditional emphasis on students. Leveraging the National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS) dataset, this study identified preceding factors and salient qualita...

Scale-Dependent Gravity in Quantum Cosmology I: Singularity-Avoiding Sectors and Semiclassical Dynamics

We study an effective quantum cosmological model with a scale-dependent gravitational coupling G(a). Starting from a Newtonian cosmological construction inspired by a corrected two-body gravitational potential, we derive an effective Friedmann-type equation and quantize the corre...

Enhanced seam segmentation for automated welding robot in construction through transfer learning: addressing limitations of bilateral segmentation network

Reliable weld seam segmentation is essential for autonomous robotic welding in construction, where severe illumination changes, specular reflections, and thin weld geometries frequently degrade segmentation performance. This paper proposes a lightweight post-training optimization...

Associations of multiple core stability aspects with drop jump performance

Abstract Background Drop jump performance (DJ) is essential for many ball sports. Core stability (CS) contributes to trunk control and lower-limb capacity during jump movements. The objective of this study was to investigate the relationships between multiple CS aspects and DJ pe...

Shadow signals at sea: Spatial patterns of dark vessels flying flags-of-convenience and maritime crime risk in West Africa

Commercial fishing vessels that disable their automatic identification system (AIS) transponders, commonly referred to as dark vessels, pose a growing challenge for maritime governance, environmental monitoring, and preventing illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing. A...

Transdiagnostic EEG Signatures in ASD and ADHD: A Comparative Review of Computational Biomarkers and Neuromodulatory Interventions

Background/Objectives: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are frequently co-occurring neurodevelopmental conditions with partially overlapping neurophysiological profiles. Electroencephalography (EEG) provides non-invasive access to...

Assessing Population Vulnerability to Water Service Disruptions: A Targeted Index to Inform Infrastructure Planning and Management

Abstract Water distribution systems are critical to the stability and well-being of communities but remain highly vulnerable to disruptions from natural disasters and aging. These disruptions do not impact all populations equally, making it essential to incorporate differential v...

The Degrees of Equity Grading Scale: Assessing Racial Representation in Georgia's Largest Gifted Programs

Empirical research consistently documents the persistent underrepresentation of Black students in gifted education, prompting this investigation of racial equity in Georgia's gifted programs. Data were collected from the Office for Civil Rights (2017–2018) across the state's five...

Insights from Explainable AI-Assisted Microbial SourceTracking in an Urban Watershed

Abstract Microbial contamination in urban watersheds poses significant challenges for public health, yet traditional monitoring offers limited insight into identifying contamination sources or environmental drivers. This study integrates chip-based digital polymerase chain reacti...