Dr. Robert (Drew) Fleming, assistant professor of mechanical engineering, is principal investigator (PI) for a new planning grant from the National Science Foundation’s Campus Infrastructure program. The co-PIs are Dr. Jonathan Stubblefield, assistant director of the Center for No-Boundary Thinking; Dr. Alexandr Sokolov, assistant professor of engineering management and construction management and program director; and Dr. Sudeepa Bhattacharyya, professor of biomedical and health informatics, University of Missouri System. Details are in a news release.

Shake Ibna Abir, instructor in mathematics, is corresponding author of an article published in IEEE Xplore. In the article, Abir and associates described a novel model combining Vision Transformers (ViTs), Explainable AI (XAI) with Grad-CAM, and token-merging methods for high-precision MRI-based brain tumor detection. This research demonstrates the application of RanMerFormer in clinical practice to classify MRI scans as glioma, meningioma, pituitary tumors, or no tumor in the regions of the brain.

A study led by Dr. Fabricio Medina-Bolivar, professor of plant metabolic engineering, Biological Sciences and Arkansas Biosciences institute, and his research team describes the production and discovery of anti-inflammatory and antibacterial compounds with potential application in human health. The paper was published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. The first author is Gaurav Gajurel, molecular biosciences Ph.D. student. Co-authors include Dr. Amit Raj Sharma, Salma Abdel-Karim, Carlos Balmaceda, and A-State faculty Drs. Abrar Alam and Robert Shields. Co-authors also include collaborators at the National Center for Natural Products Research.

A paper co-authored by Dr. Pankaj Nagpal, assistant professor of information systems and business analytics, has been accepted for publication in the journal Empirical Economics Letters. Utilizing econometric methods and U.S. Census data, Nagpal and his co-authors provide an analysis explaining the impact of small and medium enterprises on real estate prices and the well-being of American industrial Midwest. Nagpal worked with colleagues at the State University of New York.

Dr. Scott Bruce, professor of athletic training and assistant dean for research, is lead author of an article published in the International Journal of Athletic Therapy and Training. The co-authors are Presley Pierce and Jenna Love, recent graduates of the master’s program in athletic training. Their research featured a reliability study of a cell phone-based application that can be utilized for pupillary light reflex assessment. The article is online.