Digital Commons Network^™

Automatic Chain Cleaner, Daniel Cherenson, Rudy Lawler, Darius Rucker

Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science Independent Study

The Automatic Chain Cleaner (ACC) is a battery-powered tool that clamps onto a bicycle frame and encloses the chain while cleaning it with brushes and degreaser and/or water. The batteries power a motor that drives the chain in the reverse direction from normal bicycle use. Clamps stabilize the tool and provide a consistent and stable cleaning job. This project aims to replace the manual versions of thistool which suffer from lack of stability and a poor user experience. Ease of use and reliability are important requirements for this project. The ACC will take 4 AA batteries and will run smoothly …

Validating An Open-Source Uvlm Solver For Analyzing Flapping Wing Flight, Cameron Urban

Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science Independent Study

Scientists have long used the unsteady vortex lattice method (UVLM) to simulate flapping wing flight. However, until recently, there has not been an available open-source UVLM solver designed explicitly for this field. Ptera Software is the only open-source UVLM solver that can simulate flapping wing aerodynamics without the modifications required by other open-source solvers. This report documents the next step in the software’s development: validation of its results. Comparing Ptera Software’s output to high-fidelity experimental data of the pressures on a flapping wing robot shows that the simulated results predict the trends and magnitudes of the net lift over time …

Induced Flow In Coaxial Rotor Systems, Andrew Bergantz

Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science Independent Study

In coaxial rotor helicopter systems, both rotors of the helicopter spin in opposite directions on the same vertical axis, requiring the bottom rotor to spin faster with a higher blade pitch angle and the top rotor to spin slower with a lower blade pitch angle. This was proven by Peters and Seidel [1]. As both blades are spinning, there is an induced flow of air between the rotors. The solution of the potential flow equations shows that the flow induced by the upper rotor on the lower is related to the adjoint velocity above the rotors and the time delays …

Covid-19 Educational Inequities: Shining A Light On Disparities In A Graduate School Of Social Work, Jason Jabbari, Dan Ferris, Tyler Frank, Michal Grinstein-Weiss

Social Policy Institute Research

In the wake of COVID-19, universities and schools of social work face unprecedented challenges and uncertainty in aligning their academic models with public heath protocols and best practices, while prioritizing the safety and well-being of their students. In order to best respond to these challenges and uncertainty, more research is needed to advance a greater understanding of (1) what challenges students face, (2) who is most at risk and impacted by these challenges, and (3) how universities can best support students. Through a survey administered during the spring 2020 semester at a large research university in the Midwest, we explored …

Racial And Ethnic Disparities In Housing Instability During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Yung Chun, Stephen Roll, Selina Miller, Hedwig Lee, Savannah Larimore, Michal Grinstein-Weiss

Social Policy Institute Research

Stable and adequate housing is critical in the midst of a pandemic; without housing, individuals and families cannot shelter in place to prevent the spread of disease. Understanding and combating housing hardships in vulnerable populations is therefore essential to a sound public health response. This study aims to explore the pandemic’s disproportionate impacts on housing-related hardships across racial/ethnic groups in the United States as well as the extent to which these disparities are mediated by households’ broader economic circumstances; namely, their pre-pandemic liquid asset levels and the experience of COVID-19-related job and income losses. Using a national survey of over …

Bird Collision Mitigation Report Fall 2020, Alejandra Cohen, Brandon Trusler, Wade Wilson, Ian Mcwilliams

Sustainability Exchange

Bird Strike Mitigation Project Report for Sustainability Exchange, Washington University in St. Louis, Fall 2020

Esg Investing, Fall 2020, Juliet Kamau, Anthony Qiu, Brent Schiller, Raheem Williams, Ge Yu, Zixin Zhou

Sustainability Exchange

ESG Investing Project for Sustainability Exchange, Washington University in St. Louis, Fall 2020

Deicing Impacts On The Danforth Campus, Fall 2020, Lucy Armstrong, Kaela Evans, Kelly Fujimoto, Sydney Hornitschek, Genna Torgan

Sustainability Exchange

De-Icing Impacts on the Danforth Campus, Sustainability Exchange, Washington University in St. Louis, Fall 2020.

Charged Pore-Lining Residues Are Required For Normal Channel Kinetics In The Eukaryotic Mechanosensitive Ion Channel Msl1, Angela M. Schlegel, Elizabeth S. Haswell

Biology Faculty Publications & Presentations

Mechanosensitive (MS) ion channels are widespread mechanisms for cellular mechanosensation that can be directly activated by increasing membrane tension. The well-studied MscS family of MS ion channels is found in bacteria, archaea, and plants. MscS-Like (MSL)1 is localized to the inner mitochondrial membrane of Arabidopsis thaliana, where it is required for normal mitochondrial responses to oxidative stress. Like Escherichia coli MscS, MSL1 has a pore-lining helix that is kinked. However, in MSL1 this kink is comprised of two charged pore-lining residues, R326 and D327. Using single-channel patch-clamp electrophysiology in E. coli, we show that altering the size and …

Who Relocates, Where Do They Move, And Why?, Yung Chun, Jason Jabbari, Pranav Nandan, Andrew Foell, Michal Grinstein-Weiss

Social Policy Institute Research

The lack of socioeconomic mobility among marginalized populations leads to the concentration of poverty, a long-standing issue in American cities. Empirical studies on neighborhood effects have found that poverty concentration adversely affects the socioeconomic mobility of residents—associated with their economic well-being, employment, education, health, and safety—in lower-income neighborhoods. Through a variety of neighborhood revitalization projects, federal, state, and local governments have put enormous efforts into cutting the vicious cycle of poverty while increasing the socioeconomic mobility of lower-income households. One of these projects, the Choice Neighborhood Initiative, is a recent Federal effort to revitalize distressed public housing sites in American …

Asset-Building Policy In Korea: Innovation For Social Development, Michael Sherraden

Center for Social Development Research

This Perspective is adapted from Michael Sherraden’s keynote address given during the “Ceremony Commemorating the 20th Anniversary of Self- Sufficiency & Welfare Policy and 10th Anniversary of Asset- Building Policy” in Korea. The Perspective is presented through a partnership between the Center for Social Development, the Korean Ministry of Health & Welfare, and the Korea Development Institute for Self-Sufficiency & Welfare.

It Shouldn’T Take A Pandemic To Increase School Meal Access For Low-Income Students: A Two-Step Floating Catchment Area Analysis Of School Meal Access During Covid-19, Jason Jabbari, Yung Chun, Pranav Nandan, Laura Mcdermott, Tyler Frank, Dan Ferris, Sarah Moreland-Russell, Stephen Roll

Social Policy Institute Research

COVID-19 created an additional barrier for students who benefit from free school meals. While some schools attempted to provide alternative meal access points, many students lack adequate transportation. Thus, physical proximity to meal access points is particularly important during the pandemic. Taking into account both the “supply” and the “demand” for free meals, we employed a two-step floating catchment area analysis to analyze meal accessibility in St. Louis, MO. Overall, while meal access during the spring 2020 semester was substantially lower than the spring 2019 semester, meal access during the 2020 summer was substantially higher than the 2019 summer. Moreover, …

Income Loss And Financial Distress During Covid-19: The Protective Role Of Liquid Assets, Stephen Roll, Mathieu Despard

Social Policy Institute Research

Nearly a quarter of U.S. households have experienced job or income losses related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Liquid assets mitigate financial distress in the face of financial shocks such as job loss, yet this relationship in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic is unknown. Using a nationally representative sample of U.S. households (N = 4,383) who completed a survey in the early days of the pandemic, we examined pre-pandemic liquid assets as a moderator of the relationship between job and income loss and difficulty meeting financial obligations and use of high-cost financial resources. Estimates from propensity score-weighted linear probability models …

Financial Capability And Asset Building In Social And Economic Development: Advancing The Sustainable Development Goals, David Ansong, Moses Okumu, Jin Huang`, Margaret S. Sherraden, Lissa Johnson, Li Zou

Center for Social Development Research

The concern for economic well-being undergirds most of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. This Perspective articulates an agenda for advancing those goals in resource-constrained countries by leveraging financial capability and asset-building (FCAB) strategies. It also specifies a role for financial technology (commonly called “FinTech”) in this work. The authors conclude with a call for better integrating FCAB and FinTech into plans for advancing the SDGs.

Thirty-Third Annual Bibliography 2019 (Mike Lützeler Contemporary German Literature Collection), Walter Schlect, Theresa Sambruno Spannhoff, Paul Michael Lützeler

University Libraries Publications

The 33rd bibliography of 717 volumes added to Washington University Libraries' Mike Lützeler Contemporary German Literature Collection. All published in 2019, these acquisitions include novels, poetry, short story collections, graphic novels, essays, autobiographical works, and literary and cultural periodicals from publishers in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Organized by author or editor, the bibliography includes local call numbers as well as subject and genre descriptors. This Collection serves as the research arm for the Department of Germanic Languages and Literature's Max Kade Center for Contemporary German Literature. A bibliography of items added the previous year is compiled each year …

Insights From State Treasurers: Developing And Implementing Statewide Child Development Account Policies, Chris Leiker, Margaret M. Clancy, Michael Sherraden

Center for Social Development Research

In 2018 and 2019, Pennsylvania, Nebraska, Illinois, and California enacted laws creating automatic, universal, at-birth CDA policies, and in 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic halted the progress of CDA bills in Missouri. Several states previously adopted CDA policies by administrative rule. This Policy Summary presents insights from four state treasurers based on their direct experience developing statewide CDA policy through legislation.

On July 16, 2020, the treasurers and other professionals gathered virtually for “All Children Can Reach Their Potential: A CDA Conference.” In a panel discussion moderated by Missouri State Treasurer Fitzpatrick, Pennsylvania State Treasurer Joe Torsella, …

Leadership Through An Indigenous Lens, Kelley Mccall

Buder Center for American Indian Studies Research

Indigenous leaders are found throughout history, across the globe. Indigenous leaders have been present long before European settlers colonized lands. These leaders possessed qualities, worked within frameworks, and created strategies to successfully lead their people and nations. For the purposes of this brief, examples used will be of American Indians/First Nations leaders.

Single‐Molecule 3d Orientation Imaging Reveals Nanoscale Compositional Heterogeneity In Lipid Membranes, Jin Lu, Hesam Mazidi, Tianben Ding, Oumeng Zhang, Matthew D. Lew

Electrical & Systems Engineering Publications and Presentations

In soft matter, thermal energy causes molecules to continuously translate and rotate, even in crowded environments, thereby impacting the spatial organization and function of most molecular assemblies, such as lipid membranes. Directly measuring the orientation and spatial organization of large collections (>3000 molecules μm⁻²) of single molecules with nanoscale resolution remains elusive. In this paper, we utilize SMOLM, single‐molecule orientation localization microscopy, to directly measure the orientation spectra (3D orientation plus “wobble”) of lipophilic probes transiently bound to lipid membranes, revealing that Nile red's (NR) orientation spectra are extremely sensitive to membrane chemical composition. SMOLM images resolve …

Cash Transfers And Health, Sicong Sun, Jin Huang, Darrell Hudson, Michael Sherraden

Center for Social Development Research

Financial resources are known to affect health outcomes. Many types of social policies and programs, including social assistance and social insurance, have been implemented around the world to increase financial resources. As an overall term, we refer to these as cash transfers. In this article, we discuss whether, how, for whom, and to what extent purposeful cash transfers may improve health, both theoretically and empirically. The overall finding is that cash transfers are very positive, but as usual, there are many complexities and variations. Continuing research and policy innovation—for example, universal basic income and universal Child Development Accounts—are likely to …

Child Development Accounts Improve Parenting Practices, Particularly For Financially Vulnerable Families, Jin Huang

Center for Social Development Research

Parenting practices, such as parental involvement and discipline, define parent–child interactions and influence child functioning. Child Development Accounts may have positive impacts on parenting practices by increasing parents’ perceived levels of economic safety, enhancing their optimism regarding the long-term development of their child, and improving parents’ mental health. This research brief synthesizes findings of the CDA effects on parenting practices from three research studies in the SEED for Oklahoma Kids experiment.

Findings show that the SEED OK CDA has significantly reduced mothers’ punitive parenting practices, and also increased positive parenting practices among mothers in financially vulnerable families. The size of …

Structural Mechanism For Gating Of A Eukaryoticmechanosensitive Channel Of Small Conductance, Zengqin Deng, Grigory Maksaev, Angela M. Schlegel, Jingying Zhang, Michael Rau, James A.J. Fitzpatrick, Elizabeth S. Haswell, Peng Yuan

Biology Faculty Publications & Presentations

Mechanosensitive ion channels transduce physical force into electrochemical signaling that underlies an array of fundamental physiological processes, including hearing, touch, proprioception, osmoregulation, and morphogenesis. The mechanosensitive channels of small conductance (MscS) constitute a remarkably diverse superfamily of channels critical for management of osmotic pressure. Here, we present cryo-electron microscopy structures of a MscS homolog from Arabidopsis thaliana, MSL1, presumably in both the closed and open states. The heptameric MSL1 channel contains an unusual bowl-shaped transmembrane region, which is reminiscent of the evolutionarily and architecturally unrelated mechanosensitive Piezo channels. Upon channel opening, the curved transmembrane domain of MSL1 flattens and expands. …

Strategies For Debt Reduction: Comparing Financial Tips And Financial Counseling, Sophia Fox-Dichter, Madi M. Ryan, Olga Kondratjeva, Stephen Roll

Social Policy Institute Research

U.S. households hold increasingly more debt, with almost 80% of adults holding debt of some form.1 While ownership of debt is widespread, debt burdens can be particularly challenging for low-income households; debt-to-income ratios can be three times higher for these households compared to those with high-incomes.2 Debt reduction has thus become an aim of initiatives to help lower-income Americans increase their financial well-being. This brief examines two different mechanisms for delivering debt management advice and describes the success of each method in helping individuals reduce their debt.

The Mechanosensitive Ion Channel Msl10 Potentiates Responses To Cell Swelling In Arabidopsis Seedlings, Debarati Basu, Elizabeth S. Haswell

Biology Faculty Publications & Presentations

The ability to respond to unanticipated increases in volume is a fundamental property of cells, essential for cellular integrity in the face of osmotic challenges. Plants must manage cell swelling during flooding, rehydration, and pathogen invasion-but little is known about the mechanisms by which this occurs. It has been proposed that plant cells could sense and respond to cell swelling through the action of mechanosensitive ion channels. Here, we characterize a new assay to study the effects of cell swelling on Arabidopsis thaliana seedlings and to test the contributions of the mechanosensitive ion channel MscS-like10 (MSL10). The assay incorporates both …

Textile Dispenser, Sabrina Nguyen, Syeda Mohsin

Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science Independent Study

The purpose of this study was to improve the design of the first prototype of the Textile Dispenser developed in MEMS 411. However, in light of COVID-19, we shifted our primary focus to exploring and drawing out several different design directions that both build off of our initial prototype and implement newer insights from our research. While we were unable to create a physical prototype, our conceptualizations offer a full-bodied, comprehensive imagination of our brainstorming process and in-depth design-thinking that could be used as a framework for future projects that aim to make fashion sustainable. This report outlines the extensive …

State License Renewal Information For Licensed Professional Counselors And Addiction Counselors, Kelley Mccall, Lindsey Manshack

Buder Center for American Indian Studies Research

The purpose of this document is to provide an analysis of continuing education requirements for professional counselors and addiction counselors by state. The chart below shows 1) Profession Title(s), 2) Allowable CE sources, 3) CE Hours/Topic Requirements, 4) Training Type/Delivery Methods, and 5) Renewal Fees.

Please carefully read your state licensure renewal requirements. State laws often change, so please remember it is your responsibility for interpreting your state’s laws, licensure requirements, course relevancy, and all requirements for your state. Note: The CE Allowable Sources section listings are not an exhaustive list. Please consult the state’s licensing board for a complete …

Accountable Policing: Policies To Advance The Personal Safety Of Black Boys And Young Men, Robert Motley

Center for Social Development Research

The policies and practices that perpetuate the continual, unjust murder of Black males by the nation’s law-enforcement professionals have gone unchanged for far too long. This Brief Report from HomeGrown StL provides local, state, and federal policymakers with concrete, evidence-based policy recommendations for building an equitable, transparent, and accountable public-safety approach that will serve and protect all.

Social Work And The Future Of Policing: Key Points For Changes In Policy And Practice, Michael Sherraden

Center for Social Development Research

High-profile police violence and killings have prompted struggles to reconceptualize public order, safety and justice. As reform proposals emerge, this brief proposes key elements for new approach to public safety: an expanded professional partnership between police and social workers.

Viscoelasticity And Spectral Analysis With Tikhonov Regularization, Ethan Hoppe

Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science Independent Study

The focus of this independent study is an in-depth study of viscoelasticity and the mechanisms to obtaining a viscoelastic spectrum from stress data. The independent study begins with a study of simple models such as the Maxwell, Kelvin, and Zener models. It then proceeds to biphasic models associated with Biot theory, as expounded upon by Mow and co-workers. The paper culminates with a study of spectral methods and Tikhonov regularization for the spectral analysis of material behavior, including noise sensitivity and signal-noise information.

Material Hardship Among Lower-Income Households: The Role Of Liquid Assets And Place, Mathieu Despard, Valerie Taing, Addie Weaver, Stephen Roll, Michal Grinstein-Weiss

Social Policy Institute Research

Lower income households are at risk for material hardship, particularly amidst the economic fallout of COVID-19. Where one lives (e.g. suburb, small town) may affect this risk due to variable access to resources, yet the evidence is mixed concerning the influence of place. We used a pooled, national cross-sectional sample of 66,046 lower-income tax filers to examine differences in material hardship in rural, small town, micropolitan, and urban areas. Controlling only for standard demographic variables, hardship risk appears higher in non-urban areas, yet these differences disappear after controlling for financial characteristics such as liquid assets and home ownership.

Employee Financial Wellness Programs: Tips For Employers, Sloane Wolter, Jenna Hampton Bsw, Sophia Fox-Dichter, Ellen Frank-Miller

Social Policy Institute Research

There are several types of Employee Financial Wellness Programs (EFWPs), such as workplace financial counseling, workplace credit building, and employer-sponsored small dollar loans. Each program benefits the company and its employees in different ways.

The Social Policy Institute at Washington University in St. Louis, with generous support from the W. K. Kellogg Foundation, studied the implementation of EFWPs at several diverse organizations, including a nonprofit in the Midwest and several supply chain locations of a national retailer, to understand the impact. As a result, we’ve identified four ways in which organizations can maximize the benefits of EFWPs and avoid pitfalls …