Digital Commons Network^™

A Hybrid Acoustic Model For Composite Materials Composed Of Fibers And High Surface Area Particles, Zhuang Mo, Tongyang Shi, Seungkyu Lee, Yongbeom Seo, J Stuart Bolton

Publications of the Ray W. Herrick Laboratories

High surface area particles have drawn attention in the context of noise control due to their good sound absorption performance at low frequencies, which is an advantage compared with more traditional materials. That observation suggests that there is a good potential to use these particles in various scenarios, especially where low frequency noise is the main concern. To facilitate their application, composite materials are formed by dispersing particles within a fiber matrix, thus giving more flexibility in positioning those particles. In this work, a hybrid model that combines a model for limp porous materials and a model of high surface …

Mechanisms Of Neurotoxicity Associated With Exposure To The Herbicide Atrazine, Sydney C. Stradtman, Jennifer L. Freeman

School of Health Sciences Faculty Publications

Atrazine is an herbicide commonly used on crops to prevent broadleaf weeds. Atrazine is an endocrine-disrupting chemical mainly targeting the neuroendocrine system and associated axes, especially as a reproductive toxicant through attenuation of the luteinizing hormone (LH). Current regulatory levels for chronic exposure are based on no observed adverse effect levels (NOAELs) of these LH alterations in rodent studies. Atrazine has also been studied for its effects on the central nervous system and neurotransmission. The European Union (EU) recognized the health risks of atrazine exposure as a public health concern with no way to contain contamination of drinking water. As …

Clean Label In Bread, Maite Cristina Alava Vargas, Senay Simsek

Department of Food Science Faculty Publications

Bread is considered a staple food worldwide, and therefore there is much interest in research around the topic. The bread industry is usually looking for ways to improve its formulations. Therefore, other ingredients such as dough conditioners, crumb softeners, emulsifiers, and surfactants can be added to enhance bread quality. These ingredients perform functions such as helping standardize processes in the industry, reducing dough-mixing time, increasing water absorption, improving bread quality, and extending its shelf life. Consumers are concerned about the effect of these ingredients on their health, and this has increased the popularity of clean-label bread formulations. A clean label …

Designing A Computer-Vision Application: A Case Study For Hand-Hygiene Assessment In An Open-Room Environment, Chengzang Zhong, Amy R. Reibman, Hansel A. Mina, Amanda J. Deering

Department of Food Science Faculty Publications

Hand-hygiene is a critical component for safe food handling. In this paper, we apply an iterative engineering process to design a hand-hygiene action detection system to improve food- handling safety. We demonstrate the feasibility of a baseline RGB-only convolutional neural network (CNN) in the restricted case of a single scenario; however, since this baseline system performs poorly across scenarios, we also demonstrate the application of two methods to explore potential reasons for its poor performance. This leads to the development of our hierarchical system that incorporates a variety of modalities (RGB, optical flow, hand masks, and human skeleton joints) for …

Stable Thermally-Modulated Nanodroplet Ultrasound Contrast Agents, Anastasiia Vasiukhina, Javad Estraghi, Adib Ahmadzadegan, Craig J. Goergen, Pavlov P. Vlachos, Luis Solorio

School of Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications

Liquid perfluorocarbon-based nanodroplets are stable enough to be used in extravascular imaging, but provide limited contrast enhancement due to their small size, incompressible core, and small acoustic impedance mismatch with biological fluids. Here we show a novel approach to overcoming this limitation by using a heating–cooling cycle, which we will refer to as thermal modulation (TM), to induce echogenicity of otherwise stable but poorly echogenic nanodroplets without triggering a transient phase shift. We apply thermal modulation to high-boiling point tetradecafluorohexane (TDFH) nanodroplets stabilized with a bovine serum albumin (BSA) shell. BSA-TDFH nanodroplets with an average diameter under 300 nanometers showed …

Implications Of Sensory Processing And Attentional Differences Associated With Autism In Academic Settings: An Integrative Review, Courtney Mallory, Brandon Keehn

Purdue University Libraries Open Access Publishing Fund

The impact of classroom environments on student engagement and academic performance is well-documented. Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is associated with atypical sensory processing and attentional impairments, which may lead to challenges in successfully accessing educational material within these settings. These symptoms may help explain why students with ASD show discrepancies between intellectual ability and academic performance. Given the increasing number of students with ASD present in classrooms, understanding strengths and weaknesses in sensory processing and attention is necessary in order to design better classroom environments and develop more efficacious accommodations and interventions to support optimal student success. Therefore, the objectives …

Effects Of Salts On Structural, Physicochemical And Rheological Properties Of Low-Methoxyl Pectin/Sodium Caseinate Complex, Shengyu Fan, Fang Fang, Ailing Lei, Jiong Zheng, Fusheng Zhang

Department of Food Science Faculty Publications

The addition of salts is an effective way to improve the properties of polysaccharide/protein complexes for use in foods. However, there is no comparative study on the effects of different ions on the complex system of low methoxyl pectin (LMP)/ sodium caseinate (CAS) complex. The effects of different concentrations of three salt ions (Na⁺, K⁺, Ca²⁺) on the physicochemical and rheological properties of the LMP/CAS complex were determined in this study, and the structure of LMP/CAS complex was characterized. The results showed that the addition of these three salt ions affected zeta potential, particle …

Smallholder Farmers’ Perceptions Of Climate Change And Adaptation Practices For Maize Production In Eastern Ethiopia, Helen Teshome, Kindie Tesfaye, Nigussie Dechassa, Tamado Tana, Matthew Huber

Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences Faculty Publications

Climate change and variability is affecting maize (Zea mays L.) production in eastern Ethiopia but how farmers perceive the challenge and respond to it is not well documented. A study was conducted to analyze smallholder maize farmers’ perception of climate change/variability and identify their adaptation approaches and barriers for adaptation in the eastern highlands of Ethiopia. Meteorological data were assessed to provide evidence of the perceived change. A survey was conducted in six major maize-producing kebeles with a total of 364 respondents. A multi-stage sampling method was employed for selecting the sample units for the study. The data were analyzed …

Grain Handling And Storage In Lubero And Rutshuru Territories In The North Kivu Province, The Democratic Republic Of Congo, Dieudonne Baributsa, Jorge R. Díaz-Valderrama, Déogratias Mughanda, André Lubanzadio, Jean Paul C. Nshombo, Louise Sperling, Ibrahim B. Baoua

Department of Entomology Faculty Publications

Postharvest management of grain and seed is a challenge among smallholder farmers. Limited information is available on how smallholder farmers in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), who have been exposed to multiple conflicts, manage grain and seed after harvest. We interviewed 690 smallholder farmers in Lubero (Baswagha chiefdom) and Rutshuru (Bwisha and Bwito chiefdoms) territories of the North Kivu province of the DRC to assess how they dried and stored their crops. Results reveal that 95% and 80% farmers produced beans and maize, respectively. About half of respondents in Bwisha grew soybean, suggesting production diversification using conflict-resistant crops to …

Investigating The Short-Term Effects Of Cold Stress On Metabolite Responses And Metabolic Pathways In Inner-Mongolia Sanhe Cattle, Lirong Hu, Luiz F. Brito, Zaheer Abbas, Abdul Sammad, Ling Kang, Dongsheng Wang, Hongjun Wu, Airong Liu, Guiqiang Qi, Man Zhao, Yachun Wang, Qing Xu

Department of Animal Sciences Faculty Publications

Inner-Mongolia Sanhe cattle are well-adapted to low-temperature conditions, but the metabolic mechanisms underlying their climatic resilience are still unknown. Based on the ¹H Nuclear Magnetic Resonance platform, 41 metabolites were identified and quantified in the serum of 10 heifers under thermal neutrality (5 °C), and subsequent exposure to hyper-cold temperature (−32 °C) for 3 h. Subsequently, 28 metabolites were pre-filtrated, and they provided better performance in multivariate analysis than that of using 41 metabolites. This indicated the need for pre-filtering of the metabolome data in a paired experimental design. In response to the cold exposure challenge, 19 metabolites associated …

Fine Carbohydrate Structure Of Dietary Resistant Glucans Governs The Structure And Function Of Human Gut Microbiota, Arianna D. Romero Marcia, Tianming Yao, Ming-Hsu Chen, Renee E. Oles, Stephen R. Lindemann

Department of Food Science Faculty Publications

Increased dietary fiber consumption has been shown to increase human gut microbial diversity, but the mechanisms driving this effect remain unclear. One possible explanation is that microbes are able to divide metabolic labor in consumption of complex carbohydrates, which are composed of diverse glycosidic linkages that require specific cognate enzymes for degradation. However, as naturally derived fibers vary in both sugar composition and linkage structure, it is challenging to separate out the impact of each of these variables. We hypothesized that fine differences in carbohydrate linkage structure would govern microbial community structure and function independently of variation in glycosyl residue …

Dynamic Thermal Properties Estimation Using Sensitivity Coefficients For Rapid Heating Process, Anbuhkani Muniandy, Patnarin Benyathiar, Dharmendra K. Mishra, Ferhan Ozadali

Department of Food Science Faculty Publications

Thermal conductivity determination of food at temperatures > 100 °C still remains a challenge. The objective of this study was to determine the temperature-dependent thermal conductivity of food using rapid heating (TPCell). The experiments were designed based on scaled sensitivity coefficient (SSC), and the estimated thermal conductivity of potato puree was compared between the constant temperature heating at 121.10 °C (R12B10T1) and the rapid heating (R22B10T1). Temperature-dependent thermal conductivity models along with a constant conductivity were used for estimation. R22B10T1 experiment using the k model provided reliable measurements as compared to R12B10T1 with thermal conductivity values from 0.463 ± 0.011 W …

Farm Type And High Tunnel Management: Connections Between Farm Characteristics And High Tunnel Outcomes In Indiana, Analena B. Bruce, Elizabeth Maynard, Julia C.D. Valliant, James R. Farmer

Department of Horticulture & Landscape Architecture Faculty Publications

High tunnels are a low-cost technology that can strengthen local and regional food systems and have been shown to help farmers extend the growing season and increase the yield and shelf life, and improve the quality of their crops. This study addresses a need for a better understanding of farmers’ experience with integrating high tunnels into their operations, to understand the human dimensions of high tunnel management. We present an analysis of survey and interview data to examine how farm characteristics affect the outcomes of growing specialty crops in high tunnels. Our findings show that farmers managing different types of …

Prospects In Connecting Genetic Variation To Variation In Fertility In Male Bees, Garett P. Slater, Nicholas M A Smith, Brock A. Harpur

Department of Entomology Faculty Publications

Bees are economically and ecologically important pollinating species. Managed and native bee species face increasing pressures from human-created stressors such as habitat loss, pesticide use, and introduced pathogens. There has been increasing attention towards how each of these factors impacts fertility, especially sperm production and maintenance in males. Here, we turn our attention towards another important factor impacting phenotypic variation: genetics. Using honey bees as a model, we explore the current understanding of how genetic variation within and between populations contributes to variation in sperm production, sperm maintenance, and insemination success among males. We conclude with perspectives and future directions …

Cantidades Hechizadas Y Silogísticas Del Sobresalto: La Secreta Ciencia De José Lezama Lima, Ómar Vargas

Purdue Studies in Romance Literatures

Arguably the most important Cuban writer of the twentieth century, José Lezama Lima (1910–1976) is well-known as a poet, essayist, cultural promoter, and novelist, but not as a scientist. In fact, there is no evidence of any concrete relationship between him and any pure science discipline. How then it is possible to establish connections between Lezama’s literary works and the disciplines of science? How are certain scientific discoveries and developments, such as the theory of relativity, quantum mechanics, modern logic, thermodynamics, or the big bang theory, embraced in the cultural imaginary of Cuba during the first half of the twentieth …

In Vitro Antioxidant And Antihypertensive Activity Of Edible Insects Flours (Mealworm And Grasshopper) Fermented With Lactococcus Lactis Strains, Adilene Mendoza-Salazar, Lourdes Santiago-Lopez, Maria J. Torres-Llanez, Adrian Hernandez-Mendoza, Belinda Vallejo-Cordoba, Andrea M. Liceaga, Aaron E. Gonzalez-Cordova

Department of Food Science Faculty Publications

The objective of the present study was to evaluate the potential antioxidant and angiotensin converting enzyme inhibition (ACEI) activity of edible insect flours fermented with Lactococcus lactis strains. For the fermentation, mealworm and grasshoppers flours were dissolved (0.5% w/v) in buffer solution (pH 7.0) and individually inoculated (3%) with Lactococcus lactis strains (NRRL B-50571, NRRL B-50572). The samples were incubated for 72 h at 30 ◦C, and the pH was recorded. The degree of hydrolysis (DH) and protein content were determined. The total polyphenol compounds, antioxidant activity (ABTS, DPPH, ORAC, and FRAP), and ACEI of the <3 kDa fractions were ana- lyzed. The pH of the fermented samples decreased to 3.5–3.9 (p < 0.05). The fermented grasshopper flour showed an increased DH (0.42%) and overall higher total polyphenol content (8.23 mg Gallic Acid Equivalent/mL). In general, the highest antioxidant activity was for the grasshopper fractions fermented for 24 h by Lactococcus lactis NRRL B-50572, which also showed 23.47% ACEI inhibition with an IC50 of 0.97 mg/mL. The peptide profile obtained increased after fermentation, being higher for the mealworm flour fermented sample. This study presents, for the first time, the use of specific strains of Lactococus lactis for fermenting edible insect-derived products in the production of bioactive compounds with potential antioxidant and antihypertensive activity.

Socioeconomic Status Of Second-Generation Southeast Asians: New Evidence And Analysis, Wayne Carroll

Journal of Southeast Asian American Education and Advancement

Over a million refugees and other immigrants arrived in the United States from Southeast Asia starting in 1975. Forty-five years later, their adult children have completed their education in the U.S. and entered the labor force. This study uses a large microdata sample from the American Community Survey to describe and compare the socioeconomic status of Southeast Asian American adults and native-born white adults. Results are disaggregated by gender, generation (Generation 1.5 and Generation 2), and ethnic group (Hmong, other Laotian, Cambodian, and Vietnamese). Regression analysis – controlling for age, educational attainment, and other factors – shows that native-born white …

Substrate Temperature Effects On The Peel Behavior Of Temporary Pavement Marking Tapes, Hyeyoung Son, Kendra Erk, Chelsea Davis

School of Materials Engineering Faculty Publications

Temporary pavement marking (TPM) tapes are utilized In road construction to delineate temporary traffic lanes and work zones. Adhesive failure of TPM tapes can therefore remove lane and work zone designations, confusing drivers and causing serious accidents, especially in high speed zones. Thus, the adhesion of TPM tapes to pavement surface plays an important role in road construction traffic safety. Pressure sensitive adhesives (PSAs) comprise the adhesive layer of TPM tapes. The adhesion of PSAs depends on their temperature-dependent viscoelastic properties. Since environmental conditions vary during construction, the adhesion of TPM tapes will change over a range of operating temperatures. …

Formation Of Microcages From A Collagen Mimetic Peptide Via Metal-Ligand Interactions, Jeremy Gleaton, Ryan W. Curtis, Jean Chmielewski

Department of Chemistry Faculty Publications

Here, the hierarchical assembly of a collagen mimetic peptide (CMP) displaying four bipyridine moieties is described. The CMP was capable of forming triple helices followed by self-assembly into disks and domes. Treatment of these disks and domes with metal ions such as Fe(II), Cu(II), Zn(II), Co(II), and Ru(III) triggered the formation of microcages, and micron-sized cup-like structures. Mechanistic studies suggest that the formation of the microcages proceeds from the disks and domes in a metal-dependent fashion. Fluorescently-labeled dextrans were encapsulated within the cages and displayed a time-dependent release using thermal conditions.

Case Study Of An Automated Mower To Support Airport Sustainability, Sarah Hubbard, Adam Baxmeyer, Bryan Hubbard

Aviation Technology Faculty and Staff Publications

This paper documents a case study of an automated mower to support sustainability at an airport. Mowing is an essential component of an airport’s Wildlife Hazard Management Plan (WHMP), which reduces the risk of birds and other wildlife to aircraft operations. Many airports have large areas of land (hundreds or even thousands of acres), which requires significant resources to manage and mow; experience at the Purdue Airport (KLAF) suggests that automated mowing may support economic and environmental aspects of sustainability. Automated mowing supports economic efficiency by reducing personnel requirements, although personnel are still needed for inspections, maintenance, and “mower rescue” …

The Future Of Weapons Of Mass Destruction, Gavin Burn, Josiah Probst, Quintin Lemire

Student Papers in Public Policy

Since the first use of modern chemical weapons in World War I, Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMDs) have improved drastically in lethality and longevity. These advances in weapons production, coupled with civilian industries that can be rapidly converted to produce these weapons, provide a serious concern to the future of global security. For these reasons, further action is needed by stakeholders, specifically the United Nations (UN) and global superpowers, to curtail the development, proliferation, and WMDs utilization, for both domestic and international peace and prosperity. Following are two ways the future security of WMDs can be addressed by the aforementioned …

Lack Of Cybersecurity In The United States’ Critical Infrastructure, Dean Santos, Jonathan Kovacev, Kinsey Larson

Student Papers in Public Policy

Technology has revolutionized the nature of information, remote control, and communication itself, but it has also brought with it tangible dangers. Top minds in the United States, as well as the rest of the world, have seen those dangers and dedicated their work to mitigate them, developing the ideas and policies necessary to protect the nation from those dangers, and yet the actual implementation of safety measures within the nation lags behind.

In the meantime, as U.S. critical infrastructure remains woefully unprotected, the nation opens itself up to a plethora of cyber-attacks. These attacks can cause damage in many ways. …

Lethal Autonomous Weapons And Human-In-The-Chain, Ansh Desai, Jacob Harmon, Tanya Khandelwal, Kyle Vandewalle

Student Papers in Public Policy

Lethal autonomous weapon systems, or LAWS, are weapons that can select a target with the help of sensors and artificial intelligence and attack with little to no human intervention [1]. There are several economic, political, and social benefits to LAWS, but also there are risks and costs. Currently, there are no laws regulating these weapon systems, but most stakeholders are lobbying for a change in policy. This policy brief discusses three different potential states of policies: (1) no new policies to regulate LAWs, (2) a complete ban of LAWs, and (3) strict regulations regarding the use of LAWs. We recommend …

Integration Of A Smart Grid In The United States, Katie Buchholtz, Cooper Fetters, Cooper Lecomp

Student Papers in Public Policy

In February 2021, the Texas power grid experienced widespread outages for days during a severe winter storm. The lack of fine control on grid technology and modernized infrastructure left hundreds of thousands of residents freezing in their homes instead of manageable short-term rolling blackouts. The electrical grid in the United States has not sufficiently modernized to keep up with the rise in technology developing throughout the United States.

Without modernization and necessary improvements, limitations in the grid will expose themselves as widespread outages affecting residents, infrastructure, and companies across the United States. Transitioning the United States to a smart grid …

The Use Of Social Media By Terrorists, Jan Balk, Benjamin Clarke, Charles Stembler

Student Papers in Public Policy

With the rise of digital technology, particularly social media, terrorist groups have gained a valuable new tool for furthering their goals. Terrorist propaganda, for the purposes of this brief, is defined as any video, picture, post, or any other form of media posted to the internet to further the cause of the terrorist organization, such as recruitment or communication with followers around the world. The manipulation of technology by non-state actors is not a new phenomenon; however, social media and other new digital technologies have proven a valuable resource for many terrorist organizations. Not only have terrorist groups been adept …

Robust Data Submission Pipeline For Agmip Global Economics Modelers, Raziq Ramli

Discovery Undergraduate Interdisciplinary Research Internship

Agricultural Model Intercomparison and Improvement Project (AgMIP) is an international effort to improve agricultural models and scientific and technological capabilities for assessing the impacts of climate variability and other driving factors on agriculture, food security, and poverty. The Global Economics (GlobalEcon) team in AgMIP conducts extensive model intercomparison to assess the agricultural effects of climate change, bioenergy policies, and socioeconomic factors. Currently, the preparation and sharing of GlobalEcon model data are done manually, which is time-consuming and error-prone. This project aims to address this problem by designing a robust data submission pipeline capable of harmonizing data from diverse modeling groups …

Cable Manipulation With A Tactile-Reactive Gripper, Yu She, Shaoxiong Wang, Siyuan Dong, Neha Sunil, Alberto Rodriguez, Edward Adelson

School of Industrial Engineering Faculty Publications

Cables are complex, high-dimensional, and dynamic objects. Standard approaches to manipulate them often rely on conservative strategies that involve long series of very slow and incremental deformations, or various mechanical fixtures such as clamps, pins, or rings. We are interested in manipulating freely moving cables, in real time, with a pair of robotic grippers, and with no added mechanical constraints. The main contribution of this paper is a perception and control framework that moves in that direction, and uses real-time tactile feedback to accomplish the task of following a dangling cable. The approach relies on a vision-based tactile sensor, GelSight, …

Plant Dna Repair And Agrobacterium T−Dna Integration, Stanton B. Gelvin

Department of Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Agrobacterium species transfer DNA (T−DNA) to plant cells where it may integrate into plant chromosomes. The process of integration is thought to involve invasion and ligation of T-DNA, or its copying, into nicks or breaks in the host genome. Integrated T−DNA often contains, at its junctions with plant DNA, deletions of T−DNA or plant DNA, filler DNA, and/or microhomology between T-DNA and plant DNA pre-integration sites. T−DNA integration is also often associated with major plant genome rearrangements, including inversions and translocations. These characteristics are similar to those often found after repair of DNA breaks, and thus DNA repair mechanisms have …

Difficulties With Health Self-Management By Older Adults: The Role Of Well-Being, Vicki Simpson, Dongjuan Xu

School of Nursing Faculty Publications

The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between three aspects of well-being (positive and negative affect, self-realization, and self-efficacy and resilience) and disease selfmanagement or difficulties in managing care. Logistic regression models were used to analyze data from a sample of community-dwelling Medicare beneficiaries 65-years or older who participated in the National Health and Aging Trends Study and responded to well-being and engagement in health care questions (n = 1663). All three aspects of well-being were significantly associated with reduced difficulties in care management for both the participants and their family and friends who assist them. Self-efficacy …

Radiation Effects On Space Solar Cells At Various Earth And Jupiter Orbital Altitudes, Naazneen Rana

Discovery Undergraduate Interdisciplinary Research Internship

Solar cells are used as the primary power source for earth-orbiting satellites and as a primary/secondary power source for various missions within the solar system. However, high energy particles from the sun, planetary magnetospheres, and the galaxy can affect the performance and life expectancy of the space solar cell and associated power systems. As the interests for interplanetary travel and the exploration of planets within our solar system increase, the need to understand a device’s performance within a particular planet’s environment is necessary. Therefore, this study will analyze the performance of space solar cells, particularly the SolAero IMM-α, at various …