Digital Commons Network^™

Comparative Analysis Of Different Magnetic Anomaly Datasets Using Navigation Performance With Flight Test Data, Aaron P. Nielsen, Brandon M. Blakely, Patrick Duff

Faculty Publications

Magnetic Anomaly Navigation (MagNav) is a map-based method of navigation which relies on accurately obtaining the anomaly field to a high level of precision to achieve good navigation results. This requires utilizing high quality sensors, accurately modeling disturbance fields from the aircraft & other sources, and creating high-fidelity maps. Aeromagnetic survey data or marine track survey data must be processed into a product that can be used as a reference for a magnetic navigator and a variety of techniques can be utilized for this processing. The data collection for different survey types reflects choices typically made to study the underlying …

I Do, And I Will: Effectual Religiosity May Strengthen The Triad Chord Of Commitment For Women Of Faith, Tamara M. Chamberlain, Loren Marks, David C. Dollahite, Ashley Lebaron-Black, Elizabeth Kay Madsen, Christina N. Cooper

Faculty Publications

Although religiosity is commonly linked to marital satisfaction in sociological research, few studies have examined how it strengthens marital commitment among women of faith. This study explored the perspectives of religious, heterosexual married women using interviews in the United States from 196 highly religious couples with successful marriages. Three core themes emerged: (1) personal commitment—including the decision to marry, religious beliefs and practices, and the need for effort and sacrifice; (2) moral commitment—highlighting sexual relations before marriage, promises made before God, family, and friends, and views on fidelity and divorce; and (3) structural commitment— emphasizing the role of a religious …

Development Of Respiratory Sinus Arrhythmia In Young Infants With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Preterm Birth, And Typical Development, Jessica Bradshaw, John E. Richards, Julia Yurkovic-Harding, Eilis Mclaughlin

Faculty Publications

Respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) is a key index of parasympathetic function and environmental adaptability. Lower resting RSA has been linked to preterm (PT) birth in infancy and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in childhood, yet RSA across the first 2 years in young infants born PT or later diagnosed with ASD remains unknown. This study examined resting RSA and mean interbeat interval (IBI) development from 1 to 24 months in infants at varying ASD likelihoods, including infant siblings of children with ASD and those born PT. A longitudinal design tracked resting RSA and mean IBI in 137 infants from 1 to …

Surprisingly Robust Photochemistry In Subarctic Particles During Winter: Evidence From Photooxidants, Laura M. D. Heinlein, Junwei He, Michael Oluwatoyin Sunday, Fangzhou Guo, James Campbell, Allison Moon, Sukriti Kapur, Ting Fang, Kasey Edwards, Meeta Cesler-Maloney, Alyssa J. Burns, Jack E. Dibb, William Simpson, Manabu Shiraiwa, Becky Alexander, Jingqiu Mao, James H. Flynn Iii, Jochen Stutz, Cort Anastasio

Faculty Publications

Subarctic cities notoriously experience severe winter pollution episodes with fine particle (PM2.5) concentrations above 35 µg m−3, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 24 h standard. While winter sources of primary particles in Fairbanks, Alaska, have been studied, the chemistry driving secondary particle formation is elusive. Biomass burning is a major source of wintertime primary particles, making the PM2.5 rich in light-absorbing brown carbon (BrC). When BrC absorbs sunlight, it produces photooxidants – reactive species potentially important for secondary sulfate and secondary organic aerosol formation – yet photooxidant measurements in high-latitude PM2.5 remain scarce. During the winter of 2022 Alaskan …

Computational Detection Of Articulation Transients In Clarinet Performance, Whitney L. Coyle, Max Griffin, Makayle S. Kellison

Faculty Publications

Accurate measurement of note-to-note transitions is essential for analyzing articulation in clarinet performance. Traditional methods rely on either subjective amplitude thresholds—such as the time between 5% and 95% RMS levels—or direct measurement of tongue-reed contact time using reed-mounted sensors. These approaches are limited by their dependence on user-defined parameters or invasive hardware. This study proposes a computational alternative: ΔT, a curvature-based metric defined as the time interval between surrounding minima in the second derivative of the mouthpiece pressure envelope. Using data from a sensor-equipped mouthpiece (SEM), we compare ΔT to both threshold-based timing (T_t) …

Feasibility Evaluation Of Secure Offline Large Language Models With Retrieval-Augmented Generation For Cpu-Only Inference, Erick Tyndall, Torrey J. Wagner, Colleen Gayheart, Alexandre Some, Brent T. Langhals

Faculty Publications

Recent advances in large language models and retrieval-augmented generation, a method that enhances language models by integrating retrieved external documents, have created opportunities to deploy AI in secure, offline environments. This study explores the feasibility of using locally hosted, open-weight large language models with integrated retrieval-augmented generation capabilities on CPU-only hardware for tasks such as question answering and summarization. The evaluation reflects typical constraints in environments like government offices, where internet access and GPU acceleration may be restricted. Four models were tested using LocalGPT, a privacy-focused retrieval-augmented generation framework, on two consumer-grade systems: a laptop and a workstation. A technical …

Impact Of Retrieval Augmented Generation And Large Language Model Complexity On Undergraduate Exams Created And Taken By Ai Agents, Erick S. Tyndall, Colleen Gayheart, Alexandre Some, Joseph Genz, Torrey J. Wagner, Brent T. Langhals

Faculty Publications

The capabilities of large language models (LLMs) have advanced to the point where entire textbooks can be queried using retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), enabling AI to integrate external, up-to-date information into its responses. This study evaluates the ability of two OpenAI models, GPT-3.5 Turbo and GPT-4 Turbo, to create and answer exam questions based on an undergraduate textbook. 14 exams were created with four true-false, four multiple-choice, and two short-answer questions derived from an open-source Pacific Studies textbook. Model performance was evaluated with and without access to the source material using text-similarity metrics such as ROUGE-1, cosine similarity, and word embeddings. …

Tort Liability For Failure To Age Gate: A Promising Regulatory Response To Digital Public Health Hazards, Matthew B. Lawrence, Brett Frischmann, Avi Sholkoff

Faculty Publications

Tort liability for failure to “age gate” is a promising legal response to the public health hazards of AI, social media, sports gambling, and other digital spaces. Tort liability for failure to “age gate” hinges liability for harms to minors on an app’s failure to take reasonable steps to prevent minors from gaining access or otherwise to apply appropriate governance rules, such as privacy-protective default settings or ensuring genuine parental consent. While no one legal response is a panacea, tort liability for failure to age gate carries several distinctive advantages that make it a particularly promising option at this stage …

Working Group Report: Developing A Playbook Of Equitable Grading Practices, Stephen H. Edwards, David L. Largent, Ben Schafer, Debarati Basu, Amy Csizmar Dalal, Dan Garcia, Brian Harrington, Kevin Lin, Dan S. Myers, Christian Roberson, Giulia Toti, Brett Wortzman

Faculty Publications

Traditional points-based grading can have negative impacts. As a result, many educators are experimenting with alternative grading practices that are more equitable for students. However, educators often face challenges in implementing equitable grading practices due to a lack of clear, practical descriptions of techniques and the fact that not all techniques are universally applicable. This working group addresses this problem using a three-pronged strategy: conducting a systematic literature review to gather documented techniques, compiling ''recipes'' or concrete descriptions of these techniques, and publishing them in an open-source, online ''playbook'' of equitable grading practices as a community resource for educators. This …

Exploring Different Metal-Oxide Cathode Materials For Structural Lithium-Ion Batteries Using Dip-Coating, David Petrushenko, Thomas Burns, Paul Ziehl, Ralph E. White, Paul T. Coman

Faculty Publications

In this study, a selection of active materials were coated onto commercially available intermediate modulus carbon fibers to form and analyze the performance of novel composite cathodes for structural power composites. Various slurries containing polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), active material powders, 1-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) and carbon black (CB) were used to coat carbon fiber tows by immersion. Four active materials—lithium cobalt oxide (LCO), lithium iron phosphate (LFP), lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide (NMC), and lithium nickel cobalt aluminum oxide (NCA)—were individually tested to assess their electrochemical reversibility. The cells were prepared with a polymer separator and liquid electrolytes and assembled in 2025-coin …

Little Cigar And Cigarillo Graphic Health Warnings And Quitting Behaviors A Randomized Clinical Trial, Adam O. Goldstein, Kristen L. Jarman, Leah M. Ranney, Jennifer Cornacchione Ross, Sarah D. Kowitt, Chineme Enyioha, Sonia A. Clark, Paschal Sheeran, James F. Thrasher Ph.D., Ma, Ms, Desmond Jenson, Nadja A. Vielot

Faculty Publications

IMPORTANCE Although little cigars and cigarillos (LCCs) are common combustible tobacco products, the effects of LCC warning labels on behavioral outcomes remain untested.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the effects of LCC graphic health warnings (GHWs) on promoting LCC quitting intentions and behaviors.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS This randomized clinical trial included 1029 adult LCC users from a Qualtrics online panel who were randomized to (1) LCC GHWs (n = 339), (2) existing US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) text-only warnings (n = 346), or (3) no stimulus control (n = 344). Participants accessed messages via email from May 1 to August …

An Evidence-Based Intervention To Increase Trypanosoma Cruzi, A Neglected Parasitic Infection, Diagnosis In Rural And Moderate-Size-City Us Clinics, M K. Lynn, Hunter M. Boehme, Jeffrey Hall, Patrick Kent, Alain H. Litwin, Quang H. Pham, Melissa Nolan Ph.D., Mph, Prisma Chagas Team

Faculty Publications

Background

Chagas disease is a chronic, insidious parasitic infection (Trypanosoma cruzi) that slowly develops to irreversible organomegaly over several decades. The disease is traditionally acquired in endemic Latin American countries during childhood; < 1% of foreign-born adult residents in the United States have been diagnosed or treated with this potentially fatal disease. Low physician knowledge is a primary factor leading to misdiagnosis.

Methods

Starting in April 2022, a 4-part T cruzi clinical education intervention began, which included (i) 2 grand rounds presentations to >100 internal medicine providers; (ii) implementation of a “clinical Chagas champions program” incorporating 14 key clinical staff at varying departments and administrative levels educated on their specific role related to T cruzi screening, diagnosis confirmation, clinical management, and medical billing; ( …

Expanding Functionalities Of Immune Receptors Through Simultaneous Transfer Of Sensor And Helper Nlrs, Dongjiao Wang, Qibin Wu, Daowen Wang, Youxiong Que, Zheng Qing Fu

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Expanding Functionalities Of Immune Receptors Through Simultaneous Transfer Of Sensor And Helper Nlrs, Dongjiao Wang, Qibin Wu, Daowen Wang, Youxiong Que, Zheng Qing Fu

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Sex-Related Measurement Bias In Autism Spectrum Disorder Symptoms In The Baby Siblings Research Consortium, Catherine A. Burrows, Sooyeon Sung, Shuting Zheng, Greg S. Young, Tony Charman, Cherly Klaiman, Ami Klin, Natasha Marrus, Sally Ozonoff, Joseph Piven, Diana L. Robins, Rebecca J. Schmidt, A. J. Schwichtenberg, Sara Jane Webb, Lonnie Zwaigenbaum, Leslie J. Carver, Katarzyna Chawarska, Suzanne Curtin, Shafali S. Jeste, Jana M. Iverson, Jane E. Roberts

Faculty Publications

Importance Disparities exist in age of diagnosis and prevalence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) for female compared with male children. Correcting for sources of bias is critical for improving equitable ASD identification.

Objective To determine whether sex differences exist in measurement of ASD symptoms using the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS) among young children at high familial likelihood (HFL) and low familial likelihood (LFL) of ASD.

Design, Setting, and Participants This cohort study collected longitudinal, prospective data from the Baby Siblings Research Consortium between January 1, 2003, and December 31, 2021. Participants included 3106 children who had an older sibling …

Sex-Related Measurement Bias In Autism Spectrum Disorder Symptoms In The Baby Siblings Research Consortium, Catherine A. Burrows, Sooyeon Sung, Shuting Zheng, Tony Charman, Cheryl Klaiman, Ami Klin, Natasha Marrus, Sally Ozonof, Joseph Piven, Diana L. Robins, Rebecca J. Schmidt, A. J. Schwichtenberg, Sara Jane Webb, Lonnie Zwaigenbaum, Leslie J. Carver, Katarzyna Chawarska, Suzanne Curtin, Shafali S. Jeste, Jana M. Iverson, Rebecca J. Landa, Daniel S. Messinger, Jane E. Roberts, Wendy L. Stone, Helen Tager-Flusberg, Amy N. Esler, Meghan Miller, Somer L. Bishop, Jed T. Elison

Faculty Publications

IMPORTANCE Disparities exist in age of diagnosis and prevalence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) for female compared with male children. Correcting for sources of bias is critical for improving equitable ASD identification. OBJECTIVE To determine whether sex differences exist in measurement of ASD symptoms using the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS) among young children at high familial likelihood (HFL) and low familial likelihood (LFL) of ASD. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS This cohort study collected longitudinal, prospective data from the Baby Siblings Research Consortium between January 1, 2003, and December 31, 2021. Participants included 3106 children who had an older sibling …

Absence Of Phonon Softening Across A Charge Density Wave Transition Due To Quantum Fluctuations, Yubi Chen, Terawit Kongruengkit, Andrea Capa Salinas, Runqing Yang, Yujie Quan, Fanghao Zhang, Ganesh Pokharel, Linus Kautzsch, Stephen D. Wilson, Sai Mu

Faculty Publications

Kagome metals have emerged as a frontier in condensed matter physics due to their potential to host exotic quantum states. Among these, CsV₃Sb₅ has attracted significant attention for the unusual coexistence of charge density wave (CDW) order and unconventional superconductivity, presenting an ideal system for exploring the emergent phenomena from the interplay of phonons, electronic fluctuations, and topological effects. The nature of CDW formation in CsV3Sb5 is unconventional and has sparked considerable debate. In this study, we examine the origin of the CDW state via ab initio finite-temperature simulations of the lattice dynamics. Through a comparative study …

Method For Target Detection In A High Noise Environment Through Frequency Analysis Using An Event-Based Vision Sensor, Will Johnston, Shannon Young, David Howe, Rachel Oliver, Zachary Theis, Brian Mcreynolds, Michael L. Dexter

Faculty Publications

Event-based vision sensors (EVSs), often referred to as neuromorphic cameras, operate by responding to changes in brightness on a pixel-by-pixel basis. In contrast, traditional framing cameras employ some fixed sampling interval where integrated intensity is read off the entire focal plane at once. Similar to traditional cameras, EVSs can suffer loss of sensitivity through scenes with high intensity and dynamic clutter, reducing the ability to see points of interest through traditional event processing means. This paper describes a method to reduce the negative impacts of these types of EVS clutter and enable more robust target detection through the use of …

Recent Advances In Developing Cell-Free Protein Synthesis Biosensors For Medical Diagnostics And Environmental Monitoring, Tyler P. Green, Joseph P. Talley, Bradley Charles Bundy

Faculty Publications

Cell-free biosensors harness the selectivity of cellular machinery without living cells’ constraints, offering advantages in environmental monitoring, medical diagnostics, and biotechnological applications. This review examines recent advances in cell-free biosensor development, highlighting their ability to detect diverse analytes including heavy metals, organic pollutants, pathogens, and clinical biomarkers with high sensitivity and specificity. We analyze technological innovations in cell-free protein synthesis optimization, preservation strategies, and field deployment methods that have enhanced sensitivity, and practical applicability. The integration of synthetic biology approaches has enabled complex signal processing, multiplexed detection, and novel sensor designs including riboswitches, split reporter systems, and metabolic sensing modules. …

Subtropical Marine Cloud Brightening Suppresses The El Niño–Southern Oscillation, C. Xing, S. Stevenson, J. Fasullo, C. Harrison, C. Chen, J. Wan, J. Coupe, C. Pfleger

Faculty Publications

Stratospheric aerosol injection (SAI) and marine cloud brightening (MCB) are two proposed methods of compensating for greenhouse gas-induced warming by reflecting incoming solar radiation. However, their effects on the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO), a critical mode of climate variability, are poorly understood. Here we use ensembles of climate model simulations to show that deploying MCB in the subtropical eastern Pacific dramatically reduces ENSO amplitude by approximately 61%, while SAI has a negligible impact. MCB increases cloud albedo, which cools the subtropical eastern Pacific and triggers a loss of moist static energy. This cooling promotes atmospheric subsidence, dries the tropical Pacific, …

Louisiana's Ten Commandments Statute: With Litigation Updates From Arkansas And Texas, Carl H. Esbeck

Faculty Publications

Legislators in conservative states are drawn to a belief that the Ten Commandments [“10/Cs”] underscore American’s moral, jurisprudential, and historical heritage. First the State of Louisiana, and thereafter Arkansas and Texas, enacted legislation requiring the posting of the 10/Cs in every public school and university classroom in the state. This quickly brought on legal challenges by students and their parents, along with a smattering of local clerics, together contending that these laws were unconstitutional, most prominently violations of the Establishment Clause. State attorney generals leaped to defend these statutes making the facial assertion that the 10/Cs are not so much …

A Video Guide For Teaching Law Students To Use Ai Wisely, John Lande

Faculty Publications

This article introduces a video that provides practical guidance about using artificial intelligence (AI) in legal education.  It presents a basic introduction to AI and describes how law students and faculty can benefit from tools like ChatGPT.  Because many students already use AI on their own, the video emphasizes the need to teach them how to use it wisely and responsibly.  The video also includes demonstrations showing how faculty can use AI to develop new simulations and how students can use it to prepare for them.  This article provides links to the video, PowerPoint slides, the chat transcript, and related …

Cell Death Helps To Stabilize Populations Of Prochlorococcus, P. Wang, E. A. Laws, C. Liang, X. Liu, J. Chen, Y. Zhong, C. Li, B. Huang

Faculty Publications

Prochlorococcus is one of the dominant phytoplankton species in tropical and subtropical pelagic marine ecosystems. To maintain its population equilibrium in oligotrophic waters, the dominant species Prochlorococcus requires high loss rates to offset its high abundance and growth rates. While theoretical frameworks recognize multiple loss processes for Prochlorococcus (viral lysis, environmental stress, programmed cell death), prevailing population studies attribute main mortality to grazing. This oversight stems from in situ data gaps of non-grazing mortality processes. In this study, we firstly formulated simple differential equations that took account of population losses due to both grazing and cell death. We then used …

Scaling Laws Of Political Regime Dynamics: Stability Of Democracies And Autocracies In The Twentieth Century, Paula Pirker-Diaz, Matthew Wilson, Soenke Beier, Karoline Wiesner

Faculty Publications

In light of the current rise of authoritarian regimes and the anti-liberal tendencies in some established democracies, understanding the dynamic and statistical properties of political regimes is of critical importance. Despite their relevance, a comprehensive quantitative assessment of these dynamics on a historical scale remains largely unexplored, and the notion that democratization is an irreversible process has gone mostly unchallenged. This study provides a rigorous and quantitative analysis of political regimes worldwide by examining changes in freedoms of expression, association and electoral quality throughout the twentieth century. Utilizing the multidimensional V-Dem dataset, which covers over 170 countries across more than …

Hearing From Working Nurses: Incorporating Real-World Knowledge Practices Into The Framework To Better Instruct Tomorrow's Healthcare Professionals, Anne R. Diekema, Elizabeth (Betsy) S. Hopkins, Britt Fagerheim, Brandon Patterson, Nena Schvaneveldt

Faculty Publications

There is a certain duality to the role of librarians in higher education as the job requires preparing students for their current academic work, such as doing research for writing papers, while at the same time preparing students for their future professional information work. Librarians seeking guidance on teaching information literacy more comprehensively are left to study the professional standards of the targeted professional group, and find or carry out research on these practitioners. Synthesizing and translating these findings into instructional approaches while staying true to existing information literacy standards, however, can be challenging. In this chapter we demonstrate how …

Sccosmix: A Mixed-Effects Framework For Differential Coexpression And Transcriptional Interactions Modeling In Single-Cell Rna-Seq, Anderson Bussing, Giampiero Marra, Daping Fan, Russell Shinohara, Danni Tu, Yen-Yi Ho

Faculty Publications

Advancements in single-cell RNA-sequencing (scRNA-seq) technologies generate a wealth of gene expression data that provide exciting opportunities for studying gene-gene interactions systematically at individual cell resolution. Genetic interactions within a cell are tightly regulated and often highly dynamic in response to internal cellular signals and external stimuli. Evidence of these dynamic interactions can often be observed in scRNA-seq data by examining conditional co-expression changes. Existing approaches for studying these dynamic interaction changes in scRNA-seq data do not address the multi-subject hierarchical design commonly considered in single-cell experiments. In this paper, we propose a Mixed-effects framework for differential Coexpression and transcriptional …

Impact Of Non-Uniform Surface Temperature On The Apparent Radiative Properties Of Cavity Receivers, Ehsan Mofidipour, Matthew R. Jones, Brian D. Iverson

Faculty Publications

Radiative surface properties play a critical role in the design, analysis and optimization of solar–thermal systems. Cavity receivers increase the efficiency of solar–thermal energy systems through the cavity effect. The cavity effect refers to increased absorption of radiation due to multiple reflections within a cavity. Apparent radiative surface properties of a cavity characterize the effective interactions of radiation passing through an imaginary surface covering the cavity aperture. In this study, we investigate the extent to which the apparent emissivity of a cavity with a non-uniform surface temperature profile may be estimated using an isothermal enclosure model. A cylindrical cavity was …

Assessing Effectiveness Of Runnel Restoration In New England Salt Marsh Habitats, David M. Burdick, Grant Mckown, Gregg Moore, Jenny Gibson, Wenley Ferguson, John Herbert, Nancy Pau, Susan Adamowicz, Geoff Wilson

Faculty Publications

Rising sea levels that increase flooding in salt marshes recovering from hydrologic impairments is reducing nesting habitat for salt marsh sparrows. Abandonment of colonial farming practices (1600s through 1900s) has resulted in large, waterlogged basins characterized by shallow depressions (pannes) dominated by short-form Spartina alterniflora and unvegetated megapools that are subsiding. A relatively new technique designed to provide regular tidal flooding and drainage to the waterlogged basins that have formed on the marsh is runnelling – creation of shallow hydrologic features on the marsh surface. Will runnels result in revegetation of pannes and pools with productive perennial grasses that are …

Collection Of Instructional Slides From Molten Salt Electrochemistry Symposium (Moses), Devin Rappleye, Carlos Mejia

Faculty Publications

During the Molten Salt Electrochemistry Symposium (MoSES) on July 30-31, 2025, interactive instruction was given to the attendees including live demonstrations. These slides contain the introductory instructions given for each learning module at MoSES 2025. Please visit https://pyro.byu.edu/moses for more information.

The Relationship Between Hand Grip Strength And Cognitive Function In Middle-Aged And Elderly People In China: A Cross-Sectional Analysis Based On Charls Data, Haiwei Li, Jing Zhang, Peipei Cheng, Liwei Guo, Xuemei Sui M.D., M.P.H., Ph.D.

Faculty Publications

This study explores the relationship between hand grip strength (HGS) and cognitive function in China’s middle-aged and elderly population. We employed a cross-sectional design using data from 4535 participants aged ≥ 45 years from the 2015 China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study national dataset. The relationships between HGS and various dimensions of cognitive function, as well as the association between HGS and cognitive impairment, were investigated using ordinary least squares regression models and logistic regression models. Dose–response relationships between HGS and cognitive impairment were modeled using restricted cubic spline curves. Subgroup and sensitivity analyses were performed to assess the robustness …