Digital Commons Network^™

Post-Term Births As A Risk Factor For Small For Gestational Age Births And Infant Mortality In Brazil, Mexico, And Palestinian Refugees: An Analysis Of Electronic Birth Records, Zeina Jamaluddine, Lorena Suarez Idueta, Enny S. Paixao, Julia M. Pescarini, Hala Ghattas Ph.D., Miho Sato, Akihiro Seita, Luis A. Martinez-Juarez, Mauricio L. Barreto, Eric O. Ohuma, Louise T. Day, Oona M.R. Campbell, Hannah Blencowe

Faculty Publications

Background:

Post-term pregnancy, defined as reaching or exceeding 42 + 0 weeks of gestation, is known to be associated with unfavourable birth outcomes. High-income countries have responded to this risk by widely adopting labour induction protocols in late-term, but many low- and middle-income countries have not. However, understanding underlying mechanisms linking post-term births to adverse newborn and infant outcomes remains limited.

Objective:

To investigate the (a) prevalence of post-term, (b) the risk factors associated with post-term (c) the association between post-term births and the risk of small-for-gestational-age (SGA) neonates and of infant mortality in middle-income settings.

Methods:

We used existing …

The Built Environment And Place Attachment: Insights From Japanese Cities, Juiling Li, Mohammed Javad Koohsari, Andrew T. Kaczynski, Ryo Tanimoto, Reo Watanabe, Tomoki Nakaya, Yufeng Luo, Jing Zhao, Akitomo Yasunaga, Koichiro Oka, Tomoya Hanibuchi

Faculty Publications

Objective

Methods

Results

Association Of Racial Residential Segregation And Other Social Determinants Of Health With Hiv Late Presentation, Fanghui Shi, Jiajia Zhang Ph.D., Shujie Chen, Xueying Yang Ph.D., Zhenlong Li, Sharon Weissman, Bankole Olatosi Ph.D., Xiaoming Li Ph.D.

Faculty Publications

Understanding social determinants of HIV late presentation with advanced disease (LPWA) beyond individual-level factors could help decrease LPWA and improve population-level HIV outcomes. This study aimed to examine county-level social determinants of health (SDOH) with HIV late presentation. We aggregated datasets for analysis by linking statewide HIV diagnosis data from the South Carolina (SC) Enhanced HIV/AIDS Reporting System and multiple social contextual datasets (e.g., the American Community Survey). All adult (18 years and older) people with HIV diagnosed from 2014 to 2019 in SC were included. Linear mixed models with forward selection were employed to explore the association of county-level …

Childhood Sexual Trauma, Substance Use, And Antiretroviral Therapy Adherence Among Older Adults Living With Hiv: A Mediational Analysis, Monique J. Brown, Josie Zhang, Prince Nii Ossah Addo, Amandeep Kaur, Daniel Amoatika, Elizabeth L. Crouch Ph.D., Steven A. Cohen

Faculty Publications

Childhood sexual abuse (CSA) is linked to substance use and lower antiretroviral therapy (ART) adherence. However, studies examining the mediational role of substance use between CSA and ART adherence are lacking. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the potential mediational role of substance use between CSA and ART adherence among older adults living with HIV (OALH) (n = 91). Mediation analyses assessed the direct and indirect relationships between CSA, substance use, and ART adherence. Statistically significant differences existed in substance use by gender (male vs. female: 12.3 vs. 9.97) and ART adherence by race (Black vs. …

A Plea For Private International Law (Conflict Of Laws), Michael S. Green

Faculty Publications

In this essay, author Michael S. Green discusses private international law and its importance in a law school's curriculum. After a brief summary of the history of private international law, the essay traces the disappearance of private international law courses in American law schools and proposes reasons as to why this trend may be occurring. The essay closes with reasons why it is a mistake to remove private international law from course offerings and requests that law schools reintroduce the topic.

Irrigation And Society In The Upper Río Grande Basin, U.S.A: A Heritage Of Mutualism, José A. Rivera Ph.D

Faculty Publications

The acequias of the upper Río Grande are more than just irrigation canals. They also allocate and manage water for the community of landowners in the system. After four centuries of use, the acequias persist into modern times with their founding principles intact: self-government, local autonomy, internal rules for operating procedures, and a strong sense of mutualismo or communal responsibility. They have endured since Spanish colonial settlement and have maintained continuity of a water culture surviving political-administrative changes under three sovereigns, Spain (1598-1821), Mexico (1821-1848), and the United States (1848-Present). Despite stressors of climate variability, demographic changes, urbanization, and economic …

Pilot Study: Initial Investigation Suggests Differences In Emt-Associated Gene Expression In Breast Tumor Regions, Kylie L. King, Hamed Abdollahi, Zoe Dinkel, Alannah Akins, Homayoun Valafar, Heather Dunn

Faculty Publications

Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) is the most aggressive subtype and disproportionately affects African American women. The development of breast cancer is highly associated with interactions between tumor cells and the extracellular matrix (ECM), and recent research suggests that cellular components of the ECM vary between racial groups. This pilot study aimed to evaluate gene expression in TNBC samples from patients who identified as African American and Caucasian using traditional statistical methods and emerging Machine Learning (ML) approaches. ML enables the analysis of complex datasets and the extraction of useful information from small datasets. We selected four regions of interest …

Predicting Individual Long-Term Prognosis Of Spatial Neglect Based On Acute Stroke Patient Data, Lisa Röhrig, Daniel Wiesen, Dongyun Li, Chris Rorden, Hans-Otto Karnath

Faculty Publications

One of the most pressing questions after a stroke is whether an individual patient will recover in the long term. Previous studies demonstrated that spatial neglect—a common cognitive deficit after right hemispheric stroke—is a strong predictor for poor performance on a wide range of everyday tasks and for resistance to rehabilitation. The possibility of predicting long-term prognosis of spatial neglect is therefore of great relevance. The aim of the present study was to test the prognostic value of different imaging and non-imaging features from right hemispheric stroke patients: individual demographics (age, sex), initial neglect severity and acute lesion information (size, …

Population Variability Across Geographical Ranges: Perspectives And Challenges, Cleber Ten Caten, Tad Dallas

Faculty Publications

Populations fluctuate over time and across geographical space, and understanding how different factors contribute to population variability is a central goal in population ecology. There is a particular interest in identifying trends of population variability within geographical ranges as population densities of species can fluctuate substantially across geographical space. A common assumption is that populations vary more near species geographical range edges because of unsuitable environments and higher vulnerability to environmental variability in these areas. However, empirical data rarely support this expectation, suggesting that population variability is not related to its position within species geographical ranges. We propose that performance …

From Mricro To Mricron: The Evolution Of Neuroimaging Visualization Tools, Christopher Rorden

Faculty Publications

Visualization software is a critical component at every stage of neuroimaging research. It enables researchers to inspect raw or processed datasets for artifacts, to identify anomalies, to verify the accuracy of automated processing, and to interpret the location of statistical results within the complex structure of the human brain. Since 2006, MRIcron has provided a free, open-source, cross-platform tool designed to meet these needs. Despite its minimal system requirements, MRIcron supports various popular neuroimaging file formats, ensuring compatibility with widely-used tools in the field, such as SPM, FreeSurfer, FSL, and AFNI.

The intuitive graphical interface allows for …

Perceived Healthiness Of Sugary Drinks And Related Social Norms Among Adults In Five Countries: Evidence From The International Food Policy Study, Virginie Drolet-Labelle

Faculty Publications

Background

A better understanding of correlates of sugary drink consumption is essential to inform public health interventions. This study examined differences in perceived healthiness of sugary drinks and related social norms between countries, over time, and sociodemographic groups and associations with sugary drink intake.

Methods

This study used annual cross-sectional data from the International Food Policy Study from 2018 to 2021 in Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Mexico. Analyses examined perceived healthiness of eight beverage types and two types of perceived social norms (descriptive, injunctive) that discourage sugary drink consumption. The 24-item Beverage Frequency Questionnaire was …

Deep Learning-Based Superconductivity Prediction And Experimental Tests, Daniel Kaplan, Adam Zheng, Joanna Blawat, Rongying Jin, Robert J. Cava, Viktor Oudovenko, Gabriel Kotliar, Anirvan M. Sengupta, Weiwei Xie

Faculty Publications

The discovery of novel superconducting materials is a long-standing challenge in materials science, with a wealth of potential for applications in energy, transportation and computing. Recent advances in artificial intelligence (AI) have enabled expediting the search for new materials by efficiently utilizing vast materials databases. In this study, we developed an approach based on deep learning (DL) to predict new superconducting materials. We have synthesized a compound derived from our DL network and confirmed its superconducting properties in agreement with our prediction. Our approach is also compared to previous work based on random forests (RFs). In particular, RFs require knowledge …

Amplifying Women’S Voices In Menopause Research: The Importance Of Inclusive Perspectives, Camille Cronin, Sarah B. Donevant Phd, Rn, Ccrn, Kerri-Ann Hughes, Marja Kaunonen, Jette Marcussen, Rhonda Wilson

Faculty Publications

Menopause, a significant life transition for half the global population, intersects biological, cultural and social dimensions. Despite its universal occurrence, menopause research has historically been dominated by biomedical perspectives, often neglecting women's voices and diverse experiences. This article highlights the importance of including women's perspectives in menopause research to ensure relevance, accuracy and equity. It explores cultural variations in menopause experiences, the impact of socioeconomic status and the often-overlooked emotional and psychological dimensions. This article advocates for participatory approaches, emphasising that women's involvement enhances research design, implementation and policy development. Evidence-based interventions that are tailored to the individual can better …

Co2 Electrolysis Using Metal-Supported Solid Oxide Cells With Infiltrated Pr0.5Sr0.4Mn0.2Fe0.8O3−Δ Catalyst, Boxun Hu, Ka-Young Park, Asia Sarycheva, Robert Kostecki, Fanglin Chen, Michael C. Tucker

Faculty Publications

Electrochemical conversion of CO₂ to CO is demonstrated with symmetric-structured metal supported solid oxide cells (MS-SOC). Perovskite Pr_0.5Sr_0.4Mn_0.2Fe0.8O_3−δ (PSMF) and Pr₆O₁₁ catalysts were infiltrated into the MS-SOC cathode and anode, using 3 cycles with firing at 850 °C and 8 cycles with firing at 800 °C, respectively. Upon reduction during operation, the perovskite PSMF was transformed to Ruddlesden–Popper structure with a highly efficient electrocatalytic activity. The impact of operating temperature (600–800 °C) and overpotential (0–1.8 V) on the CO₂ conversion was investigated. The highest CO₂ conversion …

The World Comes To Andrews, Meredith Jones Gray

Faculty Publications

Excerpt from "Forward in Faith".

The Global Scope Of Andrews University, John Wesley Taylor V

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Design And Cell-Free Protein Synthesis Of A Pembrolizumab Single-Chain Variable Fragment, Landon E. Ebbert, Tyler J. Free, Mehran Soltani, Bradley Charles Bundy

Faculty Publications

Background/Objectives: Cancer is a leading cause of death. However, recently developed immunotherapies have shown significant promise to improve cancer treatment outcomes and survival rates. Pembrolizumab, a cancer immunotherapy drug, enables a strong T-cell response specifically targeting cancer cells to improve patient outcomes in more than 16 types of cancer. The increasing demand for pembrolizumab, the highest selling drug in 2023, increases global dependence on drug production, which can be vulnerable to supply chain disruptions. Methods: Cell-free protein synthesis (CFPS) is a rapid in vitro protein production method that could provide the production of an immunotherapy drug in an emergency and …

Chemical Damping Of The Motion Of A Piston: Irreversibilities Arising From Nonequilibrium Conditions On The Chemical Potential, David S. Corti, Mark J. Uline

Faculty Publications

We revisit the thermodynamic analysis of an isothermal ideal gas mixture enclosed within a cylinder and separated from the surrounding atmosphere by a movable and frictionless piston. When equilibrium conditions based on the chemical potentials of one or more species in the mixture are not satisfied at all times, which occurs for example for a chemical reaction with finite and non-zero reaction rates in the forward and reverse directions and for mass transfer of one species across a permeable membrane occurring at a finite and non-zero rate, an irreversibility is necessarily introduced into the system with a resulting increase in …

Associations Between Social Determinants Of Health And Mental Health Disorders Among U.S. Population: A Cross-Sectional Study, S. Tanarsuwongkul

Faculty Publications

Aims

The impact of social determinants of health (SDOH) on mental health is increasingly realized. A comprehensive study examining the associations of SDOH with mental health disorders has yet to be accomplished. This study evaluated the associations between five domains of SDOH and the SDOH summary score and mental health disorders in the United States.

Methods

We analyzed data from a diverse group of participants enrolled in the All of Us research programme, a research programme to gather data from one million people living in the United States, in a cross-sectional design. The primary exposure was SDOH based on Healthy …

Gotta Take My Avatar Shopping: Impacts Of Interactive Virtual Shopping In Esport, Yongjin Hwang, Keshav Gupta

Faculty Publications

Purpose

Esports game developers are incorporating interactive virtual shopping (IVS) experiences into their products to facilitate consumer–brand interactions. Despite the potential influence of IVS, existing research lacks an understanding of its impact on consumers’ overall affect– particularly game enjoyment, a critical factor in sustaining engagement with esports products – and on attitudinal change toward brands in the real world.

Design/methodology/approach

An experiment was designed to examine the impact of shopping in the virtually interactive esports marketplace on game enjoyment. Mediating effects of positive change in brand attitude, perceived realism and character attachment and the moderating effect of self-avatar gender congruity …

Online Energy Consumption Forecast For Battery Electric Buses Using A Learning-Free Algebraic Method, Zejiang Wang, Guanhao Xu, Ruixiao Sun, Anye Zhou, Adian Cook, Yuche Chen

Faculty Publications

Accurately predicting the energy consumption plays a vital role in battery electric buses (BEBs) route planning and deployment. Based on the algebraic derivative estimation, we present a novel method to forecast the energy consumption in real time. In contrast to the mainstream machine-learning-based methods, the proposed method does not require access to the historical energy consumption data. It eliminates the time-consuming and computationally expensive offline training. Consequently, its prediction performance is not constrained by the quantity and quality of the training data. Moreover, the method can swiftly adapt to new situations not included in the previous driving cycles, which makes …

2 Kv Al0.64Ga0.36N-Channel High Electron Mobility Transistors With Passivation And Field Plates, Md Tahmidul Alam, Jiahao Chen, Kenneth Stephenson, Md Abdullah-Al Mamun, Abdullah Al Mamun Mazumder, Shubhra S. Pasayat, Asif Khan, Chirag Gupta

Faculty Publications

High voltage (∼2 kV) Al_0.64Ga_0.36N-channel high electron mobility transistors were fabricated with an on-resistance of ∼75 Ω. mm (∼21 mΩ. cm²). Two field plates of variable dimensions were utilized to optimize the breakdown voltage. The breakdown voltage reached >3 kV (tool limit) before passivation however it reduced to ∼2 kV after Si₃N₄ surface passivation and field plate deposition. The breakdown voltage and on-resistance demonstrated a strong linear correlation in a scattered plot of ∼50 measured transistors. The fabricated transistors were electrically characterized and benchmarked against the state-of-the-art high-voltage (> 1 kV) …

Transfer Learning For Thickener Control, Samuel Arce Munoz, John Hedengren

Faculty Publications

Thickener control is a key area of focus in the minerals processing industry, particularly due to its crucial role in water recovery, which is essential for sustainable resource management. The highly nonlinear nature of thickener dynamics presents significant challenges in modeling and optimization, making it a strong candidate for advanced surrogate modeling techniques. However, traditional data-driven approaches often require extensive datasets, which are frequently unavailable, especially in new plants or unexplored operational domains. Developing data-driven models without enough data representative of the dynamics of the system could result in incorrect predictions and consequently, unstable response of the controller. This paper …

Sno2 Modified Csh2Po4 (Cdp) Protonic Electrolyte For An Electrochemical Hydrogen Pump, Minal Gupta, Kangkang Zhang, Kevin Huang

Faculty Publications

CsH₂PO₄ (CDP) is a well-known super-protonic conductor. However, it must operate under high humidity conditions to prevent dehydration and fast conductivity decay. Herein, we report that adding hydrophilic SnO2 into CDP can suppress the rate of dehydration of CDP, thus stabilizing protonic conductivity over a broader range of water partial pressures (pH2O). A total of seven compositions of (1 - x)CDP/(x)SnO₂ were prepared, where 5 ≤ x ≤ 40 (wt%), and examined for their phasal, microstructural, and vibrational properties using X-ray diffraction, field emission scanning electron microscopy, and Raman spectroscopy. The signature of H₂O …

Sno2 Modified Csh2Po4 (Cdp) Protonic Electrolyte For An Electrochemical Hydrogen Pump, Minal Gupta, Kangkang Zhang, Kevin Huang

Faculty Publications

CsH₂PO₄ (CDP) is a well-known super-protonic conductor. However, it must operate under high humidity conditions to prevent dehydration and fast conductivity decay. Herein, we report that adding hydrophilic SnO₂ into CDP can suppress the rate of dehydration of CDP, thus stabilizing protonic conductivity over a broader range of water partial pressures (pH₂O). A total of seven compositions of (1 − x)CDP/(x)SnO₂ were prepared, where 5 ≤ x ≤ 40 (wt%), and examined for their phasal, microstructural, and vibrational properties using X-ray diffraction, field emission scanning electron microscopy, and …

Translanguaging: Old Wine In A New Bottle, Or New Wine?, Kristin Lems

Faculty Publications

The conversation about translanguaging is creating waves around the world, and Illinois is no exception. This column serves to remind the reader of some of the antecedents to this influential concept (“old wine”), predicts how this movement may affect your education setting (“new bottle”), and lays out a few of the aspects of translanguaging that may indeed be “new wine.”

Between Pedagogical Content Knowledge And Confidence: A Case Study Of Pronunciation Training And Teacher Preparation, Lena Barrantes-Elizondo, Joshua Gordon

Faculty Publications

While many teachers do not feel confident teaching pronunciation because of limited preparation in different areas, research has demonstrated positive effects of training in pronunciation pedagogy, as teachers who receive such training develop cognitions (i.e., knowledge, beliefs, thoughts, actions) that align with current tenets of pronunciation pedagogy. Drawing on this assertion, this paper reports the results of a qualitative case study with five pre-service teaching-English-to-speakers-of-other-languages (TESOL) teachers enrolled in a pedagogical pronunciation course as part of their teacher training program. The study’s main purpose was to understand the role of training in developing content knowledge (CK) and pedagogical content knowledge …

Co-Development Of A Gamified Physical Education Movement Competence Intervention With School Stakeholders, Jenna Rice, Lawrence Foweather, Jonathan Foulkes, Ceriann Magill, An V. De Meester, David F. Stodden Ph.D., Matthieu Lenoir, Katie Fitton Davies

Faculty Publications

Movement competence (MC) and emotional intelligence (EI) are positively associated and important for child development. Intervention research is needed to determine causal relationships between these outcomes. Gamification is a pedagogical model that may enhance MC and EI, but implementing interventions in schools is complex and requires multi-stakeholder involvement to ensure feasibility, acceptability and sustainability. However, methodological evidence to inform co-development work within physical education (PE) is lacking and further research is required. This study describes the process of co-developing a gamified PE intervention with school stakeholders to increase MC and EI among primary-aged children. A total of 91 children and …

Organizational Readiness For Implementation: A Qualitative Assessment To Explain Survey Responses, Maria Mcclam, Lauren Workman, Timothy J. Walker, Emanuelle M. Dias, Derek W. Craig, Joe R. Padila, Andrea E. Lamont, Abraham Wandersman, Maria E. Fernandez

Faculty Publications

Background

One factor considered essential to successful implementation is organizational readiness. The purpose of this study was to explore ways to improve the measurement of organizational readiness, and in particular to refine a preliminary measure based on the Readiness = Motivation x innovation Specific Capacity x General Capacity (R = MC2) heuristic. We assessed the experiences of staff in Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHC) implementing evidence-based interventions (EBIs) designed to increase colorectal cancer screening (CRCS) who previously completed the survey and aimed to understand their perspectives on why our data were positively skewed.

Methods

We conducted a series of qualitative …

"It Would Ruin My Life”:Pacific Islander Male Adolescents’ Perceptions Of Mental Health Help-Seeking Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis Focus Group Study, Melia Fonoimoana Garrett, Elizabeth Cutrer, G. E. Kawika Allen, Ellie Young, Kristopher J. Urbina, Isabel Medina Hull

Faculty Publications

Given rising mental health concerns among Pacific Islander (PI) adolescents, this population remains underserved by available mental health resources. This interpretative phenomenological analysis with focus groups (IPA-FG) examined the lived experiences and perceptions of 19 male PI adolescents (ages 14–16) from Native Hawaiian, Maori, Samoan, and Tongan backgrounds regarding mental health help-seeking behaviors. Four overarching themes emerged: stigma and judgment, cultural misalignment in professional services, impact of disclosure and perceived punitive consequences, and a complex ecosystem of trusted relationships as mental health support. Notably, participants expressed belief that disclosing mental health challenges would “ruin their lives” and held misconceptions about …