Digital Commons Network^™

Potential Of Individual Upper-Limb Muscles To Contribute To Postural Tremor: Simulations From Neural Drive To Joint Rotation, Spencer A. Baker, Landon J. Beutler, Daniel B. Free, Dario Farina, Steven Knight Charles

Faculty Publications

Background: It is unclear which muscles contribute most to tremor and should therefore be targeted by tremor suppression methods. Previous studies used mathematical models to investigate how upper-limb biomechanics affect muscles’ potential to generate tremor. These investigations yielded principles, but the models included at most only 15 muscles. Here we expand previous models to include 50 upper-limb muscles, simulate tremor propagation, and test the validity of the previously postulated principles. Methods: Tremor propagation was characterized using the gains between tremorogenic neural drive to the 50 muscles (inputs) and tremulous joint rotations in the 7 joint degreesof- freedom (DOF) from shoulder …

Materiality In The Csr-Investor Reaction Relationship: A Replication And Extension Of Flammer (2013), Steven D. Kofford, Myles Melancon, Ben W. Lewis

Faculty Publications

We replicate and extend Flammer’s (2013) event study of investor reaction to environmental corporate social responsibility (CSR). Flammer found that investors reacted positively to eco-friendly events and negatively to eco-harmful events from 1980-2009 and that reaction to positive events decreased while reaction to negative events increased over time. We find similar results for Flamer’s original sample and an expanded sample including the same type of firms (U.S.-listed public firms) from 1980-2019. We then extend Flammer’s results by examining how materiality affects investor reaction over time. We find that investors only react to material events and that positive reaction to material …

The Zintl Pnictides Yb10cdsb9 And Yb14cdsb11: New Candidate Thermoelectric Materials, Michael O. Ogunbunmi, Kowsik Ghosh, Connor Donnelly, Sviatoslav Baranets, Svilen Bobev

Faculty Publications

The synthesis of new materials is the lifeline of solid-state science, and it continues to offer us unique opportunities for testing various theoretical formulations and models on a practical material. Such an avenue, therefore, provides a breeding ground for technological innovations and advancements that can completely revolutionize our world. Here, we report the results of our exploratory syntheses in the Yb-Cd-Sb compositional space that lead to the identification of two new Zintl antimonides, namely, Yb10CdSb9 and Yb14CdSb11. Their crystal structures were established via single-crystal X-ray diffraction methods; the basic electronic and transport properties of the new materials were also characterized. …

Extragalactic Magnetar Giant Flares: Population Implications, Rates, And Prospects For Gamma-Rays, Gravitational Waves, And Neutrinos, Paz Beniamini, Zorawar Wadiasingh, Aaron Trigg, Cecilia Chirenti, Eric Burns, George Younes, Michela Negro, Jonathan Granot

Faculty Publications

Magnetar giant flares (MGFs) are the most energetic non-catastrophic transients known to originate from stellar objects. The first discovered events were nearby. In recent years, several extragalactic events have been identified, implying an extremely high volumetric rate. We show that future instruments with a sensitivity ≲5 × 10⁻⁹ erg cm⁻² at ∼1 MeV will be dominated by extragalactic MGFs over short gamma-ray bursts (sGRBs). Clear discrimination of MGFs requires intrinsic GRB localization capability to identify host galaxies. As MGFs involve a release of a sizable fraction of the neutron star's magnetic free energy reservoir in a single event, …

Legal Residency Status And Its Relationship With Health Indicators Among Syrian Refugees In Lebanon: A Nested Cross-Sectional Study, Marie-Elizabeth Ragi, Hala Ghattas Ph.D., Berthe Abi Zeid, Hazar Shamas, Noura Joseph El Salibi, Sawsan Abdulrahim, Jocelyn Dejong, Stephen J. Mccall, The Caep Study Group

Faculty Publications

Background Failure to possess or renew legal residency permits increases the burden on a vulnerable refugee population. It risks detention or deportation, and hinders access to basic services including healthcare. This study aimed to examine the association between legal residency status and health of Syrian refugees living in Lebanon.

Methods Data were from two independent nested cross-sectional studies collected in 2022 through telephone surveys. In the first study, all Syrian refugees aged 50 years or older from households that received humanitarian assistance were invited to participate. The second included all adult Syrian refugees residing in a suburb of Beirut. The …

Assessing Information Literacy In The Age Of Generative Ai: A Call To The National Conference Of Bar Examiners, Amy A. Emerson

Faculty Publications

Information literacy is crucial to satisfying a lawyer’s duty of technology competence by virtue of its inherent role in conducting legal research—a skill now recognized by the National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE) as a priority as it prepares for the NextGen Bar Exam. In light of the rapid rise in the number of attorneys facing disciplinary issues across the country, it is the NCBE’s responsibility to draw upon its rich history to address information literacy as a technological competency on the Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam to protect the public from newly licensed lawyers’ incompetent use of generative artificial intelligence.

Impact Of Voluntary Exercise On Systemic Inflammation In A 2? Hit Model Of Heart Failure With Preserved Ejection Fraction, Heather Quiriarte, Eunhan Cho, Youyoung Kim, Jake E. Doiron, Gregory Davis, James Stampley, Robert C. Noland, Zhen Li, Sanjiv J. Shah, Brian A. Irving, Guillaume Spielmann, David J. Lefer, Timothy D. Allerton

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Predicting Diabetes Self-Management Education Engagement: Machine Learning Algorithms And Models, Xiangxiang Jiang, Gang Lv, Minghui Li, Jing Yuan, Z Kevin Lu

Faculty Publications

Introduction Diabetes self-management education (DSME) is endorsed by the American Diabetes Association (ADA) as an essential component of diabetes management. However, the utilization of DSME remains limited in the USA. This study aimed to investigate current DSME participation among the older population and to identify comprehensive factors of DSME engagement through employing various machine learning (ML) models based on a US nationally representative survey linked to claims data.

Research design and methods Data from the Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey were employed, and this study included data on US Medicare beneficiaries with diabetes from 2017 to 2019. Comprehensive variables following the …

Probing Ion-Blocking Electrode Rigs For Ionic Conductivity In Hybrid Solid Polymer Electrolytes, Kyra Glassey, Gabriela Roman-Martinez, Liliana Delatte, Thomas Burns, Monirosadat Sadati, Paul T. Coman, Ralph E. White

Faculty Publications

Solid electrolytes are critical for structural batteries, combining energy storage with structural strength for applications like electric vehicles and aerospace. However, achieving high ionic conductivity remains challenging, compounded by a lack of standardized testing methodologies. This study examines the impact of experimental setups and data interpretation methods on the measured ionic conductivities of solid polymer electrolytes (SPEs). SPEs were prepared using a polymer-induced phase separation process, resulting in a bi-continuous microstructure for improved ionic transport. Eight experimental rigs were evaluated, including two- and four-electrode setups with materials like stainless steel, copper, and aluminum. Ionic conductivity was assessed using electrochemical impedance …

Toward Quantifying Interpolation Uncertainty In Set-Line Spacing Hydrographic Surveys, Elias Adediran, Christos Kastrisios, Kim Lowell, Glen Rice, Qi Zhang

Faculty Publications

The oceans remain one of Earth’s last great unknowns, with about 74% still unmapped to modern standards. Consequently, interpolation is employed to create seamless digital bathymetric models (DBMs) from incomplete hydrographic datasets, but this introduces unquantified depth uncertainties. This study aims to estimate and characterize uncertainties arising from set-line spacing hydrographic surveys, which are important for nautical charting, navigational safety, and many other applications. By sampling at different line spacings four complete coverage testbeds that vary in slope and roughness, the study interpolates across entire testbed areas using Spline, Inverse Distance Weighting, and Linear interpolation. The resulting interpolation uncertainties are …

How Do Preservice Teachers Plan To Respond To Perpetrators And Victims Of Bullying? A Qualitative Investigation, Molly Dawes Ph.D., Emily Lohrbach

Faculty Publications

Bullying is a critical problem for schools with teachers serving as key agents in antibullying efforts. To evaluate preservice teachers’ readiness to deal with bullying in the classroom, the current study assessed how preservice teachers plan to respond to perpetrators and victims of bullying using a qualitative design. Using a sample of preservice teachers (N = 68, 82.4% female, 73.5% White) drawn from an initial teacher education program, we thematically analyzed their responses to bullying vignettes. A wide range of intervention responses were found that fell within three broad themes: no intervention, passive/indirect responses, and active/direct responses. Comparing preservice …

Million-Dollar Mysteries: Recent Complex Patent Cases Lost To Rule 36, Dennis D. Crouch

Faculty Publications

This article examines the Federal Circuit's continued use of Rule 36 summary affirmances to dispose of complex patent cases without written opinions. Through analysis of eight recent Rule 36 cases decided in early 2025, the author demonstrates that sophisticated legal issues involving millions of dollars are being summarily affirmed despite presenting novel and important questions of patent law. The cases discussed involve design patent evidentiary standards, jury trial rights for hybrid legal-equitable claims, analogous art determinations, claim construction, written description requirements, and PTAB procedural issues. The author argues that while the court may be avoiding difficult cases with complex factual …

Joyful Justice, Alexandra Kogl

Faculty Publications

Political Science is not an obviously joyful discipline, and wrestling with injustice in the classroom is not an intuitive way to open the door to joy. But when students and professor alike practice compassion for victims of injustices (such as sexual violence and white supremacy) and for each other, they sometimes find the kind of common ground that allows joy into the room. Treating one another as peers in a community aimed at seeking to understand what justice is and what it feels like, we experience justice as beautiful, shared work that we can practice at a small scale, setting …

Si-Doped Ain Using Pulsed Metalorganic Chemical Vapor Deposition And Doping, Tariq Jamil, Abdullah Al Mamun Mazumder, Mohammod Ali, Jingyu Lin, Hongxing Jiang, Grigory Simin, M. Asif Khan

Faculty Publications

In this paper we describe a pulsed metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) Si-doping approach for AlN epilayers over bulk AlN. The Al-rich growth/doping conditions in the pulsed MOCVD process resulted in n-AlN layers with transmission line model currents that were an order higher than for structures on layers that were grown/doped at identical temperatures using the conventional MOCVD process. Our work demonstrated that like the other reported approaches such as UV exposure during growth, the pulsed MOCVD process is also very effective in reducing point defects by the defect quasi-Fermi level-chemical potential control.

A Numerical Assessment Of Ocean Alkalinity Enhancement Efficiency On A River-Dominated Continental Shelf—A Case Study In The Northern Gulf Of Mexico, Yanda Ou, Z. George Xue, Xinping Hu

Faculty Publications

A robust high-resolution coupled hydrodynamic-biogeochemical model was applied to the northern Gulf of Mexico to assess the efficiency of river- and ocean-sourced ocean alkalinity enhancement (OAE). Sensitivity tests indicate that the effectiveness of OAE-induced CO2 uptake is primarily influenced by the amount of alkalinity introduced and local wind-driven mixing, with the former determining the overall uptake and the latter affecting short-term variability. Compared to ocean-sourced OAE (direct ocean release), river-sourced OAE (elevated river alkalinity) is more effective and sustainable. River-sourced OAE has higher CO2 uptake efficiency with reduced spatial and temporal uncertainty and greater overall CO2 uptake. For river-sourced OAE, …

Threat Perceptions, Defensive Behaviors, And The Perceived Suicide Prevention Value Of Specific Firearm Storage Practices, Michael D. Anestis, Craig J. Bryan, Anna Belle O. Bryan, Daniel W. Capron

Faculty Publications

Introduction: Secure firearm storage has been proposed as a suicide prevention method within the military; however, secure storage practices are uncommon. Service members may perceive limited value in secure storage as a suicide prevention tool and threat-related factors may influence such perceptions. Method: A nationally representative sample of firearm-owning military service members (n = 719) was recruited between December 3, 2021 and January 4, 2022 to complete a self-report survey by Ipsos using their KnowledgePanel calibration approach to optimize representativeness. Results: Threat sensitivity was associated with less perceived suicide prevention value across all within-home storage practices as well as out-of-home …

Cultural Consensus Modeling To Identify Culturally Relevant Reasons For And Against Suicide Among Black Adolescents, Ryan M. Hill, Danielle Busby, Jennifer L. Brown, Eric Sumlin, Estefania Fernandez, Carla Sharp

Faculty Publications

Introduction: The development of evidence-based treatments relies on accurate theoretical frameworks sensitive to the lived realities of the populations from which they are derived. Yet, the perspectives of Black youth are vastly underrepresented in extant theories of suicidal behavior. Cultural Consensus Modeling provides an evidence-based approach for developing a culturally informed understanding of suicide risk among Black youth. Method: Participants were 50 Black adolescents (Mage = 16.20 years; 76.0% male) who completed Phase 1 of a Cultural Consensus Modeling study. Participants freely listed reasons for suicide and reasons for living among similar peer Black youth. Responses were synthesized and coded …

Interactive Effects Of Co2, Temperature, And Nitrate Limitation On The Growth And Physiology Of Strain Ccmp 1334 Of The Marine Cyanobacterium Synechococcus (Cyanophyceae), Alyssa K. Sharbaugh, Edward A. Laws

Faculty Publications

The marine cyanobacterium Synecococcus sp. (CCMP 1334) was grown in a continuous culture system on a 12:12 h light:dark cycle at all combinations of low and high pCO2 (400 and 1000 ppmv, respectively), nutrient availability (nitrate-limited and nutrient-replete conditions), and temperatures of 21, 24, 28, 32, and 35°C. The maximum nutrient-replete growth rate was ~1.15 day⁻¹ at 32–35°C. Median nutrient-replete growth rates were higher at 1000 ppmv than at 400 ppmv pCO2 at all temperatures. Carbon:nitrogen ratios were independent of pCO2 at a fixed relative growth rate (i.e., growth rate ÷ nutrient-replete growth rate) but decreased with increasing temperature. …

Butterfly Species Vary In Sex-Specific Sodium Accumulation From Larval Diets, Luis Y. Santiago-Rosario, Alexander M. Shephard, Emilie Snell-Rood, Achim D. Herrmann, Kyle E. Harms

Faculty Publications

Sodium is essential for animals, and its heterogeneous distribution can cause a range of phenomena, from sodium-seeking behaviours to impacting their performance. Although sodium content in soils and plants is relatively well documented, data for higher trophic levels are limited. Knowledge of the variation in sodium in lower trophic levels could have implications for understanding the behaviour and physiology of species at higher levels. We investigated the variation in tissue sodium concentration between males and females of four butterfly species. Puddling behaviour of Lepidoptera suggests sodium needs of males are generally greater than females, thus, we predicted males would accumulate …

Earliest Ancient Maya Salt Production In Southern Belize: Excavations At Jay-Yi Nah, Heather Mckillop, E. Cory Sills

Faculty Publications

Salt works along the Yucatan coasts of Mexico and Belize provide a record of salt production for inland trade during the height of Late Classic Maya civilisation (AD 550-800). At the Paynes Creek Salt Works in Belize, production focused on the creation of salt cakes by boiling brine in pots supported over fires in dedicated salt kitchens. Underwater excavations at the Early Classic (AD 250-550) site of Jay-yi Nah now indicate there was a longer and evolving tradition of salt making in the area, one that initially employed large, incurved bowls to meet local or down-the-line trade needs before inland …

Two Decades Later, Steven L. Chanenson, Douglas A. Berman

Faculty Publications

A generation after the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling in United States v. Booker changed federal sentencing laws and practices, it is remarkable how much and how little has changed. This brief introduction provides an overview to this issue of the Federal Sentencing Reporter, with an array of authors providing perspectives on Booker after two eventful decades.

Counseling Students’ Perceptions Of Support During The Covid-19 Crisis: A Qualitative Study., Breahannah Hilarie, Galaxina G. Wright, Lea H., Laurie O. Campbell

Faculty Publications

The COVID-19 pandemic changed the counseling programs in clinical instruction, mentorship, and student’s perception of the university. The qualitative data presented in this paper identifies eight counseling students’ beliefs of support during their time in counseling program during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data was obtained through semi-structured interviews. An interpretive phenomenological analysis resulted in four themes: including higher education response, personal resources, emotions in crisis, and transitions in crisis.

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. …

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 …

Guardrails Needed For Social Science Research, James G. Dwyer

Faculty Publications

In an article written for a legal audience, The Most Dangerous Branch of Science?: Reining in Rogue Research and Reckless Experimentation in Social Welfare, (Dwyer, 2022), I illustrated this phenomenon by describing what has happened in the child welfare world in recent decades. In the article, I recommend legal reforms to address the problems, including mandating a more robust IRB [institutional review board] review, broadening the concept of unethical research, treating policy experimentation as research subject to ethical rules, and authorizing lawsuits against those who purchase or conduct intentionally skewed studies that result in harmful policy innovations. I offer here …

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 …

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 …

Simulations Of Attosecond Metallization In Quartz And Diamond Probed With Inner-Shell Transient Absorption Spectroscopy, Lucas Kurkowski, Adonay Sissay, Mengqi Yang, Alexander Meyer, Kenneth Lopata

Faculty Publications

When dielectrics are hit with intense infrared (IR) laser pulses, transient metalization can occur. The initial attosecond dynamics behind this metallization are not entirely understood. Therefore, simulations are needed to understand this process and to help interpret experimental observations of it, such as with attosecond transient absorption (ATA). In this paper, we present first-principles simulations of ATA based on bulk-mimicking clusters and real-time time-dependent density functional theory (RT-TDDFT), with Koopmans-tuned range-separated hybrid functionals and Gaussian basis sets. Our method gives good agreement with the experiment for the breakdown threshold in silica and diamond. This breakdown voltage corresponds to a Keldysh …

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 …