Digital Commons Network^™

Liposomes For The Treatment Of Brain Cancer—A Review, Richu Raju, Waad H. Abuwatfa, William G. Pitt, Ghaleb A. Husseini

Faculty Publications

Due to their biocompatibility, non-toxicity, and surface-conjugation capabilities, liposomes are effective nanocarriers that can encapsulate chemotherapeutic drugs and facilitate targeted delivery across the blood–brain barrier (BBB). Additionally, strategies have been explored to synthesize liposomes that respond to internal and/or external stimuli to release their payload controllably. Although research into liposomes for brain cancer treatment is still in its infancy, these systems have great potential to fundamentally change the drug delivery landscape. This review paper attempts to consolidate relevant literature regarding the delivery to the brain using nanocarriers, particularly liposomes. The paper first briefly explains conventional treatment modalities for cancer, followed …

A Review On Membrane Fouling Prediction Using Artificial Neural Networks (Anns), Waad H. Abuwatfa, Nour Al Sawaftah, Naif Darwish, William G. Pitt, Ghaleb A. Husseini

Faculty Publications

Membrane fouling is a major hurdle to effective pressure-driven membrane processes, such as microfiltration (MF), ultrafiltration (UF), nanofiltration (NF), and reverse osmosis (RO). Fouling refers to the accumulation of particles, organic and inorganic matter, and microbial cells on the membrane’s external and internal surface, which reduces the permeate flux and increases the needed transmembrane pressure. Various factors affect membrane fouling, including feed water quality, membrane characteristics, operating conditions, and cleaning protocols. Several models have been developed to predict membrane fouling in pressure-driven processes. These models can be divided into traditional empirical, mechanistic, and artificial intelligence (AI)-based models. Artificial neural networks …

Wave Optics Approach To Solar Cell Brdf Modeling With Experimental Results, Madilynn Compean, Todd V. Small, Milo W. Hyde Iv, Michael Marciniak

Faculty Publications

Light curve analysis is often used to discern information about satellites in geosynchronous orbits. Solar panels, comprising a large part of the satellite’s body, contribute significantly to these light curves. Historically, theoretical bidirectional reflectance distribution functions (BRDFs) have failed to capture key features in the scattered light from solar panels. In recently published work, a new solar cell BRDF was developed by combining specular microfacet and “two-slit” diffraction terms to capture specular and periodic/array scattering, respectively. This BRDF was experimentally motivated and predicted many features of the solar cell scattered irradiance. However, the experiments that informed the BRDF were limited …

The Hidden Power Of “Thank You”: Exploring Aspects, Expressions, And The Influence Of Gratitude In Religious Families, Joe M. Chelladurai, Loren D. Marks, David C. Dollahite, Heather H. Kelley, David B. Allsop

Faculty Publications

Gratitude has been extensively studied over the past two decades. Among several predictors, aspects of religiosity and spirituality have been consistent predictors of gratitude. To explore the religious motivations and processes that foster the practice of gratitude, we undertook a systematic thematic analysis using interview data from a national qualitative project of 198 highly religious families. Participants (n = 476) included mothers, fathers, and children from various socioeconomic backgrounds and from diverse religious, racial, and ethnic backgrounds in the United States of America. Semi-structured interviews were conducted in the participants’ homes. Data for this study were analyzed using a team-based …

Metamorphic P-T Paths Of Archean Granulite Facies Metasedimentary Lithologies From The Eastern Beartooth Mountains Of The Northern Wyoming Province, Montana, Usa: Constraints From Quartz-In-Garnet (Quig) Raman Elastic Barometry, Geothermobarometry, And Thermodynamic Modeling, Larry Tuttle, Darrell J. Henry

Faculty Publications

Metamorphic pressure and temperature (P-T) paths in late-Archean high-grade rocks of the eastern Beartooth Mountains of Montana (USA), a portion of the Wyoming Province, are established by a combination of imaging, analytical, and modeling approaches. Garnet inclusion mechanical and chemical thermobarometry, applied to several granulite-facies migmatites and an iron formation, is particularly useful in constraining the prograde P-T conditions. Quartz-in-garnet (QuiG) elastic Raman barometry was used on quartz inclusions in garnet for all samples studied. For a smaller subset of four representative samples, QuiG constraints were used in conjunction with Ti-in-quartz (TitaniQ) and Ti-in-biotite (TiB) thermometry to establish unique prograde …

Whose Social Capital?: Citation And Co-Citation Patterns Of A Fragmented Concept, Jimi Adams, Kate Vinita Fitch

Faculty Publications

Despite its wide use across the social sciences, social capital research has been regularly criticized as having fuzzy conceptualization, resulting in multiple (potentially conflicting) operationalizations. Our analyses employ bibliometric analytic tools to demonstrate the disconnected structure of social capital research. The resulting visualization illustrates one potential source of the confusion surrounding social capital—that there are many, potentially nonoverlapping versions of the idea rather than one unified social capital concept.

Family Experiences Of Engagement In Inclusive Childcare Programs For Toddlers, Julianna Lieb, Audra Classen, Lindsay Wright, Hollie Filce

Faculty Publications

Previous research has explored family engagement experiences and practices in childcare programs. The purpose of this study was to explore family members’ experiences related to their engagement in decision-making processes across various inclusive, toddler childcare programs. Five early educators and eight parents participated in the study. Four parents had a child with a diagnosed disability or developmental delays, were at-risk for developmental delays, and/or received speech, occupational, or physical therapy. Eligible early educators participating in the study taught toddlers (18 to 30 months) in a private, faith-based, or university childcare program. A semi-structured interview style was used to collect family …

Hyperspectral Point Cloud Projection For The Semantic Segmentation Of Multimodal Hyperspectral And Lidar Data With Point Convolution-Based Deep Fusion Neural Networks, Kevin T. Decker, Brett J. Borghetti

Faculty Publications

The fusion of dissimilar data modalities in neural networks presents a significant challenge, particularly in the case of multimodal hyperspectral and lidar data. Hyperspectral data, typically represented as images with potentially hundreds of bands, provide a wealth of spectral information, while lidar data, commonly represented as point clouds with millions of unordered points in 3D space, offer structural information. The complementary nature of these data types presents a unique challenge due to their fundamentally different representations requiring distinct processing methods. In this work, we introduce an alternative hyperspectral data representation in the form of a hyperspectral point cloud (HSPC), which …

The Characteristics Of Successful Military It Projects: A Cross-Country Empirical Study, Helene Berg, Jonathan D. Ritschel

Faculty Publications

In the armed forces, successful digitalization is crucial to ensure effective operations. Much of the existing literature on project factors during the planning and execution phases of public IT projects do not focus specifically on military sector projects. Therefore, the paper aims to provide empirical insights into the characteristics of successful military IT projects. Data from such projects in NATO countries and agencies were collected through interviews and project documents. The findings relating to the main variable of interest, “delivery of client benefit,” supported previous findings on IT project performance. Medium-sized projects performed better than small and large projects, and …

Gender (In)Equity In Global Mental Health Research: A Call To Action, The Women In Global Mental Health Research Group, Kelly Rose-Clarke

Faculty Publications

In this commentary, we build on work by Gurung and colleagues which highlighted gender inequity in the global mental health research workforce in Nepal (Gurung et al., 2021). We seek to increase awareness of the under-representation of women in global mental health research and its consequences, and we call for change. By women, we refer to all people who identify as women, including trans people. The commentary is informed by conversations with women who are global mental health researchers in the Global North and South at various stages of their careers.

Factors Associated With Resilience Among Msw Students In The Face Of The Covid-19 Pandemic, Jose Carbajal, Donna Schuman, Warren Ponder, Christine Bishop, Amber Hall, Kristin Bolton

Faculty Publications

COVID-19 continues to affect the general population, and its impact on MSW students is unknown. Therefore, this study aims to examine resilience, attachment, and other mental health constructs among MSW students during COVID-19. U.S. MSW program directors were emailed the electronic surveys to distribute to their MSW students. Authors evaluated the bivariate relationship between the variables and conducted a multiple hierarchical regression predicting resilience. The findings suggest that individuals with higher levels of resilience have lower levels of depression and PTSD. Finally, attachment avoidance, attachment anxiety, and self-efficacy were statistically significant predictors of resilience in the hierarchical regression. This study …

Short-Term Responses Of Soil Carbon, Nitrogen, And Microbial Biomass To Cover Crop Mixtures And Monocultures, Igor Alexandre De Souza, Amanda B. Daly, Jorg Schnecker, Nicholas D. Warren, Adalfredo Rocha Lobo Jr., Richard G. Smith, Andre Fonseca Brito, A. Stuart Grandy

Faculty Publications

Increasingly, cover crops are being adopted for the purpose of improving soil health, yet the timescale and magnitude by which living annual cover crops might modify soil chemical and biological aspects of soil health is not well understood. At the same time, there is growing interest among farmers in cover crop mixtures due to perceptions that species-rich cover crop communities will enhance soil health relative to monocultures. In a field experiment in southeast New Hampshire, we investigated how groups of cover crops grown as monocultures and mixtures for specific seasonal niches (winter/spring, summer, and fall) influenced levels of soil nitrogen …

Electrically-Evoked Referred Sensations Induce Embodiment Of Rubber Limb, Anthony Nguyen, Brooke Draggoo, Brooklyn Tobias, Payton Dubose, Katharine Polasek

Faculty Publications

Introduction: Electrical stimulation is increasingly relevant in a variety of medical treatments. In this study, the quality of referred sensations evoked using surface electrical stimulation was evaluated using the rubber hand and foot illusions.

Methods: The rubber hand and foot illusions were attempted under 4 conditions: (1) multi-location tapping; (2) one-location tapping; (3) electrical stimulation of sensation referred to the hand or foot; (4) asynchronous control. The strength of each illusion was quantified using a questionnaire and proprioceptive drift, where a stronger response suggested embodiment of the rubber limb.

Results: 45 able-bodied individuals and two individuals with amputations participated in …

Living In The Summer, Andrea Luxton

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Year-Round Weather Alters Nest-Provisioning Rates In A Migratory Owl, Eliza D. Stein, Stephen R. Midway, Brian D. Linkhart

Faculty Publications

As global temperatures and precipitation become more extreme, habitat specialists are at particular risk of being pushed past their environmental tolerance limits. Flammulated Owls (Psiloscops flammeolus) are small migratory owls that breed in temperate conifer forests of western North America. Their highly specialized nesting and foraging requirements make them indicators of ecosystem health. Using 17 years of nest observations, we investigated how annual weather patterns affected Flammulated Owl nesting and foraging behaviors during the breeding season. We used generalized linear models with a changepoint parameter to evaluate nest provisioning and nestling growth rates in years of extreme temperature and precipitation. …

A Systematic Literature Review Of Cleanroom Ventilation And Air Distribution Systems, Arup Bhattacharya, Mohammad Saleh Nikoopayan Tak, Shervin Shoai-Naini, Fred Betz, Ehsan Mousavi

Faculty Publications

Cleanroom ventilation systems are well-established; however, the advantages and limitations of current practices need to be examined and explained further. This study begins by looking over the history of cleanroom ventilation systems that creates the basis for understanding ventilation rate specifications, terminologies employed in ventilation effectiveness, and recognizing scientific studies that correlate ventilation effectiveness with air change rates. This systematic review includes a comprehensive summary that contains a set of historical data and evidence that may be used to specify ventilation requirements in cleanrooms. Scientific articles are classified in terms of laboratory experiments, simulations/numerical analysis, or hybrid. HVAC designers and …

References To Beatles Songs In Advocacy And Judicial Opinions, Douglas E. Abrams

Faculty Publications

This article surveys the indelible mark that the Beatles (Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr) continue to leave on courts in the United States more than half a century after the quartet burst onto the American scene with their three television appearances on the Ed Sullivan Show in February of 1964, six years before the band’s breakup.

The Mindful First Amendment, Gary Myers

Faculty Publications

The mindfulness movement has begun to play an expanding role in personal well-being and in society more generally. Although there is an active push for mindfulness in law, its primary focus is on ways in which mindfulness techniques can help lawyers in their personal and professional lives. This article explores the possible contributions of mindfulness to the widely recognized challenges facing freedom of speech and freedom of the press in an era of severe cultural and political polarization.

Preliminary Validation Of Digital Photography To Assess The Home Food Environment, Daniela Quan, Isaac Michael, Elizabeth Gollub

Faculty Publications

The home food environment (HFE), the availability and accessibility of foods and food products within the home, has a strong influence on healthy eating behaviors. Studies assessing the HFE commonly utilize a home food inventory (HFI) for data collection. However, this approach tends to be burdensome for participants. This study validated a low-burden digital photo method for assessing the home food environment and confirmed that this method is preferred by participants. Study participants completed an HFI, submitted photos of household foods, then identified preference for the HFI or photo reporting method. Researchers completed an HFI based on each participant’s photo …

Evidence For Two Soybean Looper Strains In The United States With Limited Capacity For Cross-Hybridization, Rodney N. Nagoshi, Jeffrey A. Davis, Robert L. Meagher, Fred R. Musser, Graham P. Head, Hector Portillo, Henry Teran

Faculty Publications

The noctuid moth soybean looper (SBL), Chrysodeixis includens (Walker) is an economically important pest of soybeans (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) in the southeastern United States. It has characteristics that are of particular concern for pest mitigation that include a broad host range, the capacity for annual long-distance flight, and resistance in some populations to important pesticides such as pyrethroids and chitin synthesis inhibitor. The biology of SBL in the United States resembles that of the fellow noctuid fall armyworm (FAW), Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith), a major pest of corn and several other crops. FAW exhibits a population structure in that …

Investigating The Migratory Behavior Of Soybean Looper, A Major Pest Of Soybean, Through Comparisons With The Corn Pest Fall Armyworm Using Mitochondrial Haplotypes And A Sex-Linked Marker, Rodney N. Nagoshi, Jeffrey A. Davis, Robert L. Meagher, Fred R. Musser, Graham P. Head, Hector Portillo, Henry Teran

Faculty Publications

The Noctuid moth soybean looper (SBL), Chrysodeixis includens (Walker), is an economically important pest of soybean (Glycine max (Linnaeus) Merrill). Because it is not known to survive freezing winters, permanent populations in the United States are believed to be limited to the southern regions of Texas and Florida, yet its geographical range of infestations annually extend to Canada. This indicates annual migrations of thousands of kilometers during the spring and summer growing season. This behavior is like that of the fall armyworm (FAW), Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith), also a Noctuid that is a major global pest of corn. SBL and …

Clathrin-Mediated Endocytosis Facilitates The Internalization Of Magnaporthe Oryzae Effectors Into Rice Cells, Ely Oliveira-Garcia, Tej Man Tamang, Jungeun Park, Melinda Dalby, Magdalena Martin-Urdiroz, Clara Rodriguez Herrero, An Hong Vu, Sunghun Park, Nicholas J. Talbot, Barbara Valent

Faculty Publications

Fungi and oomycetes deliver effectors into living plant cells to suppress defenses and control plant processes needed for infection. Little is known about the mechanism by which these pathogens translocate effector proteins across the plasma membrane into the plant cytoplasm. The blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae secretes cytoplasmic effectors into a specialized biotrophic interfacial complex (BIC) before translocation. Here, we show that cytoplasmic effectors within BICs are packaged into punctate membranous effector compartments that are occasionally observed in the host cytoplasm. Live cell imaging with fluorescently labeled proteins in rice (Oryza sativa) showed that these effector puncta colocalize with the plant …

A Cyclical Phenomenon Among Stock & Commodity Markets, Hector O. Zapata, Junior E. Betanco, Maria Bampasidou, Michael Deliberto

Faculty Publications

Considerable studies have examined the relationship between commodity markets and stock markets. This paper studies the cyclical relationship between commodity markets and stock markets with implications for investing based on index relationships. Stock markets are represented by the U.S. S&P 500 index and aggregate commodity markets by the U.S. producer price index (PPI). Tradeable market indexes readily available to investors, namely the S&P GSCI Index and the Bloomberg Commodity Index (BCOM), are also studied. An optimal bandpass filter is used to estimate the cyclical component using a pricing-performance measure of the S&P 500 relative to the PPI, based on annual …

Extended Sentinel Monitoring Of Helicoverpa Zea Resistance To Cry And Vip3aa Toxins In Bt Sweet Corn: Assessing Changes In Phenotypic And Allele Frequencies Of Resistance, Galen P. Dively, Tom P. Kuhar, Sally V. Taylor, Helene Doughty, Kristian Holmstrom, Daniel O. Gilrein, Brian A. Nault, Joseph Ingerson-Mahar, Anders Huseth, Dominic Reisig, Shelby Fleischer, David Owens, Kelley Tilmon, Francis Reay-Jones, Pat Porter, Jocelyn Smith, Julien Saguez, Jason Wells, Caitlin Congdon, Holly Byker, Bryan Jensen, Chris Difonzo, William D. Hutchison, Eric Burkness, Robert Wright, Michael Crossley, Heather Darby, Tom Bilbo, Nicholas Seiter, Christian Krupke, Craig Abel, Brad S. Coates, Bradley Mcmanus

Faculty Publications

Transgenic corn and cotton that produce Cry and Vip3Aa toxins derived from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) are widely planted in the United States to control lepidopteran pests. The sustainability of these Bt crops is threatened because the corn earworm/bollworm, Helicoverpa zea (Boddie), is evolving a resistance to these toxins. Using Bt sweet corn as a sentinel plant to monitor the evolution of resistance, collaborators established 146 trials in twenty-five states and five Canadian provinces during 2020–2022. The study evaluated overall changes in the phenotypic frequency of resistance (the ratio of larval densities in Bt ears relative to densities in non-Bt ears) …

Large Uncertainties In Co2 Water–Air Outgassing Estimation With Gas Exchange Coefficient Kt For A Large Lowland River, Anamika Dristi, Y. Jun Xu

Faculty Publications

Aquatic CO2 emission is typically estimated (i.e., not measured) through a gas exchange balance. Several factors can affect the estimation, primarily flow velocity and wind speed, which can influence a key parameter, the gas exchange coefficient KT in the balancing approach. However, our knowledge of the uncertainty of predictions using these factors is rather limited. In this study, we conducted a numeric assessment on the impact of river flow velocity and wind speed on KT and the consequent CO2 emission rate. As a case study, we utilized 3-year (2019–2021) measurements on the partial pressure of dissolved carbon dioxide (pCO2) in …

Substantially Enhanced Landscape Carbon Sink Due To Reduced Terrestrial-Aquatic Carbon Transfer Through Soil Conservation In The Chinese Loess Plateau, Lishan Ran, Nufang Fang, Xuhui Wang, Shilong Piao, Chun Ngai Chan, Siliang Li, Yi Zeng, Zhihua Shi, Mingyang Tian, Yi Jun Xu, Junyu Qi, Boyi Liu

Faculty Publications

Soil conservation is of global importance, as accelerated soil erosion by human activity is a primary threat to ecosystem viability. However, the significance and role of soil conservation in reshaping landscape carbon (C) accounting has not been comprehensively integrated in the terrestrial C sink. Here, we present the first integrated assessment of the modified terrestrial C sink and aquatic C transport due to soil conservation for the semiarid Chinese Loess Plateau (CLP), the world's most vulnerable region to soil erosion. We show a surprisingly low terrestrial-aquatic C transfer that offset the terrestrial net ecosystem productivity by only 7.5%, which we …

Long-Term Capture Data Uncover Shifts In The Daily Activity Patterns Of Amazonian Birds, Cameron L. Rutt, Philip C. Stouffer, Bruna R. Amaral, David A. Luther

Faculty Publications

Although the duration of biological rhythms varies from milliseconds to decades, daily cycles are especially widespread for individual organisms. These circadian rhythms are synchronized by light–dark cycles, which govern predictable changes in other microclimate variables. Despite the fixed, regular nature of these abiotic cycles at low latitudes, little is known about how different animals structure activity along these gradients. We used 25 years of capture–recapture data and ~ 25 000 unique captures to characterize ‘activity' (time of capture) for 65 species of Amazonian birds in the lowest forest stratum (0–2.5 m). To quantify vertical niche breadths, we also measured foraging …

Current Status Of Us Soil Test Phosphorus And Potassium Recommendations And Analytical Methods, Sarah E. Lyons, Jason D. Clark, Deanna L. Osmond, Md Rasel Parvej, Austin W. Pearce, Nathan A. Slaton, John T. Spargo

Faculty Publications

Soil testing is the foundation of fertilizer recommendations in the United States. Fertilizer recommendations have primarily been developed by land-grant universities with limited coordination among programs. The individual state approach to develop fertilizer recommendations has resulted in discrepancies in recommended soil sampling protocols, soil analysis methods, and fertilizer recommendations at similar soil nutrient levels. A national survey was developed to summarize the status of soil testing and fertility work in the United States to inform future collaborative efforts among states and regions and identify opportunities to harmonize recommendation guidelines. Topics included relevant funding, multi-state collaborations, state soil-test recommendations and related …

Extensive Independent Amplification Of Platy-1 Retroposons In Tamarins, Genus Saguinus, Jessica M. Storer, Jerilyn A. Walker, Thomas O. Beckstrom, Mark A. Batzer

Faculty Publications

Platy-1 retroposons are short interspersed elements (SINEs) unique to platyrrhine primates. Discovered in the common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus) genome in 2016, these 100 bp mobile element insertions (MEIs) appeared to be novel drivers of platyrrhine evolution, with over 2200 full-length members across 62 different subfamilies, and strong evidence of ongoing proliferation in C. jacchus. Subsequent characterization of Platy-1 elements in Aotus, Saimiri and Cebus genera, suggested that the widespread mobilization detected in marmoset (family Callithrichidae) was perhaps an anomaly. Two additional Callithrichidae genomes are now available, a scaffold level genome assembly for Saguinus imperator (tamarin; SagImp_v1) and a chromosome-level assembly …

Gene Editing Provides A Tool To Investigate Genes Involved In Reproduction Of Pigs, Rodney D. Geisert, Destiny N. Johns, Caroline A. Pfeiffer, Riley M. Sullivan, Caroline G. Lucas, Constantine A. Simintiras, Bethany K. Redel, Kevin D. Wells, Thomas E. Spencer, Randall S. Prather

Faculty Publications

CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing technology provides a method to generate loss-of-function studies to investigate, in vivo, the specific role of specific genes in regulation of reproduction. With proper design and selection of guide RNAs (gRNA) designed to specifically target genes, CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing allows investigation of factors proposed to regulate biological pathways involved with establishment and maintenance of pregnancy. The advantages and disadvantages of using the current gene editing technology in a large farm species is discussed. CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing of porcine conceptuses has generated new perspectives for the regulation of endometrial function during the establishment of pregnancy. The delicate orchestration …