Digital Commons Network^™

Metal Exposures And Their Interactions With The Dietary Inflammatory Index On Inflammatory Biomarkers In Mexican Adolescents, Yanelli Rodríguez-Carmona, Ana Baylin, Peter X.K. Song, Edward Ruiz-Narvaez, Cindy W. Leung, James Hébert Scd, Nitin Shivappa Mbbs, Mph, Ph.D., Michael David Wirth Msph, Phd, Face, Aljandra Cantoral, John D. Meeker, Niladri Basu, Martha María Tellez-Rojo, Karen E. Peterson, Sung Kyun Park

Faculty Publications

Background:

Heavy metals, like lead, arsenic, and cadmium, are linked to increased inflammation even in early life; however, anti-inflammatory diets may offset these effects.

Methods:

We evaluated associations between heavy metals and inflammatory biomarkers, and potential effect modification by diet in 399 adolescents aged 10 to 18 at baseline who attended two study visits 2 years apart (773 observations). At baseline, blood lead, urinary arsenic, and cadmium concentrations were measured, and the Children’s Dietary Inflammatory Index (C-DII) was calculated. Fasting serum interleukin (IL)-4, IL-10, IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha were measured for both visits. Generalized …

Sexual And Bystander Harassment Among Part-Time Employees: Effects On Work Attitudes, Stress, And Withdrawal, Robert T. Hitlan

Faculty Publications

This study investigated the impact of sexual and bystander harassment experiences on work attitudes, stress, withdrawal, and psychological well-being of part-time employees. Participants included 314 female employees who worked part-time in their organizations. All participants completed a computer-administered workplace experience survey assessing various aspects of their work environment, including personal and bystander harassment experiences, work-related attitudes (supervisor satisfaction, coworker satisfaction, and general job stress), work behaviors (work and job withdrawal), and psychological well-being. Experiences of sexual harassment and bystander harassment were predicted to be negatively related to satisfaction and psychological health and positively related to stress and withdrawal. Both forms …

Degrees Of Rate Control And Autodiff-Driven Direct Sensitivity Analysis In Heterogeneous Catalysis, Olajide H. Bamidele, Sina Behtash, Mubarak Bello, Andreas Heyden

Faculty Publications

Despite the wide application and benefits of the degree of rate control (DRC) analysis, several details remain argued, particularly about the conservation of DRCs at transient (TR) and steady-state (SS) conditions, especially for complex reaction networks. This work argues that previous proofs about the conservation properties of DRCs have been incomplete, and we provide new mathematical proofs at TR and SS conditions. In addition, we use both analytical (automatic differentiation) and numerical (finite difference) approaches to compute DRCs for the case study of ethane hydrogenolysis (EH) over Pt(111). This work confirms that at both TR and SS conditions, the sum …

Rogue Artificial Intelligence, Science Fiction, And The Law, Kerry L. Macintosh

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Tennyson & Contemporary Science: Herschel’S Preliminary Discourse, A Book That Got Away, Patrick Scott

Faculty Publications

Discusses the rediscovery, provenance, and authenticity of the copy of John Herschel's Preliminary Discourse on the Study of Natural Philosophy (1831), with an ownership inscription by Tennyson dated 1843, and marginal markings on multiple pages, that was previously only known from a brief catalogue description for a 1924 auction.

Correction: Changes In Aggressive Behaviors Over Time In Children With Adverse Childhood Experiences: Focusing On The Role Of School Connectedness, Sei Young Lee, Mijin Choi

Faculty Publications

In the original publication (Lee and Choi 2025), Zhang and Mersky (2022) was not cited. The citation has now been inserted in 5.2. Measures, 5.2.1. Adverse Childhood Experiences, Paragraph Three and should read: Parental substance use questions concerned whether mothers or fathers reported having four or more drinks and any of five types of drugs (e.g., cocaine and heroin) or misuse of prescription drugs (e.g., sedatives and tranquilizers) in the past 12 months. Parental incarceration was measured by whether the mother, father, or mother’s current partner had spent any time in prison or jail. Sample questions of parental domestic violence …

Impact Of The 23andme Bankruptcy On Preserving The Public Benefit Of Scientific Data, Jonathan E. Lotempio Jr., Chistopher R. Donohue, Jonatahan D. Moreno, Ana Santos Rutschman, Joshua Sarnoff, Michael S. Sinha, Thomas Stoeger, Jorge L. Contreras

Faculty Publications

The bankruptcy of 23andMe was an inflection point for the direct-to-consumer genetics market. Although the privacy of consumer data has been highlighted by many as a concern, we discuss another key tension in this case: the corporate enclosure of scientific data that has considerable potential value for biomedical research and public health.

Introduction To The Special Issue, “Forgiveness Education Around The World: Considerations, Benefits, And Approaches”, Suzanne Freedman

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Molecularly Imprinted Polymer For The Removal Of Nutrients From Water: Synthesis, Application, Performance And Limitation, Emmanuella Anang, Abolade Busari

Faculty Publications

Nutrient contamination is a major contributor to eutrophication and water quality degradation worldwide. Conventional treatment technologies often lack selectivity and efficiency in complex aquatic environments, highlighting the need for advanced materials with tailored recognition capabilities. Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) have emerged as promising adsorbents for nutrient remediation due to their high selectivity, stability and reusability. This review synthesizes recent progress on the synthesis strategies of MIPs. Applications of MIPs in removing phosphate, nitrate and ammonia from water are critically examined, with particular attention to adsorption performance under varying environmental conditions. The limitations of current systems, including modest adsorption capacities, incomplete …

Nonlinear Proudman Resonance Under Moving Atmospheric System, Chunyan Li

Faculty Publications

A nonlinear theoretical model with an exact solution is developed to critically examine the Proudman resonance problem. In this framework, a moving atmospheric pressure system forces a wave governed by the square of the wave Froude number (n=F²). Proudman’s classical linear solution, although widely cited, diverges to infinity at resonance (n=1), limiting its physical realism. This work extends the linear regime into the nonlinear by solving the governing equations exactly. The resulting solution remains finite at resonance. The first-order approximation recovers Proudman’s solution, while the second-order approximation already yields a finite resonant response—providing a more accurate and physically …

Understanding Landowner Perceptions: Enhancing Conservation Easement Adoption In Missouri's Priority Landscapes, Mckenna N. Thompson, Jennah I. Klein, Robin M. Rotman, Sonja A. Wilhelm Stanis, Gus C. Raeker, Michele D. Baumer

Faculty Publications

Conservation of private lands is essential for protecting open space, supporting ecosystems and species, preserving resources, and facilitating outdoor recreation. One tool for private land conservation is a conservation easement – a voluntary legal agreement where a landowner surrenders certain rights to use or develop their property. This study explores landowner perceptions of perpetual conservation easements in areas of high conservation value in Missouri, focusing on landowners without existing easements. Through interviews, four themes emerge containing both motivations and constraints: prior knowledge, land protection, regulations, and finance. Many landowners were unfamiliar with conservation easements or had misconceptions or misunderstandings. The …

Judge Platt Potter: Politics And Principle In Interbranch Conflict, Aaron-Andrew P. Bruhl

Faculty Publications

During the previous Congress, some commentators called on the Senate Judiciary Committee, then controlled by Democrats and chaired by Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois, to demand the testimony of Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito over allegations of ethical breaches, securing their presence by subpoena if necessary. The Committee did not subpoena the Justices, with Durbin citing the likely lack of sufficient votes and worrying that the Senate would not be able to enforce the subpoenas anyway. During the same Congress, Durbin asked Chief Justice Roberts to testify about judicial ethics, an invitation that Roberts declined.

These incidents …

Thermodynamic Assessment Of The Li, Na, K, Cs | F, I Reciprocal Salt For Msr Applications, Clara M. Dixon, Mina Aziziha, Amir Mofrad, Jorge Paz Soldan Palma, Ronald E. Booth, Aiswarya Padinhare Manissery, Jack A. Wilson, Hans Conrad Zur Loye, Hunter B. Tisdale, Juliano Schorne-Pinto, Theodore M. Besmann

Faculty Publications

Gibbs energy models necessary to describe the thermochemical behavior of cesium and iodine in molten FLiNaK (46.5LiF-11.5NaF-42KF mol%), a proposed molten salt reactor coolant and fuel solvent, have been developed as they are of concern due to their high radiotoxicity and volatility. The six constituent pseudo-binary systems LiI-CsI, LiI-KI, LiI-NaI, NaI-KI, KI-CsI and NaI-CsI were evaluated using available phase equilibria and mixing enthalpy measurements. The models for the ternary reciprocal salt systems Li,Cs|F,I, Li,K|F,I, Li,Na|F,I, Na,K|F,I, Na,Cs|F,I and K,Cs|F,I were obtained by interpolation of the optimized pseudo-binary systems and parameters fit as necessary based on observed behavior. The additive (common …

From Plate To Picture: The Role Of Gastronomic Offerings In Tourism Marketing, Patricia Picazo, Sergio Moreno-Gil, Robin B. Dipietro, Forest Ma

Faculty Publications

Gastronomic offerings are key components of travel and destinations. However, scant research has focused on how gastronomic offerings are projected to tourists. Using signaling theory as a framework, this study investigated the presence of gastronomic offerings in 25,231 promotional photos to assess how the pictures represented the food offerings at resorts in five countries. Data were gathered from the brochures published by two leading tour operators in the European market, “TUI” and “Thomas Cook.” The results of content analysis showed that gastronomic offerings were often secondary to cultural and natural assets in brochures. In addition, the number of photos with …

Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting From Roadways: Challenges, Advances, And Future Directions, Heba Gaber, Mohamed Abdelraheem

Faculty Publications

As the global demand for renewable energy intensifies, piezoelectric energy harvesting from roadways has emerged as a promising avenue for sustainable power generation. This systematic literature review analyzes 61 peer-reviewed studies to assess the feasibility, performance, and potential of integrating piezoelectric systems into roadway infrastructure. While technology faces challenges, such as high installation costs, limited energy output, and a scarcity of thorough economic evaluations, findings suggest it holds considerable promise as a supplementary renewable energy source. The review analyzes the operational characteristics and efficiencies of various piezoelectric transducers, identifies key factors influencing system performance, and evaluates recent technological advances. It …

Building Resilience: Pastoral Preparation And In-Ministry Support, David Sedlacek

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Sex Differences In Cardiovascular Disease And Associated Factors In People Living With Hiv: Evidence From All Of Us Program, Hao Zhang, Huiyi Xia, Fanghui Shi, Qingyang Li, Sharon Weissman, Xiaoming Li, Xueying Yang

Faculty Publications

Background

People living with HIV (PLWH) face a higher risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), with significant sex differences in outcomes. However, it is unclear whether these differences are driven by distinct risk factor profiles or by a differential impact of shared risk factors. This study aimed to identify factors associated with CVD among PLWH and to specifically assess for effect modification by sex using a large, diverse nationwide database.

Methods

We utilized data from the All of Us Research Program (AoU). The primary outcome was a composite of coronary artery disease or stroke. We used multivariable logistic regression to identify …

The Tamads2-Tatbl21 Module Enhances Wheat Resistance To Stripe Rust By Activating Tagkl-Mediated Immunity, Shijia Zhao, Hao Chu, Yanan Lu, Jiaqi Chen, Xu Wang, Guangxiang Tian, Mingjing Zhang, Pengyu Song, Yanhui Zhang, Guihua Bai, Gangming Zhan, Zhensheng Kang, Wenming Zheng, Zhengqing Fu, Na Liu

Faculty Publications

Wheat stripe rust (Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici, Pst) poses a catastrophic threat to global food security. While MADS-box transcription factors regulate development and abiotic stress, their roles in plant-pathogen immunity remain enigmatic. In this study, we identified TaMADS2, a Pst-induced MADS-box gene, as a positive regulator of wheat resistance. Functional analyses demonstrated that TaMADS2 overexpression significantly enhanced Pst resistance, whereas its knockdown rendered wheat more susceptible. Further investigation revealed that TaMADS2 interacts with trichome birefringence-like protein 21 (TaTBL21) to activate glycerol kinase-like (TaGKL) expression. Silencing TaGKL in wild-type or TaMADS2-overexpressing lines …

An Updated Perspective On Learning, Andrew S. Gibbons Iii

Faculty Publications

The subject of human learning is revisited. The emergence of new research findings in cognitive neuroscience and related disciplines using new imaging tools and techniques has revealed the existence of not one but two complementary learning systems. A newly-discovered prospection process, interacting with both memory systems, has been revealed as the pivotal mechanism of learning that leads to new experience and new memory records. The universal impact of emotion on this process also receives a new emphasis. This, coupled with the ever-present social environment, show learning to be the result of conversational activity. The existence of this more complete and …

Hide And Seek: Offshore Financial Centers And Targeted Sanctions, Menevis Cilizogula, Chelsea Estancona

Faculty Publications

The movement of capital across borders has never been easier, as evidenced by the recent proliferation of offshore financial services. But these services are a double-edged sword: while boosting economic efficiency, they can also facilitate illicit financial activity. In this paper, we discuss the symbiotic relationship between financial liberalization and the pursuit of financial anonymity by secrecy-seeking actors. We examine a hide-and-seek dynamic between governments increasing monitoring of international finance and actors seeking anonymity via offshore financial centers. Under what conditions can international financial monitoring have the unintended consequence of increasing the use of poorly regulated and opaque offshore financial …

Sex Differences In Cardiovascular Disease And Associatedfactors In People Living With Hiv: Evidence From All Of Us Program, Hao Zhang, Huiyi Xia, Fanghui Shi, Qingyang Li, Sharon Weissman, Xiaoming Li Ph.D., Xueying Yang

Faculty Publications

Background

People living with HIV (PLWH) face a higher risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), with significant sex differences in outcomes. However, it is unclear whether these differences are driven by distinct risk factor profiles or by a differential impact of shared risk factors. This study aimed to identify factors associated with CVD among PLWH and to specifically assess for effect modification by sex using a large, diverse nationwide database.

Methods

We utilized data from the All of Us Research Program (AoU). The primary outcome was a composite of coronary artery disease or stroke. We used multivariable logistic regression to identify …

Sinkhole Microcosms: Understanding Persistence Of Place Through Variable Cultivation Strategies In Northeastern Yucatán, Mexico, Maia Dedrick, Patricia A. Mcanany, Adolfo Iván Batún Alpuche, Elizabeth A. Webb, Isaac A. Hart

Faculty Publications

Sinkholes contributed to persistent human inhabitation of the northern Yucatán peninsula of Mexico for more than two millennia. Building on previous work on the use of sinkholes central to the town of Tahcabo and elsewhere in the Maya area, this study presents pollen, soil carbon isotope, radiocarbon, and artifactual evidence from four geomorphic features. They include the perennially wet cenote situated in the town center and three dry sinkholes (rejolladas) located in the commonly held lands (ejido) of the town. These features demonstrate striking variability in multispecies engagements with and within sinkholes, especially over the past …

Deep Tracks: Using Deep Learning And Procedurally Simulated Data For Automated Vertebrate Footprints Classification, Carolina S. Marques, Afonso Mota, Matteo Belvedere, Diego Castanera, Ignacio Díaz-Martínez, Elisabete Malafaia, Soraia Pereira, Luís Miguel Rosalino, Vanda F. Santos

Faculty Publications

The study of vertebrate footprints provides useful information on animal behavior, locomotion, and ecology. However, automatically classifying these records using photographs is difficult due to the significant morphological variation in footprints and the lack of readily available labeled datasets. To address this issue, this study developed Deep Tracks, a novel Unity application to procedurally create a dataset of simulated footprint images. Two datasets were used to evaluate the influence and impact of the simulated dataset on real footprint classification: (1) a dataset comprising 40,000 simulated footprints, (2) approximately 1,500 real vertebrate footprints from 10 different vertebrate groups. Both simulated and …

Esg Performance Evolution In Retail: A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis, Jiyeon Kim Ph.D., Wooyoung Yang

Faculty Publications

Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices have transformed from peripheral corporate social responsibility initiatives into core strategic imperatives in retail. Despite growing interest, the literature remains fragmented across disciplines and geographic contexts, with no comprehensive sector-specific analysis examining the evolution of ESG performance in retail contexts. Following the PRISMA 2020 guidelines, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of 127 empirical studies published between 1988 and 2024 across major databases. Random-effects models assessed ESG-performance relationships, while stakeholder theory, the resource-based view, and Consumer Behavior frameworks explained the underlying mechanisms through temporal and subsectoral analysis. ESG practices demonstrate significant positive correlations …

Learning By Doing: The Importance Of Thoughtful And Limited Generative A.I. Use In The Il Legal Writing Classroom, Luke Repici

Faculty Publications

Technological advances that impact lawyers day-to-day work are nothing new. From typewriters, dictaphones, and computers to electronic legal research, email, and e-discovery, new technologies have changed the nuts and bolts of how lawyers practice for decades. Previous technologies may have replaced the pen with the typewriter and supplanted the letter for the email, but the lawyer remained the one doing the work. For more junior lawyers, this meant assigned tasks – reading cases, drafting motions, dictating client updates, summarizing discovery, and creating deposition outlines – could not be outsourced to technology.

The emergence of generative artificial intelligence (“Gen AI”) presents …

Moiselle Renstrom, Myrna J. Layton

Faculty Publications

Katherine Moiselle Renstrom (June 23, 1889 – September 28, 1956) was a Utah educator, author, lyricist and composer of music for children.

Maurine Dewsnup, Myrna J. Layton

Faculty Publications

Grace Maurine Dewsnup (February 8, 1909 – February 1, 1998) was a Utah piano soloist, dance accompanist, composer, music theorist and teacher.

Newel Kay Brown, Myrna J. Layton

Faculty Publications

Newel Kay Brown (February 29, 1932 – ) is an American composer, conductor, and arranger. He was chair of the Composition Division in the College of Music at the University of North Texas before his retirement.

Constraints On Inner Core Composition From Seismicanisotropy: The Importance Of Light Elements And Nickel, Jada Bollmeyer, Daniel A. Frost, Prajna Paramita Das

Faculty Publications

The inner core is seismically anisotropic, with PKIKP waves traversing the inner core parallel to the rotation axis faster than those in the equatorial plane. This anisotropy increases with depth into the inner core and may result from alignment of iron crystals deformed during inner core growth. Using previously calculated elastic properties of iron, we seek to determine the most likely iron-light element alloy (FeC, FeO, FeS, or FeSi). For each FeX alloy, we interpolate elastic tensors across the pressure and temperature range of the inner core and model the anisotropy resulting from flow during core growth. Lastly, we compare …

Environmental, Social, And Governance (Esg) Research: A Systematic Review Of Recent Trends (2020–2024), Jiyeon Kim Ph.D., Wooyoung Yang

Faculty Publications

The 2020–2024 period marks a pivotal era in sustainable development, characterized by significant regulatory developments, including the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), the International Sustainability Standards Board standards, and the introduction of mandatory ESG reporting requirements worldwide. This review examines how recent policy changes have reshaped the linkages between ESG and sustainability. Following the PRISMA 2020 guidelines, we conducted a systematic review examining empirical studies of ESG–sustainability performance relationships published between 2020 and 2024. Studies examined the quantitative relationships between ESG sustainability performance and publicly traded corporations. Quality assessment employed the adapted Newcastle–Ottawa Scale with sustainability-specific criteria. From 2847 …