Digital Commons Network^™

Nanoparticles As Antibiotic-Delivery Vehicles (Advs) Overcome Resistance By Mrsa And Other Mdr Bacterial Pathogens: The Grenade Hypothesis, Amjed Alabresm, Yung Pin Chen, Savannah Wichter-Chandler, Jamie Lead, Brian C. Benicewicz

Faculty Publications

Objectives

The aim of this study was to examine how the concentrated delivery of less effective antibiotics, such as the Β-lactam penicillin G, by linkage to nanoparticles (NPs), could influence the killing efficiency against various pathogenic bacteria, including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and other multidrug resistant (MDR) strains.

Methods

The Β-lactam antibiotic penicillin G (PenG) was passively sorbed to fluorescent polystyrene NPs (20 nm) that were surface-functionalized with carboxylic acid (COO⁻-NPs) or sulfate groups (SO₄⁻-NPs) to form a PenG-NP complex. Antimicrobial activities of PenG-NPs were evaluated against Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria, including antibiotic resistant strains. …

Improving Adherence To Adjuvant Hormonal Therapy Among Disadvantaged Women Diagnosed With Breast Cancer In South Carolina: Proposal For A Multimethod Study, Tisha M. Felder, Sue Heiney, James R. Hébert, Daniela B. Friedman, Ronit Elk, Regina Franco, Lucy Gansauer, Barbara Christensen, Marvella E. Ford

Faculty Publications

Background: Current clinical guidelines recommend that hormone receptor-positive breast cancer survivors take adjuvant hormonal therapy (AHT) for 5 to 10 years, following the end of definitive treatment. However, fewer than half of patients adhere to the guidelines, and suboptimal adherence to AHT is associated with an increased risk of breast cancer mortality. Research has extensively documented sociodemographic and disease-specific factors associated with adherence to AHT, but very little evidence exists on behavioral factors (eg, knowledge, patient-provider communication) that can be modified and targeted by interventions. Objective: The goal of this study is to develop and test a theory-based, multilevel intervention …

Handbook Of Research On Customer Engagement, Leticia Camacho

Faculty Publications

This handbook comprises studies by 69 contributors, most of them professors with PhDs. The book is organized into four parts, each comprising about a quarter of the 22 essays, each with its own references.

Home, Schooling, And State: Education In, And For, A Diverse Democracy, Vivian E. Hamilton

Faculty Publications

Since the late nineteenth century, virtually all school-aged children have attended school; only rarely did children live and learn entirely within their homes. In recent decades, however, the practice of elective homeschooling has emerged, and the number of families opting out of regular schools has surged. Currently, the parents of nearly two million school-aged children annually eschew traditional schooling.

A small but well-resourced homeschool lobby has aggressively pressured state legislators to withdraw state oversight of homeschooling. No similarly resourced lobby exists to counterbalance these efforts. As a result, states now impose few—and in some cases, no—obligations on parents who choose …

Masculinized Second-To-Fourth Digit Ratio (2d:4d Ratio) Is Associated With Lower Cortisol Response In Infant Female Rhesus Monkeys (Macaca Mulatta), Elizabeth K. Wood, Parker Jarman, Elysha Cash, Alexander Baxter, John P. Capitanio, James Dee Higley

Faculty Publications

The second-to-fourth digit ratio (2D:4D ratio) is considered a postnatal proxy measure for the degree of prenatal androgen exposure (PAE), which is the primary factor responsible for masculinizing the brain of a developing fetus. Some studies suggest that the organizational effects of PAE may extend to the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis response to stress. This study investigates the relationship between 2D:4D ratio and HPA axis functioning using a rhesus monkey (Macaca mulatta) model. Subjects were N = 268 (180 females, 88 males) rhesus monkey infants (3–4 months of age). Plasma cortisol concentrations were assayed from two blood samples obtained …

Complex Assessment Of Relationship Quality Within Dyads, Wendy C. Birmingham, Maija Reblin, Allison A. Vaughn, Timothy W. Smith, Bert N. Uchino, Chandler M. Spahr

Faculty Publications

Higher quality relationships have been linked to improved outcomes; however, the measurement of relationship quality often ignores its complexity and the possibility of co-occurring positivity and negativity across different contexts. The goal of this study is to test the added benefit of including multiple dimensions, contexts, and perspectives of relationship quality from both individuals in predicting marital functioning. The Social Relationships Index assessed positive and negative dimensions of relationship quality under neutral, positive, and support-seeking contexts for 183 heterosexual married couples. Models showed that the inclusion of multiple dimensions of relationship quality across all three contexts improved prediction of marital …

Gradient-Based Optimization Of Solar-Regenerative High-Altitude Long-Endurance Aircraft, Taylor Mcdonnell, Andrew Ning

Faculty Publications

This paper uses gradient-based optimization to minimize the mass of a solar-regenerative high-altitude long-endurance (SR-HALE) flying-wing aircraft while accounting for nonlinear aeroelastic effects. The aircraft is designed to fly year round at 35° latitude at 18 km above sea level and subjected to energy capture, energy storage, material failure, local buckling, stall, longitudinal stability, and coupled flight and aeroelastic stability constraints. The optimized aircraft has an aspect ratio of 54.52, a surface area of 73.56 m2 , a mass of 349.5 kg, exhibits little aeroelastic deflection at the design airspeed, and is primarily stability constrained. Several parameter sweeps are performed …

Experimental Demonstration Of Heat Loss And Turn-Down Ratio For A Multi-Panel, Actively Deployed Radiator, Rydge B. Mulford, Samuel D. Salt, Lance P. Hyatt, Kyle S. Meaker, Vivek H. Dwivedi, Matthew R. Jones, Brian D. Iverson

Faculty Publications

Origami-inspired, dynamic spacecraft radiators have been proposed which utilize an expandable/collapsible surface capable of large variations in emitting surface area. In this work, an experimental prototype of this concept is realized and its performance is analyzed. In particular, we demonstrate the capability of maintaining a spacecraft component at a desired operating temperature through the expansion and contraction of a collapsible radiator to control radiative heat loss. Four aluminum panels are connected via a flexible hinge constructed from interwoven copper wires and suspended from an actuating framework. The radiator panels are connected to a heated aluminum block. The radiator is placed …

Applying International Law Solutions To The Xinjiang Crisis, Preston Jordan Lim

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Challenges To Levulinic Acid And Humins Valuation In The Sugarcane Bagasse Biorefinery Concept, Emília Savioli Lopes, Jean Felipe Leal Silva, Elmer Ccopa Rivera, Alana Petrina Gomes, Melina Savioli Lopes, Rubens Maciel Filho, Laura Plazas Tovar

Faculty Publications

© 2020, Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature. Levulinic acid (LA) is currently one of the most promising chemicals derived from biomass. However, its large-scale production is hampered by the challenges in biomass hydrolysis and the poor selectivity due to the formation of humins (HUs). This study addresses these challenges using the biorefinery concept of biomass fractionation. A three-step process (pretreatment, delignification, and acid-catalyzed conversion) was optimized to produce LA from SCB considering the yield (YLA), efficiency (ELA), and concentration of LA (CLA) as functions of temperature, reaction time, acid concentration, and solids loading. By means of a …

Nonlinear Optical Measurements Of Cdsip2 At Near And Mid-Infrared Wavelengths, Manuel R. Ferdinandus, Jamie J. Gengler, Kent L. Averett, Kevin T. Zawilski, Peter G. Schunemann, Carl M. Liebig

Faculty Publications

We measure the birefringence of the nonlinear optical (NLO) properties of cadmium silicon phosphide via the Z-scan technique at near and mid-infrared wavelengths. We discuss the implications of the NLO properties on optical parametric amplifier performance. We find that the nonlinear absorption does reduce the conversion efficiency, while the nonlinear refraction has a negligible effect.

Cost Analysis Of Optimized Islanded Energy Systems In A Dispersed Air Base Conflict, Jay F. Pearson, Torrey J. Wagner, Justin D. Delorit

Faculty Publications

The United States Air Force has implemented a dispersed air base strategy to enhance mission effectiveness for near-peer conflicts. Asset dispersal places many smaller bases across a wide geographic area, which increases resupply requirements and logistical complexity. Hybrid energy systems reduce resupply requirements through sustainable, off-grid energy production. This paper presents a novel hybrid energy renewable delivery system (HERDS) model capable of (1) selecting the optimal hybrid energy system design that meets demand at the lowest net present cost and (2) optimizing the delivery of the selected system using existing Air Force cargo aircraft. The novelty of the model’s capabilities …

Strategic Decision Facilitation: Supporting Critical Assumptions Of The Human In Empirical Modeling Of Pairwise Value Comparisons, Joseph P. Kristbaum, Frank W. Ciarallo

Faculty Publications

Modeling human decision-making is difficult. Decision-makers are typically primed with unique biases that widen the confidence interval of judgment. Therefore, it is important that the human process in the system being modeled is designed to alleviate damaging biases and assumptions in an effort to increase process consistency between decision-makers. In this experiment, it is hypothesized that coupling specific decision-facilitation methods with a specific scale range will affect the consistency between decision-makers. This article presents a multiphase experiment that examines a varying presentation mode as well as scale range to determine how value is determined in subsequent pairwise comparisons of alternatives …

How To Improve The Mental Health Of Your Children, Alina M. Baltazar

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Blessing Of Isolation: Getting Ready For Bigger Challenges And Greater Opportunities, Gerald A. Klingbeil

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Digital Tools For Online Assessment In Elt, Rhana Khan, Eun-Young Julia Kim, Kelly Mcclendon

Faculty Publications

Teaching online brings with it many benefits—increased flexibility, ability to connect regardless of geographic location, and convenience for example. But, as many teachers are learning, it also comes with a number of challenges, such as motivating passive students, technology issues, and encouraging collaboration and connection. Assessment, a critical and complex part of any language course, can be difficult when teaching online, as well. Following, learn about how three different educators utilize three separate digital tools for online assessment.

A Signaling Theory Approach To Relationship Recovery, Hunsi Kharouf, Donald J. Lund, Alexandra Krallman, Chris Pullig

Faculty Publications

Purpose: Drawing on signaling theory, the purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of the strength and framing of firm signals sent to repair relationships following relationship violations. Design/methodology/approach: Three 2 × 2 scenario-based experiments (total n = 527) manipulate signal strength × violation type (Study 1); signal frame × violation type (Study 2); and signal strength × brand familiarity (Study 3) to examine their dynamic impacts on relationship recovery efforts. Findings: Stronger signals are more effective at relationship repair and are especially important following integrity (vs competence) violations. Signals framed as customer gains (vs firm costs) lead …

Reputation Systems Bias In The Platform Workplace, E. Gary Spitko

Faculty Publications

Online reputation systems enable the providers and consumers of a product or service to rate one another and allow others to rely upon those reputation scores in deciding whether to engage with a particular provider or consumer. Reputation systems are an intrinsic feature of the platform workplace, in which a platform operator, such as Uber or TaskRabbit, intermediates between the provider of a service and the consumer of that service. Operators typically rely upon consumer ratings of providers in rewarding and penalizing providers. Thus, these reputation systems allow an operator to achieve enormous scale while maintaining quality control and user …

Protein Discrimination Using A Fluorescence-Based Sensor Array Of Thiacarbocyanine-Gumbos, Rocio L. Perez, Mingyan Cong, Stephanie R. Vaughan, Caitlan E. Ayala, Waduge Indika S. Galpothdeniya, John K. Mathaga, Isiah M. Warner

Faculty Publications

Sensitive and selective detection of proteins from complex samples has gained substantial interest within the scientific community. Early and precise detection of key proteins plays an important role in potential clinical diagnosis, treatment of different diseases, and proteomic research. In the study reported here, six different compounds belonging to a group of uniform materials based on organic salts (GUMBOS) have been synthesized using three thiacarbocyanine (TC) dyes and employed as fluorescent sensors. Fluorescence properties of micro- and nanoaggregates of these TC-based GUMBOS formed in phosphate buffer solutions are studied in the absence and presence of seven proteins. Fluorescence response patterns …

Noncollinear Enhancement Cavity For Record-High Out-Coupling Efficiency Of An Extreme-Uv Frequency Comb, Chuankun Zhang, Stephen B. Schoun, Christoph M. Heyl, Gil Porat, Mette B. Gaarde, Jun Ye

Faculty Publications

We demonstrate a femtosecond enhancement cavity with a crossed-beam geometry for efficient generation and extraction of extreme-ultraviolet (XUV) frequency combs at a 154 MHz repetition rate. We achieve a record-high out-coupled power of 600 μW, directly usable for spectroscopy, at a wavelength of 97 nm. This corresponds to a >60% out-coupling efficiency. The XUV power scaling and generation efficiency are similar to that achieved with a single Gaussian-mode fundamental beam inside a collinear enhancement cavity. The noncollinear geometry also opens the door for the generation of isolated attosecond pulses at >100 MHz repetition rate.

Large-Scale Flow In Micro Electrokinetic Turbulent Mixer, Keyi Nan, Zhongyan Hu, Wei Zhao, Kaige Wang, Jintao Bai, Guiren Wang

Faculty Publications

In the present work, we studied the three-dimensional (3D) mean flow field in a micro electrokinetic (μEK) turbulence based micromixer by micro particle imaging velocimetry (μPIV) with stereoscopic method. A large-scale solenoid-type 3D mean flow field has been observed. The extraordinarily fast mixing process of the μEK turbulent mixer can be primarily attributed to two steps. First, under the strong velocity fluctuations generated by μEK mechanism, the two fluids with different conductivity are highly mixed near the entrance, primarily at the low electric conductivity sides and bias to the bottom wall. Then, the well-mixed fluid in the local region convects …

Immune And Microrna Responses To Infection And Indole-3-Carbinol During Colitis, Rasha Raheem Alkarkoushi, Yvonne Hui, Abbas S. Tavakoli, Udai Singh, Prakash Nagarkatti, Mitzi Nagarkatti, Ioulia Chatzistamou, Marpe Bam, Traci L. Testerman

Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Indole-3-carbinol (I3C) and other aryl hydrocarbon receptor agonists are known to modulate the immune system and ameliorate various inflammatory and autoimmune diseases in animal models, including colitis induced by dextran sulfate sodium (DSS). MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are also gaining traction as potential therapeutic agents or diagnostic elements. Enterohepatic (EHH) species are associated with an increased risk of inflammatory bowel disease, but little is known about how these species affect the immune system or response to treatment. AIM: To determine whether infection with an EHH species alters the response to I3C and how the immune and miRNA responses of an EHH …

Developing Social-Emotional Learning In Physical Education Through Appropriate Instructional Practices, David C. Barney, Keven A. Prusak, Liana Davis

Faculty Publications

Social-emotional learning (SEL) has become an important topic in education. SEL is also important in physical education (PE). The nature of PE has students learning in the affective, cognitive, and psychomotor domains, thus providing many opportunities for SEL. And who facilitates SEL? The PE teacher has the opportunity to provide games, activities, and experiences to assist and strengthen their students’ SEL by implementing appropriate instructional practices (AIP) in PE. This article will highlight a number of AIP that PE teachers can implement to develop their students’ SEL.

Recommendations For Administrators’ Involvement In School-Based Health Promotion: A Scoping Review, Collin A. Webster, Genee Glascoe, Chanta Moore, Brian Dauenhauer, Cate A. Egan, Laura B. Russ, Karie Orendorff, Cathy Buschmeier

Faculty Publications

School administrator involvement is recognized as a key factor in the extent to which school health promotion programs and initiatives are successfully implemented. The aims of this scoping review are to: (a) Identify existing documents that contain recommendations regarding the involvement of school administrators in school-based health promotion; (b) distill and summarize the recommendations; (c) examine differences in the recommendations by targeted professional level, professional group, health promotion content focus, and by whether the recommendations are evidence-based or opinion-based; and (d) evaluate the research informing the recommendations. We drew upon the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension …

Relative Impacts Of Different Grade Scales On Student Success In Introductory Physics, David J. Webb, Cassandra A. Paul, Mary A. Chessey

Faculty Publications

In deciding on a student’s grade in a class, an instructor generally needs to combine many individual grading judgments into one overall judgment. Two relatively common numerical scales used to specify individual grades are the 4-point scale (where each whole number 0–4 corresponds to a letter grade) and the percent scale (where letter grades A through D are uniformly distributed in the top 40% of the scale). This paper uses grading data from a single series of courses offered over a period of 10 years to show that the grade distributions emerging from these two grade scales differed in many …

Conceptual Study Of A Real-Time Hybrid Simulation Framework For Monopile Offshore Wind Turbines Under Wind And Wave Loads, Wei Song, Chao Sun, Yanhui Zuo, Vahid Jahangiri, Yan Lu, Qinghua Han

Faculty Publications

As an attractive renewable energy source, offshore wind plants are becoming increasingly popular for energy production. However, the performance assessment of offshore wind turbine (OWT) structure is a challenging task due to the combined wind-wave loading and difficulties in reproducing such loading conditions in laboratory. Real-time hybrid simulation (RTHS), combining physical testing and numerical simulation in real-time, offers a new venue to study the structural behavior of OWTs. It overcomes the scaling incompatibilities in OWT scaled model testing by replacing the rotor components with an actuation system, driven by an aerodynamic simulation tool running in real-time. In this study, a …

Daddy, Mommy, And Money: The Association Between Parental Materialism On Parent–Child Relationship Quality, David B. Allsop, Chen-Yun Wang, Jeffrey P. Dew, Erin K. Holmes, E. Jeffrey Hill, Chelom E. Leavitt

Faculty Publications

This study examined the longitudinal relationships among materialism, parent–child relationship quality, and psychological control for fathers and mothers. Data came from 254 heterosexual couples participating in the Flourishing Families Project, a 10-year longitudinal study of inner family life. We found that the association of parents’ materialism at T1 and parent–child relationship at T2 differed by gender. In harmony with our hypothesis, fathers’ materialism at T1 significantly predicted a decrease in father–child relationship quality at T2. Contrary to our hypothesis, mothers’ materialism at T1 was not significantly associated with mother–child relationship quality at T2. Parental psychological control was negatively related to …

Activity And Regeneration Of Electrodeposited Fe-Ni-Co-Based Electrocatalysts For The Alkaline Oxygen Evolution Reaction, Yujia Zhang, Orhan Kizilkaya, Hubert K. Bilan, Richard Kurtz, Elizabeth J. Podlaha

Faculty Publications

A methodology to recover the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) kinetics of aged, electrodeposited Fe-Ni-Co thin films is presented. The electrodeposits were fabricated galvanostatically onto rotating copper electrodes and contained a small amount of Co. The OER characterized in 1 M KOH was a function of the deposit composition. The Tafel slope and the overpotential at 10 mA/cm2 observed with ohmically corrected linear sweep voltammetry were both a function of the deposit metal ratio, Fe/(Ni + Co), with the lowest values occurring at a ratio of 1.2. An Fe-rich deposit was purposely altered upon aging to degrade the OER kinetics. The …

Cambridge Analytica's Black Box, Margaret Hu

Faculty Publications

The Cambridge Analytica–Facebook scandal led to widespread concern over the methods deployed by Cambridge Analytica to target voters through psychographic profiling algorithms, built upon Facebook user data. The scandal ultimately led to a record-breaking $5 billion penalty imposed upon Facebook by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in July 2019. The FTC action, however, has been criticized as failing to adequately address the privacy and other harms emanating from Facebook’s release of approximately 87 million Facebook users’ data, which was exploited without user authorization. This Essay summarizes the FTC’s response to the Cambridge Analytica–Facebook scandal. It concludes that the scandal focuses …

List-Wise Fairness Criterion For Point Processes, Jin Shang, Mingxuan Sun, Nina S.N. Lam

Faculty Publications

Many types of event sequence data exhibit triggering and clustering properties in space and time. Point processes are widely used in modeling such event data with applications such as predictive policing and disaster event forecasting. Although current algorithms can achieve significant event prediction accuracy, the historic data or the self-excitation property can introduce biased prediction. For example, hotspots ranked by event hazard rates can make the visibility of a disadvantaged group (e.g., racial minorities or the communities of lower social economic status) more apparent. Existing methods have explored ways to achieve parity between the groups by penalizing the objective function …