Digital Commons Network^™

The Abundant-Centre Is Not All That Abundant: A Comment To Osorio-Olvera Et Al. 2020, Tad Dallas, Samuel Pironon, Luca Santini

Faculty Publications

Species abundance is expected to decrease from the centre towards the edge of their ecological niches (abundant niche-centre hypothesis). Recently, Osorio-Olvera et al. (2020) reported strong support for the abundant niche-centre relationship in North American birds. We demonstrate here that methodological decisions strongly affected perceived support. Avoiding these issues casts doubt on conclusions by Osorio-Olvera et al. and the putative support for the abundant nichecentre hypothesis in North American birds.

Civic Engagement Among Iranians In The United States, Christine Marie Bishop, Sara Makki Alamdari

Faculty Publications

Civic engagement is beneficial for individuals and the overall communities they live in. There is currently a gap in our literature regarding studies about civic engagement among immigrants and refugees. The purpose of this study was to examine civic attitudes, civic engagement, and their potential predictors among Iranian immigrants and refugees in the U.S. In total, these researchers recruited 52 participants and administered an internet-based, four-section questionnaire. They found very positive civic attitudes, as well as a high level of engagement in different civic activities among this group. Applying multiple linear regression analysis, the results indicated that female participants and …

Spontaneous Creation Of Circularly Polarized Photons In Chiral Astrophysical Systems, Adrian Del Rio, Nicolas Sanchis-Gual, Vassilios Mewes, Ivan Agullo, José A. Font, Jose Navarro-Salas

Faculty Publications

This work establishes a relation between chiral anomalies in curved spacetimes and the radiative content of the gravitational field. In particular, we show that a flux of circularly polarized gravitational waves triggers the spontaneous creation of photons with net circular polarization from the quantum vacuum. Using waveform catalogs, we identify precessing binary black holes as astrophysical configurations that emit such gravitational radiation and then solve the fully nonlinear Einstein's equations with numerical relativity to evaluate the net effect. The quantum amplitude for a merger is comparable to the Hawking emission rate of the final black hole and small to be …

Impact Of A Preschool Obesity Program (I-Pop) Program On Nutrition Knowledge Scores Of Head Start Parents And Teachers, Holly Huye, Carol Connell, Caroline Newkirk

Faculty Publications

Objectives: To determine the effectiveness of an evidence-based preschool obesity prevention intervention on rural, low-income parents’ and Head Start teachers’ nutrition knowledge relative to advice from experts, nutrient content of foods, and health benefits of foods.

Methods: Parent-child dyads were recruited from 9 randomized Head Start centers with 5 centers in the experimental group and 4 centers in the control. The intervention consisted of 8 weekly evidence-based nutrition education sessions for children delivered by the Head Start teachers; a teacher workshop on the use of Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) in the classroom; and 8 parent workshops …

Responding To Health Needs Of Women, Children And Adolescents Within Syria During Conflict: Intervention Coverage, Challenges And Adaptations, Chaza Akik, Aline Semaan, Linda Shaker-Berbari, Zeina Jamaluddine, Ghada E. Saad, Katherine Lopes, Joanne Constantin, Abdulkarim Ekzayez, Neha S. Singh, Karl Blanchet, Jocelyn Dejong, Hala Ghattas Ph.D.

Faculty Publications

Background:

Women and children suffer disproportionately in armed-conflicts. Since 2011, the protracted Syrian crisis has fragmented the pre-existing healthcare system. Despite the massive health needs of women and children, the delivery of key reproductive, maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health and nutrition (RMNCAH&N) interventions, and its underlying factors are not well-understood in Syria. Our objective was to document intervention coverage indicators and their implementation challenges inside Syria during conflict.

Methods:

We conducted 1) a desk review to extract RMNCAH&N intervention coverage indicators inside Syria during the conflict; and 2) qualitative interviews with decision makers and health program implementers to …

Introducing The Journal Of Nuclear Engineering: An Interdisciplinary Open Access Journal Dedicated To Publishing Research In Nuclear And Radiation Sciences And Applications, Dan Gabriel Cacuci

Faculty Publications

Note: In lieu of an abstract, this is an excerpt from the first page.

In 1938, Strassmann, Hahn and Meitner discovered neutron-induced nuclear fission in uranium, forever changing our world and opening multiple paths to developing nuclear energy, nuclear medicine, instrumentation, space propulsion, environmental monitoring, remediation and nuclear security [...]

Spatial Synchrony Is Related To Environmental Change In Finnish Moth Communities: Synchrony And Environmental Change, Tad A. Dallas, Laura H. Antão, Juha Pöyry, Reima Leinonen, Otso Ovaskainen

Faculty Publications

© 2020 The Author(s). Spatially distinct pairs of sites may have similarly fluctuating population dynamics across large geographical distances, a phenomenon called spatial synchrony. However, species rarely exist in isolation, but rather as members of interactive communities, linked with other communities through dispersal (i.e. a metacommunity). Using data on Finnish moth communities sampled across 65 sites for 20 years, we examine the complex synchronous/anti-synchronous relationships among sites using the geography of synchrony framework. We relate site-level synchrony to mean and temporal variation in climatic data, finding that colder and drier sites-and those with the most drastic temperature increases-are important for …

Symmetry Energy Of Super-Dense Neutron-Rich Matter From Integrating Barotropic Pressures In Neutron Stars And Heavy-Ion Reactions, Bao-An Li, Wen-Jie Xie

Faculty Publications

Within the minimum model of neutron stars (NS) consisting of neutrons, protons and electrons, a new approach is proposed for inferring the symmetry energy of super-dense neutron-rich nucleonic matter above twice the saturation density ρ0 of nuclear matter directly from integrating iteratively barotropic pressures in both neutron stars and heavy-ion reactions. Simultaneously, the proton fraction of NSs at β equilibrium is extracted as a function of baryon density from the same procedure. An application of this approach using the NS pressure from GW170817 and the pressure in cold symmetric nuclear matter (SNM) extracted earlier by analyzing nuclear collective flow data …

Model Predictive Control And Estimation Of Managed Pressure Drilling Using A Real-Time High Fidelity Flow Model, Junho Park, Cameron Price, David Pixton, Manuel Aghito, Roar Nybø, Knut Bjørkevoll, John Hedengren

Faculty Publications

When drilling an oil or gas well, well pressures may be controlled using a technology called managed pressure drilling. This technology often relies on model predictive control schemes; however, practical limitations have generally led to the use of simplified controller models that do not optimally handle certain perturbations in the physical system. The present work reports on the first implementation of a highly accurate system model that has been adapted for real-time use in a controller. This real-time high-fidelity model approximates the results of offline high-fidelity models without requiring operation by model experts. The effectiveness of the model is demonstrated …

Targeted Awareness: Promoting Niche Resources Using Confirmation Emails, Brian Rennick, Leticia Camacho, Andy Spackman

Faculty Publications

Purpose – This paper examines the effectiveness of a targeted email advertising method that informs university students about library resources relevant to their major.

Design/methodology/approach – Over the course of one semester, students with business and communications majors who reserved group study rooms received customized confirmation emails that included targeted advertisements for library databases. These advertisements invited students to click a link that led to a database related to a student's major. Near the end of the semester, students were invited to complete a short survey about the advertisements. Survey questions were designed to discover whether the advertisements were seen …

Rethinking Covid-19 Vulnerability: A Call For Lgbtq+ Im/Migrant Health Equity In The U.S. During And After A Pandemic, Nolan Kline

Faculty Publications

Public health responses to the COVID-19 pandemic have emphasized older adults’ vulnerability, but this obfuscates the social and political root causes of health inequity. To advance health equity during a novel communicable disease outbreak, public health practitioners must continue to be attentive to social and political circumstances that inform poor health. Such efforts are especially needed for populations who are exposed to numerous social and political factors that structure health inequity, such as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or otherwise-queer identifying (LGBTQ+) populations and im/migrant populations. The COVID-19 outbreak is therefore a critical time to emphasize root causes of health inequity.

Fatigue-Crack Detection And Monitoring Through The Scattered-Wave Two-Dimensional Cross-Correlation Imaging Method Using Piezoelectric Transducers, Wenfeng Xiao, Lingyu Yu, Roshan Joseph, Victor Giurgiutiu

Faculty Publications

Piezoelectric transducers are convenient enablers for generating and receiving Lamb waves for damage detection. Fatigue cracks are one of the most common causes for the failure of metallic structures. Increasing emphasis on the integrity of critical structures creates an urgent need to monitor structures and to detect cracks at an early stage to prevent catastrophic failures. This paper presents a two-dimensional (2D) cross-correlation imaging technique that can not only detect a fatigue crack but can also precisely image the fatigue cracks in metallic structures. The imaging method was based on the cross-correlation algorithm that uses incident waves and the crack-scattered …

Effects Of Menu Labeling Policies On Transnational Restaurant Chains To Promote A Healthy Diet: A Scoping Review To Inform Policy And Research, Sofía Rincón-Gallardo Patiño, Mi Zhou, Fabio Da Silva Gomes, Robin Lemaire, Valisa Hedrick, Elena Serrano, Vivica I. Kraak

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Effect Of Differences In Month And Location Of Measurement In Estimating Prevalence And Trend Of Wasting And Stunting In India In 2005-2006 And 2015-2016, Emily M. Madan, Edward A. Frongillo Jr., Sayeed Unisa, Laxmikant Dwivedi, Robert Johnston, Abner Daniel, Praween K. Agrawal, Sila Deb, Ajay Khera, Purnima Menon, Phuong H. Nguyen

Faculty Publications

Background: Child undernutrition in India remains widespread. Data from the National Family Health Survey 3 and 4 (NFHS-3 and NFHS-4) suggest that wasting prevalence has increased while stunting prevalence has declined. Objective: The objectives of this study were to do the following: ) describe wasting and stunting by month of measurement in India in children surveys, and ) test whether differences in the timing of anthropometric data collection and in states between survey years introduced bias in the comparison of estimates of wasting and stunting between NFHS-3 and NFHS-4. Methods: Data on wasting and stunting for 42,608 and 232,744 children …

Attosecond Time-Domain Measurement Of Core-Level-Exciton Decay In Magnesium Oxide, Romain Géneaux, Christopher J. Kaplan, Lun Yue, Andrew D. Ross, Jens E. Bækhøj, Peter M. Kraus, Hung Tzu Chang, Alexander Guggenmos, Mi Ying Huang, Michael Zürch, Kenneth J. Schafer, Daniel M. Neumark, Mette B. Gaarde, Stephen R. Leone

Faculty Publications

Excitation of ionic solids with extreme ultraviolet pulses creates localized core-level excitons, which in some cases couple strongly to the lattice. Here, core-level-exciton states of magnesium oxide are studied in the time domain at the Mg L2,3 edge with attosecond transient reflectivity spectroscopy. Attosecond pulses trigger the excitation of these short-lived quasiparticles, whose decay is perturbed by time-delayed near-infrared pulses. Combined with a few-state theoretical model, this reveals that the infrared pulse shifts the energy of bright (dipole-allowed) core-level-exciton states as well as induces features arising from dark core-level excitons. We report coherence lifetimes for the two lowest core-level excitons …

Effect Of Different Phosphate Glass Compositions On The Process-Induced Macromolecular Dynamic Of Polyamide 66, Imane Belyami, Mohammad K. Hassan

Faculty Publications

The present study provides a fundamental understanding of the mechanism of action of special new phosphate glass (P-glass) systems, having different glass transition temperatures (T_g), in polyamide 66 (PA66). Dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) revealed that the T_g of PA66/low T_g P-glass (ILT-1) was significantly shifted to a lower T_g (65 °C), and another transition appeared at high temperature (166 °C). This was supported by a drop in the melting point and the crystallinity of the PA66/ILT-1 hybrid material as detected by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The dielectric spectroscopic investigation on the networks’ molecular level structural …

Evaluation Of Automated Fermi Gbm Localizations Of Gamma-Ray Bursts, A. Goldstein, C. Fletcher, P. Veres, M. S. Briggs, W. H. Cleveland, M. H. Gibby, C. M. Hui, E. Bissaldi, E. Burns, R. Hamburg, A. Von Kienlin, D. Kocevski, B. Mailyan, C. Malacaria, W. S. Paciesas, O. J. Roberts, C. A. Wilson-Hodge

Faculty Publications

The capability of the Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor (GBM) to localize gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) is evaluated for two different automated algorithms: the GBM Team's RoboBA algorithm and the independently developed BALROG algorithm. Through a systematic study utilizing over 500 GRBs with known locations from instruments like Swift and the Fermi Large Area Telescope, we directly compare the effectiveness of, and accurately estimate the systematic uncertainty for, both algorithms. We show that simple adjustments to the GBM Team's RoboBA, in operation since early 2016, yield significant improvement in the systematic uncertainty, removing the long tail identified in the systematic, and improve …

Objective Church Environment Audits And Attendee Perceptions Of Healthy Eating And Physical Activity Supports Within The Church Setting, Marilyn E. Wende, Andrew T. Kaczynski, John A. Bernhart, Caroline G. Dunn, Sarah Wilcox

Faculty Publications

Interventions in faith-based settings are increasingly popular, due to their effectiveness for improving attendee health outcomes and behaviors. Little past research has examined the important role of the church environment in individual-level outcomes using objective environmental audits. This study examined associations between the objectively measured physical church environment and attendees’ perceptions of physical activity (PA) and healthy eating (HE) supports within the church environment, self-efficacy for PA and HE, and self-reported PA and HE behaviors. Data were collected via church audits and church attendee surveys in 54 churches in a rural, medically underserved county in South Carolina. Multi-level regression was …

Macroscale Drivers Of Atlantic And Gulf Menhaden Growth, Stephen R. Midway, Amy M. Schueller, Robert T. Leaf, Geneviève M. Nesslage, Raymond M. Mroch Iii

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Right To A Public Trial In The Time Of Covid-19, Stephen E. Smith

Faculty Publications

Maintaining social distance in the time of COVID-19 is a public health priority. A crowded courtroom is an environment at odds with public health needs. Accordingly, until science determines otherwise, it will be necessary for judges to manage courtroom attendance and exclude the public from trials, wholly or in part. Courtrooms may be closed to the public, despite the Sixth Amendment’s right to a public trial, when the closure is justified by a strong government interest and is narrowly tailored to further that interest. Typically, this heightened scrutiny is applied on a case-by-case basis and turns on a case’s specific …

A 100 M Population Grid In The Conus By Disaggregating Census Data With Open-Source Microsoft Building Footprints, Xiao Huang, Cuizhen Wang, Zhenlong Li, Huan Ning

Faculty Publications

In the Big Data era, Earth observation is becoming a complex process integrating physical and social sectors. This study presents an approach to generating a 100 m population grid in the Contiguous United States (CONUS) by disaggregating the US census records using 125 million of building footprints released by Microsoft in 2018. Land-use data from the OpenStreetMap (OSM), a crowdsourcing platform, was applied to trim original footprints by removing the non-residential buildings. After trimming, several metrics of building measurements such as building size and building count in a census tract were used as weighting scenarios, with which a dasymetric model …

Measuring Learning And Engagement During Debriefing: A New Instrument, Shelly Jensen Reed

Faculty Publications

Background: Debriefing is considered to be where the bulk of learning takes place. Examination of debriefing is needed to help determine if facilitation methods effectively contribute to the learning process. More instruments are needed to evaluate all key debriefing elements, and no tools exist that evaluate participant engagement in the learning process.

Method: Kolb’s experiential learning theory was used to inform tool development. The focus of the new instrument is behaviors that indicate engagement with the learning process as the learner moves through Kolb’s learning cycle. A qualitative study of debriefing facilitators was performed, and a behaviorally anchored instrument was …

Compound Heterozygous Variants In Pediatric Cancers: A Systematic Review, Dustin B. Miller, Stephen R. Piccolo

Faculty Publications

A compound heterozygous (CH) variant is a type of germline variant that occurs when each parent donates one alternate allele and these alleles are located at different loci within the same gene. Pathogenic germline variants have been identified for some pediatric cancer types but in most studies, CH variants are overlooked. Thus, the prevalence of pathogenic CH variants in most pediatric cancer types is unknown. We identified 26 studies (published between 1999 and 2019) that identified a CH variant in at least one pediatric cancer patient. These studies encompass 21 cancer types and have collectively identified 25 different …

Of Pillars And Foundations: Seven Thesis Statements Concerning The Hermeneutics Of The Pentateuch, Gerald A. Klingbeil

Faculty Publications

The study of the composition of the Pentateuch has been at the center of critical scholarship since the nineteenth century. While there is general agreement that the Graf-Wellhausen documentary hypothesis, as originally presented, is untenable, most of current Pentateuchal research has worked within the framework of the existence of divergent sources that underwent a number of editorial changes. Considering the basic physical law of input determining output, this study challenges the basic presupposition of the existence of divergent sources and calls for a fresh approach to the hermeneutics of the Pentateuch that approaches the biblical text on its own terms …

Some Issues In The Ethics Of Food Waste, Brian E. Roe, Danyi Qi, Kathryn E. Bender

Faculty Publications

© 2020 Elsevier Inc. It is estimated that nearly one-third of food produced on the planet never meets its intended purpose of human nourishment. This represents a substantial stock of resources available for reallocation. Any potential reallocation of resources raises ethical issues – who should sacrifice (change current behaviors), who should benefit, and what methods are appropriate to induce the behavioral change required to invoke the reallocation? In this brief article, we will discuss several topics in the food waste literature that, in our opinion, raise ethical issues that warrant further thought and consideration. These include the emphasis on food …

Observation Of Sixfold Degenerate Fermions In Pds B2, Xiàn Yáng, Tyler A. Cochran, Ramakanta Chapai, Damien Tristant, Jia Xin Yin, Ilya Belopolski, Zajiā Chéng, Daniel Multer, Songtian S. Zhang, Nana Shumiya, Maksim Litskevich, Yuxiao Jiang, Guoqing Chang, Qi Zhang, Ilya Vekhter, William A. Shelton, Rongying Jin, Su Yang Xu, M. Zahid Hasan

Faculty Publications

Three types of fermions have been extensively studied in topological quantum materials: Dirac, Weyl, and Majorana fermions. Beyond the fundamental fermions in high energy physics, exotic fermions are allowed in condensed matter systems residing in three-, six-or eightfold degenerate band crossings. Here, we use angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy to directly visualize three-doubly-degenerate bands in PdSb2. The ultrahigh energy resolution we are able to achieve allows for the confirmation of all the sixfold degenerate bands at the R point, in remarkable consistency with first-principles calculations. Moreover, we find that this sixfold degenerate crossing has quadratic dispersion as predicted by theory. Finally, we …

Estuarine Submerged Aquatic Vegetation Habitat Provides Organic Carbon Storage Across A Shifting Landscape, Eva R. Hillmann, Victor H. Rivera-Monroy, J. Andrew Nyman, Megan K. La Peyre

Faculty Publications

Submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) thrives across the estuarine salinity gradient providing valuable ecosystem services. Within the saline portion of estuaries, seagrass areas are frequently cited as hotspots for their role in capturing and retaining organic carbon (Corg). Non-seagrass SAV, located in the fresh to brackish estuarine areas, may also retain significant soil Corg, yet their role remains unquantified. Given rapidly occurring landscape and salinity changes due to human and natural disturbances, landscape level carbon pool estimates from estuarine SAV habitat blue carbon estimates are needed. We assessed Corg stocks in SAV habitat soils from estuarine freshwater to saline habitats (interior …

Safe Management Of Bodies Of Deceased Persons With Suspected Or Confirmed Covid-19: A Rapid Systematic Review, Sally Yaacoub, Holger J. Schünemann, Joanne Khabsa, Amena El-Harakeh, Assem M. Khamis, Fatimah Chamseddine, Rayane El-Khoury, Zahra Saad, Layal Hneiny, Carlos Cuello Garcia, Giovanna E U Muti-Schünemann, Antonio Bognanni, Chen Chen, Guang Chen, Yuan Zhang, Hong Zhao, Pierre Abi Hanna, Mark Loeb, Thomas Piggott, Marge Reinap, Nesrine Rizk, Rosa Stalteri, Stephanie Duda, Karla Solo, Derek Chu

Faculty Publications

Introduction Proper strategies to minimise the risk of infection in individuals handling the bodies of deceased persons infected with 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) are urgently needed. The objective of this study was to systematically review the literature to scope and assess the effects of specific strategies for the management of the bodies.

Methods We searched five general, three Chinese and four coronavirus disease (COVID-19)–specific electronic databases. We searched registries of clinical trials, websites of governmental and other relevant organisations, reference lists of the included papers and relevant systematic reviews, and Epistemonikos for relevant systematic reviews. We included guidance documents providing …

Development Of A New Us Currency For The Post-Pandemic Remote Culture, F. Matthew Mihelic

Faculty Publications

The contemporary dollar currency was already under significant pressure prior to the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, but the economic pressures resulting from the national and world “lockdown” have very significantly exacerbated the vulnerabilities of those Federal Reserve Notes. The ostensible nationalization of the Federal Reserve by the United States federal government in April 2020 is a harbinger of a need to restructure the US currency. Today’s developing remote culture necessitates a new form of electronic currency. Herein is a conceptual blueprint for the development of such a restructured US currency that would function in the post-pandemic remote culture.

Nwchem: Past, Present, And Future, E. Aprà, E. J. Bylaska, W. A. De Jong, N. Govind, K. Kowalski, T. P. Straatsma, M. Valiev, H. J.J. Van Dam, Y. Alexeev, J. Anchell, V. Anisimov, F. W. Aquino, R. Atta-Fynn, J. Autschbach, N. P. Bauman, J. C. Becca, D. E. Bernholdt, K. Bhaskaran-Nair, S. Bogatko, P. Borowski, J. Boschen, J. Brabec, A. Bruner, E. Cauët, Y. Chen, G. N. Chuev, C. J. Cramer, J. Daily, M. J.O. Deegan, T. H. Dunning, M. Dupuis, K. G. Dyall, G. I. Fann

Faculty Publications

© 2020 U.S. Government. Specialized computational chemistry packages have permanently reshaped the landscape of chemical and materials science by providing tools to support and guide experimental efforts and for the prediction of atomistic and electronic properties. In this regard, electronic structure packages have played a special role by using first-principle-driven methodologies to model complex chemical and materials processes. Over the past few decades, the rapid development of computing technologies and the tremendous increase in computational power have offered a unique chance to study complex transformations using sophisticated and predictive many-body techniques that describe correlated behavior of electrons in molecular and …