Digital Commons Network^™

Systematic Effects On A Compton Polarimeter At The Focus Of An X-Ray Mirror, M Aoyagi, R G. Bose, S Chun, E Gau, K Hu, K Ishiwata, N K. Iyer, Fabian Kislat, M Kiss, K Klepper, H Krawczynski, L Lisalda, Y Maeda, F Af Malmborg, H Matsumoto, A Miyamoto, T Miyazawa, M Pearce, B F. Rauch, N Rodriguez Cavero, S Spooner, H Takahashi, Y Uchida, A T. West, K Wimalasena, M. Yoshimoto

Faculty Publications

XL-Calibur is a balloon-borne Compton polarimeter for X-rays in the $\sim$15-80 keV range. Using an X-ray mirror with a 12 m focal length for collecting photons onto a beryllium scattering rod surrounded by CZT detectors, a minimum-detectable polarization as low as $\sim$3% is expected during a 24-hour on-target observation of a 1 Crab source at 45$^{\circ}$ elevation. Systematic effects alter the reconstructed polarization as the mirror focal spot moves across the beryllium scatterer, due to pointing offsets, mechanical misalignment or deformation of the carbon-fiber truss supporting the mirror and the polarimeter. Unaddressed, this can give rise to a spurious polarization …

Comparative Methods For Teaching Contemporary And Ancient Saints, Todd E. French, Mohammed Forero Bucheli

Faculty Publications

This paper argues that a comparative study of saints is not only a useful classroom tool for historians and religionists, but an exceptionally powerful locus of pedagogical insight and cultural understanding. By reframing contemporary consumptive patterns, media representations, and power discourses as religious vectors of saintliness, the professor has an opportunity to explore and assess cultural values, rituals, beliefs, worldviews, communities, traditions, and meaning making in the contemporary college student’s world. By acknowledging the dangers and possibilities of the category of saint while reframing the ascetical impact on developing subjectivities, we propose six pedagogical examples of how this might best …

Identification Of Potential Therapist “Missteps” In The Context Of Engagement In Public Mental Health Services: Analysis Of Digital Recordings And Key Informant Validation, Hyun Seon Park, Kimberly Becker, Wendy Chu, Kendal Reeder, Carolina Lechuga, Johnathan K. Ahuna, Eleanor Wu, Lanalle Darden, Rosalyn Williams, Rosana Serrano, Bruce F. Chorpita

Faculty Publications

Objective: This study aimed to characterize and validate potential therapist “missteps,” or inadvertent behaviors that may impact youth and family engagement in mental health services.

Method: Ten misstep types were coded from 224 treatment sessions provided by 92 therapists. Rapid qualitative analysis using key informant interviews was conducted to examine insights related to the occurrence, expected impact, and perceived severity of therapist missteps as an indicator of the face validity of the missteps construct and types.

Results: All 10 misstep types demonstrated good reliability (Fleiss’ k = .71−.88). All 10 misstep types appeared to have facevalidity with key informants. Key …

Distinguishing Molecular Mechanical Action From Photothermal And Photodynamic Behavior, Jacob L. Beckham, Thomas S. Bradford, Ciceron Ayala-Orozco, Ana L. Santos, Dallin Arnold, Alexis R. Van Venrooy, Víctor García-López, Robert Pal, James M. Tour

Faculty Publications

Molecular motors (MM) are molecular machines, or nanomachines, that rotate unidirectionally upon photostimulation and perform mechanical work on their environment. In the last several years, it has been shown that the photomechanical action of MM can be used to permeabilize lipid bilayers, thereby killing cancer cells and pathogenic microorganisms and controlling cell signaling. The work contributes to a growing acknowledgement that the molecular actuation characteristic of these systems is useful for various applications in biology. However, the mechanical effects of molecular motion on biological materials are difficult to disentangle from photodynamic and photothermal action, which are also present when a …

Effects Of Adjunct Questions On L2 Reading Comprehension With Texts Of Different Types, Yunmei Sun, Wenhui Zhou, Shifang Tang

Faculty Publications

Answering text-related questions while reading is a questioning strategy which is called adjunct questions or embedded questions, the benefits of which have been established in first language reading as to enhance comprehension. The present study aims to study the effects different adjunct questions exert on second-language (L2) readers’ comprehension of texts of various types. One hundred and forty-four intermediate-level Chinese EFL learners participated in this study and were divided randomly into six groups. Each group was given either a narrative or an expository text with ‘what or why’ questions or no questions. A brief topic familiarity questionnaire was attached to …

Radiation From An Oscillating Dipole In The Presence Of Photon-Sector Cpt And Lorentz Violation, Joshua O'Connor, Brett Altschul

Faculty Publications

We examine one of the standard loci for studying electromagnetic wave emission - the radiation from an oscillating electric dipole - in a model in which the electromagnetic sector is modified to include novel CPT- and Lorentz-violating propagation effects involving a preferred axial vector background. We evaluate the vacuum-birefringent radiation fields, including nonperturbative terms where appropriate. In general, the energy momentum carried by the fields in this model is known to have a complicated nonperturbative structure, which cannot be captured by naive power-series expansions in the components of the preferred background vector. However, we nevertheless find that at the lowest …

Micronutrient Fe And Mn Uptake From Peat By Marigold And Petunia, Amy E. Bestic-Pennings, Paul R. Fisher, Jinsheng Huang

Faculty Publications

Peat substrates have the potential to function as micronutrient sources such as iron (Fe) and manganese (Mn). Typically, when planning fertilization program for crops, the components of peat substrates are not taken into account. The objective was to quantify potentially plant-available micronutrients of Fe and Mn from peat substrates by floriculture species when no additional Fe and/or Mn were applied in the fertilizer solution. Greenhouse experiments were conducted using Tagetes erecta 'Atlantis Primrose' marigold (iron-efficient) and Petunia x hybrida 'Celebrity Pink Morn' petunia (iron-inefficient) to compare extractable Fe and Mn from two peat sources with actual plant uptake of these …

Micronutrient Fe And Mn Uptake From Peat By Marigold And Petunia, Amy E. Bestic-Pennings, Paul R. Fisher, Jinsheng Huang

Faculty Publications

Peat substrates have the potential to function as micronutrient sources such as iron (Fe) and manganese (Mn). Typically, when planning fertilization program for crops, the components of peat substrates are not taken into account. The objective was to quantify potentially plant-available micronutrients of Fe and Mn from peat substrates by floriculture species when no additional Fe and/or Mn were applied in the fertilizer solution. Greenhouse experiments were conducted using Tagetes erecta 'Atlantis Primrose' marigold (iron-efficient) and Petunia x hybrida 'Celebrity Pink Morn' petunia (iron-inefficient) to compare extractable Fe and Mn from two peat sources with actual plant uptake of these …

Neutrino Flavor Transformation With Moments: Application To Fast Flavor Instabilities In Neutron Star Mergers, Julien Froustey, Sherwood Richers, Evan Grohs, Samuel Flynn, Francois Foucart, Jim Kneller, Gail C. Mclaughlin

Faculty Publications

Neutrino evolution, of great importance in environments such as neutron star mergers (NSMs) because of their impact on explosive nucleosynthesis, is still poorly understood due to the high complexity and variety of possible flavor conversion mechanisms. In this study, we focus on so-called "fast flavor oscillations", which can occur on timescales of nanoseconds and are connected to the existence of a crossing between the angular distributions of electron (anti)neutrinos. Based on the neutrino radiation field drawn from a three dimensional neutron star merger simulation, we use an extension of the two-moment formalism of neutrino quantum kinetics, and perform a linear …

Food Systems Under Shock: The Evolution Of Food Security Status Of Karantina Residents After The Beirut Explosion, Mariana Makoukji, Nour El Houda Amhez, Abed Al Kareem Yehya, Hala Ghattas Ph.D., Yaser Abunnasr, Rami Zurayk

Faculty Publications

Robust food systems are crucial for ensuring access to affordable and nutritious food, particularly in times of crisis. Economic instability, currency devaluation, and political turmoil can disrupt food systems, leading to higher food prices, compromised nutrition, and increased vulnerability. Lebanon is a stark example of this, where a catastrophic explosion in Beirut’s Port in 2020 worsened an existing economic and humanitarian crisis. The depreciation of the Lebanese currency led to soaring food prices, impacting people’s ability to buy food, and pushing many into poverty, illustrating the significant impact of the state food systems during crises (FAO, 2021). In times of …

Examining The Evolution Of Network Governance Forms Of An Event Leveraging Collective: A Longitudinal Investigation, Landy Lu, Ran Zhou, Guangzhou Chen, Laura Misener

Faculty Publications

This study aims to investigate how an event leveraging collective’s network governance forms evolved from pre- to post‐Games and how these forms influenced members' collaborative engagement. We adopted a longitudinal qualitative case study approach. Our primary data sources included 996 pages of archival documents and 18 interviews with collective members. We found that in the pre- and during-Games stage, the leveraging collective adopted a shared participant-governed form with a facilitator. This participant-driven structure could enhance connectedness and collaborative engagement among member organizations. In the postevent phase, the collective assumed a pillar-governed form with a facilitator. Although this structure appeared to …

Children In The Workplace: An Exploration In Library Policy Making, Sharolyn Swenson, Marissa Anne Bischoff, Ryan Lee

Faculty Publications

Children in the workplace are becoming a more common discussion in various work environments, including libraries. Since the university has no policy addressing this issue, a task force was charged to draft a recommended policy for the university library regarding bringing children to the workplace. The task force reviewed existing policies and conducted a survey and interviews with library employees. The resulting policy provided guidelines for employees and their supervisors without being overly prescriptive. This article provides a case study of how the task force used assessment methods and tools to create an appropriate and inclusive policy. While the specific …

Resonance: Collaborative Musicking Through Tactile Ecologies, Ka Hei Cheng, Jesse Allison

Faculty Publications

This paper unveils a PhD research on "Resonance,"an instrument at the crossroads of collaborative music-making, gameplay, and music-related human-computer interaction. Resonance creates a unique communal gameplay performance system, where players are interdependent, transcending the boundaries of human and non-human agency. This collective process has the potential to enhance human connections and bonding, amplifying players' sensitivity to one another and their environment. The heart of this collaboration comprises intricate networks of signals, nurturing relationships, shared expression, decision-making processes, negotiation, and a spectrum of implementations. Resonance's design showcases tactile and tangible interfaces, employing capacitive touch technology as a sound interface, thereby providing …

Technical Efficiency, Scale Effect, And Trade Liberalization: Evidence From The Nepalese Manufacturing Sector, Amrit Pathak, Shawn Leu, Mari L. Robertson, Mahinda Siriwardanaa

Faculty Publications

This paper investigates the impact of trade liberalization and scale of operation on technical efficiency of the Nepalese manufacturing sector after the 1992 economic liberalization. The study utilizes industry panel data and analyses the relationship using stochastic frontier analysis. We find that the manufacturing sector of Nepal is highly inefficient. Technical progress is found initially, however after 1996/97, technical regress dominates each period. Sectoral efficiency, on average, is estimated around 28.7% of potential value added whereas inefficiency is as high as 146%. The scale of operation, as expected, is highly significant in explaining industry efficiency. Trade liberalization, on the other …

Barbary Macaques Show Sex-Related Differences In Body Weight Based On Anthropogenic Food Exposure Despite Comparable Female–Male Stable Isotope Ratios, Sana T. Saiyed, Agustin Fuentes, Eric Shaw, Mark R. Schurr, Lee T. Gettler

Faculty Publications

As the human–primate interface expands, many nonhuman primate (NHP) populations exploit anthropogenic foods to survive, while some populations opportunistically target them. Though anthropogenic food consumption is sometimes associated with greater reproductive output and survival in these populations, there is a dearth of research on possible health effects. We explore how differential exposure to anthropogenic foods is linked to variation in isotopic compositions (δ13C and δ15N) and body weights in Barbary macaques (Macaca sylvanus) in the Upper Rock Nature Reserve, Gibraltar. We placed monkeys into three categories based on anthropogenic food exposure. We then analyzed individuals for isotopic signatures (N = …

Unimer Suppression Enables Supersaturated Homopolymer Swollen Micelles With Long-Term Stability After Glassy Entrapment, Eric R. Williams, Christian X. Ruff, Morgan Stefik

Faculty Publications

Micelle sizes are critical for a range of applications where the simple ability to adjust and lock in specific stable sizes has remained largely elusive. While micelle swelling agents are well-known, their dynamic re-equilibration in solution implies limited stability. Here, a non-equilibrium processing sequence is studied where supersaturated homopolymer swelling is combined with glassy-core (“persistent”) micelles. This path-dependent process was found to sensitively depend on unimer concentration as revealed by DLS, SAXS, and TEM analysis. Here, lower-selectivity solvent combinations led to the formation of unimer-homopolymer aggregates and eventual precipitation, reminiscent of anomalous micellization. In contrast, higher-selectivity solvents enabled supersaturated homopolymer …

Unimer Suppression Enables Supersaturated Homopolymer Swollen Micelles With Long-Term Stability After Glassy Entrapment, Eric R. Williams, Christian X. Ruff, Morgan Stefik

Faculty Publications

Micelle sizes are critical for a range of applications where the simple ability to adjust and lock in specific stable sizes has remained largely elusive. While micelle swelling agents are well-known, their dynamic re-equilibration in solution implies limited stability. Here, a non-equilibrium processing sequence is studied where supersaturated homopolymer swelling is combined with glassy-core (“persistent”) micelles. This path-dependent process was found to sensitively depend on unimer concentration as revealed by DLS, SAXS, and TEM analysis. Here, lower-selectivity solvent combinations led to the formation of unimer-homopolymer aggregates and eventual precipitation, reminiscent of anomalous micellization. In contrast, higher-selectivity solvents enabled supersaturated homopolymer …

Drivers Of Anticoagulant Rodenticide Exposure In Fishers (Pekania Pennanti) Across The Northeastern United States, Georgianna Silveira, Jacqueline L. Frair, Lisa Murphy, Julie C. Ellis, David Needle, Stephanie A. Cunningham, Amanda Watson, Aaron Facka, Patrick Tate, Shevenell Webb, Kim Royar, Chris Bernier, Thomas Keller, Krysten Schuler

Faculty Publications

Studies in parts of Europe, New Zealand, and North America indicate uptake of anticoagulant rodenticides (ARs) by predatory mammals to be widespread and common, with proximity to urban and agricultural areas being an important driver of exposure. Yet, little is known regarding the patterns and drivers of AR exposure in predatory mammals within more forest-dominated landscapes. Across the forest-dominated northeastern United States (US), a region spanning Pennsylvania to Maine, we tested livers from 597 fisher (Pekania pennanti) obtained from the legal harvest for 11 anticoagulant rodenticide compounds. We used kriging to determine potential hot zones (within or among states) and …

Forecasting The Strength Of Graphene Nanoparticles-Reinforced Cementitious Composites Using Ensemble Learning Algorithms, Majid Khan, Roz-Ud-Din Nassar, Waqar Anwar, Mazhar Rasheed, Taoufik Najeh, Yaser Gamil, Furqan Farooq

Faculty Publications

Contemporary infrastructure requires structural elements with enhanced mechanical strength and durability. Integrating nanomaterials into concrete is a promising solution to improve concrete strength and durability. However, the intricacies of such nanoscale cementitious composites are highly complex. Traditional regression models encounter limitations in capturing these intricate compositions to provide accurate and reliable estimations. This study focuses on developing robust prediction models for the compressive strength (CS) of graphene nanoparticle-reinforced cementitious composites (GrNCC) through machine learning (ML) algorithms. Three ML models, bagging regressor (BR), decision tree (DT), and AdaBoost regressor (AR), were employed to predict CS based on a comprehensive dataset of …

Drivers Of Anticoagulant Rodenticide Exposure In Fishers (Pekania Pennanti) Across The Northeastern United States, Georgianna Silveira, Jacqueline L. Frair, Lisa Murphy, Julie C. Ellis, David Needle, Stephanie A. Cunningham, Amanda Watson, Aaron Facka, Patrick Tate, Shevenell Webb, Kim Royar, Chris Bernier, Thomas Keller, Krysten Schuler

Faculty Publications

Studies in parts of Europe, New Zealand, and North America indicate uptake of anticoagulant rodenticides (ARs) by predatory mammals to be widespread and common, with proximity to urban and agricultural areas being an important driver of exposure. Yet, little is known regarding the patterns and drivers of AR exposure in predatory mammals within more forest-dominated landscapes. Across the forest-dominated northeastern United States (US), a region spanning Pennsylvania to Maine, we tested livers from 597 fisher (Pekania pennanti) obtained from the legal harvest for 11 anticoagulant rodenticide compounds. We used kriging to determine potential hot zones (within or among states) and …

Forecasting The Strength Of Graphene Nanoparticles-Reinforced Cementitious Composites Using Ensemble Learning Algorithms, Majid Khan, Roz-Ud-Din Nassar, Waqar Anwar, Mazhar Rasheed, Taoufik Najeh, Yaser Gamil, Furqan Farooq

Faculty Publications

Contemporary infrastructure requires structural elements with enhanced mechanical strength and durability. Integrating nanomaterials into concrete is a promising solution to improve concrete strength and durability. However, the intricacies of such nanoscale cementitious composites are highly complex. Traditional regression models encounter limitations in capturing these intricate compositions to provide accurate and reliable estimations. This study focuses on developing robust prediction models for the compressive strength (CS) of graphene nanoparticle-reinforced cementitious composites (GrNCC) through machine learning (ML) algorithms. Three ML models, bagging regressor (BR), decision tree (DT), and AdaBoost regressor (AR), were employed to predict CS based on a comprehensive dataset of …

Advancing Cr(Vi) Electroreduction: A Redox Mediator To Catalyze The Electrochemical Reduction Of Cr(Vi) In Water While Preventing Fouling Of Carbon Electrodes, Callie M. Stern, Malithi M. Abeythunga, Noémie Elgrishi

Faculty Publications

Hexavalent chromium is a contaminant of concern and is found in drinking water supplies. Electrochemical methods are well-suited to accomplish the reduction of toxic Cr(VI) to Cr(III). However, high overpotentials and plating of Cr(III) products on electrodes have stymied the development of efficacious purification methods. The Cr(VI) reduction reaction necessitates the transfer of multiple protons and electrons, which is accompanied by a high kinetic barrier. Following recent advances in the electrocatalytic energy storage community, we report that the use of [Fe(CN)6]^3- as a small molecular electrocatalyst not only diminishes the overpotential for Cr(VI) reduction on carbon electrodes by 0.575 …

Muse-Alma Haloes X: The Stellar Masses Of Gas-Rich Absorbing Galaxies, Ramona Augustin, Céline Péroux, Arjun Karki, Varsha Kulkarni, Simon Weng, A Hamanowicz, M Hayes, J C. Howk, G G. Kacprzak, A Klitsch, M A. Zwaan, A Fox, A Biggs, A Y. Fresco, S Kassin, H. Kuntschner

Faculty Publications

The physical processes by which gas is accreted onto galaxies, transformed into stars, and then expelled from galaxies are of paramount importance to galaxy evolution studies. Observationally constraining each of these baryonic components in the same system, however, is challenging. Furthermore, simulations indicate that the stellar mass of galaxies is a key factor influencing CGM properties. Indeed, absorption lines detected against background quasars offer the most compelling way to study the cold gas in the circumgalactic medium (CGM). The MUSE-ALMA Haloes survey is composed of quasar fields covered with VLT/MUSE observations, comprising 32 H i absorbers at 0.2 < z < 1.4 and 79 associated galaxies, with available or upcoming molecular gas measurements from ALMA. We use a dedicated 40-orbit HST …