Digital Commons Network^™

The User Experience: Student Perspectives On Library Course Reserve, Sara Foster, Duane Wilson, Shannon Sanders, Justin Johnson

Faculty Publications

A group of researchers from an academic library surveyed students to understand how and why the members of their community use course reserve services. Students were happy with the service and used it as a replacement for purchasing textbooks. Frequent users requested more textbook offerings, and both users and nonusers indicated a need for increased promotion of the service. Users provided specific suggestions for improvement that should be examined. Findings illustrated the value of course reserve services as a way to help students with college affordability and to support instruction and learning.

Visualization Research: Scoping Review On Data Visualization Courses, Fabio Capra-Ribeiro

Faculty Publications

Understanding data visualization as one of the foundational skills of the 21st century, this research aimed to define up-to-date guidelines to effectively teach data visualization courses and–from there–developed the first version of a new data visualization course. To do so, it faced the following questions: What is the current role of data visualization in higher education? What have been the main trends in data visualization courses in higher education? What methodologies have been used to teach data visualization courses? What difficulties have been identified in data visualization courses? What recommendations have been offered by previous professors that have taught this …

Cold Atoms In Space: Community Workshop Summary And Proposed Road-Map, Iván Alonso, Cristiano Alpigiani, Brett David Altschul, Henrique Araújo, Gianluigi Arduini, Jan Arlt, Leonardo Badurina, Antun Balaž, Satvika Bandarupally, Barry C. Barish, Michele Barone, Michele Barsanti, Steven Bass, Angelo Bassi, Baptiste Battelier, Charles F. A. Baynham, Quentin Beaufils, Aleksandar Belić, Joel Bergé, Jose Bernabeu, Et. Al.

Faculty Publications

We summarise the discussions at a virtual Community Workshop on Cold Atoms in Space concerning the status of cold atom technologies, the prospective scientific and societal opportunities offered by their deployment in space, and the developments needed before cold atoms could be operated in space. The cold atom technologies discussed include atomic clocks, quantum gravimeters and accelerometers, and atom interferometers. Prospective applications include metrology, geodesy and measurement of terrestrial mass change due to, e.g., climate change, and fundamental science experiments such as tests of the equivalence principle, searches for dark matter, measurements of gravitational waves and tests of quantum mechanics. …

Global Shockwaves Of The Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai Volcano Eruption Measured At Ground Stations, Chunyan Li

Faculty Publications

The eruption of the Tonga volcano created globally propagating spherical shockwaves in the atmosphere. Analyses are done to data from two southern U.S. stations of the author sampling at 3–21 s intervals and 189 weather stations at 1–5 min intervals. The shockwaves arrived from two routes in the atmosphere: the shortest spherical arc and the longer spherical arc through the antipole. In most stations, signals up to the 6^th path of shockwaves were recorded as the waves traveled around the globe multiple times. The speed of shockwaves is estimated to be 309.5 ± 2.9 m/s, consistent with the speed …

Ordering Circuits Of Matroids, Cameron Crenshaw, James Oxley

Faculty Publications

The cycles of a graph give a natural cyclic ordering to their edge-sets, and these orderings are consistent in that two edges are adjacent in one cycle if and only if they are adjacent in every cycle in which they appear together. An orderable matroid is one whose set of circuits admits such a consistent ordering. In this paper, we consider the question of determining which matroids are orderable. Although we are able to answer this question for non-binary matroids, it remains open for binary matroids. We give examples to provide insight into the potential difficulty of this question in …

Association Of National Football League Fan Attendance With County-Level Covid-19 Incidence In The 2020-2021 Season, Justin Kurland, Wanda E. Leal, Erin M. Sorrell

Faculty Publications

Importance The 2020-2021 National Football League (NFL) season had some games with fans and others without. Thus, the exposed group (ie, games with fans) and the unexposed group (games without fans) could be examined to better understand the association between fan attendance and local incidence of COVID-19.

Objective To assess whether NFL football games with varying degrees of in-person attendance were associated with increased COVID-19 cases in the counties where the games were held, as well as in contiguous counties, compared with games without in-person attendance for 7-, 14-, and 21-day follow-ups.

Design, Setting, and Participants This cross-sectional study used …

Deep Learning For Predicting The Thermomechanical Behavior Of Shape Memory Polymers, Diego Segura Ibarra, Jacob Mathews, Fan Li, Hongfang Lu, Guoqiang Li, Jinyuan Chen

Faculty Publications

Thermomechanical constitutive modeling is essential for shape memory polymers (SMPs) to be used in engineering structures and devices. However, the classical method of deriving constitutive models is difficult, time consuming, and relies heavily on trial and error. In this work, we aim to decrease the time and resources needed to develop new thermomechanical models for SMPs. The method proposed in this work uses deep learning (DL) to predict the thermomechanical behavior of SMPs under thermomechanical cycles. Particularly, a semicrystalline two-way shape memory polymer (2W-SMP) is selected as an example. Predicting such behavior will give insight on the SMP properties and …

Accounting For The Growth Of Observation Stays In The Assessment Of Medicare’S Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program, Amber K. Sabbatini, Karen E. Joynt-Maddox, Joshua M. Liao, Anirban Basu, Canada Parrish, William Kreuter, Brad Wright Ph.D.

Faculty Publications

Importance Decreases in 30-day readmissions following the implementation of the Medicare Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program (HRRP) have occurred against the backdrop of increasing hospital observation stay use, yet observation stays are not captured in readmission measures.

Objective To examine whether the HRRP was associated with decreases in 30-day readmissions after accounting for observation stays.

Design, Setting, and Participants This retrospective cohort study included a 20% sample of inpatient admissions and observation stays among Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries from January 1, 2009, to December 31, 2015. Data analysis was performed from November 2021 to June 2022. A differences-in-differences analysis assessed changes in …

Laboratory Evaluation And Field Feasibility Of Micro-Encapsulated Insecticide Effect On Rhodnius Prolixus And Triatoma Dimidiata Mortality In Rural Households In Boyaca, Colombia, Lidia Gual-Gonzalez, Manuel Medina, Cesar Valverde-Castro, Virgilio Beltran, Rodrigo Caro, Omar Triana-Chavez, Melissa Nolan Ph.D., Mph, Omar Cantillo-Barraza

Faculty Publications

Chagas disease is a neglected vector-borne zoonosis caused by the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi that is primarily transmitted by insects of the subfamily Triatominae. Although control efforts targeting domestic infestations of Rhodnius prolixus have been largely successful, with several regions in Boyacá department certified free of T. cruzi transmission by intradomicile R. prolixus, novel native species are emerging, increasing the risk of disease. Triatoma dimidiata is the second most important species in Colombia, and conventional control methods seem to be less effective. In this study we evaluated the efficacy and usefulness of micro-encapsulated insecticide paints in laboratory conditions and its …

Helium Nanodroplets As An Efficient Tool To Investigate Hydrogen Attachment To Alkali Cations, Siegfried Kollotzek, José Campos-Martínez, Massimiliano Bartolomei, Fernando Pirani, Lukas Tiefenthaler, Marta I. Hernández, Teresa Lázaro, Eva Zunzunegui-Bru, Tomás González-Lezana, José Bretón, Javier Hernández-Rojas, Olof E. Echt, Paul Scheier

Faculty Publications

We report a novel method to reversibly attach and detach hydrogen molecules to positively charged sodium clusters formed inside a helium nanodroplet host matrix. It is based on the controlled production of multiply charged helium droplets which, after picking up sodium atoms and exposure to H₂ vapor, lead to the formation of Na_m⁺(H₂)_n clusters, whose population was accurately measured using a time-of-flight mass spectrometer. The mass spectra reveal particularly favorable Na⁺(H₂)_n and Na₂⁺(H₂)_n clusters for specific “magic” numbers of attached hydrogen molecules. …

Soil Microbial Communities Vary In Composition And Functional Strategy Across Soil Aggregate Size Class Regardless Of Tillage, Lukas T. Bernhardt, Richard G. Smith, Andrew S. Grandy, Jessica E. Mackay, Nicholas D. Warren, Kevin M. Geyer, Jessica G. Ernakovich

Faculty Publications

The physicochemical environment within aggregates controls the distribution of carbon and microbial communities in soils. Agricultural management, such as tillage, can disrupt aggregates and the microscale habitat provided to microorganisms, thus altering microbial community dynamics. Categorizing microbial communities into life history strategies with shared functional traits—as has been done to understand plant community structure for decades—can illuminate how the soil physicochemical environment constrains the membership and activity of microbial communities. We conducted an aggregate scale survey of microbial community composition and function through the lens of the yield–acquisition–stress (Y–A–S) tolerator life history framework. Soils collected from a 7-year tillage experiment …

Development And Evaluation Of E3sm-Mosaic: Spatial Distributions And Radiative Effects Of Nitrate Aerosol, Mingxuan Wu, Hailong Wang, Richard C. Easter, Zheng Lu, Xiaohong Liu, Balwinder Singh, Po-Lun Ma, Qi Tang, Ziming Ke, Rudong Zhang, Louisa K. Emmons, Simone Tilmes, Jack E. Dibb, Xue Zheng, Shaocheng Xie, L. Ruby Leung

Faculty Publications

Nitrate aerosol plays an important role in affecting regional air quality as well as Earth’s climate. However, it is not well represented or even neglected in many global climate models. In this study, we couple the Model for Simulating Aerosol Interactions and Chemistry (MOSAIC) module with the four-mode version of the Modal Aerosol Module (MAM4) in DOE’s Energy Exascale Earth System Model version 2 (E3SMv2) to treat nitrate aerosol and its radiative effects. We find that nitrate aerosol simulated by E3SMv2-MAM4-MOSAIC is sensitive to the treatment of gaseous HNO3 transfer to/from interstitial particles related to accommodation coefficients of HNO3 (α_HNO3) …

In Search Of Time To Bring The Message On Social Media: Effects Of Temporal Targeting And Weather On Digital Consumers, Gunwoo Yoon, Cong Li, John Juyoung Choi

Faculty Publications

Marketers always incline to deliver advertising messages to the right consumer at the right time. Yet, the question of when exactly should such a persuasive message be sent to a consumer remains elusive in the existing literature. The current study aims to address this research question within the theoretical framework of contextual marketing. The authors argue that contextual information such as time and weather can be used to design more effective mobile advertising campaigns on social media. The results of a field experiment in cooperation with a local restaurant suggest that ads delivered at consumers’ pre-decision stage (i.e., non-meal time) …

Christ In The Covenant Curses? Deuteronomy 28 And The Gospel, A. Rahel Wells

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Exploiting Partial Solubility In Partially Fluorinated Thermoplastic Blends To Improve Adhesion During Fused Deposition Modeling, Pau Saldaña-Baqué, Jared W. Strutton, Rahul Shankar, Sarah E. Morgan, Jena M. Mccollum

Faculty Publications

This work studies the effect of interlayer adhesion on mechanical performance of fluorinated thermoplastics produced by fused deposition modeling (FDM). Here, we study the anisotropic mechanical response of 3D-printed binary blends of poly (vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) and poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) with the isotropic mechanical response of these blends fabricated via injection molding. Various PVDF/PMMA filament compositions were produced by twin-screw extrusion and, subsequently, injection-molded or 3D printed into dog-bone shapes. Specimen mechanical and thermal properties were evaluated by mode I tensile testing and differential scanning calorimetry, respectively. Results show that higher PMMA concentration not only improved the tensile strength …

Nonequilibrium Dmft+Cpa For Correlated Disordered Systems, Eric Dohner, Hanna Terletska, Ka Ming Tam, Juana Moreno, Herbert F. Fotso

Faculty Publications

We present a solution for the nonequilibrium dynamics of an interacting disordered system. The approach adapts the combination of the equilibrium dynamical mean-field theory and the equilibrium coherent potential approximation methods to the nonequilibrium many-body formalism, using the Kadanoff-Baym-Keldysh complex time contour, for the dynamics of interacting disordered systems away from equilibrium. We use our time domain solution to obtain the equilibrium density of states of the disordered interacting system described by the Anderson-Hubbard model, bypassing the necessity for the cumbersome analytical continuation process. We further apply the nonequilibrium solution to the interaction quench problem for an isolated disordered system. …

Training Rbf Neural Networks For The Solution Of Elliptic Boundary Value Problems, Andreas Karageorghis, C.S. Chen

Faculty Publications

We propose a radial basis function (RBF) neural network method for solving two- and three–dimensional second and fourth order elliptic boundary value problems (BVPs). The neural network in question is trained by minimizing a nonlinear least squares functional, thus determining the optimal values of the various RBF parameters involved. The functional minimization is carried out using standard MATLAB® software efficiently. Several numerical experiments are presented to demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed method.

Higher Corrections Of The Ilkovich Equation, S. Jon Chapman, Charles W. Monroe, Shiv Krishna Madi Reddy, Alexander Van-Brunt, Ralph E. White

Faculty Publications

A short-time asymptotic analysis is performed to establish corrections of the Ilkovich equation, which describes the polarographic response of a dropping mercury electrode. The convective diffusion equation governing diffusion limited reactant flux for small drop times is solved by a regular perturbation based on powers of the sixth root of time. This produces a framework within which higher terms of the Ilkovich equation can be derived systematically. As well as reproducing Ilkovich’s original formula and verifying Newman’s correction of Koutecky’s first-order term, we calculate the second-order term for the first time. The calculation is compared to the Newman–Levich procedure and …

All-Sky Search For Short Gravitational-Wave Bursts In The Third Advanced Ligo And Advanced Virgo Run, Ligo Scientific Collaboration, Virgo Collaboration, Kagra Collaboration, Tiffany Z. Summerscales

Faculty Publications

After the detection of gravitational waves from compact binary coalescences, the search for transient gravitational-wave signals with less well-defined waveforms for which matched filtering is not well suited is one of the frontiers for gravitational-wave astronomy. Broadly classified into “short” ≲1  s and “long” ≳1  s duration signals, these signals are expected from a variety of astrophysical processes, including non-axisymmetric deformations in magnetars or eccentric binary black hole coalescences. In this work, we present a search for long-duration gravitational-wave transients from Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo’s third observing run from April 2019 to March 2020. For this search, we use …

Transition-Metal Ions In Β-Ga2O3 Crystals: Identification Of Ni Acceptors, Timothy D. Gustafson, Nancy C. Giles, Brian C. Holloway, J. Jesenovec, B. L. Dutton, M. D. Mccluskey, Larry E. Halliburton

Faculty Publications

Excerpt: Transition-metal ions (Ni, Cu, and Zn) in β-Ga₂O₃ crystals form deep acceptor levels in the lower half of the bandgap. In the present study, we characterize the Ni acceptors in a Czochralski-grown crystal and find that their (0/−) level is approximately 1.40 eV above the maximum of the valence band.

A Molecular Chemodosimeter To Probe “Closed Shell” Ions In Kidney Cells, Rashid Mia

Faculty Publications

Two quinidine-functionalized coumarin molecular probes have been synthesized and have been found to bind metal cations (Cd2+, Co2+, Cu2+, Fe2+, Hg2+, Ni2+, and Zn2+) with high affinity in organic–aqueous media (DMSO–HEPES). The chemodosimeters coordinate with the Zn2+ ions in a two-to-one ratio (molecular probe : Zn2+) with a log β of 10.0 M−2. Upon the addition of the closed-shell metal ions studied, a fluorescence turn-on via an excimer formation is seen at 542 nm due to the quinaldine moiety adopting a syn arrangement when coordinated to the metal Zn2+ ions. Confocal microscopy monitored free Zn2+ ions in the Human Embryonic …

High School Course-Completion Trajectories And College Pathways For All: A Transcript Analysis Study On Elective Computer Science Courses, Hsun-Yu Chan, Ting-Lan Ma, Guan K. Saw, Yen-Ming Huang

Faculty Publications

Abstract: Whereas researchers regard high school math and science coursework as the best indicator of college readiness for students in the United States, computer science coursework and its relationship to college attendance, particularly for minoritized students, have not received due attention despite its root in the mathematical and scientific reasoning ability. We examined students’ high school course completion patterns across subjects and grade levels with a special focus on elective computer science courses and whether the coursework pattern transitions worked differently for minoritized students in Texas, USA. Latent profile analysis and latent transition analysis revealed multiple patterns of coursework, including …

Comparison Of Rt-Qpcr And Rt-Dpcr Platforms For The Trace Detection Of Sars-Cov-2 Rna In Wastewater, Warish Ahmed, Wendy J.M. Smith, Suzanne Metcalfe, Greg Jackson, Phil M. Choi, Mary Morrison, Daniel Field, Pradip Gyawali, Aaron Bivins, Kyle Bibby, Stuart L. Simpson

Faculty Publications

We compared reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) and RT digital PCR (RT-dPCR) platforms for the trace detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in low-prevalence COVID-19 locations in Queensland, Australia, using CDC N1 and CDC N2 assays. The assay limit of detection (ALOD), PCR inhibition rates, and performance characteristics of each assay, along with the positivity rates with the RT-qPCR and RT-dPCR platforms, were evaluated by seeding known concentrations of exogenous SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater. The ALODs using RT-dPCR were approximately 2-5 times lower than those using RT-qPCR. During sample processing, the endogenous (n = 96) and exogenous (n = 24) SARS-CoV-2 wastewater …

Believing The Unbelievable: A Universe Of Miracles, Anthony Bosman

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Machine Learning With Gradient-Based Optimization Of Nuclear Waste Vitrification With Uncertainties And Constraints, Lagrande Gunnell, Kyle Manwaring, Xiaonan Lu, Jacob Reynolds, John Vienna, John Hedengren

Faculty Publications

Gekko is an optimization suite in Python that solves optimization problems involving mixed-integer, nonlinear, and differential equations. The purpose of this study is to integrate common Machine Learning (ML) algorithms such as Gaussian Process Regression (GPR), support vector regression (SVR), and artificial neural network (ANN) models into Gekko to solve data based optimization problems. Uncertainty quantification (UQ) is used alongside ML for better decision making. These methods include ensemble methods, model-specific methods, conformal predictions, and the delta method. An optimization problem involving nuclear waste vitrification is presented to demonstrate the benefit of ML in this field. ML models are compared …

Validation Of A Script To Facilitate Social Determinant Of Health Conversations With Adolescent Patients, Emily M. Giorgi, Matthew J. Drescher, Zachary K. Winkelmann, Lindsey E. Eberman

Faculty Publications

Current social determinants of health (SDOH) tools exist to assess patient exposure; however, healthcare providers for the adolescent population are unsure of how to integrate SDOH knowledge into clinical practice. The purpose of this study was to validate a focused history script designed to facilitate SDOH conversations between clinicians and adolescents through the use of the Delphi method. Six individuals (1 clinician, 5 educators/researchers) participated as expert panelists. Panelists provided critical feedback on the script for rounds 1 and 2. For rounds 3–7, panelists received an electronic questionnaire asking them to indicate agreement on a 6-point Likert scale (1 = …

A Theoretical Interpretation Of The Anomalous Reduced E2 Transition Probabilities Along The Yrast Line Of Neutron-Deficient Nuclei, Yu Zhang, Ying Wen He, D. Karlsson, Chong Qi, Feng Pan, J. P. Draayer

Faculty Publications

The anomalous low-energy E2-related behavior of a triaxially deformed nuclei is examined within the framework of the interacting boson model. The results show striking features that include a B(E2;41⁺→21⁺)/B(E2;21⁺→01⁺)< 1.0 transition rate and a E(41⁺)/E(21⁺)>2.0 excitation energy ratio that can be tracked back to a finite-N effect, which in a large-N limit of the theory yields normal results for a stable γ-deformation. This description is shown to explain experimentally observed results in ¹⁷²Pt and ¹⁶⁸Os, and in doing so yields a deeper understanding of the physical features of a soft triaxially-deformed …

Salinity And Hydraulic Retention Time Induce Membrane Phospholipid Acyl Chain Remodeling In Halanaerobium Congolense Wg10 And Mixed Cultures From Hydraulically Fractured Shale Wells, Chika Jude Ugwuodo, Fabrizio Colosimo, Jishnu Adhikari, Yuxiang Shen, Appala Raju Badireddy, Paula J. Mouser

Faculty Publications

Bacteria remodel their plasma membrane lipidome to maintain key biophysical attributes in response to ecological disturbances. ForHalanaerobiumand other anaerobic halotolerant taxa that persist in hydraulically fractured deep subsurface shale reservoirs, salinity, and hydraulic retention time (HRT) are important perturbants of cell membrane structure, yet their effects remain poorly understood. Membrane-linked activities underliein situmicrobial growth kinetics and physiologies which drive biogeochemical reactions in engineered subsurface systems. Hence, we used gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) to investigate the effects of salinity and HRT on the phospholipid fatty acid composition ofH. congolenseWG10 and mixed enrichment cultures from hydraulically fractured shale wells. We also coupled …

Rickettsia Parkeri Infection Modulates The Sialome And Ovariome Of The Gulf Coast Tick, Amblyomma Maculatum, Melina Garcia Guizzo, Khemraj Budachetri, Abdulsalam Adegoke, Jose M.C. Ribeiro, Shahid Karim

Faculty Publications

The Gulf Coast tick, Amblyomma maculatum, is a vector of several tick-borne pathogens, including Rickettsia parkeri. The ability of R. parkeri to persist within the tick population through transovarial and transstadial transmission, without apparently harming the ticks, contributes to the pathogen’s perpetuation in the tick population. Previous studies have shown that the R. parkeri load in A. maculatum is regulated by the tick tissues’ oxidant/antioxidant balance and the non-pathogenic tick microbiome. To obtain further insights into the interaction between tick and pathogen, we performed a bulk RNA-Seq for differential transcriptomic analysis of ovaries and salivary …

Impact Stories: Global Feedback Demonstrating The Reach And Impact Of Your Ir, Ellen Neuhaus

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.