Digital Commons Network^™

Darnell, Latoya, Brad, And Laurie: Lawyers’ Responses To Email Requests For Representation, Elizabeth S. Chambliss

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Unsupervised Summarization Of Privacy Concerns In Mobile Application Reviews, Fahimeh Ebrahimi, Anas Mahmoud

Faculty Publications

The proliferation of mobile applications (app) over the past decade has imposed unprecedented challenges on end-users privacy. Apps constantly demand access to sensitive user information in exchange for more personalized services. These - mostly unjustifiable - data collection tactics have raised major privacy concerns among mobile app users. Such concerns are commonly expressed in mobile app reviews, however, they are typically overshadowed by more generic categories of user feedback, such as app reliability and usability. This makes extracting user privacy concerns manually, or even using automated tools, a challenging and time-consuming task. To address these challenges, in this paper, we …

Wildfire Aerosol Deposition Likely Amplified A Summertime Arctic Phytoplankton Bloom, Mathieu Ardyna, Douglas S. Hamilton, Tristan Harmel, Léo Lacour, Diana N. Bernstein, Julien Laliberté, Christopher Horvat, Rémi Laxenaire, Matthew M. Mills, Gert Van Dijken, Igor Polyakov, Hervé Claustre, Natalie Mahowald, Kevin Robert Arrigo

Faculty Publications

Summertime wildfire activity is increasing in boreal forest and tundra ecosystems in the Northern Hemisphere. However, the impact of long range transport and deposition of wildfire aerosols on biogeochemical cycles in the Arctic Ocean is unknown. Here, we use satellite-based ocean color data, atmospheric modeling and back trajectory analysis to investigate the transport and fate of aerosols emitted from Siberian wildfires in summer 2014 and their potential impact on phytoplankton dynamics in the Arctic Ocean. We detect large phytoplankton blooms near the North Pole (up to 82°N in the eastern Eurasian Basin). Our analysis indicates that these blooms were induced …

Muscular Strength And Carotid Intima-Media Thickness In Physically Fit Young Adults: The Chief Atherosclerosis Study, Gen-Min Lin, Kun-Zhe Tsai, Yun-Chen Chang, Wei-Chun Huang, Xuemei Sui M.D., M.P.H., Ph.D., Carl J. Lavie

Faculty Publications

Background: Greater muscular strength (MusS) has been found to have an inverse association with subclinical atherosclerosis in children, as well as with mortality from cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) in middle-aged and elderly individuals. However, the association of the degree of MusS with atherosclerosis may differ by sex and has not been clarified in young adults. Methods and Results: A total of 1021 Taiwanese military personnel, aged 18–40 years, participated in annual health examinations in 2018–2020. MusS was separately assessed by 2-min push-up and 2-min sit-up numbers. Subclinical atherosclerosis was measured by the left carotid bulb intima–media thickness (cIMT) using high-resolution ultrasonography. …

Yin And Yang Of Cannabinoid Cb1 Receptor: Cb1 Deletion In Immune Cells Causes Exacerbation While Deletion In Non-Immune Cells Attenuates Obesity, Kathryn Miranda, William Becker, Philip B. Busbee, Nicholas Dopkins, Osama A. Abdulla, Yin Zhong, Jiajia Zhang Ph.D., Mitzi Nagarkatti, Prakash S. Nagarkatti

Faculty Publications

While blockade of cannabinoid receptor 1 (CB1) has been shown to attenuate diet-induced obesity (DIO), its relative role in different cell types has not been tested. The current study investigated the role of CB1 in immune vs non-immune cells during DIO by generating radiation-induced bone marrow chimeric mice that expressed functional CB1 in all cells except the immune cells or expressed CB1 only in immune cells. CB1^-/- recipient hosts were resistant to DIO, indicating that CB1 in non-immune cells is necessary for induction of DIO. Interestingly, chimeras with CB1^-/- in immune cells showed exacerbation in DIO combined with …

Association Between Socioeconomic Status And Mental Health Among China’S Migrant Workers: A Moderated Mediation Model, Yubo Shao, Huang Ying, Xiaoming Li Ph.D., Lian Tong

Faculty Publications

Mental health problems are prevalent among China’s internal migrant workers. However, research on the relationship between socioeconomic status (SES) and mental health is insufficient. Therefore, this study, utilizing the China’s National Dynamic Monitoring Survey data from a sample of 15,997 migrant workers aged 15–59 years to explore differences in the relationship between migrants’ objective and subjective SES and mental health status in 2015. Both the mediating effect of perceived interpersonal discrimination and the moderating effect of age were examined through structural equation modeling. The results indicated that subjective SES has a stronger direct relationship with mental health than objective SES. …

Degumming Of Hemp Fibers Using Combined Microwave Energy And Deep Eutectic Solvent Treatment, Bulbul Ahmed, Qinglin Wu, Hai Lin, Jaegyoung Gwon, Ioan Negulescu, Bruce Cameron

Faculty Publications

Hemp bast fibers were degummed using combined microwave energy (MWE) and deep eutectic solvent (DES) to generate pure hemp cellulose fibers for potential textile applications. The properties of the degummed fibers were investigated and compared with those of the alkali-treated fibers using several analytical techniques. Results revealed that hemp fiber surface underwent dramatic structural disruption during the pretreatment, due to the removal of “gummy” compounds (i.e., pectin, oil, wax, etc.), lignin, and amorphous cellulose. The treated fibers had much enhanced thermal stability due to the removal of the gummy materials. The reduced enthalpy (171.34 J/g) of MWE-DES treated fibers at …

Integrating Knowledge Co-Production With Life Cycle Assessment, Weiwei Mo, David Hart, Catherine M. Ashcraft, Mikhail Chester, Stefano Cucurachi, Zhongming Lu, Shelie A. Miller

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Applications Of The Harary-Sachs Theorem For Hypergraphs, Gregory J. Clark, Joshua N. Cooper

Faculty Publications

The Harary-Sachs theorem for k-uniform hypergraphs equates the codegree-d coefficient of the adjacency characteristic polynomial of a uniform hypergraph with a weighted sum of subgraph counts over certain multi-hypergraphs with d edges. We begin by showing that the classical Harary-Sachs theorem for graphs is indeed a special case of this general theorem. To this end we apply the generalized Harary-Sachs theorem to the leading coefficients of the characteristic polynomial of various hypergraphs. In particular, we provide explicit and asymptotic formulas for the contribution of the k-uniform simplex to the codegree-d coefficient. Moreover, we provide an explicit formula for the leading …

A Novel Self-Assembled Cobalt-Free Perovskite Composite Cathode With Triple-Conduction For Intermediate Proton-Conducting Solid Oxide Fuel Cells, Hua Tong, Min Fu, Yang Yang, Fanglin Chen, Zetian Tao

Faculty Publications

A traditional composite cathode for proton-conducting solid oxide fuel cells (H-SOFCs) is typically obtained by mixing cathode materials and proton conducting electrolyte of BaCe_0.7Y_0.2Z_r0.1O_3–δ (BZCY), providing chemical and thermal compatibility with the electrolyte. Here, a series of triple-conducing and cobalt-free iron-based perovskites as cathodes for H-SOFCs is reported. Specifically, BaCe_xFe_1–xO_3–δ (x = 0.36, 0.43, and 0.50) shows various contents of two single phase perovskites with an in situ heterojunction structure as well as triple conductivity by tailoring the Ce/Fe ratios. The cell performance with the optimized BaCe_{0.36 …}

The Intersection Of Persuasive System Design And Personalization In Mobile Health: Statistical Evaluation, Aleise Mcgowan, Scott Sittig, David Bourrie, Ryan Benton, Sriram Iyengar

Faculty Publications

Background: Persuasive technology is an umbrella term that encompasses software (eg, mobile apps) or hardware (eg, smartwatches) designed to influence users to perform preferable behavior once or on a long-term basis. Considering the ubiquitous nature of mobile devices across all socioeconomic groups, user behavior modification thrives under the personalized care that persuasive technology can offer. However, there is no guidance for developing personalized persuasive technologies based on the psychological characteristics of users.

Objective: This study examined the role that psychological characteristics play in interpreted mobile health (mHealth) screen perceived persuasiveness. In addition, this study aims to explore how …

Is Three Company Or A Crowd? Comparing And Contrasting U.S. And European Clostridioidesdifficile Clinical Practice Guidelines, Jordan Jones, Aditya Pradhan, Morgan E. Pizzuti, Christopher M. Bland, P. Brandon Bookstaver

Faculty Publications

In 2021, the American College of Gastroenterology (ACG), the Infectious Diseases Society of America in conjunction with the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (IDSA/SHEA), and the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID) published updated clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) for the management of Clostridioides difficile infections. The differences, sometimes subtle, between these guideline recommendations have caused some debate among clinicians. This paper delves into select key recommendations from each respective CPG and analyzes the differences and evidence associated with each. One primary difference between the CPGs is the preference given to fidaxomicin over vancomycin for initial treatment …

Pest Population Dynamics Are Related To A Continental Overwintering Gradient, Douglas Lawton, Anders S. Huseth, George G. Kennedy, Amy C. Morey, William D. Hutchison, Dominic D. Reisig, Seth J. Dorman, De Shae Dillard, Robert C. Venette, Russell L. Groves, John J. Adamczyk, Izailda Barbosa Dos Santos, Tracey Baute, Sebe Brown, Eric Burkness, Ashley Dean, Galen P. Dively, Hélène B. Doughty, Shelby J. Fleischer, Jessica Green, Jeremy K. Greene, Krista Hamilton, Erin Hodgson, Thomas Hunt, David Kerns, Billy Rogers Leonard, Sean Malone, Fred Musser, David Owens, John C. Palumbo, Silvana Paula-Moraes, Julie A. Peterson, Ricardo Ramirez

Faculty Publications

Overwintering success is an important determinant of arthropod populations that must be considered as climate change continues to influence the spatiotemporal population dynamics of agricultural pests. Using a long-term monitoring database and biologically relevant overwintering zones, we modeled the annual and seasonal population dynamics of a common pest, Helicoverpa zea (Boddie), based on three overwintering suitability zones throughout North America using four decades of soil temperatures: the southern range (able to persist through winter), transitional zone (uncertain overwintering survivorship), and northern limits (unable to survive winter). Our model indicates H. zea population dynamics are hierarchically structured with continental-level effects that …

Curating A Knowledge Base For Individuals With Coinfection Of Hiv And Sars-Cov-2: A Study Protocol Of Ehr-Based Data Mining And Clinical Implementation, Chen Liang, Sharon Weissman, Bankole Olatosi, Eric G. Poon, Michael E. Yarrington, Xiaoming Li Ph.D.

Faculty Publications

Introduction Despite a higher risk of severe COVID-19 disease in individuals with HIV, the interactions between SARS-CoV-2 and HIV infections remain unclear. To delineate these interactions, multicentre Electronic Health Records (EHR) hold existing promise to provide fullspectrum and longitudinal clinical data, demographics and sociobehavioural data at individual level. Presently, a comprehensive EHR-based cohort for the HIV/SARS-CoV-2 coinfection has not been established; EHR integration and data mining methods tailored for studying the coinfection are urgently needed yet remain underdeveloped. Methods and analysis The overarching goal of this exploratory/developmental study is to establish an EHR-based cohort for individuals with HIV/SARS-CoV-2 coinfection and …

The Value Of Study Habits, Paul A. Djupe

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

A Comparison Of Intertidal Metazoan Biodiversity Among Different Salinity Zones Of Louisiana Coastal Marshes, Claudia Husseneder, Patrick Rayle, Benjamin G. Aker, W. Kelley Thomas, Lane D. Foil

Faculty Publications

Tidal marshes are among the most valuable, productive, and vulnerable ecosystems with high biodiversity. Louisiana’s saltmarshes are endangered by natural and man-made stressors, including oil pollution, saltwater intrusion, and land loss due to sea level rise and erosion. Freshwater diversions have been planned to restore sediment input from the Mississippi River to rebuild marsh habitats in South Louisiana. These proposed diversions will undoubtedly change salinity levels, which is a major controlling factor in the distribution of marsh organisms, including those in soil; however, detailed pre-event inventories are lacking. This study describes the diversity of metazoan meiofauna (organisms between 45 and …

Discovery And Validation Of Grain Shape Loci In U.S. Rice Germplasm Through Haplotype Characterization, Brijesh Angira, Tommaso Cerioli, Adam N. Famoso

Faculty Publications

Rice grain shape is a major determinant of rice market value and the end-use. We mapped quantitative trait loci (QTL) for grain shape traits in a bi-parental recombinant inbred line population (Trenasse/Jupiter) and discovered two major grain length QTLs—qGL3.1 and qGL7.1. Previously, a major grain shape gene GS3 was reported in the qGL3.1 region and grain length gene GL7 was reported to be encompassing qGL7.1 locus. The re-sequencing SNP data on the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) 3K Rice Genome Project (RGP) panel were obtained from the IRRI SNP-Seek database for both genes and haplotype diversity was characterized for each …

Deep-Turbulence Phase Compensation Using Tiled Arrays, Mark F. Spencer, Terry J. Brennan

Faculty Publications

Tiled arrays use modulo-2π phase compensation and coherent beam combination to correct for the effects of deep turbulence. As such, this paper uses wave-optics simulations to compare the closed-loop performance of tiled arrays to a branch-point-tolerant phase reconstructor known as LSPV+7 [Appl. Opt. 53, 3821 (2014) [CrossRef] ]. The wave-optics simulations make use of a point-source beacon and are setup with weak-to-strong scintillation conditions. This setup enables a trade-space exploration in support of a power-in-the-bucket comparison with LSPV+7. In turn, the results show that tiled arrays outperform LSPV+7 when transitioning from weak-to-strong scintillation conditions. These results are both …

Pulse-Quality Metric For Nonstationary Partially Coherent Fields, Milo W. Hyde Iv, Olga Korotkova, Mark F. Spencer

Faculty Publications

This paper generalizes a pulse-quality metric referred to as P², i.e., the time analogue of Siegman’s beam quality factor M², to include pulsed (nonstationary) random fields of any state of coherence. The analysis begins with the derivation of a general P² relation, which we then specialize to the important cases of coherent and Schell-model pulsed beams. As examples, we derive the P² for two stochastic sources: (1) a cosine Gaussian-correlated Schell-model pulsed beam and (2) a nonuniformly correlated pulsed beam. For both of these sources, we generate (in simulation) random instances of each and …

Optical Character Recognition (Ocr) Approaches To Cursive Handwriting Transcription: Lessons From The Blythe Owen Letters Project, Jazmyne Lavalas, Marianne Kordas, Rodney Summerscales

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Statutory Foundations: Let’S Discuss The Fuss, The Nonplus, And The Superfluous, Thomas Simmons

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Resonant Plasmonic–Biomolecular Chiral Interactions In The Far-Ultraviolet: Enantiomeric Discrimination Of Sub-10 Nm Amino Acid Films, Tiago Ramos Leite, Lin Zschiedrich, Orhan Kizilkaya, Kevin M. Mcpeak

Faculty Publications

Resonant plasmonic–molecular chiral interactions are a promising route to enhanced biosensing. However, biomolecular optical activity primarily exists in the far-ultraviolet regime, posing significant challenges for spectral overlap with current nano-optical platforms. We demonstrate experimentally and computationally the enhanced chiral sensing of a resonant plasmonic–biomolecular system operating in the far-UV. We develop a full-wave model of biomolecular films on Al gammadion arrays using experimentally derived chirality parameters. Our calculations show that detectable enhancements in the chiroptical signals from small amounts of biomolecules are possible only when tight spectral overlap exists between the plasmonic and biomolecular chiral responses. We support this conclusion …

Mathematical Model For Sei Growth Under Open-Circuit Conditions, Shiv Krishna Madi Reddy, Wei Shang, Ralph E. White

Faculty Publications

A solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) growth model is developed in a mixed mode that contains solvent diffusion through the SEI layer and corresponding solvent reduction kinetics at the SEI/electrode interface. The governing equations are solved by the Landau transformation, which makes the moving layer fixed to predict the open circuit potential, SEI layer thickness, and capacity loss. The estimated parameters fitted with experimental data from the literature are computed using COMSOL and MATLAB. Results show that the mixed mode model predicts lower capacity loss and thinner SEI layer due to its growth under open circuit conditions than previously reported by …

Overview Of Arbitrarily High-Order Adjoint Sensitivity And Uncertainty Quantification Methodology For Large-Scale Systems, Dan Gabriel Cacuci

Faculty Publications

This work reviews from a unified viewpoint the concepts underlying the “nth-Order Comprehensive Adjoint Sensitivity Analysis Methodology for Response-Coupled Forward/Adjoint Linear Systems” (nth-CASAM-L) and the “nth-Order Comprehensive Adjoint Sensitivity Analysis Methodology for Nonlinear Systems” (nth-CASAM-N) methodologies. The practical application of the nth-CASAM-L methodology is illustrated for an OECD/NEA reactor physics benchmark, while the practical application of the nth-CASAM-N methodology is illustrated for a nonlinear model of reactor dynamics that exhibits periodic and chaotic oscillations. As illustrated both by the general theory and by the examples reviewed in this work, both the nth-CASAM-L and nth-CASAM-N methodologies overcome the curse of dimensionality …

The Emergence Of Psychoanalytical Electrochemistry: The Translation Of Mdd Biomarker Discovery To Diagnosis With Electrochemical Sensing, Priyanka M. Nadar, Mckenna A. Merrill, Katherine Austin, Stephen M. Strakowski, Jeffrey M. Halpern

Faculty Publications

The disease burden and healthcare costs of psychiatric diseases along with the pursuit to understand their underlying biochemical mechanisms have led to psychiatric biomarker investigations. Current advances in evaluating candidate biomarkers for psychiatric diseases, such as major depressive disorder (MDD), focus on determining a specific biomarker signature or profile. The origins of candidate biomarkers are heterogenous, ranging from genomics, proteomics, and metabolomics, while incorporating associations with clinical characterization. Prior to clinical use, candidate biomarkers must be validated by large multi-site clinical studies, which can be used to determine the ideal MDD biomarker signature. Therefore, identifying valid biomarkers has been challenging, …

Influence Of Nano-Sized Sic On The Laser Powder Bed Fusion Of Molybdenum, Nathan E. Ellsworth, Ryan A. Kemnitz, Cayla C. Eckley, Brianna M. Sexton, Cynthia T. Bowers, Joshua R. Machacek, Larry W. Burggraf

Faculty Publications

Consolidation of pure molybdenum through laser powder bed fusion and other additive manufacturing techniques is complicated by a high melting temperature, thermal conductivity and ductile-to-brittle transition temperature. Nano-sized SiC particles (0.1 wt%) were homogeneously mixed with molybdenum powder and the printing characteristics, chemical composition, microstructure, mechanical properties were compared to pure molybdenum for scan speeds of 100, 200, 400, and 800 mm/s. The addition of SiC improved the optically determined density and flexural strength at 400 mm/s by 92% and 80%, respectively. The oxygen content was reduced by an average of 52% over the four scan speeds analyzed. Two mechanisms …

Genome-Wide Association Analyses Of Physical Activity And Sedentary Behavior Provide Insights Into Underlying Mechanisms And Roles In Disease Prevention, Zhe Wang, Andrew Emmerich, Nicolas J. Pillon, Tim Moore, Daiane Hemerich, Marilyn C. Cornelis, Eugenia Mazzaferro, Siacia Broos, Tarunveer S. Ahluwalia, Traci M. Bartz, Amy R. Bentley, Lawrence F. Bielak, Mike Chong, Audrey Y. Chu, Diane Berry, Rajkumar Dorajoo, Nicole D. Dueker, Elisa Kasbohm, Bjarke Feenstra, Mary F. Feitosa, Mark A. Sarzynski Ph.D., Faha, Facsm, Et. Al.

Faculty Publications

Although physical activity and sedentary behavior are moderately heritable, little is known about the mechanisms that influence these traits. Combining data for up to 703,901 individuals from 51 studies in a multi-ancestry meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies yields 99 loci that associate with self-reported moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity during leisure time (MVPA), leisure screen time (LST) and/or sedentary behavior at work. Loci associated with LST are enriched for genes whose expression in skeletal muscle is altered by resistance training. A missense variant in ACTN3 makes the alpha-actinin-3 filaments more flexible, resulting in lower maximal force in isolated type IIA muscle …

Impact Of Virtual Vs. In-Person School On Children Meeting The 24-H Movement Guidelines During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Christopher D. Pfledderer, Michael Beets, Sarah Burkart Mph, Ph.D., Elizabeth Adams Potter, Robert Weaver Med, Phd, Xuanxuan Zhu, Bridget Armstrong

Faculty Publications

The pandemic mitigation strategy of closing schools, while necessary, may have unintentionally impacted children’s moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), sleep, and time spent watching screens. In some locations, schools used hybrid attendance models, with some days during the week requiring in-person and others virtual attendance. This scenario offers an opportunity to evaluate the impact of attending in-person school on meeting the 24-h movement guidelines. Children (N = 690, 50% girls, K–5th) wore wrist-placed accelerometers for 14 days during October/November 2020. Parents completed daily reports on child time spent on screens and time spent on screens for school. The schools’ schedule was …

Quantifying Dds-Cerberus Network Control Overhead, Andrew T. Park, Nathaniel R. Peck, Richard Dill, Douglas D. Hodson, Michael R. Grimaila, Wayne C. Henry

Faculty Publications

Securing distributed device communication is critical because the private industry and the military depend on these resources. One area that adversaries target is the middleware, which is the medium that connects different systems. This paper evaluates a novel security layer, DDS-Cerberus (DDS-C), that protects in-transit data and improves communication efficiency on data-first distribution systems. This research contributes a distributed robotics operating system testbed and designs a multifactorial performance-based experiment to evaluate DDS-C efficiency and security by assessing total packet traffic generated in a robotics network. The performance experiment follows a 2:1 publisher to subscriber node ratio, varying the number of …

Participatory And Spatial Analyses Of Environmental Justice Communities' Concerns About A Proposed Storm Surge And Flood Protection Seawall, Judith Taylor, Norman S. Levine, Ernest Muhammad, Dwayne E. Porter, Annette M. Watson, Paul A. Sandifer

Faculty Publications

In response to increasing threats from sea-level rise and storm surge, the City of Charleston, South Carolina, and the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) propose constructing a seawall around the Charleston peninsula. The proposed seawall will terminate close to lower wealth, predominantly minority communities. These communities are identified as environmental justice (EJ) communities due to their history of inequitable burdens of industrial and urban pollution and proximity to highways and US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) designated Superfund sites. The present study documents community concerns and opinions related to the proposed seawall, existing flooding problems, and other issues. The project …