Digital Commons Network^™

A Fragility Framework For Surface Erosion With Application To Earthen Dam Breaching, Ege C. Kurter, Ayman Mokhtar Nemnem, M. Hanif Chaudhry, Jasim Imran

Faculty Publications

Overtopping failures of earthen dams are a growing concern under intensifying extreme rainfall. This study introduces a probabilistic fragility framework that combines hydrologic modeling, hydraulic analysis, and soil erodibility to assess erosion risk under uncertain load and resistance. Fragility curves derived from Monte Carlo simulations quantify erosion initiation and severity as functions of rainfall depth and excess shear stress. Application to multiple dams affected during the 2015 South Carolina floods reproduces observed outcomes ranging from complete breach to no damage. The framework also captures cascading effects, where failure of an upstream structure increases downstream loading and erosion potential. Compared with …

Editorial Introduction: Governing Through Attention, Collaboration, Learning, And Participation, Geoboo Song, Gwen Arnold, Melissa K. Merry, Saba N. Siddiki, Holly L. Peterson, Creed Tumlison, Eric Button, Benjamin Galloway, Camille Gilmore, Erica Ivins, Rinjisha Roy, Mohammad Mizanur Rahman, Ryan Ramaker, Rachel Britton, Isaac Owusu

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

State Courts, Public Opinion, And The Changing Abortion Landscape After Dobbs, Anna Gunderson, Chesani Askew, Jeong Hyun Kim, Nichole Bauer

Faculty Publications

The June 24, 2022 Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization represented a seismic shift in abortion policy in the United States. Since then, state courts have begun playing an integral role in expanding or restricting abortion access in their jurisdictions. What do these cases look like and how does the public respond to court decisions that are pro- or anti-abortion? We collect original data on state court abortion cases post-Dobbs and field two survey experiments pre- and post-Dobbs to investigate these questions. We find state courts have expanded their scope in abortion policy and that pro-abortion …

Shining A Light On Firms’ Political Connections: The Role Of Dark Money, Matthew Denes, Madeline Scanlon

Faculty Publications

We study the emergence of a new channel for firms’ political activity using dark money through undisclosed and unlimited contributions. After the U.S. federal court decisions in 2010, S&P 500 firms substantially increased their use of dark money. We find that dark money contributions complement political engagement through campaign contributions and lobbying. Firms disclose dark money contributions when they face heightened nondisclosure costs. Firms contributing to dark money groups benefit by receiving more procurement contracts and increased government subsidies. Our findings highlight that political connections by firms are evolving and expanding through new and largely unexplored channels. (JEL D72, …

Local Injection Of Particles For Retinoic Acid Drug Delivery Improves Muscle Structure And Modulates Inflammation In Mice Recovering From Cast Immobilization, Candice V. Cheung, Regina A. Searcy, Kidochukwu J. Atube, Nicholas A. Colonna, Kelsey E. Krusen, Kate J. Cappage, Khufu M. Holly, R. Paul Ward Pratz, Jessie H. Fournier, Vitali Sikirzhytski Ph.D.

Faculty Publications

Disuse muscle atrophy secondary to acute illness or injury prolongs recovery and increases risk of permanent disability as a result of reduced muscle strength and myofiber damage upon reambulation. However, there are no pharmacotherapies to support muscle growth and repair following prolonged immobility. We propose that all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) may support recovery of atrophied muscle via modulation of satellite cells and macrophages. Clinical application of ATRA is hindered by solubility, stability, and the need for high systemic doses. Therefore, in the current study, we developed poly(lactide-co-glycolide) (PLG) particles for local injection and extended release of ATRA (ATRA-PLG) and investigated …

Khsrp-Mediated Decay Of Axonally Localized Prenyl-Cdc42 Mrna Slows Nerve Regeneration, Matthew D. Zdradzinski, Lauren S. Vaughn, Samaneh Matoo, Kayleigh Trumbull, Terika P. Smith, Davis Noblitt, Courtney N. Buchanan, Ashley Loomis, Elizabeth Thames, Seung Joon Lee, Nora Perrone-Bizzozero, Qun Lu, Jessica M. Larsen, Jeffery L. Twiss

Faculty Publications

The small GTPase CDC42 promotes axon growth through actin filament polymerization and this growth is driven by axonal localization of the mRNA encoding the prenylated CDC42 isoform (Prenyl-Cdc42). Here, we show that axonal Prenyl-Cdc42 mRNA levels and the mRNA's translation are decreased by growth-inhibiting stimulation and increased by growth-promoting stimulation. In contrast, axonal RhoA mRNA transport and translation are increased by growth-inhibiting but unaffected by growth-promoting stimuli. Localized increase in KHSRP in response to growth inhibitory stimulation, through elevation of intracellular Ca2+, promotes decrease in axonal levels of Prenyl-Cdc42 mRNA. Distinct 3'UTR motifs regulate transport and axonal levels of Prenyl-Cdc42 …

Teaching And Learning Programming, Sarah Diesburg, Ben Schafer

Faculty Publications

For traditional subjects like maths or science, most K–12 teachers have years of exposure, both as students and through formal training within their teacher preparation programme. Computer science is a relatively new addition to the curriculum, and here in Iowa in the United States, many K–12 teachers are stepping into the role of computer science instructors with little to no prior experience in the subject. This creates a unique and often daunting situation: teachers are learning the content themselves while simultaneously teaching or preparing to teach it.

Working with teachers placed in this situation has given us a unique opportunity …

We Are Here Because Of Them: Co-Creating A Native Cemetery Memorial At Mission Santa Clara, Lee M. Panich, Amy J. Lueck, Lauren Baines, Isabella ‘Amne Gomez

Faculty Publications

Tens of thousands of Native individuals perished in California’s twenty-one Franciscan missions that operated from the 1760s into the 1840s, but most public interpretive programs gloss over their lives and the cemeteries where they are interred. This has historically been the case at Mission Santa Clara, on the campus of Santa Clara University. In this article, we reflect on the process of co-creating an interactive memorial designed to honor the Native people buried in two colonial-era cemeteries related to the mission and link their lives to the descendant community today. Importantly, the co-creation process helped strengthen relationships in numerous directions, …

Expanding Functionalities Of Immune Receptors Through Simultaneous Transfer Of Sensor And Helper Nlrs, Dongjiao Wang, Qibin Wu, Daowen Wang, Youxiong Que, Zheng Qing Fu

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Recommendations From Multi-Disciplinary Professionals For Survivor-Informed And Comprehensive Care For Human Trafficking Survivors, Christina Tsoi, Timothy B. Smith, Elizabeth Cutrer-Párraga, Devan Clayton, Joshua M. Marshall, Jamila Mastny

Faculty Publications

Background: Human trafficking affects millions of people worldwide with multiple adverse outcomes including psychopathology. Although research on human trafficking has become abundant in other academic disciplines (e.g., public health, criminology, social work), healthcare research specific to the mental health treatment of survivors remains limited. Objective: The purpose of this study was to gather recommendations from professionals about mental health treatment of trafficking survivors. Method: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 21 multidisciplinary professionals working with trafficking survivors. Data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis methodology. Results: An overarching theme derived from the data concerned the recommendation to implement trafficking survivor-informed care, …

Textualism Wins?: The Supreme Court’S 2024 Labor & Employment Law Cases, Nicole B. Porter

Faculty Publications

The Supreme Court decided five primary labor and employment law cases in 2024—two discrimination cases, two arbitration cases, and one labor law case. This article also discusses a sixth case, Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, because it will undoubtedly affect labor and employment law despite the facts and underlying issue having nothing to do with the workplace.

I was initially underwhelmed with this year’s cases. None of them addresses any major substantive labor and employment law issue. However, upon further consideration, the cases are noteworthy for three reasons. First, three of them are pro-plaintiff with outcomes that benefit workers— …

When A Folder Is Not A Folder: Investigating Complex Composite Content, Tyler Thorsted

Faculty Publications

Generally file formats on modern systems are single byte streams, and there are many tools available to help identify and determine what software is needed to make use of the format. When dealing with formats born on Macintosh systems, a single byte stream is often not all that is needed to make use of the formats. On older Macintosh systems a Type/Creator code and a resource fork are often needed, and on more modern systems there are other challenges that need to be addressed. This paper explores some popular formats and tools that are needed to properly assess and capture …

Anti-Holistic Algorithms, Itay Ravid

Faculty Publications

This Article presents a critical tension in modern criminal justice between holistic criminal-justice aspirations and algorithmic governance: whether the holistic rehabilitation and reintegration project can survive technological determinism. As criminal legal systems embrace algorithmic risk- assessment tools as solutions to address recidivism, this Article reveals a profound epistemological concern: the fundamental incompatibility between viewing offenders as “whole persons” capable of transformation and reducing them to statistical probabilities within computational matrices. By doing so, it demonstrates how algorithmic mediation fundamentally alters—and potentially destroys—the holistic message itself.

In establishing this argument, the Article advances in two stages. It first identifies the development …

Pyrolysis Of Foliage From 24 U.S. Plant Species With Recommendations For Physics-Basedwildland Fire Models, Mahsa Alizadeh, Thomas H. Fletcher

Faculty Publications

Pyrolysis of 24 samples of foliage from three U.S. regions with frequent wildland fires (Southeastern U.S., northern Utah and Southern California) was studied in a fuel-rich flat-flame burner system at 765 ◦C (for Southeastern U.S. samples) and 725 ◦C (for northern Utah and Southern California species), with a heating rate of approximately 180 ◦C/s. These conditions were selected to mimic the conditions of wildland fires. Individual plant samples were introduced to the high temperature zone in a flat-flame burner and pyrolysis products were collected. Tar was extracted and later analyzed by GC/MS. Light gases were collected and analyzed by GC/TCD. …

Between Two Minds: The Influence Of Numerical Labels On Survey Responses In A Cross-National Study, Gianmaria Bottoni, Eva Aizpurua

Faculty Publications

Previous research highlights the impact of nonverbal cues and visual layouts on respondents’ interpretations and answers to survey questions (Schwarz et al. in Pub Opin Q 55(4):570–582, 1991; Tourangeau et al. in Pub Opin Q 71(1):91–112, 2007; Toepoel and Dillman in Soc Sci Comput Rev 29(2):193–207, 2011). In this study, we investigate the effect of numerical values on responses to five questions measured using 11-point bipolar scales. These questions asked for evaluations of the general impact of climate change and its effects on different groups. Respondents were randomly assigned to scales ranging from 0 to 10, or from − 5 …

My Serials Checklist Manifesto: A Simple Tool To Deliver Consistent Results And Save Time, J. Michael Lindsay Msis, Mba, Ahip, Martha Earl Msls, Ahip

Faculty Publications

The purpose of this poster is to demonstrate the effectiveness of checklists and standardization in a small academic library, where librarian roles include technical, public, and administrative responsibilities. Since the publication of Atul Gawande's Checklist Manifesto in 2010, leaders have paid greater attention to the role of the simple checklist in standardizing medical care. Checklists can also demonstrate positive impacts in librarianship. Managing serials subscriptions, primarily in electronic format, has required librarians to develop new skills, including the calculation of metrics from big package products which may not share consistent counter standards. Within serials management, greater standardization methods produce consistent …

A Gas-Tight Bonding/Sealing Of Different Bulk Ceramics For Robust Oxygen Separation At Ultra-High Temperatures, Guoan Wang, Xingjian Xue

Faculty Publications

Oxygen transport membrane (OTM) is an economic technology for oxygen separation and high-purity oxygen production. To mitigate various issues induced by high temperatures, intermediate temperature OTM technology has been pursued in recent years. However, in certain circumstances, high operating temperatures are unavoidable, such as in situ oxygen production using OTMs for direct oxy-combustion. Nevertheless, the lack of reliable high temperature gas-tight sealing imposes great challenges on OTM technology for such applications. Herein, a novel sealing strategy is developed to obtain a gas-tight bonding/sealing of two different bulk ceramics using ceramic slurry in combination with phase inversion process. The sealing strategy …

Toward A Feminist Geo-Legal Reading: Us Country-Of-Origin Information In Asylum Adjudication, Malene H. Jacobsen, Austin Crane, Elise Dosch

Faculty Publications

In this article, we offer what we call ‘a feminist geo-legal reading’ of documents used in spaces and practices of law. Legal cases and decisions are often based on different legal and non-legal documents, including laws, explanatory memorandums, testimonies, medical reports, and so forth. In contemporary asylum adjudication, country-of-origin information reports (COIs) have become a crucial source of authoritative evidence as asylum officers and immigration judges use these reports in their determination of a person's need for and right to protection. However, there is no straight line from COIs' substance to the prevailing authority that they command within asylum adjudication. …

Flow Structure And Mixing Near A Small River Plume Front: Winyah Bay, Sc, Usa, Christopher Papageorgiou, George Voulgaris, Alexander E. Yankovsky, Diane Bennett Fribance

Faculty Publications

This study presents Eulerian data from Winyah Bay, SC, USA collected during the passage of a tidal plume. The data captured the evolution and structure of the plume and include high-resolution velocity and temperature time series, supplemented by temperature – salinity profiles from a MicroCTD profiler. The observations identified a pre-existing plume extending to 4 m, with a water density of 1023.6 kg m⁻³, laying above denser ambient waters. Upon arrival, the newly discharged tidal plume introduced a fresher layer (1020.7 kg m⁻³) extending to 2.6 m, gradually thinning due to radial spreading. The plume's frontal …

Flow Structure And Mixing Near A Small River Plume Front: Winyah Bay, Sc, Usa, Christopher Papageorgiou, George Voulgaris, Alexander E. Yankovsky, Diane Bennett Fribance

Faculty Publications

This study presents Eulerian data from Winyah Bay, SC, USA collected during the passage of a tidal plume. The data captured the evolution and structure of the plume and include high-resolution velocity and temperature time series, supplemented by temperature – salinity profiles from a MicroCTD profiler. The observations identified a pre-existing plume extending to 4 m, with a water density of 1023.6 kg m⁻³, laying above denser ambient waters. Upon arrival, the newly discharged tidal plume introduced a fresher layer (1020.7 kg m⁻³) extending to 2.6 m, gradually thinning due to radial spreading. The plume's frontal …

Formalism In Jewish Law, Chaim Saiman

Faculty Publications

Scholars differ as to the degree to which Jewish law is formalistic. This chapter aims to make sense of the debate surrounding formalism in Jewish law by distinguishing between three types of legal formalism: classic formalism, modern formalism, and detail-following formalism. Viewed through the lens of modern formalism, Jewish law is likely less formalistic than commonly assumed as it is not primarily concerned with constraining decision makers. Nor is Jewish legal discourse typified by its unified conceptual schemas that proceed from abstract concepts to bottom-line decisions in the way that classical formalism proceeds. This chapter introduces an alternative framing termed …

Applying Machine Learning Methods To Laser Acceleration Of Protons: Synthetic Data For Exploring The High Repetition Rate Regime, John J. Felice, Ronak Desai, Nathaniel Tamminga, Joseph R. Smith, Alona Kryshchenko, Christopher M. Orban, Michael L. Dexter, Anil K. Patnaik

Faculty Publications

Advances in ultra‐intense laser technology have increased repetition rates and average power for chirped‐pulse laser systems, which offer a promising solution for many applications including energetic proton sources. An important challenge is the need to optimize and control the proton source by varying some of the many degrees of freedom inherent to the laser‐plasma interactions. Machine learning can play an important role in this task, as our work examines. Building on our earlier work in Desai et al. 2024, we generate a large ∼1.5 million data point synthetic data set for proton acceleration using a physics‐informed analytic model that we …

Teaching Machine Learning To Undergraduate Electrical Engineering Students, Gerald L. Fudge, Anika Rimu, William Zorn, July Ringle, Cody Barnet

Faculty Publications

Proficiency in machine learning (ML) and the associated computational math foundations have become critical skills for engineers. Required areas of proficiency include the ability to use available ML tools and the ability to develop new tools to solve engineering problems. Engineers also need to be proficient in using generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools in a variety of contexts, including as an aid to learning, research, writing, and code generation. Using these tools properly requires a solid understanding of the associated computational math foundation. Without this foundation, engineers will struggle with developing new tools and can easily misuse available ML/AI tools, …

Invisible Print? Reading Skill Predicts Children's Learning Of Novel Spoken Words, Taylor J. Bryant, Dawna Duff, Bethany Bell, Lisa Fitton, Suzanne M. Adlof

Faculty Publications

Research indicates that when literate children and adults hear a new word that they have never seen in print, they create an expectation for how the word may be spelled. However, studies have not yet examined the extent to which orthographic knowledge plays a role in children's spoken vocabulary learning when words are taught without print. The current study used structural equation modelling to examine the relation between children's word reading ability and their ability to learn novel words from spoken instruction. Children (N = 335; 7–9 years; 52% female; <  1% American Indian/Alaskan Native, 33% Black, 1% Multiracial, <  1% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, 2% Other; 57% White; 6% did not report race; 2% Hispanic/Latino, 97% Not Hispanic/Latino; <  1% did not report ethnicity) completed norm-referenced language and reading assessments and experimental measures of spoken word learning. Word reading ability and vocabulary knowledge uniquely predicted spoken word learning with respective medium-small and medium-large effects after controlling for phonological memory, general language ability, and nonverbal cognition. Thus, orthographic skill has important effects on vocabulary learning, unaccounted for in previous research, that should be addressed in current theory and practice.

What Drives Advanced Practice Nurses To Stay In Rural America? Insights From The 2022 National Survey Of Registered Nurses, Esita Patel, Chris Gillette, Jan Ostermann Phd, Chris Everett, Dawn Caviness, Sarah Garvick

Faculty Publications

Purpose: Recruiting and retaining a robust rural health care workforce is critical to advancing health outcomes in rural communities. Although increasing the rural provider workforce has been a policy focus for decades, rural access continues to worsen. Using a strengths-based approach, we identify factors that influence the decisions of advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) to leave or stay in their jobs.

Methods: Secondary analysis of data from the 2022 National Sample Survey of Registered Nurses. We describe rates of turnover, retention, intention to leave, and reasons for leaving and staying by job rurality. We compare reasons by rurality using Pearson …

Ktrb-Mediated Alkaline Adaptation Drives Enterococcus Faecalis Persistence In The Gastrointestinal Tract Of Helicoverpa Zea, Patrick J. Hurd, Vivian Veto, Geneva Bell, Jerreme J. Jackson

Faculty Publications

Enterococcus faecalis is a commensal enteric bacterium capable of surviving in extreme and diverse environments. Here, we characterized the role of the gene ntpJ, which encodes the KtrB subunit of the KtrAB Na⁺/K⁺ symporter, during the adaptation of E. faecalis to alkaline stress and persistence in Helicoverpa zea (corn earworm). We assessed growth kinetics, biofilm formation, surface adhesion, and gastrointestinal persistence in vivo using an E. faecalis OG1RF mariner transposon mutant (ntpJ-Tn). The ntpJ-Tn mutant showed delayed entry into mid-log phase growth and biofilm formation under standard and alkaline-adjusted conditions relative to the wild-type strain, while adherence …

Effect Of Practice On The Control Of Reach Extent, Faith N. Schroers, Troy M. Herter, Dylan Bruemmer, Takeo Ichiyanagi, Austin Herherington, Michael O'Dpnnell, Janelle Ozorowski, Chad Simmons, Jill Campbell Stewart Pt, Phd

Faculty Publications

The control of reaches to targets that vary in distance involves a combination of anticipatory planning and feedback-based adjustments. However, it is not known if their contributions to the control of reach extent change with repetitive practice. This study investigated the effect of three days of practice on the control of reach extent. Right-hand dominant participants reached with either the non-dominant left arm or dominant right arm to six targets presented in two directions and three distances in a virtual environment. The effect of practice on planning and feedback-based adjustments to control reach extent was examined by determining how well …

Online Cyber-Physical Neural Network Model For Real-Time Hybrid Simulation, Faisal Nissar Malik, Liang Cao, James Ricles, Austin Downey

Faculty Publications

Real-time hybrid simulation (RTHS) is an experimental testing methodology that divides a structural system into an analyticaland an experimental substructure. The analytical substructure is modeled numerically, and the experimental substructure ismodeled physically in the laboratory. The two substructures are kinematically linked together at their interface degrees of freedom,and the coupled equations of motion are solved in real-time to obtain the response of the complete system. A key challenge inapplying RTHS to large or complex structures is the limited availability of physical devices, which makes it difficult to representall required experimental components simultaneously. The present study addresses this challenge by introducing …

Interactions And Community Structure Of Fungi And Prokaryotes In Salt And Brackish Marsh Ecosystems, Madeleine A. Thompso, Xuefeng Peng

Faculty Publications

Microbial communities play a fundamental role in biogeochemical cycling within salt and brackish marsh ecosystems, yet fungal-prokaryotic interactions in these environments remain poorly understood. This study employed metabarcoding of the 16S and 28S rRNA genes to investigate prokaryotic and fungal communities across four locations in sediments and surface waters of the North Inlet salt marsh and Winyah Bay brackish marsh (South Carolina, USA) over four time points from 2020 to 2021. Co-occurrence network analyses were used to identify potential microbial interactions and their ecological implications. Distinct fungal and prokaryotic communities were observed between the two marsh types. From the 16S …

A New Low-Rate Stable Hydrogel Cathode For Aqueous Zn-Ion Batteries, Roya Rajabi, Shichen Sun, Jamil A. Khan, Morgan Stefik, Kevin Huang

Faculty Publications

Aqueous Zn-ion batteries (ZIBs) are attractive candidates for large-scale energy storage owing to the abundance, low cost, and intrinsic safety of Zn metal. However, their practical application is hindered by poor cycle stability, especially at low current densities, due to cathode dissolution and limited electrochemically active sites (EAS). Herein, a hydrogel-based cathode comprising ammonium vanadate, carbon black, and a Zn-ion-conducting carboxymethyl chitosan–acrylamide hydrogel matrix doped with Zn(ClO4)2 is reported. This design establishes a continuous Zn-ion-conducting network, thereby maximizing EAS density throughout the electrode volume. The ZIB with the hydrogel cathode exhibits outstanding cycling stability, with 77% capacity retention after 2000 …