Digital Commons Network^™

Investors’ Reactions To Csr News In Family Versus Nonfamily Firms: A Study On Signal (In)Credibility, Naciye Sekerci, Jamil Jaballah, Marc Van Essen, Nadine Kammerlander

Faculty Publications

We study family firm status as an important condition in signaling theory; specifically, we propose that the market reacts more positively to positive, and more negatively to negative, CSR news (i.e., signals) from family firms than to similar news from nonfamily firms. Moreover, we propose that during recessions, the direction of these relationships reverses. Based on an event study of 1247 positive and negative changes in the CSR ratings for all firms listed on the French SFB120 stock market index (2003-2013), we find support for our hypotheses. Moreover, a post hoc analysis reveals that the relationships are contingent on whether …

Response Shift In Patient‑Reported Outcomes: Defnition, Theory, And A Revised Model, Antoine Vanier, Frans J. Oort, Leah Mcclimans, Nikki Ow, Bernice G. Gulek, Jan R. Böhnke, Mirjam Sprangers, Véronique Sébille, Nancy Mayo, Response Shift - In Sync Working Group

Faculty Publications

Purpose

The extant response shift definitions and theoretical response shift models, while helpful, also introduce predicaments and theoretical debates continue. To address these predicaments and stimulate empirical research, we propose a more specific formal definition of response shift and a revised theoretical model.

Methods

This work is an international collaborative effort and involved a critical assessment of the literature.

Results

Three main predicaments were identified. First, the formal definitions of response shift need further specification and clarification. Second, previous models were focused on explaining change in the construct intended to be measured rather than explaining the construct at multiple time …

Potential Roles Of Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress And Cellular Proteins Implicated In Diabesity, Sagir Mustapha, Mustapha Mohammed, Ahmad Khusairi Azemi, Ismaeel Yunusa, Aishatu Shehu, Lukman Mustapha, Yusuf Wada, Mubarak Hussaini Ahmad, Wan Amir Wan Ahmad, Aida Hanum Ghulam Rasool, Siti Safiah Mokhtar

Faculty Publications

The role of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) has evolved from protein synthesis, processing, and other secretory pathways to forming a foundation for lipid biosynthesis and other metabolic functions. Maintaining ER homeostasis is essential for normal cellular function and survival. An imbalance in the ER implied stressful conditions such as metabolic distress, which activates a protective process called unfolded protein response (UPR). This response is activated through some canonical branches of ER stress, i.e., the protein kinase RNA-like endoplasmic reticulum kinase (PERK), inositol-requiring enzyme 1α (IRE1α), and activating transcription factor 6 (ATF6). Therefore, chronic hyperglycemia, hyperinsulinemia, increased proinflammatory …

Maternal Methylmercury Exposure Through Rice Ingestion And Child Neurodevelopment In The First Three Years: A Prospective Cohort Study In Rural China, Sarah E. Rothenberg, Susan A. Korrick, Jihong Liu, Yanfen Nong, Chuan Hong, Eva P. Trinh, Xu Jiang, Fred J. Biasini, Fengxiu Ouyang

Faculty Publications

Background

Rice is an important dietary source for methylmercury; however, rice does not contain the same beneficial nutrients as fish. Our main objective was to assess associations of prenatal methylmercury exposure through rice ingestion with child neurodevelopment in rural China.

Methods

Eligible peripartum women were enrolled (n = 391), provided peripartum hair samples, and children’s neurodevelopment was assessed at 12 months (n = 264, 68%) and 36 months (n = 190, 48%) using the Bayley Scales of Infant Development, 2nd Edition, including the Mental Developmental Index (MDI) and the Psychomotor Developmental Index (PDI). Associations between prenatal methylmercury …

Empowering The Caregiver Network Of Farmers With A Disability: A Case Study Of The North Carolina Agrability Project, Kristoff Minus, Janine Woods, Richie Roberts, Chastity English, Beatriz Rodriguez

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Endocannabinoid Anandamide Attenuates Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome By Downregulating Mirna That Target Inflammatory Pathways, Muthanna Sultan, Hasan Alghetaa, Amirah Mohammed, Osama A. Abdulla, Paul J. Wisniewski, Narendra Singh, Prakash Nagarkatti, Mitzi Nagarkatti

Faculty Publications

Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is defined as a type of respiratory failure that is caused by a variety of insults such as pneumonia, sepsis, trauma and certain viral infections. In this study, we investigated the effect of an endocannabinoid, anandamide (AEA), on ARDS induced in the mouse by Staphylococcus Enterotoxin B (SEB). Administration of a single intranasal dose of SEB in mice and treated with exogenous AEA at a dose of 40 mg/kg body weight led to the amelioration of ARDS in mice. Clinically, plethysmography results indicated that there was an improvement in lung function after AEA treatment accompanied …

Effects Of Tobacco Product Type And Characteristics On Appeal And Perceived Harm: Results From A Discrete Choice Experiment Among Guatemalan Adolescents, Jose Monzón, Farahnaz Islam, Sophia Mus, Jim Thrasher, Joaquin Barnoya

Faculty Publications

Guatemala is one of the few countries where both heated tobacco products (HTPs) and electronic cigarettes (ecigarettes) remain unregulated. We used a discrete choice experiment (DCE) administered to 2038 high school students to assess how tobacco product attributes influence their appeal among Guatemalan adolescents. Participants were randomly assigned to evaluate 4 of 32 contrasting sets, each containing 3 packs (1 of each product type). Experimental manipulations included: product type, brand, nicotine content and flavor. Participants then indicated which product they were most and least interested in trying and would be most and least harmful to their health. Conditional logistic regression …

Editors’ Choice-Examining Performance And Durability Of Anion Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells With Novel Spirocyclic Anion Exchange Membranes, Ami C. Yang-Neyerlin, Samantha Medina, Kelly M. Meek, Derek J. Strasser, Cheng He, Daniel M. Knauss, Mustain E William, Svitlana Pylypenko, Bryan S. Pivovar

Faculty Publications

A series of spirocyclic copolymer membranes with varying ion exchange capacities (IECs) were investigated to probe the impact of polymer properties on in situ fuel cell performance and stability. In-situ electrochemical tests and post-mortem electron microscopy analysis of cross-sectioned membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs) have been combined with voltage loss breakdown analysis to evaluate the performance and degradation of different MEAs, and to probe the catalyst morphology and electrode structure at different stages of operation. Voltage loss breakdown results show that membrane degradation and kinetic losses played only a minor role in observed performance degradation and that performance losses were primarily …

Agent-Based Coordinated Control Of Power Electronic Converters In A Microgrid, Maryam Nasri, Hebert L. Ginn Iii, Mehrdad Moallem

Faculty Publications

This paper presents the implementation of an agent-based architecture suitable for the coordination of power electronic converters in stand-alone microgrids. To this end, a publish-subscribe agent architecture was utilized as a distributed microgrid control platform. Over a distributed hash table (DHT) searching overlay, the publish-subscribe architecture was identified based on a numerical analysis as a scalable agent-based technology for the distributed real-time coordination of power converters in microgrids. The developed framework was set up to deploy power-sharing distributed optimization algorithms while keeping a deterministic time period of a few tens of milliseconds for a system with tens of converters and …

Psychiatric Symptoms, Risk, And Protective Factors Among University Students In Quarantine During The Covid-19 Pandemic In China (Vol 17, 15, 2021), Shufang Sun, Simon B. Goldberg, Danhua Lin, Shan Qiao, Don Operario

Faculty Publications

Background

The COVID-19 pandemic has made unprecedented impact on the psychological health of university students, a population vulnerable to distress and mental health disorders. This study investigated psychiatric symptoms (anxiety, depression, and traumatic stress) during state-enforced quarantine among university students in China (N = 1912) through a cross-sectional survey during March and April 2020.

Results

Psychiatric symptoms were alarmingly prevalent: 67.05% reported traumatic stress, 46.55% had depressive symptoms, and 34.73% reported anxiety symptoms. Further, 19.56% endorsed suicidal ideation. We explored risk and protective factors of psychological health, including demographic variables, two known protective factors for mental health (mindfulness, perceived …

Associations Between Family-Based Stress And Dietary Inflammatory Potential Among Families With Preschool-Aged Children, Valerie Hruska, Nitin Shivappa Mbbs, Mph, Ph.D., James R. Hébert Scd, Alison M. Duncan, Jess Hines, David W. L. Ma

Faculty Publications

Chronic stress is known to influence dietary choices, and stressed families often report poorer diet quality; however, little is known about how family-based stress is linked with dietary patterns that promote inflammation. This study investigated associations between family-based stress and the inflammatory potential of the diet among preschool-aged children and their parents. Parents (n = 212 mothers, n = 146 fathers) and children (n = 130 girls, n = 123 boys; aged 18 months to 5 years) from 241 families participating in the Guelph Family Health Study were included in the analyses. Parents reported levels of parenting distress, depressive symptoms, …

Measuring And Leveraging Motives And Values In Dietary Interventions, Sarah J. Eustis, Gabrielle Turner-Mcgrievy, Swann A. Adams, James R. Hébert Scd

Faculty Publications

Why measure and leverage food motives and values? Every failure and every success in dietary change can be connected to motivation. Therefore, this research question naturally arises: How can food motives and values be measured and leveraged to improve diet outcomes from the individual to populations? There are four ways that food motives and values (FMVs) can assist researchers and health professionals. First, FMVs can help to create a personalized approach to dietary change. Second, FMVs can inform content for dietary interventions. Third, these FMV measures can be used in data analysis to elucidate differences in adherence and outcomes among …

Meta-Heuristic Optimization Methods For Quaternion-Valued Neural Networks, Jeremiah Bill, Lance E. Champagne, Bruce Cox, Trevor J. Bihl

Faculty Publications

In recent years, real-valued neural networks have demonstrated promising, and often striking, results across a broad range of domains. This has driven a surge of applications utilizing high-dimensional datasets. While many techniques exist to alleviate issues of high-dimensionality, they all induce a cost in terms of network size or computational runtime. This work examines the use of quaternions, a form of hypercomplex numbers, in neural networks. The constructed networks demonstrate the ability of quaternions to encode high-dimensional data in an efficient neural network structure, showing that hypercomplex neural networks reduce the number of total trainable parameters compared to their real-valued …

Association Of Hair Concentrations Of Antiretrovirals With Virologic Outcomes Among People Living With Hiv In Guangxi, China, Quan Zhang, Xiaoming Li Ph.D., Shan Qiao Ph.D., Shuaifeng Liu, Zhiyong Shen, Yuejiao Zhou

Faculty Publications

Background: Hair concentrations of antiretrovirals are an innovative and non-invasive method for measuring cumulative antiretroviral exposure and assessing long-term antiretroviral adherence. This study aimed to examine hair concentrations of antiretrovirals in relation to virologic outcomes among PLHIV in Guangxi, China.
Methods: Cross-sectional data of hair concentrations of antiretrovirals and HIV viral load were collected from 215 PLHIV in Guangxi, China. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to examine the association of hair concentrations of antiretrovirals with virologic outcomes.
Results: Of the 215 participants, 215, 67, and 163 PLHIV are receiving lamivudine, zidovudine, and efavirenz, respectively. Multivariate analysis revealed that hair …

Test Of Lepton-Flavor Universality In B→K∗ℓ+ℓ− Decays At Belle, S. Wehle, I. Adachi, K. Adamczyk, H. Aihara, D. M. Asner, H. Atmacan, V. Aulchenko, T. Aushev, R. Ayad, V. Babu, P. Behera, M. Berger, V. Bhardwaj, J. Biswal, A. Bozek, M. Bračko, T. E. Browder, M. Campajola, L. Cao, M. -C. Chang, Milind Purohit, Et. Al.

Faculty Publications

We present a measurement of R_k+ , the branching fraction ratio B(B → K⁺μ⁺μ⁻)=B(B → K*e⁺e⁻),, for both charged and neutral B mesons. The ratio for the charged case R _K^* + is the first measurement ever performed. In addition, we report absolute branching fractions for the individual modes in bins of the squared dilepton invariant mass q². The analysis is based on a data sample of 711 fb⁻¹, containing 772 × 10⁶ BB̅ events, recorded at the ϒ(4S) resonance …

Sf6+: Stabilizing Transient Ions In Helium Nanodroplets, Simon Albertini, Stefan Bergmeister, Felix Laimer, Paul Martini, Elisabeth Gruber, Fabio Zappa, Milan Ončák, Paul Scheier, Olof E. Echt

Faculty Publications

There are myriads of ions that are deemed too short-lived to be experimentally accessible. One of them is SF₆⁺. It has never been observed, although not for lack of trying. We demonstrate that long-lived SF₆⁺ can be formed by doping charged helium nanodroplets (HNDs) with sulfur hexafluoride; excess helium is then gently stripped from the doped HNDs by collisions with helium gas. The ion is identified by high-resolution mass spectrometry (resolution m/Dm = 15000), the close agreement between the expected and observed yield of ions that contain minor sulfur isotopes, and collision-induced dissociation …

Which Major Best Prepares You For Post-Grad Life?, Paul A. Djupe

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Characterization Of A Boron-Loaded Deuterated Liquid Scintillator For Fast And Thermal Neutron Detection, Bryan V. Egner, Michael Febbraro, James E. Bevins

Faculty Publications

The preparation and characterization of novel boron-loaded deuterated liquid scintillators (BLDLS) are presented for the first time to investigate the performance of a detector sensitive to both fast and thermal neutrons intended for future neutron spectroscopy measurements. Three deuterated toluene-based scintillation cocktails were produced, one without boron, one loaded with ortho-carborane (natural boron isotopic abundance), and one with 96 wt% 10B enriched ortho-carborane. General optical and material properties were analyzed to include the composition, density, index of refraction, photoluminescence emission spectra, and absorbance spectra in addition to the relative light yield, resolution, relative efficiency, and pulse-shape-discrimination performance for all three …

Moving Morality Beyond The In-Group: Liberals And Conservatives Show Differences On Group-Framed Moral Foundations And These Differences Mediate The Relationships To Perceived Bias And Threat., Brandon D. Stewart Phd, David S. M. Morris

Faculty Publications

Moral foundations research suggests that liberals care about moral values related to individual rights such as harm and fairness, while conservatives care about those foundations in addition to caring more about group rights such as loyalty, authority, and purity. However, the question remains about how conservatives and liberals differ in relation to group-level moral principles. We used two versions of the moral foundations questionnaire with the target group being either abstract or specific ingroups or outgroups. Across three studies, we observed that liberals showed more endorsement of Individualizing foundations (Harm and Fairness foundations) with an outgroup target, while conservatives showed …

Mlatticeabc: Generic Lattice Constant Prediction Of Crystal Materials Using Machine Learning, Yuxin Li, Wenhui Yang, Rongzhi Dong, Jianjun Hu

Faculty Publications

Lattice constants such as unit cell edge lengths and plane angles are important parameters of the periodic structures of crystal materials. Predicting crystal lattice constants has wide applications in crystal structure prediction and materials property prediction. Previous work has used machine learning models such as neural networks and support vector machines combined with composition features for lattice constant prediction and has achieved a maximum performance for cubic structures with an average coefficient of determination (R2) of 0.82. Other models tailored for special materials family of a fixed form such as ABX3 perovskites can achieve much higher performance due …

The Benefit Of Gratitude: Trait Gratitude Is Associated With Effective Economic Decision-Making In The Ultimatum Game, Gewnhi Park, Charlotte Vanoyen-Witvliet, Jorge A. Barraza, Benjamin U. Marsh

Faculty Publications

The current research investigated the role of gratitude in economic decisions about offers that vary in fairness yet benefit both parties if accepted. Participants completed a trait/dispositional gratitude measure and then were randomly assigned to recall either an event that made them feel grateful (i.e., induced gratitude condition) or the events of a typical day (i.e., neutral condition). After the gratitude induction task, participants played the ultimatum game (UG), deciding whether to accept or reject fair offers (i.e., proposer: responder ratio $5:5) and unfair offers (i.e., proposer: responder ratios of $9:1, $8:2, or $7:3) from different proposers. Results showed that …

High In-Plane Thermal Conductivity Of Aluminum Nitride Thin Films, Md Shafkat Bin Hoque, Yee Rui Koh, Jeffrey L. Braun, Abdullah Mamun, Zeyu Liu, Kenny Huynh, Micheal E. Liao, Kamal Hussain, Zhe Cheng, Eric R. Hoglund, David H. Olson, John A. Tomko, Kiumars Aryana, Roisul Galib, John T. Gaskins, Mirza Mohammad Mahbube Elahi, Zayd C. Leseman, James M. Howe, Tengfei Luo, Samuel Graham, Mark S. Goorsky, Asif Khan, Patrick E. Hopkins

Faculty Publications

High thermal conductivity materials show promise for thermal mitigation and heat removal in devices. However, shrinking the length scales of these materials often leads to significant reductions in thermal conductivities, thus invalidating their applicability to functional devices. In this work, we report on high in-plane thermal conductivities of 3.05, 3.75, and 6 μm thick aluminum nitride (AlN) films measured via steady-state thermoreflectance. At room temperature, the AlN films possess an in-plane thermal conductivity of ∼260 ± 40 W m–1 K–1, one of the highest reported to date for any thin film material of equivalent thickness. At low temperatures, the in-plane …

The Modern Plant Breeding Triangle: Optimizing The Use Of Genomics, Phenomics, And Enviromics Data, Jose Crossa, Roberto Fritsche-Neto, Osval A. Montesinos-Lopez, Germano Costa-Neto, Susanne Dreisigacker, Abelardo Montesinos-Lopez, Alison R. Bentley

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Prospects For Beyond The Standard Model Physics Searches At The Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment, B. Abi, R. Acciarri, M. A. Acero, G. Adamov, D. Adams, M. Adinolfi, Z. Ahmad, J. Ahmed, T. Alion, S. Alonso Monslave, C. Alt, J. Anderson, C. Andreopoulos, M. P. Andrews, F. Andrianala, S. Andringa, A. Ankowski, M. Antonova, S. Antusch, A. Aranda-Fernadez, Roberto Petti

Faculty Publications

The Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) will be a powerful tool for a variety of physics topics. The high-intensity proton beams provide a large neutrino flux, sampled by a near detector system consisting of a combination of capable precision detectors, and by the massive far detector system located deep underground. This configuration sets up DUNE as a machine for discovery, as it enables opportunities not only to perform precision neutrino measurements that may uncover deviations from the present three-flavor mixing paradigm, but also to discover new particles and unveil new interactions and symmetries beyond those predicted in the Standard Model …

Facility Attractiveness And Social Vulnerability Impacts On Spatial Accessibility To Opioid Treatment Programs In South Carolina, Parisa Bozorgi, Jan M. Eberth, Jeannie P. Eidson, Dwayne E. Porter

Faculty Publications

Opioid dependence and opioid-related mortality have been increasing in recent years in the United States. Available and accessible treatments may result in a reduction of opioid-related mortality. This work describes the geographic variation of spatial accessibility to opioid treatment programs (OTPs) and identifies areas with poor access to care in South Carolina. The study develops a new index of access that builds on the two-step floating catchment area (2SFCA) method, and has three dimensions: a facility attractiveness index, defined by services rendered incorporated into the Huff Model; a facility catchment area, defined as a function of facility attractiveness to account …

Impact Of Hurricane Michael (2018) On Local Vertical Total Electron Content, Joanna E.S. Williams, Robert C. Tournay, H. Rose Tseng, Daniel J. Emmons Ii, Omar A. Nava

Faculty Publications

An analysis of vertical total electron content (TEC) estimates from the MIT Madrigal database is performed for the regions surrounding the eye of Hurricane Michael (2018). Absolute and detrended TEC values show a noticeable increase during the tropical cyclone (TC) relative to fluctuations at the same locations prior to the storm. Direct comparisons of TEC perturbation magnitudes to the number of lightning flashes in latitude-longitude boxes surrounding the eye of Hurricane Michael for each 5 min period of 10 October 2018 showed no visible trends. A similar comparison of the vertical TEC fluctuations with respect to the rainfall rates showed …

Microparticles And Latexes Prepared Via Suspension Polymerization Of A Biobased Vegetable Oil And Renewable Carboxylic Acid, Anthony Q. Mai, Jackie Davies, Dan Nguyen, Arturo Carranza, Michael Vincent, John A. Pojman

Faculty Publications

© 2020 Wiley Periodicals LLC. Novel bio-based microparticles and latexes are synthesized using green chemistry principles through the reaction of aconitic acid (a sugarcane byproduct) and epoxidized linseed oil (ELO). No volatile solvents have been used, and no initiators are present in this polymerization. Using different agitation techniques, we investigate the particles and latexes formed via suspension polymerization in contrast to bulk dispersion polymerization. With the addition of water and a small amount of surfactant to the ELO and aconitic system, a thermally stable material up to 250°C is created that exhibits adhesive and hydrophobic properties. These microparticle latexes are …

Laser Power Stabilization Via Radiation Pressure, Marina Trad Nery, Jasper R. Venneberg, Nancy Aggarwal, Garrett D. Cole, Thomas Corbitt, Jonathan Cripe, Robert Lanza, Benno Willke

Faculty Publications

This Letter reports the experimental realization of a novel, to the best of our knowledge, active power stabilization scheme in which laser power fluctuations are sensed via the radiation pressure driven motion they induce on a movable mirror. The mirror position and its fluctuations were determined by means of a weak auxiliary laser beam and a Michelson interferometer, which formed the in-loop sensor of the power stabilization feedback control system. This sensing technique exploits a nondemolition measurement, which can result in higher sensitivity for power fluctuations than direct, and hence destructive, detection. Here we used this new scheme in a …

Nitrification Inhibitors Reduce Nitrogen Losses And Improve Soil Health In A Subtropical Pastureland, Yili Meng, Jim J. Wang, Zhuo Wei, Syam K. Dodla, Lisa M. Fultz, Lewis A. Gaston, Ran Xiao, Jong Hwan Park, Guillermo Scaglia

Faculty Publications

Nitrogen (N) fertilizer management in agricultural field affects soil N budget that can have significant implication in greenhouse gas emission and environmental pollution. This study investigates the effects of nitrification inhibitors Dicyandiamide (DCD) and 3,4-dimethyl pyrazole phosphate (DMPP) with urea application on soil N budget and microbial community in a subtropical pasture field. A field experiment consisting of four treatments, including control, urea, urea DCD, and urea DMPP was conducted in 2016 and 2017. Nitrous oxide emission and inorganic-N losses through leaching and runoff were quantified. In addition, soil microbial community response to the imposed treatments was characterized by analysis …

A Theoretical Calculation Of Stacking Fault Energy Of Ni Alloys: The Effects Of Temperature And Composition, Mohammad S. Dodaran, Shengmin Guo, Michael M. Khonsari, Nima Shamsaei, Shuai Shao

Faculty Publications

Combining cluster expansion (CE) method with one dimensional axial Ising model, this work investigated the effects of alloying elements and configurational variations due to temperature on the stacking fault energy (SFE) of FCC Ni binary alloys. Ensembles of large numbers of atomistic structures, each with more than ~400 atoms, were generated to consider sufficient long-range chemical disorder and temperature effects due to configurational entropy. A Monte Carlo Metropolis algorithm was used to generate these structures, whose energies were then evaluated based on the effective cluster interactions obtained from CE. As a baseline, this work had shown the SFE of pure …