Digital Commons Network^™

Sparc: Statistical Performance Analysis With Relevance Conclusions, Justin C. Tullos, Scott R. Graham, Jeremy D. Jordan, Pranav R. Patel

Faculty Publications

The performance of one computer relative to another is traditionally characterized through benchmarking, a practice occasionally deficient in statistical rigor. The performance is often trivialized through simplified measures, such as the approach of central tendency, but doing so risks a loss of perspective of the variability and non-determinism of modern computer systems. Authentic performance evaluations are derived from statistical methods that accurately interpret and assess data. Methods that currently exist within performance comparison frameworks are limited in efficacy, statistical inference is either overtly simplified or altogether avoided. A prevalent criticism from computer performance literature suggests that the results from difference …

An Assessment Of The Spatial Variation Of Isotopic Ratios In A Candu Reactor For Nuclear Treaty Monitoring, Aaron W. Burkhardt, James E. Bevins, Stephen H. Baxter

Faculty Publications

A 3-D Quarter-Core CANDU-6 is modeled using Serpent 2 for nuclear treaty monitoring. The spatial variation of flux spectra and isotopic concentrations is analyzed to determine the potential isotopic distribution of key radionuclides from standard reactor operations relevant to non-proliferation. The initial results of the model show a 46% difference in overall flux magnitude throughout the core as well as a 2-30% difference in discrete energy flux. The coupled production rate (magnitude) and spectral differences can contribute to significant spatial variations in isotope ratios throughout the core. Initial results indicate 239 Pu/ 240 Pu ratios vary by as much as …

Review Of A Little United States. Book For New Preachers: Why And How To Study Homiletics By Matthew D. Kim, Downers Grove, Il, Intervarsity Press, 2020., Rodney A. Palmer

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

From Surviving To Thriving: Effective Ministry And Evangelism In The Covid-19 Era And Beyond, S. Joseph Kidder, Willie Edward Hucks Ii

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Judging By The Cover: On The Relationship Between Media Coverage On Crime And Harshness In Sentencing, Itay Ravid

Faculty Publications

Does the mass media affect judicial decisionmaking? This first of its kind empirical study delves into this long-lasting question, and investigates the relationship between media coverage of crime and criminal sentencing. To do so, I construct a novel data set of media reports on crime, which I link to administrative state court sentencing records. The data span five years and more than forty-three thousand sentencing decisions across three jurisdictions that differ in their judicial selection models: Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia. I find that crime coverage increases sentencing harshness. I also find evidence to suggest that this effect is mitigated through …

Effect Of Membrane Properties On The Carbonation Of Anion Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells, Yiwei Zheng, Lyzmarie Nicole Irizarry, Noor Ui Hassan, Eric R. Williams, Morgan Stefik, Jacob M. Lamanna, Daniel S. Hussey, Mustain E William

Faculty Publications

Anion exchange membrane fuel cells (AEMFC) are potentially very low-cost replacements for proton exchange membrane fuel cells. However, AEMFCs suffer from one very serious drawback: significant performance loss when CO2 is present in the reacting oxidant gas (e.g., air) due to carbonation. Although the chemical mechanisms for how carbonation leads to voltage loss in operating AEMFCs are known, the way those mechanisms are affected by the properties of the anion exchange membrane (AEM) has not been elucidated. Therefore, this work studies AEMFC carbonation using numerous high-functioning AEMs from the literature and it was found that the ionic conductivity of the …

A Place Of One's Own: How Law Libraries Support Democracy By Protecting Citizens' Right To Read, Amy A. Emerson

Faculty Publications

By offering places for private reading and contemplation, law libraries foster wellinformed citizens capable of independent thought. This process, in turn, provides a foundation for understanding the law, questioning the law, and ultimately challenging the legal status quo, all necessary elements of a well-functioning democracy.

T2k Measurements Of Muon Neutrino And Antineutrino Disappearance Using 3.13×1021 Protons On Target, K. Abe, N. Akhlaq, R. Akutsu, A. Ali, C. Alt, C. Andreopoulos, M. Antonova, S. Aoki, T. Arihara, Y. Asada, Y. Ashida, E. T. Atkin, Y. Awataguchi, G. J. Barker, G. Barr, D. Barrow, M. Batkiewicz-Kwasniak, A. Beloshapkin, F. Bench, V. Berardi, L. Berns, S. Bhadra, A. Blondel, S. Bolognesi, T. Bonus, B. Bourguille, S. B. Boyd, A. Bravar

Faculty Publications

We report measurements by the T2K experiment of the parameters θ23 and Δm322, which govern the disappearance of muon neutrinos and antineutrinos in the three-flavor PMNS neutrino oscillation model at T2K's neutrino energy and propagation distance. Utilizing the ability of the experiment to run with either a mainly neutrino or a mainly antineutrino beam, muon-like events from each beam mode are used to measure these parameters separately for neutrino and antineutrino oscillations. Data taken from 1.49×1021 protons on target (POT) in neutrino mode and 1.64×1021 POT in antineutrino mode are used. The best-fit values obtained by T2K were sin2(θ23)=0.51-0.07+0.06(0.43-0.05+0.21) and …

The Effects Of Source Cues And Issue Frames During Covid-19, Chandler Case, Christopher Eddy, Rahul Hemrajani, Christopher Howell, Daniel Lyons, Yu-Hsien Sung, Elizabeth C. Connors

Faculty Publications

The health and economic outcomes of the COVID-19 pandemic will in part be determined by how effectively experts can communicate information to the public and the degree to which people follow expert recommendation. Using a survey experiment conducted in May 2020 with almost 5,000 respondents, this paper examines the effect of source cues and message frames on perceptions of information credibility in the context of COVID-19. Each health recommendation was framed by expert or nonexpert sources, was fact- or experience-based, and suggested potential gain or loss to test if either the source cue or framing of issues affected responses to …

Open Access And Academic Freedom: Teasing Out Some Important Nuances, Rick Anderson

Faculty Publications

Discussion of the ways in which Open Access (OA) and academic freedom interact is fraught for a number of reasons, not least of which is the unwillingness of some participants in the discussion to acknowledge that OA might have any implications for academic freedom at all. Thus, any treatment of such implications must begin with foundational questions. Most basic among them are: first, what do we mean when we say ‘open access’; second, what do we mean when we say ‘academic freedom’? The answers to these questions are not as obvious as one might expect (or hope), but when they …

Pharmacokinetics And Pharmacodynamics Of Immediate- And Modified-Release Mycophenolic Acid Preparations In Healthy Beagle Dogs, Micheal Klotsman, Sebastien Coquery, Gayatri Sathyan, Vatsala Naageshwaran, Paddy Shivanand, Amanda J. Fairchild, Oliver A. Garden, Wayne H. Anderson

Faculty Publications

Background: Mycophenolic acid (MPA) is a broad-acting immunomodulating agent that may be therapeutically beneficial for the treatment of immune-mediated diseases in canine patients.

Objectives: To determine the suppressive effects of MPA on T-cell proliferation, and to assess the feasibility of a canine-specific q24 h modified-release MPA formulation (OKV-1001b).

Animals: Fifteen healthy purpose-bred male beagle dogs.

Methods: Two nearly identical open-label fifteen-day studies were conducted in which dogs were randomized to receive mycophenolate mofetil (MMF; 10 mg/kg q12h), or two doses of OKV-1001b (270 mg and 180 mg; q24h). Serial pharmacokinetic (PK) and pharmacodynamic (PD) samples were collected on Days 1, …

Topological Hall Effect And Magnetic States In The Nowotny Chimney Ladder Compound Cr11ge19, Yu Li, Xin Gui, Mojammel A. Khan, Weiwei Xie, David P. Young, J. F. Ditusa

Faculty Publications

We have investigated the magnetic and charge transport properties of single crystals of the Nowotny chimney ladder compound Cr11Ge19 and mapped out a comprehensive phase diagram reflecting the complicated interplay between the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya (DM) interaction, the dipolar interaction, and the magnetic anisotropy. We have identified a set of interesting magnetic phases and attributed a finite topological Hall effect to the recently discovered biskyrmion phase. These data also suggest the existence of an antiskyrmion state at finite fields for temperatures just below the magnetic ordering temperature Tc as indicated by a distinct change in sign of the topological Hall effect. Above …

Helical Magnetic Order And Fermi Surface Nesting In Noncentrosymmetric Scfege, Sunil K. Karna, D. Tristant, J. K. Hebert, G. Cao, R. Chapai, W. A. Phelan, Q. Zhang, Y. Wu, C. Dhital, Y. Li, H. B. Cao, W. Tian, C. R. Dela Cruz, A. A. Aczel, O. Zaharko, A. Khasanov, M. A. Mcguire, A. Roy, W. Xie, D. A. Browne, I. Vekhter, V. Meunier, W. A. Shelton, P. W. Adams, P. T. Sprunger, D. P. Young, R. Jin, J. F. Ditusa

Faculty Publications

An investigation of the structural, magnetic, thermodynamic, and charge transport properties of noncentrosymmetric hexagonal ScFeGe reveals it to be an anisotropic metal with a transition to a weak itinerant incommensurate helimagnetic state below TN=36 K. Neutron diffraction measurements discovered a temperature and field independent helical wave vector k = (0 0 0.193) with magnetic moments of 0.53 μB per Fe confined to the ab plane. Density functional theory calculations are consistent with these measurements and find several bands that cross the Fermi level along the c axis with a nearly degenerate set of flat bands just above the Fermi energy. …

Integrating Survivors Of Stroke Into Exercise‐Based Cardiac Rehabilitation Improves Endurance And Functional Strength, Elizabeth Wherley Regan Dpt, Ph.D., Reed Handlery, Jill Campbell Stewart, Joseph Lee Pearson Ms,Drph, Sarah Wilcox Phd, Stacy L. Fritz Phd, Pt

Faculty Publications

Background

Cardiac rehabilitation (CR) is a structured exercise program prevalent in the United States for people with cardiovascular disease that has been shown to increase cardiovascular endurance and improve quality of life. Despite similar cardiovascular risk factors, stroke is not among the covered diagnoses for CR. The purpose of this study was to examine the participant impact of integrating survivors of stroke into the exercise portion of an existing hospital‐based CR program through measures of physical function and other health impacts and through qualitative evaluation of participant perception.

Methods and Results

Subacute and chronic survivors of stroke were integrated into …

Landscape Performance Of Ebony Crepe Myrtle Cultivars In Low-Input Landscapes In North-Central Texas, Derald A. Harp, Kevin Chretien, Mariah Brown, Curtis Jones, Jose Lopez

Faculty Publications

The Ebony series of crepe myrtle (Lagerstroemia indica) cultivars includes several (Ebony Embers, Ebony Fire, Ebony Flame, Ebony Glow, and Ebony and Ivory), marketed today under the Black Diamond® brand. These are relatively new crepe myrtle cultivars unique for their dark foliage, but with little information concerning their performance in north-central Texas, especially in low-input landscapes. The study was conducted from 2014 to 2017 at three locations in north-central Texas with three soil types, an acidic fine sandy loam, a neutral pH silt loam, and an alkaline heavy clay. Although soils and environmental conditions caused variations between sites, …

Potential Gravitational Wave Signatures Of Quantum Gravity, Ivan Agullo, Vitor Cardoso, Adrián Del Rio, Michele Maggiore, Jorge Pullin

Faculty Publications

We show that gravitational wave astronomy has the potential to inform us on quantum aspects of black holes. Based on Bekenstein's quantization, we find that black hole area discretization could impart observable imprints to the gravitational wave signal from a pair of merging black holes, affecting their absorption properties during inspiral and their late-time relaxation after merger. In contrast with previous results, we find that black hole rotation, ubiquitous in astrophysics, improves our ability to probe quantum effects. Our analysis shows that gravitational wave echoes and suppressed tidal heating are signs of new physics from which the fundamental quantum of …

Structural Insights Into The Disruption Of Tnf-Tnfr1 Signalling By Small Molecules Stabilising A Distorted Tnf, David Mcmillan, Carlos Martinez-Fleites, John Porter, David Fox, Rachel E. Davis, Prashant Mori, Tom Ceska, Bruce Carrington, Alastair Lawson, Tim Bourne, James O'Connell

Faculty Publications

Tumour necrosis factor (TNF) is a trimeric protein which signals through two membrane receptors, TNFR1 and TNFR2. Previously, we identified small molecules that inhibit human TNF by stabilising a distorted trimer and reduce the number of receptors bound to TNF from three to two. Here we present a biochemical and structural characterisation of the small molecule-stabilised TNF-TNFR1 complex, providing insights into how a distorted TNF trimer can alter signalling function. We demonstrate that the inhibitors reduce the binding affinity of TNF to the third TNFR1 molecule. In support of this, we show by X-ray crystallography that the inhibitor-bound, distorted, TNF …

Psychiatric Symptoms, Risk, And Protective Factors Among University Students In Quarantine During The Covid-19 Pandemic In China, Shufang Sun, Simon B. Goldberg, Danhua Lin, Shan Qiao Ph.D., 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 social …

A Nationwide Population-Based Study On The Incidence Of Parapharyngeal And Retropharyngeal Abscess-A 10-Year Study, Tzong-Hann Yang, Sudha Xirasagar Mbbs., Ph.D., Yen-Fu Cheng, Chuan-Song Wu, Yi-Wei Kao, Herng-Ching Lin

Faculty Publications

This study aimed to investigate the annual incidence of parapharyngeal and retropharyngeal abscess (PRPA) based on 10-year population-based data. Patients with PRPA were identified from the Taiwan Health Insurance Research Database, a database of all medical claims of a randomly selected, population-representative sample of over two million enrollees of the National Health Insurance system that covers over 99% of Taiwan’s citizens. During 2007–2016, 5779 patients received a diagnosis of PRPA. We calculated the population-wide incidence rates of PRPA by sex and age group (20–44, 45–64, and >64) as well as in-hospital mortality. The annual incidence rate of PRPA was 2.64 …

Aircraft-Based Inversions Quantify The Importance Of Wetlands And Livestock For Upper Midwest Methane Emissions, Xueying Yu, Dylan B. Millet, Kelley C. Wells, Daven K. Henze, Hansen Cao, Timothy J. Griffis, Eric A. Kort, Genevieve Plant, Malte J. Deventer, Randall K. Kolka, D. Tyler Roman, Kenneth J. Davis, Ankur R. Desai, Bianca C. Baier, Kathryn Mckain, Alan C. Czarnetzki, A. Anthony Bloom

Faculty Publications

We apply airborne measurements across three seasons (summer, winter and spring 2017-2018) in a multi-inversion framework to quantify methane emissions from the US Corn Belt and Upper Midwest, a key agricultural and wetland source region. Combing our seasonal results with prior fall values we find that wetlands are the largest regional methane source (32 %, 20 [16-23] Gg/d), while livestock (enteric/manure; 25 %, 15 [14-17] Gg/d) are the largest anthropogenic source. Natural gas/petroleum, waste/landfills, and coal mines collectively make up the remainder. Optimized fluxes improve model agreement with independent datasets within and beyond the study timeframe. Inversions reveal coherent and …

Click Conjugation Of Boron Dipyrromethene (Bodipy) Fluorophores To Egfr-Targeting Linear And Cyclic Peptides, Tyrslai M. Williams, Nichole E.M. Kaufman, Zehua Zhou, Sitanshu S. Singh, Seetharama D. Jois, Maria Da Graça H. Vicente

Faculty Publications

Through a simple 1,3-cycloaddition reaction, three BODIPY-peptide conjugates that target the extracellular domain of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) were prepared and their ability for binding to EGFR was investigated. The peptide ligands K(N3)LARLLT and its cyclic analog cyclo(K(N3)larllt, previously shown to have high affinity for binding to the extracellular domain of EGFR, were conjugated to alkynyl-functionalized BODIPY dyes 1 and 2 via a copper-catalyzed click reaction. This reaction produced conjugates 3, 4, and 5 in high yields (70-82%). In vitro studies using human carcinoma HEp2 cells that overexpress EGFR demonstrated high cellular uptake, particularly for the cyclic peptide …

Covariance Of The Extended Holonomy, Rodolfo Gambini, Jorge Pullin, Aureliano Skirzewski

Faculty Publications

It has been pointed out that the holonomy of generic extended loops is not gauge covariant. We show how to define a family of extended loops for which previous criticism does not apply. We also give sufficient conditions that extended loops must satisfy in order to yield covariant holonomies. This makes a quantum representation for Yang-Mills theories and gravity based on extended loops viable.

Anemia Management In Rural Haitian Children: A Mixed Methods Study, Marc-Aurel Martial, Kathy A. Sward, Janice M. Morse, Andrew R. Wilson, Cempaka S. Martial, Debra S. Penney, Elie Nicolas

Faculty Publications

Introduction: We examined factors influencing anemia outcomes in rural children following implementation of a prevention program. Method: Mixed methods study of children, parents, and clinicians utilized statistical modeling and content/ ethnographic analysis. Retrospective chart abstraction evaluated treatments administered and measured hemoglobin in children aged 6 to 59 months (n = 161). Prospective interviews/questionnaires examined parent (n = 51) and clinician (n = 19) perceptions. Results: Anemia prevalence decreased by 21.2%. Predictors of increased hemoglobin were clinic visit number and age at first visit. Once anemia improved, children were likely to remain improved (P = .65). Despite favorable program perceptions, stakeholders …

Linking Genes To Traits In Fungi, A. L. Romero-Olivares, Eric W. Morrison, A. Pringle, Serita D. Frey

Faculty Publications

Fungi are mediators of the nitrogen and carbon cycles in terrestrial ecosystems. Examining how nitrogen uptake and organic matter decomposition potential differs in fungi can provide insight into the underlying mechanisms driving fungal ecological processes and ecosystem functioning. In this study, we assessed the frequency of genes encoding for specific enzymes that facilitate nitrogen uptake and organic matter decomposition in 879 fungal genomes with fungal taxa grouped into trait-based categories. Our linked gene-trait data approach revealed that gene frequencies vary across and within trait-based groups and that trait-based categories differ in trait space. We present two examples of how this …

Patterns Of Relative And Quantitative Abundances Of Marine Bacteria In Surface Waters Of The Subtropical Northwest Pacific Ocean Estimated With High-Throughput Quantification Sequencing, Jie Kong, Xin Liu, Lei Wang, Hao Huang, Danyun Ou, Jiayu Guo, Edward A. Laws, Bangqin Huang

Faculty Publications

Bacteria play a pivotal role in shaping ecosystems and contributing to elemental cycling and energy flow in the oceans. However, few studies have focused on bacteria at a trans-basin scale, and studies across the subtropical Northwest Pacific Ocean (NWPO), one of the largest biomes on Earth, have been especially lacking. Although the recently developed high-throughput quantitative sequencing methodology can simultaneously provide information on relative abundance, quantitative abundance, and taxonomic affiliations, it has not been thoroughly evaluated. We collected surface seawater samples for high-throughput, quantitative sequencing of 16S rRNA genes on a transect across the subtropical NWPO to elucidate the distribution …

Supporting The Inclusion Of Socially Vulnerable Early Adolescents: Theory And Illustrations Of The Base Model, Thomas W. Farmer, Brittany I. Sterrett, Kate E. Norwalk, Chen-Chih Chen, Molly Dawes Ph.D., Jill V. Hamm, David L. Lee, Adaline G. Farmer

Faculty Publications

We focus on the inclusion of socially vulnerable early adolescents including students with special education needs (SEN). Building from multiple intervention and randomized control trials of a professional development model aimed at supporting teachers' management of the classroom social context, we provide an overview of the Behavioral, Academic, and Social Engagement (BASE) Model as a framework to foster social inclusion. We briefly review the conceptual foundations of this model and we present the delivery (i.e., directed consultation, the scouting report process) and content (i.e., Academic Engagement Enhancement, Competence Enhancement Behavior Management, Social Dynamics Management) components of BASE. We then briefly …

Neighborhood Characteristics And The Mental Health Of Caregivers Cohabiting With Care Recipients Diagnosed With Alzheimer’S Disease, Dana M. Alhasan, Jana A. Hirsch, Chandra L. Jackson, Margaret Chandlee Miller, Bo Cai Ph.D., Matthew C. Lohman Ph.D.

Faculty Publications

While studies have documented the influence of caregiver and care recipient factors on caregiver health, it is important to address the potential impact of neighborhood contexts. This study estimated the cross-sectional associations between neighborhood characteristics and mental health among caregivers cohabiting with Alzheimer’s disease care recipients that were experiencing severe or non-severe neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPSs) (e.g., aggression/anxiety). We obtained data collected in 2010 on caregivers and care recipients (n

While studies have documented the influence of caregiver and care recipient factors on caregiver health, it is important to address the potential impact of neighborhood contexts. This study estimated the cross-sectional …

Associations Of Maternal Dietary Inflammatory Potential And Quality With Offspring Birth Outcomes: An Individual Participant Data Pooled Analysis Of 7 European Cohorts In The Alphabet Consortium, Ling-Wei Chen, Adrien M. Aubert, Nitin Shivappa, Jonathan Y. Bernard, Sara M. Mensink-Bout, Aisling A. Geraghty, John Mehegan, Matthew Suderman, Kinga Polanska, Wojciech Hanke, Elzbieta Trafalska, Caroline L. Relton, Sarah R. Crozier, Nicholas C. Harvey, Cyrus Cooper, Liesbeth Duijts, Barbara Heude, James R. Hébert Scd, Fionnuala M. Mcauliffe, Cecily C. Kelleher, Catherine M. Phillips

Faculty Publications

Background

Adverse birth outcomes are major causes of morbidity and mortality during childhood and associate with a higher risk of noncommunicable diseases in adult life. Maternal periconception and antenatal nutrition, mostly focusing on single nutrients or foods, has been shown to influence infant birth outcomes. However, evidence on whole diet that considers complex nutrient and food interaction is rare and conflicting. We aim to elucidate the influence of whole-diet maternal dietary inflammatory potential and quality during periconceptional and antenatal periods on birth outcomes.

Methods and findings

We harmonized and pooled individual participant data (IPD) from up to 24,861 mother–child pairs …

1,000 Predictions: Looking Back On The Sea Ice Outlook, 2008-2020, Lawrence C. Hamilton

Faculty Publications

Presented at Sea Ice Outlook Contributors Forum, January 21–22, 2021

Development Of A Modular Mixed-Radiation Directional Rotating Scatter Mask Detection System, Bryan V. Egner, Darren E. Holland, Larry W. Burggraf, James E. Bevins

Faculty Publications

The ability to simultaneously identify the direction of both fast neutrons, above 1 MeV, and gamma rays using a light-weight system consisting of a single 1” EJ-309 organic liquid scintillator and a plastic Spartan rotating scatter mask (RSM) is demonstrated computationally through Monte Carlo simulations and validated with experimental measurements. Two sets of directional measurements were performed with an americium–beryllium source, emitting both neutrons and gamma rays. The RSM identified the direction of the source within one 10° rotational increment in the azimuthal and polar directions based on both the neutron and gamma-ray induced signals discriminated by charge integration pulse-shape …