Digital Commons Network^™

Nerve Transfers For Median Nerve Injury, Corinne Wee

Faculty Scholarship

Due to its role in hand function, median nerve injuries can have a significant impact on patients’ lives. Nerve transfers can be performed alone or in conjunction with tendon transfers to restore critical functions supplied by the median nerve, with a particular emphasis on restoring grasp, pinch, and sensation. Continued study into possible nerve transfers for median nerve injury has led to multiple options that can be tailored to the patient's demands, deficits, and injury pattern.

Stable Heteroclinic Channels As A Decision-Making Model: Overcoming Low Signal-To-Noise Ratio With Mutual Inhibition, Natasha A. Rouse

Faculty Scholarship

Bio-inspired robot controllers are becoming more complex as we strive to make them more robust to, and flexible in, noisy, real-world environments. A stable heteroclinic network (SHN) is a dynamical system that produces cyclical state transitions using noisy input. SHN-based robot controllers enable sensory input to be integrated at the phase-space level of the controller, thus simplifying sensor-integrated, robot control methods. In this work, we investigate the mechanism that drives branching state trajectories in SHNs. We liken the branching state trajectories to decision-splits imposed into the system, which opens the door for more sophisticated controls-all driven by sensory input. This …

Soft Robotic Brittle Star Shows The Influence Of Mass Distribution On Underwater Walking, Zach J. Patterson

Faculty Scholarship

Most walking organisms tend to have relatively light limbs and heavy bodies in order to facilitate rapid limb motion. However, the limbs of brittle stars (Class Ophiuroidea) are primarily comprised of dense skeletal elements, with potentially much higher mass and density compared to the body disk. To date, little is understood about how the relatively unique distribution of mass in these animals influences their locomotion. In this work, we use a brittle star inspired soft robot and computational modeling to examine how the distribution of mass and density in brittle stars affects their movement. The soft robot is fully untethered, …

Thermodynamic Water Activity Explains The Unusual Electrochemical Stability Of Aqueous Deep Eutectic Solvents, Desiree Mae Prado, Aaron Niño Gonzaga, Clemens Burda

Faculty Scholarship

The presence of water in nonaqueous deep eutectic solvent (DES) electrolytes has been debated in recent years, with efforts ranging from its complete removal to willful addition. It was shown that controlled amounts of water can be beneficial, as it not only enhances the physicochemical properties of these electrolytes but also has no significant detrimental effects on their electrochemical stability. Despite these advantages, there is still limited understanding of how water interacts with DES systems at the molecular level. This study examines the water activity in ethylene glycol and glycerol, as well as their binary mixtures with choline chloride to …

How Engineering Students Learn And Are Impacted By Empathy Training: A Multi-Year Study Of An Empathy Program Focused On Disability And Technology, Eric Schearer

Faculty Scholarship

Measurable results of efforts to teach empathy to engineering students are sparse and somewhat mixed. This study’s objectives are (O1) to understand how empathy training affects students’ professional development relative to other educational experiences, (O2) to track empathy changes due to training over multiple years, and (O3) to understand how and what students learn in empathy training environments.

Behavior Of Rio Sao Francisco Piranhas In Response To Changes In Space And Density, Ronald G. Oldfield, Josie E. Thal, Kristen E. Lukas

Faculty Scholarship

Previous observations of Rio Sao Francisco piranhas (Pygocentrus piraya) at Cleveland Metroparks Zoo revealed frequent aggressive interactions, which were associated with the injury and death of some individuals. Fishes are known to increase aggressive behavior when available space is limited. We compared the behavior of the piranhas longitudinally across three different space/density conditions: (1) in a group held in a small aquarium before the death of one individual, (2) in the same group after the death of one individual, (3) and in one individual of the group after it was later moved into a larger, multispecies aquarium. In the smaller …

Personalizing And Decolonizing General Education: A Case Study In Gamifying Global Art History Curriculum, James Hutson, Trent Olsen, Robyne Elder

Faculty Scholarship

This study explores the transformation of general education art history courses at a liberal arts college, shifting from Eurocentric surveys to a decolonized, gamified, and student-centered curriculum. Through a longitudinal mixed-methods design, the research evaluates the integration of global narratives and innovative teaching strategies to enhance student engagement and global competencies. Data from pre- and post-implementation surveys with faculty, students, and instructional designers demonstrate significant improvements in student satisfaction, cultural openness, and engagement with global art. Challenges include navigating demographic skews, addressing the complexity of gamified structures, and refining assignment instructions. Findings highlight the value of curriculum redesigns that promote …

The Importance Of Better Natural History Studies For Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, David J. Birnkrant

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Dietary Effects On The Retina Of Hamsters, Nicole El-Darzi, Natalia Mast, Yong Li, Irina A. Pikuleva

Faculty Scholarship

The retina is a sensory tissue in the back of the eye, which captures visual information and relays it to the brain. The retinal pigment epithelium separates the neural retina from the choroidal (systemic) circulation and is thereby exposed to circulating lipoprotein particles. Herein, we used hamsters and conducted various retinal evaluations of animals fed either a normal diet or a Western-type diet (WTD). Prior to evaluations, hamsters were injected with indocyanine green (ICG), a fluorescent dye that binds to various proteins and lipids in the systemic circulation. The WTD increased plasma levels of total and HDL cholesterol 1.8- and …

Distributed Tikhonov Regularization For Ill-Posed Inverse Problems From A Bayesian Perspective, D. Calvetti, E. Somersalo

Faculty Scholarship

In this article, we exploit the similarities between Tikhonov regularization and Bayesian hierarchical models to propose a regularization scheme that acts like a distributed Tikhonov regularization where the amount of regularization varies from component to component, and a computationally efficient numerical scheme that is suitable for large-scale problems. In the standard formulation, Tikhonov regularization compensates for the inherent ill-conditioning of linear inverse problems by augmenting the data fidelity term measuring the mismatch between the data and the model output with a scaled penalty functional. The selection of the scaling of the penalty functional is the core problem in Tikhonov regularization. …

Neuropeptide-Dependent Spike Time Precision And Plasticity In Circadian Output Neurons, Bryan Chong, Vipin Kumar, Dieu Linh Nguyen, Makenzie A. Hopkins, Faith S. Ferry, Lucia K. Spera, Elizabeth M. Paul, Anelise N. Hutson, Masashi Tabuchi

Faculty Scholarship

Circadian rhythms influence various physiological and behavioral processes such as sleep–wake cycles, hormone secretion, and metabolism. In Drosophila, an important set of circadian output neurons is called pars intercerebralis (PI) neurons, which receive input from specific clock neurons called DN1. These DN1 neurons can further be subdivided into functionally and anatomically distinctive anterior (DN1a) and posterior (DN1p) clusters. The neuropeptide diuretic hormones 31 (Dh31) and 44 (Dh44) are the insect neuropeptides known to activate PI neurons to control activity rhythms. However, the neurophysiological basis of how Dh31 and Dh44 affect circadian clock neural coding mechanisms underlying sleep in Drosophila is …

Flapping Dynamics And Wing Flexibility Enhance Odor Detection In Blue Bottle Flies, Naeem Haider, Zhipeng Lou, Chengyu Li

Faculty Scholarship

One of the most ancient and evolutionarily conserved behaviors in the animal kingdom involves utilizing wind-borne odor plumes to track essential elements such as food, mates, and predators. Insects, particularly flies, demonstrate a remarkable proficiency in this behavior, efficiently processing complex odor information encompassing concentrations, direction, and speed through their olfactory system, thereby facilitating effective odor-guided navigation. Recent years have witnessed substantial research explaining the impact of wing flexibility and kinematics on the aerodynamics and flow field physics governing the flight of insects. However, the relationship between the flow field and olfactory functions remains largely unexplored, presenting an attractive frontier …

Global Aging & Geriatric Experiments In Bipolar Disorder (Gage-Bd): Building A Global Consortium Benefiting People With Bipolar Disorder In Later Life, Martha Sajatovic

Faculty Scholarship

Purpose of Review: Findings from the Global Aging & Geriatric Experiments in Bipolar Disorder (GAGE-BD) project, including sociodemographic and clinical information from older age bipolar disorder (OABD) and healthy participants around the globe (approximately N = 5000) were reviewed. Data was collected in multiple waves to create a large integrated dataset. Recent Findings: BD does not seem to fade with age. BD subtype and early/late onset did not show significant differences in daily functioning. Physical comorbidities were more frequent in OABD compared with controls. Women with OABD had an earlier age at onset and more psychiatric hospitalizations. Summary: GAGE-BD is …

Book Review: How To Set Up And Run A Law Clinic, Peggy Maisel, Paul R. Tremblay

Faculty Scholarship

This book answers many questions for those tasked with deciding whether and how to fund a law school clinic. It also provides metrics by which to evaluate the operations of a clinic. And finally, this book addresses not just how best to run a clinic, but in many ways how best to deliver legal services to a community in great need of legal help, whether through a law school program or in the neighborhood. It answers questions every legal aid office in the world with limited resources must answer: how to choose clients, how to decide which services the clients …

Antipsychotic-Induced Weight Gain: What Have We Learned?, Akshatha Silas, Margaret Musso, Trygve Dolber

Faculty Scholarship

Purpose and Scope of Review: We discuss updates in the weight gain risk stratification of various atypical antipsychotics, dose-dependency effects, the role of the gut microbiome in the mechanism of AWIG, and the potential of GLP-1 receptor agonists and antipsychotic switching in managing and mitigating the adverse effect of weight gain. These updates are organized into 3 sections: Prediction, Mechanism, and Treatment. Recent Findings: Different atypical antipsychotics are associated with different risk profiles for weight gain, and switching from higher to lower risk antipsychotics is a promising direction for mitigating this adverse effect. Other treatments that target weight gain in …

Anti-Adamts13 Autoantibodies In Immune-Mediated Thrombotic Thrombocytopenic Purpura, Robert W. Maitta

Faculty Scholarship

Autoantibodies to ADAMTS13 are at the center of pathology of the immune-mediated thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura. These autoantibodies can be either inhibitory (enzymatic function) or non-inhibitory, resulting in protein depletion. Under normal physiologic conditions, antibodies are generated in response to foreign antigens, which can include infectious agents; however, these antibodies may at times cross-react with self-epitopes. This is one of the possible mechanisms mediating formation of anti-ADAMTS13 autoantibodies. The process known as “antigenic mimicry” may be responsible for the development of these autoantibodies that recognize and bind cryptic epitopes in ADAMTS13, disrupting its enzymatic function over ultra large von Willebrand factor …

Human Mesenchymal Stem Cell Therapy: Potential Advances For Reducing Cystic Fibrosis Infection And Organ Inflammation, Tracey L. Bonfield, Hillard M. Lazarus

Faculty Scholarship

Innovation in cystic fibrosis (CF) supportive care, including implementing new antimicrobial agents, improved physiotherapy, and highly effective modulators therapy, has advanced patient survival into the 4th and 5th decades of life. However, even with these remarkable improvements in therapy, CF patients continue to suffer from pulmonary infection and other visceral organ complications associated with long-term deficient cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) expression. Human mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have been utilized in tissue engineering based upon their capacity to provide structural components of mesenchymal tissues. An alternative role of MSCs, however is their versatile utilization as cell-based infusion powerhouses due …

Petition For Initial Hearing En Banc, United States V. Michael Norwood, Becca Steinberg, Brian Wolfman, Regina Wong, Madeline H. Meth, Sara Brizio, Elizabeth Brownstein, Shreya Sarin

Faculty Scholarship

This appeal involves a question of exceptional importance because it implicates binding circuit precedent that directly conflicts with the United States Sentencing Commission’s exercise of statutorily delegated authority. Congress expressly charged the Commission with promulgating policy statements and guidelines establishing, among other things, a framework governing compassionate release of federal prisoners. 28 U.S.C. § 994(a), (t). So, when Congress provided that district courts could consider a sentence reduction if warranted by “extraordinary and compelling reasons,” 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A), Congress did not define that phrase. Instead, it directed the Commission to do so. 28 U.S.C. § 994(t).

The Commission did …

Reply Brief For Plaintiff-Appellant, Jane Roe V. Marshall University Board Of Governors, Ryan M. Donovan, J. Zak Ritchie, Madeline H. Meth, Gregory Bowe, Erin Hunter, Sarah Monahan

Faculty Scholarship

Marshall does not dispute that Jane Roe’s experience as a student there was marred by fellow-student John Doe’s repeated sexual harassment. Doe’s harassment of Roe escalated on September 3, 2022, when he sexually assaulted her at a Marshall-football-watch party near campus. Instead of supporting Roe to confront the assault’s aftermath or the lingering on campus hostile environment, Marshall punished her, pretextually shuffling her through an investigation riddled with procedural deficits, in an attempt to cover its tracks.

Marshall argues it isn’t liable because it lacks control over all off-campus sexual assaults. But it undermines itself by admitting it exercised control …

Reclaiming Abortion As A Moral—And Religious—Decision, Linda C. Mcclain

Faculty Scholarship

Elizabeth Sepper, Free Exercise of Abortion, 49 BYU L. Rev. 177 (2023).

In 1973, before the Supreme Court decided Roe v. Wade, two members of a group of clergy committed to helping women receive abortion care stated: “every woman must possess the freedom, guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution, to follow her religious conscience in the determination of whether she will or will not bear a child.”1 Religious supporters of abortion access also cited the Establishment Clause: states were adopting, in a religiously diverse nation, a religious view about when life begins and how to value fetal and maternal life. …

Error-Based Dynamic Velocity Range Of Piv Processing Algorithms, Gauresh Raj Jassal, Bryan E. Schmidt

Faculty Scholarship

The ability of PIV processing algorithms to accurately determine velocity vectors across the range of motion present in PIV images is characterized by the algorithm’s dynamic velocity range (DVR). Conventionally, the DVR of PIV is defined using the ratio between the maximum and minimum resolvable particle displacements, with the minimum based on the uncertainty in the location of a single particle in the optical system. In this work, it is demonstrated that this definition is inadequate in practice, as it ignores many factors which affect the accuracy of an algorithm when determining small displacements, and the error in vectors with …

Heterogeneity Of Layer 1 Interneurons In The Mouse Medial Prefrontal Cortex, Chen Shen, Wanpeng Cui, Wen Cheng Xiong, Lin Mei

Faculty Scholarship

Cortical Layer 1 (L1) acts as a critical relay for processing long-range inputs. GABAergic inhibitory interneurons (INs) in this layer (Layer 1 interneurons [L1INs]) function as inhibitory gates, regulating these inputs and modulating the activity of deeper cortical layers. However, their characteristics and circuits in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) remain poorly understood. Using biocytin labeling, we identified three distinct morphological types of mPFC L1INs: neurogliaform cells (NGCs), elongated NGCs (eNGCs), and single-bouquet cell-like (SBC-like) cells. Whole-cell recordings revealed distinct firing patterns across these subtypes: NGCs and eNGCs predominantly exhibited late-spiking (LS) patterns, and SBC-like cells displayed a higher prevalence …

Teaching Around Generative Ai Plagiarism Risks, Nancy C. Marcus

Faculty Scholarship

Much has been written and said about generative AI's potential uses and misuses by lawyers and law students in the past year. This essay does not rehash the many ongoing discourses about whether, how, and to what extent generative AI (GenAI) can be used for and taught in legal writing courses. Rather, this essay is written under the assumption that, at least to some extent early on in the law school experience, some professors don't want 1L legal writing students using GenAI to draft legal memoranda and briefs for them. As the American Bar Association's Formal Ethics Opinion 512 warns, …

Pirfenidone Delivery By Blow-Molded Pcl Nanofiber Mat To Reduce Collagen Synthesis By Fibroblasts, Maximilian Zernic, Maryo Kohen, Faruk H. Orge, Amel Ahmed, Ozan Akkus

Faculty Scholarship

Elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) during glaucoma is sometimes mitigated by insertion of glaucoma drainage devices (GDD). Excessive fibrosis around GDD plates may confine drainage and requiring revision surgeries in some patients. Pirfenidone (PFD) is an FDA approved drug to treat lung fibrosis, and it may be effective in limiting capsule formation around the GDD. To enable this, we aimed to develop a polymeric GDD encasement sheath that can sustainably release PFD to reduce fibrous capsule formation. The PFD-doped sheath was manufactured by blow molding of (poly)caprolactone (PCL). We investigated the effects of PCL concentration, spray distance, and molecular weight on …

Plasmonic Enhancement Of Photothermal Conversion Efficiency In Gold-Nanoparticle Hydrogels, Mai S. Rashwan, Abed M. Al-Sheikh, Harihara Baskaran, Clemens Burda

Faculty Scholarship

This study investigates the photothermal properties of citrate-capped gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) dispersed in agarose gel, examining various sizes and concentrations, particularly within a low-concentration range (0.2–2.5 nM). Heat transfer measurements are conducted on Au NP hydrogels using laser-light induced heating, revealing a size- and concentration-dependent temperature increase compared to the plain agarose gel matrix. Experimental data, combined with finite-element analysis, demonstrate that photothermal energy conversion efficiencies are dependent on NP size and concentration, while the thermal conductivity (TC) of all Au NP hydrogels remains constant and independent of these parameters within the tested concentration range. UV-visible spectroscopy indicates that …

The Baryonic Tully-Fisher Relation. Ii. Stellar Mass Models, Francis Duey, Stacy Mcgaugh

Faculty Scholarship

We present new color-ϒ* (mass-to-light ratio) models to convert Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer W1 fluxes into stellar masses. We outline a range of possible star formation histories and chemical evolution scenarios to explore the confidence limits of stellar population models on the value of ϒ*. We conclude that the greatest uncertainties (around 0.1 dex in ϒ*) occur for the bluest galaxies with the strongest variation in recent star formation. For high-mass galaxies, the greatest uncertainty arises from the proper treatment of bulge-disk separation in which to apply different ϒ* relations appropriate for those differing underlying stellar populations. We compare our …

The Virtual Wunderkammer: Integrating Neuroinclusive Design And Ai-Augmented Technologies For Immersive Museum Experiences, Piper Hutson, James Hutson

Faculty Scholarship

The Virtual Wunderkammer represents an innovative paradigm in museum exhibition design, integrating neuroinclusive principles with artificial intelligence (AI)-augmented technologies to foster immersive and cognitively accessible visitor experiences. Historically, the Wunderkammer, or "cabinet of curiosities," served as a precursor to modern museums, offering eclectic collections that stimulated intellectual curiosity and sensory engagement. The contemporary reimagining of this concept utilizes emerging technologies such as augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), haptic feedback, and olfactory-enhanced digital environments to create personalized, adaptive museum experiences. This study explores the critical intersection of neuroaesthetics, cognitive science, and AI-driven interactivity in digital exhibitions, emphasizing their potential to …

Shadow Banking And Securities Law, Gabriel Rauterberg, Jeffery Y. Zhang

Faculty Scholarship

Shadow banking may be the single greatest challenge facing financial regulation. Financial institutions that function like banks, but fall outside the scope of banking regulation — aptly termed “shadow banks” — were at the heart of the Global Financial Crisis and most episodes of serious financial stress since then. Scholars have largely focused on one response to this problem: extending traditional banking regulation to shadow banks. Yet more than fifteen years after the crisis, major regulatory efforts along this route have stalled.

In this Article, we explore the uneasy case for greater regulation of shadow banking through a different route …

Optimal Real-Time Review Standards: Implications For Law Enforcement And Competitive Games, Murat C. Mungan

Faculty Scholarship

Real-time review systems are frequently used in various sports to monitor the decisions of referees and correct their mistakes. Interventions through these systems cause delays in games, which are perceived as being costly. This makes it optimal for these review systems to interfere with the decisions of the referee less frequently than would minimize the costs of decision errors, which I formalize through an analysis of the VAR system in football. This analysis also reveals that optimal review standards ought to be laxer when an important event (e.g., a goal) occurs between the position in which the potential error took …

Celebrating 70 Years Of Health Law At Bu, Christopher Robertson, Elizabeth Mccuskey, Aziza Ahmed, Dionne Lomax, Kathryn Zeiler, Dianne Mccarthy, Laura Stephens, Michael Ulrich, Lawrence Vernaglia, Danielle Pelfrey Duryea, Nicole Huberfeld, Kevin Outterson

Faculty Scholarship

This essay celebrates the BU Health Law Program upon its 70th anniversary, offering reflections on the founders of the program, Fran Miller, George Annas, and Wendy Mariner (“FGW,” endearingly), and their contributions to the field.

Current faculty offer reflections, including: Several speak to scholarly research, including Elizabeth McCuskey on health care finance, Aziza Ahmed on human rights, Dionne Lomax on antitrust, Christopher Robertson on trust, and Kathy Zeiler on the marketplace. Other contributors speak to the student experience, with Dianne McCarthy on mentorship, Laura Stephens on demanding excellence, Michael Ulrich on teaching, and Larry Vernaglia on merging law and public …