Digital Commons Network^™

An Examination Of Website Advice To Avoid Jury Duty, C. Adam Coffey, David M. Sams, Stanley L. Brodsky, Tess M.S. Neal

Court Review: Journal of the American Judges Association

The use of a jury in legal proceedings can be traced as far back as the participatory democracies that emerged in Greece in the sixth century BC, although it was not until the signing of the Magna Carta that the right to a trial by a jury of one’s peers emerged.1 In the United States, the Sixth and Seventh Amendments of the U.S. Constitution expressly provide this right in both criminal and civil proceedings.2 Furthermore, these amendments provide individuals with the right to a trial before an impartial jury.3 This right intends to serve as a safeguard against unfair treatment …

Guidelines For The Use And Interpretation Of Assays For Monitoring Autophagy (3rd Edition), Daniel J. Klionsky, Rodrigo Franco, More Than 2,000 Co-Authors

School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences: Faculty Publications

In 2008 we published the first set of guidelines for standardizing research in autophagy. Since then, research on this topic has continued to accelerate, and many new scientists have entered the field. Our knowledge base and relevant new technologies have also been expanding. Accordingly, it is important to update these guidelines for monitoring autophagy in different organisms. Various reviews have described the range of assays that have been used for this purpose. Nevertheless, there continues to be confusion regarding acceptable methods to measure autophagy, especially in multicellular eukaryotes.

For example, a key point that needs to be emphasized is that …

Ferroelectric Polymer Nanopillar Arrays On Flexible Substrates By Reverse Nanoimprint Lithography, Jingfeng Song, Haidong Lu, Keith Foreman, Shumin Li, Li Tan, Shireen Adenwalla, Alexei Gruverman, Stephen Ducharme

Stephen Ducharme Publications

With the increasing interest in deploying ferroelectric polymer in flexible electronics and electromechanics, high-throughput and low-cost fabrication of 3D ferroelectric polymer nanostructures on flexible substrates can be a significant basis for future research and applications. Here, we report that large arrays of ferroelectric polymer nanopillars can be prepared directly on soft, flexible substrates by using low-cost polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) soft-mold reverse nanoimprint lithography at 135 °C and at pressures as low as 3 bar. The nanopillar arrays were highly uniform over large areas of at least 200 × 200 μm and had good crystallinity with nearly optimum (110) orientation. Furthermore, the …

2d Cocrystallization From H‑Bonded Organic Ferroelectrics, Donna A. Kunkel, James Hooper, Benjamin Bradley, Lisa Schlueter, Tom Rasmussen, Paulo Costa, Sunit Beniwal, Stephen Ducharme, Eva Zurek, Axel Enders

Stephen Ducharme Publications

The synthesis of 2D H-bonded cocrystals from the room-temperature ferroelectric organics croconic acid (CA) and 3-hydroxyphenalenone (3-HPLN) is demonstrated through self-assembly on a substrate under ultrahigh vacuum. 2D cocrystal polymorphs of varied stoichiometry were identified with scanning tunneling microscopy, and one of the observed structural building blocks consists of two CA and two 3-HPLN molecules. Computational analysis with density functional theory confirmed that the experimental (CA)₂(3-HPLN)₂ tetramers are lower in energy than single-component structures due to the ability of the tetramers to pack efficiently in two dimensions, the promotion of favorable electrostatic interactions between tetramers, and the …

Fabrication Of Diisopropylammonium Bromide Aligned Microcrystals With In-Plane Uniaxial Polarization, Shashi Poddar, Haidong Lu, Jingfeng Song, Om Goit, Shah Valloppilly, Alexei Gruverman, Stephen Ducharme

Stephen Ducharme Publications

Textured arrays of ferroelectric microcrystals of diisopropylammonium bromide were grown from solution at room temperature onto silicon substrates and studied by means of x-ray diffraction, atomic force microscopy, electron microscopy, and piezoresponse force microscopy. The needle-shaped crystals had dimensions of approximately 50 μm × 5 μm in the plane and were approximately 200 nm thick, where the dimensions and arrangement were influenced by growth conditions. The observations suggest an Ostwald ripening mechanism of the microcrystal growth. The crystals had the structure of the ferroelectric phase, where the polarization axis was in-plane and parallel to the long axis of …

The Same-Actor Inference Of Nondiscrimination: Moral Credentialing And The Psychological And Legal Licensing Of Bias, Victor D. Quintanilla, Cheryl R. Kaiser

Articles by Maurer Faculty

One of the most egregious examples of the tension between federal employment discrimination law and psychological science is the federal common law doctrine known as the same-actor inference.

When originally elaborated by the Fourth Circuit in Proud v. Stone, the same-actor doctrine applied only when an “employee was hired and fired by the same person within a relatively short time span.” In the two decades since, the doctrine has widened and broadened in scope. It now subsumes many employment contexts well beyond hiring and firing, to scenarios in which the “same person” entails different groups of decision makers, and the …

Effect Of Sex On Torque, Recovery, Emg, And Mmg Responses To Fatigue, E.C. Hill, Terry J. Housh, C. M. Smith, Kristen C. Cochrane, N.D.M. Jenkins, Joel T. Cramer, Richard J. Schmidt, G. O. Johnson

Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences: Faculty Publications

The purpose of the present investigation was to examine the effect of sex on maximal voluntary isometric contraction (MVIC) torque and the EMG and MMG responses as a result of fatiguing, intermittent, submaximal (65% of MVIC), isometric elbow flexion muscle contractions. Methods: Eighteen men and women performed MVIC trials before (pretest), after (posttest), and 5-min after (5-min recovery) performing 50 intermittent, submaximal isometric muscle contractions. Surface electromyographic (EMG) and mechanomyographic (MMG) signals were simultaneously recorded from the biceps brachii muscle. Results: As a result of the fatiguing workbout torque decreased similarly from pretest to posttest for both the men (24.0%) …

Positive Psychology In Sales: Integrating Psychological Capital, Scott B. Friend, Jeff S. Johnson, Fred Luthans, Ravipreet Sohi

Department of Management: Faculty Publications

As positive psychology moves into the workplace, researchers have been able to demonstrate the desirable impact of positive organizational behavior. Specifically, psychological capital (PsyCap) improves employee attitudes, behaviors, and performance. Advancing PsyCap in sales research is important given the need for a comprehensive positive approach to drive sales performance, offset the high cost of salesperson turnover, improve cross-functional sales interfaces, and enrich customer relationships. The authors provide an integrative review of PsyCap, discuss its application in sales, and advance an agenda for future research. Research prescriptions are organized according to individual-level, intra-organizational, and extra-organizational outcomes pertinent to the sales field.

Pulsed Laser Cutting Of Magnesium-Calcium For Biodegradable Stents, M. P. Sealy, Y. B. Guo, J. F. Liu, C. Li

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

There is growing interests in the use of biodegradable magnesium implants for cardiovascular and pulmonary applications such as stents. Magnesium is a metal that has the ability to gradually dissolve and absorb into the human body after implantation. There is very little work discussing the relationship between process parameters and cut quality of magnesium stents by laser cutting. The objective of this research is to determine the effect of laser cutting conditions including peak laser power and cutting speed of a millisecond range pulsed laser on kerf geometry, surface topography, surface roughness, and microstructure. An assessment on the experimental work …

Impact Of Patient Factors On Operative Duration During Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy: Evaluation From The National Surgical Quality Improvement Program Database, Bethany Rose Lowndes, Cornelius A. Thiels, Elizabeth B. Habermann, Juliane Bingener, M. Susan Hallbeck, Denny Yu

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Patient factors impact laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) difficulty, specifically operative duration. This study quantifies the impact of patient factors on LC duration.

METHODS: The national surgery database (American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program) was reviewed for all elective LC for biliary colic from 2005 to 2013. Multivariate general linear model and logistic regression were used to evaluate patient factors as predictors of operative duration greater than 60 minutes, adjusted for resident involvement and cholangiography.

RESULTS: A total of 24,099 LC met inclusion criteria. Regression analysis found procedure duration greater than 60 minutes was less likely for patients …

A Comparative Study On Machining Capabilities Of Wet And Dry Nanoscale Electro-Machining, Muhammad P. Jahan, Kamlakar P. Rajurkar, Ajay P. Malshe

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

Presently, the nano scale electro-machining (nano-EM) process has been demonstrated in both the liquid and air dielectric mediums, which are known as wet and dry nano-EM respectively. In the current study, two important aspects of the nano-EM have been investigated: the minimum possible feature dimension and mass fabrication capability of nano-EM. Firstly, the investigation has been done on the capability of machining graphene at atomic scale with focus on obtaining smallest possible nano-feature using the wet nano-EM. Secondly, the ability of the nano-EM process for the fabrication of arrays of nano-holes has been investigated using dry nano-EM. It was found …

Bioink Properties Before, During And After 3d Bioprinting, Katja Holzl, Shengmao Lin, Liesbeth Tytgat, Sandra Van Vlierberghe, Linxia Gu, Aleksandr Ovsianikov

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

Bioprinting is a process based on additive manufacturing from materials containing living cells. These materials, often referred to as bioink, are based on cytocompatible hydrogel precursor formulations, which gel in a manner compatible with different bioprinting approaches. The bioink properties before, during and after gelation are essential for its printability, comprising such features as achievable structural resolution, shape fidelity and cell survival. However, it is the final properties of the matured bioprinted tissue construct that are crucial for the end application. During tissue formation these properties are influenced by the amount of cells present in the construct, their proliferation, migration …

Integration Of Flow Studies For Robust Selection Of Mechanoresponsive Genes, Nataly Maimari, Ryan M. Pedrigi, Alessandra Russo, Krysia Broda, Rob Krams

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

Blood flow is an essential contributor to plaque growth, composition and initiation. It is sensed by endothelial cells, which react to blood flow by expressing >1000 genes. The sheer number of genes implies that one needs genomic techniques to unravel their response in disease. Individual genomic studies have been performed but lack sufficient power to identify subtle changes in gene expression. In this study, we investigated whether a systematic meta-analysis of available microarray studies can improve their consistency.

We identified 17 studies using microarrays, of which 6 were performed in vivo and 11 in vitro. The in vivo studies were …

Development Of A Synthetic Gene Network To Modulate Gene Expression By Mechanical Forces, Zoltan Kis, Tania Rodin, Asma Zafar, Zhangxing Lai, Grace Freke, Oliver Fleck, Armando Del Rio Hernandez, Leila Towhidi, Ryan M. Pedrigi, Takayuki Homma, Rob Krams

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

The majority of (mammalian) cells in our body are sensitive to mechanical forces, but little work has been done to develop assays to monitor mechanosensor activity. Furthermore, it is currently impossible to use mechanosensor activity to drive gene expression. To address these needs, we developed the first mammalian mechanosensitive synthetic gene network to monitor endothelial cell shear stress levels and directly modulate expression of an atheroprotective transcription factor by shear stress. The technique is highly modular, easily scalable and allows graded control of gene expression by mechanical stimuli in hard-to-transfect mammalian cells. We call this new approach mechanosyngenetics. To insert …

Comparison Between Direct And Reverse Electroporation Of Cells In Situ: A Simulation Study, Leila Towhidi, Delaram Khodadadi, Nataly Maimari, Ryan M. Pedrigi, Henry Ip, Zoltan Kis, Brenda R. Kwak, Tatiana W. Petrova, Mauro Delorenzi, Rob Krams

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

The discovery of the human genome has unveiled new fields of genomics, transcriptomics, and proteomics, which has produced paradigm shifts on how to study disease mechanisms, wherein a current central focus is the understanding of how gene signatures and gene networks interact within cells. These gene function studies require manipulating genes either through activation or inhibition, which can be achieved by temporarily permeabilizing the cell membrane through transfection to deliver cDNA or RNAi. An efficient transfection technique is electroporation, which applies an optimized electric pulse to permeabilize the cells of interest. When the molecules are applied on top of seeded …

Floating-Gate Transistor Photodetector With Light Absorbing Layer, Jinsong Huang, Yongbo Yuan

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

A field effect transistor photodetector that can operate in room temperature includes a source electrode, a drain electrode, a channel to allow an electric current to flow between the drain and source electrodes, and a gate electrode to receive a bias voltage for controlling the current in the channel. The photodetector includes a light-absorbing material that absorbs light and traps electric charges. The light-absorbing material is configured to generate one or more charges upon absorbing light having a wavelength within a specified range and to hold the one or more charges. The one or more charges held in the light-absorbing …

Secondary Pool Boiling Effects, C. Kruse, A. Tsubaki, C. A. Zuhlke, T. P. Anderson, Dennis R. Alexander, George Gogos, Sidy Ndao

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

A pool boiling phenomenon referred to as secondary boiling effects is discussed. Based on the experimental trends, a mechanism is proposed that identifies the parameters that lead to this phenomenon. Secondary boiling effects refer to a distinct decrease in the wall superheat temperature near the critical heat flux due to a significant increase in the heat transfer coefficient. Recent pool boiling heat transfer experiments using femtosecond laser processed Inconel, stainless steel, and copper multiscale surfaces consistently displayed secondary boiling effects, which were found to be a result of both temperature drop along the microstructures and nucleation characteristic length scales. The …

Stress-Dependent Ultrasonic Scattering In Polycrystalline Materials, Christopher M. Kube, Joseph A. Turner

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

Stress-dependent elastic moduli of polycrystalline materials are used in a statistically based model for the scattering of ultrasonic waves from randomly oriented grains that are members of a stressed polycrystal. The stress is assumed to be homogeneous and can be either residual or generated from external loads. The stress-dependent elastic properties are incorporated into the definition of the differential scattering cross-section, which defines how strongly an incident wave is scattered into various directions. Nine stress-dependent differential scattering cross-sections or scattering coefficients are defined to include all possibilities of incident and scattered waves, which can be either longitudinal or (two) transverse …

Experimental Explanation Of The Formation Mechanism Of Surface Mound-Structures By Femtosecond Laser On Polycrystalline Ni60Nb40, Edwin Peng, A. Tsubaki, Craig A. Zuhlke, Meiyu Wang, Ryan Bell, Michael J. Lucis, Troy P. Anderson, Dennis R. Alexander, George Gogos, Jeffrey E. Shield

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

Femtosecond laser surface processing (FLSP) is an emerging technique for creating functionalized surfaces with specialized properties, such as broadband optical absorption or superhydrophobicity/ superhydrophilicity. It has been demonstrated in the past that FLSP can be used to form two distinct classes of mound-like, self-organized micro/nanostructures on the surfaces of various metals. Here, the formation mechanisms of below surface growth (BSG) and above surface growth (ASG) mounds on polycrystalline Ni₆₀Nb₄₀ are studied. Cross-sectional imaging of these mounds by focused ion beam milling and subsequent scanning electron microscopy revealed evidence of the unique formation processes for each class of …

Biomimetic Substrate Control Of Cellular Mechanotransduction, Mohammad Nahid Andalib, Yuris A. Dzenis, Henry J. Donahue, Jung Yul Lim

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

Extracellular mechanophysical signals from both static substrate cue and dynamic mechanical loading have strong potential to regulate cell functions. Most of the studies have adopted either static or dynamic cue and shown that each cue can regulate cell adhesion, spreading, migration, proliferation, lineage commitment, and differentiation. However, there is limited information on the integrative control of cell functions by the static and dynamic mechanophysical signals. For example, a majority of dynamic loading studies have tested mechanical stimulation of cells utilizing cultures on flat surfaces without any surface modification. While these approaches have provided significant information on cell mechanotransduction, obtained outcomes …

Plastic Deformation Modes Of Cuzr/ Cu Multilayers, Yan Cui, Oscar Torrents Abad, Fei Wang, Ping Huang, Tian-Jian Lu, Ke-Wei Xu, Jian Wang

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

We synthesized CuZr/Cu multilayers and performed nanoindentation testing to explore the dependence of plastic deformation modes on the thickness of CuZr layers. The Cu layers were 18 nm thick and the CuZr layers varied in thickness from 4 nm to 100 nm. We observed continuous plastic co-deformation in the 4 nm and 10 nm CuZr − 18 nm Cu multilayers and plastic-induced shear instability in thick CuZr layers (>20 nm). The plastic co-deformation is ascribed to the nucleation and interaction of shear transformation zones in CuZr layers at the adjacent interfaces, while the shear instability is associated with the …

In Situ Longitudinal Pre-Stretch In The Human Femoropopliteal Artery, Alexey Kamenskiy, Andreas Seas, Grant Bowen, Paul Deegan, Anastasia Desyatova, Nick Bohlim, William Poulson, Jason N. Mactaggart

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

In situ longitudinal (axial) pre-stretch (LPS) plays a fundamental role in the mechanics of the femoropopliteal artery (FPA). It conserves energy during pulsation and prevents buckling of the artery during limb movement. We investigated how LPS is affected by demographics and risk factors, and how these patient characteristics associate with the structural and physiologic features of the FPA. LPS was measured in n = 148 fresh human FPAs (14–80 years old). Mechanical properties were characterized with biaxial extension and histopathological characteristics were quantified with Verhoeff–Van Gieson Staining. Constitutive modeling was used to calculate physiological stresses and stretches which were then …

Low-Energy, Mobile Grain Boundaries In Magnesium, Xiangli Liu, Jin Wang

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

The strong basal texture that is commonly developed during the rolling of magnesium alloy and can even increase during annealing motivates atomic-level study of dislocation structures of both <0001> tilt and twist grain boundaries (GBs) in Magnesium. Both symmetrical tilt and twist GBs over the entire range of rotation angles θ between 0° and 60° are found to have an ordered atomic structure and can be described with grain boundary dislocation models. In particular, 30° tilt and twist GBs are corresponding to energy minima. The 30° tilt GB is characterized with an array of Shockley partial dislocations b_p:- b …

Characterizing The Boundary Lateral To The Shear Direction Of Deformation Twins In Magnesium, Y. Liu, N. Li, S. Shao, M. Gong, J Wang, R.J. Mccabe, Y. Jiang, C.N. Tome

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

The three-dimensional nature of twins, especially the atomic structures and motion mechanisms of the boundary lateral to the shear direction of the twin, has never been characterized at the atomic level, because such boundary is, in principle, crystallographically unobservable.We thus refer to it here as the dark side of the twin. Here, using high-resolution transmission electron microscopy and atomistic simulations, we characterize the dark side of {1012} deformation twins in magnesium. It is found that the dark side is serrated and comprised of {1012} coherent twin boundaries and semi-coherent twist prismatic–prismatic {2110} boundaries that control twin growth. The conclusions of …

In Situ Measurements Of Plasma Properties During Gas-Condensation Of Cu Nanoparticles, Mark A. Koten, S. A. Voeller, M. M. Patterson, Jeffrey E. Shield

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

Since the mean, standard deviation, and modality of nanoparticle size distributions can vary greatly between similar input conditions (e.g., power and gas flow rate), plasma diagnostics were carried out in situ using a double-sided, planar Langmuir probe to determine the effect the plasma has on the heating of clusters and their final size distributions. The formation of Cu nanoparticles was analyzed using cluster-plasma physics, which relates the processes of condensation and evaporation to internal plasma properties (e.g., electron temperature and density). Monitoring these plasma properties while depositing Cu nanoparticles with different size distributions revealed a negative correlation between average particle …

Rolling-Induced Face Centered Cubic Titanium In Hexagonal Close Packed Titanium At Room Temperature, H. C. Wu, A. Kumar, J. Wang, X. F. Bi, C. N. Tomé, Z. Zhang, S. X. Mao

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

Combining transmission electron microscopes and density functional theory calculations, we report the nucleation and growth mechanisms of room temperature rolling induced face-centered cubic titanium (fcc-Ti) in polycrystalline hexagonal close packed titanium (hcp-Ti). Fcc-Ti and hcp-Ti take the orientation relation: 〈0001〉_hcp||〈001〉_fcc and {1010}_hcp||{110}_fcc, different from the conventional one. The nucleation of fcc-Ti is accomplished via pure-shuffle mechanism with a minimum stable thickness of three atomic layers, and the growth via shear-shuffle mechanisms through gliding two-layer disconnections or pureshuffle mechanisms through gliding four-layer disconnections. Such phase transformation offers an additional plastic deformation mode comparable …

How A Single Cell Sense Its Mechanical Environment?, Shengmao Lin, Linxia Gu

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

The extracellular matrix (ECM) is essential for regulating cell behavior and tissue function [1]. Local ECM structure and mechanics are increasingly recognized as important mechanical effectors of cell responses and tissue regeneration [2]. This is illustrated by the fact that either the rigidity of ECM [3] or local tension regulate cellular mechanotransduction pathways, and their dysregulation results in many different types of diseases [4,5]. It was speculated that cell contractions, generated by the cross-bridging interaction of actin and myosin II motors, maintain a tensional homeostasis in response to mechanical disturbance. The question is what is exactly the tensional homeostasis, if …

Film-Through Large Perovskite Grains Formation Via A Combination Of Sequential Thermal And Solvent Treatment, Fan Zhang, Jun Song, Linxing Zhang, Fangfang Niu, Yuying Hao, Pengju Zeng, Hanben Niu, Jinsong Huang, Jiarong Lian

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

Organic–inorganic halide perovskites have recently attracted strong research interest for fabrication of high-performance, lowcost photovoltaic devices. Recently, we reported a highly reproducible procedure to fabricate high-performance organic–inorganic halide perovskite solar cells. This procedure, based on a onestep, solvent-induced, fast deposition-crystallization method, involves the use of sec-butyl alcohol as a new solvent to induce the CH₃NH₃PbI₃ fast crystallization deposition. In the present study, we propose a reproducible fabrication method to prepare both flat and large-grain perovskite film by adding a pre-annealing step to strengthen the perovskite nucleation, aiming to facilitate the excess CH₃NH_{3 …}

Dislocation Grain Boundary Interactions In Irradiated Metals, Ian M. Robertson, Bai Cui, Mo- Rigen He

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

The behavior of dislocations in unirradiated and ion-irradiated austenitic stainless steels has been observed directly by performing straining experiments in-situ in the transmission electron microscope. This has enabled direct observation of how dislocations interact with each other, with the irradiation produced obstacles and with grain boundaries. These experiments have provided insight as to the mechanisms by which dislocations annihilate the irradiation produced defects to form a channel as well as determination of the conditions that control slip transfer across a grain boundary and how it is impacted by the presence of the irradiation produced defects.

Graphene Platform For Neural Regenerative Medicine, Tasneem Bouzid, Alexander Sinitskii, Jung Yul Lim

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

Graphene is a material composed of a single layer of carbon atoms arranged in a two-dimensional honeycomb lattice. The unique electrical, optical, thermal, and mechanical properties of graphene are extensively exploited for various applications in electronics, energy, and sensors. Studies also proposed the potential of graphene for biomedical applications. The intrinsic characteristics of graphene and its availability for chemical and physical modifications make graphene a promising vehicle for various biomedical applications including drug delivery, bioimaging, disease diagnostics, etc. The chemical structure of graphene and, in turn, its functionality, can be altered by attaching functional groups, which not only modify the …