Digital Commons Network^™

Afro-Latinidad: Cultural Traditions, Latin American And Iberian Institute

K-12 Lesson Plans

No abstract provided.

Morning Girl: A Novel Study, Latin American And Iberian Institute

K-12 Lesson Plans

No abstract provided.

Latin America Through Film: Which Way Home, Latin American And Iberian Institute

K-12 Lesson Plans

No abstract provided.

In The Wake Of Juárez: Teaching Politics Through Art (Complete Guide), Latin American And Iberian Institute

K-12 Lesson Plans

No abstract provided.

Buena Vista Social Club Film Guide, Latin American And Iberian Institute

K-12 Lesson Plans

No abstract provided.

A Spanish Language Educator’S Guide To Radio Ambulante, "Guerra En El Bío Bío", Latin American And Iberian Institute

K-12 Lesson Plans

No abstract provided.

A Spanish Language Educator’S Guide To Radio Ambulante Season 2, Episode 18: Fue El Estado, Latin American And Iberian Institute

K-12 Lesson Plans

No abstract provided.

Enabling Smart Healthcare Applications Through Visible Light Communication Networks, Jack Manhardt

Masters Theses

"Future smart healthcare operations are envisioned to require the support of high-performance wireless networks. Researchers are presented with a problem, however, as the hospital environment brings unique challenges to the application of traditional radio-frequency wireless communication networks due to health concerns and electromagnetic compatibility standards. To meet these challenges and support the advancement of high-quality healthcare, we propose the use of an alternative wireless technology in visible light communication (VLC). Contributing to the growing interest in VLC amongst researchers, we construct both a VLC network simulation testbed as well as real-world testbed to serve as a platform for the development …

Radiofrequency Interference Detection Using Lstmand Statistical Analysis Discriminator, Luke Smith

Masters Theses

"Wireless devices are becoming increasingly pervasive across all aspects of society. Examples of such devices include radios, routers, mobile phones, tablets, and more. As the number of radio frequency (RF) devices continues to rise, so does the amount of interference and noise increase. This is why an efficient approach to interference detection is explored. Most research within this area has been done strictly within the frequency domain as viewing a signal within this domain provides many insights into what makes the signal. This has, however, led to the time domain being underutilized for this area of research.

To explore the …

Evaluating Electromagnetic Interference On Gnss Receivers, Giorgi Tsintsadze

Masters Theses

"Due to high power and efficiency requirements of modern electrical drive system, inverters are utilizing fast-edge pulses as a drive signal. The high frequency pulses contain higher order harmonics can radiate electromagnetic interference above accepted levels. Modelling and understanding the mechanism that causes the radiation is studied, modelled and presented as gray-box model which contains circuit level modelling of coupling between electrical machine phase windings and low power sensor harness. The thesis consists of two main papers. In the first paper, radiated emissions from an electrical drive system is charac- terized thru gray-box modelling where coupling between electrical machine phase …

Protein Turnover Rate And Life History As An Explanation Of The Extreme Difference In Cost Of Biosynthesis In Cockroach Nymphs And Painted Lady Butterfly Larva, Kyara Nicole Holloway

Masters Theses

The cost of biosynthesis in painted lady caterpillars is far lower than that of a red runner cockroach. A promising explanation for this phenomenon is the protein turnover rate for the animal during biosynthesis and tissue maintenance. Previous research has shown that, per gram of body weight, the painted lady butterfly can synthesize a biomass using up to 15x less energy and resources than the cockroach, even under similar conditions. The resulting ratios, especially in respect to growth rate, show a wide disparity between species in such a manner that does support a protein synthesis and degradation rates as a …

Theoretical Modeling And Experimental Investigation Of Phase Selection During Rapid Solidification Of Alloys, Azeez Aremu Akinbo

Masters Theses

"A novel model, rooted in time-dependent nucleation theory, has been created to explore how rapid solidification affects the extended solubility in metal alloys. This model was used to forecast solubility concerning undercooling in multiple binary aluminum (Al) alloys, and its predictions for both eutectic and peritectic systems closely match experimental data. It was demonstrated that this developed model surpasses the T0 line method, which does not consider the kinetic aspects of nucleation. Furthermore, the model can be extended to ternary and multicomponent phases by assuming that the scarcest element or the slowest diffusing component restricts nucleation. Al-Cu and Al-Cr, vital …

Contextualizing Renewable Energy Adoption: An Examination Of The Role Of Community Choice Aggregation, Ankit Agarwal

Doctoral Dissertations

"The rapid expansion of renewable energy generation in the U.S., both through distributed and utility-scale facilities, is largely driven by top-down policy measures and the growing engagement of residential consumers on both individual and community levels. Previous studies on motives behind residential renewable energy adoption have examined procurement options in isolation and within a static context, primarily focused on intrinsic attributes like economic incentives, emission reductions, and peer popularity. This research introduces a novel context, assessing renewable procurement options in the presence of Community Choice Aggregation (CCA), a more prevalent and accessible alternative. This dissertation makes four pivotal contributions, offering …

Material Models For Simulation Of Steel Hot Rolling Process Using Experimentally Determined Properties At Elevated Temperatures And Strain Rates, Siva Sai Krishna Dasari

Doctoral Dissertations

"Hot rolling is one of the most important and complex process that includes large material deformation, different contact conditions, complex geometries and different temperature gradients along with micro structural changes such as viscoplasticity, dynamic recrystallization, and static softening. In the present work, the viscoplasticity, damage evolution, static softening and void closure of alloyed metal during hot rolling process was numerically investigated. Gleeble^TM hot compression and double hit tests were performed to provide experimental stress-strain curves at recrystallization temperatures and at different strain rates. Johnson-Cook viscoplastic model was calibrated using experimental stress-strain curves. Static softening model was developed at varying …

Why Equity Follows The Law, Adam J. Macleod

Faculty Articles

Renewed attention to equity in higher education is welcome because true equity helps us to reason together well. When administered correctly, the jurisprudence of equity models civil discourse and, therefore, can teach us how to carry out civic engagement reasonably. Equitable interpretation of the law teaches us how to understand each other charitably. And equity’s deference to law teaches us how to reason well together about our practical problems. Law is the practical reasoning that we do together. Equity serves the ends of justice by serving law, rather than undermining it. These functions of equity in adjudication point toward a …

Can Litigation Analytics Tell Us What Became Of The 2015 Proportionality Amendments To The Federal Rules Of Civil Procedure?, Patricia W. Moore

Faculty Articles

In 2015, the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure pertaining to discovery were amended for the seventh time in 40 years–part of a cyclic effort to address the so-called “cost and delay” of litigation. The centerpiece of the amendments was the reconfigured requirement that requested discovery be “proportional to the needs of the case,” in addition to being relevant and nonprivileged. The concept of “proportionality” crystallized the 2015 amendments in a single mantra. The proposed amendments inspired passionate and polarized public reactions. Plaintiffs’ attorneys opposed them as an impediment to obtaining the discovery they needed to prove their case, particularly in …

Public Accommodations Laws, Free Speech Challenges, And Limiting Principles In The Wake Of 303 Creative, Michael L. Smith

Faculty Articles

In 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis, the United States Supreme Court ruled that Colorado's Anti-Discrimination Act's prohibition of discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation violated the First Amendment rights of Lorie Smith, a website designer who refused to make wedding websites for same-sex couples. This Article argues that the Court's ruling rested on a vision of state control over speech that was divorced from the law before it. Using this framing of the law to conjure up inapplicable hypothetical scenarios of state-mandated expression, the Court found in Smith's favor. And yet, in responding to the dissent's concerns that the …

A Haven For Traffickers: How The United States Provides A Legal Safe Haven For Businesses That Rely On Forced Labor In The International Supply Chain, Ramona L. Lampley

Faculty Articles

Congress enacted the Trafficking Victims Protection Act ("TVPRA" or "Act") in 2000, which, through its amendments, gives victims of human trafficking, including forced labor or slave labor, a private right of action against those who knowingly benefit from the abusive labor practices perpetrated on them. Even though slave labor, particularly child labor, is a perceived evil in the foreign supply chains of many domestic companies, courts appear uncomfortable with the some of the civil-liability provisions of the TVPRA. This Article examines recent cases brought under the TVPRA, and how, in some cases, courts have eviscerated the private right of action …

Language Models, Plagiarism, And Legal Writing, Michael L. Smith

Faculty Articles

Language models like ChatGPT are the talk of the town in legal circles. Despite some high-profile stories of fake ChatGPT-generated citations, many practitioners argue that language models are the way of the future. These models, they argue, promise an efficient source of first drafts and stock language. Others make similar claims about legal writing education, with a number of professors urging the acknowledgment of language models. Others go further and argue that students ought to learn to use these models to improve their writing and prepare for practice. I argue that those urging the incorporation of language models into legal …

The Evolution Of Race-Based Admissions In American Higher Education, Chenglin Liu

Faculty Articles

This Article examines the Supreme Court’s evolving position on race-based admissions policies over the past 127 years. Between Plessy and Brown, universities used race-based policies to exclude black applicants from white universities. Brown shifted admissions policies from blocking black students to accepting them. As affirmative action gained momentum, universities escalated from merely accepting minority candidates to proactive recruitment by using quotas and lowering their admissions standards. The Court in Bakke set the ground rules for race-based admissions during that period. In 2003, Grutter upheld the university’s pursuit for a “critical mass” of minority students in its entering class. Two …

Corporate Takeover: A New Clash In The Old Struggle Between Corporate Rights And Public Health, John J. Locurto, Rachel Radke, Xyruz Villariz, Jasmine Ann Castillejos

Faculty Articles

Corporations have used the federal courts to secure many of the same constitu­tional rights as individuals. As corporate rights proliferate so does corporate power to influence and resist laws that protect the public. One such law is the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act—legislation that reformed health insurance coverage with important implications for public health.

The ACA has been a frequent target of litigation. Recent corporate lawsuits have invoked the Religious Freedom Restoration Act to challenge the ACA’s preventive care mandate, which requires health plans to cover preventive services without cost sharing. In Braidwood Management, Inc. v. Becerra, a …

Consumer Privacy And The Dobbs Disruption, Mason R. Clark

Faculty Articles

The right to reproductive privacy is under attack in the United States, and it is losing ground. Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, the Supreme Court's 2022 decision that overruled Roe v. Wade's constitutional protection of abortion and jeopardized privacy rights by proxy, reflects this losing posture. Scholarship in reproductive privacy varyingly critiques federal privacy initiatives, evaluates regulatory interventions, and proposes civil rights frameworks in response to Dobbs. This Article, however, pinpoints how Dobbs created a gaping hole in state consumer privacy laws even as they propagated across the United States. Currently, there are no state consumer privacy laws that …

Late Discovery: Student Experiences With Late Learning Disability Diagnoses, Margot Moffa

Brehm Scholars Research

My research focuses on the experiences of students who were diagnosed with a learning disability in high school or college. I conducted a qualitative study including eight interviews. Findings after the study showed that participants were never identified without seeking help independently. Additionally, living with an undiagnosed learning disability left negative impacts on participants' mental health, resulting in the development of coping strategies to mask their symptoms and experiences. This research is critical as getting diagnosed with a learning disability later in life can be detrimental to a student's learning experience. Struggling in school and not understanding is extremely frustrating …

Incidence Of Cardiovascular Surgery Following Pediatric Posterior Sternoclavicular Dislocation: Evaluating The Necessity Of Cardiothoracic Surgeon Standby During Operative Treatment, Ryan Lebens, Christian Leonardo, Rigel Hall, James Barsi

Introduction: Posterior sternoclavicular (PSC) dislocations are rare events, most commonly occurring after high energy injury such as motor vehicle accident or contact sports. While rare, PSC dislocations can be life threatening due to risk of posterior displacement of the medial clavicle impinging the great vessels leading to the heart. As such, patients with sternoclavicular dislocation are at risk for intimal tears and hemorrhage. Traditional orthopedic surgery teachings state closed reductions for PSC dislocation should have cardiothoracic (CT) surgeons on standby in the event intimal tears need repair. Despite this, there lacks conclusive evidence and literature about whether CT surgeon standby …

Perioperative Continuous Glucose Monitoring In Diabetic Patients Undergoing Primary Total Joint Arthroplasty, Dorian Cohen, Mei Lin Chan, Abdullah Y. Hassan, Anna Lei, Joseph F. Lacomb, Igor Kravetz, James Nicholson

See article.

Can Artificial Intelligence Create Research Hypotheses For Patellofemoral Instability?, Claire Parker, Sofia Hidalgo Perea, James Barsi

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to elucidate if artificial intelligence (AI) can generate novel research hypotheses regarding patellofemoral instability (PFI) in the pediatric population that have not previously been investigated. We hypothesized that AI would be able to generate new hypotheses that have not yet been presented or published.

Methods: In December of 2023, Chat Generative Pre-trained Transformer-3.5 (ChatGPT) was used to create a list of 25 research hypotheses about PFI in both the adult and pediatric population. The prompt used to generate the list of hypotheses was: “List 25 detailed and reproducible research ideas regarding …

Biomechanical Evaluation And Intraoperative Strategies For Addressing Suture Anchor Failure In Osteoporotic Bone, Richard Marchese, Samir Baig, Sofia P. Hidalgo, Jaclyn Brunner, David E. Komatsu, Edward D. Wang

Purpose: When aiming to enhance the strength of a suture anchor construct, typically in osteoporotic bone, it is often suggested to employ a method referred to as "under-tapping" (UT). A comprehensive assessment of tapping protocols for anchor placement was conducted to ascertain if this contributes to the prevention of anchor failure. Further, supplementary fixation techniques were examined to offer methods for secure fixation in the event of unanticipated failure.

Hypothesis: Under-tapping can increase load to failure compared to standard tapping (ST). If the initial fixation fails, using larger diameter anchors or bioabsorbable Trim-IT pins (TIP) via cross-pinning can provide stable …

Intraoperative Nerve Stimulation As A Functional Assessment Of Acute Stretch Injury In The Rat Median Nerve, Matthew Gluck, Pierce J. Ferriter Jr., Christoph A. Schroen, Christina M. Beck, Zachary L. Bernstein, Todd A. Rubin, Michael R. Hausman, Paul J. Cagle

Introduction: Peripheral nerve injuries (PNIs) are common complications of upper extremity injuries, yet few clinical options exist to quickly and accurately assess motor nerve function intraoperatively. PNIs are a significant source of not only disability to the patient, but also cost. This study’s purpose was to evaluate the utility of intraoperative nerve stimulation in an
animal model.

Methods: A 20% stretch injury was induced in right median nerves using a custom-made stretch applicator, while left median nerves served as a control. A Checkpoint surgical nerve stimulator (Checkpoint Surgical, Cleveland, OH) was used to assess baseline nerve function in …

Age-Related Differences In 30-Day Postoperative Complications Following Aseptic Revision Total Shoulder Arthroplasty: A Comparison Of Patients Under And Over 80 Years Old, Rachel A. Loyst, Patricia Cerri-Droz, Stephen H. Liu, Kenny Ling, Dorian Cohen, David E. Komatsu, Edward D. Wang

Introduction: This study investigates the association between patients < 80 years old and patients 80 years old and 30-day postoperative complications following aseptic revision total shoulder arthroplasty (TSA).

Materials and methods: All patients who underwent revision TSA between 2015 and 2022 from the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement (NSQIP) database were surveyed for this study. Patient demographics, comorbidities, and 30-day postoperative complication data were analyzed. Logistic regression was used to analyze the postoperative complications associated in patients greater than or equal to 80 years old.

Results: Compared to patients < 80 years old, patients 80 years old were independently associated with a significantly greater likelihood of experiencing any complication (odds ratio [OR] 1.61, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.23-2.11; P < .001), non-home discharge (OR 3.68, 95% CI 2.58-5.25; P < .001), and length of stay (LOS) > 2 days (OR 1.57, 95% CI 1.18-2.10; P = 0.002).

Conclusions: Compared to patients < 80 years old, patients 80 years old were independently associated with a significantly greater likelihood of experiencing any complication, non-home discharge, and LOS > 2 days. A better understanding of the age as a risk factor …

Acute Postoperative Pain And Dorsal Root Ganglia Transcriptomic Signatures Following Total Knee Arthroplasty (Tka) In Rats: An Experimental Study, Justice Achonu, David E. Komatsu, Sardar Mz Uddin, Chris Gordob, Martha Kanjiya, Diane Bogdan, Adriana Dibua, Hira Iftikhar, Amanda Ackermann, Rohan J. Shah, Jason Shieh, Agnieszka B. Bialkowska, Martin Kaczocha

Total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is the final treatment option for patients with advanced knee osteoarthritis (OA). Unfortunately, TKA surgery is accompanied by acute postoperative pain that is more severe than arthroplasty performed in other joints. Elucidating the molecular mechanisms specific to post-TKA pain necessitates an animal model that replicates clinical TKA procedures, induces acute postoperative pain, and leads to complete functional recovery. Here, we present a new preclinical TKA model in rats and report on functional and behavioral outcomes indicative of pain, analgesic efficacy, serum cytokine levels, and dorsal root ganglia (DRG) transcriptomes during the acute postoperative period. Following TKA, …