Digital Commons Network^™

Deciphering And Translating Bioinspired Structures For Engineering Materials Design Via Computational Modeling And Machine Learning, Zhangke Yang

All Dissertations

Nature has evolved extraordinary structural materials—such as nacre, bone, and the mantis shrimp’s dactyl club—that achieve remarkable combinations of strength, toughness, and impact resistance. These properties arise from sophisticated synergies between structure and composition. Inspired by these biological systems, this dissertation presents a comprehensive investigation into bioinspired materials, uncovering fundamental mechanisms and providing guidance on designing materials with superior mechanical properties.

This dissertation begins by examining the "brick-and-mortar" structure of nacre, which informs the design of layered polymer-graphene nanocomposite films. Using coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations, I elucidate mechanisms of dynamic wave propagation and energy dissipation in these systems, providing critical …

The Interplay Of Housing Instability And Mathematics During Adolescence: A Retrospective Study Of Black Stem Folx, Sharetta M. W. Bufford

All Dissertations

Few studies have delved into the delicate nuances that impact Black students’ mathematics performance, nor have they paid much attention to the resources students leverage to overcome systems that perpetuate negative stereotypes about Black youth. For decades, studies about Black youth have been explored from a deficit perspective, shedding negative light on circumstances typically beyond the control of those being studied. Even more, some studies have placed blame on parents and parental figures in the lives of Black children for unacceptable school behavior and poor academic progress (Cobb II & Russell, 2015). Black youth have been portrayed as problematic, disruptive, …

Does Leverage Impact The Choice Of Financing In Cross-Border Mergers And Acquisitions? Evidence From Emerging Economies, Akanksha Jain, Smita Kashiramka, Sonali Jain

American Business Review

Cross-border mergers and acquisitions (CBMA), as an internationalization strategy, have been used by firms from emerging economies to attain competitive advantage at a global level. However, little attention has been paid to capital structure decisions in CBMA, carried out by firms in these economies. The study disentangles this relationship between the acquirer’s capital structure and the financing method used during the course of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in an international setting. It is a novel attempt to examine the moderating effect of acquirer size on the relationship between leverage and financing method in the acquisition offer. The study utilizes 1817 …

Two General Data Protection Regulation (Gdpr) Compliant Approaches To Scoring Firm Financial Frailty In Business Litigation, A. E. Rodriguez, Gazi Murat Duman, Ron Kuntze

American Business Review

A litany of data artifacts, including the possibility of source data drift, lack of generalizability, and imprecise risk categories, all weaken—and may even impugn—estimates of a firm's economic frailty when using the Altman Z-score as a formulaic measure of risk in business litigation. These limitations constitute potential veto points which may be exploited by opposing counsel in court proceedings. We offer two possibly complementary approaches to obtaining estimates of the probability of a firm’s likelihood of business failure. To illustrate these approaches, we use the case study data in O'Haver (1993) and Local Outlier Probabilities (Breunig et al., 2000; Kriegel …

Fits Like A Glove: Seinfeld And The Economics Of Liability Laws, Franklin G. Mixon Jr., Shane D. Sanders, R. Andrew Luccasen Iii

American Business Review

Informal case applications often enhance our understanding of an economic principle’s breadth of import in everyday life, as well as whether the principle may be acknowledged and used in a manner that facilitates decision-making of businesses and consumers. The present study contributes to the case study literature by extending the work of others on the economics of the classic television sit-com, Seinfeld. More specifically, our extension focuses on several law and economics concepts, particularly concepts related to product liability, included in the sit-com that are of particular interest to businesses and consumers.

Elevated P16ink4a Expression Enhances Tau Phosphorylation In Neurons Differentiated From Human-Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells, Kristopher Holloway, Kashfia Neherin, Yingduo Song, Kazuhito Sato, Andrew Houston, Feng Chen, Li Ding, Hong Zhang

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Increased expression of the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p16Ink4a (p16) is detected in neurons of human Alzheimer's disease (AD) brains and during normal aging. Importantly, selective eliminating p16-expressing cells in AD mouse models attenuates tau pathologies and improves cognition. But whether and how p16 contributes to AD pathogenesis remains unclear. To address this question, we tested whether induction of p16 expression in neurons exacerbates AD pathologies. We created a doxycycline-inducible system to trigger p16 up-regulation in human-induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) and neurons differentiated from iPSCs. We demonstrated that up-regulated p16 expression in iPSCs reduces cell proliferation, down-regulates cell cycle genes, …

Effect Of Relative Age On Gross Motor Coordination Development, Considering Biological Maturity And Sex, Xiaoyu Zhang, Gaël Ennequin, Anthony J. Blazevich, Sébastien Ratel

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the effect of relative age on gross motor coordination (GMC) development, taking into account biological maturity and sex. Methods: 729 participants aged 10 to 16 years completed three GMC tests newly designed to minimize the potentially confounding effects of physical fitness. The tests included a Hand-Foot coordination test, Dribbling-Targeting test (DT test), and a T balance and agility test (T test). Relative age was determined using birth quartiles: BQ1 (January–March); BQ2 (April–June); BQ3 (July–September); and BQ4 (October–December). Regarding biological maturity, the participants were categorized according to their estimated peak height velocity (pre- and post-PHV). …

Legal Protection Efforts For Msme Entrepreneurs Based On Law No. 11 Of 2020 On Job Creation Law, Duhita Driyah Suprapti, Dina Ristanti, Finna Maessy Pangestika, Choirul Fuad, Salman Alfarisi

Indonesia Law Review

Indonesia is the fourth-highest country with a level of population density that will undoubtedly cause many problems, one of which is the problem related to unemployment that is increasingly increasing. Therefore, the Government then took the initiative to issue a law that can pioneer job creation, ease of effort, investment, and empowerment of small micro-businesses. Focus on the actions of youth in making investments then whether this Job Creation Law also provides adequate protection for entrepreneurs, especially MSME entrepreneurs. MSME entrepreneurs need legal protection because most do not understand the Law in Indonesia and cannot afford to hire legal counsel …

What Is Wrong With Workism?, Matthew Hammerton

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Workism is the phenomenon of people making their work the primary source of meaning and identity in their life. Recent critics of workism have argued that there is a growing trend towards it in many societies and that this is a bad thing. This article brings a philosophical perspective to the debate on workism. It develops a precise account of what workism is and evaluates the main objections raised against it by examining their underlying philosophical assumptions. Ultimately, it is argued that workism, as a way of life, is not as objectionable as its critics suggest.

Strength And Conditioning Society (Scs) 7th Annual Meeting, Murcia, Spain, 2024, Pedro E. Alcaraz, Konstantinos Spyrou, Anthony J. Blazevich, Tomás T. Freitas, Elena Marín-Cascales, Aarón Manzanares Serrano

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

On behalf of the Strength and Conditioning Society (SCS), we are pleased to present the abstracts submitted for the SCS 7th Annual Meeting. The event was held at the Universidad Católica de Murcia (UCAM) headquarters in Murcia, Spain, on 9–11 October 2024, and comprised several invited sessions by international and national speakers on a variety of topics related to biochemistry and exercise physiology, strength and conditioning practices and their application to health, injury prevention, and sports performance. These included strength training in high-performance sports, sport science and training–competition load management in elite environments, biochemistry and exercise physiology and prescription, nutrition …

Young People’S Perceptions Of Harm From Accessing Online Sexual Content, Despina Chronaki, Debra Dudek, Giselle Woodley

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Harm—and the ways in which it is interpreted, negotiated, discussed, and unpacked by adolescents themselves—is a key term in almost all debates about young people’s experiences with online pornography. This essay situates the topic of this special issue—adolescents’ perceptions of harm from accessing online sexual content—within a broader context of the discourses and practices that inform research in this field. We show how discourses of harm and risk circulate around the figure of the innocent child in need of protection and argue for more nuanced understandings of and research about childhood that take into account the lived experiences and perspectives …

California Middle And High School Students Report Wanting Fresh And Healthy School Lunch In The Context Of Universal School Meals, Carolyn Chelius, Kassandra A. Bacon, Dania Orta-Aleman, Monica D. Zuercher, Lorrene D. Ritchie, Juliana Cohen, Christina A. Hecht, Kenneth Hecht, Wendi Gosliner

Health Sciences Faculty Publications

Objective

Design

Setting

Participants

Main Outcome Measure

Analysis

Results

Synthetic Modification Of Agrobacterium To Inhibit Plant Pathogenesis, Rosemala Agarwala

Honors Theses

Crown Gall disease caused by Agrobacterium is a leading cause of plant damage and current solutions used to prevent the disease are not as effective. This research aims to use a synthetic biology approach to design a plasmid that upregulates Curdlan, a molecule that activates plant defenses, when the bacteria senses a wounded plant. Thus this research uses a synthetic biology approach to develop a biocontrol agent for Crown Gall disease. This research also looks at the transferability of the sugar phenol sensing mechanism in Agrobacterium, which is needed for plant pathogenesis.

Welfare Federalism And Immigrant Inclusion: How State Ideology, Democracy, And Public Opinion Shape Social Policy, Emily Daniel

Honors Theses

This thesis explores the variation in immigrant access to state-level social welfare programs in the United States from 1997 to 2023, focusing on the influence of state ideology, democratic performance, and public opinion. In the wake of the 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA), which curtailed federal welfare access for many immigrants and shifted authority to the states, significant disparities emerged in how states approached immigrant inclusion. This study examines eight states—four historic immigrant destinations and four “new growth” states—with varied political climates and demographic changes. Using a legislative output index, moral language analysis of state media …

An Ethical Defense Of Puberty Blockers As Gender Affirming Care For Adolescents, Alexander Konigsberg

Honors Theses

In this paper, I give an overview of the varying perspectives on gender affirming care, which disagree on who has the right to decide for the adolescent. I offer the psychological model as the perspective providers should take to avoid imposing their own morals on the patient. Next, I explore adolescent wellbeing and determine that since no adolescent specific goods exist, we should treat adolescents by child or adult wellbeing if you believe child wellbeing exists). I find that with these arguments, physicians should prescribe puberty blockers to adolescents as it gives more access to wellbeing. Finally, I explore objections …

Deviant Trajectories Of Black Girls In Adolescent Romantic Relationships, Anna I. Fondren

All Dissertations

This quantitative study explored whether involvement in adolescent romantic relationships among Black females influenced juvenile delinquency and later criminal behavior. While prior research has examined how peers, family, and romantic partners impact delinquency and substance use, the unique intersection of being both Black and female in this context remains underexplored. The study used data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health), which follows U.S. adolescents from middle and high school into adulthood (ages 24–32). The dataset included variables related to peer and family relationships, romantic and sexual involvement, substance use, victimization, delinquency, and criminal behavior. …

Patulin As A Negative Regulator Of Wild-Type Elp1 Splicing In Familial Dysautonomia-Derived Cells, Katherine P. Cáceres Bravo

FCRH Honors Program Theses

Although the human genome has a limited number of genes, alternative splicing allows the production of thousands of proteins. Alternative splicing is a regulated mechanism in which a messenger RNA (mRNA) synthesizes different proteins called isoforms, variants of the same protein that may have different cellular functions [1]. The unspliced sequence, also known as the primary transcript, results from the transcription of a genetic sequence by RNA Polymerase II, which produces an mRNA containing introns (non-coding regions) and exons (coding regions) [2]. The splicing process is catalyzed by the spliceosome, a ribonucleoprotein mega-particle composed of small nuclear ribonucleoproteins (snRNPs), U1, …

The Narrative Effects Of Cure On Representations Of Disability In The Medical Procedural And Body Horror Genres, Will Schuessler

FCRH Honors Program Theses

In disability studies, “cure” can refer both to literal cures and to the cultural belief that disabilities are problems with the body that can and should be solved through these medical interventions. In recent years, disability scholars have written about this topic of cure critically, but an academic media analysis approach to cure has yet to be taken, despite the prevalence of narratives where disabled characters are cured. This thesis explores how cure shapes disabled stories that are told through film and television, by viewing a sample of over 50 films and 70 episodes of television focused on disabled characters …

Ripples On The Bronx River: Exploring Gentrification And Indigenous Magical Realism Through Creative Storytelling, Olivia Griffin

FCRH Honors Program Theses

The Bronx River has been left largely unexamined in the realms of literature and art in the 21st century. Prior to colonization, the riverbanks served as a home and resource for Indigenous communities. However, by the Industrial Revolution, the river had become a dumping ground, starting with the first watermill in 1666 in West Farms. Of the twenty-three mile river, the lower five miles served as an informal sewer and was hidden from the public eye, "its few access points blocked by gigantic mounds of submerged cars, worn-out tires, less identifiable garbage, and rusting junk," (Jonnes, 463). Only in the …

Business Education 4.0: A Pedagogical Emphasis On Innovation, Flexibility, And Scalability, Huijue Kelly Duan, Hussein Issa, Miklos A. Vasarhelyi

WCBT Faculty Publications

Higher education institutions (HEIs) face increasing competition, not only from peer institutions but also from technology companies and software developers. The traditional educational model in HEIs is losing its appeal in comparison to more targeted and embellished learning offered by specialized outlets. This study proposes an innovative educational model aiming to help higher education avoid obsolescence. The proposed model, dubbed Business Education 4.0, treats content as building blocks that can be used to build personally tailored courses. The model guides students through creating their modularized custom courses, delivers course materials, analyzes student performance, offers students continuous support, and gathers feedback. …

Total Factor Productivity (Tfp) And Financial Markets, Min Bai, Dong Zhang, Jiaoying Yang

American Business Review

The dynamic interplay between real firms and the financial markets remains under continuous government scrutiny, reflecting the evolving diversity that accompanies the expansion of financial markets. Given the financial market's critical role in capital provision, it is essential to understand how different funding relationships influence firm performance. This study focuses on A-share listed companies in China from 2013 to 2023, categorizing their funding relationships into two distinct types: net investment and net financing. The analysis reveals a significant dampening effect on Total Factor Productivity (TFP) associated with net investment-based funding relationships. Mechanistic investigations indicate that this suppression is due to …

Green Hotels And Loyal Guests: The Csr Effect In Poland’S Tourism Sector, Maria Johann, Sanjoy Ghose, Ahmed Bostani

American Business Review

While the relationship between Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and consumer behavior has gained increased interest in the hotel industry over the years, some of its nuanced effects remain insufficiently explored, especially in a post-pandemic world. Thus, the objective of this study is to assess how environmental CSR and social CSR activities influence consumer responses, namely customer satisfaction and customer loyalty in the hotel industry. The questionnaire was distributed online through a professional research agency. The data were gathered from 560 respondents who spent their holidays in Poland in hotels that implemented socially responsible activities. PLS-SEM was used for data analysis. …

Vol. 45, No. 2, Spring 2025: Table Of Contents, Northern Illinois University Law Review

Northern Illinois University Law Review

Table of Contents and Masthead for Volume 45, Issue 2 of the Northern Illinois Law Review

I Demand The Right To Destroy My Church! The Relationship Between The Religious Land Use And Institutionalized Persons Act And The Religious Right To Demolish Historic Churches, Mikayla D. Kelz

Northern Illinois University Law Review

Prohibitions and restrictions on land use by Historic Preservation Committees via landmark laws are common and hinder an owner’s right to control the land. Religious institutions possess an important piece of federal legislation to combat landmark laws, known as the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA). Even with this advantage in their pocket, churches continue to face local opposition on the ability to renovate and demolish their churches due to the overly regulatory nature of landmark laws. Federal courts vary on the criteria in determining whether a landmark designation can withstand the right to religious exercise via land …

Hi Barbie! A Cultural Phenomenon Illustrates How Courts Have Lost The True Meaning Of The Independent Creation Defense, Shelby Harrison

Northern Illinois University Law Review

From movies to advertisements to department stores, Barbie is everywhere. Barbie has been around for decades and is now a cultural phenomenon. It is almost impossible to not be familiar with the iconic fashion doll. With a creation so popular and so powerful, how do other individuals or businesses create their own doll without being influenced by Barbie? This Note discusses the independent creation defense within copyright infringement. The focus of this Note is whether a defendant would even be able to assert the independent creation defense when their opponent’s creation is so widely known, like Barbie. This Note emphasizes …

Originalism’S Precedent Problem, James Bernstein

Northern Illinois University Law Review

This paper explores the tension between originalism and stare decisis in judicial decision-making. Originalism, which seeks to interpret the Constitution as understood at the time of its ratification, has gained bipartisan acceptance among judges. However, this interpretive approach faces challenges regarding precedent: How should originalist judges handle past decisions that deviate from the original public meaning of the Constitution? The paper examines this issue, particularly in light of originalists’ varied stances on the role of precedent.

Some originalists, like Antonin Scalia and Amy Coney Barrett, acknowledge the need for stare decisis to maintain legal stability, albeit with allowances for overturning …

Dewatering Of Chlorella Algae Using Co2 Gas Hydrate Formation For The Biofuel Production, Sumeet Oak

Master's Theses

When microalgae are processed for producing biofuel, dewatering the algae is an important step, particularly when combined with extracting valuable byproducts like algal oil. Conventional methods like centrifugation and filtration can be harsh on the algae and usually need high-energy inputs. In this work, the new application of CO2 gas hydrates as an algae dewatering agent was investigated. A CO₂ hydrate, CO2-nH2O, where n (n>5.75), is a nonstoichiometric compound where water molecules with hydrogen bonds are structured in an ice-like fashion to form polyhedral cavities. CO₂ gas hydrates are crystalline because gas molecules are trapped in a lattice of …

Postmortem Detection Of Substance P And Met-Enkephalin Expression As A Possible Indicator For Pain Estimation Prior To Death, Amy M. Lischin

Master's Theses

Substance P (SP) and Met-Enkephalin (MET) are neuropeptides critical to the central nervous system (CNS) and are released as immediate responders to physical stressors like pain. In blood, SP and MET adapt based on an incident-death time interval to suggest the potential to use these as biomarkers in the assessment of pain prior to death. The mRNA and DNA manipulations of RNA isolation, cDNA synthesis, and RT-qPCR allowed for investigation into SP and MET gene expression (TACl, TACRl, OGFR) in those who experienced chronic tissue damage (e.g. domestic abuse) as compared to those who underwent an acute pain event (e.g. …

The Gambia’S Democratic Revival: An Interview With Chief Justice Hassan Bubacar Jallow, Hassan Bubacar Jallow, David Collins

Judicature International

No abstract provided.

From Guns To Scalpels: Reproductive Violence And The (In)Visibility Of Non-Lethal Genocidal Acts, Anthony Ghaly

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

No abstract provided.