Digital Commons Network^™

The Evaluation Of Variants Within Eight Collagen Genes Col1a1, Col1a2, Col3a1, Col5a1, Col11a1, Col15a1, Col22a1, And Col27a1 And A Risk Of Non-Contact Knee Ligament Rupture In Elite Handball Players: A Case-Control Study, Katarzyna Krawczak-Wójcik, Andrzej Mastalerz, Aleksandra Bojarczuk, Monika Johne, Alison V. September, Aleksandra Garbacz, Katarzyna Komar, Ewelina Maculewicz

Baltic Journal of Health and Physical Activity

Introduction: Knee ligament ruptures are common injuries among athletes. While most previous studies examined single collagen gene polymorphisms, few have investigated haplotype-level associations across multiple genes, particularly in elite handball players. Materials and methods: This case-control study analyzed variants in eight collagen genes (COL1A1, COL1A2, COL3A1, COL5A1, COL11A1, COL15A1, COL22A1, and COL27A1) in 103 elite Polish handball players with non-contact knee ligament rupture and 226 matched controls. Results: The COL22A1 rs11784270 CC genotype was associated with an increased risk (OR = 2.88, p = 0.01), with the strongest effect in the …

Scaling Symmetry Of The Hodgkin-Huxley Mathematical Model, Vladimir Valerievich Galanin

Progress in Scale Modeling, an International Journal

A computational method based on the application of a scaling transformation to the Hodgkin-Huxley mathematical model of the biological neuron and its generalizations to the case of various neural systems is proposed. The method makes it possible: 1) to obtain invariants of the scaling transformation of the Hodgkin-Huxley model; 2) to find self-similarity regions corresponding to the modes of neural activity; 3) to determine the conditions for the similarity of models of various types of biological neurons; 4) to reduce the order of the system of differential equations of the Hodgkin-Huxley model for neural systems with synchronous activity. The capabilities …

Multiscale Theory Of Dislocation Plasticity, Alexander Umantsev

College of Health, Science, and Technology

Motion of dislocations is a common mechanism of plasticity in many materials. Dislocationmediated deformation is essentially an inhomogeneous process, which is manifest in the formation of slip lines and complicated cell wall structures. An adequate description of these processes is an important goal of Materials Theory, which aims to describe the mechanical properties of materials and their reliability in service. This publication advances the thermodynamically consistent theory of dislocation-mediated plasticity to include the spatial gradients of the independent variables. We conducted the renormalization group scaling analysis of deformation and obtained the low-energy dislocation structures as ordinary solutions of the equilibrium …

Proceedings Of The Ursinus Colloquium On Liberal Education: Liberal Arts On Offense, Stephanie Mackler, Allison E. Carey, Matt Kozusko, Mark Schneider

Ursinus Colloquium on Liberal Education

About • Liberal Arts on Offense: Introductory Remarks • Questions Posed to the Alumni Panel • Panel Remarks from Session One: Offensive Liberal Arts • List of Participants

Genomic Prediction And Association Mapping Of Early Season Flood Tolerance In Soybean, Caio Canella Vieira, Chengjun Wu, Derrick Harrison, Rafael Marmo, Liliana Florez-Palacios, Andrea Acuna, Daniel Rogers, Samuel B. Fernandes, Igor Fernandes, Grover Shannon, Heng Ye, Henry T. Nguyen

Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Flooding has become a major threat to soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] production as the frequency and intensity of extreme precipitations have been increasing due to climate change. While advances have been made in identifying soybean genetic resources and genomic regions associated with mid-season flood tolerance, there is limited understanding of early season flood tolerance at the vegetative growth stages V2/V4. This study aimed to identify genomic regions associated with early season flood tolerance using a diverse panel of 254 soybean accessions, as well as investigate the viability of implementing genomic prediction models for flood tolerance. Field trials were conducted …

Quality Improvement Project Simulation Orientation For Nursing Faculty, Emily Harvey

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Many nursing faculty are expected to teach using SIM without adequate preparation, which can limit competence in SIM-based teaching. A university-level school of nursing identified this gap and initiated a quality improvement project to strengthen faculty readiness through a structured online orientation. The intervention used the Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) Essentials in Clinical SIMs Across the Health Professions and was guided by Benner’s Novice to Expert Model, Lewin’s Change Theory, and the Plan-Do-Study-Act cycle. A quasi-experimental pretest–posttest quantitative design was conducted with nursing faculty participants. The Facilitator Competency Rubric (FCR) assessed competence across five domains: preparation, prebriefing, facilitation, debriefing, …

Prevalence And Distribution Of Neonatal Congenital Malformations In Al-Najaf, Iraq: A Cross-Sectional Analysis Of 2022 Birth Registry Data, Sahar Hassan

Hilla University College Journal For Medical Science

Background: Congenital malformations are among the primary causes of neonatal morbidity and mortality worldwide, imposing significant challenges in regions with limited healthcare resources and high birth rates.

Objectives: The goal of this study is to find out how common and spread-out congenital malformations are among newborns in Al-Najaf, Iraq. The results could have a big effect on how healthcare is provided and improve the health of newborns.

Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study analyzed birth registry data from five major hospitals in Al-Najaf, Iraq, in 2022. We identified neonates diagnosed with congenital malformations from a total cohort of 37,904 live births. …

The Concept Of Preeclampsia In Biochemistry: Molecular Mechanisms, Oxidative Stress, And Emerging Biomarkers, Dunia Abbas Khudhair, Ammar Hatem Abdullateef, Abbas Hamza Khudhair

Hilla University College Journal For Medical Science

Preeclampsia is a complex, pregnancy-related hypertension condition that significantly endangers mother and fetal health. While its clinical diagnosis is based on hypertension and proteinuria, its origins lie in a cascade of biochemical and molecular disturbances. This review highlights the central concept of preeclampsia from a biochemical perspective, with emphasis on abnormal placental development, oxidative stress, and endothelial dysfunction. Placental hypoxia and an excess of reactive oxygen species (ROS) are caused by inadequate spiral artery remodeling, which also leads to lipid peroxidation and systemic inflammation. A critical biochemical characteristic is the disparity between anti-antigenic (sFlt-1, sENG) and pro-antigenic (PlGF, VEGF) molecules, …

"Our River Is Full Of Trash And Many Fish Die" Children's Voices From Pasuruan, Indonesia: Discursive Strategies In Positive Discourse Analysis For Sustainability, Bambang Prastio, Ahsani Maulidina, Agung Rinaldy Malik, Achmad Tantowi Azis

The Qualitative Report

Addressing river pollution and understanding the role of children in environmental conservation are essential for maintaining ecosystem health and sustainability. This study used positive discourse analysis to explore children's discourse about river pollution in Pasuruan, East Java, Indonesia. Data were collected using walk-and talk ethnographic interviews with 15 children aged 7 to 11 years. The findings reveal that these children employed five discursive strategies: (1) nomination: metaphor, comparison, and cultural practices; (2) predication: positive attitude in the forms of disposition and behavior; (3) argumentation: contrast and parallelism; (4) perspectivisation, involving a type of religious representation that includes references to the …

Acute Care Of Patients With Moderate Respiratory Distress: Recommendations From An American College Of Emergency Physicians Expert Panel., Christopher W Baugh, Jim F Neuenschwander, Jesslyn Lenox, Jennifer Hoh, Kara Ward, Sara Muramoto, John Casey, Antonio Anzueto, Hajirah Ishaq, Jared Mount, Peter M Deblieux

Ambulatory and Primary Care Articles

INTRODUCTION: Patients with respiratory distress are frequently encountered in the emergency department (ED). Efforts to assess, initiate treatments, and stabilize these patients require a systematic and rapid response. Emergency physicians need a comprehensive and efficient approach for evaluating, treating, and managing patients presenting to the ED with moderate respiratory distress.

METHODS: The American College of Emergency Physicians convened an expert panel of academic and community emergency physicians, critical care specialists, respiratory therapists, hospitalists, and pharmacists to develop and subsequently disseminate consensus recommendations regarding the diagnosis and treatment of patients with moderate respiratory distress presenting to the ED.

RESULTS: A digital …

Digital Color And Aesthetics: A Numerical Performance That Speaks To Presentness, Valeria Federici

Contemporary Aesthetics (Journal Archive)

This article is concerned with digital color’s presentness and ubiquity and the implications of these aspects as reflected in contemporary artistic practices and aesthetics. Taking into consideration the history of color theory, the article explores premises and findings relevant to digital color and its differences with natural color as derived by optical vision. Further, it investigates the relationship between computer and artists, between appearance and experience in the digital realm, and highlights how digital color lies in the very nature of the medium: a numerical language hiding behind a mimetic two-dimensional surface or interface. These aspects are discussed through the …

Early-Life Exposure To Organic Chemical Pollutants As Assessed In Primary Teeth And Cardiometabolic Risk In Mexican American Children: A Pilot Study, Vidya S. Farook, Feroz Akhtar, Rector Arya, Alice Yau, Srinivas Mummidi, Juan Lopez Alvarenga, Alvaro Diaz-Badillo, Roy G. Resendez, John Blangero

Human Genetics Publications

Early-life exposure to organic chemicals (OCs) may influence childhood obesity and associated cardiometabolic risk. These conditions have been shown to disproportionately affect minority populations such as Mexican Americans (MAs). However, information on the impact of organic chemicals on cardiometabolic risk in MA children is limited. Therefore, we conducted a pilot study to assess the extent to which exposure to organic chemicals influences cardiometabolic traits (CMTs) in MA children. We recalled 25 children from a previous study and collected 25 primary teeth from them. Chemical analyses of the teeth were performed using established protocols. Target analytes included acetaminophen (APAP); 3,5,6-trichloro-2-pyridinol (TCPy), …

Airway Abnormalities In Children Operated For Congenital Heart Disease: Clinical Characteristics And Risk Factors From A Case-Control Study, Fatma Al Kindi, Rand Al Harthy, Saif A. Thani, Hamood Al Kindi, Hussain Mohsin

Sultan Qaboos University Medical Journal

Objectives: Congenital heart disease (CHD) is the most common congenital defect, with airway abnormalities (AAs) representing significant comorbidities that contribute to increased morbidity and clinical complexity. This study aimed to identify the most common AAs, associated risk factors, and clinical outcomes in children with CHD. Methods: This case-control study included children aged under 13 years with CHD who underwent cardiothoracic surgery between 1 January 2016 and 31 December 2018 at the National Genetic Centre in Oman. Cases were children with concurrent AAs, while controls were age- and gender-matched children with CHD but without AAs. Results: The prevalence …

Impact Of Detergent Type, Detergent Concentration, And Friction Modifiers On Pm-Pn Emissions In An Si Engine Using Eeps, Siddharth Gopujkar, Nic Tuma, Rick Davis, Jeffrey Naber, Elana Chapman, Veronica Reilly, Joseph Ciaravino, Philipp Seyfried

Michigan Tech Publications

Three TOP TIER^TM gasoline deposit control additives (DCAs) of differing chemistries were tested for their impact on particulate matter emissions in terms of particulate mass (PM) and particle number (PN) at operating conditions representative of road load, cold start, and high load on a 2.0 L, 4-cylinder, gasoline direct injection (GDI) spark ignition (SI) engine. The PM-PN emissions were measured using an Exhaust Emissions Particle Sizer (EEPS). Deposit control additives or detergents are gasoline additives used to prevent and clean combustion chamber and injector deposits in gasoline spark ignition (SI) engines. All three gasoline additives were tested at each …

A Few Millimeters Of Bone: How Male Supremacists Leverage Scientific Sexism To Reinforce Misogynistic Ideologies, Robin O'Hanlon

Publications and Research

In recent years, male supremacist actors have reinforced their misogynistic worldviews by using narrative strategies centered on authoritative “common sense” and scientific “fact.” This paper presents a thematic narrative analysis of The Incel Wiki and the Wiki4Men, representing the first formal analysis of the wiki for the men’s rights organization A Voice for Men. The analysis indicates male supremacists use techniques including misappropriation of scientific information, manipulation of statistics, and leveraging pseudoscientific information to develop their narrative strategies of supremacy. The most consistent narrative strategies of scientific sexism on the wikis are male victimhood, denial of inequality between men and …

Fiber Reinforced Concrete Composites - Seminal Contributions Of Surendra Shah, Vellore S. Gopalaratnam, Wengui Li

C3 Symposium 2025

The authors review the scholarly contributions of Surendra P. Shah during a prolific six-decade academic career in fiber reinforced concrete composites. This compilation includes discussions on often cited seminal publications encompassing experimental mechanics, analytical modeling, the development of test standards, materials characterization and innovations in the science of fiber reinforced concrete (FRC) materials. Collectively, these contributions have greatly improved our insights on how the nano- and micro-mechanics of such composites and processing techniques affect the macroscopic performance of creatively engineered reinforced cement composites. Starting with his Ph.D. the first contribution to understanding the inelastic behavior and fracture of concrete, the …

Fresh And Mechanical Properties Of The Ultra-High-Performance Concrete With Cellulose Nanofibers, Xiaoli Xiong, Chengcheng Tao, Kamal H. Khayat

C3 Symposium 2025

Water-sensitive cellulose significantly impacts the performance of the ultra-high-performance concrete (UHPC), leading to variations in its fresh and mechanical properties of fresh and hardened concrete materials. In this study, the cellulose nanofibers, a more environmentally friendly class of nanomaterials, are introduced into UHPC. The rheological and mechanical properties of UHPC are investigated, including viscosity, yield stress and compressive strength. The results reveal significant effect of cellulose nanofibers on the properties of UHPC in terms of material performance and sustainability. Advanced characterization techniques, including isothermal calorimetry, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) are employed to study the effect of cellulose …

Durability Of Sisal Fibers Reinforced Cement-Based Plates, Kaio Campos, Kíssila Goliath, L. Souza, F. Teixeira

C3 Symposium 2025

Sustainable materials have been gaining increasing attention in the construction sector due to their environmental advantages and the need for cost-effective solutions. An example of this is vegetable fibers, which are recognized as a sustainable and eco-friendly alternative for the reinforcement of cementitious composites in civil engineering applications. To contribute to our knowledge about the durability of these materials, this study investigated the mechanical behavior of cementitious plates reinforced with 5% long aligned sisal fibers materials after being subjected to accelerated aging. To improve the durability of the composite, 50% of the cement in matrix was replaced by 40% metakaolin …

Impact Of Inter-Grinding On The Reaction Kinetics And Physical Properties Of One-Part Alkali-Activated Metakaolin, Meddelin Setiawan, Claire E. White

C3 Symposium 2025

Developing alkali-activated materials (AAM) is one of the pathways to decarbonize cement manufacturing that currently contributes 5-8% of global anthropogenic carbon emissions [1]. However, extensive deployment of AAMs in industry has yet to be realized, part of which is due to the reluctance to work with “two-part” activation that requires handling large amounts of concentrated caustic solutions [2]. Here, a “one-part” AAM has been developed using calcined kaolin clay and a solid sodium silicate source. Inter-grinding of the dry mixture is found to increase the kinetics of alkali-activation and improve rheological properties of the paste. The underlying physicochemical properties responsible …

Enhancing Early Strength Development Through Co2-Induced Hydration Acceleration, Patrick Rubaszewski, Thomas Matschei

C3 Symposium 2025

This study investigates the accelerating effect of gaseous CO2 on cement hydration.The addition of up to 0.2% CO2 by weight of cement during the mixing process led to increased compressive strength after 24 hours and greater heat release during the acceleration phase. However, higher concentrations negatively affected workability and hydration kinetics, resulting in lower compressive strength.

Graphene Reinforced Cement-Based Triboelectric Nanogenerator For Efficient Energy Harvesting, Wenkui Dong, Wengui Li

C3 Symposium 2025

This study investigated a graphene reinforced cement-based triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) aimed at harvesting mechanical energies in infrastructure. The triboelectric layers of the cement-based TENG consisted of a fully cured graphene modified cement-based plate and a polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) film, which were tested under a contact-separation mode. Microstructural analysis indicated that the graphene was well-dispersed in the cementitious matrix, and the graphene-cement composites achieved excellent compressive and flexural strengths of 53.0 and 3.5 MPa, respectively. The electrical characteristics of the graphene-cement composites, specifically their resistivity and impedance, showed that they did not reach the percolation threshold, making them ideal dielectric materials with …

Computational Simulations Fresh-To-Solid Transition For Additive Manufacturing Of Ultra-High-Performance Fiber Reinforced Concrete, Erol Lale, Bahar Ayhan, Ayesha Ahmed, Elmer Irizarry, Jiaqi Liu, Shady Gomaa, Raul Marrero-Rosa, Gianluca Cusatis

C3 Symposium 2025

Additive manufacturing of concrete is a topic of interest within the academia and industry. Simulating the printable concrete behavior from the fresh state to hardened state to long-term will provide the future engineers the ability to optimize the design and predict failure of structural elements. A key aspect for concrete additive manufacturing is the complexity of optimization which includes systems, schedule, and materials. Our research focus on the simulation fresh state, hardened behavior, and the transition from fluid-to-solid of nanoclay modified ERDC ultra-high-performance fiber reinforced concrete system. Discrete fresh concrete model (DFC) and Smooth Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) model are studied …

Mechanics Of Fracture In Layered Architected Materials, Reza Moini, Aimane Najmeddine, Shashank Gupta

C3 Symposium 2025

This talk asks the role of mechanics of materials, particularly fracture mechanics in design and engineering civil infrastructure materials. Concrete, a quasi-brittle material is the backbone of the civil infrastructure. Decades of research on engineering and fracture mechanics of concrete led by the hundreds of pioneering works of great scholars, have helped us understand mechanism of crack initiation and propagation in heterogeneous materials. However, there remain a significant need to continue understand mechanics of damage in conventional and novel heterogeneous infrastructure materials. Growth in automation and robotics (e.g., 3D-printing), innovative cementitious composite materials (e.g., architected material), and numerical frameworks (e.g., …

Form Optimization Applications Of 3d Concrete Printing: From Bridge To Protective Structures, Kolluru V. L. Subramaniam, Prashant R. Singh, Sohanth T. Maganty, Spandana Paritala

C3 Symposium 2025

In construction, 3D concrete printing (3DCP) is emerging as a technology that has the potential to create a significant impact on the state of practice and overcome several limitations of conventional construction processes. 3DCP focuses on delivery systems that build a structure using layer deposition. 3DCP technology is, however, still in a nascent stage in construction-related applications. Techniques for printing free-standing structures are not sufficiently developed for large- scale applications. In this paper, the concept of form-specific structural system optimization that broadly follows ‘material-follows-force’ is used to arrive at a shape that reduces weight while minimizing the requirement of conventional …

Sustainability Of Additively Manufactured Cement-Based Housing: What's Our Next Move?, Joseph J. Biernacki

C3 Symposium 2025

Additive manufacturing of housing has rapidly grown into a nascent industry with numerous demonstration projects recently proving the technological viability of the approach. Goals for the technology, however, are not limited to business ventures that compete in the traditional housing market. Rather, some builders and activists advocate for the technology as a potential key to solving the housing crisis in the US and abroad; though, questions regarding the scalability of economy, environmental impacts and socio-political implications still revolve around the concept. This work focuses on the techno-economics of scale for construction of housing as well as suggests what our next …

The Handy Rheometer: Capturing Complex Rheology With Just A Camera And A Cylinder, Yohan Jacquet, Inka Mai

C3 Symposium 2025

The growing need for practical, on-site rheological tools in 3D concrete printing motivates this study, which introduces a low-cost, computer-vision based method for characterizing complex flow behavior. A simple experiment is performed by pulling a cylinder through a fresh cementitious suspension while recording the surface motion of a contrasted reference line on the suspension’s surface simply using a camera. A computer vision algorithm tracks the displacement field, enabling precise velocity profile extraction over time. By applying a moment balance to the two flow regions – Couette and Poiseuille – the flow is modeled as a Herschel-Bulkley fluid. This approach enables …

Recycling Waste Glass Powder In Lightweight Aggregate Concrete: Towards Lightweight, Sustainable And Durable Marine Engineering Structures, Bin Jia, Yuxi Zhao

C3 Symposium 2025

This study investigates the feasibility of incorporating waste glass powder (GP) as a sustainable supplementary cementitious material in structural lightweight aggregate concrete (SLAC) for marine applications. The effects of GP replacement (0–40%) on the fresh, mechanical, and durability properties were evaluated. Results showed that while GP reduces early-age strength, long-term mechanical stability is maintained, with GP20 achieving the highest elastic modulus. GP incorporation significantly improves durability, including reduced chloride migration, lower water absorption, and higher electrical resistivity. Corrosion resistance of steel bars under chloride exposure was enhanced, as indicated by higher open-circuit potential values (OCP). Microstructural analysis revealed that GP …

A Thermodynamic Perspective On Reinforcement Corrosion In Concretes Produced With Low-Clinker Blended Binders, O. Burkan Isgor, W. Jason Weiss

C3 Symposium 2025

Concrete produced with blended binders with low clinker content, while having a reduced carbon footprint, pose additional challenges with respect to reinforcement corrosion. As the portland limestone cement is replacing ordinary portland cement, the utilization of conventional supplementary cementitious materials (SCM) has become the norm, and various types of alternative SCM are emerging, the focus has shifted toward the performance of concretes produced with low-clinker blended binders. While the synergetic reactions among clinker, limestone and SCM could provide significant benefits to concrete by reducing porosity, pore connectivity and transport coefficients, hence improving various mechanical and durability properties, they can also …

The Role Of Graphene-Based Nanomaterials In Enhancing Resiliency And Ductility In Engineered Concrete, Michail Margas, Panagiotis Danoglidis, Maria Konsta-Gdoutos

C3 Symposium 2025

Graphene-based nanomaterials have gained significant attention for enhancing cement matrices due to their exceptional surface area and remarkable mechanical, physical, and chemical properties. These characteristics make them ideal candidates for improving the overall performance of engineered cementitious materials. This study focuses on accelerating the carbonation kinetics within nanostructured interfaces of cement systems by incorporating 2D graphene-based nanomaterials. Exfoliated graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs), with a surface area 3-5 times greater than that of cement grains, were used. Experimental results revealed that concrete reinforced with exfoliated, few-layer GNPs demonstrated 1.5 times higher carbonation uptake and mineralization capacity. Additionally, quantitative nanomechanical property mapping highlighted …

Carbon-Negative Concrete By Using Biochar, Matteo Pavese, Luca Lavagna, Carlo Amata, Jean Marc Tulliani, Mattia Bartoli, Mauro Giorcelli, Claudia Guzzoni Iudice, Alessio Mondello, Matthew Mallory, Chris Carstens, Douglas Dufaux

C3 Symposium 2025

In this paper we present the realization of carbon negative concrete by substituting cement and aggregate with biochar. By conveniently choosing feedstock and properties of biochar, it is possible to maintain the same compression strength of standard concrete. Several biochar types derived from different vegetal feedstocks were used, that were characterized for their composition and physical properties. The effect of biochar type and grain size distribution was studied, demonstrating the possibility of maintaining or even slightly improving the mechanical properties of mortar and concrete, depending on the biochar content. The physical properties and pore distribution of mortar containing biochar was …