Faculty Research
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/2346/469
ThinkTech is an online publishing and archival service for the Texas Tech University community that scholars may use to distribute and archive their scholarly works with no limitations on content or format. ThinkTech also provides access to materials that traditional publications cannot.
Click below to submit a single item, or submit a CV for an open access evaluation:
Users may access:- Open Access scholarship
- Gray literature
- Video
- Audio
- Images
- Charts/graphs
Please use the above submission tool to submit to ThinkTech so that the Digital Services Librarian may work with you to create the best record for your work.
Browse
Browsing Faculty Research by Title
Now showing 1 - 20 of 4102
- Results Per Page
- Sort Options
Item 1,8-Dihydroxy Naphthalene—A New Building Block for the Self-Assembly with Boronic Acids and 4,4′-Bipyridine to Stable Host–Guest Complexes with Aromatic Hydrocarbons(2023) Manankandayalage, Chamila P. (TTU); Unruh, Daniel K. (TTU); Perry, Ryan (TTU); Krempner, Clemens (TTU)The new Lewis acid–base adducts of general formula X(nad)B←NC5H4-C5H4N→B(nad)X [nad = 1,8-O2C10H6, X = C6H5 (2c), 3,4,5-F3-C6H2 (2d)] were synthesized in high yields via reactions of 1,8-dihydroxy naphthalene [nadH2] and 4,4′-bipyridine with the aryl boronic acids C6H5B(OH)2 and 3,4,5-F3-C6H2B(OH)2, respectively, and structurally characterized by multi-nuclear NMR spectroscopy and SCXRD. Self-assembled H-shaped Lewis acid–base adduct 2d proved to be effective in forming thermally stable host–guest complexes, 2d × solvent, with aromatic hydrocarbon solvents such as benzene, toluene, mesitylene, aniline, and m-, p-, and o-xylene. Crystallographic analysis of these solvent adducts revealed host–guest interactions to primarily occur via π···π contacts between the 4,4′-bipyridyl linker and the aromatic solvents, resulting in the formation of 1:1 and 1:2 host–guest complexes. Thermogravimetric analysis of the isolated complexes 2d × solvent revealed their high thermal stability with peak temperatures associated with the loss of solvent ranging from 122 to 147 °C. 2d, when self-assembled in an equimolar mixture of m-, p-, and o-xylene (1:1:1), preferentially binds to o-xylene. Collectively, these results demonstrate the ability of 1,8-dihydroxy naphthalene to serve as an effective building block in the selective self-assembly to supramolecular aggregates through dative covalent N→B bonds.Item 11-th order of accuracy for numerical solution of 3-D Poisson equation with irregular interfaces on unfitted Cartesian meshes(2023) Idesman, Alexander (TTU); Mobin, Mir Moniruzzaman (TTU); Bishop, J.For the first time the optimal local truncation error method (OLTEM) with 125-point stencils and unfitted Cartesian meshes has been developed in the general 3-D case for the Poisson equation for heterogeneous materials with smooth irregular interfaces. The 125-point stencils equations that are similar to those for quadratic finite elements are used for OLTEM. The interface conditions for OLTEM are imposed as constraints at a small number of interface points and do not require the introduction of additional unknowns, i.e., the sparse structure of global discrete equations of OLTEM is the same for homogeneous and heterogeneous materials. The stencils coefficients of OLTEM are calculated by the minimization of the local truncation error of the stencil equations. These derivations include the use of the Poisson equation for the relationship between the different spatial derivatives. Such a procedure provides the maximum possible accuracy of the discrete equations of OLTEM. In contrast to known numerical techniques with quadratic elements and third order of accuracy on conforming and unfitted meshes, OLTEM with the 125-point stencils provides 11-th order of accuracy, i.e., an extremely large increase in accuracy by 8 orders for similar stencils. The numerical results show that OLTEM yields much more accurate results than high-order finite elements with much wider stencils. The increased numerical accuracy of OLTEM leads to an extremely large increase in computational efficiency. Also, a new post-processing procedure with the 125-point stencil has been developed for the calculation of the spatial derivatives of the primary function. The post-processing procedure includes the minimization of the local truncation error and the use of the Poisson equation. It is demonstrated that the use of the partial differential equation (PDE) for the 125-point stencils improves the accuracy of the spatial derivatives by 6 orders compared to post-processing without the use of PDE as in existing numerical techniques. At an accuracy of 0.1% for the spatial derivatives, OLTEM reduces the number of degrees of freedom by times compared to quadratic finite elements. The developed post-processing procedure can be easily extended to unstructured meshes and can be independently used with existing post-processing techniques (e.g., with finite elements).Item 13-93 bioactive glass/alginate composite scaffolds 3D printed under mild conditions for bone regeneration(2017) Luo, Guilin; Ma, Yufei; Cui, Xu; Jiang, Lixin; Hu, Yang (TTU); Luo, Yanfeng; Pan, Haobo; Ruan, ChangshunComposite scaffolds of type 13-93 bioactive glass (13-93 BG) and sodium alginate (SA), denoted 13-93 BG/SA, in mass ratios of 0 : 4, 1 : 4, 2 : 4 and 4 : 4 were prepared for bone regeneration by 3D printing under mild conditions. All obtained scaffolds were completely interconnected. As the 13-93 BG/SA mass ratio increased from 0 : 4 to 4 : 4, the pore size improved from 340 ± 27 to 530 ± 27 μm, porosity increased from 65.5 ± 5.3 to 87.5 ± 3.9% and shrinkage ratios decreased by half. Moreover, 13-93 BG incorporation improved the compressive strength and modulus of the SA scaffold, achieving highest values of 16.74 ± 1.78 MPa and 79.49 ± 7.38 MPa, respectively, in 13-93 BG/SA with a 2 : 4 mass ratio. Furthermore, in vitro apatite mineralization, the release of bioactive ions (Mg2+ and SiO44−) and a weakly alkaline pH were exhibited by scaffolds containing 13-93 BG, which further promoted the attachment, proliferation and osteogenic differentiation of rBMSCs on composite scaffolds. As a result, 3D-printed 13-93 BG/SA scaffold was an ideal candidate for bone regeneration.Item The 2 × 2 Achievement Goals in Sport and Physical Activity Contexts: A Meta-Analytic Test of Context, Gender, Culture, and Socioeconomic Status Differences and Analysis of Motivations, Regulations, Affect, Effort, and Physical Activity Correlates(MDPI, 2020) Lochbaum, Marc; Zanatta, Thaís; Kazak, ZişanApproach-avoidance achievement goals are studied extensively in the context of competitive sports and physical activity, including leisure and physical education. Building upon past meta-analyses, the purpose of this quantitative review was to provide basic descriptive data, estimated means for testing of several research questions (i.e., context, gender, culture, and socioeconomic status), and meta-analyzing outcome correlates (i.e., self-determination constructs, affect, effort, and physical activity). A total of 116 studies up to 1 December 2018, met inclusion criteria. These 116 studies, totaling a sample size of 43,133 participants (M sample size = 347.85 + 359.36), from 22 countries with 92.7% of samples, are drawn from participants less than 30 years of mean age. From the 116 unique studies, nearly half (49.6%) were from a sport context and the rest from leisure-time physical activity (PA) (19.4%) and physical education (PE) (31.0%) contexts. A number of different analyses were conducted to examine our research questions. Support was found for several of our research questions: The mastery-approach goal was endorsed more than all the other goals, while sport participants endorsed the performance-approach goal more than PA and PE groups; females endorsed the mastery-avoidance goal more than males; more culturally individualistic countries endorsed the mastery-approach goal; and countries from lower socioeconomic and interdependent countries endorsed the mastery-avoidance goal than higher socioeconomic and independent countries. Concerning, the meta-analyzed correlates, most relationships were hypothesized through the performance-approach goal, and both avoidance goals appeared to be too similar in relationships with the correlates raising theoretical concerns. Overall, the mastery-approach goals had the most meaningful biased corrected effect size values (rc) with the outcome correlates, such as relative autonomy (0.47), intrinsic motivation (0.52), effort (0.40), positive affect (0.42), physical activity intent (0.38). Based on the present and past meta-analytic results, the 2 × 2 achievement goals as currently measured was questioned. Future research suggestions included fundamental questionnaire issues, the need for latent profile analysis or other more advanced statistics, and whether the 2 × 2 achievement goal framework is the most appropriate framework in physical activity contexts.Item 2 × 2 achievement goals profiles in Chilean competitive and recreational athletes: a first look(2016) Lochbaum, Marc; Jean-Noel, Javan; Kazak Çetinkalp, Zişan; Vallejo-Reyes, Felipe Andrés; Mena Campbell, JosePurpose: was to examine the 2 × 2 achievement goal profiles of Chilean young adults regularly participating in competitive and recreational sport. Materials: participants were 108 female and 132 males who were recruited from the Valparaiso and Viña del Mar areas of Chile. Participants completed a valid and reliable measure of the 2 × 2 achievement goals referenced to sport participation. Results: indicated that the entire sample significantly ( p < .05) and very meaningfully (Hedges’ g range 1.13 - 2.91) endorsed the mastery-approach goal more so than the other three achievement goals. Male participants significantly ( p < .05) endorsed both approach goals and the mastery goal contrast more so than the female participants. These differences approached medium in meaningfulness (Hedges’ g range .40 - .46). Significant differences did not exist between competitive and recreational athletes on any of the achievement goals or goal contrasts. Confirming the lack of significant differences were the computed small to negligible in magnitude effect sizes. Conclusions: the present data were a first look into profiling sport participants on the 2 × 2 achievement goals in Chile. Given this sample of Chilean participants endorsed the performance goals far less than found in the sport psychology 2 × 2 achievement goal literature, more research is needed before these results are generalized to Chilean sport participants. Future research must also examine the relationships of antecedents and consequences to the 2 × 2 achievement goals to advance sport psychology in Chile.Item 2017 Scholarly Publishing Report(Texas Tech University Libraries, 2018-03-14) Thomas, CamilleThis the 2017 report on the services and impact of the Scholarly Publishing office at Texas Tech University Libraries. The office was called Scholarly Communication in 2016.Item 3D Animation in the Academic Library: A New Frontier(Educause Conference Proceedings, 2008-02-20) Sweet, Robert; Brewer, James C.The Texas Tech Library recently opened a robust, interdisciplinary 3D Animation Lab. If offers a highly innovative blend of emerging tools and resources that enable radically new endeavors in teaching, learning, research, creativity, and collaboration in an open access environment. This presentation will address what, why, and how we did it and explore what it means.Item 3D printed agar/ calcium alginate hydrogels with high shape fidelity and tailorable mechanical properties(2021) Wang, Jilong; Liu, Yan; Zhang, Xintian; Rahman, Syed Ehsanur; Su, Siheng; Wei, Junhua; Ning, Fuda; Hu, Zhonglue; Martínez-Zaguilán, Raul; Sennoune, Souad R.; Cong, Weilong; Christopher, Gordon; Zhang, KunIn this study, calcium alginate/agar (CA/Ag) 3D structures were printed as strip assembles with high resolution and tailorable mechanical properties by a thermal-assisted 3D printing method. Specifically, alginate and agar were combined to minimize the Barus effect, and further improved the printing resolution. The introduction of agar altered the rheological properties of the ink, such as increasing its viscosity to obtain a 3D printing structure with higher precision. The alginate chains were crosslinked by calcium ions, which connected different layers together and had good interface adhesion among layers in 3D printing constructs. In addition, after printing, the crosslinking of calcium alginate affected the swelling behavior and mechanical properties of printing gels. The width of extrusion gel stripes was close to the diameter of needle, demonstrating that the printing resolution is well controlled by minimizing the Barus effect of concentrated solution. Furthermore, the printed gel structures showed low cytotoxicity, indicating that these biocompatible 3D printed structures are promising substitutes for tissue engineering. Most importantly, soft polyacrylamide (PAAm) network was introduced into 3D printed CA/Ag hydrogels to toughen interfacial surfaces between adjacent stripes by combination of rigid calcium alginate network and soft PAAm network. These 3D printed hydrogels with excellent mechanical properties, high compatibility and high shape fidelity can be regarded as a potential candidate in bio-medical field.Item 3D Printing of Frontal-polymerized Multiscale Epoxy Thermoset and Composites(2022) Zhang, Zimeng; Gao, Chongjie; Liu, Ruochen; Qiu, Jingjing (TTU); Pei, Zhijian(ZJ) J.; Wang, ShirenEpoxy thermosets and their composites demonstrate an intensive application due to their high strength, chemical resistance, and lightweight while the conventional manufacturing methods are very difficult to fabricate complex geometry and also time-consuming and energy-intensive. Frontal polymerization based in-situ curing provides an alternative efficient way in the additive manufacturing of epoxy thermosets with both design and manufacturing freedom. However, low reactivity of epoxy resins makes it difficult to integrate frontal polymerization of epoxy resin into energy-efficient additive manufacturing. Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) catalyzed frontal polymerization of epoxy resins afforded a new way to free-form manufacturing of epoxy thermosets with low energy consumption and design flexibility. In this paper, frontal curing of epoxy resins was tuned by CNT catalysation and then integrated to fast printing of multiscale epoxy composites. Specifically, discontinuous CNTs and continuous carbon fibers (c-CF) were integrated to print frontal-cured multiscale epoxy composites. The mechanical tests indicated that the CNTs/c-CF/epoxy thermosets composites demonstrated a tensile strength of 1.2GPa while the CNTs/epoxy thermosets only showed a tensile strength of around 50 MPa. The young's modulus of the CNTs/c-CF/Epoxy thermosets reached 95 GPa, around 9-fold higher than that of the CNTs/Epoxy thermosets. This emerging technology provides a new direction for thermosets and composites manufacturing.Item 5-HT 2C R antagonist/5-HT 2C R inverse agonist recovered the increased isolation-induced aggressive behavior of BALB/c mice mediated by ADAR1 (p110) expression and Htr2c RNA editing(2018) Yu, Weizhi; Xu, Hong; Xue, Ying; An, Dong; Li, Huairui; Chen, Wei; Yu, Deqin; Sun, Yiping; Ma, Jianmei; Tang, Yiyuan (TTU); Xiao, Zhaoyang; Yin, ShengmingIntroduction: Social isolation enhances the aggressive behavior of animals, but the detailed mechanism remains unclear. Epigenetic studies have suggested that Htr2c RNA editing is closely related to aggressive behavior. This study aims to obtain a fundamental understanding of how social isolation impacts adenosine deaminase acting on RNA 1 (ADAR1, RNA editing enzyme) and Htr2c RNA editing, leading to aggressive behavior, and explore the effective solutions for the recovery of this behavior. Methods: We evaluated 21-day-old BALB/c mice with and without isolation for aggressive behavior using a resident-intruder test. Immune-reactivity and protein expression of ADAR1 (p110) were measured using immunohistochemistry and Western blotting. Htr2c RNA editing was evaluated using pyrosequencing. In addition, the 5-HT 2C R antagonist SB243213/5-HT 2C R inverse agonist SB206553 was used to treat the isolated mice, and the performance of both treatments on the behavior, ADAR1 (p110) expression, and Htr2c RNA editing in isolated mice was examined. Results: Both the protein expression and immune-reactivity of ADAR1 (p110) in the amygdala decreased, but the percentage of Htr2c RNA editing at A and B sites of amygdala only showed a moderate increase in isolated BALB/c mice with enhanced aggressive behavior compared to the age-matched group-housed BALB/c mice. Additionally, treatment with the 5-HT 2C R antagonist SB243213/5-HT 2C R inverse agonist SB206553 recovered the enhanced aggressive behavior of isolated mice and returned the protein expression and immune-reactivity of ADAR1 (p110) back to the normal level. Moreover, compared to the age-matched isolated mice treated with physiological saline, isolated mice treated with 5-HT 2C R inverse agonist SB206553 showed a lower percentage of Htr2c RNA editing at both A and B sites, and the same result occurred in isolated mice treated with 5-HT 2C R antagonist SB243213 at B site of Htr2c RNA editing. Conclusions: The 5-HT 2C R antagonist SB243213/5-HT 2C R inverse agonist SB206553 recovered increased aggressive behavior of isolated BALB/c mice mediated by ADAR1 (p110) expression and Htr2c RNA editing.Item A 2 kW S-band RF source for multipactor research utilizing GaN HEMTs(2020) Esser, B. (TTU); Shaw, Z. C. (TTU); Dickens, J. C. (TTU); Neuber, A. A. (TTU)A high power, pulsed RF source designated for use in multipactor research is described. Four gallium nitride high electron mobility transistors from Cree/Wolfspeed, capable of 700 W in long pulse mode (500 W rated output), are combined to achieve a maximum rated output of 2.8 kW with a pulse length of ∼100 μs. Custom splitters/combiners are used due to the power levels considered in addition to a custom power and sequencing control system to ensure the proper biasing and sequencing of the relatively delicate depletion mode GaN devices. With high efficiency and small size, gallium nitride devices present a good solution for lab based sources, and this paper aims to provide information helpful in the construction of such a source. The multipactor phenomenon itself is studied within a high impedance waveguide section - achieved with a tapered impedance transformer - placed in a WR284 traveling wave ring resonator, which increases the effective power up to a factor of 20, or ∼40 kW.Item A blood-based screening tool for Alzheimer's disease that spans serum and plasma: Findings from TARC and ADNI(2011) O'Bryant, Sid E. (TTUHSC); Xiao, Guanghua; Barber, Robert; Huebinger, Ryan; Wilhelmsen, Kirk; Edwards, Melissa (TTU); Graff-Radford, Neill; Doody, Rachelle; Diaz-Arrastia, RamonContext: There is no rapid and cost effective tool that can be implemented as a front-line screening tool for Alzheimer's disease (AD) at the population level. Objective: To generate and cross-validate a blood-based screener for AD that yields acceptable accuracy across both serum and plasma. Design, Setting, Participants: Analysis of serum biomarker proteins were conducted on 197 Alzheimer's disease (AD) participants and 199 control participants from the Texas Alzheimer's Research Consortium (TARC) with further analysis conducted on plasma proteins from 112 AD and 52 control participants from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI). The full algorithm was derived from a biomarker risk score, clinical lab (glucose, triglycerides, total cholesterol, homocysteine), and demographic (age, gender, education, APOE*E4 status) data. Major Outcome Measures: Alzheimer's disease. Results: 11 proteins met our criteria and were utilized for the biomarker risk score. The random forest (RF) biomarker risk score from the TARC serum samples (training set) yielded adequate accuracy in the ADNI plasma sample (training set) (AUC = 0.70, sensitivity (SN) = 0.54 and specificity (SP) = 0.78), which was below that obtained from ADNI cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) analyses (t-tau/Aβ ratio AUC = 0.92). However, the full algorithm yielded excellent accuracy (AUC = 0.88, SN = 0.75, and SP = 0.91). The likelihood ratio of having AD based on a positive test finding (LR+) = 7.03 (SE = 1.17; 95% CI = 4.49-14.47), the likelihood ratio of not having AD based on the algorithm (LR-) = 3.55 (SE = 1.15; 2.22-5.71), and the odds ratio of AD were calculated in the ADNI cohort (OR) = 28.70 (1.55; 95% CI = 11.86-69.47). Conclusions: It is possible to create a blood-based screening algorithm that works across both serum and plasma that provides a comparable screening accuracy to that obtained from CSF analyses. © 2011 O'Bryant et al.Item A brainnetome atlas-based methamphetamine dependence identification using neighborhood component analysis and machine learning on functional MRI data(2022) Zhou, Yanan; Tang, Jingsong; Sun, Yunkai; Yang, Winson Fu Zun (TTU); Ma, Yuejiao; Wu, Qiuxia; Chen, Shubao; Wang, Qianjin; Hao, Yuzhu; Wang, Yunfei; Li, Manyun; Liu, Tieqiao; Liao, YanhuiAddiction to methamphetamine (MA) is a major public health concern. Developing a predictive model that can classify and characterize the brain-based biomarkers predicting MA addicts may directly lead to improved treatment outcomes. In the current study, we applied the support vector machine (SVM)-based classification method to resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) data obtained from individuals with methamphetamine use disorder (MUD) and healthy controls (HCs) to identify brain-based features predictive of MUD. Brain connectivity analyses were conducted for 36 individuals with MUD as well as 37 HCs based on the brainnetome atlas, and the neighborhood component analysis was applied for feature selection. Eighteen most relevant features were screened out and fed into the SVM to classify the data. The classifier was able to differentiate individuals with MUD from HCs with a high prediction accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, and AUC of 88.00, 86.84, 89.19, and 0.94, respectively. The top six discriminative features associated with changes in the functional activity of key nodes in the default mode network (DMN), all the remaining discriminative features are related to the thalamic connections within the cortico-striato-thalamo-cortical (CSTC) loop. In addition, the functional connectivity (FC) between the bilateral inferior parietal lobule (IPL) and right cingulate gyrus (CG) was significantly correlated with the duration of methamphetamine use. The results of this study not only indicated that MUD-related FC alterations were predictive of group membership, but also suggested that machine learning techniques could be used for the identification of MUD-related imaging biomarkers.Item A breakthrough in cotton transformation technology(2023) Zhang, Hong (TTU)A new cotton transformation method was developed by Ge and colleagues at Institute of Cotton Research of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, and this work was published in a recent issue of the Journal of Integrative Plant Biology (Ge et al. 2023; https://doi.org/10.1111/jipb.13427). This method is a milestone progress in the development of cotton transformation technologies, as it can be used to transform different genotypes and species of cotton such as Gossypium hirsutum, Gossypium barbadense, and Gossypium arboreum. This method is fast, user friendly, and the transformation efficiency is equivalent to or superior to other cotton transformation methods. Ge et al. named this technique the shoot apical meristem (SAM) cells-mediated transformation system (SAMT), which can also be applied to transform other dicot crop species such as soybean and cucumber. The invention of the SAMT method represents a seminal achievement in crop transformation technology, and it will facilitate genetic improvement in elite cotton varieties as well as in other dicot crops that have been hitherto recalcitrant to transformation.Item A Broadband Millimeter-Wave 5G Low Noise Amplifier Design in 22 nm Fully Depleted Silicon-on-Insulator (FD-SOI) CMOS(2024) Ouyang, Liang Wei; Mayeda, Jill C.; Sweeney, Clint; Lie, Donald Y.C.; Lopez, JerryThis paper presents a broadband millimeter-wave (mm-Wave) low noise amplifier (LNA) designed in a 22 nm fully depleted silicon-on-insulator (FD-SOI) CMOS technology. Electromagnetic (EM) simulations suggest that the LNA has a 3-dB bandwidth (BW) from 17.8 to 42.4 GHz and a fractional bandwidth (FBW) of 81.7%, covering the key frequency bands within the mm-Wave 5G FR2 band, with its noise figure (NF) ranging from 2.9 to 4.9 dB, and its input-referred 1-dB compression point (IP1dB) of −17.9 dBm and input-referred third-order intercept point (IIP3) of −8.5 dBm at 28 GHz with 15.8 mW DC power consumption (PDC). Using the FOM (figure-of-merit) developed for broadband LNAs (FOM = 20 × log((Gain[V/V] × S21-3 dB-BW [GHz])/(PDC [mW] × (F-1)))), this LNA achieves a competitive FOM (FOM = 18.9) among reported state-of-the-art mm-Wave LNAs in the literature.Item A Broadband Millimeter-Wave 5G Low Noise Amplifier Design in 22 nm Fully-Depleted Silicon-on-Insulator (FD-SOI) CMOS(2023) Ouyang, Liang-Wei (TTU); Mayeda, Jill C. (TTU); Sweeney, Clint (TTU); Somasundaram, Gokul (TTU); Lie, Donald Y. C. (TTU); Lopez, Jerry (TTU)This paper presents a design of a broadband millimeter-wave (mm-Wave) low noise amplifier (LNA) designed in a 22 nm fully-depleted silicon-on-insulator (FD-SOI) CMOS technology. The post-layout parasitic extracted (PEX) simulations suggest the LNA has a 3-dB bandwidth (BW) from 16.9 – 41.8 GHz and a fractional bandwidth (FBW) of 84.8 %, covering the key frequency bands within the mm-Wave 5G FR2 band, with its noise figure (NF) ranging from 2.9 – 4.1 dB, and its input-referred 1-dB compression point (IP1dB) of −19.4 dBm at 28 GHz with 15.8 mW DC power consumption. Using the FOM (figure-of-merit) developed from Ref. [1] for broadband LNAs (FOM ≡20×log((Gain[V/V]×BW[GHz])/(PDC[mW]×(F−1)), this LNA achieves a competitive FOM among reported mm-Wave LNAs in literature [1–7].Item A Call to Action: Using and Extending Human-Centered Design Methodologies to Improve Mental and Behavioral Health Equity(2022) Stiles-Shields, Colleen; Cummings, Caroline (TTU); Montague, Enid; Plevinsky, Jill M.; Psihogios, Alexandra M.; Williams, Kofoworola D.A.Mental health disparities directly tie to structural racism. Digital mental health (DMH), the use of technologies to deliver services, have been touted as a way to expand access to care and reduce disparities. However, many DMH fail to mitigate the persistent disparities associated with structural racism that impact delivery (e.g., costs, dependable internet access)–and may even exacerbate them. Human-centered design (HCD) may be uniquely poised to design and test interventions alongside, rather than “for,” marginalized individuals. In employing HCD methodologies, developers may proceed with a vested interest in understanding and establishing empathy with users and their needs, behaviors, environments, and constraints. As such, HCD used to mindfully address structural racism in behavioral health care may address shortcomings of prior interventions that have neglected to elevate the voices of marginalized individuals. We argue that a paradigm shift in behavioral health services research is critically needed–one that embraces HCD as a key methodological framework for developing and evaluating interventions with marginalized communities, to ultimately promote more accessible, useful, and equitable care. The current commentary illustrates practical examples of the use of HCD methodologies to develop and evaluate DMH designed with marginalized populations, while also highlighting its limitations and need for even greater inclusivity. Following this, calls to action to learn from and improve upon HCD methodologies will be detailed. Acknowledging potential limitations of current design practices, methodologies must ultimately engage representative voices beyond research participation and invest in their active role as compensated and true collaborators to intervention design.Item A canine model to evaluate the effect of exercise intensity and duration on olfactory detection limits: the running nose(2024) Aviles-Rosa, Edgar (TTU); Schultz, Jöerg; Maughan, Michele N.; Gadberry, Jenna D.; DiPasquale, Dana M.; Farr, Brian; Henderson, Andrea; Best, Eric; Discepolo, Dakota R.; Buckley, Patricia; Perry, Erin B.; Zoran, Debra L.; Hall, Nathaniel J. (TTU)Detection canines serve critical roles to support the military, homeland security and border protection. Some explosive detection tasks are physically demanding for dogs, and prior research suggests this can lead to a reduction in olfactory detection sensitivity. To further evaluate the effect of exercise intensity on olfactory sensitivity, we developed a novel olfactory paradigm that allowed us to measure olfactory detection thresholds while dogs exercised on a treadmill at two different exercise intensities. Dogs (n = 3) showed a decrement in olfactory detection for 1-bromooctane at 10−3 (v/v) dilutions and lower under greater exercise intensity. Dogs' hit rate for the lowest concentration dropped from 0.87 ± 0.04 when walking at low intensity to below 0.45 ± 0.06 when trotting at moderate intensity. This decline had an interaction with the duration of the session in moderate intensity exercise, whereby dogs performed near 100% detection in the first 10 min of the 8 km/h session, but showed 0% detection after 20 min. Hit rates for high odor concentrations (10−2) were relatively stable at both low (1 ± 0.00) and moderate (0.91 ± 0.04) exercise intensities. The paradigm and apparatus developed here may be useful to help further understand causes of operationally relevant olfactory detection threshold decline in dogs.Item A case report of extensive condyloma acuminata in a pediatric patient clearing with compounded 3% cidofovir gel(2023) Wroblewski, Ben; Lopes, Fabiana Castro Porto Silva; Boothe, William David (TTU); Diaz, Lucia Z.Background: Management and treatment of condyloma acuminata in children are often challenging. The mode of transmission is not always traceable and a sexual abuse investigation should be considered. Treatment ranges from no intervention to reconstructive surgery depending on the extent and symptoms. Case presentation: We are reporting a case of an 18-month-old female with extensive symptomatic condyloma acuminata who was able to avoid surgical treatment after treatment with topical cidofovir 3% gel. Conclusion: This patient is being presented to highlight a medical treatment that can be considered in extensive or large condyloma acuminata cases.Item A Case Study on Distresses of Concrete Pavements Supported on a Retaining Wall(2023) Lee, Heejun; Koirala, Niwesh; Choi, Pangil; Seo, HoyoungEmbankments and retaining walls are integral parts of the bridge system and provide a smooth transition from lower elevations (i.e., roadways) to higher elevations (i.e., bridge decks). Performances of pavement structures supported on embankments or retaining walls are directly related to their conditions. This paper presents a comprehensive case study of the evaluation of pavement structures supported on an in-service mechanically stabilized earth (MSE) wall that showed significant distresses, such as lane separation, faulting, lane settlement, and tilting of the MSE wall. The conditions of the pavement structures were evaluated via visual observations, falling weight deflectometer (FWD) tests, and coring through pavement structures. The conditions of the MSE wall were evaluated through dynamic cone penetrometer (DCP) tests, cone penetration tests (CPTs), LiDAR surveys, and soil borings. Detailed analysis of the data obtained in this study provides valuable insights into potential distress mechanisms.