17179 research outputs found
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Collective Efficacy: A Resilience Factor to Adverse Childhood Experiences and Externalizing Behaviors
No full textAdverse childhood experience (ACE) exposures, which include one or more encounters of psychological, physical, and sexual abuse or household dysfunction, touch the lives of a third of all children under the age of 17 in the United States. Less is understood as to how externalizing behaviors in adolescence are influenced by specific aspects of ACEs such as household dysfunction. Further, it is unclear whether the construct of collective efficacy can buffer the negative relationships between household dysfunction and adolescent externalizing behaviors. Prior studies have identified individual, family, and community factors that contribute to family resilience, which is defined as successfully utilizing protective factors to emerge more resilient from challenging situations. However, community resilience factors that are protective of the negative correlates of household dysfunction in the context of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), such as collective efficacy for externalizing behaviors, have seldom been researched. This study examined the relationships among household dysfunction, collective efficacy, and externalizing behaviors in U.S. adolescents. Data for this study were obtained through the largest ongoing longitudinal research initiative on adolescent development: the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study. Participants included N = 11,868 youth and their parents/guardians. This study analyzed the following constructs assessed using a combination of adolescent and parent/guardian reports: household dysfunction (measured at adolescent age 9-10; Wave 1), adolescent externalizing behaviors (measured at age 11-12 and 12-13; Waves 3 and 4), and collective efficacy (measured at age 11-12). The analytic plan for this study includes conducting multiple regression analysis among study variables, using household dysfunction and collective efficacy to predict externalizing behaviors while controlling for demographic covariates, and moderation analysis through regression to evaluate the buffering role of collective efficacy for the association between household dysfunction and externalizing behaviors. The results showed that household dysfunction measured at Wave 1 was significant in positively predicting externalizing behaviors at Wave 3, Wave 4, and at Wave 4 with prior levels at Wave 3 controlled. Collective efficacy measured at Wave 3 was significantly and negatively associated with externalizing behaviors both concurrently and longitudinally a year later, although the association became nonsignificant after controlling for prior levels of externalizing behaviors. Further, collective efficacy attenuated the relationships of household dysfunction at Wave 1 to externalizing behaviors at Wave 3, Wave 4, and at Wave 4 with prior levels at Wave 3 controlled. These study findings offer insights into how both household- and neighborhood-level factors contribute to adolescent behavioral health and suggest that collective efficacy can serve as a promotive and protective resilience factor that ignites positive changes in the trajectory of externalizing behaviors.Family and Consumer Science
Effectiveness of Diamond Grinding in Enhancing Rigid Pavement Performance: A Review of Key Metrics
No full textDiamond grinding is a key concrete pavement restoration technique for concrete pavements. Traffic degrades the serviceability of the concrete pavements, resulting in unsatisfactory skid levels and noise concerns. Diamond grinding is known to enhance longevity and performance by improving smoothness and friction. By removing flaws with a cutting head equipped with diamond blades, the procedure produces a “corduroy” texture that enhances braking and stability. Diamond grinding typically results in a 20–80% reduction in the International Roughness Index, significantly enhancing pavement smoothness. It also improves macrotexture and creates longitudinal drainage channels, which collectively increase skid resistance and lower the chance of hydroplaning. The paper aims to highlight the need for diamond grinding for concrete pavements, which, despite their longevity, have decreased serviceability from traffic. The review further explores emerging innovations and identifies the gaps in long-term performance tracking and life-cycle environmental assessment. This paper reviews the effectiveness of diamond grinding as a pavement rehabilitation technique, with emphasis on ride quality, surface friction, noise reduction, and durability. Field applications and evaluation metrics are discussed to assess their contribution to pavement performance. This review aims to support researchers, pavement engineers, and agencies by providing a comprehensive understanding of diamond grinding’s applications, performance metrics, and potential for sustainable pavement management.Materials Science, Engineering, and CommercializationEngineering Technolog
The Structure of Moral Agency and the Ethical Crisis of Gen-AI (Misuse) in Higher Education: Comparative Foundations in Fichte and Beauvoir
No full textThis thesis develops a robust moral framework, integrating the moral thought of Johann Gottlieb Fichte and Simone de Beauvoir, in order to critically analyze the contemporary ethical crisis precipitated by the growing predominance of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) in higher education. By comparatively examining Fichte’s ethical idealism and Beauvoir’s existential phenomenology, and highlighting the crucial themes of self-determination, dynamic self-formation amid ambiguity, and reciprocal recognition, this thesis goes on to identify a unifying moral concept that will serve as this inquiry’s normative standard. I argue that the instrumentalist orientation deeply embedded in contemporary American culture, especially within education, fundamentally undermines the ethical insights derived from this analysis, enabling and intensifying acts of academic dishonesty such as AI-generated plagiarism, inauthentic scholarship, and intellectual disengagement. This thesis elucidates why such practices are not merely violations of academic integrity, but signal profound ethical failures that erode authentic moral and epistemic agency within the communal spheres of academia. The argumentative structure of this thesis reflects this trajectory: establishing the conceptual foundations and the Fichtean-Beauvoirian framework (Chapter 1); diagnosing the cultural and institutional pathologies, particularly instrumentalism, and their implications for higher education (Chapter 2); proceeding to practical application (Chapter 3); and recommendations for educational communities, culminating in a conclusion that clarifies the broader significance and future directions of these findings (Chapter 4). Ultimately, this thesis aims to reaffirm the centrality of authenticity as a fundamental ideal for the moral and intellectual future of higher education.Philosoph
Urban Emission Patterns and Air Quality Disparities: A Spatial-Statistical Analysis of GHG Emissions across U.S. Cities
No full textAir pollution remains a critical environmental health concern, with fine particulate matter (PM₂.₅) representing the most pervasive and hazardous pollutant. Despite overall improvement in national air quality, disparities persist across U.S. regions, driven by population dynamics, industrial structure, and environmental geography. This study investigates regional variations in PM₂.₅ concentrations across thirty major U.S. metropolitan areas, employing a spatial–statistical approach anchored on the World Health Organization’s 5 µg/m³ guideline. Using cross-sectional data for 2020, the research integrates descriptive spatial analysis, ANOVA, multiple regression, and logistic modeling to evaluate the relationships between PM₂.₅, greenhouse gas emissions, population density, and regional structural attributes.
Findings reveal pronounced regional disparities: Western and Southern cities recorded significantly higher PM₂.₅ levels and greater WHO exceedance rates than Northeastern counterparts. Regression outcomes demonstrate that population density alone does not explain these variations; rather, regional characteristics such as wildfire exposure, transport dependence, and industrial concentration exert a stronger predictive influence. The study contributes to urban environmental governance by reframing U.S. air-quality policy within a spatial-justice and public-health context. It recommends differentiated, region-specific interventions that recognize the socio-environmental heterogeneity of urban America while advancing global alignment with WHO health protection standards.Sociolog
A Multi-Resolution Attention U-Net for Pavement Distress Segmentation in 3D Images: Architecture and Data-Driven Insights
No full textHigh-resolution 3D pavement images have become a valuable data source for automated surface distress detection and assessment. However, accurately identifying and segmenting cracks from pavement images remains challenging, due to factors such as low contrast and hair-like thinness. This study investigates key factors affecting segmentation performance and proposes a novel deep learning architecture designed to enhance segmentation robustness under these challenging conditions. The proposed model integrates a multi-resolution feature extraction stream with gated attention mechanisms to improve spatial awareness and selectively fuse information across feature levels. Our extensive experiments on a 3D pavement dataset demonstrated that the proposed method outperformed several state-of-the-art architectures, including FCN, U-Net, DeepLab, DeepCrack, and CrackFormer. Compared with U-Net, it improved F1 from 0.733 to 0.780. The gains were most pronounced on thin cracks, with F1 from 0.531 to 0.626. Our paired t-tests across folds showed the method is statistically better than U-Net and DeepCrack on Recall, IoU, Dice, and F1. These findings highlight the effectiveness of the attention-guided, multi-scale feature fusion method for robust crack segmentation using 3D pavement data.Engineerin
Targeting Cytokine Dysregulation in Psoriasis: The Role of Dietary Interventions in Modulating the Immune Response
No full textPsoriasis is a chronic immune-mediated skin disease characterized by cytokine dysregulation. Pro-inflammatory mediators, including tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), interleukin (IL)-17, and IL-23, play pivotal roles in the pathogenesis of psoriasis. Emerging evidence suggests that dietary interventions can modulate cytokine activity, providing a complementary approach to standard therapies. This narrative review examines the impact of various dietary strategies, including a Mediterranean diet, ketogenic diet, gluten-free diet, and fasting-mimicking diet, on cytokine profiles and clinical outcomes in psoriasis. Research insights reveal that dietary components such as omega-3 fatty acids, polyphenols, and short-chain fatty acids influence immune signaling pathways. These pathways include nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) and Signal Transducer and Activator of Transcription 3 (STAT3). Additionally, these dietary components promote anti-inflammatory effects mediated by gut microbiota. Clinical studies demonstrate significant reductions in psoriasis severity, improved quality of life, and modulation of key cytokines associated with disease activity. Despite these advancements, significant challenges persist in effectively integrating these findings into clinical practice. These challenges include variability in patient responses, adherence issues, and the need for robust biomarkers to monitor efficacy. Future directions emphasize the potential of personalized nutrition and precision medicine approaches to optimize dietary interventions tailored to individual cytokine profiles and genetic predispositions. Integrating these strategies into psoriasis care could transform treatment paradigms by simultaneously addressing both systemic inflammation and comorbid conditions.Division of Researc
Towards Characterizing Machine Learning Contracts using Large Language Models
No full textMachine Learning (ML) contracts formally describe expected behavior and constraints before calling ML APIs. In practice, developers rely on incomplete docs or informal Q&A, leading to subtle misuses and contract violations. We address this by using Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) with large language models (LLMs) to automatically characterize multi-label ML contracts from Stack Overflow posts: semantically similar, labeled examples are retrieved and paired with a concise taxonomy primer to produce structured labels across multiple levels. Beyond labeling, we additionally synthesize executable Python PyContracts with brief natural-language summaries and actionable fixes, and validate them via a lightweight Judge LLM plus a human-in-the-loop review that ensures contracts reproduce the reported fault and then pass after minimal repair. Our approach achieves up to 0.86 F1-score on challenging labels, processes posts in 3–5s at low cost, produces insights rated 75–80% relevant but only 25–30% actionable, and both GPT and Claude reach 100% executable PyContracts after guided repair. On a human-annotated corpus, retrieval-guided prompting improves label quality, and the contract stage attains high compile/run rates while guiding targeted fixes. This provides a practical bridge from informal Q&A to enforceable, verified ML contracts. We demonstrate practical utility through a VS Code extension that integrates our RAG-based contract detection and PyContract generation directly into the development workflow, enabling real-time violation detection, automated contract synthesis with iterative feedback loops, and interactive violation analysis with comprehensive label explanations.Computer Scienc
Political Polarization and Positive Peace: Lessons from American Philosophy
No full textThis presentation to the Rotary Club of Marblehead Harbor (MA) examines Political Polarization and Positive Peace and connects them to the ideas and actions of American Philosophers with a focus on John Dewey and Jane Addams. Political polarization taken to an extreme can lead to violence. Using philosophical concepts like the “community of inquiry” and “peaceweaving’ this paper shows how service organizations like Rotary and churches, can mitigate the most serious consequences of political polarization. They do this by building friendly relationships as the work across ideological differences to resolve practical community problems. Founding Rotarian principles such as "Service Above Self” are integrated into the presentation.Political Scienc
Microplastic-Mediated Delivery of Di-butyl Phthalate Alters C. elegans Lifespan and Reproductive Fidelity
No full textMicroplastics harbor chemical additives and absorb pollutants from the environment. Microplastics pose a human health threat and have been found in nearly all human tissues. The toxicological pathways and physiological effects of microplastic-mediated chemical exposure following ingestion remain unknown. Here we use Caenorhabditis elegans to investigate the effects of di-butyl phthalate and polystyrene microplastic mixtures on fertility and lifespan. Our studies demonstrate that 1 µm microplastics at 1 mg/L exposure levels result in decreased brood size, whereas 1000 times fewer microplastics (1 µg/L) did not affect the number of eggs laid. While there was no change in brood size at 1 µg/L microplastic exposure levels, there was an increase in embryonic lethality. Microplastics-mediated delivery of di-butyl phthalate to C. elegans significantly reduced brood size and increased embryonic lethality compared to exposure to microplastics alone. This reproductive toxicity is potentially due to a stress response via DAF-16, as observed with microplastics and di-butyl phthalate co-exposure. Furthermore, chronic exposure (from hatching onward) to microplastics shortened the lifespan of C. elegans, which was further reduced with di-butyl phthalate co-exposure. The exacerbated defects observed with co-exposure to phthalate-containing microplastics underscore the risks associated with microplastics releasing the additives and/or chemicals that they have absorbed from the environment.Chemistry and Biochemistr
Postpartum Depression and Racism: A Systematic Review [poster]
No full textIntroduction: Postpartum depression (PPD) affects up to 20% of women in the United States, with significantly higher rates among those in racial and ethnic minorities. Emerging evidence suggests that racial discrimination may contribute to this disparity by increasing psychosocial stress during the perinatal period. This systematic review examines the association between perceived racial discrimination and the incidence and severity of postpartum depressive symptoms. Methods: A systematic search was conducted across CINAHL, PubMed, MedlinePlus, Science Direct, Oxford Academic, Trip database, and Clinicaltrials.gov for peer-reviewed United States. studies published between 2020 and 2025. Inclusion criteria required postpartum participants, assessment of racial discrimination, and depression symptom severity as outcomes. Studies were appraised using the Rapid Critical Appraisal (RCA) tool, and synthesis followed PRISMA and Whittemore & Knafl’s integrative review framework. Results: Seven studies met inclusion criteria; the majority utilized a cross-sectional or secondary data analysis with validated measures such as the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale and Everyday Discrimination Scale. Across the studies, racial discrimination was significantly associated with increased postpartum depressive symptoms. Additional themes identified included racism in healthcare as a barrier to diagnosis and care, and social support and resilience as protective factors mitigating depressive outcomes. Discussion: Findings demonstrated that racial discrimination functions as a social determinant of postpartum mental health. Integrating culturally sensitive screening, bias reduction training, and community-based support interventions is essential to reduce disparities. Future longitudinal research should explore causal pathways and resilience mechanisms.Nursin