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Exploring allocutivity in Japanese through the window of embedding / ǂc by Keita Ishii
No full textTomioka, Satoshihis dissertation explores the syntax and semantics of Japanese utterance honorifics (UHs) —morphological markers that convey respect toward the addressee — through the window of their embedding, aiming to contribute to the crosslinguistic research on allocutivity. While allocutive marking is cross-linguistically considered to be a root clause phenomenon (e.g., Oyharc¸abal, 1993; McCready, 2019; Miyagawa, 2012; 2017; Portner et al., 2019; 2022 among others), Japanese UHs may appear in various embedded contexts, sometimes even within clauses that lack strong root-like properties. This contrast raises the central question of this thesis: why Japanese UHs can be embedded relatively freely unlike the allocutive marking in other languages? ☐ The main body of this thesis consists of three major discussions apart from one chapter summarizing the basic facts about the three mophological variants of Japanese UH marking and their embedding. First, I examine whether the embeddability of Japanese UHs is due to the embeddability of the specific layer for UHs, which I call ‘cP’ following Portner et al. (2019), building on the previous studies on Japanese UHs (Miyagawa, 2012; 2022; Yamada, 2019; Tomioka and Ishii, 2022). Through the comparisons of embedded UHs with other embedded root clause phenomena in Japanese and with embedded allocutivity in Magahi, I argue against Yamada’s (2019) view that cP can be freely embedded in Japanese. Instead, I propose that cP is generally restricted to root clauses following Portner et al. (2019) and Tomioka and Ishii (2022). ☐ Second, two psycholinguistic experiments were conducted to investigate the nature of the Consistency Requirement of UH embedding and whether the licensing of embedded UHs involve a long distance agreement as Tomioka and Ishii (2022) suggested. The Consistency Requirement is a restriction on UH embedding that the matrix clause needs to register higher or at least the same level of honorificity when UHs are embedded. The results of the epxeriments showed that the honorificity level of two clauses are mediated pragmatically as Yamada (2019) proposed. There was no positive evidence for the long-distance agreement to license embedded UHs proposed by Tomioka and Ishii (2022). ☐ Finally, building on the findings and discussions above, I propose a novel analysis that Japanese UHs are expressive honorific particles anaphoric to the speaker/addressee arguments in the local cP, but not an instance of addresee agreement in contrast to Miyagawa (2012; 2017; 2022). I also argue that the embeddability of Japanese UH markers is explained through their syntactic positions and the size of phrases that each complementizer selects, following Tomioka and Ishii (2022). A crosslinguistic case study of UH embedding in Burmese further supports the generalization that the syntactic position of allocutive morphology governs its embeddability.University of Delaware, Department of Linguistics and Cognitive SciencePh.D
Small Angle X-Ray Scattering Studies on the Effects of Ultra Shear Technology on Model Animal and Plant-Based Protein Solutions
No full textThis article was originally published in Journal of Food Process Engineering. The version of record is available at: https://doi.org/10.1111/jfpe.70102.
© 2025 The Author(s). Journal of Food Process Engineering published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.
This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.The effects of shear, temperature, and high pressure on model solutions of bovine milk and plant proteins were investigated. Samples of bovine β-lactoglobulin (BLG), pea lectin (PL), and their mixture (MIX) were treated by high-pressure processing (HPP) and ultra-shear technology (UST). BLG and PL are known for their allergenic properties, and processing conditions can potentially be used to decrease allergenicity, as well as engineer beverage properties of interest. Small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and confocal laser scanning microscopy were used to measure the impact of processing on the protein solutions from the microscopic to the molecular scale. SAXS data were analyzed by various approaches to assess changes in protein size and shape, oligomerization, and aggregation. The results are consistent with the BLG sensitivity to shear, pressure, and temperature. The pressure holding time was shown to be critical and thermal effects at ambient pressure are distinct from those observed under pressure. Although some changes in shape were detected, PL showed structural and colloidal resistance to the processing conditions applied. The MIX solutions appear to show a convolution of the effects observed on the isolated protein solutions, granting further investigation to clarify potential interactions between the proteins. These findings are valuable for the development of liquid beverages based on animal and plant proteins and their blends, enhancing control over functional properties and expanding their applications in food, nutraceuticals, and biomedical fields.This manuscript was prepared under cooperative agreement 70NANB20H133 from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), U.S. Department of Commerce. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily reflect the official views of the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, the National Institutes of Health, NIST, or the U.S. Department of Commerce. Certain commercial equipment, instruments, and suppliers are identified to foster understanding. This does not imply recommendation or endorsement by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, by the University of Delaware, or by the Ohio State University, nor does it imply that the materials or equipment identified are necessarily the best available for the purpose. J.J.J., H.H., and V.M.B. acknowledge financial support from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture grant 2018-67017-27914, as well as resources from the Campus Microscopy and Imaging Facility (CMIF) and the OSU Comprehensive Cancer Center (OSUCCC) Microscopy Shared Resource (MSR), The Ohio State University. This research used resources of the Advanced Photon Source, a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science User Facility operated for the DOE Office of Science by Argonne National Laboratory under Contract No. DE-AC02-06CH11357. BioCAT was supported by grant P30 GM138395 from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health. Molecular graphics and analyses were performed with UCSF ChimeraX, developed by the Resource for Biocomputing, Visualization, and Informatics at the University of California, San Francisco, with support from the National Institutes of Health R01-GM129325 and the Office of Cyber Infrastructure and Computational Biology, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. The authors would like to thank Kendall Gallagher for her technical assistance with the confocal microscope. We thank Molly J. Davis for proofreading the early version of the manuscript. We acknowledge Alexander Grishaev for assistance with the SAXS data collection at the joint NIST/University of Maryland Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology Research. We are grateful to Dr. Yimin Mao (University of Maryland/NIST) for helpful discussions. We are grateful to Jesse Hopkins (BioCAT SAXS beamline, Advanced Photon Source at Argonne National Laboratory) for assistance with the SEC-SAXS data collection and for helpful discussions.
Conflicts of Interest
V.M. Balasubramaniam, is the Editor-in-Chief of JFPE and a co-author on this article. V.M.B. was excluded from the peer-review process and all editorial decisions related to the publication of this article. Peer review was handled independently by a member of the JFPE editorial board
Physical activity and sedentary behavior assessment among adults with intellectual disability: addressing methodological gaps
No full textObrusnikova, IvaAdults with intellectual disability face a cascade of health disparities compared to adults without ID. Growing evidence suggests that sufficient physical activity (PA) and limited sedentary behavior (SB) participation can mitigate cardiometabolic risks and improve the cardiorespiratory fitness of adults with intellectual disability. However, for adults with intellectual disability, the quality of evidence as rated by the World Health Organization in 2020 was ‘insufficient’ for determining dose-response relationships between PA, SB, and these health outcomes and ‘limited’ in supporting the relationship between PA, SB, and quality of life and physical functioning levels. More robust efforts are urgently needed to compile sufficient and high-quality evidence and inform optimal population-relevant guidelines. ☐ This dissertation’s objective was to rigorously identify evidence to support a PA and SB assessment methodology for adults with intellectual disability. Guided by a conceptual framework, it included three main aims: (1) identify the existing methodologies for PA and SB assessment among adults with intellectual disability in the free-living setting, (2) examine the compliance with using a novel consumer-grade assessment tool by adults with intellectual disability in the free-living setting, and (3) gain the perspectives of adults with intellectual disability and their caregivers on the factors that impact the independent and sufficient use of a wrist-worn consumer-grade and a wrist-worn research-grade wearable and an adapted activity log for a one-week PA and SB assessment. ☐ The scoping review followed PRISMA guidelines, yielding 91 included articles from the 11 databases searched and 8174 articles subsequently screened by two independent reviewers. Data, extracted in Covidence (v.2.0), included quantified PA and SB volume, assessment methodology characteristics across data collection and analysis, and data sufficiency metrics. Substantial variation existed across studies regarding preparatory actions, such as sampling frequency and epoch length settings, calibration protocols, and wearable placements. Only a few studies provided instructions that did not exclusively rely on spoken language. During data collection, behavioral strategies included self-monitoring, issuing reminders, providing assistance or supervision, and administering questionnaires verbally. Sufficient PA or SB data for analysis ranged from 24.5-100.0% for objective techniques, 0-100% for subjective techniques, and 24.5-100.0% for combined techniques. This review revealed a need for comprehensive and consistent reporting practices, especially with the rapid technological advancements in PA and SB research. ☐ Emergent evidence supports using the market-leading, consumer-grade Apple Watch for valid and reliable PA assessments and integration in PA and SB interventions. However, research on its use among adults with intellectual disability remains limited despite its growing popularity. The descriptive, observational study evaluated the compliance of nine adults with intellectual disability with using the Apple Watch Series 4 for a consecutive seven-day PA assessment. Behavioral strategies to support compliance included daily activity logs and visual activity schedules for putting on, charging, and cleaning the Apple Watch. Researchers met with participants daily to ensure log use. Six (67%) participants met a heart rate-based compliance criterion (‘≥10hrs hourly heart rate’), and seven (78%) met a step-count-based compliance criterion (‘between 1,703-24,369 steps/day’) for at least four days. Log entries were 57% researcher-, 40% self-, and 4% caregiver-written. While compliance with using the Apple Watch was comparable to other research-grade and consumer-grade wearables used for PA assessment by adults with intellectual disability, additional individualized strategies may enhance its use. ☐ To address these gaps, the randomized crossover study examined the factors that impact independent and sufficient use of the ActiGraph GT9X-Link (AG), Apple Watch Series 4 (AW), and adapted activity log by adults with intellectual disability. Guided by the Social Cognitive Theory, individual interviews were conducted after a purposive sample of 12 adults were randomized into using the AG or AW for one week before switching after at least a one-week washout period. Seven participants independently used the AW, four independently used the AG, and two independently used the log during Week 2, while none did so during Week 1. Sufficient use criteria were met by 11 participants for the AW, eight for the AG, and six during Week 1 and 10 during Week 2 for the log. More facilitators than barriers were mentioned for all tools, such as routine establishment and external guidance. Findings suggest that addressing environmental and behavioral barriers could be more effective than focusing solely on personal factors in promoting independent use. Notably, higher cognitive abilities did not consistently relate to greater independence in logging behaviors. More influential may be the log format, its integration into daily routines, and an accessible wearable time-format. Furthermore, younger adults, those with higher daily-living adaptive behavior skills, and those mentioning more personal facilitators displayed more challenges with AG use, suggesting wearable design, particularly physical, interfaces, and interactive attributes, and the perceived benefits were significant for participants. Optimizing tool design and supporting personalized habit and skill formation may reduce the need for external support and enhance sustained use over time. These findings reveal a complex interplay between behavioral, environmental, and personal factors and tool usability, highlighting the importance of personalized strategies for adults with intellectual disability. ☐ High-quality assessment is crucial for all health promotion and disease prevention research phases––from identifying influences on behavior to evaluating interventions to translating research into practice. Overall, this work seeks to guide the development and refinement of assessment tools that not only generate high-quality PA and SB data but also align with participant preferences and diverse support needs, intending to foster self-efficacy throughout the assessment process. By investigating behavioral, environmental, and personal factors, this research sought to inform the design assessment tools and methodologies––particularly preparatory actions, instructions, and behavioral strategies––that are accessible, acceptable, practical, and beneficial for adults with intellectual disability through actionable insights. This process is not a one-size-fits-all approach. Future research is warranted to explore personalized approaches to optimize PA and SB assessment methodologies and tool use, incorporating participant-centered design principles, testing long-term compliance strategies, and expanding these efforts across diverse capabilities and characteristics. This will ensure data quality and foster meaningful participation in health behavior research.University of Delaware, Department of Health Behavior and Nutrition SciencesPh.D
Food Choices and Diet-Related Disparities Among Socioeconomically Diverse White and African American Urban Women
No full textThis article was originally published in Dietetics. The version of record is available at: https://doi.org/10.3390/dietetics4010010.
© 2025 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).Health disparities have been associated with diet quality inequalities. Study objectives were to determine if race and/or income were associated with the diet quality of White and African American urban women and to compare core food and beverage categories consumed at eating occasions by diet quality within race and income groups. Two 24 h dietary recalls were collected on 1219 women interviewed in the Healthy Aging in Neighborhoods of Diversity across the Life Span study, 2013–2017. Healthy Eating Index (HEI)-2010 scores were calculated. Linear regression Model 1 included race, marital status, and age. Model 2 included Model 1 variables plus income, education, literacy, employment, enough money for food, and food security. Core food categories and most frequently consumed items were identified at five eating occasions within the first and third tertile HEI-2010. Diet quality was associated with age, education, literacy, and employment. More fruit and vegetable categories at meals and snacks, and more water as a top beverage, were observed for women whose diets were in the third HEI-2010 tertile. The majority of foods reported by women in the first HEI-2010 tertile would be considered ultra-processed. The health benefits of consuming more minimally processed foods and unsweetened beverages may reduce health disparity gaps.This work is supported by the Intramural Research Program, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, grant Z01-AG000513
Delta yield predicts nitrogen fertilizer requirements for corn in US production systems
No full textThis article was originally published in Agronomy Journal. The version of record is available at: https://doi.org/10.1002/agj2.70150
This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. © 2025 The Author(s). Agronomy Journal published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of American Society of Agronomy.Predicting crop nitrogen (N) fertilizer needs is a major challenge in contemporary agriculture. Despite the success of current N recommendation tools, environmental concerns over N pollution from agriculture, and the adoption of improved corn (Zea mays L.) technologies with enhanced N efficiencies highlight the need for more accurate N fertilizer recommendation systems. Here, we aimed to develop a methodology to predict corn N requirements based on delta yield (dY = maximum yield−unfertilized yield). To develop this delta yield-based nitrogen (dY-based N) tool, we selected 486 quadratic-plateau corn yield response to N curves (from 732 N rate trials across northern US) to calculate dY and N fertilizer required to reach the yield plateau (Nx). The economic optimum nitrogen rate (EONR) was calculated using different fertilizer:crop price ratios (PR). The response curve outputs were then partitioned into calibration and validation sets. The calibration set was used to select linear models to predict Nx based on dY, resulting in nine state, agroecosystem region, and irrigation-specific sub-models. These sub-models predicted Nx of the validation set with a mean absolute error (MAE) of 33.0 kg N ha−1. Predicted values from the site-year quadratic-plateau response fits were used to improve further
predictions’ outcomes. Predictions of EONR based on dY had a lower MAE than the predictions of Nx, ranging between 19.9 and 25.4 kg N ha−1 depending on the PR, highlighting the system’s predictive power. The exclusion of non-responsive
and linear-response trials in our proposed dY-based approach enables future model refinement to improve EONR prediction accuracy across a broader range of yield responses to fertilizer-N rates. The proposed dY-based N system, which integrates
both economic and agronomic inputs (including management, environmental effects on soil N supply, and maximum yields), could help to reduce N losses and provide functional benefits for N optimization.
Plain Language Summary
We developed a delta yield-based nitrogen (dY-based N) approach to predict N requirement for U.S. corn production systems. Using 486 N response trials, we modeled N rates to reach yield plateaus and found that dY effectively predicts both
agronomic (Nx) and economic optimum N rate (EONR) requirements. These submodels predicted Nx of the validation set with a mean absolute error (MAE) of 33.0 kg N ha−1. Predictions of EONR based on dY had a lower MAE than the predictions of Nx, ranging between 19.9 and 25.4 kg N ha−1 depending on the fertilizer:grain price ratios (PR). This approach can support sustainable fertilizer use by integrating agronomic and economic factors, including soil N supply, management practices, and yield potential, offering a practical tool for improving N use efficiency and reducing environmental impact.National Institute of Food and Agriculture,Grant/Award Number: PENW-2018-09028;Natural Resources Conversation Service,Grant/Award Number: NR20-08G010;Pennsylvania State University, Grant/Award Numbers: Project-PEN04764,Accession-102596
Renaissance Revival furniture in an age of nation-building
No full textKearis, KedraIn the two decades before the American Civil War, French cabinetmakers found willing patrons of Renaissance Revival furniture in New York and New Orleans. Often brokered or manufactured by immigrants, the design of these highly-carved oak pieces borrowed liberally from early modern European furniture. Romantic nationalism generated the Renaissance Revival. Emboldened by furniture of this style, certain Americans used these objects to claim the importance of class hierarchies or racial capitalism in their own performances of nation-building. To address these issues critically, this thesis employs three case studies that use both traditional methods of furniture connoisseurship alongside analyses of visual culture, built environments, and literature to ground Renaissance Revival furniture in antebellum society. First, I show how New York-based French cabinetmaker Alexander Roux created a transnational maison, leveraging his identity to provide Americans with Renaissance Revival furniture. Second, in the Hudson River Valley, I explore how Henry Winthrop Sargent and tastemaker A. J. Downing used Renaissance style library furniture to affirm the superiority of Sargent’s Massachusetts pedigree. Lastly, in the Mississippi River Valley, I explain how cotton broker Frederick Stanton and his upholsterer Henry N. Siebrecht created a Renaissance style library interior to assert Stanton’s mastery as an enslaver and capitalist.M.A.University of Delaware, Winterthur Program in American Material Cultur
Exploring the Effectiveness of Large-Scale Automated Writing Evaluation Implementation on State Test Performance Using Generalised Boosted Modelling
No full textThis article was originally published in Journal of Computer Assisted Learning. The version of record is available at: https://doi.org/10.1111/jcal.70009.
© 2025 The Author(s). Journal of Computer Assisted Learning published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.Background
Automated writing evaluation (AWE) systems, used as formative assessment tools in writing classrooms, are promising for enhancing instruction and improving student performance. Although meta-analytic evidence supports AWE's effectiveness in various contexts, research on its effectiveness in the U.S. K–12 setting has lagged behind its rapid adoption. Further rigorous studies are needed to investigate the effectiveness of AWE within the U.S. K–12 context.
Objectives
This study aims to investigate the usage and effectiveness of the Utah Compose AWE system on students' state test English Language Arts (ELA) performance in its first year of statewide implementation.
Methods
The sample included all students from grades 4–11 during the school year 2015 in Utah (N = 337,473). Employing a quasi-experimental design using generalised boosted modelling for propensity score weighting, the analysis focused on estimating the average treatment effects among the treated (ATT) of the AWE system.
Results and Conclusions
The results showed that students who utilised AWE more frequently demonstrated improved ELA performance compared to their counterparts with lower or no usage. The effects varied across certain student demographic groups. This study provides strong and systematic evidence to support the hypothesis of causal inferences regarding AWE's effects within a large-scale, naturalistic implementation, offering valuable insights for stakeholders seeking to understand the effectiveness of AWE systems.
Summary
- What is currently known about this topic?
○ Automated writing evaluation (AWE) systems have the potential to enhance writing instruction and improve student writing skills.
○ Previous studies show mixed results regarding AWE effectiveness in U.S. K–12 settings.
○ There is a lack of methodologically rigorous studies that explore AWE's effects on high-stakes performance.
- What does this paper add?
○ This study is the first to apply propensity score methods to explore AWE's effects and provide robust evidence supporting the hypothesis of a causal relationship across diverse demographics within the context of large-scale, naturalistic implementation in the U.S.
○ Deeper and consistent use of AWE significantly enhances students' state test English Language Arts performance.
○ Students from certain demographic subgroups may benefit more from using AWE frequently.
- Implications for practice/or policy
○ The findings provide evidence-based guidance for policymakers and administrators on adopting AWE systems and their effects on state test performance.
○ AWE shows promise to help address long-standing educational disparities
Teaching Controversial Issues Infographic
No full textThis infographic was created by the Delaware Center for Civics Education and released in July 2025 in order to share the benefits of teaching controversial issues and lays out strategies that teachers, administrators, and students can use to make such instruction more likely to be successful
Gas-Phase Oxidative Dehydrogenation of Ethane via NO/O2 Mixtures
No full textThis document is the Accepted Manuscript version of a Published Work that appeared in final form in Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, copyright © 2025 American Chemical Society after peer review and technical editing by the publisher. To access the final edited and published work see https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.iecr.5c00825.
This article will be embargoed until 05/13/2026.A kinetic and thermodynamic tubular reactor model for the oxidative dehydrogenation of ethane using homogeneous NO/O2 mixtures is developed to investigate the factors controlling the ethylene selectivity. Two primary mechanisms for ethane oxidative dehydrogenation are identified from the model: the reaction between NO and NO2 to form OH radicals drives ethane dehydrogenation at large NO volume fractions (≥5%), and H2O2 homolysis drives the reaction at low NO volume fractions (<5%). The reaction conditions were optimized for C2H6 conversion; a near three-fold increase in conversion was achieved with a final 53% ethane conversion and a 90% ethylene selectivity. CO, CO2, H2O, He, and N2 were explored to control the selectivity and reaction kinetics but had little impact. Under optimal conditions, most initial NO radicals were converted into NO2; replacement of NO with NO2 was investigated. NO2/O2 mixtures achieved a maximum of 38% ethane conversion at a 90% ethylene selectivity with a 5% NO2 conversion.This work was funded by the National Science Foundation through grant FMRG-2134471