University of Minnesota

Task assignment and restaurant output: a simulation analysis

Purpose This study isolates the output contribution of productivity-based task assignment in a fixed workforce and examines how that contribution changes with worker heterogeneity, cross-group comparative advantage and the correlation between task productivities. Design/methodolo...

Combined Associations of Glycoprotein Acetylation With Lipoprotein (a) and hs‐CRP (High‐Sensitivity C‐Reactive Protein) on Risk of Cardiovascular Disease in MESA

BACKGROUND: Higher plasma glycoprotein acetylation (GlycA) concentrations are associated with an increased risk for incident cardiovascular disease (CVD). We investigated the combined associations of GlycA with lipoprotein (a) (Lp[a]) and hs-CRP (high-sensitivity C-reactive prote...

Nitrogen deposition does not alter the temperate forest soil carbon pool: A 14-y experiment on varied nitrogen fertilization

Soil carbon (C) pools in nitrogen-limited temperate forests are critical to the global C cycle, but there are no long-term experiments examining soil C, with various nitrogen (N) forms. Here, a 14-y experiment (100 kg N ha −1 y −1 ), with added N simulating atmospheric deposition...

An exact solution algorithm for the bi-level optimization problem of electric vehicles charging station placement

This work addresses electric vehicle (EV) charging station placement through a bi-level optimization model, where the upper-level planner maximizes charging revenue by selecting station locations under budget constraints, while EV users at the lower level choose routes and chargi...

LIGO Detector Characterization in the Second and Third Parts of the Fourth Observing Run

Abstract LIGO detector characterization efforts enabled the confident detection of gravitational waves from hundreds of compact binary coalescences during the fourth observing run. Reliable production of high quality detector data and rapid noise mitigation efforts allow the extr...

High-Resolution X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy of Soluble Methane Monooxygenase: Room Temperature and Cryogenic Insights into Active Site Electronic Structure Modulation

Abstract Room temperature HERFD XAS (High Energy Resolution Fluorescence Detected X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy) data collected on the stable Fe(III)Fe(III) (ox) and Fe(II)Fe(II) (red) states of the soluble methane monooxygenase hydroxylase (sMMOH) from Methylosinus trichosporium...

Airflows redefine the cost of aerial transport in the wild

Fuel economy matters to both animals and machines, as the cost of transport can determine where, when, and how far locomotion is possible. However, established estimates of these values for animal flight come from laboratories and treat the atmosphere as constant, even though fre...

Layer-polarized PN and point junctions in double bilayer graphene

We fabricate twisted double bilayer graphene devices with zero twist angle and a set of local top and bottom gates aligned perpendicularly to each other. A 1D PN junction can be electrostatically defined when the gate voltages applied to the top gates are the same but different o...

Evaluating the Pathogenicity of Chondrostereum purpureum and Fungi Obtained from Dying Buckthorn on Common and Glossy Buckthorn

Common buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica) and glossy buckthorn (Frangula alnus) are large shrubs that are invasive to Eastern North America. Currently available removal techniques, such as uprooting and systemic herbicides, can be too laborious to conduct over broad acreage or have t...

Improving High-Speed Separation of Pressure-Sensitive Adhesives from Silicone Release Coatings by Varying Silica Functionality

Abstract Improving the separation efficacy of pressure-sensitive adhesives (PSAs) from their protective poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) release coatings at high speeds (>100 m/min) is crucial for industrial applications like labeling. In our past work, adding 1 wt % hydrophobic fum...

Application of a Microfluidic Lab-on-a-Chip Platform Coupled with Automated Motility Analysis for Phenotypic Drug Screening of Trypanosoma cruzi Trypomastigotes

Chagas disease remains a major neglected tropical disease, highlighting the need for new anti-Trypanosoma cruzi compounds and improved approaches for their phenotypic evaluation. Here, we extended a previously developed Lab-on-a-Chip (LOC) platform integrating a serial dilution g...

Optimizing Sequential Competitive Facility Location and Attractiveness Design

We consider a sequential competitive facility location and attractiveness design problem (S-CFLAP) in which the leader and follower sequentially decide on the location and attractiveness design (e.g., building area) of new facilities to maximize their market shares. Customer dema...

Microbial Degradation of Lignin Generates Iron-Binding Organic Ligands

Abstract The association of organic carbon (OC) with iron (Fe) minerals is a primary mechanism governing soil OC persistence, yet the molecular agents mediating Fe–OC binding remain poorly defined. In this study, we demonstrated that microbial degradation of lignin, one of the ma...

Vertical Excitation Energies in Solution via a Two-Time-Scale Solvation Model Coupled to Pair-Density Functional Theory

Abstract Calculations of many electronically excited states in solution require both a multiconfigurational treatment of the solute and an efficient treatment of solvent effects. Multiconfiguration pair-density functional theory (MC-PDFT) and its multistate, linearized extension...

Development and Validation of a Coronary Artery Calcium Volume and Density Score

BACKGROUND: Coronary artery calcium (CAC) scoring is a useful tool for coronary heart disease (CHD) risk prediction. The current standard method, the Agatston score, weights plaque area upward by density. However, higher density is inversely associated with CHD. We aimed to devel...

National Couples' Health and Time Study (NCHAT) Follow-Up Study: Methodology Report

Gallup fielded the National Couples' Health and Time Follow-Up Study (Wave 2) from February 17, 2022, to April 19, 2022. It was administered to participants who completed the National Couples' Health and Time Survey (NCHAT). The original NCHAT survey covered adults between the ag...

Detecting Nonreportable Disease Trends Using Electronic Health Records: Human Parvovirus B19 in Minnesota, January 2019 Through September 2024

Objectives: In 2024, an increase in human parvovirus B19 (B19) infections among pregnant patients resulting in severe fetal complications highlighted the lack of routine surveillance methods for nonreportable infections. We examined the utility of electronic health record (EHR) d...

A case study describing the adaptation and implementation of game design studio to explore indigenous youths' educational experiences

Game design can promote learning and collaboration and provide adolescents with an opportunity to explore topics of importance to them. “Game Design Studio” (GDS) is a youth-centered workshop that invites youth to analyze and design games. To increase cultural relevance for Indig...

Perception of visual noise patterns depends on correlations produced in V1: A simulation study

Visual noise is widely used as a stimulus in vision science, yet the neural representation of noise itself remains poorly understood. We investigated how external visual noise is encoded in the primary visual cortex (V1) using a biologically inspired neural network model (VOneNet...

Who is eligible for lung cancer screening, and where are they? National subpopulation estimates of people eligible for lung cancer screening

BACKGROUND: The utilization of lung cancer screening services is less than 20%. There are a myriad of barriers at the patient, provider, and health care system levels that account for such low uptake. One reason lung cancer screening rates remain low is that identifying who is el...