Doane University

The Partnership for Undergraduate Life Sciences Education (PULSE) Recognition Program plays an important role in the overall work of PULSE. From our initial founding through our efforts today, PULSE Fellows involved in the Recognition Program have worked from the premise that there is value in providing summative and comparative assessment of departmental movement toward change. From our external vantage point as persons invited into departments that are engaged in self-reflection and purposeful work toward transformation, we have been able to observe ingredients found in successfully positioned departments. In an interview with PULSE Fellows who have guided departments through the Recognition Program process, we consider the question: “What are the key attributes of departments that are successfully transforming?” We will share our observations from more than a decade of work.

This study aims to advance the design of plate heat exchangers via a topology optimization framework. The design problem consists of determining the optimal layout and dimensions of the flow structure in the plates, which are herein modeled as offset bars. The geometry projection method is employed to map the geometric parameters that describe the bars onto a continuous pseudo-density field. As in density-based topology optimization techniques, this pseudo-density is used to perform the analysis through a suitable interpolation of material properties. A conjugate heat transfer analysis is performed to evaluate the performance of the heat exchanger. Taking advantage of the relatively small number of design parameters describing the flow structures, we employ an off-the-shelf solver and parallel computing to obtain design sensitivities using a finite difference approximation. The proposed method is applied to known benchmarks in topology optimization for fluids to verify its effectiveness. The method is subsequently applied to the design of a plate heat exchanger.

ABSTRACT:Roberts, TD, Arnett, JE, Pioske, JS, Ortega, DG, Schmidt, RJ, and Housh, TJ. Fatiguing, unilateral, maximal intended velocity leg extensions do not affect the performance of the contralateral limb. J Strength Cond Res XX(X): 000-000, 2026-This study examined changes in performance and neuromuscular outcomes in a working and nonworking limb from a fatiguing, unilateral, maximal intended velocity (MIV) task. Twelve recreationally active men performed unilateral, MIV leg extensions to failure at 40% 1-repetition maximum with the working limb (initial repetition = PRE; final repetition = POST). The nonworking limb performed 2 unilateral, MIV repetitions before (PRE = highest velocity repetition) and after (POST = highest velocity repetition) the fatiguing task. Mean and peak force, velocity, and power were collected with a linear transducer. Normalized (to PRE) electromyographic amplitude (EMG AMP), mean power frequency (EMG MPF), and neuromuscular efficiency (NME = mean force/EMG AMP) were calculated for both limbs' rectus femoris (RF), vastus lateralis (VL), and vastus medialis (VM). Separate 2-way (Repetition × Limb) and 3-way (Repetition × Limb × Muscle) repeated-measures ANOVAs were used to analyze the performance and neuromuscular outcomes, respectively. The significance level was p ≤ 0.05. All performance outcomes decreased (p < 0.001) PRE to POST for the working limb but not (p = 0.177-0.942) the nonworking limb. Collapsed across Limb and Muscle, EMG AMP increased (p < 0.001) from PRE to POST. There were no changes (p = 0.351-0.818) in EMG MPF for all muscles of the nonworking limb, but for the working limb, the RF exhibited a greater (p < 0.001) decrease than the VL and VM. Collapsed across Muscle, NME decreased (p < 0.001) for the working limb but not (p = 0.545) the nonworking limb. The decrease in performance for the working limb was likely due to peripheral fatigue, which was muscle-specific (RF fatigue > VL/VM fatigue). Despite an increase in EMG AMP, the performance of the nonworking limb was unaffected.

The National Bioengineered (BE) Food Disclosure Standard went into effect in the United States (U.S) in January 2022, requiring food manufacturers to disclose whether food offered for retail sale contains BE foods. Among several options, disclosures on food packaging can include text disclosure or an approved BE logo. We used eye-tracking instrumentation and digital images of food packages to compare college undergraduates’ (n = 67) visual attention of a BE text statement with a BE logo. We also used the theory of planned behavior (TPB) and trust in science in the development of a survey to explore students’ perceptions toward and intention to purchase and consume BE foods. Findings indicated the over half of participants did not fixate on either the BE logo or text. For those who did, slightly more attention was given to the text. Overall, participants held favorable views toward BE but were neither likely nor unlikely in their intent to purchase BE foods. The TPB variables were significant in a model that can be used to explain nearly 65% of the variance in future intention to purchase and consume BE foods. No significant associations were found between logo or text attention allocation and survey variables.

Abstract Pioske, JS, Arnett, JE, Roberts, TD, Ortega, DG, Schmidt, RJ, and Housh, TJ. The effects of fatigue-induced velocity loss on performance and neuromuscular responses during leg extension repetitions performed with maximal intended velocity. J Strength Cond Res XX(X): 000–000, 2026—Strength and power adaptations are dependent on the magnitude of the physiological stimulus during resistance exercise. Therefore, the present study examined the changes in velocity, force, power, and acute neuromuscular responses of the rectus femoris (RF), vastus lateralis (VL), and vastus medialis (VM) during maximal intended velocity (MIV) leg extension repetitions at velocity losses (V Loss ) of 5, 15, and 25%. Twelve men (age: 21.67 ± 2.00 years) performed MIV unilateral leg extensions to failure at 40% 1RM with their nondominant leg. Mean and peak values for velocity, force, and power were recorded with a linear transducer, whereas surface electromyographic amplitude (EMG AMP) and mean power frequency (EMG MPF) values were assessed from the RF, VL, and VM. Repeated measures ANOVAs with Bonferroni-corrected post-hoc comparisons ( α = 0.0083) revealed that mean and peak values for velocity and power (−5.9 to −42.3%), and peak values for force (−5.8 to −20.2%) decreased at all V Loss repetitions, whereas mean force decreased at 15% (−0.6%) and 25%V Loss (−0.9%) repetitions. EMG MPF decreased for the RF at all V Loss repetitions, whereas the VM and VL decreased at 15% and 25%V Loss , and 25%V Loss , respectively. EMG AMP increased for all 3 muscles at 15% and 25%V Loss . These findings suggested muscle-specific differences in the development of peripheral fatigue and possible intermuscular motor unit synchronization to maintain the MIV effort. It is recommended to use peak instead of mean V Loss to monitor the fatigue-induced decreases in force and power because peak values more closely tracked the fatigue-induced decreases in EMG MPF during MIV leg extensions.