Digital Commons Network^™

The Impact Of Covid-19 On The Financial Performance Of Largest Teaching Hospitals, Karima Lalani, Jeffrey Helton, Francine R Vega, Marylou Cardenas-Turanzas, Tiffany Champagne-Langabeer, James R Langabeer

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted hospital operations. Anecdotal evidence suggests financial performance likewise suffered, yet little empirical research supports this claim. This study aimed to explore the impact of the pandemic on the financial performance of the most prominent academic hospitals in the United States. Data from the 115 largest major teaching hospitals in the United States were extracted from the American Hospital Directory for three years (2019-2021). We hypothesized that the year and region would moderate the relationship between a hospital's return on assets (financial performance) and specific operational variables. We found evidence through descriptive statistics and multivariate moderated regressions …

Developing A National-Scale Exposure Index For Combined Environmental Hazards And Social Stressors And Applications To The Environmental Influences On Child Health Outcomes (Echo) Cohort., Sheena E. Martenies, Mingyu Zhang, Anne E. Corrigan, Anton Kvit, Timothy Shields, William Wheaton, Deana Around Him, Judy Aschner, Maria M. Talavera-Barber, Emily S. Barrett, Theresa M. Bastain, Casper Bendixsen, Carrie V. Breton, Nicole R. Bush, Ferdinand Cacho, Carlos A. Camargo, Kecia N. Carroll, Brian S. Carter, Andrea E. Cassidy-Bushrow, Whitney Cowell, Lisa A. Croen, Dana Dabelea, Cristiane S. Duarte, Anne L. Dunlop, Todd M. Everson, Rima Habre, Tina V. Hartert, Jennifer B. Helderman, Alison E. Hipwell, Margaret R. Karagas, Barry M. Lester, Kaja Z. Lewinn, Sheryl Magzamen, Rachel Morello-Frosch, Thomas G. O'Connor, Amy M. Padula, Michael Petriello, Sheela Sathyanarayana, Joseph B. Stanford, Tracey J. Woodruff, Rosalind J. Wright, Amii M. Kress, Program Collaborators For Environmental Influences On Child Health Outcomes

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

Tools for assessing multiple exposures across several domains (e.g., physical, chemical, and social) are of growing importance in social and environmental epidemiology because of their value in uncovering disparities and their impact on health outcomes. Here we describe work done within the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO)-wide Cohort Study to build a combined exposure index. Our index considered both environmental hazards and social stressors simultaneously with national coverage for a 10-year period. Our goal was to build this index and demonstrate its utility for assessing differences in exposure for pregnancies enrolled in the ECHO-wide Cohort Study. Our unitless …

Circadian Disruption And Colorectal Cancer Incidence In Black Women, Lauren E Barber, Trang Vopham, Laura F White, Hemant K Roy, Julie R Palmer, Kimberly A Bertrand

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: Animal and experimental studies suggest circadian disruption increases colorectal cancer risk, but evidence in humans is limited. We examined night shift work, chronotype, and residential position within a time zone, proxies for circadian disruption, in relation to colorectal cancer risk.

METHODS: Participants in the Black Women's Health Study, a prospective cohort of 59,000 Black American women established in 1995, reported history of night shift work and chronotype on follow-up questionnaires. Residential position within a time zone was estimated using participant addresses at each questionnaire cycle. Number of colorectal cancer cases and follow-up duration varied by analysis depending on timing …

Pathogen Emergence As Complex Biological Invasion: Lessons From Dynamical Systems Modeling, Sudam Surasinghe, Marisabel Rodriguez, Victor Meszaros, Jane Molofsky, Salvador Almagro-Moreno, Brandon Ogbunugafor

Northeast Journal of Complex Systems (NEJCS)

Infectious disease emergence has become the target of cross-disciplinary efforts
that aim to understand and predict the shape of outbreaks. The many challenges
involved with the prediction of disease emergence events is a characteristic that in-
fectious diseases share with biological invasions in many subfields of ecology (e.g.,
how certain plants are able to successfully invade a new niche). Like infectious
diseases, biological invasions by plants and animals involve interactions between
agents (pathogens and plants in their respective cases) and a recipient niche. In
this study, we examine the problem of pathogen emergence through the lens of a
framework first …

Smokejumper Magazine, July 2023, National Smokejumper Association

Smokejumper and Static Line Magazines

Message from the President; Denali, the Great One—An Early Ascent of North America's Highest Peak; The Jump List; Motorcycles Are Not Approved for Packouts; Randy Hurst; Small Town Connections; Lost Horizons; Odds and Ends; Whites OFF The Breaks; Moose Tracks in the Timber; Notes from the Ranks; Sounding Off from the Editor; Jack Demmons Remembered; Fighting Wildfire During Extreme Burning Conditions; "Too Steep and Too Rough"; Off the List; Not Forgotten; Public Involvement; So - Is There a Fee?; Fire Jumps in One Season; The Legend of Black Water Canyon;

Louisiana Agriculture Magazine, Summer 2023

Louisiana Agriculture

Rice, alligators and sugarcane are quintessential Louisiana products, and LSU AgCenter researchers and extension agents devote themselves to helping the producers who grow them. Economists are finding ways to improve the market for alligators while specialists focus on innovation in the sugar industry and creating new varieties of rice.

AgCenter researchers also have an eye on the natural world. They are protecting the roseau cane that thrives on the coast and the ironwood trees of Guam. All these efforts are detailed in this issue of Louisiana Agriculture magazine.

Mapping California Rice Using Optical And Sar Data Fusion With Phenological Features In Google Earth Engine, Li Wenzhao, Hesham El-Askary, Daniele C. Struppa

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

California, known for its diverse agriculture, is also a major producer of rice, especially in its northern regions in Sacramento River Valley. Traditional methods, predominantly reliant on optical-based satellite imagery, encounter limitations due to atmospheric interference and sensor resolution. The ability of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) to penetrate atmospheric distortions and exhibit high sensitivity to vegetation structure presents a distinct advantage over optical-based methods. Utilizing Optical and SAR data fusion, this study advances the enhanced pixel-based phenological feature composite (Eppf) method using SVM classification algorithm, which can track phenological changes and patterns, providing valuable insights for agricultural planning and management. …

Lung And Colorectal Cancer Disparities In Appalachian Kentucky: Spatial Analysis On The Influence Of Education And Literacy, Nicole Robertson Mph, Todd Burus, Lauren Hudson, Pamela C. Hull, Lee Park, Nathan L. Vanderford

Markey Cancer Center Faculty Publications

Low educational attainment and high cancer incidence and mortality rates have long been a challenge in Appalachian Kentucky. Prior studies have reported disparities in cancer incidence and mortality between Appalachian and non-Appalachian populations, but the influence of education on this disparity has not been extensively studied. Herein, all cancers and two cancer sites with available screenings (colorectal and lung) were joined with education indicators (educational attainment and literacy) and one geographic indicator across all 120 Kentucky counties. This dataset was used to build choropleth maps and perform simple linear and spatial regression to assess statistical significance and to measure the …

Creativity In Energy Balance, Obesity And Feeding Behavior Research, Some Thoughts, Stephen J French, David B Allison

Children’s Nutrition Research Center Staff Publications

This review provides an overview of examples of especially creative work related to the fields of ingestive behavior, energetics (defined as the study of the acquisition, storage, and use of metabolizable energy by biological organisms and the causes and consequences of such acquisition, storage, and use), and nutrition, focusing on both individual works and discoveries, as well as bodies of works and in some cases the working styles of particular scientists. The paper then discusses some principles extracted from our observations as well as from the literature on creativity pointing out some factors that seem to make for more creative …

Leveraging Church Environments To Promote Rural Physical Activity And Healthy Eating, Kelsey Rothera Day

Theses and Dissertations

Rural residents experience a greater burden of chronic disease related to physical inactivity and poor diet than their urban counterparts. A promising strategy to improve these health behaviors in rural areas is to leverage existing structures that may support physical activity and healthy eating, such as churches, in public health interventions. Three studies were conducted as part of this dissertation. They were designed to: 1) examine whether the walkability and healthy food density of neighborhoods surrounding rural and urban churches are associated with race, socioeconomic status, and rural/urban status; 2) examine rural church leaders’ views on the role of faith-based …

Embryonic Development Of Natural Annual Killifish Populations Of The Genus Austrolebias: Evolutionary Parallelism And The Role Of Environment, Hellen Schlueb, Daniel Blanco, Daniel García, Jason Podrabsky

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

1. Repeated, independent emergence of the same trait within different phylogenetic lineages is termed parallel evolution. It typically occurs as a result of similar selective pressures. Annual killifish have adapted to survive in the extreme habitat of temporary pools on three continents and present an especially amenable system for studying fundamental principles of evolutionary parallelism. When the pools dry, annual killifish embryos survive through the dry phase in the bottom substrate in a stage of dormancy—a diapause. The diapause is a complex set of three different developmental stages, none of which is obligate, thus leading to a multitude of potential developmental …

Habitat Preference By Himalayan Musk Deer (Moschus Leucogaster) In Shey Phoksundo National Park, Nepal, Rishi Ram Paudel, Aman Oli, Pramod Ghimire

Journal of Bioresource Management

Himalayan Musk Deer (Moschus leucogaster) is distributed across the mid-mountainous region from the elevation of 3000 m to 4000 m. Shey Phoskundo National Park lies in western Nepal and Shey Phoksundo Rural Municipality serves as the prime habitat in this region. The main objective of this study was to find out the habitat preference of Himalayan Musk Deer and to evaluate all the suitable habitats. Transects survey were done to evaluate the preferred attributes of the species. Pellets were rarely found where the crown cover was more than 75 % but the resting sites were abundantly found there …

Influence Of Woody Vegetation Composition And Structure On Fuels And Prescribed Fire In Mountain Longleaf Restoration, Collin J. Anderson

Master of Science in Integrative Biology Theses

Longleaf pine (LLP) ecosystems have experienced a widespread ecological state shift largely due to fire exclusion which has allowed mesophytes, i.e., shade-tolerant, often fire-sensitive species to encroach, reducing flammability and biodiversity through a process known as “mesophication.” Although prescribed fire is commonly used to reverse mesophication, fire behavior, and thus prescribed fire utility for this purpose, is poorly characterized in mixed pine-hardwood stands with mesophyte encroachment. This study aimed to identify mechanisms by which tree composition, structure, and fuels contribute to fire behavior, focusing on the understudied mountain longleaf pine (MLLP) ecoregion in northwest Georgia. I hypothesized that woody vegetation …

Arthropod Diversity In Phytotelmata Of Calathea Capitata (Zingiberales; Marantaceae) Host Plants From Peru, Divya Dendi, Timo Förster, Caroline S. Chaboo

Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications

Cryptic habitats are often overlooked in biodiversity surveys. Phytotelmata, or plant pools, are one type of cryptic habitat that supports diverse fauna in a miniature ecosystem. This study surveys the arthropod community of two types of phytotelmata, bracts and leaf rolls, on a single species, Calathea capitata (Ruiz and Pav.) Lindl. (Zingiberales: Marantaceae), from one Amazon site in Peru. Specimens were collected from eight bracts and eight leaf rolls. A total of 55 arthropods (36 adults, 19 juveniles) were found in both phytotelmata types. In the bract samples were found: spiders (Araneae: Corinnidae), beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae, Erotylidae, Staphylindae), flies (Diptera: …

Shark-Diving Tourism In The Macaronesian Archipelagos: Challenges And Opportunities, Pedro Gonzáles Mantilla

ITSA 2022 Gran Canaria - 9th Biennial Conference: Corporate Entrepreneurship and Global Tourism Strategies After Covid 19

The Macaronesian region is typically heavily exploited by fisheries; however, in recent years, marine wildlife tourism has become popular and a shark-diving industry has emerged, potentially presenting an alternative for the sustainable use of sharks. Combining a literature review with interviews with dive operators conducting shark encounters in the Macaronesian archipelagos, we provide an overview of the challenges and conservation potential of shark-diving tourism for these territories. Owing to the regular presence of important shark species for tourism and the growth of the scuba-diving industry, shark-diving has potential to expand over the region. Yet, the overlap between European industrial fishing …

Molecular And Morphological Confirmation Of Isometrus Maculatus (Degeer, 1778) (Scorpiones: Buthidae) From Northeast India And East Asia, Shubhankar Deshpande, Mihir Joshi, Kazusa Kawai, Arnab Deb, Jeng-Di Lee, Deshabhushan Bastawade, Gaurang Gowande, Shauri Sulakhe

Euscorpius

We present molecular data on Isometrus maculatus (DeGeer, 1778) for the first time from India, Japan, and Taiwan based on the COI gene and justify the cosmopolitan nature of this species. We also address the first population of I. maculatus found in Teliamura, Tripura, India and give its detailed description and comparison with the rest of the Isometrus species from India. Furthermore, we discuss the justification for considering Sri Lanka as the true home of I. maculatus.

Quantitative Risk Assessment Of Oocyst Versus Bradyzoite Foodborne Transmission Of Toxoplasma Gondii In Brazil, Sophie Zhu, Elizabeth Vanwormer, Beatriz Martínez-López, Lílian Maria Garcia Bahia-Oliveira, Renato Augusto Damatta, Pedro Souto Rodrigues, Karen Shapiro

School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences: Faculty Publications

Toxoplasma gondii is a globally distributed zoonotic protozoan parasite. Infection with T. gondii can cause congenital toxoplasmosis in developing fetuses and acute outbreaks in the general population, and the disease burden is especially high in South America. Prior studies found that the environmental stage of T. gondii, oocysts, is an important source of infection in Brazil; however, no studies have quantified this risk relative to other parasite stages. We developed a Bayesian quantitative risk assessment (QRA) to estimate the relative attribution of the two primary parasite stages (bradyzoite and oocyst) that can be transmitted in foods to people in …

First Shasta Ground Sloth (Nothrotheriops; Xenarthra) From The Eastern Great Basin, Nevada, Jim I. Mead, Sandra L. Swift, H. Gregory Mcdonald, Steven D. Emslie

Western North American Naturalist

We present the first record of the Shasta ground sloth (Nothrotheriops shastensis) for the eastern Great Basin. The single right upper second molariform was recovered from the back dirt pile of archaeological test pits excavated during the 1960s and 1970s in Smith Creek Cave, northern Snake Range, White Pine County, Nevada. The precise age of the specimen is indeterminate, although all sediment layers in the area produced radiocarbon dates older than 11,000 cal BP; thus, the specimen is considered of the Rancholabrean Land Mammal Age. All previous accounts of this sloth in the Great Basin are from its …

The Complete Mitochondrial Genome Of Eulaelaps Huzhuensis (Mesostigmata: Haemogamasidae), Hui-Juan Yang, Zhi-Hua Yang, Tian-Guang Ren, Wen-Ge Dong

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Library Materials

Some mites of the family Haemogamasidae can transmit a variety of zoonotic diseases and have important public health and safety implications. Currently, however, little attention has been paid to molecular data of Haemogamasidae species, limiting our understanding of their evolutionary and phylogenetic relationships. In this study, the complete mitochondrial genome of Eulaelaps huzhuensis was determined for the first time, and its genomic information was analyzed in detail. The mitochondrial genome of E. huzhuensis is 14,872 bp in length with 37 genes and two control regions. The base composition showed a distinct AT preference. Twelve protein-coding genes have a typical ATN …

The Geography Of Payment Activity On Paypal, Russell Hillberry, Kornel Mahlstein, Simon Schropp

Department of Agricultural Economics Faculty Publications

We use data from PayPal to study the geography of online payment activity. An empirical gravity model finds a distance elasticity of −0.58 for payment value, a result that is 40% lower than typically observed in conventional trade data. The firm-extensive margin is approximately half as sensitive to distance. The link between the scale of merchants' exports and transaction distance is considerably weaker than observed in conventional international trade data. Zipf's Law holds for PayPal merchants in some countries, but fails in smaller PayPal markets. Merchants' account ages only marginally affect the scale and average distance of their export sales.

Creating And Activating An Implementation Community To Drive Hpv Vaccine Uptake In Texas: The Role Of An Nci-Designated Cancer Center, Rosalind S Bello, Michael T Walsh, Blake Harper, Charles E Amos, Katherine Oestman, Stephanie Nutt, Marcita Galindez, Kaitlyn Block, Ruth Rechis, Erica M Bednar, Jennifer Tektiridis, Lewis Foxhall, Mark Moreno, Sanjay Shete, Ernest Hawk

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, a comprehensive cancer center designated by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), defines its service population area as the State of Texas (29.1 M), the second most populous state in the country and the state with the greatest number of uninsured residents in the United States. Consistent with a novel and formal commitment to prevention as part of its core mission, alongside clear opportunities in Texas to drive vaccine uptake, MD Anderson assembled a transdisciplinary team to develop an institutional Framework to increase adolescent HPV vaccination and reduce HPV-related cancer burden. The Framework …

А Review Of Heterometrus In Thailand (Scorpiones: Scorpionidae), Kazusa Kawai, Thornthan Unnahachote, Yossaphon Suttisatid, Victoria Tang

Euscorpius

Five species of the genus Heterometrus Ehrenberg, 1828 are currently confirmed from Thailand and revised, with their respective distribution range in this country updated. Heterometrus laevigatus (Thorell, 1876) is considered a nomen dubium, while its two previous junior synonyms, H. cimrmani Kovařík, 2004, stat. rev. and H. minotaurus Plíšková et al., 2016, stat. rev. are revalidated and redescribed based on the examination of topotypes. Females of H. minotaurus Plíšková et. al., 2016, stat. rev. were also collected and examined, and their characters are herein described with a special attention to sexual dimorphism. Furthermore, some populations previously regarded as H. …

A Remote Sensing Approach To Assess The Historical Invasion Of Phragmites Australis In A Brackish Coastal Marsh, Jason S. Hagani, John Y. Takekawa, Steven C. Chappell, Richelle L. Tanner, Adrienne R. Ernst, Karin M. Kettenring

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Introduction: Coastal estuarine wetlands provide important habitats for a variety of endemic flora and fauna but are particularly vulnerable to biological invasions. Regular monitoring of changes in these vulnerable wetlands has become increasingly important for effective management, especially considering threats from climate change effects and human disturbance. Historical analyzes of plant invasions may guide targeted management strategies to eradicate harmful species. Estimating the distribution of invasive species has never been more accessible with the improved availability of high-resolution data and innovations in remote sensing, estimating the distribution of invasive species has never been more accessible.

Methods: We assessed the spread …

Rural Development Hubs: A Possibility For Nebraska?, Marilyn R. Schlake

Cornhusker Economics

The Aspen Institute, Community Strategies Group conducted an analysis of 43 Rural Development Hubs from across the country to discover their strategies, organizational structures, regional roles, and practices. Their aim was to learn how rural regions can help investors, policymakers and other local and regional decision-makers better serve their regions. The following provides an overview of their findings detailed in the report: Rural Development Hubs: Strengthening America’s Rural Innovation Infrastructure. The report provides an opportunity for further discussion on the potential role of Rural Development Hubs in Nebraska. Rural Development Hubs are defined as a “place-rooted organization working hand-in -glove …

Understanding The Experiences Of Mothers Of Children With Stunting In Two Egyptian Communities Focusing On The First 1000 Days, Rana Abdelgawad

Theses and Dissertations

Introduction: Egypt’s stunting prevalence is 13% with multiple initiatives and programs tackling child malnutrition. While many of them are promising, not all address the child’s first 1000 days, in addition to missing the cultural aspect for the Egyptian population which affects their dietary practices and health seeking behaviors.

Goal: Determine what challenges mothers face for their child’s nutrition and what learnings from exemplars countries can help Egypt reduce the malnutrition and stunting problem

Aim: Finding insights about the factors influencing child nutrition during 1st 1000 days and what programs can be implemented based on successful past experiences in exemplar countries. …

Updating The Dual C And O Isotope—Gas-Exchange Model: A Concept To Understand Plant Responses To The Environment And Its Implications For Tree Rings, Rolf T. W. Siegwolf, Marco M. Lehmann, Gregory R. Goldsmith, Olga V. Churakova (Sidorova), Cathleen Mirande-Ney, Galina Timoveeva, Rosmarie B. Weigt, Matthias Saurer

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

The combined study of carbon (C) and oxygen (O) isotopes in plant organic matter has emerged as a powerful tool for understanding plant functional responses to environmental change. The approach relies on established relationships between leaf gas exchange and isotopic fractionation to derive a series of model scenarios that can be used to infer changes in photosynthetic assimilation and stomatal conductance driven by changes in environmental parameters (CO₂, water availability, air humidity, temperature, nutrients). We review the mechanistic basis for a conceptual model, in light of recently published research, and discuss where isotopic observations do not match our …

Playful Mouth-To-Mouth Interactions Of Belugas (Delphinapterus Leucas) In Managed Care, Jackson R. Ham, Malin K. Lilley, Riley J. Winchenski, Jesus Miranda, Ángel G. Velarde Dediós, Katie Kolodziej, Sergio M. Pellis, Heather M. Manitzas Hill

All Faculty Scholarship (Archived)

Belugas (Delphinapterus leucas) engage in many forms of play (e.g., object, water, locomotor), but no play is quite as curious as the unusual form of cooperative social play involving mouth-to-mouth interactions. These playful interactions are characterized by two belugas approaching each other head-to-head and interlocking their jaws, clasping one another, as if they were shaking hands. Observed in belugas both in the wild and in managed care, it is seemingly an important type of social play that offers a unique way of socializing with conspecifics. To describe this unusual behavior, a group of belugas in managed care was …

Reintroducing Hemp (Rongony) In The Material Palette Of Madagascar: A Study On The Potential Of Hemp Clay Components And Its Impact On Social And Ecological Communities., Henintsoa Thierry Andrianambinina

Masters Theses

When mentioning the word hemp, especially in the local language of Madagascar, the literal translation does not set it apart from marijuana, as they are both called “rongony” - creating the stigma around hemp as the negative stereotype of marijuana. However, the material has been used by the ancestors of Madagascar, as well as across cultures, in its fibrous form to produce fabrication like textile goods and packaging. During colonization, the prohibition of hemp intensified, and since then, any activity related to either of these plants is prohibited and will end in severe punitive measures. This thesis explores the strengths …

The People's Food Project, Grace Barrett

Masters Theses

The architectural design of spaces offering food assistance has received little to no attention since food pantries emerged in the 1970s. Non-profit food initiatives are often sited quickly with limited resources, producing inadequate spaces unable to fully support a food insecure community, prioritize the experience of users, and create a sense of belonging. The current spaces limit services to merely food distribution. They do not take advantage of the opportunity to expand socioeconomic capital through the power of shared food experiences: growing, cooking, eating, and learning.

This thesis redefines the traditional food pantry model, responding to explorations in psychological comfort …

Unearthing Complexity: Tangible Histories Of Water And Earth, Alexis Violet

Masters Theses

Unearthing Complexity investigates conceptions of time and surface through geological stories of the water and earth. Building on theories of deep time, hydrofeminism, critical zones, and grounding, I hope to foster a deeper awareness of time scales other than our own and a more tangible understanding of the embodied experience of matter in the universe. Working toward a new literacy of the water and earth in which they are recognized as living, changing bodies to which we are inherently tied at a molecular level, the site of this multiscalar inquiry occurs in the coastal zones of the Narragansett Bay where …