Digital Commons Network^™

Overfishing Drives Over One-Third Of All Sharks And Rays Toward A Global Extinction Crisis, Nicholas K. Dulvy, Nathan Pacoureau, Cassandra L. Rigby, Riley A. Pollom, Rima W. Jabado, David A. Ebert, Brittany Finucci, Caroline M. Pollock, Jessica Cheok, Danielle H. Derrick, Katelyn B. Herman, C. Samantha Sherman, Wade J. Vanderwright, Julia M. Lawson, Rachel H.L. Walls, John K. Carlson, Patricia Charvet, Kinattumkara K. Bineesh, Daniel Fernando, Gina M. Ralph, Jay H. Matsushiba, Craig Hilton-Taylor, Sonja V. Fordham, Colin A. Simpfendorfer

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

The scale and drivers of marine biodiversity loss are being revealed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List assessment process. We present the first global reassessment of 1,199 species in Class Chondrichthyes-sharks, rays, and chimeras. The first global assessment (in 2014) concluded that one-quarter (24%) of species were threatened. Now, 391 (32.6%) species are threatened with extinction. When this percentage of threat is applied to Data Deficient species, more than one-third (37.5%) of chondrichthyans are estimated to be threatened, with much of this change resulting from new information. Three species are Critically Endangered (Possibly Extinct), representing …

Comprehensive Collagen Crosslinking Comparison Of Microfluidic Wet-Extruded Microfibers For Bioactive Surgical Suture Development, Amrita Dasgupta, Nardos Sori, Stella Petrova, Yas Maghdouri-White, Nick Thayer, Nathan Kemper, Seth Polk, Delaney Leathers, Kelly Coughenour, Jake Dascoli, Riya Palikonda, Connor Donahue, Anna A. Bulysheva, Michael P. Francis

Bioelectrics Publications

Collagen microfiber-based constructs have garnered considerable attention for ligament, tendon, and other soft tissue repairs, yet with limited clinical translation due to strength, biocompatibility, scalable manufacturing, and other challenges. Crosslinking collagen fibers improves mechanical properties; however, questions remain regarding optimal crosslinking chemistries, biocompatibility, biodegradation, long-term stability, and potential for biotextile assemble at scale, limiting their clinical usefulness. Here, we assessed over 50 different crosslinking chemistries on microfluidic wet-extruded collagen microfibers made with clinically relevant collagen to optimize collagen fibers as a biotextile yarn for suture or other medical device manufacture. The endogenous collagen crosslinker, glyoxal, provides extraordinary fiber ultimate tensile …

Lifetime Reproductive Benefits Of Cooperative Polygamy Vary For Males And Females In The Acorn Woodpecker (Melanerpes Formicivorus), Sahas Barve, Christina Riehl, Eric L. Walters, Joseph Haydock, Hannah L. Dugdale, Walter D. Koenig

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Cooperative breeding strategies lead to short-term direct fitness losses when individuals forfeit or share reproduction. The direct fitness benefits of cooperative strategies are often delayed and difficult to quantify, requiring data on lifetime reproduction. Here, we use a longitudinal dataset to examine the lifetime reproductive success of cooperative polygamy in acorn woodpeckers (Melanerpes formicivorus), which nest as lone pairs or share reproduction with same-sex cobreeders. We found that males and females produced fewer young per successful nesting attempt when sharing reproduction. However, males nesting in duos and trios had longer reproductive lifespans, more lifetime nesting attempts and higher …

Time Trends Of Overweight And Obesity Among Schoolchildren In Kuwait Over A 13-Year Period (2007-2019): Repeated Cross-Sectional Study, Abdullah Al-Taiar, Nawal Alqaoud, Ali H. Ziyab, Faheema Alanezi, Monica Subhakaran, Reem Sharaf Alddin, Hueiwang Anna Jeng, Muge Akpinar-Elci

Community & Environmental Health Faculty Publications

Objectives: This study aimed to examine age-specific trends in the prevalence of overweight and obesity in schoolchildren in Kuwait over a 13-year period (2007 to 2019) using the World Health Organization (WHO), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the International Obesity Taskforce (IOTF) definitions.

Design: Using cross-sectional approach, Kuwait Nutrition Surveillance System (KNSS) objectively measured weight and height of schoolchildren over a 13-year period. Log-binomial regression models were used to examine age-specific trends of obesity and overweight over the study period.

Setting: Public primary, middle, and high schools in all provinces of Kuwait.

Participants: Schoolchildren aged 5-19 …

Occupational Health Practices Among Dental Care Professionals Before And During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Sean Banaee, Denise M. Claiborne, Muge Akpinar-Elci

Community & Environmental Health Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic has posed a substantial burden on dental care professionals. While dentistry is known as one of the most exposed and high-risk professions, dental care professionals are indeed at even greater risk.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to assess knowledge, attitudes, occupational health practices, personal protective equipment usage, and mental stressors during COVID-19 pandemic among dental care professionals.

METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted among dental care professionals who were subscribers to a dental hygiene journal using a self-administered online survey (n = 1047 respondents). Cross-tabulations were performed to determine differences in the responses to …

Parents' Attitudes As Mediators Between Knowledge And Behaviours In Unintentional Injuries At Home Of Children Aged 0-3 In Shanghai, Eastern China: A Cross-Sectional Study, Xueqi Ma, Qi Zhang, Ruo Jiang, Jun Lu, Huiping Wang, Qinghua Xia, Jicui Zheng, Wei Deng, Fengshui Chang, Xiaohong Li

Community & Environmental Health Faculty Publications

Objective: Parental behaviours are important in preventing unintentional injury at home among young children. Previous research showed an inconsistent relationship between knowledge and behaviours, indicating that the mechanisms may vary for different behaviours. This study aimed to examine the mediating roles of different attitudes in the mechanism of knowledge acting on different behaviours.

Design: Cross-sectional study.

Setting: Eastern China

Participants: Participants were recruited using stratified community-based sampling. A total of 488 parents of children aged 0–3 years participated in the study and 476 (97.5%) valid questionnaires were recovered.

Primary outcome measures: Parents’ knowledge, attitudes (including injury attribution, preventability and responsibility) …

"...And After That Came Me". Subjective Constructions Of Social Hierarchy In Physical Education Classes Among Youth With Visual Impairments In Germany, Martin Giese, Sebastian Ruin, Jana Baumgärtner, Justin A. Haegele

Human Movement Studies & Special Education Faculty Publications

The aim of this study was to reconstruct subjective constructions of experiences in PE and feelings of being valued within PE classes in Germany by students with visual impairment (VI). Two female and two male students (average age: 19.25 years) participated in the study from the upper level. For the reconstruction of experiences of feeling valued, episodic interviews with a semi-structured interview guide were used. The data analysis was conducted with MAXQDA 2020 based on content-related structuring of qualitative text analysis with deductive-inductive category formation. To structure the analysis, the main category, feelings of being valued, was defined by two …

Development And Characterization Of Nb₃N/Al₂0₃ Superconducting Multilayers For Particle Accelerators, Chris Sundahl, Junki Makita, Paul B. Welander, Yi-Feng Su, Fumitake Kametani, Lin Xie, Huimin Zhang, Lian Li, Alex Gurevich, Chang-Beom Eom

Physics Faculty Publications

Superconducting radio-frequency (SRF) resonator cavities provide extremely high quality factors > 10¹⁰ at 1-2 GHz and 2 K in large linear accelerators of high-energy particles. The maximum accelerating field of SRF cavities is limited by penetration of vortices into the superconductor. Present state-of-the-art Nb cavities can withstand up to 50 MV/m accelerating gradients and magnetic fields of 200-240 mT which destroy the low-dissipative Meissner state. Achieving higher accelerating gradients requires superconductors with higher thermodynamic critical fields, of which Nb₃Sn has emerged as a leading material for the next generation accelerators. To overcome the problem of low vortex penetration …

Charge Transport, Conductivity And Seebeck Coefficient In Pristine And Tcnq Loaded Preferentially Grown Metal Organic Frameworks, Xin Chen, Kai Zhang, Zeinab Mohammed Hassan, Engelbert Redel, Helmut Baumgart

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

This investigation on Metal-Organic Framework (MOF) HUKUST-1 films focuses on comparing the undoped pristine state and with the case of doping by TCNQ infiltration of the MOF pore structure. We have determined the temperature dependent charge transport and p-type conductivity for HKUST-1 films. Furthermore, the electrical conductivity and the current-voltage characteristics have been characterized in detail. Because the most common forms of MOFs, bulk MOF powders, do not lend themselves easily to electrical characterization investigations, here in this study the electrical measurements were performed on dense, compact surface-anchored metal-organic framework (SURMOF) films. These monolithic, well-defined, and (001) preferentially oriented MOF …