Digital Commons Network^™

Curating A Knowledge Base For Individuals With Coinfection Of Hiv And Sars-Cov-2: A Study Protocol Of Ehr-Based Data Mining And Clinical Implementation, Chen Liang, Sharon Weissman, Bankole Olatosi, Eric G. Poon, Michael E. Yarrington, Xiaoming Li Ph.D.

Faculty Publications

Introduction Despite a higher risk of severe COVID-19 disease in individuals with HIV, the interactions between SARS-CoV-2 and HIV infections remain unclear. To delineate these interactions, multicentre Electronic Health Records (EHR) hold existing promise to provide fullspectrum and longitudinal clinical data, demographics and sociobehavioural data at individual level. Presently, a comprehensive EHR-based cohort for the HIV/SARS-CoV-2 coinfection has not been established; EHR integration and data mining methods tailored for studying the coinfection are urgently needed yet remain underdeveloped. Methods and analysis The overarching goal of this exploratory/developmental study is to establish an EHR-based cohort for individuals with HIV/SARS-CoV-2 coinfection and …

A Comparison Of Intertidal Metazoan Biodiversity Among Different Salinity Zones Of Louisiana Coastal Marshes, Claudia Husseneder, Patrick Rayle, Benjamin G. Aker, W. Kelley Thomas, Lane D. Foil

Faculty Publications

Tidal marshes are among the most valuable, productive, and vulnerable ecosystems with high biodiversity. Louisiana’s saltmarshes are endangered by natural and man-made stressors, including oil pollution, saltwater intrusion, and land loss due to sea level rise and erosion. Freshwater diversions have been planned to restore sediment input from the Mississippi River to rebuild marsh habitats in South Louisiana. These proposed diversions will undoubtedly change salinity levels, which is a major controlling factor in the distribution of marsh organisms, including those in soil; however, detailed pre-event inventories are lacking. This study describes the diversity of metazoan meiofauna (organisms between 45 and …

Optical Character Recognition (Ocr) Approaches To Cursive Handwriting Transcription: Lessons From The Blythe Owen Letters Project, Jazmyne Lavalas, Marianne Kordas, Rodney Summerscales

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Statutory Foundations: Let’S Discuss The Fuss, The Nonplus, And The Superfluous, Thomas Simmons

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Emergence Of Psychoanalytical Electrochemistry: The Translation Of Mdd Biomarker Discovery To Diagnosis With Electrochemical Sensing, Priyanka M. Nadar, Mckenna A. Merrill, Katherine Austin, Stephen M. Strakowski, Jeffrey M. Halpern

Faculty Publications

The disease burden and healthcare costs of psychiatric diseases along with the pursuit to understand their underlying biochemical mechanisms have led to psychiatric biomarker investigations. Current advances in evaluating candidate biomarkers for psychiatric diseases, such as major depressive disorder (MDD), focus on determining a specific biomarker signature or profile. The origins of candidate biomarkers are heterogenous, ranging from genomics, proteomics, and metabolomics, while incorporating associations with clinical characterization. Prior to clinical use, candidate biomarkers must be validated by large multi-site clinical studies, which can be used to determine the ideal MDD biomarker signature. Therefore, identifying valid biomarkers has been challenging, …

Genome-Wide Association Analyses Of Physical Activity And Sedentary Behavior Provide Insights Into Underlying Mechanisms And Roles In Disease Prevention, Zhe Wang, Andrew Emmerich, Nicolas J. Pillon, Tim Moore, Daiane Hemerich, Marilyn C. Cornelis, Eugenia Mazzaferro, Siacia Broos, Tarunveer S. Ahluwalia, Traci M. Bartz, Amy R. Bentley, Lawrence F. Bielak, Mike Chong, Audrey Y. Chu, Diane Berry, Rajkumar Dorajoo, Nicole D. Dueker, Elisa Kasbohm, Bjarke Feenstra, Mary F. Feitosa, Mark A. Sarzynski Ph.D., Faha, Facsm, Et. Al.

Faculty Publications

Although physical activity and sedentary behavior are moderately heritable, little is known about the mechanisms that influence these traits. Combining data for up to 703,901 individuals from 51 studies in a multi-ancestry meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies yields 99 loci that associate with self-reported moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity during leisure time (MVPA), leisure screen time (LST) and/or sedentary behavior at work. Loci associated with LST are enriched for genes whose expression in skeletal muscle is altered by resistance training. A missense variant in ACTN3 makes the alpha-actinin-3 filaments more flexible, resulting in lower maximal force in isolated type IIA muscle …

Impact Of Virtual Vs. In-Person School On Children Meeting The 24-H Movement Guidelines During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Christopher D. Pfledderer, Michael Beets, Sarah Burkart Mph, Ph.D., Elizabeth Adams Potter, Robert Weaver Med, Phd, Xuanxuan Zhu, Bridget Armstrong

Faculty Publications

The pandemic mitigation strategy of closing schools, while necessary, may have unintentionally impacted children’s moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), sleep, and time spent watching screens. In some locations, schools used hybrid attendance models, with some days during the week requiring in-person and others virtual attendance. This scenario offers an opportunity to evaluate the impact of attending in-person school on meeting the 24-h movement guidelines. Children (N = 690, 50% girls, K–5th) wore wrist-placed accelerometers for 14 days during October/November 2020. Parents completed daily reports on child time spent on screens and time spent on screens for school. The schools’ schedule was …

Participatory And Spatial Analyses Of Environmental Justice Communities' Concerns About A Proposed Storm Surge And Flood Protection Seawall, Judith Taylor, Norman S. Levine, Ernest Muhammad, Dwayne E. Porter, Annette M. Watson, Paul A. Sandifer

Faculty Publications

In response to increasing threats from sea-level rise and storm surge, the City of Charleston, South Carolina, and the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) propose constructing a seawall around the Charleston peninsula. The proposed seawall will terminate close to lower wealth, predominantly minority communities. These communities are identified as environmental justice (EJ) communities due to their history of inequitable burdens of industrial and urban pollution and proximity to highways and US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) designated Superfund sites. The present study documents community concerns and opinions related to the proposed seawall, existing flooding problems, and other issues. The project …

Cardiorespiratory Fitness And The Risk Of All-Cause, Cardiovascular And Cancer Mortality In Men With Hypercholesterolemia, Xuemei Sui M.D., M.P.H., Ph.D., Mark A. Sarzynski Facsm, Nicole Gribben, Jiajia Zhang Ph.D., Carl J. Lavie

Faculty Publications

Background: Whether higher cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) confers protection against cardiovascular disease (CVD) in individuals with manifest hypercholesterolemia is poorly understood. Methods: Participants were 8920 men aged 20–82 years with hypercholesterolemia but no history of CVD and/or cancer and who received a preventive examination at the Cooper Clinic in Dallas, TX, USA, during 1974–2001. CRF was quantified as maximal treadmill test duration and was grouped for analysis as low, moderate, or high based on the traditional Aerobics Center Longitudinal Study cutpoints. Using Cox regression analyses, we computed hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals for risk of mortality based on CRF. Results: …

Evaluation Of Steam Supply Performance: Steamer Vs. Bubbler, Yongliang Zhang, Nansheng Xu, Qiming Tang, William Gibbons, Kevin Huang

Faculty Publications

Water/steam electrolysis is a key enabling technology for clean, low-carbon and sustainable production of hydrogen and will play a crucial role in future hydrogen economy. For high temperature solid oxide electrolytic cells, steam is the chemical feedstock. A stable and accurate supply of steam to solid oxide electrolytic cells is of vital importance to smooth production of hydrogen. In this study, we compare steam supply performance of two commonly used steam generators: steamer and bubbler. Our results show that bubbler with proper volume and fritted inlet gas tubing can provide more stable and accurate steam supply than steamer for laboratory …

Processed Food As A Risk Factor For The Development And Perpetuation Of Crohn's Disease-The Enigma Study, Gina L. Trakman, Winnie Y.Y. Lin, Amy L. Hamilton, Amy L. Wilson-O'Brien, Annalise Stanley, Jessica Y. Ching, Jun Yu, Joyce W.Y. Mak, Yang Sun, Junkin Niu, Yinglei Miao, Xiaoqing Lin, Rui Feng, Minhu Chen, Nitin Shivappa Mbbs, Mph, Ph.D., James R. Hébert Scd, Mark Morrison, Siew C, Ng, Michael A. Kamm

Faculty Publications

(1) Background: Developing countries have experienced a rapid recent rise in Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) incidence and emerging evidence suggests processed foods and food additives may predispose one to the development and perpetuation of Crohn’s disease (CD). The aim of this study was to evaluate processed food and food additive intake in CD patients and controls, in Australia (high CD incidence), Hong Kong (intermediate incidence) and mainland China (emerging incidence). (2) Methods: In 274 CD patients (CD), 82 first-degree relatives (FDR), 83 household members (HM) and 92 healthy unrelated controls (HC) from Australia (n = 180), Hong Kong (HK) (n …

Assessing The Impact Of Land Use And Land Cover Change On Air Quality In East Baton Rouge—Louisiana Using Earth Observation Techniques, Diana B. Frimpong, Yaw A. Twumasi, Zhu H. Ning, Abena B. Asare-Ansah, Matilda Anokye, Priscilla M. Loh, Faustina Owusu, Caroline Y. Apraku, Rechael N.D. Armah, Judith Oppong, John B. Namwamba

Faculty Publications

There has been significant research in recent decades on Land use Land cover (LULC) changes and their influence on biodiversity but little to no research on its impact on air quality. This research seeks to demonstrate how geospatial technologies such as geographic information system (GIS) and remote sensing can be used to assess the effects of LULC changes on particulate matter emissions and their impact on air quality in the East Baton Rouge area. In pursuit of these objectives, this study uses LANDSAT imageries from the past 30 years specifically Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM C2L2) and Landsat 8 Operational Land …

Differences In Suicidality In Non–Treatment-Seeking And Treatment-Seeking Law Enforcement Officers: A Cross-Sectional Study, Warren N. Ponder, Alaina M. Beauchamp, Donna L. Schuman, Jose Carbajal, Katelyn K. Jetelina, Jeanine M. Galusha

Faculty Publications

Objective: Law enforcement officers (LEOs) are exposed to high levels of occupational trauma and face added stress from heightened public scrutiny and COVID-19, which may result in suicide. It is crucial to understand differences between LEOs who seek treatment and those who do not. Method: We compared LEOs from the same greater metropolitan area who sought treatment with those who did not. Participants completed validated measures assessing posttraumatic stress disorder, generalized anxiety, depression, and suicidality. Results: The treatment-seeking sample scores were higher on all standardized assessments. Bivariate logistic regression results indicated that the non–treatment-seeking sample's odds of experiencing suicidality were …

Impact Of Extreme Heatwaves On Population Exposure In China Due To Additional Warming, Leibin Wang, Robert V. Rohli, Qigen Lin, Shaofei Jin, Xiaodong Yan

Faculty Publications

Extreme heatwaves are among the most important climate-related disasters affecting public health. Assessing heatwave-related population exposures under different warming scenarios is critical for climate change adaptation. Here, the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phase 6 (CMIP6) multi-model ensemble output results are applied over several warming periods in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change AR6 report, to estimate China’s future heatwave population exposure under 1.5 °C and 2.0 °C warming scenarios. Our results show a significant increase in projected future annual heatwave days (HD) under both scenarios. With an additional temperature increase of 0.5 °C to 2.0 °C of warming, by mid-century …

The Double-Edged Sword Of Safety Training For Safety Behavior: The Critical Role Of Psychological Factors During Covid-19, Xin Ning, Jiwen Huang, Chunlin Wu, Tong Liu, Chao Wang

Faculty Publications

Safety training (ST) is the primary means of avoiding unsafe behaviors, but it has not achieved the expected impact on improving workplace safety because of the high psychological stress it brings to workers. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) further threatens workers’ psychological conditions, thereby diminishing the effectiveness of ST. However, the existing literature has mainly laid emphasis on the bright side of ST and neglected examining its impact on safety behavior (SB) from detrimental psychological factors. Drawing from the conservation of resources theory, a novel two-staged model was established to understand how these psychological factors mediate and moderate the association …

Solving The "King Lear Problem", Benjamin Means

Faculty Publications

In Shakespeare’s play, King Lear, an aging ruler relinquished control to two of his three daughters. The succession failed miserably, destroying his family and destabilizing his kingdom. King Lear shows why few family businesses survive beyond three generations. Understanding Lear’s failure is crucial to avoiding Lear’s fate, whether the family business in question is a monarchy, a media empire, or a hardware store. The conventional wisdom is that Lear gave away his kingdom too soon and left himself vulnerable to predatory heirs. This has been referred to as the “King Lear Problem.”

The conventional wisdom is wrong. Lear’s succession plan …

Resurfacing Sovereignty: Who Regulates Surface Mining In Indian Country After Mcgirt?, Robin M. Rotman, Sam J. Carter

Faculty Publications

This article examines disputes over surface mining jurisdiction on the Muscogee (Creek) Nation Reservation post-McGirt and the larger implications for sovereignty and environmental justice in Indian Country that follow. Part II summarizes the history of federal, state, and tribal relations and provides an analysis of the McGirt decision and its potential impacts on natural resource issues. Part III offers an examination of jurisdictional uncertainties post-McGirt through an in-depth discussion of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act and the State of Oklahoma v. United States Department of the Interior case. Drawing from the examination of surface mining regulation, Part IV …

Sci: A Bayesian Adaptive Phase I/Ii Dose-Finding Design Accounting For Semi-Competing Risks Outcomes For Immunotherapy Trials, Yifei Zhang, Beibei Guo, Sha Cao, Chi Zhang, Yong Zang

Faculty Publications

An immunotherapy trial often uses the phase I/II design to identify the optimal biological dose, which monitors the efficacy and toxicity outcomes simultaneously in a single trial. The progression-free survival rate is often used as the efficacy outcome in phase I/II immunotherapy trials. As a result, patients developing disease progression in phase I/II immunotherapy trials are generally seriously ill and are often treated off the trial for ethical consideration. Consequently, the happening of disease progression will terminate the toxicity event but not vice versa, so the issue of the semi-competing risks arises. Moreover, this issue can become more intractable with …

Redox-Engineering Enhances Maize Thermotolerance And Grain Yield In The Field, Stuart A. Sprague, Tej Man Tamang, Trevor Steiner, Qingyu Wu, Ying Hu, Tayebeh Kakeshpour, Jungeun Park, Jian Yang, Zhao Peng, Blake Bergkamp, Impa Somayanda, Morgan Peterson, Ely Oliveira Garcia, Yangfan Hao, Paul St. Amand, Guihua Bai, Paul A. Nakata, Ivo Rieu, David P. Jackson, Ninghui Cheng, Barbara Valent, Kendal D. Hirschi, Sv Krishna Jagadish, Sanzhen Liu, Frank F. White, Sunghun Park

Faculty Publications

Increasing populations and temperatures are expected to escalate food demands beyond production capacities, and the development of maize lines with better performance under heat stress is desirable. Here, we report that constitutive ectopic expression of a heterologous glutaredoxin S17 from Arabidopsis thaliana (AtGRXS17) can provide thermotolerance in maize through enhanced chaperone activity and modulation of heat stress-associated gene expression. The thermotolerant maize lines had increased protection against protein damage and yielded a sixfold increase in grain production in comparison to the non-transgenic counterparts under heat stress field conditions. The maize lines also displayed thermotolerance in the reproductive stages, resulting in …

Effect Of Two Strains Of Beauveria Bassiana On The Fecundity Of Nezara Viridula L. (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae), Maribel Portilla, Gadi V.P. Reddy, Moukaram Tertuliano

Faculty Publications

The southern green stink bug (SGSB) Nezara viridula (L.) (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae), has become a significant pest of soybean and cotton in southern Central America and in the lower mid-southern U.S. A laboratory colony of SGSB was used to evaluate the effect of two isolates of Beauveria bassiana (Balsamo-Crivelli) Vuillemin (Hypocreales: Cordycipitaceae) including the commercial strain GHA and the Mississippi Delta native NI8 strain on the fecundity of this pest. Water control, Tween-80, and four concentrations of each strain (n × 104, 105, 106, and 107) were evaluated. Both native and commercial isolates with the highest concentrations were susceptible to the …

Susceptibility Of Different Life Stages Of Kudzu Bug Megacopta Cribraria (F.) (Hemiptera: Plataspidae) To Two Different Native Strains Of Beauveria Bassiana, James Paul Glover, Maribel Portilla, Katherine Parys, Clint Allen, Justin George, Gadi V.P. Reddy

Faculty Publications

This is the first study that examined and compared the survival, LC50, and RR50 estimates of Megacopta cribraria F. (Hemiptera: Plataspidae) nymphs and adults that were exposed to two native Beauveria bassiana isolates (Previously codified as NI8 and KUDSC strains) at four concentrations. The greatest reduction in survival and mortality was observed primarily on or after 10 d post-exposure to B. bassiana isolates. Survival of early instars (2nd, 3rd) were not affected by either strains or concentration at 3 d and 5 d post-exposure. Survival of later instars (5th) and adults was significantly reduced when exposed to the KUDSC strain …

Spatiotemporal Patterns Of Male And Female White-Tailed Deer On A Hunted Landscape, Dylan G. Stewart, William D. Gulsby, Stephen S. Ditchkoff, Bret A. Collier

Faculty Publications

Resource selection in sexually dimorphic ungulates is at least partially explained by sex-specific resource requirements and risk aversion strategies. Females generally spend more time in areas with less risk and abundant, high-quality forage due to their smaller body size. However, demographically variable responses to risk are context dependent, and few have concurrently quantified male and female behavior within areas with the same resource base. We captured 111 (54 males, 57 females) adult white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) from 2009 to 2018 on a site in South Carolina, USA, where hunters were the primary source of adult mortality. We fit each deer …

Abstinence Phobia Among Adult African American/Black Cannabis Users, Michael J. Zvolensky, Brooke Y. Kauffman, Lorra Garey, Julia D. Buckner

Faculty Publications

Objective: African American/Black individuals experience significant health disparities, particularly as it relates to cannabis use. As such, there is a need to identify intrapersonal factors related to more severe patterns of use among this subpopulation. Worry about quitting or reducing cannabis as a result of the anticipated anxiety-related states during deprivation (i.e., abstinence phobia) is one factor that is theoretically important in the context of cannabis-related disparities. Method: The current study sought to examine the cross-sectional association between abstinence phobia and cannabis use problems, perceived barriers for cannabis cessation, and cannabis withdrawal symptoms. Participants included 83 African American/Black cannabis users …

Estimating R0 From Early Exponential Growth: Parallels Between 1918 Influenza And 2020 Sars-Cov-2 Pandemics, Grant Foster, Bret D. Elderd, Robert L. Richards, Tad Dallas

Faculty Publications

The large spatial scale, geographical overlap, and similarities in transmission mode between the 1918 H1N1 influenza and 2020 SARS-CoV-2 pandemics together provide a novel opportunity to investigate relationships between transmission of two different diseases in the same location. To this end, we use initial exponential growth rates in a Bayesian hierarchical framework to estimate the basic reproductive number, R0, of both disease outbreaks in a common set of 43 cities in the United States. By leveraging multiple epidemic time series across a large spatial area, we are able to better characterize the variation in R0 across the United States. Additionally, …

Development And Validation Of An Optimized Marker Set For Genomic Selection In Southern U.S. Rice Breeding Programs, Tommaso Cerioli, Christopher O. Hernandez, Brijesh Angira, Susan R. Mccouch, Kelly R. Robbins, Adam N. Famoso

Faculty Publications

The potential of genomic selection (GS) to increase the efficiency of breeding programs has been clearly demonstrated; however, the implementation of GS in rice (Oryza sativa L.) breeding programs has been limited. In recent years, efforts have begun to work toward implementing GS into the Louisiana State University (LSU) Agricultural Center rice breeding program. One of the first steps for successful GS implementation is to establish a suitable marker set for the target germplasm and a reliable, cost-effective genotyping platform capable of providing informative marker data with an adequate turnaround time. The objective of this study was to develop a …

Validity Of An Abbreviated Individual Water Insecurity Experiences (Iwise-4) Scale For Measuring The Prevalence Of Water Insecurity In Low- And Middle-Income Countries, Hilary J. Bethanancourt, Edward A. Frongillo Jr. Ph.D., Sera L. Young

Faculty Publications

The 12-item Water Insecurity Experiences Scales provide high resolution, cross-context equivalent data on household and individual water insecurity. A 4-item, 1-minute version of the Household Water Insecurity Experiences (HWISE-4) Scale has proven useful for understanding the prevalence of household water insecurity experiences when limited resources preclude the use of the HWISE-12 Scale. Herein, we tested the validity of an analogous four-item version of the Individual Water Insecurity Experiences Scale (IWISE-4) for measuring the prevalence of individual water insecurity when limited resources prevent implementation of the IWISE-12 Scale. We used data from adults in 31 low- and middle-income countries (n …

Estimating R0 From Early Exponential Growth: Parallels Between 1918 Influenza And 2020 Sars-Cov-2 Pandemics, Grant Foster, Bret D. Elderd, Robert L. Richards, Tad Dallas

Faculty Publications

The large spatial scale, geographical overlap, and similarities in transmission mode between the 1918 H1N1 influenza and 2020 SARS-CoV-2 pandemics together provide a novel opportunity to investigate relationships between transmission of two different diseases in the same location. To this end, we use initial exponential growth rates in a Bayesian hierarchical framework to estimate the basic reproductive number, R₀, of both disease outbreaks in a common set of 43 cities in the United States. By leveraging multiple epidemic time series across a large spatial area, we are able to better characterize the variation in R₀ across the …

Rates Of Future Climate Change In The Gulf Of Mexico And The Caribbean Sea: Implications For Coral Reef Ecosystems, A. E. Lawman, S. G. Dee, K. L. Delong, A. M.S. Correa

Faculty Publications

Rising temperatures and ocean acidification due to anthropogenic climate change pose ominous threats to coral reef ecosystems in the Gulf of Mexico (GoM) and the western Caribbean Sea. Unfortunately, the once structurally complex coral reefs in the GoM and Caribbean have dramatically declined since the 1970s; relatively few coral reefs still exhibit a mean live coral cover of >10%. Additional work is needed to characterize future climate stressors on coral reefs in the GoM and the Caribbean Sea. Here, we use climate model simulations spanning the period of 2015–2100 to partition and assess the individual impacts of climate stressors on …

Rural-Urban Differences In Breast Cancer Surgical Delays In Medicare Beneficiaries, Ronnie J. Zipkin, Andrew Schaefer, Changzhen Wang, Andrew P. Loehrer, Nirav S. Kapadia, Gabriel A. Brooks, Tracy Onega, Fahui Wang, Alistair J. O’Malley, Erika L. Moen

Faculty Publications

Background: Delays between breast cancer diagnosis and surgery are associated with worsened survival. Delays are more common in urban-residing patients, although factors specific to surgical delays among rural and urban patients are not well understood. Methods: We used a 100% sample of fee-for-service Medicare claims during 2007–2014 to identify 238,491 women diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer undergoing initial surgery and assessed whether they experienced biopsy-to-surgery intervals > 90 days. We employed multilevel regression to identify associations between delays and patient, regional, and surgeon characteristics, both in combined analyses and stratified by rurality of patient residence. Results: Delays were more prevalent among …

The Role Of A Green Bank In South Carolina: A Market & Feasibility Assessment, Jory Fleming, Claire Windsor

Faculty Publications

A market and feasibility report that explores the role of a green bank in South Carolina. This report is the culmination of a multi-year process that included a comprehensive market assessment and interviews with over 60 organizations across South Carolina. It demonstrates that a green bank could play a vital role in South Carolina by creating a dedicated institution working to accelerate the flow of capital to projects that seek to reduce carbon pollution and increase resilience to climate impacts.