Digital Commons Network^™

Activist Framing Of Abortion And Use For Policy Change In Peru, Cynthia Beavin, Deborah L. Billings, Susana Chávez

Faculty Publications

Identifying how activists frame the topic of abortion is key to unpacking their understanding of “abortion” in Peru. It is important to explore how and why certain frames are privileged in attempts to shift policy and social norms. In 2016, the authors conducted qualitative interviews with 10 activists in Lima, Peru to develop a deep understanding of these issues. Activists worked through different approaches and lenses, including law, medicine, sociology, psychiatry, journalism, non-governmental organisational management, LGBTQ rights, and indigenous rights. Four common frames emerged through the analysis and those frames shifted based on whether activists were speaking to the general …

Median Confidence Regions In A Nonparametric Model, Edsel A. Pena, Taeho Kim

Faculty Publications

The nonparametric measurement error model (NMEM) postulates that Xi=Δ+ϵi,i=1,2,…,n;Δ∈R with ϵi,i=1,2,…,n, IID from F(⋅)∈Fc,0, where Fc,0 is the class of all continuous distributions with median 0, so Δ is the median parameter of X. This paper deals with the problem of constructing a confidence region (CR) for Δ under the NMEM. Aside from the NMEM, the problem setting also arises in a variety of situations, including inference about the median lifetime of a complex system arising in engineering, reliability, biomedical, and public health settings, as well as in the economic arena such as when dealing with household income. Current methods …

Mandatory Multilateralism, Evan J. Criddle, Evan Fox-Decent

Faculty Publications

This Article challenges the conventional wisdom that states are always free to choose whether to participate in multilateral regimes. International law often mandates multilateralism to ensure that state laws and practices are compatible with sovereign equality and joint stewardship. The Article maps mandatory multilateralism's domain, defines its requirements, and examines its application to three controversies: the South China Sea dispute, the United States' withdrawal from the 2015 Paris Agreement, and Bolivia's case against Chile in the International Court of Justice.

“I Was On My Own:” Reconsidering The Regulatory Framework For Family Support During College, Julia Barnard, Jess Dorrance, Kate Sablosky Elengold, David Ansong

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Opioid Policing, Barbara A. Fedders

Faculty Publications

This Article identifies and explores a new, local law enforcement approach to alleged drug offenders. Initially limited to a few police departments, but now expanding rapidly across the country, this innovation takes one of two primary forms. The first is a diversion program through which officers refer alleged offenders to community-based social services rather than initiate criminal proceedings. The second form offers legal amnesty as well as priority access to drug detoxification programs to users who voluntarily relinquish illicit drugs. Because the upsurge in addiction to — and death from — opioids has spurred this innovation, I refer to it …

North Carolina And The Genius Of The Common Law, John V. Orth

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Was It Worth It: The Complexities And Contradiction In Assessing The Value Of Higher Education, Kate Sablosky Elengold, Jess Dorrance, Julia Barnard, David Ansong

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Self-Report Qris: Challenges With Validation, Jacob A. Esplin, Brionne G. Neilson, Ann M. Berghout Austin, Alexander Fronk

Faculty Publications

Research Findings: The current study looks at the validity of a voluntary self-report Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS) and the characteristics of participating childcare centers. The self-reported quality indicators are compared to external ratings of quality Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale-Revised ([ECERS-R]) and correlated with variables such as size of center and number of state subsidy clients. ECERS-R scores were unrelated to capacity but significantly lower for centers with a large percentage of state-supported clients. Regarding self-reported quality, centers frequently under-reported their quality and what was claimed was not always externally validated, suggesting a self-report QRIS may not be …

Uniting And Dividing Influences Of Religion In Marriage Among Highly Religious Couples, Heather H. Kelley, Loren D. Marks, David C. Dollahite

Faculty Publications

Previous research has suggested that religion can be both helpful and harmful. However, much oof the research on religion and families has employed relatively simple, distal measures of religion and has focused on predominantly only one side of the dualistic nature of religion. Drawing upon interviews with 198 religious couples (N = 396 individuals), the purpose of this study was to better understand how religion can have both a unifying and a dividing influence on marital relationships. Three overarching themes, accompanied by supporting primary qualitative data from participants, are presented. These themes include (a) how religious beliefs unite and …

Paternal Self-Efficacy: A Parenting Resilience Factor For Fathers With Depression, Mark Herrick Trahan, Kevin Shafer

Faculty Publications

Parental depression has a negative effect on child development including mental and physical health, language and development, and externalizing and internalizing behavior. This quantitative research study examined the relationship between paternal self-efficacy (PSE) and parenting behaviors often associated with paternal depression. Data from the Survey of Contemporary Fathers were used and responses from self-identified fathers (n = 1,156) on paternal involvement, warmth, harsh parenting practices, and parenting self-efficacy were analyzed to assess the association between depression and PSE on fathering behavior. Ordinary least squares regression analysis indicated that depression was associated with harsh parenting and parenting warmth, while parenting self-efficacy …

In-Feed Native Advertisement On News Websites: Effects Of Advertising Format, Website Reputation, And Product Involvement, Lijie Zhou, Fei Xue

Faculty Publications

Focusing on two popular types of native advertising, endemic in-feed advertisements and linked in-feed advertisements, the current study examined the effects of advertising format, website reputation, and product involvement on perceived advertising credibility (trustworthiness and expertise), attitude toward the advertisement, brand interest, and purchase intention. In general, endemic in-feed advertisements were rated more favorably on source expertise and brand interest, while linked in-feed advertisements scored higher on attitude toward the advertisement. Three-way interaction effects were found for source trustworthiness, attitude toward the advertisement, brand interest, and purchase intention. Endemic in-feed advertisements showed stronger impact for the high-involvement product on a …

Removal Of Eriochrome Black T By Sulfate Radical Generated From Fe-Impregnated Biochar/Persulfate In Fenton-Like Reaction, Jong Hwan Park, Jim J. Wang, Negar Tafti, Ronald D. Delaune

Faculty Publications

A new heterogeneous Fenton catalyst, Fe-impregnated biochar catalyst (Fe-BC) was synthesized and evaluated in detail for its catalytic activity with sulfate radical under various conditions. The optimum conditions for the removal of Eriochrome Black T (EBT) by Fe-BC were determined as 0.27 g/L K2S2O8 (PS) and 0.5 g/L Fe-BC for 0.1 g/L EBT, and which resulted 85–88% removal efficiency within 2 h. The effective oxidation of EBT was observed over a pH range of 2–4 and temperature of 25–45 °C and maintained EBT removal efficiency of 77.6–92.7%. Under optimum conditions, the catalytic activity was faster in the order of PS …

Host Country Responses To Non-Communicable Diseases Amongst Syrian Refugees: A Review, Chaza Akik, Hala Ghattas Ph.D., Sandra Mesmar, Miriam Rabkin, Wafaa M. El-Sadr, Fouad M. Fouad

Faculty Publications

Background:

Since the beginning of the Syrian conflict in 2011, Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey have hosted large refugee populations, with a high pre-conflict burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs).

Objectives:

We aimed to describe the ways in which these three host country health systems have provided NCD services to Syrian refugees over time, and to highlight the successes and challenges they encountered.

Methods:

We conducted a descriptive review of the academic and grey literature, published between March 2011 and March 2017, using PubMed and Google searches complemented with documents provided by relevant stakeholders.

Results:

Forty-one articles and reports met our search …

Chemical Durability And Dissolution Kinetics Of Iodoapatite In Aqueous Solutions, Zelong Zhang, William L. Ebert, Tiankai Yao, Jie Lian, Kalliat T. Valsaraj, Jianwei Wang

Faculty Publications

© 2019 American Chemical Society. Understanding the long-term release of radionuclides from nuclear waste to the environment is critical for public acceptance and sustainability of nuclear energy. Iodoapatite, a synthetic material similar to mineral vanadinite proposed for radioactive iodine-129 immobilization, is employed in this study as a model system for iodine waste forms and ceramic waste forms in general to understand its long-term chemical durability. Semidynamic leaching experiments were performed in cap-sealed Teflon vessels to evaluate the chemical durability at temperatures from 20 to 90 °C and pH values from 4 to 9 using deionized water and pH buffer solutions. …

Functional And Transcriptomic Characterization Of Carboplatin-Resistant A2780 Ovarian Cancer Cell Line, Tamara Viscarra, Kurt Buchegger, Ignacio Jofre, Ismael Riquelme, Louise Zanella, Michel Abanto, Alyssa C. Parker, Stephen R. Piccolo, Juan Carlos Roa, Carmen Ili, Priscilla Brebi

Faculty Publications

Background

Ovarian cancer is a significant cancer-related cause of death in women worldwide. The most used chemotherapeutic regimen is based on carboplatin (CBDCA). However, CBDCA resistance is the main obstacle to a better prognosis. An in vitro drug-resistant cell model would help in the understanding of molecular mechanisms underlying this drug-resistance phenomenon. The aim of this study was to characterize cellular and molecular changes of induced CBDCA-resistant ovarian cancer cell line A2780.

Methods

The cell selection strategy used in this study was a dose-per-pulse method using a concentration of 100 μM for 2 h. Once 20 cycles of exposure to …

Voltage-Dependent Membrane Properties Shape The Size But Not The Frequency Content Of Spontaneous Voltage Fluctuations In Layer 2/3 Somatosensory Cortex, Fernando R. Fernandez, Jad Noueihed, John A. White

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Role Of Temperature In Affecting Carry-Over Effects And Larval Competition In The Globally Invasive Mosquito Aedes Albopictus, Nnaemeka F. Ezeakacha, Donald Yee

Faculty Publications

Background

Ectotherms, like mosquitoes, have evolved specific responses to variation in environmental conditions like temperature, and these responses could confer a fitness benefit or cost when carried-over to different life stages. However, effects of temperature on animals with complex life-cycles often only focus on part of their life-cycle, or only consider how single aspects of life-history may carry over to new stages. Herein we investigated how temperature affects intraspecific larval competition and carry-over effects from larval to adult stages in the widespread invasive Asian tiger mosquito Aedes albopictus.

Methods

For larval competition, larvae were reared at three densities (10, …

Identifying Areas With Disproportionate Local Health Department Services Relative To Opioid Overdose, Hiv And Hepatitis C Diagnosis Rates: A Study Of Rural Illinois, Collen Mcluckie, Mai T. Pho, Kaitlin Ellis, Livia Navon, Kelly Walblay, Wiley D. Jenkins, Christofer Rodriguez, Marynia A. Kolak, Yen-Tyng Chen, John A. Schneider, Whitney E. Zahnd

Faculty Publications

Background: U.S. rural populations have been disproportionately affected by the syndemic of opioid-use disorder (OUD) and the associated increase in overdoses and risk of hepatitis C virus (HCV) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) transmission. Local health departments (LHDs) can play a critical role in the response to this syndemic. We utilized two geospatial approaches to identify areas of discordance between LHD service availability and disease burden to inform service prioritization in rural settings.Methods: We surveyed rural Illinois LHDs to assess their OUD-related services, and calculated county-level opioid overdose, HIV, and hepatitis C diagnosis rates. Bivariate choropleth maps were created to …

Group-Based Physical Activity Trajectories In Children Transitioning From Elementary To High School, Russell R. Pate, Michaela A. Schenkelberg, Marsha Dowda, Kerry L. Mciver

Faculty Publications

Background

Physical activity has been observed repeatedly to decline as children transition into adolescence; however, few studies have explored the possibility that sub-groups of children experience unique patterns of change during this transition. The purpose of this longitudinal study was to examine the physical activity trajectories in clusters of youth transitioning from 5th to 11th grade.

Methods

Participants (n = 652) were recruited as 5th graders (ages 10–12 years) from elementary schools (n = 21) in two school districts. Demographic, anthropometric, and physical activity data were collected once per year when children were in 5th, 6th, 7th, 9th, and 11th …

Educating Patients About Opioid Disposal: A Key Role For Perianesthesia Nurses, Katreena C. Merrill, Valynn Christina Haslam, Karlen E. (Beth) Luthy, Craig Nuttall

Faculty Publications

Purpose: To examine opioid prescription practices, patient use of opioids after laparoscopic cholecystectomy, and patient knowledge about disposal of unused medication.

Design: Mixed methods design with a chart review and structured phone interview.

Methods: Thirty-four patients were interviewed by phone and asked how many opioids were prescribed, how many excess pills they had 6 to 10 days postoperatively, and if they knew how to dispose of them.

Findings: Average number of excess pills ranged from 0 to 42 (mean = 14; SD = 11.7). Nearly half of patients (47%) perceived the prescribed quantity as “too many.” Seventy-one percent of patients …

Food Insecurity And Violence In A Prospective Cohort Of Women At Risk For Or Living With Hiv In The U.S., Amy A. Conroy, Mardge H. Cohen, Edward A. Frongillo Jr., Alexander C. Tsai, Tracey E. Wilson, Eryka L. Wentz, Adaora A. Adimora, Daniel Merenstein, Ighovwerha Ofotokun, Lisa Metsch, Mirjam-Colette Kempf, Adebola Adedimeji, Janet M. Turan, Phyllis C. Tien, Sheri D. Weiser

Faculty Publications

Background Food insecurity and violence are two major public health issues facing U.S. women. The link between food insecurity and violence has received little attention, particularly regarding the temporal ordering of events. The present study used data from the Women’s Interagency Human Immunodeficiency Virus Study to investigate the longitudinal association of food insecurity and violence in a cohort of women at risk for or living with HIV.

Methods Study participants completed six assessments from 2013–16 on food insecurity (operationalized as marginal, low, and very low food security) and violence (sexual or physical, and psychological). We used multi-level logistic regression, controlling …

Does Family Communication Matter? Exploring Knowledge Of Breast Cancer Genetics In Cancer Families, Deborah Himes, Sarah H. Davis, Jane Lassetter Phd, Rn, Neil E. Peterson, Margaret F. Clayton, Wendy C. Birmingham, Anita Y. Kinney

Faculty Publications

Purpose: Knowledge of breast cancer genetics is critical for those at increased hereditary risk who must make decisions about breast cancer screening options. This descriptive study explored theory-based relationships among cognitive and emotional variables related to knowledge of breast cancer genetics in cancer families. Methods: Participants included first-degree relatives of women with breast cancer who had received genetic counseling and testing. Study participants themselves did not have breast cancer and had not received genetic counseling or testing. Data were collected by telephone interviews and surveys. Variables analyzed included numeracy, health literacy, cancer-related distress, age, education, and the reported amount of …

Predicting Protein Residue-Residue Contacts Using Random Forests And Deep Networks, Joseph Luttrell Iv, Tong Liu, Chaoyang Zhang, Zheng Wang

Faculty Publications

Background: The ability to predict which pairs of amino acid residues in a protein are in contact with each other offers many advantages for various areas of research that focus on proteins. For example, contact prediction can be used to reduce the computational complexity of predicting the structure of proteins and even to help identify functionally important regions of proteins. These predictions are becoming especially important given the relatively low number of experimentally determined protein structures compared to the amount of available protein sequence data.

Results: Here we have developed and benchmarked a set of machine learning methods …

Similarities And Differences Between Variants Called With Human Reference Genome Hg19 Or Hg38, Bohu Pan, Rebecca Kusko, Wenming Xiao, Yuantin Zheng, Zhichao Liu, Chunlin Xiao, Sugunadevi Sakkiah, Wenjing Guo, Ping Gong, Chaoyang Zhang, Weigong Ge, Leming Shi, Weida Tong, Huixiao Hong

Faculty Publications

Background: Reference genome selection is a prerequisite for successful analysis of next generation sequencing (NGS) data. Current practice employs one of the two most recent human reference genome versions: HG19 or HG38. To date, the impact of genome version on SNV identification has not been rigorously assessed.

Results: We conducted analysis comparing the SNVs identified based on HG19 vs HG38, leveraging whole genome sequencing (WGS) data from the genome-in-a-bottle (GIAB) project. First, SNVs were called using 26 different bioinformatics pipelines with either HG19 or HG38. Next, two tools were used to convert the called SNVs between HG19 and …

White Spot Syndrome Virus (Wssv) In Cultured Juvenile Blue Crabs Callinectes Sapidus: Oral Versus Injection Exposure, And Feeding Frequency Effects, Reginald B. Blaylock, Stephen S. Curran, Jeffrey M. Lotz

Faculty Publications

The efficacy of oral versus injection exposure and the effect of feeding frequency on the transmission of white spot syndrome virus (WSSV) in cultured juvenile blue crabs Callinectes sapidus were investigated. Crabs in Group 1 (G-1, n = 48) were exposed once orally to 100 mg of WSSV-infected shrimp tissue mg^-1 of body weight (BW). The oral inoculum contained 2.6 × 10⁹ WSSV genome copies mg^-1 tissue. Group 2 (G-2, n = 46) received the same dosage once weekly for 5 wk. Group 3 (G-3, n = 12) was injected with 0.01 ml (2.6 × 10^{7 …}

Tadkb:Family Classification And A Knowledge Base Of Topologically Associating Domains, Tong Liu, Jacob Porter, Chenguang Zhao, Hao Zhu, Nan Wang, Zheng Sun, Yin-Yuan Mo, Zheng Wang

Faculty Publications

Background: Topologically associating domains (TADs) are considered the structural and functional units of the genome. However, there is a lack of an integrated resource for TADs in the literature where researchers can obtain family classifications and detailed information about TADs.

Results: We built an online knowledge base TADKB integrating knowledge for TADs in eleven cell types of human and mouse. For each TAD, TADKB provides the predicted three-dimensional (3D) structures of chromosomes and TADs, and detailed annotations about the protein-coding genes and long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) existent in each TAD. Besides the 3D chromosomal structures inferred by population …

Korean Scholars’ Use Of For-Pay Editors And Perceptions Of Ethicality, Eun-Young Julia Kim

Faculty Publications

Many Korean scholars rely on language professionals for preparing English manuscripts. So far, little has been reported on how Korean scholars utilize them and how they perceive various types of help received. This study examines how Korean scholars utilize for-pay editors and translators, and how they perceive various types of textual modifications incurred in the process, based on the data obtained through a survey completed by 88 Korean faculty from three universities. Half of the participants received proofreading help from for-pay editors, and fewer participants received help with translation. They held widely differing views on ethicality concerning scenarios that involved …

Adult Vaccination Rates In The Mentally Ill Population: An Outpatient Improvement Project, Leslie W. Miles, Nathalia Williams, Karlen Beth Luthy, Lacey Eden

Faculty Publications

Background: Adults who suffer with severe and persistent mental illness (SPMI) rarely access medical care to receive preventive vaccines. Aims: To increase the rate of vaccines among the SPMI population in an outpatient community mental health center (CMHC). Methods: A review of the literature identified a gap between the general population and SPMI clients in receiving preventive vaccinations. An initial mixed-method convenience survey of SPMI clients (n = 392) provided information on current vaccination status, demographics, beliefs, and interest in receiving vaccines. A vaccination program was developed to address identified barriers and increase vaccination rates. Postintervention data were collected …

Australian Library Job Advertisements: Seeking Inclusion And Diversity, Kim M. Thompson, Rebecca Muir, Asim Qayyum

Faculty Publications

A growing body of literature is drawing our attention to on diversity in librarianship, arguing for improved diversity through better recruitment, retention, and career advancement of minority professionals. While much of the discussion about diversity in libraries is taking place in United States, this article attempts to extend the discussion, bringing attention to diversity in Australian librarianship through analysis of Australian library job ads. This article uses content analysis of 96 Australian job ads posted from 22 January to 3 February 2018 in key Australian library job search engines. The analysis focuses on how diversity is reflected in these ads, …

Exercises For Older Adults With Knee And Hip Pain, Neil E. Peterson, Kay D. Osterloh, M. Nichole Graff

Faculty Publications

Half of all older adults report knee and/or hip pain. Obesity and sedentary lifestyle contribute to the incidence and prevalence of painful knee and hip conditions. Weight loss should be a priority in overweight or obese patients. Improving joint function over time requires a balance of rest and usage. Practitioners should assess joint disorders and recommend exercises for reducing knee and hip pain with patients when appropriate. Instruction should include a combination of 1) stretching and flexibility, 2) strength training, and 3) endurance conditioning exercises. Even small improvements in exercise can make meaningful improvements in pain, movement, endurance, and quality …