Digital Commons Network^™

Omega-3 Fatty Acid Supplementation Appears To Attenuate Particulate Air Pollution-Induced Cardiac Effects And Lipid Changes In Healthy Middle-Aged Adults, Haiyan Tong, Ana G. Rappold, David Diaz-Sanchez, Susan E. Steck, Jon Berntsen, Wayne E. Cascio, Robert B. Devlin, James M. Samet

Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Air pollution exposure has been associated with adverse cardiovascular health effects. Findings of a recent epidemiological study suggest that omega-3 fatty acid (fish oil) supplementation blunted cardiac responses to air pollution exposure.

OBJECTIVES: We conducted a randomized, controlled exposure study to evaluate the efficacy of fish oil supplements in attenuating adverse cardiac effects of exposure to concentrated ambient fine and ultrafine particulate matter (CAP).

METHODS: Twenty-nine healthy middle-aged participants (mean 58 ± 1 years of age) were supplemented in a randomized, double-blinded manner with 3 g/day of either fish oil or olive oil for 4 weeks before sequential chamber …

Feature-Based Opinion Mining And Ranking, Magdalini Eirinaki, S. Pisal, J. Singh

Faculty Publications

The proliferation of blogs and social networks presents a new set of challenges and opportunities in the way information is searched and retrieved. Even though facts still play a very important role when information is sought on a topic, opinions have become increasingly important as well. Opinions expressed in blogs and social networks are playing an important role influencing everything from the products people buy to the presidential candidate they support. Thus, there is a need for a new type of search engine which will not only retrieve facts, but will also enable the retrieval of opinions. Such a search …

The Gift Of Guidance: Establishing Publishing, Health, And Education Ministries, Merlin D. Burt

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Dual Hiv Risk And Vulnerabilities Among Women Who Use Or Inject Drugs: No Single Prevention Strategy Is The Answer, Nabila El-Bassel, Wendee M. Wechsberg, Stacey Shaw

Faculty Publications

HIV prevention strategies and services need to address the unique and multilevel drivers that increase the vulnerabilities to HIV, HCV, and STIs among women who use drugs including those who engage in sex work. Scaling-up and improving access to multilevel and combined HIV prevention strategies for these women is central to combating the HIV epidemic.

Rethinking Microfinance, Lan Cao

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

An Actor-Based Model Of Social Network Influence On Adolescent Body Size, Screen Time, And Playing Sports, David A. Shoham, Liping Tong, Peter J. Lamberson, Amy H. Auchincloss, Jun Zhang, Lara Dugas, Jay S. Kaufman, Richard S. Cooper, Amy Luke

Faculty Publications

Recent studies suggest that obesity may be "contagious" between individuals in social networks. Social contagion (influence), however, may not be identifiable using traditional statistical approaches because they cannot distinguish contagion from homophily (the propensity for individuals to select friends who are similar to themselves) or from shared environmental influences. In this paper, we apply the stochastic actor-based model (SABM) framework developed by Snijders and colleagues to data on adolescent body mass index (BMI), screen time, and playing active sports. Our primary hypothesis was that social influences on adolescent body size and related behaviors are independent of friend selection. Employing the …

Emergency Nurses' Suggestions For Improving End-Of-Life Care Obstacles, Renea L. Beckstrand, R. Daniel Wood, Lynn C. Callister, Karlen E. (Beth) Luthy, Sondra Heaston

Faculty Publications

Introduction: More than 123 million ED visits are reported annually. Many patients who arrive for care to help extend their lives instead die while in the emergency department. Emergency departments were designed to save lives rather than to provide optimal end-of-life (EOL) care. Emergency nurses care for these dying patients and their families. The purpose of this study was to determine what suggestions emergency nurses have for improving EOL care.

Methods: Emergency nurses were asked which aspects of EOL care they would like to see changed to improve how patients die in emergency departments. Of the 1000 nurses surveyed, 230 …

Accelerometry Cut Points For Physical Activity In Underserved African Americans, Nevelyn N. Trumpeter, Hannah G. Lawman, Dawn K. Wilson, Russell R. Pate, M Lee Van Horn, Alicia K. Tate

Faculty Publications

Background: Despite their increased use, no studies have examined the validity of Actical accelerometry cut points for moderate physical activity (PA) in underserved (low-income, high-crime), minority populations. The high rates of chronic disease and physical inactivity in these populations likely impact the measurement of PA. There is growing concern that traditionally defined cut points may be too high for older or inactive adults. The present study aimed to determine the self-selected pace associated with instructions to “walk for exercise” and the corresponding accelerometry estimates (e.g., Actical counts/minute) for underserved, African American adults.

Method: Fifty one participants (61% women) had a …

Further Evidence For The Likely Completeness Of The Library Of Solved Single Domain Protein Structures, Jeffrey Skolnick, Hongyi Zhou, Michal Brylinski

Faculty Publications

Recent studies questioned whether the Protein Data Bank (PDB) contains all compact, single domain protein structures. Here, we show that all quasi-spherical, QS, random protein structures devoid of secondary structure are in the PDB and are excellent templates for all native PDB proteins up to 250 residues. Because QS templates have a similar global contour as native, TASSER can refine 98% (90%) of those whose TM-score is 0.4 (0.35) to structures greater than or equal to the 0.5 TM-score threshold (0.74 (0.64) mean TM-score) for CATH/SCOP assignment. On the basis of this and the fact that, at a TM-score of …

Correlates Of Poor Health Among Orphans And Abandoned Children In Less Wealthy Countries: The Importance Of Caregiver Health, Nathan Thielman, Jan Ostermann, Kathryn Whetten, Rachel Whetten, Karen O’Donnell, Positive Outcomes For Orphans (Pofo) Research Team

Faculty Publications

Background: More than 153 million children worldwide have been orphaned by the loss of one or both parents, and millions more have been abandoned. We investigated relationships between the health of orphaned and abandoned children (OAC) and child, caregiver, and household characteristics among randomly selected OAC in five countries.

Methodology: Using a two-stage random sampling strategy in 6 study areas in Cambodia, Ethiopia, India, Kenya, and Tanzania, the Positive Outcomes for Orphans (POFO) study identified 1,480 community-living OAC ages 6 to 12. Detailed interviews were conducted with 1,305 primary caregivers at baseline and after 6 and 12 months. Multivariable logistic …

Geospatial Examination Of Lithium In Drinking Water And Suicide Mortality, Marco Helbich, Michael Leitner, Nestor D. Kapusta

Faculty Publications

Background: Lithium as a substance occurring naturally in food and drinking water may exert positive effects on mental health. In therapeutic doses, which are more than 100 times higher than natural daily intakes, lithium has been proven to be a mood-stabilizer and suicide preventive. This study examined whether natural lithium content in drinking water is regionally associated with lower suicide rates.Methods: Previous statistical approaches were challenged by global and local spatial regression models taking spatial autocorrelation as well as non-stationarity into account. A Geographically Weighted Regression model was applied with significant independent variables as indicated by a spatial autoregressive model.Results: …

The Last Frontier: Rural Emergency Nurses’ Perceptions Of End-Of-Life Care Obstacles, Renea L. Beckstrand, Virginia C. Giles, Karlen E. (Beth) Luthy, Lynn C. Callister, Sondra Heaston

Faculty Publications

Introduction: Caring for dying patients is part of working in a rural emergency department. Rural emergency nurses are prepared to provide life-saving treatments but find there are barriers or obstacles to providing end-of-life (EOL) care. This study was completed to discover the size, frequency, and magnitude of obstacles in providing EOL care in rural emergency departments as perceived by rural emergency nurses.

Methods: A 57-item questionnaire was sent to 52 rural hospitals in Idaho, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada, and Alaska. Respondents were asked to rate items on size and frequency of perceived obstacles to providing EOL care in rural emergency departments. …

Amphibious Entrepreneurs And The Emergence Of Organizational Forms, Walter W. Powell, Kurt Sandholtz

Faculty Publications

We study the emergence of organizational forms, focusing on two mechanisms—reconfiguration and transposition—that distinguish the founding models of the first 26 biotechnology companies, all created in the industry's first decade, from 1972 to 1981. We analyze rich archival data using hierarchical cluster analysis, revealing four organizational variants of the dedicated biotech firm (DBF). Three were products of reconfiguration, as executives from Big Pharma used past practices to incorporate new science. One DBF variant resulted from 'amphibious' scientists who imported organizing ideas from the academy into their VC-funded start-ups. We argue that such transpositions are fragile, yet charged with generative possibilities. …

Effect Of Low Temperature Thermal Treatment On Soils Contaminated With Pentachlorophenol And Environmentally Persistent Free Radicals, Albert Leo N.Dela Cruz, Robert L. Cook, Slawomir M. Lomnicki, Barry Dellinger

Faculty Publications

The effect of low temperature thermal treatment on soils from a former Superfund wood-treating site contaminated with pentachlorophenol (PCP) and the environmentally persistent free radical (EPFR), pentachlorophenoxyl, was determined. The pentachlorophenoxyl EPFRs' and the PCP molecules' chemical behavior were simultaneously monitored at temperatures ranging from 25 to 300 °C via electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy and GC-MS analysis, respectively. Two types of thermal treatment were employed: a closed heating (oxygen-starved condition) where the soil was heated under vacuum and an open heating system (oxygen-rich conditions), where the soil was heated in ambient air. EPR analyses for closed heating indicated the …

Macroeconomic Prospects For China’S Outward Fdi, Ilan Alon, Tanya Molodtsova, Jian Zhang

Faculty Publications

This article presents evidence from panel data on overseas foreign direct investment (OFDI) by Chinese firms in 103 countries during 2003-2007. The data suggest that Chinese imports, unlike Chinese exports, stimulate investment in the country of origin. This article supports the theory that Chinese investment abroad is horizontal and designed to serve the Chinese local market (import platform investment). Estimates suggest that a 1% change in imports from China will lead to a 0.15% change in Chinese OFDI. We also find that an appreciation of the Chinese exchange rate will have a strong influence on firm entry decisions.

A Preliminary Examination Of The Cost Savings And Learning Impacts Of Using Open Textbooks In Middle And High School Science Classes, John Hilton Iii, David Wiley, Shelley Ellington, Tiffany Hall

Faculty Publications

Proponents of open educational resources claim that significant cost savings are possible when open textbooks displace traditional textbooks in the classroom. Over a period of two years, we worked with 20 middle and high school science teachers (collectively teaching approximately 3,900 students) who adopted open textbooks to understand the process and determine the overall cost of such an adoption. The teachers deployed open textbooks in multiple ways. Some of these methods cost more than traditional textbooks; however, we did identify and implement a successful model of open textbook adoption that reduces costs by over 50% compared to the cost of …

Tools For The Identification Of Bioactives Impacting The Metabolic Syndrome: Screening Of A Botanical Extract Library Using Subcutaneous And Visceral Human Adipose-Derived Stem Cell-Based Assays, Benjamin M. Buehrer, David J. Duffin, Y. Renee Lea-Currie, David Ribnicky, Ilya Raskin, Jacqueline M. Stephens, William T. Cefalu, Jeffrey M. Gimble

Faculty Publications

Plant extracts continue to represent an untapped source of renewable therapeutic compounds for the treatment and prevention of illnesses including chronic metabolic disorders. With the increase in worldwide obesity and its related morbidities, the need for identifying safe and effective treatments is also rising. As such, use of primary human adipose-derived stem cells represents a physiologically relevant cell system to screen for bioactive agents in the prevention and treatment of obesity and its related complications. By using these cells in a primary screen, the risk and cost of identifying artifacts due to interspecies variation and immortalized cell lines is eliminated. …

Vitronectin Inhibits Neutrophil Apoptosis Through Activation Of Integrin-Associated Signaling Pathways, Hong Beom Bae, Jaroslaw W. Zmijewski, Jessy S. Deshane, Degui Zhi, Lawrence C. Thompson, Cynthia B. Peterson, David D. Chaplin, Edward Abraham

Faculty Publications

Vitronectin is present in large concentrations in serum and the extracellular matrix. Although vitronectin is known to modulate neutrophil adhesion and chemotaxis, and to contribute to neutrophil-associated proinflammatory processes, a role in apoptosis has not been demonstrated. In thepresent studies,wefound that neutrophils demonstrated more rapid progression to spontaneous or TNF-related apoptosisinducing ligand-induced apoptosis when incubated under vitronectinfree conditions thanwhen vitronectinwas present. The ability of native vitronectin to delay neutrophil apoptosis was not recapitulated by the vitronectin somatomedin B domain. In contrast, inclusion of the cyclo[Arg-Gly-Asp-D-Phe-Val] peptide in cultures containing vitronectin resulted in enhanced neutrophil apoptosis, showing that the vitronectin RGD …

Imprinting Control Region (Icr) Of The Peg3 Domain, Joomyeong Kim, Muhammad B. Ekram, Hana Kim, Mohammad Faisal, Wesley D. Frey, Jennifer M. Huang, Kim Ngoc Tran, Michelle M. Kim, Sungryul Yu

Faculty Publications

The imprinting and transcription of the 500 kb genomic region surrounding the mouse Peg3 is predicted to be regulated by the Peg3-differentially methylated region (DMR). In the current study, this prediction was tested using a mutant mouse line lacking this potential imprinting control region (ICR). At the organismal level, paternal and maternal transmission of this knockout (KO) allele caused either reduced or increased growth rates in the mouse, respectively. In terms of the imprinting control, the paternal transmission of the KO allele resulted in bi-allelic expression of the normally maternally expressed Zim2, whereas the maternal transmission switched the transcriptionally dominant …

Food Deprivation Explains Effects Of Mouthbrooding On Ovaries And Steroid Hormones, But Not Brain Neuropeptide And Receptor Mrnas, In An African Cichlid Fish, Brian P. Grone, Russ E. Carpenter, Malinda Lee, Karen P. Maruska, Russell D. Fernald

Faculty Publications

Feeding behavior and reproduction are coordinately regulated by the brain via neurotransmitters, circulating hormones, and neuropeptides. Reduced feeding allows animals to engage in other behaviors important for fitness, including mating and parental care. Some fishes cease feeding for weeks at a time in order to provide care to their young by brooding them inside the male or female parent's mouth. Maternal mouthbrooding is known to impact circulating hormones and subsequent reproductive cycles, but neither the full effects of food deprivation nor the neural mechanisms are known. Here we ask what effects mouthbrooding has on several physiological processes including gonad and …

Ecology And Management Of Bark Beetles (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae) In Southern Pine Forests, T. D. Schowalter

Faculty Publications

Bark beetles (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae) have been an important historic and current factor affecting pine forest production in the southern United States. Although tree mortality to bark beetles often detracts from forest management goals, the natural role of bark beetles is canopy opening, thinning, and diversification of stand structure and composition, effects that contribute to some ecosystem services in forests managed for multiple uses. Strategies to prevent bark beetle outbreaks exploit their sensitivity to host tree spacing and reliance on pheromones to attract sufficient numbers to overwhelm tree defenses. Tree species selection at planting or through selective thinning can favor …

Oil Impacts On Coastal Wetlands: Implications For The Mississippi River Delta Ecosystem After The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, Irving A. Mendelssohn, Gary L. Andersen, Donald M. Baltz, Rex H. Caffey, Kevin R. Carman, John W. Fleeger, Samantha B. Joye, Qianxin Lin, Edward Maltby, Edward B. Overton, Lawrence P. Rozas

Faculty Publications

On 20 April 2010, the Deepwater Horizon explosion, which released a US governmentestimated 4.9 million barrels of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico, was responsible for the death of 11 oil workers and, possibly, for an environmental disaster unparalleled in US history. For 87 consecutive days, the Macondo well continuously released crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico. Many kilometers of shoreline in the northern Gulf of Mexico were affected, including the fragile and ecologically important wetlands of Louisiana's Mississippi River Delta ecosystem. These wetlands are responsible for a third of the nation's fish production and, ironically, help to …

A Comparative Analysis Of Consumer Attitudes On The Use Of Wood Products In Slovenia And Croatia, Manja Kitek Kuzman, Darko Motik, Kristina Bičanić, Richard P. Vlosky, Leon Oblak

Faculty Publications

In this paper, we compare consumer perceptions and attitudes in the wood products sectors in Slovenia and Croatia presenting them on the basis of a random sample of Slovenian and Croatian citizens between the age of 25 and 65. Data were collected using the computer assisted telephone interviewing method (CATI). The results suggest that, generally, there is a positive perception regarding the use of wood in both countries. The study results can potentially be a good basis for creating awareness-raising campaigns on the advantages of using wood in both countries.

Costs And Benefits Of Jasmonic Acid Induced Responses In Soybean, A. K. Accamando, J. T. Cronin

Faculty Publications

In response to herbivory, plants have evolved defense strategies to reduce herbivore preference and performance. A strategy whereby defenses are induced only upon herbivory can mitigate costs of defense when herbivores are scarce. Although costs and benefits of induced responses are generally assumed, empirical evidence for many species is lacking. Soybean (Glycine max L. Merr.) has emerged as a model species with which to address questions about induced responses. To our knowledge, this is the first study to examine the fitness costs and benefits of jasmonic acid-induced responses by soybean in the absence and presence of soybean loopers (Chrysodeix includens …

Assessing The Importance Of Brand Equity In Health Services Marketing Through The Impact Of Acquired Goodwill On Stockholder Returns, Richard A. Heiens, Robert T. Leach, Leanne C. Mcgrath

Faculty Publications

The growing importance of brand equity is widely recognized by researchers and business strategists alike. As such, creative new ways to capture the value of this intangible asset must be devised and tested. The current study uses acquired goodwill as a surrogate indicator of brand equity and looks at the importance of brand equity for firms in the health services industry by measuring the impact of acquired goodwill on stockholder returns. The findings indicate that acquired goodwill and stockholder returns appear to be significantly and positively related to each other. In addition, firms that have higher than average amounts of …

High-Amylose Resistant Starch Increases Hormones And Improves Structure And Function Of The Gastrointestinal Tract: A Microarray Study, Michael J. Keenan, Roy J. Martin, Anne M. Raggio, Kathleen L. Mccutcheon, Ian L. Brown, Anne Birkett, Susan S. Newman, Jihad Skaf, Maren Hegsted, Richard T. Tulley, Eric Blair, June Zhou

Faculty Publications

Background/Aims: Type 2 resistant starch from high-amylose maize (HAM-RS2) is associated with increased fermentation, increased expression of proglucagon (gene for GLP-1) and peptide YY (PYY) genes in the large intestine, and improved health. To determine what other genes are up- or downregulated with feeding of HAM-RS2, a microarray was performed. Methods: Adult, male Sprague Dawley rats were fed one of the following three diets for a 4-week study period: cornstarch control (CC, 3.74 kcal/g), dietary energy density control (EC, 3.27 kcal/g), and 30% HAM-RS2 (RS, 3.27 kcal/g). Rat microarray with ∼27,000 genes and validation of 94 representative genes with multiple …

The Parental Choice Fallacy In Education Reform Debates, James G. Dwyer

Faculty Publications

Some tout parental school choice as a strategy for promoting, among other school-related goods, educational innovation. This Article offers clarifying and skeptical thoughts about that position. It first explains what “educational innovation” and “parental choice” mean. It then considers what limitations on this strategy might arise from existing legal regulations, from market forces, or from ethical obligations to children. Finally, the Article explains why parental choice is also unlikely to improve education for the children most in need of a better academic environment and suggests an alternative approach to student reassignment that is much more likely to do so.

“Job Killers”In The News: Allegations Without Verification, Peter Dreier, Christopher R. Martin

Faculty Publications

A comprehensive study analyzes the frequency of the “job killer” term in four mainstream news media since 1984, how the phrase was used, by whom, and—most importantly— whether the allegations of something being a “job killer” were verified by reporters in their stories.

Developing A Technology Integration Residency Model: The Catalyst Project Report, Sandra Hirsh, Ruth Metz, Scott Brown, Laura Serrano, Sheila Gurtu, Lisa Valdez, Jane Fisher

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Cardiorespiratory Fitness Reduces The Risk Of Incident Hypertension Associated With A Parental History Of Hypertension, Robin P. Shook, Duck-Chul Lee, Xuemei Sui, Vivek Prasad, Steven P. Hooker, Timothy S. Church, Steven N. Blair

Faculty Publications

Family history of hypertension increases the risk of an individual to develop hypertension, whereas moderate-to-high cardiorespiratory fitness has the opposite effect. However, the joint association of each on the development of hypertension is not well understood. We studied fitness and incident hypertension in 6278 participants who were given a preventative medical examination. Thirty-three percent reported a parent with hypertension, and there were 1545 cases of incident hypertension after a mean of 4.7 years. The presence of parental hypertension was associated with a 28% higher risk of developing hypertension after adjustments for age, sex, and examination year. After further adjustments for …