Digital Commons Network^™

Comparative Outcomes Of Commonly Used Off-Label Atypical Antipsychotics In The Treatment Of Dementia-Related Psychosis: A Network Meta-Analysis, Ismaeel Yunusa Ph.D., Nazia Rashid, George N. Demos, Bhargavi S. Mahadik, Victor C. Abler, Krithika Rajagopalan

Faculty Publications

Introduction

Dementia-related psychosis (DRP) is characterized by hallucinations and delusions, which may increase the debilitating effects of underlying dementia. This network meta-analysis (NMA) evaluated the comparative efficacy, safety, and acceptability of atypical antipsychotics (AAPs) commonly used off label to treat DRP.

Methods

We included 22 eligible studies from a systematic literature review of AAPs (quetiapine, risperidone, olanzapine, aripiprazole, and brexpiprazole) used off label to treat DRP. Study outcomes were: (1) efficacy—neuropsychiatric inventory-nursing home (NPI-NH psychosis subscale), (2) safety—mortality, cerebrovascular events (CVAEs), and others (somnolence, falls, fractures, injuries, etc.), and (3) acceptability—discontinuations due to all causes, lack of efficacy, and adverse …

Spin-Nernst Effect In Time-Reversal-Invariant Topological Superconductors, Taiki Matsushita, Jiei Ando, Yusuke Masaki, Takeshi Mizushima, Satoshi Fujimoto, Ilya Vekhter

Faculty Publications

We investigate the spin-Nernst effect in time-reversal-invariant topological superconductors, and show that it provides smoking-gun evidence for helical Cooper pairs. The spin-Nernst effect stems from asymmetric, in spin space, scattering of quasiparticles at nonmagnetic impurities, and generates a transverse spin current by the temperature gradient. Both the sign and the magnitude of the effect sensitively depend on the scattering phase shift at impurity sites. Therefore the spin-Nernst effect is uniquely suitable for identifying time-reversal-invariant topological superconducting orders.

Development And Validation Of Self-Efficacy And Intention Measures For Spending Time In Nature, Jay E. Maddock, Courtney Suess, Gregory N. Bratman, Carissa Smock, Debra Kellstedt, Jeanette Gustat, Cynthia K. Perry, Andrew T. Kaczynski Ph.D.

Faculty Publications

The purpose of this study was to develop and evaluate the reliability and validity of self-efficacy and intentions measures for time spent in nature (TSN). TSN is related to improvement in psychological well-being and health, yet most American adults spend very little time in such settings. Theory-based interventions have been effective in increasing physical activity, a related behavior, and may be one mechanism to increase TSN. Self-efficacy and intentions have been shown to be strong predictors of health behaviors and are used across several theories. However, scales to measure these factors have not yet been developed and are needed to …

Public Accomodations, Public Perceptions, And Workplace Law, Joseph Seiner

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Search For Lepton Flavor Violation In ϒ(3S) → E±Μ∓, J. P. Lees, V. Tisserand, A. Palano, G. Eigen, D. N. Brown, Yu. G. Kolomensky, M. Fritsch, H. Koch, T. Schroeder, R. Cheaib, C. Hearty, T. S. Mattison, J. A. Mckenna, R. Y. So, V. E. Blinov, A. R. Buzykaev, V. P. Druzhinin, V. B. Golubev, E. A. Kozyrev, Milind Purohit, Jeffery R. Wilson, Et. Al.

Faculty Publications

We report on the first search for electron-muon lepton flavor violation (LFV) in the decay of a b quark and b antiquark bound state. We look for the LFV decay ϒ(3S) → e ^± μ^∓ in a sample of 118 million ϒ(3S) mesons from 27 fb⁻¹ of data collected with the BABAR detector at the SLAC PEP-II e⁺e⁻ collider operating with a 10.36 GeV center-of-mass energy. No evidence for a signal is found, and we set a limit on the branching fraction B[ϒ(3S) → e ^± μ^∓]< 3.6 × 10^{−7 …}

Task-Based Functional Connectivity And Blood-Oxygen-Level-Dependent Activation During Within-Scanner Performance Of Lumbopelvic Motor Tasks: A Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study, Mark K. Jordon, Jill Campbell Stewart Pt,Phd, Sheri P. Silfies, Paul F. Beattie

Faculty Publications

There are a limited number of neuroimaging investigations into motor control of the lumbopelvic musculature. Most investigation examining motor control of the lumbopelvic musculature utilize transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and focus primarily on the motor cortex. This has resulted in a dearth of knowledge as it relates to how other regions of the brain activate during lumbopelvic movement. Additionally, task-based functional connectivity during lumbopelvic movements has not been well elucidated. Therefore, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to examine brain activation and ROI-to-ROI task-based functional connectivity in 19 healthy individuals (12 female, age 29.8 ± 4.5 years) during the …

Refugee Food Insecurity & Technology: Surfacing Experiences Of Adaptation, Navigation, Negotiation And Sharing, Reem Talhouk, Kyle Montague, Hala Ghattas, Vera Araujo-Soares, Balsam Ahmad, Madeline Balaam

Faculty Publications

With the Syrian crisis still ongoing, 91% of Syrian refugee families in Lebanon do not have adequate access to safe and sufficient food. There has been a drive for technological innovation in humanitarian food assistance. To further inform such innovation, we used an Experience-Centred Design approach to gain a holistic understanding of the experiences of refugee food insecurity and how refugees envision technologies can support them. Design engagements with 13 women in an informal refugee settlement in Lebanon were conducted. The findings presented in this paper highlight that coping with food insecurity consists of experiences of adaptation, navigation, negotiation and …

The Faith, Activity, And Nutrition (Fan) Dissemination And Implementation Study: Changes In And Maintenance Of Organizational Practices Over 24 Months In A Statewide Initiative, Sarah Wilcox Phd, Kelsey R. Day, Ruth P. Saunders, Danielle E. Jake-Schoffman, Andrew T. Kaczynski, Jessica Stucker, Caroline G. Dunn, John Bernhart Ph.D.

Faculty Publications

Background

Few studies have examined the impact of ecological health promotion interventions on organizational practices over time, especially in faith-based settings. This statewide dissemination and implementation study examined change in organizational practices and their predictors across a 24-month period, as well as maintenance of change.

Methods

Using a pre-post quasi-experimental design, church coordinators from 92 United Methodist Churches in South Carolina (42% predominantly African American congregations) completed surveys at baseline, and immediate, 12-, and 24-months post-training regarding physical activity (PA) and healthy eating (HE) organizational practices consistent with the Faith, Activity, and Nutrition (FAN) program (opportunities, policies, pastor support, messages) …

The Transcription Factor Vpxlnr Is Required For The Growth, Development, And Virulence Of The Fungal Pathogen Valsa Pyri, Feng He, Alex-Machio Kange, Jie Yang, Jiaxin Xiao, Rongbo Wang, Lu Yang, Yifan Jia, Zhengqing Fu, Yancun Zhao, Fengquan Liu

Faculty Publications

Pears (Pyrus sp.) are widely cultivated in China, and their yield accounts for more than 60% of global pear production. The fungal pathogen Valsa pyri is a major causal agent of pear canker disease, which results in enormous losses of pear production in northern China. In this study, we characterized a Zn₂Cys₆ transcription factor that contains one GAL4 domain and a fungal-trans domain, which are present in VpxlnR. The vpxlnR gene expression was upregulated in the invasion stage of V. pyri. To investigate its functions, we constructed gene deletion mutants and complementary strains. We observed …

Chasing The Entrepreneurial Dream: The Case Of The Poke-A-Dot Organizer, Jeff Cohu

Faculty Publications

This teaching case study examines the development and launch of a new consumer product by a solo entrepreneur and the challenges of achieving sales growth in a small, bootstrapped startup with limited resources. The case follows Jane Lee, founder and CEO of Poke-A-Dot, LLC, as she considers her next steps in pursuing her company launch. The narrative discusses the company’s history and challenges to achieve sustainable growth. Some major themes presented in the case include market validation, startup marketing strategy, and entrepreneurial passion and resilience.

Impacts Of Climate Change And Heat Stress On Farmworkers' Health: A Scoping Review, Moussa El Khayat, Dana A. Halwani, Layal Hneiny, Ibrahim Alameddine, Mustapha A. Haidar, Rima R. Habib

Faculty Publications

Due to the continuous rise of global temperatures and heatwaves worldwide as a result of climate change, concerns for the health and safety of working populations have increased. Workers in the food production chain, particularly farmworkers, are especially vulnerable to heat stress due to the strenuous nature of their work, which is performed primarily outdoors under poor working conditions. At the cross-section of climate change and farmworkers' health, a scoping review was undertaken to summarize the existing knowledge regarding the health impacts associated with climate change and heat stress, guide future research toward better understanding current and future climate change …

Change Power Is In The Process: Leading In A Time Of Social Justice Unrest ( A Narration), Judy Rashid

Faculty Publications

This narrative article by Dr. Judy Rashid explores the vital role of leadership in navigating conflict during periods of racial and social justice unrest. Drawing from theories of intergroup conflict and principles of conflict management, Rashid argues that effective leadership must move beyond symbolic gestures to embrace structured, inclusive processes like mediation and truth-telling. She highlights how historical symbols of racism—such as statues, street names, and slave-era landmarks—perpetuate division and obstruct reconciliation. Leaders, she asserts, must learn to use conflict as a catalyst for dialogue, growth, and systemic change. The article presents core principles of conflict management and offers practical …

Peak Chlorophyll A Concentrations In The Lower Mississippi River From 1997 To 2018, R. Eugene Turner, Charles S. Milan, Erick M. Swenson, James M. Lee

Faculty Publications

Large and turbid rivers have varying temperatures, light conditions, nutrient availability, and nutrient ratios that may affect phytoplankton communities and occur within a changing world of point and nonpoint source nutrient loadings. We investigated how these physical and chemical factors affect Chlorophyll a (Chl a) concentrations in the Mississippi River, the largest river in North America, by sampling 878 times from February 1997 to December 2018 near its terminus at Baton Rouge, Louisiana. We hypothesized that nutrient concentrations and ratios were significant factors limiting phytoplankton biomass accumulations in this turbid river. The Chl a concentrations were in the "poor" water …

Fatal Neurodissemination And Sars-Cov-2 Tropism In K18-Hace2 Mice Is Only Partially Dependent On Hace2 Expression, Mariano Carossino, Devin Kenney, Aoife K. O’Connell, Paige Montanaro, Anna E. Tseng, Hans P. Gertje, Kyle A. Grosz, Maria Ericsson, Bertrand R. Huber, Susanna A. Kurnick, Saravanan Subramaniam, Thomas Kirkland, Joel R. Walker, Kevin P. Francis, Alexander D. Klose, Neal Paragas, Markus Bosmann, Mohsan Saeed, Udeni Balasuriya, Florian Douam, Nicholas Crossland

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Prediction Of Pressure Increase During Waste Water Injection To Prevent Seismic Events, Lu Jin, Andrew K. Wojtanowicz, Jun Ge

Faculty Publications

A considerable increase of seismicity has occurred in the USA in the last decade (2009–2020) with an annual average of 345 M3+ earthquakes. Numerous field cases have shown that excessive well pressure due to a high injection rate may have triggered seismic events. This study defines conditions for inducing a seismic event by excessive injection in the well’s pressure that may cause geomechanical damage to the rock. Introduced here is an analytical model and method for predicting pressure increase during injection of produced water contaminated with oil. The model calculates time-dependent advancement of the captured oil saturation causing the well’s …

Extreme Events, Energy Security And Equality Through Micro- And Macro-Levels: Concepts, Challenges And Methods, Chien Fei Chen, Thomas Dietz, Nina H. Fefferman, Jamie Greig, Kristen Cetin, Caitlin Robinson, Laura Arpan, Marcel Schweiker, Bing Dong, Wenbo Wu, Yue Li, Hongyu Zhou, Jianzhong Wu, Jin Wen, Joshua S. Fu, Tianzhen Hong, Da Yan, Hannah Nelson, Yimin Zhu, Xueping Li, Le Xie, Rachel Fu

Faculty Publications

Low-income households face long-standing challenges of energy insecurity and inequality (EII). During extreme events (e.g., disasters and pandemics) these challenges are especially severe for vulnerable populations reliant on energy for health, education, and well-being. However, many EII studies rarely incorporate the micro- and macro-perspectives of resilience and reliability of energy and internet infrastructure and social-psychological factors. To remedy this gap, we first address the impacts of extreme events on EII among vulnerable populations. Second, we evaluate the driving factors of EII and how they change during disasters. Third, we situate these inequalities within broader energy systems and pinpoint the importance …

Acculturation Implications On Obesity Among Ethnically Diverse Teens, Tien Vo, Lori A. Spruance

Faculty Publications

Obesity is a prevalent public health concern among children, especially those from minoritized backgrounds. In order to understand how acculturation and race/ethnicity influence obesogenic behavior in adolescents, a national convenience sample of 11- to 14-year-olds was recruited to participate in a survey about acculturation, physical activity, nutrition, and the school and home environment. Preliminary results showed significant differences in obesogenic behaviors when comparing White to non-White groups. Time spent watching TV, time spent playing video/computer games, and physical inactivity was higher for non-White Westernized adolescents compared to White adolescents. self-reported obesity, participation in school meals were both positively correlated with …

Writing By Presidential Example: The First Inaugural Addresses Of Reagan And Obama, Douglas E. Abrams

Faculty Publications

This article is about two recent U.S. presidents who differed from one another in prominent respects. One entered the Oval Office as a staunch Republican; the other entered as a staunch Democrat. One was one of the oldest men ever to serve in the Oval Office; the other was one of the youngest. The pair assumed contrasting positions on the political spectrum.

Despite these differences, however, the pair – Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama – shared an important common denominator. As president, both achieved recognition as “great communicators,” thanks in large part to their speeches marked by dexterity with the …

Cancer Incidence, Mortality, Years Of Life Lost, Years Lived With Disability, And Disability-Adjusted Life Years For 29 Cancer Groups From 2010 To 2019 A Systematic Analysis For The Global Burden Of Disease Study 2019, Ismaeel Yunusa Ph.D., Jonathan M. Kocarnik, Kelly Compton, Frances E. Dean, Weijia Fu, Brian L. Gaw, Et. Al.

Faculty Publications

Importance The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2019 (GBD 2019) provided systematic estimates of incidence, morbidity, and mortality to inform local and international efforts toward reducing cancer burden.

Objective To estimate cancer burden and trends globally for 204 countries and territories and by Sociodemographic Index (SDI) quintiles from 2010 to 2019.

Evidence Review The GBD 2019 estimation methods were used to describe cancer incidence, mortality, years lived with disability, years of life lost, and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) in 2019 and over the past decade. Estimates are also provided by quintiles of the SDI, a composite …

Us Agricultural University Students' Mental Well-Being And Resilience During The First Wave Of Covid-19: Discordant Expectations And Experiences Across Genders, Mariah D. Ehmke, Bhagyashree Katare, Kristin Kiesel, Jason S. Bergtold, Jerrod M. Penn, Kathryn A. Boys

Faculty Publications

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic's first wave led to declining mental health and life satisfaction outcomes for college students, especially women. While women in undergraduate agricultural programs outperformed men academically prior to and during the pandemic, the achievement may have come at personal cost, especially for those women with fewer personal and environmental resiliency resources. Our research objective was to expand on personal, social, and environmental factors linked with lower mental health and life satisfaction scores for students in agriculture during the pandemic. We measured the influence of such factors across gender-based mental health and life satisfaction outcomes. Our …

Gaia Gral: Gaia Dr2 Gravitational Lens Systems. Vii. Xmm-Newton Observations Of Lensed Quasars, Thomas Connor, Daniel Stern, Alberto Krone-Martins, S. G. Djorgovski, Matthew J. Graham

Faculty Publications

We present XMM-Newton X-ray observations of nine confirmed lensed quasars at 1 less than or similar to z less than or similar to 3 identified by the Gaia Gravitational Lens program. Eight systems are strongly detected, with 0.3-8.0 keV fluxes F (0.3-8.0) greater than or similar to 5 x10(-14) erg cm(-2) s(-1). Modeling the X-ray spectra with an absorbed power law, we derive power-law photon indices and 2-10 keV luminosities for the eight detected quasars. In addition to presenting sample properties for larger quasar population studies and for use in planning for future caustic-crossing events, we also identify three quasars …

A Multiparameter Degeneracy In Microlensing Events With Extreme Finite Source Effects, Samson A. Johnson, Matthew T. Penny, B. Scott Gaudi

Faculty Publications

For microlenses with sufficiently low mass, the angular radius of the source star can be much larger than the angular Einstein ring radius of the lens. For such extreme finite source effect (EFSE) events, finite source effects dominate throughout the duration of the event. Here, we demonstrate and explore a continuous degeneracy between multiple parameters of such EFSE events. The first component in the degeneracy arises from the fact that the directly observable peak change of the flux depends on both the ratio of the angular source radius to the angular Einstein ring radius and the fraction of the baseline …

Child-Oriented Word Associations Improve Models Of Early Word Learning, C R. Cox, E Haebig

Faculty Publications

How words are associated within the linguistic environment conveys semantic content; however, different contexts induce different linguistic patterns. For instance, it is well known that adults speak differently to children than to other adults. We present results from a new word association study in which adult participants were instructed to produce either unconstrained or child-oriented responses to each cue, where cues included 672 nouns, verbs, adjectives, and other word forms from the McArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventory (CDI; Fenson et al., 2006). Child-oriented responses consisted of higher frequency words with fewer letters, earlier ages of acquisition, and higher contextual diversity. Furthermore, …

Impact Of Host Plant Resistance On Emergence, Body Parameters, And Supercooling Point Of Cylas Formicarius Elegantulus (Coleoptera: Brentidae), Nupur Sarkar, Mark J. Murray, Michael J. Stout, Jeffrey A. Davis

Faculty Publications

Sweetpotato weevil, Cylas formicarius elegantulus (Summers) (Coleoptera: Brentidae), an in-field and storage pest of sweetpotato, is the primary insect constraint to sweetpotato production in tropical and subtropical regions. Feeding by adult and larval sweetpotato weevil induces terpenes, rendering storage roots unmarketable. To reduce storage root damage and sweetpotato weevil populations, the present experiment tested the impact of sweetpotato cultivar on developmental time, adult emergence, body length, weight, and supercooling point of sweetpotato weevil. The cultivars tested were â Beauregard' and â Evangeline,' both orange fleshed cultivars susceptible to sweetpotato weevil, and â Murasaki,' a white fleshed cultivar known to be …

A Comparison Of Hay And Fish Emulsion-Infused Water As Oviposition Attractants For The Cdc Gravid Trap, Timothy D. Mcnamara, Kristen Healy

Faculty Publications

Multiple oviposition attractants are used for Culex (Diptera: Culicidae) mosquito surveillance in the CDC Gravid Trap, including hay and fish emulsion-infused water. Despite the use of both in the United States, no research has compared their attractiveness. We conducted trapping throughout Louisiana to assess the attractiveness of hay and fish emulsion-infused water in various habitat types and climates. Our results indicate that fish emulsion-infused water attracts more mosquitoes overall, more Culex quinquefasciatus (Say, 1823), and a wider diversity of mosquitoes than hay-infused water. This trend was maintained, regardless of habitat type or climate.

Resistant Starch Type 2 And Whole Grain Maize Flours Enrich Different Intestinal Bacteria And Metatranscriptomes, Zachary A. Bendiks, Justin Guice, Diana Coulon, Anne M. Raggio, Ryan C. Page, Diana G. Carvajal-Aldaz, Meng Luo, David A. Welsh, Brian D. Marx, Christopher M. Taylor, Claudia Husseneder, Michael J. Keenan, Maria L. Marco

Faculty Publications

The intestinal microbiota of Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were investigated following consumption of diets containing refined high-amylose cornstarch (RS), waxy whole-grain flour from maize (WG), or high-amylose whole-grain flour (WG + RS) together with moderate (MF, 30% of energy) or high (HF, 42% of energy) levels of fat. Compared with control (CON) diets, RS reduced bacterial alpha-diversity and enriched Bacteroidetes and WG increased Lactobacillus proportions by three-fold. WG + RS conferred a combined effect, but the changes were attenuated and greater inter-individual variation was observed. Proportions of fiber-degrading bacterial taxa were inversely correlated with cecal pH. Notably, there was little influence …

Genome-Wide Pleiotropy Analysis Identifies Novel Blood Pressure Variants And Improves Its Polygenic Risk Scores, Xiaofeng Zhu, Luke Zhu, Heming Wang, Richard S. Cooper, Aravinda Chakravarti

Faculty Publications

Systolic and diastolic blood pressure (S/DBP) are highly correlated modifiable risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD). We report here a bidirectional Mendelian Randomization (MR) and horizontal pleiotropy analysis of S/DBP summary statistics from the UK Biobank (UKB)-International Consortium for Blood Pressure (ICBP) (UKB-ICBP) BP genome-wide association study and construct a composite genetic risk score (GRS) by including pleiotropic variants. The composite GRS captures greater (1.11–3.26 fold) heritability for BP traits and increases (1.09- and 2.01-fold) Nagelkerke's R2 for hypertension and CVD. We replicated 118 novel BP horizontal pleiotropic variants including 18 novel BP loci using summary statistics from the Million …

The Supercooling Responses Of The Solitary Bee Osmia Excavata (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae) Under The Biological Stress Of Its Brood Parasite, Sapyga Coma (Hymenoptera: Sapygidae), Zhuo Yan, Lina Wang, Gadi V.P. Reddy, Shimin Gu, Xingyuan Men, Yunli Xiao, Jianwei Su, Feng Ge, Fang Ouyang

Faculty Publications

(1) Background: Many insects have evolved different strategies to adapt to subzero temperatures and parasites, but the supercooling response of pollinator populations under the brood parasitism pressure has not been sufficiently investigated. (2) Methods: This study assessed the supercooling traits (supercooling points, fresh weight and fat content) of the solitary bee Osmia excavata Alfken and its brood parasite, Sapyga coma Yasumatsu & Sugihara. We measured 4035 samples (3025 O. excavata and 1010 S. coma, one individual as one sample) and discovered the super-cooling traits relations between solitary bee and brood parasite. (3) Results: Significant differences in the supercooling points were …

Implementation Of A Longitudinal Critical Care Fellowship Ultrasound Curriculum, Allison C. Young, Christine Butts, Bennett P. Deboisblanc, Richard S. Tejedor, Stephen P. Kantrow, Matthew R. Lammi

Faculty Publications

Background: The use of point-of-care ultrasound as a diagnostic and interventional tool is rapidly becoming standard of care in critical care medicine; a standardized training curriculum is needed to ensure provider proficiency. Objective: This study aimed to describe a longitudinal critical care ultrasound (CCUS) curriculum in a pulmonary critical care medicine (PCCM) fellowship training program. It evaluated the curriculum’s impact on fellows’ knowledge, skills, and self-reported confidence and retention of these attributes. Methods: We conducted a prospective observational study of a longitudinal CCUS training program within a single PCCM fellowship training program. Knowledge, skills, and confidence of 22 fellows were …

High-Efficient Double-Cross-Linked Biohybrid Aerogel Biosorbent Prepared From Waste Bamboo Paper And Chitosan For Wastewater Purification, Chongpeng Qiu, Qi Tang, Xuelun Zhang, Mei Chun Li, Xuefeng Zhang, Jiulong Xie, Shaobo Zhang, Zhiping Su, Jinqiu Qi, Hui Xiao, Yuzhu Chen, Yongze Jiang, Cornelis F. De Hoop, Xingyan Huang

Faculty Publications

This work prepared a double-cross-linked biohybrid aerogel (DCBA) bead biosorbent from waste bamboo paper and chitosan by sequential physical (hydrogen bonding and electrostatic interaction between -COO- and -NH3+ groups) and chemical (polymerization reaction between -COOH and -NH2, dehydration condensation between Si-OH and -OH) cross-linkings. The resulting DCBA bead was applied to remove cationic (Methylene blue, MB) and anionic (Congo red, CR) dyes in both single and binary systems. The MB and CR adsorption capacities of DCBA bead increased with increasing adsorbent dosage, contact time, temperature and initial dye concentration. With increasing solution pH, the MB adsorption capacity increased, while that …