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Association Of Diurnal Temperature Range With Pediatric Influenza Hospitalization Rates In The United States, 2009 – 2019, Khang Duy Tran

Public Health Theses

Introduction: Climate change may have a negative impact on respiratory illnesses, such as influenza. Diurnal temperature range (DTR), an indicator of climate change, is the difference between the maximum and minimum temperature within a day or a week. As the climate warms, global DTR decreases, though there might be regions where DTR increases instead. Previous literature conducted in non-U.S. regions found both positive and negative associations between DTR and influenza infections. A group especially vulnerable to the effects of DTR are children less than 5 years of age due to their less-developed thermoregulation capability. This study thus aimed to explore …

Diversity, Phylogenetics And Life Cycles Of Diplostomoidean (Digenea: Diplostomoidea) Of The Upper Midwest, Jakson Martens

Theses and Dissertations

The superfamily Diplostomoidea Poirier, 1886 consists of a diverse, globally distributed group of parasitic flatworms parasitic as adults in reptiles, birds, mammals, and very rarely, fish. The superfamily Diplostomoidea has a tumultuous history full of genus synonymizations and resurrections. Currently, the superfamily consists of 39 genera parasitizing primarily piscivorous animals as adults to include birds, reptiles, and mammals. This group of parasitic worms remains a highly active area of research and has recently undergone several major systematic changes including the abandonment of a subfamily-based system. Additionally, the influx of data entries in GenBank has lead to confusing nomenclature and misidentifications …

Activity Patterns Of The Critically Endangered Central American River Turtle (Dermatemys Mawii), Cora Dyslin

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

The Central American River Turtle (Dermatemys mawii) is native to southern Mexico, eastern Guatemala, and Belize and is primarily restricted to watersheds that drain into the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea. Hunting, both for personal consumption and market meat, has been the primary driver of declines, and the species is now classified as critically endangered. Results from past studies that have used netting and visual surveys to detect D. mawii suggest that the species is chiefly nocturnal. However, it is unclear to what extent the perception of nocturnality has been biased by the timing of survey efforts …

“Am I Sick Or Just Discarded?”: Psychiatry, Health Care Reform, And The Rise Of Geriatrics In America, 1931-1954, Sophie E. Edelstein

Harvey M. Applebaum ’59 Award

Between 1931 and 1941, the United States population over the age of sixty-five increased by over 35 percent. These individuals, however, did not receive increased support. Rather, American politicians and society at large labeled the elderly a ‘burden,’ and passed off their care to the overworked medical personnel of state and federal mental institutions. Sparked by clinical exposure to the influx of elderly patients to mental institutions, Massachusetts psychiatrist David Rothschild identified an erroneous assumption in care practices for senile patients. In many cases, physicians preemptively diagnosed those admitted to state and federal institutions with some form of senile dementia, …

Personality And Parental Care In The Corkwing Wrasse (Symphodus Melops), Benjamin Ellis

School of Biological and Marine Sciences Theses

Parental care in many species is a repeatable aspect of the behavioural phenotype, in some cases covarying with other behavioural traits within wider behavioural syndromes. It is well understood that in several freshwater fishes, recreational and commercial fisheries often (directly or indirectly) impact traits concerning parental care adversely, in some cases through selection on covarying behavioural traits. In contrast, studies on commercially fished marine species that exhibit parental care are scarce. The corkwing wrasse (Symphodus melops) is a marine fish with complex reproductive behaviour, with parental males exhibiting nest building and parental care behaviours. This species is also subject to …

A Biodiversity Survey Of The Soil Crusts Of The Geographically Isolated San Nicholas Island, California, Usa And Description Of Species In Three Genera (Atlanticothix, Pycnacronema, Konicacronema) Previously Restricted To Brazil Using A Polyphasic Approach To Cyanobacterial Taxonomy, Brian Jusko

Masters Theses

San Nicholas Island, California, USA is a geographically-isolated island that experiences a semiarid climate and exhibits significant topographic and geologic diversity. Access to the island is restricted to the public and, as a result, only one previous study has been done on the algal biodiversity of its biological soil crusts. The previous study used morphology as the sole basis of species identification, and it was the aim of this study to corroborate and expand upon the results by including molecular data. Using 16S rRNA and 16S–23S ITS sequences and phylogenetic analyses, a diverse set of taxa were identified and are …

Small Mammal Community Structure And Bait Preference In Missouri Prairie Patches, Sofia L. Orlando

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Ecological community studies provide insights on how species interact with biotic and abiotic factors in an ecosystem. Community assembly is dynamic and often mediated by stochastic processes or deterministic properties. Establishing patterns in community composition could help to predict the suitability of a patch, which is crucial in endangered ecosystems. Small mammals are a model indicator for community change as their populations experience perplexing fluctuations. Many mechanisms have been proposed to drive small mammal species composition, but inconsistencies in past studies warrant further investigation. A previous study on prairie patches in Missouri revealed that there was an unknown catalyst for …

Biodiversity Of Mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae), Vectors Of Important Arboviral Diseases At Different Altitudes In The Central Part Of Iran, Azim Paksa, Mozaffar Vahedi, Saideh Yousefi, Nasrollah Saberi, Sara Rahimi, Masoumeh Amin

Turkish Journal of Zoology

Risk assessment and vector control programs rely on a comprehensive knowledge of mosquito diversity in different areas. The present study aims to evaluate mosquito biodiversity in different areas of Sirjan County, Kerman Province, as one of the most important economic zones of Iran. Totally 4538 mosquitoes representing 19 species and four genera were collected and identified. Results showed that Culiseta longiareolata and Culex quinquefacsiatus were constant, Culex destricola, Culex pusillus, Culex pipiens and Culex laticinctus were common and the other captured species were accidental species in Sirjan County. In this study, Aedes vittatus was recorded for the first time in …

Condition Factor And Length-Weight Relationships Evaluation Of 15 Oxynoemacheilus Species (Cypriniformes: Nemacheilidae) From Iran, Atta Mouludi-Saleh, Soheil Eagderi, Erdoğan Çi̇çek, Edris Ghaderi

Turkish Journal of Zoology

This study was conducted to determine the relationship between the length and weight (LWR) of 15 Oxynoemacheilus species i.e. Oxynoemacheilus bergianus, O. brandtii, O. chomanicus, O. euphraticus, O. elsae, O. frenatus, O. karunensis, O. kiabii, O. kurdistanicus, O. longipinnis, O. parvinae, O. persa, O. marunensis, O. zagrosensis, and O. zarzianus from Iranian inland waters. LWRs with high coefficients of determination were calculated for all species. The values of the slope parameter (b) ranged from 2.225 in O. brandtii to 3.575 in O. euphraticus. Fulton's condition factor (K$_{F}$) ranged from 0.673 in O. persa to 1.407 in O. kiabili …

Long-Term Prescription Opioid Use, Cancer Stage, And Economic Burden Among Older Cancer Survivors With Non-Cancer Chronic Pain Conditions, Rudi Safarudin

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Opioids are commonly prescribed to treat pain conditions, which are highly prevalent among older adults (≥65 years). Recent evidence shows that opioids may have carcinogenic effects through immunosuppression and free-radical pathways, which could promote cancer growth. Two population-based studies have reported an association of opioid use with incident cancer. Many individuals with non-cancer chronic pain conditions (NCPCs) may use opioids for a long term. However, the association of long-term prescription opioid (LPO) use with cancer stage at diagnosis is still unknown. Furthermore, evidence suggests that individuals with cancer and pre-existing NCPCs may persistently use opioids, even in the absence of …

Exploring The Usage Of Acid Mine Drainage Sludge As A Soil Amendment For Reclaimed Mine Lands, Brady Watters

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Acid mine drainage (AMD) is a form of water pollution generated when water and oxygen come into contact with sulfide minerals, forming metal ions, sulfuric acid, and sulphates in solution. AMD is characterized by its toxic metals content and low pH, both of which are an environmental concern. The treatment of AMD separates the contaminants into a high-water content sludge. This sludge is a pure waste product under current evaluation for alternative uses as well as improvements to storage and treatment processes. This thesis focused on analyzing the potential for AMD sludge to be used in recently reclaimed lands as …

Habitat Value Of Stormwater Retention Basins For Avian Species In The South San Francisco Bay, Maya D. Briones

Master's Theses

Shorebird populations are declining worldwide due to habitat fragmentation, degradation, and loss. A potential, understudied set of resources that might be used to benefit waterfowl, especially breeding shorebirds, are artificial wetlands such as stormwater retention basins. This study evaluated the habitat value of stormwater retention basins in the San Francisco Bay Area by measuring species abundance, richness, and behavior. Seston, or biota and other suspended material, was collected and tested for mercury contents. Additionally, the habitat features within each basin were recorded and tracked for changes over a year. The stormwater retention basins supported a higher diversity of bird species …

Tree Removal From An Encroached Coastal Grassland Restores Soil Bacterial Communities Before Fungal Communities, Ka Ki Law

Master's Theses

Woody species encroachment depletes historic grassland biodiversity and degrades ecosystem function around the world. In particular, the encroaching trees can shift soil properties and microbial communities, which play critical roles in plant health and global nutrient cycling. Little is known about how removing encroached trees affects soil ecosystems, however. Over the last century, Pinus radiata and Hesperocyparis macrocarpa (non-native to the area) both encroached into coastal prairies at Rancho Corral de Tierra in California, and selected trees were removed in 2017 and 2018 to restore grassland habitats. To examine the impacts of encroachment and removal on the soil ecosystem, I …

Association Of Income, Education, Employment And Covid-19 Mortality In Brazil, Marcelina Machado

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The increased mortality rates from COVID-19 in Brazil have adversely affectedvulnerable populations and placed a severe burden on its public health system as compared to other nations. Focusing on socioeconomic status as a risk factor in this retrospective cohort study, I investigated the association between Brazilian COVID-19 mortality rate, income, school enrollment rate, and employment rate after controlling for the demographics and immunization rate. This is an important issue as an increase in incidence and mortality rates affects how governmental and public health leaders can effectively control and prevent disease spread. Using the fundamental causes of disease theory as the …

Exploring The Perception Of Patients, Providers, And Healthcare Leaders Of The 15-20 Minute Primary Care Visit, Zuhur Hassan Ahmed

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

While primary care plays a vital role in health maintenance and disease prevention, patients’ visits with primary care providers (PCP) are only 15-20 minutes on average. This visit length does not leave ample time for holistic care for patients with low socioeconomic backgrounds, who might also have psychosocial issues alongside their chronic conditions. Employing a qualitative multiple case study research design, this study explored participants' perceptions about the 15–20-minute visit duration with PCPs. Guided by the triple aim framework of improving patient healthcare outcomes, patient satisfaction with care, and cost of care per capita, this study answered the research question …

Exploring The Perception Of Patients, Providers, And Healthcare Leaders Of The 15-20 Minute Primary Care Visit, Zuhur Hassan Ahmed

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

While primary care plays a vital role in health maintenance and disease prevention, patients’ visits with primary care providers (PCP) are only 15-20 minutes on average. This visit length does not leave ample time for holistic care for patients with low socioeconomic backgrounds, who might also have psychosocial issues alongside their chronic conditions. Employing a qualitative multiple case study research design, this study explored participants' perceptions about the 15–20-minute visit duration with PCPs. Guided by the triple aim framework of improving patient healthcare outcomes, patient satisfaction with care, and cost of care per capita, this study answered the research question …

Csi Botany: Dna Barcode “Fingerprints” Identify Cryptic Urban Flora, Luis R. Vega

Theses and Dissertations

As short genomic markers, DNA barcodes can play a role in conservation by identifying cryptic species and hybrids when morphological approaches fall short. Here we present our application of barcodes to the identities of two wetland taxa as part of an ongoing floristic inventory of Van Cortlandt Park (VCP), Bronx, NY. Previous barcode data by Marriott et al. (2018) identified the VCP lake water lily as the exotic Nymphaea alba, rather than the native N. odorata as historically described. In addition, cattails in the park were historically identified as the native Typha latifolia and the exotic T. angustifolia …

Variation In Body Composition In Deer Mice: The Biogeography And Ecophysiology Of Energy Allocation, Cole Joseph Wolf

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Body composition, the percent of lean and fat mass, is a snapshot of an individual’s energetic state at a moment in time. Wild organisms should allocate energy to optimize fitness, so tracking changes in body composition provides a window into how priorities may shift throughout the year or across environments. While seasonal variation in body composition is wellcharacterized in systems such migrating birds (Scott et al. 1994) and hibernating mammals (Hellgren 1998), much less is known about how this trait varies across species ranges and thus how organisms modify their body composition and to meet local environmental challenges. For my …

Extreme Temperatures And Sickness Absence In The Mediterranean Province Of Barcelona: An Occupational Health Issue, Mireia Utzet, Amaya Ayala-Garcia, Fernando G Benavides, Xavier Basagaña

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

OBJECTIVES: This study aims to assess the association between daily temperature and sickness absence episodes in the Mediterranean province of Barcelona between 2012 and 2015, according to sociodemographic and occupational characteristics.

METHODS: Ecological study of a sample of salaried workers affiliated to the Spanish social security, resident in Barcelona province between 2012 and 2015. The association between daily mean temperature and risk of new sickness absence episodes was estimated with distributed lag non-linear models. The lag effect up to 1 week was considered. Analyses were repeated separately by sex, age groups, occupational category, economic sector and medical diagnosis groups of …

Fairy Shrimp (Anostraca) In The Vernal Pools Of Eastern Washington, Megan Garvey

EWU Masters Thesis Collection

Vernal pools are ephemeral wetlands that retain water annually from winter and spring precipitation and snowmelt but are dry the rest of the year. Though important habitats and sources of freshwater biodiversity, they are little accounted for in wetland conservation and restoration practices. Like much of the world’s wetlands, they have seen a significant decline from anthropogenic impacts and conversion for alternative land use. Pools are also at significant risk due to the impacts of climate change and invasive species. These small temporary water bodies perform vital ecosystem services and are host to rare and endemic species. Anostraca, or fairy …

Of Stances, Themes, And Anomalies In Covid-19 Mask-Wearing Tweets, Jwen Fai Low, Benjamin C.M. Fung, Farkhund Iqbal, Ebrahim Bagheri

All Works

COVID-19 is an opportunity to study public acceptance of a ‘‘new’’ healthcare intervention, universal masking, which unlike vaccination, is mostly alien to the Anglosphere public despite being practiced in ages past. Using a collection of over two million tweets, we studied the ways in which proponents and opponents of masking vied for influence as well as the themes driving the discourse. Pro-mask tweets encouraging others to mask up dominated Twitter early in the pandemic though its continued dominance has been eroded by anti-mask tweets criticizing others for their masking behavior. Engagement, represented by the counts of likes, retweets, and replies, …

Seasonality And Depth Variability In The Microbial Ecology Of A Large, Oligotrophic Lake, Kate A. Evans

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Planktonic microorganisms are the primary drivers of energy flow in aquatic ecosystems, and their ability to rapidly respond to changing environmental conditions makes them key sentinels of ecosystem variability. However, understanding how microorganisms respond to variations in their environment requires improved understanding of microbial physiology and metabolism. Microorganisms that live in fluid environments experience a dynamic world, where resources needed for growth can be scarce or plentiful. In some cases, such variation can be directly linked to the physical movement of water, for example, vertical mixing. Temperate lakes experience strong seasonality in stratification and mixing, so resolving the relationships between …

Indian Policing: Agents Of Assimilation, Kekek Jason Stark

Case Western Reserve Law Review

No abstract provided.

A Comprehensive Study Of Deep Learning Frameworks For Uavs-Centric Land Remote Sensing Data Analysis Applications, Bishwas Praveen

Dissertations

Land Remote Sensing data analysis presents a distinctive Artificial Intelligence (AI) research paradigm bolstered through its rich collection of data, which are high-dimensional, generally in the form of tens/hundreds of spectral bands, and accommodates significant spatial and spectral/temporal information about the underlying terrain. Traditional remote sensing data analysis methodologies in literature are often observed to be biased towards providing more importance to spectral information, which evidently hurts the efficacy of such approaches. As a result, a considerable amount of effort in terms of research has been invested in effectively building data analysis methodologies which are spatial-, spectral-, and contextual-information inclusive, …

Impact Of The Affordable Care Act On Providing Equitable Healthcare Access For Ibd In The Kentucky Appalachian Region, Jennifer T. Castle, Brittany Levy, Anthony A. Mangino, Hannah G. Mcdonald, Erin E. Mcatee, Jitesh A. Patel, B. Mark Evers, Avinash S. Bhakta

Markey Cancer Center Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Medicaid expansion improved insurance coverage for patients with chronic conditions and low income. The effect of Medicaid expansion on patients with IBD from high-poverty communities is unknown.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to evaluate the impact of Medicaid expansion in Kentucky on care for patients with IBD from the Eastern Kentucky Appalachian community, a historically impoverished area.

DESIGN: This study was a retrospective, descriptive, and ecological study.

SETTINGS: This study was conducted in Kentucky using the Hospital Inpatient Discharge and Outpatient Services Database.

PATIENTS: All encounters for IBD care for 2009–2020 for patients from the Eastern Kentucky Appalachian region were …

Helminth And Protozoan Parasites Of Subterranean Rodents (Chordata, Mammalia, Rodentia) Of The World, Altangerel Tsogtsaikhan Dursahinhan, Daniel A. Kenkel, Scott Lyell Gardner

Scott L. Gardner Publications

Published studies and ten new unpublished records included herein reveal that approximately 174 species of endoparasites (helminths and protozoans) are known from 65 of 163 species of rodents that occupy the subterranean ecotope globally. Of those, 94 endoparasite species were originally described from these rodents. A total of 282 host-parasite associations are summarized from four major zoogeographic regions including Ethiopian, Palearctic/Oriental, Nearctic, and Neotropical. Thirty-four parasite records from the literature have been identified to only the level of the genus. In this summary, ten new records have been added, and the most current taxonomic status of each parasite species is …

Tapping Into Natural History Collections To Assess Latitudinal Gradients Of Parasite Diversity, Sebastian Botero-Cañola, Scott Lyell Gardner

Scott L. Gardner Publications

Parasites are key components of the biosphere not only due to their huge diversity, but also because they exert important influences on ecological processes. Nevertheless, we lack an understanding of the biogeographical patterns of parasite diversity. Here, we tap into the potential of biodiversity collections for understanding parasite biogeography. We assess species richness of supracommunities of helminth parasites infecting mammal assemblages in the Nearctic, and describe its relation to latitude, climate, host diversity, and land area. We compiled data from parasitology collections and assessed parasite diversity in Nearctic ecoregions for the entire parasite supracommunity of mammals in each ecoregion, as …

Infection Of Feral Phenotype Swine With Japanese Encephalitis Virus, So Lee Park, Yan-Jang S. Huang, Amy C. Lyons, Victoria B. Ayers, Susan M. Hettenbach, D. Scott Mcvey, Leela E. Noronha, Kenneth R. Burton, Stephen Higgs, Dana L. Vanlandingham

School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences: Faculty Publications

Background: Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) is a mosquito-borne zoonotic flavivirus and the leading cause of pediatric encephalitis in the Asian Pacific region. The transmission cycle primarily involves Culex spp. mosquitoes and Ardeid birds, with domestic pigs (Sus scrofa domestica) being the source of infectious viruses for the spillover of JEV from the natural endemic transmission cycle into the human population. Although many studies have concluded that domestic pigs play an important role in the transmission cycle of JEV, and infection of humans, the role of feral pigs in the transmission of JEV remains unclear. Since domestic and …

Integrating Robotics Into Wildlife Conservation: Testing Improvements To Predator Deterrents Through Movement, Stewart W. Breck, Jeffrey T. Schultz, David Prause, Cameron Krebs, Anthony J. Giordano, Byron Boots

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Background Agricultural and pastoral landscapes can provide important habitat for wildlife conservation, but sharing these landscapes with wildlife can create conflict that is costly and requires managing. Livestock predation is a good example of the challenges involving coexistence with wildlife across shared landscapes. Integrating new technology into agricultural practices could help minimize human-wildlife conflict. In this study, we used concepts from the fields of robotics (i.e., automated movement and adaptiveness) and agricultural practices (i.e., managing livestock risk to predation) to explore how integration of these concepts could aid the development of more effective predator deterrents.

Methods …

Population Density Of The Small Indian Mongoose (Urva Auropunctata) Across Multiple Habitat Types And Seasons In Puerto Rico, Are R. Berentsen, Caroline C. Sauvé, Mel J. Rivera-Rodriguez, Fabiola B. Torres-Toledo, Richard B. Chipman, Amy T. Gilbert

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

The small Indian mongoose (Urva auropunctata) is a rabies reservoir on several Caribbean Islands including Puerto Rico. In the continental United States, oral rabies vaccination (ORV) has been used to control and locally eliminate rabies viruses targeting meso-carnivores including raccoons (Procyon lotor), grey foxes (Urocyon cinereoargenteus), and coyotes (Canis latrans), and has more recently been proposed to mitigate and control mongoose rabies in Puerto Rico. A fundamental understanding of the population density of the target species is an important factor in planning bait application rates prior to ORV operations. In Puerto Rico, …