Digital Commons Network^™

Back To Basics: How International Election Observation Standards Can Strengthen Democracy In The United States, Ward Evans

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

The Effect Of Covid-19 On Depression In Hispanic Vs. Non-Hispanic Populations In South Jersey, Rana Cheikhali, Daniel Casal

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

The COVID-19 pandemic has been challenging for Americans and the world as a whole. It has especially taken a toll on mental health. Studies show that the incidence of depression in the United States was three times greater during the pandemic compared to pre-pandemic times. One specific community in the United States that has been greatly affected by the pandemic is the Hispanic American community. Many Americans across the country have received federal surveys that aim to determine the social and economic impacts of COVID-19. Results revealed that the Hispanic population had the greatest rise in mental illness, with 40% …

Polygenic Transcriptome Risk Scores For Copd And Lung Function Improve Cross-Ethnic Portability Of Prediction In The Nhlbi Topmed Program, Xiaowei Hu, Dandi Qiao, Wonji Kim, Matthew Moll, Pallavi P Balte, Leslie A Lange, Traci M Bartz, Rajesh Kumar, Xingnan Li, Bing Yu, Brian E Cade, Cecelia A Laurie, Tamar Sofer, Ingo Ruczinski, Deborah A Nickerson, Donna M Muzny, Ginger A Metcalf, Harshavardhan Doddapaneni, Stacy Gabriel, Namrata Gupta, Shannon Dugan-Perez, L Adrienne Cupples, Laura R Loehr, Deepti Jain, Jerome I Rotter, James G Wilson, Bruce M Psaty, Myriam Fornage, Alanna C Morrison, Ramachandran S Vasan, George Washko, Stephen S Rich, George T O'Connor, Eugene Bleecker, Robert C Kaplan, Ravi Kalhan, Susan Redline, Sina A Gharib, Deborah Meyers, Victor Ortega, Josée Dupuis, Stephanie J London, Tuuli Lappalainen, Elizabeth C Oelsner, Edwin K Silverman, R Graham Barr, Timothy A Thornton, Heather E Wheeler, Topmed Lung Working Group, Michael H Cho, Hae Kyung Im, Ani Manichaikul

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

While polygenic risk scores (PRSs) enable early identification of genetic risk for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), predictive performance is limited when the discovery and target populations are not well matched. Hypothesizing that the biological mechanisms of disease are shared across ancestry groups, we introduce a PrediXcan-derived polygenic transcriptome risk score (PTRS) to improve cross-ethnic portability of risk prediction. We constructed the PTRS using summary statistics from application of PrediXcan on large-scale GWASs of lung function (forced expiratory volume in 1 s [FEV1] and its ratio to forced vital capacity [FEV1/FVC]) in the UK Biobank. We examined prediction performance and …

Early Outpatient Treatment For Covid-19 With Convalescent Plasma., David J. Sullivan, Kelly A. Gebo, Shmuel Shoham, Evan M. Bloch, Bryan Lau, Aarthi G. Shenoy, Giselle S. Mosnaim, Thomas J. Gniadek, Yuriko Fukuta, Bela Patel, Sonya L. Heath, Adam C. Levine, Barry R. Meisenberg, Emily S. Spivak, Shweta Anjan, Moises A. Huaman, Janis E. Blair, Judith S. Currier, James H. Paxton, Jonathan M. Gerber, Joann R. Petrini, Patrick B. Broderick, William Rausch, Marie-Elena Cordisco, Jean Hammel, Benjamin Greenblatt, Valerie C. Cluzet, Daniel Cruser, Kevin Oei, Matthew Abinante, Laura L Hammitt, Catherine G. Sutcliffe, Donald N. Forthal, Martin S. Zand, Edward R. Cachay, Jay S Raval, Seble G. Kassaye, E Colin Foster, Michael Roth, Christi E. Marshall, Anusha Yarava, Karen Lane, Nichol A. Mcbee, Amy L. Gawad, Nicky Karlen, Atika Singh, Daniel E. Ford, Douglas A. Jabs, Lawrence J. Appel, David M. Shade, Stephan Ehrhardt, Sheriza N. Baksh, Oliver Laeyendecker, Andrew Pekosz, Sabra L. Klein, Arturo Casadevall, Aaron A R Tobian, Daniel F. Hanley

Pathology Research and Scholarship

BACKGROUND: Polyclonal convalescent plasma may be obtained from donors who have recovered from coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19). The efficacy of this plasma in preventing serious complications in outpatients with recent-onset Covid-19 is uncertain.

METHODS: In this multicenter, double-blind, randomized, controlled trial, we evaluated the efficacy and safety of Covid-19 convalescent plasma, as compared with control plasma, in symptomatic adults (≥18 years of age) who had tested positive for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, regardless of their risk factors for disease progression or vaccination status. Participants were enrolled within 8 days after symptom onset and received a transfusion within 1 …

Recommendations For Change In Infection Prevention Programs And Practice, Robert Garcia, Sue Barnes, Roy Boukidjian, Linda K. Goss, Maureen Spencer, Edward J. Septimus, Marc-Oliver Wright, Shannon Munro, Sara M. Reese, Mohamad G. Fakih, Charles E. Edmiston, Martin Levesque

Clinical Quality and Safety Articles

Fifty years of evolution in infection prevention and control programs have involved significant accomplishments related to clinical practices, methodologies, and technology. However, regulatory mandates, and resource and research limitations, coupled with emerging infection threats such as the COVID-19 pandemic, present considerable challenges for infection preventionists. This article provides guidance and recommendations in 14 key areas. These interventions should be considered for implementation by United States health care facilities in the near future.

Assessing The Coverage Of Us Cancer Center Primary Catchment Areas., Amy E Leader, Christopher Mcnair, Christina Yurick, Matthew Huesser, Elizabeth Schade, Emily E Stimmel, Caryn Lerman, Karen E Knudsen

Kimmel Cancer Center Faculty Papers

Background: Cancer centers are expected to engage communities and reduce the burden of cancer in their catchment areas. However, the extent to which cancer centers adequately reach the entire US population is unknown. Methods: We surveyed all members of the Association of American Cancer Institutes (N ¼ 102 cancer centers) to document and map each cancer center’s primary catchment area. Catchment area descriptions were aggregated to the county level. Catchment area coverage scores were calculated for each county and choropleths generated representing coverage across the US. Similar analyses were used to overlay US population density, cancer incidence, and cancer-related mortality …

Mortality In Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension In The Modern Era: Early Insights From The Pulmonary Hypertension Association Registry, Kevin Y Chang, Sue Duval, David B Badesch, Todd M Bull, Murali M Chakinala, Teresa De Marco, Robert P Frantz, Anna Hemnes, Stephen C Mathai, Erika Berman Rosenzweig, John J Ryan, Thenappan Thenappan, Phar Investigators

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Background Current mortality data for pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) in the United States are based on registries that enrolled patients prior to 2010. We sought to determine mortality in PAH in the modern era using the PHAR (Pulmonary Hypertension Association Registry). Methods and Results We identified all adult patients with PAH enrolled in the PHAR between September 2015 and September 2020 (N=935). We used Kaplan-Meier survival analysis and Cox proportional hazards models to assess mortality at 1, 2, and 3 years. Patients were stratified based on disease severity by 3 validated risk scores. In treatment-naïve patients, we compared survival based …

Timing Of Medicaid Enrollment, Late-Stage Breast Cancer Diagnosis, Treatment Delays, And Mortality, Evaline Xie, Graham A Colditz, Min Lian, Tracy Greever-Rice, Chester Schmaltz, Jill Lucht, Ying Liu

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: Disrupted and delayed Medicaid coverage has been consistently associated with lower rates of cancer screening and early-stage cancer diagnosis compared with continuous coverage. However, the relationships between Medicaid coverage timing, breast cancer treatment delays, and survival are less clear.

METHODS: Using the linked Missouri Cancer Registry-Medicaid claims data, we identified 4583 women diagnosed with breast cancer between 2007 and 2016. We used logistic regression to estimate odds ratios (ORs) of late-stage diagnosis and treatment delays for prediagnosis (>30 days, >90 days, and >1 year before diagnosis) vs peridiagnosis enrollment. Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate the …

Factors Associated With Endowed Chair Allocation In Medical Oncology In The United States, Lena Jia, Michael Kevin Rooney, Clare E Jacobson, Kent A Griffith, Christina Mangurian, Reshma Jagsi, Merry Jennifer Markham

2020-Current year OA Pubs

To explore persisting gender disparities across leadership roles in medicine, we examined factors associated with holding endowed chairs in US oncology divisions. In 2019, we identified 95 academic oncology divisions, using the Oncology Division Chiefs and Department Chairs listing in the American Society of Clinical Oncology myConnection forum. We collected public information on gender, degree, total National Institutes of Health funding as principal investigator, H-indices, publication and citation numbers, and graduation year and constructed a multivariable logistic regression model. All statistical tests were 2-sided. We identified 1087 oncology full professors. Of these, 287 (26.4%) held endowed chairs: 60 of 269 …

Analysis Of Stimulant Prescriptions And Drug-Related Poisoning Risk Among Persons Receiving Buprenorphine Treatment For Opioid Use Disorder, Carrie M Mintz, Kevin Y Xu, Ned J Presnall, Sarah M Hartz, Frances R Levin, Jeffrey F Scherrer, Laura J Bierut, Richard A Grucza

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Importance: Stimulant medication use is common among individuals receiving buprenorphine for opioid use disorder (OUD). Associations between prescription stimulant use and treatment outcomes in this population have been understudied.

Objectives: To investigate whether use of prescription stimulants was associated with (1) drug-related poisoning and (2) buprenorphine treatment retention.

Design, Setting, and Participants: This retrospective, recurrent-event cohort study with a case-crossover design used a secondary analysis of administrative claims data from IBM MarketScan Commercial and Multi-State Medicaid databases from January 1, 2006, to December 31, 2016. Primary analyses were conducted from March 1 through August 31, 2021. Individuals aged 12 to …

A Whole New World: Understanding The International Student Experience In The United States Through Acculturation, Identity, And Support, Maria W. Nessim

M.A. in Higher Education Leadership: Action Research Projects

This study explores the feelings and opportunities that international students experience while they are studying abroad. Specifically, it investigates acculturation and adaptation to the host country, the students’ cultural identity and sense of belonging, as well as implications for support provided by the host institution.

In order to evaluate these components, an online survey, compiled of 24 open-ended and multiple-choice questions, was distributed to international students at the University of San Diego, asking them to describe their experiences and any indications of challenge and support from the institution in relation to their sense of belonging. The outcomes of this research …

Factors For Success Of International Female Doctoral Students In Science In The United States, Maria Patricia Cantu

Theses & Dissertations

Factors for Success of International Female Doctoral Students in Science in the United States

Many international doctoral female students in the sciences in the United States do not obtain a degree despite their large investment in time, effort, and financial resources. The loss of highly prepared and credentialed international female doctoral students, who have a genuine interest in science but who choose not to pursue their studies to graduation or switch careers due to real or perceived barriers, signifies such a loss not just for the women themselves and their families but for their countries of origin, their hosts universities, …

Sino-Us Trade War, Erin Torgersen

Senior Honors Projects

China and the United States are unquestionably the two wealthiest economies in the world. These two countries alone account for almost half of the world’s wealth. As these nations battle to become the world's most powerful economy, it is no surprise high tensions have developed to complicate their relationship. China’s economy has been rapidly growing, especially in the last two decades as China is making its way towards the top of the list of strongest economies through its abundance of exports and manufacturing. Alternatively, as the U.S.’s economy has slowly decreased in the last few years, the gap between the …

"Expendable As A Battleship:" Uaw Local 50, Demobilization, And The Post War Future Of The Willow Run Bomber Plant, 1940-1945, Andrew W. Good

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

The Willow Run Bomber Plant was leased to the Ford Motor Company during World War II and specialized in the mass production of Consolidated B-24 bombers. While Willow Run’s war service and production record is often highlighted, the plant’s demobilization experience is often ignored along with the United Auto Workers Local 50 that represented the plant’s 21,000 workers. Allied victory in Europe was accompanied with layoffs that threatened Willow Run’s continued operation. This study investigates the advocacy and goals of Local 50 leaders as they underwent a unique campaign through the spring and summer of 1945 that advocated for the …

Optimization Of Care For Patients With Hereditary Angioedema Living In Rural Areas, Marc A Riedl, Douglas T Johnston, John Anderson, J Allen Meadows, Daniel Soteres, Stephen B Leblanc, H James Wedner, David M Lang

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: People living in rural areas of the United States experience greater health inequality than individuals residing in urban or suburban locations and encounter several barriers to obtaining optimal health care. Health disparities are compounded for patients with rare diseases such as hereditary angioedema (HAE), an autosomal dominant genetic disorder characterized by recurrent, severe abdominal pain and life-threatening oropharyngeal or laryngeal swelling.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the challenges of managing patients with HAE in rural areas and suggest possible improvements for optimizing care.

DATA SOURCES: PubMed was searched for articles on patient care management, treatment challenges, rural health, and HAE.

STUDY …

Physician-Scientists In The United States At 2020: Trends And Concerns, Howard H Garrison, Timothy J Ley

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Physician-scientists comprise a unique and valuable part of the biomedical workforce, but for decades there has been concern about the number of physicians actively engaged in research. Reports have outlined the challenges facing physician-scientists, and programs have been initiated to encourage and facilitate research careers for medically trained scientists. Many of these initiatives have demonstrated successful outcomes, but there has not been a recent summary of the impact of the past decade of effort. This report compiles available data from surveys of medical education and physician research participation to assess changes in the physician-scientist workforce from 2011-2020. Several trends are …

American Society For Transplantation And Cellular Therapy Series: #5-Management Of Clostridioides Difficile Infection In Hematopoietic Cell Transplant Recipients, Carolyn D Alonso, Gabriela Maron, Mini Kamboj, Paul A Carpenter, Arun Gurunathan, Kathleen M Mullane, Erik R Dubberke

2020-Current year OA Pubs

The Practice Guidelines Committee of the American Society for Transplantation and Cellular Therapy partnered with its Transplant Infectious Disease Special Interest Group to update its 2009 compendium-style infectious disease guidelines for hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT). A completely new approach was taken with the goal of better serving clinical providers by publishing each standalone topic in the infectious disease series as a concise format of frequently asked questions (FAQ), tables, and figures. Adult and pediatric infectious disease and HCT content experts developed and then answered FAQs and finalized topics with harmonized recommendations that were made by assigning an A through E …

Examining The State Of Substance Use Treatment Among Youth And Adults In The United States, Esther Adejoke Adeniran

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In the United States (US), substance use, misuse, and substance use disorders are significant public health problems. Additionally, the difference between needing substance use treatment (SUT) and receiving treatment is becoming more pronounced. Therefore, the aims of this dissertation include, 1) to synthesize evidence of barriers and facilitators to integrating SUT into mainstream health care (MHC) after the Affordable Care Act was nationally implemented in 2014, 2) to examine the rate of treatment completion and dropout, along with its associated factors, among youth who received Medication-Assisted Opioid Therapy (MAT), 3) to determine the relationship between prior treatment episodes and length …

Open Market Operations During 2021, Federal Reserve System: Federal Reserve Bank Of New York

Documents

No abstract provided.

The Last Leg: A Social Sustainability Assessment Of Ovine Agriculture, Sydney Golding

International and Global Studies Undergraduate Honors Theses

Post-war agricultural transformations and the rise of Sustainability discourses have dictated the trajectory of sector industries. The implications of agriculture in lateral policy schemes have neglected the careful consideration of the social health of farmers in decision-making processes, creating a greater divide between the interests of the state and our once revered providers. This study aims to capture the complexity of social matters in agriculture within the specific context of sheep farming in the United Kingdom and the United States and how the concurrent systems have adapted considering the impacts of relevant contemporary historical contexts. The principles of Janker, Mann, …

The Environmental And Nutritional Dilemma Of Beef Production And Consumption, Hannah A. Swilling, Stefano De Rosmini, Brooke Lovan

Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Based on previous studies, it has been stated that beef production and consumption in the United States is detrimental to the environment. However, in depth studies analyzing the change of beef production and consumption, the environmental impacts, the external costs, the lifestyle implications as well as the nutritional, the social and the cultural aspects of beef have not been conducted. The goal of this study is to analyze the multiple aspects of the dilemma over beef production and consumption. This was done through an analysis of beef production and consumption data over the past 60 years to determine how it …

Predictive Performance Of Newborn Small For Gestational Age By A Us Intrauterine Versus Birth Weight-Derived Standard For Short-Term Neonatal Morbidity And Mortality, Nathan R Blue, Lisa Mele, William A Grobman, Jennifer L Bailit, Ronald J Wapner, John M Thorp, Steve N Caritis, Mona Prasad, Alan T N Tita, George R Saade, Dwight J Rouse, Sean C Blackwell, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute Of Child Health And Human Development Maternal-Fetal Medicine Units (Mfmu) Network

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Objective:

The use of birth weight standards to define small for gestational age (SGA) may fail to identify neonates affected by poor fetal growth since they include births associated with sub-optimal fetal growth. Our objective was to compare intrauterine versus birth weight-derived standards to define newborn SGA to predict neonatal morbidity and mortality.

Study Design:

This was a secondary analysis of a multi-center observational study of 118,422 births. Liveborn singleton, non-anomalous newborns born at 23–41 weeks were included. Those with missing gestational age estimation or without a 1^st or 2^nd trimester ultrasound to confirm dating, birth weight, or …

Cultivating Agrobiodiversity In The U.S.: Barriers And Bridges At Multiple Scales, Kaitlyn A. Spangler

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The diversity of crops grown in the United States (U.S.) is declining, causing agricultural landscapes to become more and more simplified. This trend is concerning for the loss of important plant, insect, and animal species, as well as the pollution and degradation of our environment. Through three separate but related studies, this dissertation addresses the need to increase the diversity of these agricultural landscapes in the U.S., particularly through diversifying the type and number of crops grown. The first study uses multiple, openly accessible datasets related to agricultural land use and policies to document and visualize change over recent decades. …

How Do I Implement An Outpatient Program For The Administration Of Convalescent Plasma For Covid-19, Evan M. Bloch, Aaron A R Tobian, Shmuel Shoham, Daniel F. Hanley, Thomas J. Gniadek, Edward R. Cachay, Barry R. Meisenberg, Kimberly Kafka, Christi Marshall, Sonya L. Heath, Aarthi Shenoy, James H. Paxton, Adam Levine, Donald Forthal, Yuriko Fukuta, Moises A. Huaman, Alyssa Ziman, Jill Adamski, Jonathan Gerber, Daniel Cruser, Seble G. Kassaye, Giselle S. Mosnaim, Bela Patel, Ryan A. Metcalf, Shweta Anjan, Ronald B. Reisler, Anusha Yarava, Karen Lane, Nichol Mcbee, Amy Gawad, Jay S. Raval, Martin Zand, Matthew Abinante, Patrick B. Broderick, Arturo Casadevall, David Sullivan, Kelly A. Gebo

Pathology Research and Scholarship

Convalescent plasma, collected from donors who have recovered from a pathogen of interest, has been used to treat infectious diseases, particularly in times of outbreak, when alternative therapies were unavailable. The COVID-19 pandemic revived interest in the use of convalescent plasma. Large observational studies and clinical trials that were executed during the pandemic provided insight into how to use convalescent plasma, whereby high levels of antibodies against the pathogen of interest and administration early within the time course of the disease are critical for optimal therapeutic effect. Several studies have shown outpatient administration of COVID-19 convalescent plasma (CCP) to be …

No Happy Endings: Anna May Wong’S American Film Roles From 1931-1942, Kayla G. O'Leary

CSB and SJU Distinguished Thesis

In the 1930s and ‘40s, shifting relations with China, Japan, and the United States drastically impacted American public sentiment towards these Asian countries. US films produced during these decades starring Anna May Wong illuminate how harmful stereotypes about Chinese culture and people were portrayed on screen. I analyze five of Wong’s films from this period to examine how the gendered and racial stereotypes within them provide a cultural lens of changing US-Chinese relations. The stereotypical archetypes of her characters, which include the formidable Dragon Lady, helpless American citizen, and Chinese war hero, demonstrate how American perceptions of China and Chinese …

Data Privacy Regulations In The United States, China, And The European Union, Charlsey A. Kelly

Honors College Theses

This paper compares and discusses the different data privacy regulations found in the United States, China, and the European Union. It is no secret that big tech companies like Facebook and Google continuously collect data on their users. The big question is what protections and rights one has as a consumer. The answer to this question differs when you are in different parts of the world. Currently the United States does not have a federal data privacy law, China recently adopted a new data privacy law called the Personal Information Protection Law, and the European Union has a data privacy …

Consolidated Reports Of Condition And Income For A Bank With Domestic And Foreign Offices - Ffiec 031 (First Republic 2022), United States: Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council

Documents

No abstract provided.

Factors Associated With Racial Differences In Health Care Access, Memory Manda

Department of Sociology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Using data from the 2018 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), this study examined racial group differences in health care access, including measures for usual place of sick or preventative care and delayed or forgone care and the mechanisms that explain those differences. This study integrated the Fundamental Cause Theory and Anderson’s Behavioral model to understand the causal mechanism responsible for racial disparities in health care access. Results showed that Hispanics were more likely to have no usual place for sick or preventative care and more likely to delay care than other racial groups. Blacks were more likely to use other …

Risk Factors For Severe Covid-19 Differ By Age For Hospitalized Adults, Sevda Molani, Patricia V Hernandez, Ryan T Roper, Venkata R Duvvuri, Andrew M Baumgartner, Jason D Goldman, Nilüfer Ertekin-Taner, Cory C Funk, Nathan D Price, Noa Rappaport, Jennifer J Hadlock

Open Access Publications

Risk stratification for hospitalized adults with COVID-19 is essential to inform decisions about individual patients and allocation of resources. So far, risk models for severe COVID outcomes have included age but have not been optimized to best serve the needs of either older or younger adults. Models also need to be updated to reflect improvements in COVID-19 treatments. This retrospective study analyzed data from 6906 hospitalized adults with COVID-19 from a community health system across five states in the western United States. Risk models were developed to predict mechanical ventilation illness or death across one to 56 days of hospitalization, …

How A Shuttered Bathroom At A Pgh Grocery Store Explains Structural Racism, Bruce Ledewitz

Newspaper Columns

Collected biweekly contributions to the Pennsylvania Capital-Star, a nonpartisan, nonprofit news site.