Digital Commons Network^™

Genetics Of Vegetarianism: A Genome-Wide Association Study, Nabeel R. Yaseen, Catriona L. K. Barnes, Lingwei Sun, Akiko Takeda, John P. Rice

2020-Current year OA Pubs

A substantial body of evidence points to the heritability of dietary preferences. While vegetarianism has been practiced for millennia in various societies, its practitioners remain a small minority of people worldwide, and the role of genetics in choosing a vegetarian diet is not well understood. Dietary choices involve an interplay between the physiologic effects of dietary items, their metabolism, and taste perception, all of which are strongly influenced by genetics. In this study, we used a genome-wide association study (GWAS) to identify loci associated with strict vegetarianism in UK Biobank participants. Comparing 5,324 strict vegetarians to 329,455 controls, we identified …

Health Disparities In Aging: Improving Dementia Care For Black Women, Caleigh A Findley, Makayla F Cox, Adam B Lipson, Ratasha Bradley, Kevin N Hascup, Carla Yuede, Erin R Hascup

2020-Current year OA Pubs

In the United States, 80% of surveyed Black patients report experiencing barriers to healthcare for Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD), delaying the time-sensitive treatment of a progressive neurodegenerative disease. According to the National Institute on Aging, Black study participants are 35% less likely to be given a diagnosis of ADRD than white participants, despite being twice as likely to suffer from ADRD than their white counterparts. Prior analysis of prevalence for sex, race, and ethnicity by the Centers for Disease Control indicated the highest incidence of ADRD in Black women. Older (≥65 years) Black women are at a disproportionately …

Psychosocial Work Environment Stressors For School Staff During The Covid-19 Pandemic: Barriers And Facilitators For Supporting Wellbeing, Liz R Rolf, Liz Vestal, Ashley C Moore, Nikole Lobb Dougherty, Nancy Mueller, Jason G Newland

2020-Current year OA Pubs

INTRODUCTION: After periods of remote and/or hybrid learning as a result of the COVID-19 global pandemic, the return to in-person learning has been beneficial for both students and teachers, but it has not been without challenges. This study was designed to assess the impact of the return to in-person learning on the school experience, and efforts made to ease the transition in furthering a positive in-person learning environment.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: We conducted a series of listening sessions with 4 stakeholder groups: students (

RESULTS: Three main themes emerged around school staff experiences: (1) increased levels of stress and anxiety …

A Practitioner's Guide To Geospatial Analysis In A Neuroimaging Context, Julie K Wisch, Ganesh M Babulal, Kalen Petersen, Peter R Millar, Enbal Shacham, Stephen Scroggins, Anna H Boerwinkle, Shaney Flores, Sarah Keefe, Brian A Gordon, John C Morris, Beau M Ances

2020-Current year OA Pubs

INTRODUCTION: Health disparities arise from biological-environmental interactions. Neuroimaging cohorts are reaching sufficiently large sample sizes such that analyses could evaluate how the environment affects the brain. We present a practical guide for applying geospatial methods to a neuroimaging cohort.

METHODS: We estimated brain age gap (BAG) from structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) from 239 city-dwelling participants in St. Louis, Missouri. We compared these participants to population-level estimates from the American Community Survey (ACS). We used geospatial analysis to identify neighborhoods associated with patterns of altered brain structure. We also evaluated the relationship between Area Deprivation Index (ADI) and BAG.

RESULTS: …

Scaling-Up Child And Youth Mental Health Services: Assessing Coverage Of A County-Wide Prevention And Early Intervention Initiative During One Fiscal Year, Cole Hooley, Deborah Salvo, Derek S Brown, Lauren Brookman-Frazee, Anna S Lau, Ross C Brownson, Patrick J Fowler, Debbie Innes-Gomberg, Enola K Proctor

2020-Current year OA Pubs

PURPOSE: In the U.S., the percentage of youth in need of evidence-based mental health practices (EBPs) who receive them (i.e., coverage rate) is low. We know little about what influences coverage rates. In 2010, the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health (LACDMH) launched a reimbursement-driven implementation of multiple EBPs in youth mental health care. This study examines two questions: (1) What was the coverage rate of EBPs delivered three years following initial implementation? (2) What factors are associated with the coverage rates?

METHODS: To assess coverage rates of publicly insured youth, we used LACDMH administrative claims data from July …

Symmetric Data-Driven Fusion Of Diffusion Tensor Mri: Age Differences In White Matter, Andrea Mendez Colmenares, Michelle B Hefner, Vince D Calhoun, Elizabeth A Salerno, Jason Fanning, Neha P Gothe, Edward Mcauley, Arthur F Kramer, Agnieszka Z Burzynska

2020-Current year OA Pubs

In the past 20 years, white matter (WM) microstructure has been studied predominantly using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). Decreases in fractional anisotropy (FA) and increases in mean (MD) and radial diffusivity (RD) have been consistently reported in healthy aging and neurodegenerative diseases. To date, DTI parameters have been studied individually (e.g., only FA) and separately (i.e., without using the joint information across them). This approach gives limited insights into WM pathology, increases the number of multiple comparisons, and yields inconsistent correlations with cognition. To take full advantage of the information in a DTI dataset, we present the first application of …

The Relationship Of Trait-Like Compassion With Epigenetic Aging: The Population-Based Prospective Young Finns Study, Henrik Dobewall, Liisa Keltikangas-Järvinen, Saara Marttila, Pashupati P Mishra, Aino Saarinen, C Robert Cloninger, Igor Zwir, Mika Kähönen, Mikko Hurme, Olli Raitakari, Terho Lehtimäki, Mirka Hintsanen

2020-Current year OA Pubs

INTRODUCTION: Helping others within and beyond the family has been related to living a healthy and long life. Compassion is a prosocial personality trait characterized by concern for another person who is suffering and the motivation to help. The current study examines whether epigenetic aging is a potential biological mechanism that explains the link between prosociality and longevity.

METHODS: We used data from the Young Finns Study that follows six birth-cohorts from age 3-18 to 19-49. Trait-like compassion for others was measured with the Temperament and Character Inventory in the years 1997 and 2001. Epigenetic age acceleration and telomere length …

Qunex-An Integrative Platform For Reproducible Neuroimaging Analytics, Jie Lisa Ji, Matthew F Glasser, Michael P Harms, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

INTRODUCTION: Neuroimaging technology has experienced explosive growth and transformed the study of neural mechanisms across health and disease. However, given the diversity of sophisticated tools for handling neuroimaging data, the field faces challenges in method integration, particularly across multiple modalities and species. Specifically, researchers often have to rely on siloed approaches which limit reproducibility, with idiosyncratic data organization and limited software interoperability.

METHODS: To address these challenges, we have developed Quantitative Neuroimaging Environment & Toolbox (QuNex), a platform for consistent end-to-end processing and analytics. QuNex provides several novel functionalities for neuroimaging analyses, including a "turnkey" command for the reproducible deployment …

Factors Associated With Persistent Postsurgical Pain After Total Knee Or Hip Joint Replacement: A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis, Arunangshu Ghoshal, Shivam Bhanvadia, Som Singh, Lauren Yaeger, Simon Haroutounian

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Studies have identified demographic, clinical, psychosocial, and perioperative variables associated with persistent pain after a variety of surgeries. This study aimed to perform a systematic review and meta-analysis of factors associated with persistent pain after total knee replacement (TKR) and total hip replacement (THR) surgeries. To meet the inclusion criteria, studies were required to assess variables before or at the time of surgery, include a persistent postsurgical pain (PPSP) outcome measure at least 2 months after a TKR or THR surgery, and include a statistical analysis of the effect of the risk factor(s) on the outcome measure. Outcomes from studies …

Feasibility And Acceptability Of Remote Smartphone Cognitive Testing In Frontotemporal Dementia Research, Jack Carson Taylor, Nupur Ghoshal, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

INTRODUCTION: Remote smartphone assessments of cognition, speech/language, and motor functioning in frontotemporal dementia (FTD) could enable decentralized clinical trials and improve access to research. We studied the feasibility and acceptability of remote smartphone data collection in FTD research using the ALLFTD Mobile App (ALLFTD-mApp).

METHODS: A diagnostically mixed sample of 214 participants with FTD or from familial FTD kindreds (asymptomatic: CDR®+NACC-FTLD = 0 [

RESULTS: It was feasible for participants to complete the ALLFTD-mApp on their own smartphones. Participants reported high smartphone familiarity, completed ∼ 70% of tasks, and considered the time commitment acceptable (98% of respondents). Greater disease severity …

Financial Burden Of Men With Localized Prostate Cancer: A Process Paper, Ashley J Housten, Hannah E Rice, Su-Hsin Chang, Allison J L'Hotta, Eric H Kim, Bettina F Drake, Robin Wright-Jones, Mary C Politi

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: Many individuals undergoing cancer treatment experience substantial financial hardship, often referred to as financial toxicity (FT). Those undergoing prostate cancer treatment may experience FT and its impact can exacerbate disparate health outcomes. Localized prostate cancer treatment options include: radiation, surgery, and/or active surveillance. Quality of life tradeoffs and costs differ between treatment options. In this project, our aim was to quantify direct healthcare costs to support patients and clinicians as they discuss prostate cancer treatment options. We provide the transparent steps to estimate healthcare costs associated with treatment for localized prostate cancer among the privately insured population using a …

Adapting A Mobile App To Support Patients With Anorexia Nervosa Following Post-Acute Care: Perspectives From Eating Disorder Treatment Center Stakeholders, Anneliese Haas, Agatha A Laboe, Claire G Mcginnis, Marie-Laure Firebaugh, Jillian Shah, Anna M Bardone-Cone, Kathleen M Pike, C Barr Taylor, Denise E Wilfley, Ellen E Fitzsimmons-Craft

2020-Current year OA Pubs

INTRODUCTION: Anorexia nervosa (AN) is a harmful, life-threatening illness. Patients with severe AN often receive acute treatment but, upon discharge, experience high relapse rates. Evidence-based, outpatient treatment following acute care is critical to preventing relapse; however, numerous barriers (e.g., location, financial limitations, low availability of providers) preclude individuals from accessing treatment. mHealth technologies may help to address these barriers, but research on such digital approaches for those with AN is limited. Further, such technologies should be developed with all relevant stakeholder input considered from the outset. As such, the present study aimed to garner feedback from eating disorder (ED) treatment …

The Perspectives Of General Nephrologists Toward Transitions Of Care And Management Of Failing Kidney Transplants, Tarek Alhamad, Haris Murad, Mengmeng Ji, Omar Alomar, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

The management of failing kidney allograft and transition of care to general nephrologists (GN) remain a complex process. The Kidney Pancreas Community of Practice (KPCOP) Failing Allograft Workgroup designed and distributed a survey to GN between May and September 2021. Participants were invited via mail and email invitations. There were 103 respondents with primarily adult nephrology practices, of whom 41% had an academic affiliation. More than 60% reported listing for a second kidney as the most important concern in caring for patients with a failing allograft, followed by immunosuppression management (46%) and risk of mortality (38%), while resistant anemia was …

An Eye Tracking Based Framework For Safety Improvement Of Offshore Operations, Muhammad A. Raza, Raj Kiran, Saima Ghazal, Ziho Kang, Saeed Salehi, Edward Cokely, Jiwon Jeon

Mining Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Offshore drilling operations consist of complex and high-risk processes. Lack of situational awareness in drilling operations has become an important human factor issue that causes safety accidents. Prolonged work shifts and fatigue are some of the crucial issues that impact performance. Eye tracking technology can be used to distinguish the degree of awareness or alertness of participants that might be related to fatigue or onsite distractions. Oculomotor activity can be used to obtain visual cues that can quantify the drilling operators' situational awareness that might enable us to develop warning alarms to alert the driller. Such systems can help reduce …

A Critical Scientific Evaluation Of A Purportedly Negative Data Report - Response To Seneviratne Et Al. 2022, Bankole Johnson, Giovanni Addolorato, Otto Lesch, Lei Liu, Zachary A Rodd

2020-Current year OA Pubs

A core principle in the pursuit of scientific knowledge is that science is self-correcting and that important results should be replicable. Hypotheses need to be reinforced, adjusted, or rejected when novel results are obtained. Replication of results confirms hypotheses and enhances their integration into scientific practice. In contrast, publication of substantiated and replicated negative findings (i.e., non-significant or opposite findings) can be the basis to reject erroneous hypotheses or develop alternative strategies for investigation. Replication is a problem in all research fields. The Psychology Reproductivity Project reported that only 36% of 'highly influential' published research in highly ranked journals were …

Critcom: Assessment Of Quality Of Interdisciplinary Communication Around Deterioration In Pediatric Oncologic Patients, Jocelyn Rivera, Sara Malone, Kim Prewitt, Lara Counts, Douglas A Luke, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: High-quality clinical care requires excellent interdisciplinary communication, especially during emergencies, and no tools exist to evaluate communication in critical care. We describe the development of a pragmatic tool focusing on interdisciplinary communication during patient deterioration (CritCom).

METHODS: The preliminary CritCom tool was developed after a literature review and consultation with a multidisciplinary panel of global experts in communication, pediatric oncology, and critical care to review the domains and establish content validity iteratively. Face and linguistic validity were established through cognitive interviews, translation, and linguistic synthesis. We conducted a pilot study among an international group of clinicians to establish reliability …

Human Deprivation Amblyopia: Treatment Insights From Animal Models, Kevin R Duffy, Mark F Bear, Nimesh B Patel, Vallabh E Das, Lawrence Tychsen

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Amblyopia is a common visual impairment that develops during the early years of postnatal life. It emerges as a sequela to eye misalignment, an imbalanced refractive state, or obstruction to form vision. All of these conditions prevent normal vision and derail the typical development of neural connections within the visual system. Among the subtypes of amblyopia, the most debilitating and recalcitrant to treatment is deprivation amblyopia. Nevertheless, human studies focused on advancing the standard of care for amblyopia have largely avoided recruitment of patients with this rare but severe impairment subtype. In this review, we delineate characteristics of deprivation amblyopia …

Gene-Educational Attainment Interactions In A Multi-Population Genome-Wide Meta-Analysis Identify Novel Lipid Loci, Lisa De Las Fuentes, Karen L. Schwander, Yun Ju Sung, Mary F. Feitosa, Ahn Do, C. Charles Gu, Treva K. Rice, Mary K. Wojczynski, Michael M. Province, Dabeeru C. Rao, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

No abstract provided.

What Can State Medical Boards Do To Effectively Address Serious Ethical Violations?, Tristan Mcintosh, Elizabeth Pendo, Heidi A Walsh, Kari A Baldwin, Patricia King, Emily E Anderson, Catherine V Caldicott, Jeffrey D Carter, Sandra H Johnson, Katherine Mathews, William A Norcross, Dana C Shaffer, James M Dubois

2020-Current year OA Pubs

State Medical Boards (SMBs) can take severe disciplinary actions (e.g., license revocation or suspension) against physicians who commit egregious wrongdoing in order to protect the public. However, there is noteworthy variability in the extent to which SMBs impose severe disciplinary action. In this manuscript, we present and synthesize a subset of 11 recommendations based on findings from our team's larger consensus-building project that identified a list of 56 policies and legal provisions SMBs can use to better protect patients from egregious wrongdoing by physicians.

Improvement In The Capacity For Activity Versus Improvement In Performance Of Activity In Daily Life During Outpatient Rehabilitation, Catherine E. Lang, Carey L. Holleran, Michael J. Strube, Terry D. Ellis, Caitlin A. Newman, Meghan Fahey, Tamara R. Deangelis, Timothy J. Nordahl, Darcy S. Reisman, Gammon M. Earhart, Keith R. Lohse, Marghuretta D. Bland

2020-Current year OA Pubs

UNLABELLED: We addressed questions about the potential discrepancy between improvements in activity capacity and improvements in activity performance in daily life. We asked whether this discrepancy is: 1. Common in routine, outpatient care, or an artifact of intervention studies? 2. Unique to upper limb (UL) rehabilitation, or is it seen in walking rehabilitation too? 3. Only seen in persons with stroke, or a broader neurorehabilitation problem?

METHODS:: A longitudinal, observational cohort of 156 participants with stroke or Parkinson disease (PD) receiving outpatient rehabilitation at 5 clinics was assessed around admission and monthly during their episode of care. Individual, longitudinal capacity …

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 …

The Environment Of Interprofessional Education In Graduate Education: Exploring Professional Programs Of Occupational Therapy, Physician Assistant, And Physical Therapy, Allison R. Kaczmarek

Theses and Dissertations

Interprofessional education (IPE) is an educational approach of increasing popularity in professional schools for the preparation of a collaborative ready healthcare workforce. The accrediting bodies of professional education programs in occupational therapy (OT), physician assistant (PA), and physical therapy (PT) have incorporated standards for outcomes addressing IPE. Although they have endorsed the Health Professions Accreditors Collaborative (HPAC) consensus document on quality IPE, we do not have a contemporary snapshot of the IPE environments in the curriculum of their accredited programs. This dissertation, a collection of three distinct inquiries, has two aims: first, to provide a description of IPE as it …

Inclusive Leadership And Workplace Bullying: A Model Of Psychological Safety, Self-Esteem, And Embeddedness, Azadeh Shafaei, Mehran Nejati, Maryam Omari, Fleur Sharafizad

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Bullying is an adverse workplace phenomenon that requires serious attention by leaders and managers. Drawing upon Social Identity Theory, Optimal Distinctiveness Theory, and Victim Precipitation Theory, this study investigates how inclusive leadership is associated with workplace bullying (WB). It also examines the mediating role of psychological safety and self-esteem as serial mediators in this relationship. Additionally, the moderating role of embeddedness on the link between inclusive leadership and WB is explored. The study used a two-wave time-lagged survey completed by 226 full-time employees. The survey captured employees’ perceptions about themselves, their work environment, and their line managers. Study hypotheses were …

Meaningful Youth Work Careers: Assumptions, Misconceptions, And Realities, John Sutcliffe, Trudi Cooper

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

The existing literature pertaining to youth work as a career is sparse, limited, and outdated, with the literature that does exist representing a largely negative image of youth work as a career. What then of those who have had a long-term career in youth work? The authors use a recent phenomenological research study to question assumptions and identify misconceptions about youth work as a career, and to discuss the findings from this research to provide a more realistic and contemporary understanding of long-term youth work careers. The phenomenological study discussed in this paper interviewed ten degree-qualified youth workers in Western …

The Digital Environmental Humanities (Deh) In The Anthropocene: Challenges And Opportunities In An Era Of Ecological Precarity, John Ryan, Lydia Hearn, Paul Arthur

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Researchers in the complementary fields of the digital humanities and the environmental humanities have begun to collaborate under the auspices of the digital environmental humanities (DEH). The overarching aim of this emerging field is to leverage digital technologies in understanding and addressing the urgencies of the Anthropocene. Emphasizing DEH’s focus on natural and cultural vitality, this article begins with a historical overview of the field. Crafting an account of the field’s emergence, we argue that the present momentum toward DEH exhibits four broad thematic strains including perennial eco-archiving; Anthropocene narratives of loss; citizen ecohumanities; and human-plant-environment relations. Within each of …

The Effect Of Acute Exercise On Objectively Measured Sleep And Cognition In Older Adults, Kelsey R. Sewell, Nathan D. W. Smith, Stephanie R. Rainey-Smith, Jeremiah Peiffer, Hamid R. Sohrabi, Kirk I. Erickson, Belinda M. Brown

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Background: Exercise can improve cognition in aging, however it is unclear how exercise influences cognition, and sleep may partially explain this association. The current study aimed to investigate whether objectively measured sleep mediates the effect of an acute exercise intervention on cognition in older adults. Methods: Participants were 30 cognitively unimpaired, physically active older adults (69.2 ± 4.3 years) with poor sleep (determined via self-report). After a triple baseline cognitive assessment to account for any natural fluctuation in cognitive performance, participants completed either a single bout of 20-minutes of high intensity exercise on a cycle ergometer, or a control condition, …

The Role Of Flumazenil In Generalised Anxiety Disorder: A Pilot Naturalistic Open-Label Study With A Focus On Treatment Resistance, Alexander T. Gallo, Stephen Addis, Vlad Martyn, Hishani Ramanathan, Grace K. Wilkerson, Kellie S. Bennett, Sean D. Hood, Hans Stampfer, Gary K. Hulse

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Background: Anxiety disorders are highly prevalent and chronic disorders with treatment resistance to current pharmacotherapies occurring in approximately one in three patients. It has been postulated that flumazenil (FMZ) is efficacious in the management of anxiety disorders via the removal of 4 2 gamma-aminobutyric acid A receptors. Objective: To assess the safety and feasibility of continuous low-dose FMZ infusions for the management of generalised anxiety disorder (GAD) and collect preliminary efficacy data. Design: Uncontrolled, open-label pilot study. Method: Participants had a primary diagnosis of generalised anxiety disorder (GAD) and received two consecutive subcutaneous continuous low-dose FMZ infusions. Each infusion contained …

The Role Of Negative Affects As Mediators In The Relationship Between Stress And Mental Health In Ecuadorian Adolescents, Rodrigo Moreta-Herrera, Doris Zumba-Tello, Jaisalmer De Frutos-Lucas, Stefanía Llerena-Freire, Alexandra Salinas-Palma, Almudena Trucharte-Martínez

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Background: Stress and negative emotions have adverse consequences for the mental health of adolescents, an area that deserves further examination. These attributes are associated with each other and regularly interact in different ways. The way they exert an influence can be both direct and indirect, so the general objective is to elucidate the potential mediating effect of negative affects in the relationship between stress and mental health in Ecuadorian adolescents. Participants and procedure: An explanatory and mediation design based on structural equation modeling (SEM) was applied with 1154 high school students from Ecuador (67.7% women) aged 14 to 19 years …

Tourism Experiences Reduce The Risk Of Cognitive Impairment In The Chinese Older Adult: A Prospective Cohort Study, Qian Li, Zheng Guo, Fangli Hu, Mengfei Xiao, Qiang Zhang, Jun Wen, Tianyu Ying, Danni Zheng, Youxin Wang, Song Yang, Haifeng Hou

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Background: Given the etiological complexity of cognitive impairment, no effective cure currently exists for precise treatment of dementia. Although scholars have noted tourism’s potential role in managing cognitive impairment and mild dementia, more robust empirical investigation is needed in this area. This study aimed to examine the associations between tourism and cognitive impairment and dementia in older Chinese adults. Method: From a nationwide community-based cohort, 6,717 individuals aged ≥ 60 were recruited from 2011 to 2014, of whom 669 (9.96%) had had at least one tourism experience in the 2 years prior to enrollment. All the participants were then prospectively …

Lesbian, Anorexic, Disabled, And Big: Other Ways Of Being A Female Physical Education Teacher, Gustavo González-Calvo, Valeria Varea

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Research has shown that Physical Education (PE) is a white, male, and able body-dominated profession, particularly in Spain. When some female pre-service PE teachers, who had a difficult relationship with their bodies and sports abilities, enrol in such a degree, some of these problematic relations come to light. Participants for this study were four female pre-service teachers who self-identified as lesbian, anorexic, visually impaired, and big respectively. Data were collected through participant-produced texts, graphical representations, and interviews. The authors then reconstructed the participants’ stories which are presented in the form of narratives. The conceptual tool of embodying norm-criticality helped us …