Life Sciences Commons^™

Using Data In The Classroom To Drive Instructional Design And Delivery, L E. Eberman, J P. Young

Clinical Practice in Athletic Training

Introduction: Roughly half of ATP program directors include education on transgender health care in their programs, and even fewer report having the competence to do so. However, professional-level accreditation standards (56, 57, and DEI 2) require that programs have faculty with contemporary expertise to educate students on these outcomes. Current research suggests a comprehensive transgender and sexual health curriculum, including safe-zone training, traditional lecture, lab, and project-based instruction, was partially effective at changing students’ attitudes toward transgender patients but did not improve sexual health care delivery during a standardized patient encounter. The purpose of this project was to evaluate the …

Traveling The Pathway To A Culturally Competent Health Care Provider: Incorporating Study Abroad Into Your Curriculum, A L. Johnston Green, C J. Heffner

Clinical Practice in Athletic Training

Introduction: As athletic training employment settings expand and diversify, so does the patient population with whom these healthcare providers interact. This growth furthers the need to ensure that students enrolled in an athletic training program (ATP) accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education (CAATE) are educated to provide culturally competent care. Culturally competent care is provided when decisions made diminish the inequalities that may be present in a system based upon a patient’s individual circumstances. Implementing cultural competency education may be integrated into athletic training education in various manners as necessitated by each institution’s unique circumstances. Programs …

Exploring The Work-Related Quality Of Life Of Athletic Trainers In Physician Practice, N T. Anderson, K E. Games, J P. Young, M J. Rivera, L E. Eberman

Clinical Practice in Athletic Training

Introduction/Context: The National Athletic Trainers’ Association (NATA) identified the vitality of the athletic training profession as a research priority, which includes exploring solutions to improve work-life balance. There is a common perception that athletic trainers (AT) working in the physician practice setting have lower work-life conflict and increased job satisfaction, but no data to support this belief. Work-Related Quality of Life (WRQoL) has been studied in some healthcare settings but has not been studied in any athletic training clinical practice setting. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to investigate the WRQoL of athletic trainers in physician practice. Methods: A …

How Do Athletic Trainers Impact Patient Health Literacy?: A Critically Appraised Topic, T Bouchard

Clinical Practice in Athletic Training

Introduction/Context: Health Literacy is defined as “the degree to which individuals have the capacity to obtain, process, and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions.” An estimated 80 million Americans are estimated to have low levels of health literacy. Low health literacy has been linked to poor patient outcomes and decreased usage of health services. Athletic trainers are multiskilled medical professionals recognized by the American Medical Association, trained in, among other things, wellness promotion and education, injury prevention and rehabilitation, and primary care. Although athletic trainers have traditionally been employed in collegiate/elite sports, many are …

Donald Griffin: A Visionary In Science And Consciousness, Charles Foster

Animal Sentience

Carolyn Ristau’s (2024) timely biography reviews Donald Griffin’s pioneering ideas with depth and historical perspective, describing Griffin’s approach to science, his openness to interdisciplinary insights, and his bold stance on consciousness. Ristau’s work highlights Griffin’s relevance to contemporary debates on consciousness and natural selection.

Don Griffin And The Early Days Of Cognitive Ethology, Gordon M. Burghardt

Animal Sentience

Carolyn Ristau’s trilogy provides a comprehensive account of Donald Griffin’s life and work, with the third volume focusing on cognitive ethology. This commentary focuses primarily on my own interactions with Don, particularly during my sabbatical at Rockefeller University when his campaign for cognitive ethology was gaining momentum. I recount my research on reptile behavior and cognition, my collaboration with Don and others at RU, and my role in advancing his ideas while contextualizing them within 19th-century comparative psychology. I also discuss developments in cognitive ethology, including critical anthropomorphism, the challenges of integrating subjective experience into behavioral science, and Griffin’s lasting …

Other Perspectives On Animals, Their Sentience And Cognition, Joyce M. D'Silva Mrs

Animal Sentience

For those of us who work to achieve legal recognition that animals are sentient beings, and should in many cases be allotted personhood, Donald Griffin is indeed an inspiration and a true game-changer. He put paid to the narrow behaviourist interpretation of animals’ lives promoted by Skinner et al. He became a real heir to Darwin’s belief in animal emotions. He enabled campaigners for animal welfare and indeed animal rights to quote his work as a distinguished scientist to give gravitas to their calls for legal recognition and protection of animals.

An Individuals-Oriented Approach To Conservation, Kristy M. Ferraro

Animal Sentience

Individual cognitive and emotional differences in personality among animals, along with differences in their behavioral traits, are increasingly important in conservation efforts. It is not only more effective but more ethical to take both collective and individual perspectives into account in both research and practice.

Wildlife Conservation And Adaptation To Humans, Valeria Mazza Phd, Claudio Carere

Animal Sentience

For many animal species, the ability to adapt to coexistence with the human species and to the environmental changes that humans cause is a biological imperative. This adaptive capacity varies not only between species, but within species. Studying individual differences in animals’ behavioral, cognitive and physiological adaptability is important for integrating ethology and conservation. Findings about animal cognitive capacities, including learning, need to be applied in conservation—but humans need to be educated about ethology, coexistence and conservation too.

International Society Of Sports Nutrition Position Stand: Long-Chain Omega-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids, Alex Leaf, Jeffrey A. Rothschild, Tim M. Sharpe, Stacy T. Sims, Chad J. Macias, Geoff G. Futch, Michael D. Roberts, Jeffrey R. Stout, Michael J. Ormsbee, Alan A. Aragon, Bill I. Campbell, Shawn M. Arent Ph.D., Cscs*D, Fissn, Facsm, Fnak, Dominic P. D’Agostino, Michelle T. Barrack, Chad M. Kerksick, Richard B. Kreider, Douglas S. Kalman, Jose Antonio

Faculty Publications

Position statement: The International Society of Sports Nutrition (ISSN) provides an objective and critical review of the use of a ketogenic diet in healthy exercising adults, with a focus on exercise performance and body composition. However, this review does not address the use of exogenous ketone supplements. The following points summarize the position of the ISSN: 1. A ketogenic diet induces a state of nutritional ketosis, which is generally defined as serum ketone levels above 0.5 mM. While many factors can impact what amount of daily carbohydrate intake will result in these levels, a broad guideline is a daily dietary …

Common Questions And Misconceptions About Protein Supplementation: What Does The Scientific Evidence Really Show?, Jose Antonio, Cassandra Evans, Arny A. Ferrando, Jeffrey R. Stout, Brandi Antonio, Harry Cinteo, Patrick Harty, Shawn M. Arent Ph.D., Cscs*D, Fissn, Facsm, Fnak, Darren G. Candow, Scott C. Forbes, Chad M. Kerksick, Flavia Pereira, Drew Gonzalez, Richard B. Kreider

Faculty Publications

Protein supplementation often refers to increasing the intake of this particular macronutrient through dietary supplements in the form of powders, ready-to-drink shakes, and bars. The primary purpose of protein supplementation is to augment dietary protein intake, aiding individuals in meeting their protein requirements, especially when it may be challenging to do so through regular food (i.e. chicken, beef, fish, pork, etc.) sources alone. A large body of evidence shows that protein has an important role in exercising and sedentary individuals. A PubMed search of “protein and exercise performance” reveals thousands of publications. Despite the considerable volume of evidence, it is …

Quick Guide To Aquatic Weeds Of Oregon, Gabriel E. Campbell, Ashley Newcomb, Jacob Rose

Center for Lakes and Reservoirs Publications and Presentations

This document contains a quick, non-technical, pictured-based field guide to aquatic weed species in Oregon and throughout the Pacific Northwest. It contains approximately 50 common, newly emerging, and watch list exotic weeds and common native look-alike plants. The intended audience for this guide includes weed professionals, restoration practitioners, land managers, professional botanists, and amateur naturalists.

Evaluation Of The Impact Of Urban Stream Syndrome On Macroinvertebrate Functional Feeding Diversity And Organic Matter Processing In Streams, Helena Loucas

Longwood Senior Thesis Proposal

The relationship between macroinvertebrate functional diversity and environmental processes is connected in streams. Aquatic macroinvertebrates are specialized feeders, falling into five functional feeding groups which affect processes such as the decomposition of organic matter. Urbanization causes the degradation of streams in a process is known as the Urban Stream Syndrome, and can result in increased concentrations of contaminants, altered stream morphology, and reduced taxonomic richness. The reduction of taxonomic richness increases the abundance of tolerant species, altering functional feeding groups, which will affect ecosystem processes within the stream. My proposed study seeks to determine the effects of urbanization on ecosystem …

Aborted Confidentiality, Stacey A. Tovino

Faculty Articles

As the number of abortion-restricting laws continues to grow in the wake of the Supreme Court’s ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, law enforcement officers are increasingly interested in obtaining and using reproductive health information for law enforcement purposes. Although physicians and other covered entities generally are required to keep protected health information (PHI) confidential under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act Privacy Rule, a number of regulatory exceptions historically have permitted covered entities to disclose PHI for civil, criminal, and administrative investigations and proceedings. On April 26, 2024, the Department of Health and Human Services …

Female Genital Schistosomiasis (Fgs) Prevalence And Burden Across Endemic Countries, Timelines, And Age Groups: A Retrospective Study, Navneet Kaur, Lilianna Buss, Lauren Zorn, James Mwansa, Mable M. Mutengo, Nilanjan Lodh

Clinical Lab Sciences Faculty Research and Publications

Female Genital Schistosomiasis (FGS) is caused by Schistosoma haematobium, which causes chronic gynecological conditions that lead to substantial morbidity and infertility. This study’s objective is to determine the prevalence and burden of FGS based on the presence of S. haematobium-specific DNA in females across age groups using our previously field-acquired filtered human urine samples from Zambia, Tanzania, and Ghana, collected over multiple years. For Ghana (2013), 39 out of 90 samples were from females, of which 31 (79.5%) were positive and 8 (20.5%) were negative. In Zambia (2016), 80 out of 133 samples were from females, of which …

2024 American Society For Microbiology Awards And Prize Program: Clinical Microbiology Honorees, Erik Munson

Clinical Lab Sciences Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

Asymptomatic Rectal Bacterial Pathogens Show Large Prospective Relationships With Hiv Incidence In A Cohort Of Young Sexual And Gender Minorities: Implications For Sti Screening And Hiv Prevention, Ross A. Baiers, Daniel T. Ryan, Antonia Clifford, Erik Munson, Richard D'Aquila, Michael E. Newcomb, Brian Mustanski

Clinical Lab Sciences Faculty Research and Publications

Background

We estimated the predictive value of rectal (bacterial sexually transmitted infection [bSTI]) pathogen detection for future HIV seroconversion among young adult sexual and gender minorities (YSGMs) assigned male at birth (AMAB).

Methods

Data were collected between March 2018 and August 2022 from RADAR, a longitudinal cohort study of YSGMs AMAB living in the Chicago metropolitan area (n = 1022). Rates of rectal bSTIs and the proportion of self-reported rectal bSTI symptoms are reported. We examined whether the presence of rectal bSTIs predicted HIV seroconversion using generalized estimating equations (GEEs).

Results

Participants tested reactive for rectal Mycoplasma genitalium (MGen), Neisseria …

Serologic Correlation Of A Research-Use-Only Treponema Pallidum Transcription-Mediated Amplification Assay Performed On Rectal Swabs From A Longitudinal Cohort Of Young Men Who Have Sex With Men, Amanda Zapp, Hannah Hudson, Erik Munson, Elizabeth Thelen, Daniel Ryan, Richard D'Aquila, Brian Mustanski

Clinical Lab Sciences Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

Update On Novel Validly Published And Included Bacterial Taxa Derived From Human Clinical Specimens And Taxonomic Revisions Published In 2023, Arianna Carella, Karen C. Carroll, Erik Munson

Clinical Lab Sciences Faculty Research and Publications

Taxonomy is a systematic practice in which microorganisms are granted names to facilitate and standardize multi-disciplinary communication. We summarize novel bacterial taxa derived from human clinical material that were published in peer-reviewed literature and/or included by the International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology during calendar year 2023, as well as taxonomic revisions that have been published/included by the same entity. While the majority of newly discovered facultative and anaerobic organisms were derived from microbiome surveillance, noteworthy novel taxa in the realm of pathogenicity potential include those related to Aerococcus spp., several Corynebacterium spp., Exercitatus varius gen. nov., sp. nov., …

Statistics Used In The Nebraska Beef Reports And Their Purpose, University Of Nebraska-Lincoln

Nebraska Beef Cattle Reports

The purpose of beef cattle and beef product research at UNL is to provide reference information that represents the various populations (cows, calves, heifers, feeders, carcasses, retail products, etc) of beef production. Obviously, the researcher cannot apply treatments to every member of a population; therefore he/she must sample the population. The use of statistics allows the researcher and readers of the Nebraska Beef report the opportunity to evaluate separation of random (chance) occurrences and real biological effects of a treatment. Following is a brief description of the major statistics used in the beef report. For a more detailed description of …

Evaluation Of Vivalto® On Growth Performance And Carcass Characteristics In Growing And Finishing Beef Steers, Garrett N. Lemon, Rebecca Mcdermott, Galen E. Erickson, Jeff Heldt, Pablo L. Loza

Nebraska Beef Cattle Reports

A finishing trial conducted at the Pan-handle Research, Extension, and Education Center (PREEC) near Scottsbluff, NE evaluated the effect of Vivalto^®, a B-vitamin complex, on the feeding performance and carcass characteristics of feedlot steers. The design of the study was completely randomized block design with three treatments, control without Vivalto^®, 1g Vivalto^®/steer/day, and 2g Vivalto^®/steer/day. Cattle fed the diets that included Vivalto^® feed had lower intakes during the first 56 days than cattle that received no Vivalto^® in the diet. No significant differences were observed for ADG, intake, feed efficiency …

Effect Of Biochar On Enteric Methane Production And Cattle Performance, Hanna Cronk, Holly Heil, Rebecca Mcdermott, Mitch Norman, Galen E. Erickson, Andrea Watson

Nebraska Beef Cattle Reports

Methane is a more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide. Because ruminant animals, including cattle, emit methane, strategies are actively being sought to reduce these emissions. Pistachio shell-sourced biochar was included at 0.5% of a finishing cattle diet to determine effects on methane emissions and cattle performance. Eight pens of cattle were rotated through a 2-chambered emissions barn to analyze methane and carbon dioxide produced by the cattle. Biochar tended to increase methane emissions on a g/d basis with no effect on methane emissions as g/lb of feed intake and no differences in carbon dioxide emissions. There were no differences …

Impact Of Strip-Grazing Stockpiled Annual/Cover Crop Forages On Carrying Capacity And Animal Performance, Shelby L. Davies-Jenkins, Abigail Sartin, Devin Jakub, Zac Carlson, Erin Laborie, Jack Arterburn, Ben Beckman, Brad Schnick, M. E. Drewnoski

Nebraska Beef Cattle Reports

Annual forages/cover crops can be used to fill the fall/winter grazing gap, and strip grazing may increase carrying capacity by reducing trampling losses of the forage. The current experiment utilized a series of on-farm experiments across two growing seasons to compare continuous and strip grazing of various summer planted cover crops. Strip grazing increased carrying capacity by an average of 47 ± 15% and gain per acre by 44 ± 5% compared to continuous grazing although significant variability in the amount of increase was observed. This variability can likely be attributed to forage type (quality), frequency of moves, and forage …

Strategies For Ddgs Supplementation Frequency To Frazing Yearling Streers, Sydney T. Vanderhoff, Rebecca L. Sjostrand, Mitchell M. Norman, Isaque F. Vicci, Jim C. Macdonald, Mary E. Drewnoski

Nebraska Beef Cattle Reports

Infrequent supplementation saves labor and may reduce animal performance, but recent research with reduced fat distillers grains has provided inconsistent results. This experiment evaluated the effects of daily and three times a week supplementation of dried distillers grains on yearling steer performance grazing smooth bromegrass pastures from May to August. Daily supplemented steers received 5.6 pounds of dry matter per steer of dried distillers grains with solubles 7 days/week. The three times a week supplemented steers received 13.0 pounds of dry matter per steer of dried distillers grains with solubles three days/week (Monday, Wednesday, Friday). A control treatment received no …

Effect Of Methionine Supplementation During Late Gestation In Beef Females, Landon F. Tadich, Jim R. Teichert, Kathryn J. Hanford, Jacki A. Musgrave, Rich N. Funston

Nebraska Beef Cattle Reports

Some amino acids are known to be essential to cattle and effect protein availability to the animal, especially during gestation when nutrient requirements are higher. Methionine is found to be one of the most limiting in low quality forage diets. Two 3-yr studies were performed to evaluate the impact of methionine supplementation during late gestation on intake, body weight, average daily gain, and subsequent calf performance in primiparous and multiparous females. In exp 1, 120 artificially inseminated pregnancy heifers were placed in a Calan gate feeding system (n=40/yr) and assigned 1 of 3 treatments during late gestation and fed ad …

Artificial Insemination Of Beef Heifers With Multi-Sire Semen, Dempster Christenson, Jordan Thomas, Daniel J. Kelly, John G. Maddux, R. Funston

Nebraska Beef Cattle Reports

The study compared pregnancy rates of beef heifers artificially inseminated with multi-sire semen to single-sire semen at ranch 1 and demonstrated pregnancy to multi-sire sexed semen at rand 2. It was hypothesized pregnancy rates resulting from multi-sire semen would be increased compared to single-sire semen. Ranch 1 heifers were inseminated with either single-sire or multi-sire semen and all heifers expressing estrus at ranch 2 were inseminated with multi-sire semen averaged numerically greater pregnancy rate than the average single-sire pregnancy rate and pregnancy outcomes from multi-sire sexed semen exceed previous literature but cannot be directly compared. Despite similar pregnancy results between …

Long-Term Performance Of Steers Grazing Smooth Bromegrass Pastures, Morgan Hodges, Holly Heil, Rebecca Mcdermott, Anastasios Mazis, Tala Awada, Galen E. Erickson, Andrea K. Watson

Nebraska Beef Cattle Reports

Summary with Implications

Body weight gain of yearling steers grazing smooth bromegrass pastures was measured across 17 years from 2005 to 2021. Three treatments were applied, (1) control pastures with no additional inputs, (2) pastures fertilized with 80 lb of N per acre, and (3) pastures grazed with cattle supplemented daily with approximately 5 lb of dry distillers grains. The cnntrol treatment pastures (1.4 acres/steer) were stocked 30% lighter than the fertilized and supplemented pastures (1.0 acre/steer). Across the 17 years, the supplemented cattle gained 2.24 lb/day while the non-supplemented cattle (both control and fertilized treatments) gained 1.57 lb/day. Body …

Natural And Artificial Selection Of Multiple Alleles Revealed Through Genomic Analyses, Jana Biová, Ivana Kaňovská, Yen On Chan, Manish Sridhar Immadi, Trupti Joshi, Kristin Bilyeu, Mária Škrabišová

Biomedical Sciences

Genome-to-phenome research in agriculture aims to improve crops through in silico predictions. Genome-wide association study (GWAS) is potent in identifying genomic loci that underlie important traits. As a statistical method, increasing the sample quantity, data quality, or diversity of the GWAS dataset positively impacts GWAS power. For more precise breeding, concrete candidate genes with exact functional variants must be discovered. Many post-GWAS methods have been developed to narrow down the associated genomic regions and, ideally, to predict candidate genes and causative mutations (CMs). Historical natural selection and breeding-related artificial selection both act to change the frequencies of different alleles of …

Cultivating Access: The Benefits And Challenges Of Using Community Land Trusts To Preserve Farmland And Support Farmers., Meghan Daly

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Agricultural land protected by community land trusts (CLTs) is more likely to remain in active production due to the CLT’s ability to enforce land use practices and select tenants committed to farming. While land tenure approaches vary among CLTs, protected agricultural lands typically utilize long-term leases with affordable rents (Ela and Rosenberg, 2020). Such leasing arrangements enable farmers to access land at prices unaffected by escalating land values (Schwartz et al., 2013). The CLT model not only safeguards farmland but also promotes active agricultural production, thereby ensuring local food supply and providing economic opportunities for farmers.

Despite the promising potential …

Wildfires Are Burning Less Frequently And More Severely Than Historically In The Western Us: A Novel Approach To Calculating Fire-Regime Departures, Jeffrey Ryan Chandler

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Changing climate, vegetation, and fire exclusion are altering and homogenizing fire-regime attributes compared to historic conditions. Fire-regime changes are commonly quantified using departure metrics, which are often based on measures of central tendency (i.e. changes in the mean). These metrics can mischaracterize complex changes to the distributional characteristics of fire-regime attributes. Here we develop a fire-regime departure metric that quantifies nonparametric distributional changes to fire-regime attributes over time. We use this metric to compare fire frequency and severity between historical (~1600-1880) and contemporary (1880- 2021) time periods in western US forests. Our analysis revealed that 89% of Western US forests …