Life Sciences Commons^™

Evolving Availability And Standardization Of Patient Attributes For Matching, Elmer V Bernstam, Theresa Cullen, Ramkiran Gouripeddi, Christopher Harle, David F Hesse, Jacob Kean, John Lee, Tanja Magoc, Daniella Meeker, Toan Ong, Jyotishman Pathak, Marc Rosenman, Laura K Rusie, Akash J Shah, Lizheng Shi, Aaron Thomas, William E Trick, Shaun Grannis, Abel Kho

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Variation in availability, format, and standardization of patient attributes across health care organizations impacts patient-matching performance. We report on the changing nature of patient-matching features available from 2010-2020 across diverse care settings. We asked 38 health care provider organizations about their current patient attribute data-collection practices. All sites collected name, date of birth (DOB), address, and phone number. Name, DOB, current address, social security number (SSN), sex, and phone number were most commonly used for cross-provider patient matching. Electronic health record queries for a subset of 20 participating sites revealed that DOB, first name, last name, city, and postal codes …

Discoverpath: A Knowledge Refinement And Retrieval System For Interdisciplinarity On Biomedical Research, Daochen Zha, Ruixiang Tang, Fan Yang, Alfredo Costilla Reyes, Kaixiong Zhou, Xiaoqian Jiang, Xia Hu

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The exponential growth in scholarly publications necessitates advanced tools for efficient article retrieval, especially in interdisciplinary fields where diverse terminologies are used to describe similar research. Traditional keyword-based search engines often fall short in assisting users who may not be familiar with specific terminologies. To address this, we present a knowledge graph based paper search engine for biomedical research to enhance the user experience in discovering relevant queries and articles. The system, dubbed DiscoverPath, employs Named Entity Recognition (NER) and part-of-speech (POS) tagging to extract terminologies and relationships from article abstracts to create a KG. To reduce information overload, DiscoverPath …

Visualization Of Patient-Generated Health Data: A Scoping Review Of Dashboard Designs, Edwin Lomotan, James Swiger, Prashila Dullabh

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Patient-centered clinical decision support (PC CDS) aims to assist with tailoring decisions to an individual patient's needs. Patient-generated health data (PGHD), including physiologic measurements captured frequently by automated devices, provide important information for PC CDS. The volume and availability of such PGHD is increasing, but how PGHD should be presented to clinicians to best aid decision-making is unclear.

OBJECTIVES: Identify best practices in visualizations of physiologic PGHD, for designing a software application as a PC CDS tool.

METHODS: We performed a scoping review of studies of PGHD dashboards that involved clinician users in design or evaluations. We included only …

Effects Of A Climbing-Specific Training Program On Upper-Body Power In Novice Climbers Compared To Advanced Climbers, Dallas E. Wood

Human Movement Studies & Special Education Theses & Dissertations

Muscular strength and muscular endurance are integral physical components of rock climbing. The hypothesis of this study was that a climbing-specific training program would improve physical fitness specific to climbing and improve performance on a relevant indoor rock-climbing test in novice climbers.

Twenty-one novice recreational climbers were matched for sex and climbing performance and randomly assigned. The experimental (EXP, n = 11) group was provided a climbing-specific, six-week training program. The control (CON, n = 10) group continued training as usual. Pre- and post-tests involved anthropometric tests, the ape-index test (arm span to height ratio), a weighted pull-up test, a …

Biomechanical Adaptations While Performing Bilateral Drop Landings With A Unilateral Ankle Tape Application, Eric Daniel Jenkins

Rehabilitation Sciences Theses & Dissertations

Ankle sprains are the most common injury in sport and exercise performance, which makes the utilization of ankle taping a common procedure to both prevent potential sprain, as well as protect against reinjury. However, unilateral ankle taping may have unintended consequences on the mechanics of the ankle and other joints of both legs. The aim of this dissertation was to determine the effects of ankle taping on lower body kinetics and kinematics, stiffness, and coordination during a bilateral landing task.

Twelve female participants completed a total of 90 drop landings across two visits, randomized from landing platforms of 30, 45, …

Unravelling The Nutritional And Health Benefits Of Wheat Bread Enriched With Meat Powder From Laying Hen Fed Diet With Insect (Hermetia Illucens) Meal, Marcasy P. Makokha, Patrick S. Muliro, Peninah N. Ngoda, Changeh J. Ghemoh, Sevgan Subramanian, Cheseto Xavier, Brian O. Ochieng, Sunday Ekesi, Chrysantus M. Tanga

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Wheat bread is among stable foods that are nutritionally imbalanced, thus enrichment is crucial. We evaluated the nutritional impact of high-valued wheat bread enriched with varying levels of meat powder from hen fed diet with insect (Hermetia illucens)-based meal. Crude protein and ash in bread increased with increasing inclusion of meat powder. Limiting amino acids like lysine and threonine in enriched bread products increased by 3.0–4.5 and 1.8–3.1-folds, respectively. Omega 3 fatty acids were significantly enhanced in bread fortified with meat powder. Vitamins (retinol, nicotinic acid, and pantothenic acid) were significantly increased in supplemented bread products. Iron, zinc, and calcium …

Genetic Architecture Of Salt Tolerance In Cowpea (Vigna Unguiculata (L.) Walp.) At Seedling Stage Using A Whole Genome Resequencing Approach, Waltram Ravelombola, Lindgi Dong, Thomas Casey Barickman, Haizheng Xiong, Aurora Manley, John Cason, Hanh Pham, Bazgha Zia, Beiquan Mou, Ainong Shi

Horticulture Faculty Publications and Presentations

Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.) is a diploid legume crop used for human consumption, feed for livestock, and cover crops. Earlier reports have shown that salinity has been a growing threat to cowpea cultivation. The objectives of this study were to conduct a genome-wide association study (GWAS) to identify SNP markers and to investigate candidate genes for salt tolerance in cowpea. A total of 331 cowpea genotypes were evaluated for salt tolerance by supplying a solution of 200 mM NaCl in our previous work. The cowpea panel was genotyped using a whole genome resequencing approach, generating 14,465,516 SNPs. Moreover, …

Mycorrhizal Fungi Mediate Aboveground – Belowground Interactions In Forest Ecosystems, Amelia A. Fitch

Dartmouth College Ph.D Dissertations

The activities of plants and soil microbes are the primary drivers of forest ecosystem processes such as carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) cycling, and mycorrhizal fungi serve as a bridge between these two groups of organisms. The combined efforts of trees and associated mycorrhizal fungi to seek soil nutrients links C and N cycling through effects on saprotrophic communities and decomposition activity. In these studies, I investigated the effects of arbuscular (AM) and ectomycorrhizal (EcM) associations on microbial communities and ecosystem processes related to SOM decomposition and N cycling, and in turn how differences in soils beneath AM and EcM …

Transdisciplinary Approaches To Community Engagement, Research Translation And Science Communication Through Application Of The Socio-Environmental Report Card Process And Product In Murrells Inlet, South Carolina, Ekaterina Negodyaeva Altman

Theses and Dissertations

Public health and environmental sustainability are interlinked. Three pillars of sustainable development are society, environment, and economy are supported and reinforced by healthy populations. Balancing these values in a long-term vision and application requires active involvement of communities and stakeholders in decision-making process of management of environmental resources and personal health choices. Transdisciplinary sustainability science provides a framework for addressing complex issues in sustainability and generates actionable knowledge to link science and policy and involved stakeholders in the scientific process. Transdisciplinary research processes use co-design, co-production, and co-implementation framework to create and re-integrate useful knowledge into practice on a local …

Optimizing Crop Productivity And Fertility Practices In Intermediate Wheatgrass, Roberta Bianchin Rebesquini

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The intensive management associated with many annual crops often includes recurring tillage, fertilization, and pesticide applications, which contribute to environmental concerns such as water pollution and soil erosion. Intermediate wheatgrass (Thinopyrum intermedium), recognized under the trade name Kernza®, is a perennial grass that can be managed to produce grain and biomass while providing desired environmental benefits such as soil conservation and nutrient cycling. There has been limited research on best management practices and crop productivity for this alternative dual-use crop in Nebraska. A field experiment was conducted beginning in 2021 to assess nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium …

Pulsed Electric Field Ablation: Mechanisms Of Differential Cell Sensitivity And Methods To Mitigate Neuromuscular Excitation, Emily Gudvangen

Biomedical Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Ablation therapies aim to destroy tumors while maintaining minimal damage to surrounding healthy tissue. Pulsed electric field (PEF) ablation targets the cell membrane during the destruction of tissues, which consequently spares extracellular structures such as ducts and blood vessels, leaving the framework for tissue regeneration. However, the utility of PEF is limited by neuromuscular excitation, causing pain and involuntary muscle contraction. To identify PEF protocols that efficiently ablate tissue while minimizing neuromuscular stimulation, various PEF protocols differing in pulse duration, shape, and repetition rate were tested. The ratio of cell death and nerve excitation thresholds, which determines the range of …

Wildlife Conservation, Lynn University Digital Press, Wayne Law

Lynn University Digital Press Books

Wildlife Conservation is a compilation of resources that describes the theories, methods, and practice of conservation. With the rapid and ongoing loss of our planet’s diversity, solutions need to be multipronged, and this resource presents examples of conservation efforts from around the world. Incorporating multiple disciplines, like ecology and social sciences, Wildlife Conservation provides a broad overview for all students studying the discipline. Course: ENV 330

Ignoring Clustering And Nesting Effects Are Invalid Analysis Choices In A Trial With Clustered Data In Trials Testing Causal Effects Re: "Impact Of A Montessori-Based Nutrition Program On Children's Knowledge And Eating Behaviors", Yasaman Jamshidi-Naeini, Lilian Golzarri-Arroyo, Colby J Vorland, Abu Bakkar Siddique, Deborah H Glueck, David B Allison

Children’s Nutrition Research Center Staff Publications

Vitale and Coccia conducted a study to examine the effects of a nutrition education program among school children, and reported statistically significant between-group effects for nutrition knowledge and liking tomatoes. In the study blocks of classrooms were assigned to the study conditions. Thus, with children nested within classrooms, and classrooms nested within blocks, the study has a two-level design, and block is the independent sampling unit. The analysis of the study must account for the two levels of clustering, but it did not. This render the conclusions reported in the paper unsubstantiated. For correcting the scientific record, reanalysis of the …

An Inquiry-Based Approach For Teaching Type Iii Functional Responses In Ecology, Jeremy L. Hsu

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Maize (also known as corn) has played an important role in human agriculture ever since its domestication by indigenous peoples of Mexico some 10,000 years ago. The crop is now planted across the world, including in China. However, several invasive pests, including the fall armyworm Spodoptera frugiperda, have threatened this crop and lowered yield. Eupeodes corollae, an endemic syrphid hoverfly, has been proposed as a biological control agent. Here, students will explore the antagonistic relationship between S. frugiperda and E. corollae, with both species feeding on larvae of the other species, and learn about type III functional …

E-Waste Recycling Behavior In The United Arab Emirates: Investigating The Roles Of Environmental Consciousness, Cost, And Infrastructure Support, Kareem Abdul Waheed, Abhilasha Singh, Ayisha Siddiqua, Maisa El Gamal, Mohammed Laeequddin

All Works

This study examines whether consumers’ behavior affects e-waste recycling in the UAE. This paper provides a theoretical model of e-waste recycling behavior based on the theory of planned behavior (TPB), and it goes on to analyze the impact of environmental consciousness, infrastructural support, and costs in e-waste recycling. To assess this study’s constructs, a survey instrument is created. The theoretical model is tested using data gathered from a survey of UAE residents. PLS-SEM (partial least squares structural equations modeling) is used to assess the data. The results support the use of the TPB in the e-waste recycling behavior context. Furthermore, …

Functional Characterization Of The Human And Murine Schlafen Family Group Iii, Carlos A. Valenzuela

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The Schlafen (SLFN) family of proteins are known for being encoded by interferon stimulated genes. The family is divided into three groups (I, II, III), for which the largest in size belong to the subgroup III. In humans, group III has the most members (SLFN5, SLFN11, SLFN13 and SLFN14); there is no member of group I and only one member of group II (SLFN12). All human SLFNs belonging to group III have been reported to impair viral protein expression or infection across a variety of viruses. The antiviral function is mediated in SLFN11 and SLFN13 by their tRNase activity, and …

Infection Intensity And Prevalence From Perkinsus Marinus In The Eastern Oyster, Crassostrea Virginica (Gmelin 1791) And Their Association With Salinity, Temperature, And Sex In South Carolina Estuaries, Deja E. Best

Theses and Dissertations

This project aimed to identify the associations between the infection intensity and prevalence of Perkinsus marinus infection (i.e., Dermo ) in the Eastern oyster, Crassostrea virginica (Gmelin), with extrinsic environmental factors such as changes in salinity and temperature along with oyster host factors such as sex ratio. The objectives of the study were to: (1) identify significant associations between the dependent variables, P. marinus prevalence and infection intensity, in relation to salinity and water temperature which may be affected by climate change; and (2) identify any intrinsic factors related to sex (i.e., male, female, intersex, and indeterminant) that may affect …

Replenishment Of Essential Natural Resources: An Assessment Of The Ability Of Freshwater Algae To Enhance Crop Quality And Soil Health, Lala Christina Ek

Theses and Dissertations

Disregard for soil, an essential natural resource, hinders global food production. Food insecurity is a major concern for both public health officials and environmental scientists due to soil quality decline, pollution, and climate change. Alternatives or targeted additions to chemical fertilizers can bolster soil quality, improve crop yields, lengthen crop shelf life, and mitigate environmental pollution. One potential alternative to chemical fertilizers is replacement of them with biological soil amendments, including algae, to enhance crop growth and improve soil health. Research was conducted at the University of South Carolina-Columbia campus garden to determine impacts of non-toxic freshwater algae on crop …

Application Of Computational Tools To Identify Variations Associated With Peromyscus Dominant Spot, Zhenhua Shang

Theses and Dissertations

Peromyscus are the most prevalent mammalian species in North America, and they're employed extensively in both laboratory and field studies. P. maniculatus and P. polionotus, the deer mouse and the old-field mouse, are closely related and can produce viable and fertile hybrid offspring. However, a comprehensive database of polymorphisms, particularly in those kept as living stocks and supplied to university researchers, is lacking. In chapter 2, we performed comparative genomic study on P. maniculatus and P. polionotus and used the polymorphic data to identify the range of genetic complexity that underlies physiological and behavioral differences between two species. We also …

Causes And Consequences Of The Risk Of Generalizability Biases In Health Behavioral Interventions, Lauren Von Klinggraeff

Theses and Dissertations

Preliminary testing of health behavior interventions (e.g., pilot, feasibility studies) are used to evaluate intervention viability prior to additional testing and resource investment (e.g., larger trials). This initial testing provides valuable information, but promising estimates of effectiveness produced during early testing are rarely reproduced in larger studies, stalling the development of effective, scalable health interventions. In the obesity intervention literature, external validity biases, features of the intervention that are not (or cannot) transfer to the larger study, are associated with these diminished effects. These study features, such who delivers the intervention, the characteristics of the population receiving the intervention or …

From Oceans To Public Health: Impact Of Climate Change And Socioecological Factors On Non-Cholera Vibrio Spp., Karlen Enid Correa Vélez

Theses and Dissertations

Climate change-induced stressors, such as temperature, salinity, pH, and wildfire, are contributing factors to the increase in frequency of Vibrio infections, altering Vibrio geographical constraints. At the same time, the expansion of the coastal population is resulting in increased input of treated municipal wastewater into areas that are also experiencing Vibrio proliferation. Given that increases in ocean temperature and sea level coupled with increases in human activity in coastal waters support greater Vibrio-human interactions, it is important to examine factors and mechanisms within this socio-ecological coupled system that may further strengthen this interaction. This study aimed to better understand the …

Integrated Wastewater Surveillance For Sars-Cov-2 And Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria: Implications For Public Health And Environmental Management, Mirza Isanovic

Theses and Dissertations

While current technologies have inadvertently resulted in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) becoming major sources of global antibiotic resistance gene (ARG) dissemination, wastewater can be leveraged to provide vital community-level health information. This project examined both of these aspects through wastewater-based surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 and metagenomic analysis of specific ARGs collected from both activated sludge and bioaerosols. In this study, we investigated treatment steps between the influent and final treated effluent to identify the point at which viral RNA is below detection. Additionally, we examined air surrounding high turbulence treatment steps to test for the presence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in WWTP-generated …

Quantification Of The Internalization Of A Commercially Available Silver Nanoparticle To The Bacterium Escherichia Coli, Samantha Mcneal Case

Theses and Dissertations

Nanoparticles (NPs), materials with dimensions ranging from 1 to 100 nanometers, are widely used in various consumer products, with silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) being the most prominent. Exposure to AgNPs occurs through multiple sources, including food packaging, supplements, and disinfectants, owing to their antimicrobial properties. Prior research has identified adverse health effects, such as cytotoxicity, toxicity, and Ag bioaccumulation resulting from AgNP exposure to bacteria in biological systems and the environment. However, most studies employ pristine, highly concentrated NPs, which may not accurately represent realistic exposure scenarios at environmentally relevant concentrations. This project investigates the fate and internalization of AgNPs, found …

Editorial: Parasitism: The Good, The Bad And The Ugly, Marco A. Juarez-Estrada, Danielle Graham, Xochitl Hernandez-Velasco, Guillermo Tellez-Isaias

Poultry Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Editorial on the Research Topic

Parasitism: the good, the bad and the ugly

Isolation, Characterization, And Experimental Infection Of Streptococcus Gallolyticus Subspecies Pasteurianus From Commercial Turkeys With Acute Septicemia: A Pilot Study, L. S. Gray, J. D. Latorre, D. Hernandez-Patlan, B. Solis-Cruz, V. Petrone-Garcia, X. Hernandez-Velasco, K. M. Robbins, R. W. Moore, C. N. Vuong, A. Stein, L. Laverty, K. Martin, M. E. Coles, R. Señas-Cuesta, J. M. Diaz-Gomez, I. Loeza, I. Castellanos-Huerta, J. A. Maguey-Gonzalez, B. D. Graham, B. M. Hargis, G. Tellez-Isaias

Poultry Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Streptococcus gallolyticus (SG) is a Gram-positive cocci found as commensal gut flora in animals and humans. SG has emerged as a cause of disease in young poults between 1 and 3 wk of age. SG is associated with septicemia resulting in acute mortality with no premonitory signs in turkeys. Three SG isolates were obtained from clinical field cases of acute septicemia of commercial turkeys and used in three independent experiments. In Experiment 1, embryos were inoculated 25 d of embryogenesis with varying concentrations of SG1, SG2, or SG3. In Experiment 2, day of hatch, poults were inoculated with varying concentrations …

Sex And Stress Modulate Pupal Defense Response In Tobacco Hornworm, Sukhman Singh, Sakshi Watts, Ishveen Kaur, Isabella Rodriguez, Jessica Ayala, Dariela Rodriguez, Elian Martin, Rupesh R. Kariyat

School of Integrative Biological & Chemical Sciences (Formerly Dept. of Biology)

In insects, larval and adult defenses against predators have been well studied. However, pupal (also known as resting stage) defenses have been overlooked and not examined thoroughly. Although some pupa possess antipredator strategies such as hairs, spines, cryptic coloration, and exudation of chemicals, few studies have tested these responses and the factors affecting them. Here, we investigated the behavioral responses in tobacco hornworm Manduca sexta that pupates in soil by introducing an external stimulus using vibrations from an electric toothbrush to mimic predation. We observed that M. sexta made violent wriggling (twitching), followed by pulsating movements in response to the …

The Himalayan Uplift And Evolution Of Aquatic Biodiversity Across Asia: Snowtrout (Cyprininae: Schizothorax) As A Test Case, Binod Regmi, Marlis R. Douglas, Karma Wangchuk, Zachery D. Zbinden, David R. Edds, Singye Tshering, Michael E. Douglas

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Global biodiversity hotspots are often remote, tectonically active areas undergoing climatic fluctuations, such as the Himalaya Mountains and neighboring Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP). They provide biogeographic templates upon which endemic biodiversity can be mapped to infer diversification scenarios. Yet, this process can be somewhat opaque for the Himalaya, given substantial data gaps separating eastern and western regions. To help clarify, we evaluated phylogeographic and phylogenetic hypotheses for a widespread fish (Snowtrout: Cyprininae; Schizothorax) by sequencing 1,140 base pair of mtDNA cytochrome-b (cytb) from Central Himalaya samples (Nepal: N = 53; Bhutan: N = 19), augmented with 68 GenBank …

Predicting Stringent Quantiferon-Tb Gold Plus Conversions In Contacts Of Tuberculosis Patients, Sheng-Wei Pan, Donald G. Catanzaro, Marva Seifert, Rehan Syed, Naomi Hillery, Mei-Lin Ho, Valeriu Crudu, Elena Tudor, Nelly Ciobanu, Alexandru Codreanu, Antonino Catanzaro, Timonthy C. Rodwell

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Objectives

Methods

Results

Moderate Heat Stress-Induced Sterility Is Due To Motility Defects And Reduced Mating Drive In Caenorhabditis Elegans Males, Nicholas B. Sepulveda, Donald Chen, Lisa N. Petrella

Biological Sciences Faculty Research and Publications

Moderate heat stress negatively impacts fertility in sexually reproducing organisms at sublethal temperatures. These moderate heat stress effects are typically more pronounced in males. In some species, sperm production, quality and motility are the primary cause of male infertility during moderate heat stress. However, this is not the case in the model nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, where changes in mating behavior are the primary cause of fertility loss. We report that heat-stressed C. elegans males are more motivated to locate and remain on food and less motivated to leave food to find and mate with hermaphrodites than their unstressed counterparts. …

Potent Bile Acid Microbial Metabolites Modulate Clostridium Perfringens Virulence, Tahrir Jatli Alenezi, Ying Fu, Bilal Alrubaye, Thamer Alanazi, Ayidh Almansour, Hong Wang, Xiaolun Sun

Poultry Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Clostridium perfringens is a versatile pathogen, inducing diseases in the skin, intestine (such as chicken necrotic enteritis (NE)), and other organs. The classical sign of NE is the foul smell gas in the ballooned small intestine. We hypothesized that deoxycholic acid (DCA) reduced NE by inhibiting C. perfringens virulence signaling pathways. To evaluate the hypothesis, C. perfringens strains CP1 and wild-type (WT) HN13 and its mutants were cultured with different bile acids, including DCA and isoallolithocholic acid (isoalloLCA). Growth, hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) production, and virulence gene expression were measured. Notably, isoalloLCA was more potent in reducing growth, H …