Ecological Niche Modeling of Lyme Disease Risk in Maine Based on Human Case Data

Ixodes scapularis, the blacklegged tick,is the primary vector for the Lyme disease-causing bacteria Borrelia burgdorferi in the United States.Lyme disease poses a significant concern to the state of Maine, as both the number and geographic distribution of cases across the state have been steadily increasing over the past two decades. In 2001, there were 108 confirmed or probable cases of Lyme disease in Maine compared to 1404 cases in 2018. Using tick-borne disease human case data from the Maine CDC andArcGIS software, I created three Lyme disease maps for the years 2001, 2009, and 2017. These maps show the number of confirmed and probable cases of Lyme disease in Maine for each town, where case coordinates were randomly assigned within the town boundary that the patient resides in. I used Maxent modeling to locate areas of high-risk for Lyme disease cases in Maine. The land cover variables were taken from the National Land Cover Database and the climate variables were based onBioclimatic variables from WorldClim. The final variable in this model was the distance from hospital. The findings of this study show that the distribution of Lyme disease cases across the state of Maine increased from 2001 to 2017. The coldest temperature of the coldest month was the best predictor for Lyme disease case prevalence, and land cover was not an important predictor for Lyme disease cases. These findings pose research questions on the causality behind these trends

Impact of price and color availability on fair trade and organic apparel choice

Working conditions in the international garment industry have long been a concern and a process to assess and certify fair trade practices was developed as a means by which to improve those conditions. Standards for fair trade apparel include safe working conditions, fair wages, compliance with laws, and reduced environmental impact. This study examines consumers' willingness to pay for fair trade clothing. A stated choice experiment was conducted through a survey of 100 Portland, OR metropolitan area residents to examine stated purchase preference between T-shirts with varied combinations of four attributes: color, fair trade certification, organic certification, and price. The surveys were administered at the Food Innovation Center in Portland, OR in November 2012. To resemble the actual market a limitation on color choice was tested. Conditional logit analysis was used to analyze the impact of product attributes and consumer characteristics on choice. Results revealed that consumers were willing to pay significantly more for fair trade certified than for organically certified T-shirts. Limiting color choice did significantly reduce selection of a T-shirt

Second Chances for Paisley Shawls

Historic collections include garments recycled from old paisley shawls. Shawls enjoyed popularity in the nineteenth century, reaching their peak in the 1850s and 1860s. When the crinoline changed to the bustle circa 1870, paisley shawls faded from fashion. This project asked the question: what happened to paisley shawls after they went out of style? Using a material culture model, the study examined six paisley garments in a university collection as examples of recycling and reuse. Remodeling efforts dated from 1870s to 1940s. Reasons for remodeling paisley shawls into garments over this long stretch of time are varied. First is the practical reason of revamping a luxury textile no longer in fashion. Second, the large shawls provided fabric that could be repurposed during wartime when Americans experienced shortages. Third, the paisley motif, with its exotic origins in India, tapped into the Orientalism that permeated the early years of the twentieth century

Clean Technology Ventures and Innovation

Entrepreneurial innovators have been agents of transformation throughout history, but they have not had the scope to perform this role in the environmental domain. We propose an explanatory model that depicts the processes that give rise to innovation by new entrant firms. We apply this model to evidence from a study of problems faced by 73 environmental ventures. We present supporting evidence from case studies that demonstrate how entrepreneurial innovation is brought about by problem solving practices under resource constraint and decision-making flexibility. We point to the value of promoting technological options and the diversity and complementarities to which new entrants give rise

Predictors of health-related quality of life in patients with colorectal cancer

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Most studies that have identified variables associated with the health-related quality of life (HRQL) of patients with colorectal cancer have been cross-sectional or included patients with other diagnoses. The objectives of this study were to identify predictors of HRQL in patients with colorectal cancer and interpret the clinical importance of the results.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We conducted a population-based longitudinal study of patients identified through three regions of the California Cancer Registry. Surveys were completed by 568 patients approximately 9 and 19 months post-diagnosis. Three HRQL outcomes from the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy – Colorectal (FACT-C) were evaluated: social/family well-being (SWB), emotional well-being (EWB) and the Trial Outcome Index (TOI), which is a colorectal cancer-specific summary measure of physical function and well-being. Sociodemographic, cancer/health, and healthcare variables were assessed in multivariable regression models. We computed the difference in predicted HRQL scores corresponding to a large difference in a predictor variable, defined as a 1 standard deviation difference for interval variables or the difference relative to the reference category for nominal variables. The effect of an explanatory variable on HRQL was considered clinically meaningful if the predicted score difference was at least as large as the minimally important difference.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Common predictors of better TOI, SWB and EWB were better general health and factors related to better perceived quality of cancer care. Predictor variables in addition to general health and perceived quality of care were identified only for SWB. Being married/living as married was associated with better SWB, whereas being male or of Hispanic ethnicity was associated with worse SWB. Among the sociodemographic, cancer/health, and healthcare variables evaluated, only Hispanic ethnicity had a clinically meaningful effect on an HRQL outcome.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our findings, particularly the information on the clinical importance of predictor variables, can help clinicians identify patients who may be at risk for poor future HRQL. Potentially modifiable factors were related to perceived quality of cancer care; thus, future research should evaluate whether improving these factors improves HRQL.</p

Creating the HAPS Physiology Learning Outcomes : terminology, eponyms, inclusive language, core concepts, and skills

This manuscript has been made open access under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) licence under the terms of the University of Aberdeen Research Publications Policy. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Peer reviewedPostprin

Literacity: A multimedia adult literacy package combining NASA technology, recursive ID theory, and authentic instruction theory

An important part of NASA's mission involves the secondary application of its technologies in the public and private sectors. One current application under development is LiteraCity, a simulation-based instructional package for adults who do not have functional reading skills. Using fuzzy logic routines and other technologies developed by NASA's Information Systems Directorate and hypermedia sound, graphics, and animation technologies the project attempts to overcome the limited impact of adult literacy assessment and instruction by involving the adult in an interactive simulation of real-life literacy activities. The project uses a recursive instructional development model and authentic instruction theory. This paper describes one component of a project to design, develop, and produce a series of computer-based, multimedia instructional packages. The packages are being developed for use in adult literacy programs, particularly in correctional education centers. They use the concepts of authentic instruction and authentic assessment to guide development. All the packages to be developed are instructional simulations. The first is a simulation of 'finding a friend a job.