Availability of Literature: The Little Free Library

This Little Free Library thesis project is one that focuses on children and the importance of making literature materials readily available. This project concentrates on children from low socio economic status (SES) communities. The idea of this project is to ensure that children have easy access to literature. This research project is important because in order for children to exceed in school they must be presented with the right circumstances

Metabolic Risk Factors for Cardiovascular Disease in Oklahoma Adults with Abdominal Adiposity and Dyslipidemia: a Cross-sectional Study.

Dietary intakes of fruits and vegetables have been shown to lower risks of cardiovascular complications in both epidemiological and clinical studies. In particular, the polyphenol subclass of flavonoids has been found to exert anti-atherosclerotic, anti-hypertensive, and anti-oxidative properties. Our study aims to further investigate the relationships among cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors, total servings of fruits and vegetables, as well as flavonoid intakes in Oklahoma adults with abdominal adiposity and dyslipidemia. Thirty participants (5 males, 25 females) were recruited at the General Clinical Reserch Center at the Oklahoma University Health Science Center and Department of Nutritional Sciences at the Oklahoma State University. Blood draws and anthropometrics were performed and participants completed a 3 day food records for dietary analysis.Serum total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol and glucose levels were significantly different across tertiles of ox-LDL (p <0.05); total- and LDL-cholesterol were significantly higher in the highest vs. lowest tertiles. Waist circumference, serum glucose, HbA1c, quercetin intake, and total servings of fruits and vegetables were significantly different across tertiles of CRP (p <0.05); elevated levels in highest vs. lower tertiles. This cross-sectional study shows significant differences among measures of lipid oxidation, CRP, and flavonoids (kaempferol, myricetin, quercetin) with measures of lipids and glycemic control in Oklahoma adults with abdominal adiposity and dyslipidemia. Further investigation with a large population should be conducted to confirm these findings.Nutritional Scienc

Is routine urine dip stick testing justified in asymptomatic women in early pregnancy?

Background: Routine urinalysis is commonly performed in early pregnancy units (EPUs) based on historic evidence that bacteriuria is linked to pyelonephritis, pre-term birth, mid trimester loss and low birth weight. Aim was to assess the cost and diagnostic yield of routine urinalysis in asymptomatic women in early pregnancy. A secondary outcome was the birth outcomes for women with proven bacteriuria.Methods: Retrospective review of all urinalysis performed over 12 month period in a tertiary EPU and analysis of pregnancy outcomes in the proven bacteriuria group.Results: 10,490 urinalyses performed at a cost of £40,385.50. 1162 (11%) positive urine dips; 68 (0.6%) nitrite positive. 179 microscopy, culture and sensitivity performed at a cost of £2593.71. Of the 179, 65 were culture positive giving a proven bacteriuria rate of 0.6%. The most common pathogen was E-Coli. There were no recorded episodes of pyelonephritis and no statistical significance in the pre-term birth, mid trimester loss or low birth weight rate in the culture positive versus culture negative group.Conclusions: The cost associated with routine urinalysis is significant and the diagnostic yield is extremely low. We did not identify an association between bacteriuria and adverse pregnancy outcomes. As such, urinalysis should only be performed in symptomatic/ high risk patients presenting to the EPU

Monitoring to conservation: The science–policy nexus of plastics and seabirds

Seabirds have been the messengers of marine plastics pollution since the 1950s, not long after plastics began to be commercially manufactured. In the decades since, a number of multilateral agreements have emerged to address marine plastics pollution that have been informed by research and monitoring on plastic ingestion in seabirds. Seabirds continue to serve as effective monitors for plastics pollution in the oceans, and increasingly of the chemical contamination from the marine environment as plastic additives and chemicals can adsorb and accumulate in seabirds’ tissues. Plastics pollution has far-reaching ecological impacts, but the motivation for addressing the issue has escalated rapidly at the international level. Seabirds are also the most globally threatened group of birds and require concerted conservation actions to mitigate population declines from multiple pressures. However, most policy mechanisms focus on the monitoring and mitigation of anthropogenically induced stressors, using seabird data, and often fail to include mechanisms to conserve the messengers. In this review, we discuss how research on the impacts of plastics on seabirds is used to inform policy and highlight the competing interests of monitoring and conservation that emerge from this approach. Finally, we discuss policy opportunities to ensure seabirds can continue to be the indicators of ocean health and simultaneously achieve conservation goals

The Cybernetics Thought Collective: A History of Science and Technology Portal Project White Paper

This White Paper discusses the Cybernetics Thought Collective (CTC) team’s specific work to digitize a select portion of archival materials; investigate and experiment with natural language processing, named entity extraction, and machine learning software; begin investigating access interfaces for the portal; and ingest the digitized materials and machine-extracted metadata into the University of Illinois Library’s preservation repository and digital library. The pilot grant project enabled us to explore emerging methods for creating access to archival materials, which resulted in promising outcomes. In May 2018, the CTC team launched the prototype portal: ​https://archives.library.illinois.edu/thought-collective/​.National Endowment for the Humanities PW-253912-17Ope

Creation of a universal experimental protocol for the investigation of transfer and persistence of trace evidence:Part 2 – Implementation and preliminary data

This is the second paper on the development and implementation of a universal experimental protocol for transfer and persistence of trace evidence. Here, we present the results of five individual researchers who implemented the universal experimental protocol for the first time. Over 2500 images were collected, computationally analysed and statistically compared. The results were shown to be reliable and consistent under all conditions tested and were used to model the rate of loss of transferred particles over a 7-day timescale. The protocol was additionally extended to include a test of camera settings. The protocol was found to be useable and robust in this preliminary trial paving the way for it to be deployed more widely

Methodology: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of the AAC Literature for People with Autism Spectrum Disorder or Intellectual Disabilities who have Complex Communication Needs through 2020

A comprehensive meta-analysis examining the impacts of augmentative and alternative communication for individuals with complex communication needs was conducted, examining the relationship between social-communicative and educational outcomes and use of augmentative and alternative communication devices and across potential moderating variables. This document reports the methodology of the project as a whole, describing overarching procedures. Given the comprehensiveness of the review and meta-analysis, results of this review are reported in digestible groupings of types of research designs, types of research questions, and moderator groupings. Each of the resulting papers cite this primary document, as do additional reviews derived from the assembled data set. The documents herewith report the overarching methodology of the project, including the following. The document searches occurred in 2018 and 2020, resulting in 7,327 documents reviewed for title/abstract indication of meeting inclusion criteria. Full text document review was conducted for 1,758 documents for the next inclusion/exclusion gate. Documents were divided into group design (n = 132) and single-case experimental design (SCED) documents (n = 547) and reviewed for basic design criteria, resulting in 59 group design documents and 257 SCED documents. Lead project authors conducted screening remaining documents for false positives, resulting in 20 group and 176 SCED documents remaining for further analysis. Data extraction and potential moderator variable coding procedures are described in detail, with relevant coding manuals and other materials attached. Effect size metrics used for meta-analytic procedures are detailed.The research described here is supported by the Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education, through Grant R324A180110 to Texas A&M University. The opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not represent views of the Institute or the U.S. Department of Educatio

Safety and feasibility of oral immunotherapy to multiple allergens for food allergy

BACKGROUND: Thirty percent of children with food allergy are allergic to more than one food. Previous studies on oral immunotherapy (OIT) for food allergy have focused on the administration of a single allergen at the time. This study aimed at evaluating the safety of a modified OIT protocol using multiple foods at one time. METHODS: Participants underwent double-blind placebo-controlled food challenges (DBPCFC) up to a cumulative dose of 182 mg of food protein to peanut followed by other nuts, sesame, dairy or egg. Those meeting inclusion criteria for peanut only were started on single-allergen OIT while those with additional allergies had up to 5 foods included in their OIT mix. Reactions during dose escalations and home dosing were recorded in a symptom diary. RESULTS: Forty participants met inclusion criteria on peanut DBPCFC. Of these, 15 were mono-allergic to peanut and 25 had additional food allergies. Rates of reaction per dose did not differ significantly between the two groups (median of 3.3% and 3.7% in multi and single OIT group, respectively; p = .31). In both groups, most reactions were mild but two severe reactions requiring epinephrine occurred in each group. Dose escalations progressed similarly in both groups although, per protocol design, those on multiple food took longer to reach equivalent doses per food (median +4 mo.; p < .0001). CONCLUSIONS: Preliminary data show oral immunotherapy using multiple food allergens simultaneously to be feasible and relatively safe when performed in a hospital setting with trained personnel. Additional, larger, randomized studies are required to continue to test safety and efficacy of multi-OIT. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Clinicaltrial.gov NCT0149017

Undergraduate Biology Education Research Gordon Research Conference: A Meeting Report

The 2019 Undergraduate Biology Education Research Gordon Research Conference (UBER GRC), titled “Achieving Widespread Improvement in Undergraduate Education,” brought together a diverse group of researchers and practitioners working to identify, promote, and understand widespread adoption of evidence-based teaching, learning, and success strategies in undergraduate biology. Graduate students and postdocs had the additional opportunity to present and discuss research during a Gordon Research Seminar (GRS) that preceded the GRC. This report provides a broad overview of the UBER GRC and GRS and highlights major themes that cut across invited talks, poster presentations, and informal discussions. Such themes include the importance of working in teams at multiple levels to achieve instructional improvement, the potential to use big data and analytics to inform instructional change, the need to customize change initiatives, and the importance of psychosocial supports in improving undergraduate student well-being and academic success. The report also discusses the future of the UBER GRC as an established meeting and describes aspects of the conference that make it unique, both in terms of facilitating dissemination of research and providing a welcoming environment for conferees