September 2019

Approximately one year ago (September 5, 2018, to be exact), Dr. Peter Grant announced his intent to retire as Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences. That his official retirement date would not be for another ten months was testament to his reputation as a meticulous planner. It also showed his unabating commitment to the welfare of SWOSU. Indeed, for the four months after my own selection to succeed Dean Grant, he arranged a series of informational meetings to ease the transition and to relieve the burden of “recreating the wheel”

SWOSU Research and Scholarly Activity Fair 2015

Welcome to the Twenty-Second SWOSU Research and Scholarly Activity Fair! On display today are 103 presentations involving 169 student researchers, writers, performers, and artists, and 40 faculty sponsors encompassing scholarly activity from the Departments of: Accounting, Computer Science, and Entrepreneurship; Art, Communication, and Theatre; Biological Sciences; Chemistry and Physics; Education; Engineering Technology; Finance, Management, and Marketing; Language and Literature; Music; Nursing and Allied Health; Pharmaceutical Sciences; Psychology; and Social Sciences

Prevalence of shunt dependence and clinical outcome in patients with massive intraventricular haemorrhage treated via endoscopic washout versus external ventricular drainage

Methods: We have treated 16 patients with massive IVH with endoscopic washout as per study protocol to address all the undesired sequelae caused by IVH. 23 patients of the same disease were treated via external ventricular drainage. Results: All patients treated with endoscopic washout recovered well and only 3 patients required further shunt surgery at 3 months duration. There is significant difference in the shunt dependency between both control and intervention group (p-0.004). The duration of weaning of the external ventricular catheter is significantly shorter in the endoscopic washout group (p-0.007) and the Graeb score reduction is significantly more in the endoscopic washout group (p-0.001). Conclusions: Good outcomes obtained from endoscopic washout for massive intraventricular haemorrhage may be related to early removal of hematomas, creation of new cerebrospinal diversion pathway, coupled with early weaning from external ventricular drain and ventilator. The use of neuroendoscopy in patients with massive IVH has significantly reduced the drainage dependency and therefore all shunt related complications are also avoided

Eurasian watermilfoil biomass associated with insect herbivores in New York

A study of aquatic plant biomass within Cayuga Lake, New York spans twelve years from 1987-1998. The exotic Eurasian watermilfoil ( Myriophyllum spicatum L.) decreased in the northwest end of the lake from 55% of the total biomass in 1987 to 0.4% in 1998 and within the southwest end from 50% in 1987 to 11% in 1998. Concurrent with the watermilfoil decline was the resurgence of native species of submersed macrophytes. During this time we recorded for the first time in Cayuga Lake two herbivorous insect species: the aquatic moth Acentria ephemerella , first observed in 1991, and the aquatic weevil Euhrychiopsis lecontei , first found in 1996 . Densities of Acentria in southwest Cayuga Lake averaged 1.04 individuals per apical meristem of Eurasian watermilfoil for the three-year period 1996-1998. These same meristems had Euhrychiopsis densities on average of only 0.02 individuals per apical meristem over the same three-year period. A comparison of herbivore densities and lake sizes from five lakes in 1997 shows that Acentria densities correlate positively with lake surface area and mean depth, while Euhrychiopsis densities correlate negatively with lake surface area and mean depth. In these five lakes, Acentria densities correlate negatively with percent composition and dry mass of watermilfoil. However, Euhrychiopsis densities correlate positively with percent composition and dry mass of watermilfoil. Finally, Acentria densities correlate negatively with Euhrychiopsis densities suggesting interspecific competition

What’s A Quail Worth? A Longitudinal Assessment of Quail Hunter Demographics, Attitudes, and Spending Habits In Texas

Funds generated and spent on the pursuit of quail (Colinus virginianus, Callipepla squamata) hunting in Texas are sizable. We surveyed a population of quail hunters in Texas in 2000 and 2011 to assess hunter demographics and spending habits. The population of hunters for the 2000 survey consisted of members of Quail Unlimited who lived in Texas while the 2011 population consisted of the former group’s successor in Texas—Quail Coalition. The initial (2000) survey was a mail questionnaire while the 2011 survey instrument was delivered electronically. We achieved response rates of 47% in 2000 but only 9% in 2011. The number of resident quail hunters in Texas decreased 72% from 1981 to 2010. Quail hunters in Texas can be characterized as white males (97%) and affluent (65% reported annual household incomes above $125,000 in 2010). Survey respondents documented an average expenditure of$8,606 in pursuit of quail during an average of 8.8 days of hunting during the 2010–2011 season. This resulted in a cost of $254 per quail bagged when combined with harvest estimates provided by respondents; an estimated increase of 23% over the last 10 years

Educating Limited Acreage Producers Using Web-Based Technology

Collaborative learning Internet courses provide a means of disseminating information to limited acreage producers. Three multi-disciplinary subject curriculums were assimilated into an e-learning platform. Incorporating student online discussion completed the collaborative learning process. With development complete and classes currently being offered, a model is established for Extension programs nationwide

Association between 5-Year clinical outcome in patients with nonmedically evacuated mild blast traumatic brain injury and clinical measures collected within 7 days postinjury in combat

Importance: Although previous work has examined clinical outcomes in combat-deployed veterans, questions remain regarding how symptoms evolve or resolve following mild blast traumatic brain injury (TBI) treated in theater and their association with long-term outcomes. Objective: To characterize 5-year outcome in patients with nonmedically evacuated blast concussion compared with combat-deployed controls and understand what clinical measures collected acutely in theater are associated with 5-year outcome. Design, Setting, and Participants: A prospective, longitudinal cohort study including 45 service members with mild blast TBI within 7 days of injury (mean 4 days) and 45 combat deployed nonconcussed controls was carried out. Enrollment occurred in Afghanistan at the point of injury with evaluation of 5-year outcome in the United States. The enrollment occurred from March to September 2012 with 5-year follow up completed from April 2017 to May 2018. Data analysis was completed from June to July 2018. Exposures: Concussive blast TBI. All patients were treated in theater, and none required medical evacuation. Main Outcomes and Measures: Clinical measures collected in theater included measures for concussion symptoms, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, depression symptoms, balance performance, combat exposure intensity, cognitive performance, and demographics. Five-year outcome evaluation included measures for global disability, neurobehavioral impairment, PTSD symptoms, depression symptoms, and 10 domains of cognitive function. Forward selection multivariate regression was used to determine predictors of 5-year outcome for global disability, neurobehavior impairment, PTSD, and cognitive function. Results: Nonmedically evacuated patients with concussive blast injury (n = 45; 44 men, mean [SD] age, 31 [5] years) fared poorly at 5-year follow-up compared with combat-deployed controls (n = 45; 35 men; mean [SD] age, 34 [7] years) on global disability, neurobehavioral impairment, and psychiatric symptoms, whereas cognitive changes were unremarkable. Acute predictors of 5-year outcome consistently identified TBI diagnosis with contribution from acute concussion and mental health symptoms and select measures of cognitive performance depending on the model for 5-year global disability (area under the curve following bootstrap validation [AUCBV] = 0.79), neurobehavioral impairment (correlation following bootstrap validation [RBV] = 0.60), PTSD severity (RBV = 0.36), or cognitive performance (RBV = 0.34). Conclusions and Relevance: Service members with concussive blast injuries fared poorly at 5-year outcome. The results support a more focused acute screening of mental health following TBI diagnosis as strong indicators of poor long-term outcome. This extends prior work examining outcome in patients with concussive blast injury to the larger nonmedically evacuated population