62021 research outputs found
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Understanding of Awareness Gaps and Responses Among Central Ohio African American Smokers to the Proposed Menthol Cigarette Ban
Get PDFDenman Undergraduate Research Forum 2nd PlaceABCRMS 2024 Poster Presentation AwardSignificance: Cigarette smoking remains the leading cause of preventable death in the U.S. Despite the decline in smoking since the 1960s, the number of menthol smokers has risen, due to menthol’s cooling sensory effects and tobacco companies’ marketing tactics. Menthol cigarette smoking is disproportionately used by African Americans (AA) (~80% vs. 39% in the general population), largely due to historically targeted marketing in the AA communities. After 15 years of banning flavors in cigarettes but excluding menthol, the FDA recently proposed a menthol cigarette ban to reduce tobacco-related health disparities. However, the effectiveness of this policy will depend on AA awareness and response to the ban and access to cessation aid.
Methods: We recruited self-identified AA menthol smokers living in Central Ohio (n=100) via community-based sampling and online. We collected socioeconomic status (SES), tobacco use history, awareness of bans at local, state, and federal levels, and intended response to menthol bans. To characterize SES, we used household income as an objective measure and the MacArthur scale as a subjective measure (self-ranking on a 10-rung ladder compared to others in the same area).
Results: Based on household income, 85.4%, 4.9%, and 9.8% were of low, middle, and high SES. There was low concordance between income-based SES and the MacArthur scale ranking, in which only 32.5% reported a low SES, while 49.4% reported middle SES. Regarding menthol ban awareness, 17% of AA smokers were aware of a city- or a state-level ban, while only 5.7% were aware of a federal-level menthol ban. Considering a ban, 46% would consider quitting, 44% would continue smoking, and 10% were uncertain.
Conclusion: Our findings highlight that AA menthol smokers in our sample are of low SES, with mismatching subjective social status rankings, and have low awareness of menthol bans, particularly at the federal level. The study highlights the need for targeted education campaigns to support AA menthol smokers, especially those with low SES. This will ultimately reduce tobacco-related health disparities and improve public health.Ohio State University College of Public Health Racism Seed GrantNo embargoAcademic Major: Public Healt
Differences in College Major Choice by Sexual Orientation
Get PDFMidwest Economics Association 2025 Best Undergraduate Presentation, Runner UpThis study examines whether LGBTQ+ Americans, specifically those in same-sex couples, differ from heterosexual individuals in their college major choices and how these choices affect earnings. Using 2009–2022 American Community Survey data, it finds that gay men are more likely to choose majors in Arts and Humanities and less likely to enter STEM or Business fields, while lesbian women are overrepresented in Arts, Humanities, and STEM but underrepresented in Business and Education. Gay men are significantly more likely to select female-dominated and lower-paying majors, while lesbians' choices show a weaker pattern towards male-dominated majors. In the sample, gay men earn 26% less than straight men, while lesbians earn 20% more than straight women. An Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition shows differences in major choices accounting for a 5.1% income reduction for gay men, accounting for 20% of the wage gap between gay and straight men. Differences in major choice contribute to a 2.7% reduction in income for lesbians. Differences in returns to majors were not significant except for Medical Sciences for women. Overall, major choice plays a meaningful but partial role in LGBTQ+ wage disparities.No embargoAcademic Major: Economic
UFFLIP: Understanding Fluid Flow in Lunar Regolith Using Image Processing
Get PDFEarth and Beyond (The Ohio State University Denman Undergraduate Research Forum)Understanding and creating a reliable source of food is essential in the success of distant and long duration spaceflight. To properly understand this process, research is currently being conducted in a one-dimensional environment. In the test setup, fluid flow is being monitored as it saturates lunar regolith utilizing its own capillary effects under lunar gravity conditions. The data acquisition and processing of these experiments is a 24 hour plus process. A MATLAB script is currently being developed to improve the proficiency of data processing. By utilizing MATLAB, the fluid flow can be tracked by code rather than by hand. This is made possible by MATLAB’s built in color thresholding app. This app can convert uploaded images into a matrix of numbers that MATLAB can process. Images are made up of three layers, each one corresponding to a distinct color which includes: red, green, and blue. An intensity value is assigned to each matrix element on each level which when layered creates the actual color of the image. An uploaded image can be broken into these three separate matrices. After an image is broken into separate matrices, MATLAB can easily show the intensity of each color present using a numerical value. By distinguishing the color of the fluid from the experimental setup using numerical values, MATLAB can count the number of pixels that correspond to a certain color present in the image. This total number of pixels can be added together and then using a proportionality constant, the total area of fluid present can be calculated. This method will reduce the overall time needed to process data by hours and increase efficiency overall.No embargoAcademic Major: Aerospace Engineerin
Bansk Beauty Hair Care: Developing Methodology for Quantifying the Benefits of Regenerative Agriculture
Get PDFCourse Code: ENR/AEDE 4567This report develops a methodology for assigning monetary value to Bansk Group’s investment in regenerative agriculture through the sourcing of East African shea butter. Bansk, a consumer-focused private investment firm of beauty brands Amika, Eva NYC, and Ethique, sources shea from a Ugandan farm employing regenerative practices in partnership with the NGO Forested. To quantify the environmental and social benefits of this investment, we identified four key attributes: carbon sequestration, soil health, pollination, and community development. We selected relevant and feasible indicators were to measure each attribute. Using these indicators, we created input and output tables that allow Bansk to estimate the value created by their investment. This methodology provides a replicable framework for future valuation of climate investments, helping Bansk better demonstrate ESG outcomes, support investment decision-making, and enhance its sustainability portfolio.Academic Major: Environment, Economy, Development, and SustainabilityAcademic Major: Sustainable Agricultur
Evaluating a Low-Cost Replacement for the Humphrey Visual Field Test Using AI-Based Image Analysis of Binocular Visual Field (BVF) Data
Get PDFVisual field testing is essential for diagnosing and managing conditions like glaucoma, yet the current clinical standard, the Humphrey Visual Field (HVF) test, is costly, time-intensive, and not always easily accessible. This project focuses on validating a low-cost, paper-based alternative developed by the Ooi Lab known, a unique Binocular Visual Field (BVF) test, where patients manually draw regions of vision loss. To analyze and compare these subjective BVF results with HVF outcomes, I developed an AI-assisted image processing pipeline and graphical user interface (GUI) to quantify spatial agreement. The objectives of this study were to (1) build a GUI-based tool to extract BVF contours and overlay them with HVF pattern deviation maps, (2) compute agreement metrics such as Intersection over Union (IoU) and Hausdorff distance across 16 patient eye samples, and (3) integrate a lightweight decision tree classifier to assess whether spatial drawing errors could explain observed BVF-HVF mismatches. Using classical computer vision methods, I accurately segmented hand-drawn BVF regions and aligned them with clinical HVF images using field-of-view scaling and manual adjustment controls. The model was trained on image-derived spatial features and revealed that centroid shift (a measure of how far off a BVF drawing was from the HVF result) was the strongest predictor of misalignment. This confirmed that many mismatches stemmed from patient spatial reproduction error rather than perceptual inaccuracies. The analysis revealed moderate-to-strong spatial agreement across most cases, supporting the idea that BVF drawings can meaningfully reflect visual field deficits when interpreted using structured analysis. This work demonstrates that patient-drawn BVF results, when combined with AI-based analysis tools, can offer meaningful diagnostic value. The methods developed here lay the groundwork for future touchscreen-based BVF tests with real-time feedback and support scalable, accessible vision screening for patients unable to complete traditional HVF testing.Vision Science Plan Research Innovations GrantInternal Fund from the OSU College of OptometryNo embargoAcademic Major: Biomedical Engineerin
Investigating protein interactions between pollen aperture formation factors in Arabidopsis thaliana
No full textPollen grains, the male reproductive structures of flowering plants, are shielded by a resilient cell wall structure called exine. Apertures are areas on the pollen surface that receive limited or no exine deposition. Their patterns vary from species to species, and they play crucial roles in pollen tube emergence during pollen germination, and in hydration of the pollen grain. In Arabidopsis thaliana, three equidistant apertures form during the tetrad stage of pollen development, when future aperture sites are created in sister microspores through delivery of specific proteins and lipids to the three equidistant domains of the plasma membrane. INP1 and INP2 are the previously characterized aperture factors that are essential for aperture formation in Arabidopsis pollen and appear to be species-specific interacting partners. In this study, we investigated the interactions between INP1, INP2, and two recently discovered pollen aperture factors. Our findings will enhance the understanding of how specific domains of the plasma membrane are created in the development of pollen apertures, with broader implications for plant reproduction and development.NSF grant MCB-2240972 (Dr. Anna Dobritsa)NSF grant MCB-1817835 (Dr. Anna Dobritsa)Undergraduate Research ScholarshipA five-year embargo was granted for this item.Academic Major: Molecular Genetic
Reconciling taxonomy with phylogeny in zokors, root rats, and bamboo rats (Myospalacinae and Rhizomyinae: Spalacidae)
Get PDFCharles River Laboratories Outstanding Student Research Award, Lima Forum, 2025Muroid mole-rats (family Spalacidae) are a group of burrowing rodents from the Old World. Norris (2017) divided Spalacidae into the subfamilies Myospalacinae (zokors), Rhizomyinae (root rats and bamboo rats), and Spalacinae (blind mole rats, which are not part of my study). Norris (2017) recognized six species in Rhizomyinae and eleven species in Myospalacinae; however, he argued that there are additional unrecognized species. The focus of my project is to use available genetic data to determine the number of species present in Rhizomyinae and Myospalacinae and the boundaries between these species. I analyzed a large dataset of the cytochrome b gene downloaded from GenBank that consisted of Rhizomyinae individuals (n=87) and Myospalacinae individuals (n=46). I aligned the data by hand in PAUP*4a and constructed a phylogenetic tree using BEAST. I evaluated the different taxonomic hypotheses with regard to monophyly, genetic distance, divergence time, and formal species delimitation analyses. The existing taxonomy of bamboo rats, Rhizomys and Cannomys, and zokors, Myospalax and Eospalax, appears to align with my results. I resolved the inconsistency between the phylogeny and taxonomy in root rats (Tachyoryctes). Norris (2017) recognized two species, T. macrocephalus and T. splendens, but my results indicate there should be at least four. I recognize T. splendens s.s. from northwest Ethiopia, T. annectens from southern Ethiopia and other East African countries T. macrocephalus from the Bale Mountains, and a species of Tachyoryctes from the Chercher Mts, which may be part of a broader T. somalicus from northeast Ethiopia and Somaliland. The Ethiopian highlands appear to be the cradle of diversity in this genus.No embargoAcademic Major: Biolog
Optimizing Throughput in Outpatient Infusion Services: An Evidence-Based Quality Improvement (EBQI) Initiative
No full textBackground: Infusion space and appointment availability have become growing concerns over the past several years as cancer incidences increase. At the Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital, approximately 7,500 infusion appointments are completed each month across 213 infusion chairs within eight ambulatory infusion units. Increased appointment demands have decreased scheduling efficiency, causing pharmacy delays and ineffective use of nursing resources.
Methods: This study was part of an Evidence-Based Quality Improvement (EBQI) initiative aimed at improving efficiency and throughput in an ambulatory infusion setting. The initiative was implemented on a 46-room infusion unit. A unit-specific scheduling guide was developed, utilizing a detailed spreadsheet that incorporated chair times tailored to each treatment regimen. The guide used cadence scheduling to evenly distribute infusion appointments across the day, and accounted for infusion length, pharmacy preparation time, and additional patient monitoring needs. Key performance indicators were measured, including the percentage of appointments scheduled before 1 PM, unit productivity, nurse overtime hours beyond closing, and patient satisfaction scores.
Outcomes: After implementation, patient distribution improved with a 12% decrease in appointments scheduled before 1 PM. Nurse overtime hours past closing decreased by 64%, and unit productivity increased by 10%. Patient satisfaction increased by 1%.
Conclusion: Unit-based scheduling guidelines improve accuracy of appointment scheduling and efficiency of patient throughput and nursing resources. We noticed an ability to schedule more patients per day. This improvement may increase patient appointment availability across all sites, creating increased revenue.A three-year embargo was granted for this item
The Role of Moral Information in Changing Mental Representation
Get PDFIndividuals spontaneously form initial impressions of new people, which can be “undone” if individuals are provided with new information that allows them to reinterpret their prior evaluations (Mann & Ferguson, 2015). Using reverse correlation, a data-driven technique to visualize mental representations, this study investigated whether these mental representations are malleable and whether they can be changed following exposure to novel information in the same way that our evaluations of others has been shown to be. We examined how participants' mental representations of a fictional character, accused of infanticide in a TV miniseries And Then There Were None, change based on moral information provided in three conditions (a) positive, (b) negative, or (c) reinterpretation. After watching one hour of edited video, eighty-two participants' mental representations of the character were measured. The results showed significant differences in evaluations between the positive and negative conditions, as well as between the pre-reinterpretation and post-reinterpretation conditions. We found that the reinterpretation information provided to participants appears to influence their prior impressions of the character's physical appearance, effectively reversing their mental representation. This study extends our understanding on mental representation and demonstrates the importance of moral character in person perception. Future studies can look at intergroup differences in mental representation and how novel information can change these representations.Academic Major: Psycholog
LEVERAGING EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICE MENTORS THROUGH THE CREATION OF AN EBP MENTOR FELLOWSHIP: AN EVIDENCE-BASED QUALITY IMPROVEMENT INITIATIVE
No full textBackground: The evidence-based practice (EBP) mentor is vital to the success of translating evidence into practice through EBP. Although EBP experts possess a higher level of EBP competency than most, many feel they lack the skills to mentor others through the process. A large, academic medical center identified an unfortunate trend of many Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) EBP and evidence-based quality improvement (EBQI) projects being implemented but not sustained once the DNP student graduated, wasting organization resources and leaving them still dealing with quality and safety issues that were addressed by these initiatives. Sustainability plans were underdeveloped and initiatives were not always continued as originally implemented, if at all.
Aim: The aim of this initiative was to create a cadre of EBP mentors who could be leveraged to assist guiding current DNP students wishing to implement and sustain their EBP/EBQI projects within the health system.
Methods: An EBP Mentor Fellowship was created in an academic medical center based on synthesis of the literature around best practices. Resources within the enterprise were leveraged to engage in course work to provide evidence-based mentor training. Three tiers of EBP mentors were established, distinguishing between level of expertise and comfort in mentoring EBP. Fifteen nurses took part in the initial EBP Mentor Fellowship. The EBP Competency Scale and the Mentor Competency Assessment were administered to measure the impact of the EBP Mentor Fellowship.
Results: Data collected suggests the mentor education sessions had a positive effect on the self-perceived competence of both EBP and mentorship skills.
Linking Evidence to Action: The development and use of these already established EBP experts will further facilitate EBP implementation and sustainability for an organization that has a strong EBP infrastructure and foundation. In addition, a robust mentorship program can increase clinician satisfaction, quality and safety, and positively influence outcomes.A five-year embargo was granted for this item