Search

Objective: We sought to understand the relative impact of fielding mode on response rate among public health alumni. Methods: As part of the 2021 Career Trends Survey of alumni from the University of Minnesota School of Public Health, we designed a fielding mode experiment to ascertain whether a paper survey, a postcard with a custom survey link ("postcard push-to-web"), a mobile telephone call or text (mobile), or an email invitation would garner the highest response rates. Invitations were randomly assigned from available contact information. Results: Of 8531 alumni invited, 1671 alumni (19.6%) completed the survey. Among the initial fielding modes, the paper survey had the highest response rate (28%), followed by mobile (19%), email (10%), and postcard push-to-web (10%). More robust recent engagement with alumni relations, paper survey invitation or mode switch, and recent graduation were all significantly associated with a higher likelihood of response. Conclusions: Paper and mobile invitations had the highest response rates to our survey among public health alumni. Findings from this fielding mode experiment are relevant to schools and programs of public health seeking to capture similar information among their alumni, especially given current trends in investment in the public health workforce. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the ability of several generalized Bayesian vector autoregressions to cope with the extreme COVID-19 observations and discusses their impact on prior calibration for inference and forecasting purposes. It shows that the preferred model interprets the pandemic episode as a rare event rather than a persistent increase in macroeconomic volatility. For forecasting, the choice among outlier-robust error structures is less important, however, when a large cross-section of information is used. Besides the error structure, this paper shows that the standard Minnesota prior calibration is an important source of changing macroeconomic transmission channels during the pandemic, altering the predictability of real and nominal variables. To alleviate this sensitivity, an outlier-robust prior calibration is proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The Child Friendly Cities Initiative (CFCI) is a UNICEF framework based on the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). CFCI was launched globally in 1996 to protect children's rights throughout the world. There are child friendly cities in over 44 countries around the globe, but none presently in the United States. The purpose was to establish a Child Friendly City in the United States. Description: Child friendly cities are a child-rights and equity-based approach designed to ensure all children in a community reach their full potential for optimal health, development, and well-being. The paper discusses the development of the guiding principles of the CFCI-Minneapolis Model as well as a community needs assessment. Assessment: The assessment consisted of a digital survey of 60 questions on the SurveyMonkey platform. The sample included 173 Minneapolis youth 10-18 years of age and 85 parents with children less than five years of age. The participants were drawn from four of the 83 Minneapolis neighborhoods that had the highest concentration of children and youth, communities of color, and immigrant families that have historically been under resourced. Conclusion: The results of the community assessment guided the development of four programmatic initiatives. These included child rights learning & awareness, emergency preparedness & planning, community safety, and youth participation in decision making. The paper concludes with the lesson learned to date in the implementation of the CFCI-Minneapolis Model. These include partnership, dedication, leadership, community engagement, coalition building, and celebrating success. CFCI-Minneapolis received full designation from UNICEF USA as a child friendly city in February 2024. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Karen Sames was born and raised in Milwaukee, WI. From an early age, she was surrounded by art. An experience with occupational therapy during the third grade jumpstarted her journey connecting art to occupation. Karen believes that art is a necessary part of life and credits much of her own personal success with art to her friends and family for their inspiration and to the instructors at the Eagan Art House in Minnesota. Her piece "Cherry Blossoms," a pastel on paper, is based on a photograph taken by her son, who is currently living in Japan, and graces the cover of the Spring 2024 edition of The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy (OJOT). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic ushered in a dramatic shift to online learning for K-12 public schools, requiring school districts to address inequities that surfaced in the remote learning model. This paper includes the findings of the second study of a multi-year research project exploring the intersection of technology and educational inequities through the pandemic. As the pandemic waned, practitioners evaluated which practices developed during remote learning should be sustained. Five Minnesota technology directors participated in a focus group to discuss how inequities are being addressed in their schools post-pandemic. Technology directors explained that the pandemic was an opportunity to reimagine schools for the success of all students through an infrastructure that includes actions relative to three domains: effective instruction, school-home partnerships, and law and policy. Further research is recommended, such as broadening the geographical location of participants outside of Minnesota, expanding participants beyond the role of technology director (i.e., students, teachers, parents), and analyzing student enrollment in K-12 online schools through a longitudinal study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the United States, prevailing wage laws authorize minimum remuneration by locality and occupation for public construction. The policy's goal of leveling the playing field between local and lower wage, nonlocal builders is shared by fair wage policies in Canada and posted worker rules in the European Union. This is the first paper to test if the wage policy reduces bid disparities between these two types of contractors. The statistical analysis of over 600 subcontractor bids for schools built within the Minnesota's largest metropolitan area examines differences in low, winning bids between Minnesota-based contractors and those from neighboring states with lower average construction wages. Findings indicate that prevailing wage requirements substantially reduce bid disparity between in- and out-of-state subcontractors. Additional results illustrate estimation issues related to measuring the influence of prevailing wage laws and unionized construction labor on construction costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Jane Frazee, an American music educator, administrator, and author has contributed to music education in the United States. This article surveys the impact of her efforts from 1960 to 2015. A pioneer member and past president of the American Orff-Schulwerk Association (AOSA), she taught music to children and adults using the Orff approach and has presented at workshops, clinics, and conferences throughout the United States, as well as internationally. She authored several books and Orff arrangement collections, and her articles have been published in prestigious professional journals and other publications. This paper addresses Frazee's early life, training, influential individuals, teaching of children and adults, and her work with AOSA. Her roles in the founding and administration of Orff certification and graduate programs in music education in Minnesota are discussed. Lastly, Frazee's role as an author and the influences of her publications on music educators in the United States were also examined. Although retired from teaching and administration, Frazee continues to publish and inspires current and future generations of music educators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The risk of nitrate contamination became a reality for Fairmont in Minnesota, when water rich in NO3-N exceeded the drinking water standard of 10 mg/L. This was unexpected because this city draws its municipal water from a chain of lakes that are fed primarily by shallow groundwater under row-crop land use. Spring soil thaw drives cold water into a subsurface pipe where almost no NO3-N reduction occurs. This paper focuses on NO3-N reduction before the water enters the lakes and no other nitrogen management practices in the watershed. A novel denitrifying bioreactor was constructed behind a sediment forebay, which then flowed into a chamber covered by a greenhouse before entering a woodchip bioreactor. In 2022 and 2023, water depth, dissolved oxygen, and temperature were measured at several locations in the bioreactor, and continuous NO3-N was measured at the entry and exit of the bioreactor. The results showed better performance at a low water depth with lower dissolved oxygen and higher water temperature. The greenhouse raised the inlet temperature in 2022 but did not in 2023. The forebay and the greenhouse may have impeded the denitrification process due to the high dissolved oxygen concentrations in the influent and the stratification of dissolved oxygen caused by algae in the bioreactor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Place of last drink (POLD) is a law enforcement strategy designed to decrease the service of alcohol to intoxicated patrons (i.e., overservice). When officers respond to an alcohol-related incident, they inquire about and record the place where the involved individuals last drank alcohol; this information can help identify licensed alcohol establishments that show a pattern of overserving alcohol. We evaluated the effects of a POLD initiative on various types of crime. Methods: The POLD initiative was conducted in the state of Minnesota (USA). We compared 26 intervention jurisdictions to 26 matched comparisons. Outcomes were six crime measures (e.g., driving under the influence, violent, nonviolent). Predictors were levels of participation and implementation of POLD. We fit a separate Poisson regression model for each crime outcome and each predictor. Results: In all models, we found little difference in crime rates between intervention and comparison jurisdictions. No effect on crime was observed for either participation or implementation levels of POLD. However, we found implementation levels were relatively low across jurisdictions. Conclusion: This study adds to a very limited literature addressing the effects of POLD on public health harms such as crime. The particular POLD initiative did not appear to affect crime rates. We found POLD implementation levels showed considerable room for improvement and could help to explain some of the lack of effects of POLD on crime. More research is needed in additional localities and to assess whether specific aspects of implementation could help to strengthen POLD efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the legal and environmental challenges posed by PFAS chemicals, which have become ubiquitous due to their durability and resistance. Topics include the origins and widespread use of PFAS, their serious human health and environmental impacts, and the evolving landscape of PFAS litigation and regulatory measures, with a particular focus on Minnesota's role and the significant legal actions taken against major PFAS manufacturers.

Objective: The Non-Opioid Pain Alleviation Information Network (NOPAINMN) project was designed to identify, consolidate, and map evidence-based non-opioid and non-pharmacological pain management complementary and integrative health (CIH) modalities for chronic pain management across Minnesota into a searchable and informational website (www.nopainmn.org ). Methods: The Academic Consortium for Integrative Medicine & Health's Pain Task Force White Paper identifying evidence-based research of non-pharmacological pain practice (NPPC) was reviewed and referenced. National and state certifying boards and accrediting organizations for NPPC modalities were accessed to identify Minnesota-based NPPC providers' name, business/health-system affiliation, address, contact information, and credentials. The NOPAINMN website displays these data in a consumer-facing website with searchable fields such as NPPC modality type, and location with varying distances. The website was β-tested by practitioners and stakeholders for optimization. Eight main NPPC modalities and their respective subcategories were identified and mapped: Acupuncture; Integrative Medical Care (Functional medicine consultation and Integrative medicine consultation); Massage Therapy; Mind–Body Therapies (Biofeedback, Clinical Hypnosis, Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, and Music Therapy); Movement Therapies (Tai Chi, qigong, and Yoga Therapy); Psychology (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy); Rehabilitative Therapies (Physical and Occupational Therapy); and Spinal Manipulation. Results: All information compiled resulted in 17,155 providers/practitioners. Physical Therapy had the greatest number of reported providers (n = 5224), followed by Occupational Therapy (n = 3792), Psychology (n = 3324), Chiropractic (n = 3033), Acupuncture (n = 591), and Massage Therapy (n = 544). The Resource Map included 56 major health systems, 686 facilities, 2651 solo or private group practices, and 14 academic training schools. With web-based cross-referencing, providers and facilities were affiliated and linked with health systems to produce an interconnected mapping system. β-Testing with patients found that the website was reported as relatively easy to use and informative. Conclusion: The website was created to assist individuals, health care providers, insurance carriers, and health care facilities in finding evidence-based information and resources on NPPC to guide, support, and proactively manage and engage chronic pain patients across Minnesota. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While the majority of adults across the United States report that they believe that global warming is happening, far fewer report discussing global warming (Howe et al., 2015, https://doi.org/10.1038/nclimate2583; Marlon et al., 2022, https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/visualizations‐data/ycom‐us/). One way to inspire further climate action and engagement is to increase individuals' capacity to confidently and effectively discuss climate change. Climate communication science highlights that such communication is most effective when it is anecdotal, narrative, tailored to the audience, and place‐based. To generate climate conversations and inspire action in a variety of communities, partners at the University of Minnesota Extension piloted a program to train community members from across the state of Minnesota in effective climate communication through a series of instructional workshops, coaching, and participant‐led communication activities. Following the training portion of the program, participants identified and hosted their own climate‐related communication activities in their communities. These "climate conversations" took place across Minnesota and included community events, dialogue with elected leaders, and conversations stimulated through literature, among other activities. In their communities, program participants sparked conversations, initiated long‐term climate action efforts, and improved their sense of efficacy in response to climate change. Participants also reported that they improved their climate conversation skills, increased their local climate knowledge, established a support network with fellow participants, had reduced anxiety around communicating, and increased their confidence in being able to communicate about climate change in their communities. This pilot program provides a framework for future cohort‐ and community‐based climate communication programs in the state and beyond. Plain Language Summary: More frequent, effective climate conversations initiated by a diversity of trusted voices can help to increase climate concern and desire for action at the community level. However, in the United States, there is a disconnect between the level of concern individuals have about climate change and the extent to which individuals talk about the issue. To help bridge this gap, the University of Minnesota Climate Adaptation Partnership developed a training program aimed at inspiring and equipping local community members across Greater Minnesota with the skills and confidence to have effective conversations about climate change in their communities. This paper summarizes the programmatic activities we used to support our goals, and some reflections on the program's results. This pilot program provides a framework for future efforts that can be facilitated by Extension programs, community‐based organizations, universities, and others to inspire and accelerate similar community‐centered climate conversations. Key Points: We piloted a training program to teach Minnesotans to effectively communicate about climate change and its impacts on their communitiesParticipants improved behavioral and conversation skills to communicate about climate change more effectivelyThis program provides a framework for future programs aimed at increasing the diversity of people engaging in local climate conversations [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we assess COVID-19-related mortality in Minnesota and Wisconsin with the aim of demonstrating both the temporal dynamics and the magnitude of the pandemic's influence from an actuarial risk standpoint. In the initial segment of this paper, we discuss the methodology successfully applied to describe associations in financial and engineering time series. By applying time series analysis, specifically the autoregressive integrated with moving average methods (ARIMA), to weekly mortality figures at the national or state level, we subsequently delve into a marginal distribution examination of ARIMA residuals, addressing any deviation from the standard normality assumption. Thereafter, copulas are utilized to architect joint distribution models across varied geographical domains. The objective of this research is to offer a robust statistical model that utilizes observed mortality datasets from neighboring states and nations to facilitate precise short-term mortality projections. In the subsequent section, our focus shifts to a detailed scrutiny of the statistical interdependencies manifesting between Minnesota and Wisconsin's weekly COVID-19 mortality figures, adjusted for the time series structure. Leveraging open-source data made available by the CDC and pertinent U.S. state government entities, we apply the ARIMA methodology with subsequent residual distribution modeling. To establish dependence patterns between the states, pair copulas are employed to articulate the relationships between the ARIMA residuals, drawing from fully parametric models. We explore several classes of copulas, comprising both elliptic and Archimedean families. Emphasis is placed on copula model selection. Student t-copula with the marginals modeled by non-standard t-distribution is suggested for ARIMA residuals of Minnesota and Wisconsin COVID mortality as the model of choice based on information criteria and tail cumulation. The copula approach is suggested for the construction of short-term prediction intervals for COVID-19 mortality based on publicly available data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traffic accidents are a leading cause of premature death for citizens, with millions of injuries and fatalities occurring annually. Due to the fact that a large proportion of accidents are caused by red light running, reduction of the frequency of red light running (RLR) has been extensively researched in recent years. However, most of the previous studies have focused on reducing RLR frequency through driver education or warning sign design, with little attention paid to the relationship between RLR behavior and traffic signal control. Considering RLR is significantly affected by the number of vehicles arriving during yellow, it is possible to identify RLR behaviors in advance by analyzing data on yellow-arriving vehicles. Meanwhile, based on the strong correlation between yellow arriving and RLR frequency, it is possible to reduce RLR by traffic signal control. In this paper, we propose a quantitative model of correlation between RLR frequency and yellow light arrival based on high-resolution traffic and signal event data from Twin Cities, Minnesota. On this basis, the Non-dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm-II (NSGA-II) is implemented to find trade-offs between minimizing the RLR frequency and the traffic delay. A case study of a 6-intersection arterial road reveals that in unsaturation, saturation, and supersaturation flow, our approach can converge to a Pareto optimal front in 30–50 iterations, which shows that is possible to simultaneously reduce RLR frequency and enhance traffic efficiency safety, which is conducive to ensuring the life safety of traffic participants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Given limited critical care resources and an aging population, early interventions to prevent critical illness are vital. In this work, we measured post-implementation outcomes after introducing a novel electronic scoring system (Elders Risk Assessment—ERA) and a risk-factor checklist, Checklist for Early Recognition and Treatment of Acute Illness (CERTAIN), to detect older patients at high risk of critical illness in a primary care setting. Methods: The study was conducted at a family medicine clinic in Kasson, MN. The ADAPT-ITT framework was used to modify the CERTAIN checklist for primary care during 2 co-design workshops involving interdisciplinary clinicians, held in April 2023. The ERA score and modified CERTAIN checklist were implemented between May and July 2023 and identify and assess all patients age ≥60 years at risk of critical illness during their primary care visits. Implementation outcomes were evaluated at the end of the study via an anonymous survey and EHR data extraction. Results: Fourteen clinicians participated in 2 co-design workshops. A total of 19 clinicians participated in a post-pilot survey. All survey items were rated on a 5-point Likert type scale. Mean acceptability of the ERA score and checklist was rated 3.35 (SD = 0.75) and 3.09 (SD = 0.64), respectively. Appropriateness had a mean rating of 3.38 (SD = 0.82) for the ERA score and 3.19 (SD = 0.59) for the checklist. Mean feasibility was rated 3.38(SD = 0.85) and 2.92 (SD = 0.76) for the ERA score and checklist, respectively. The adoption rate was 50% (19/38) among clinicians, but the reach was low at 17% (49/289) of eligible patients. Conclusions: This pilot study evaluated the implementation of an intervention that introduced the ERA score and CERTAIN checklist into a primary care practice. Results indicate moderate acceptability, appropriateness, and feasibility of the ERA score, and similar ratings for the checklist, with slightly lower feasibility. While checklist adoption was moderate, reach was limited, indicating inconsistent use. Recommendations: We plan to use the open-ended resurvey responses to further modify the CERTAIN-FM checklist and implementation process. The ADAPT-ITT framework is a useful model for adapting the checklist to meet the primary care clinician needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hybrids between Corylus avellana and Corylusamericana are one of several new perennial and winter annual crops being developed as part of the Forever Green Initiative at the University of Minnesota. As a woody perennial shrub, hazelnuts in agroforestry systems can provide a new revenue source for rural landowners; continuous living cover to prevent soil erosion, sequester soil carbon, protect water quality, and provide wildlife habitat; and a delicious and healthful new local food. If hazelnuts are to fulfill their potential, better germplasm and better nitrogen fertilization recommendations are both needed. We modeled these trials after trials by R.E. Worley, who showed that yields of pecan trees fertilized only when leaf nitrogen (N) fell below critical thresholds were maintained with lower levels of applied N, benefitting both the environment and growers' profits. Results of trials at three Minnesota sites, comparing N applied only when leaf N fell below 1.8%, 2.0%, or 2.2% with annual N applications and no N over 4 years, support using 2.2% leaf N as the critical threshold for N fertilization. Our results showed that whereas only 8% of N applied annually ended up in the harvested nuts and husks, N that was applied to plants that demonstrated hunger for it was more efficiently taken up. Our results suggest a need for more productive germplasm and further research to develop best management practices for N fertilization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: People with diabetes, vascular disease, and asthma often struggle to maintain stability in their chronic health conditions, particularly those in rural areas, living in poverty, or racially or ethnically minoritized populations. These groups can experience inequities in healthcare, where one group of people has fewer or lower-quality resources than others. Integrating behavioral healthcare services into primary care holds promise in helping the primary care team better manage patients' conditions, but it involves changing the way care is delivered in a clinic in multiple ways. Some clinics are more successful than others in fully integrating behavioral health models as shown by previous research conducted by our team identifying four patterns of implementation: Low, Structural, Partial, and Strong. Little is known about how this variation in integration may be related to chronic disease management and if IBH could be a strategy to reduce healthcare inequities. This study explores potential relationships between IBH implementation variation and chronic disease management in the context of healthcare inequities. Methods: Building on a previously published latent class analysis of 102 primary care clinics in Minnesota, we used multiple regression to establish relationships between IBH latent class and healthcare inequities in chronic disease management, and then structural equation modeling to examine how IBH latent class may moderate those healthcare inequities. Results: Contrary to our hypotheses, and demonstrating the complexity of the research question, clinics with better chronic disease management were more likely to be Low IBH rather than any other level of integration. Strong and Structural IBH clinics demonstrated better chronic disease management as race in the clinic's location became more White. Conclusions: IBH may result in improved care, though it may not be sufficient to resolve healthcare inequities; it appears that IBH may be more effective when fewer social determinants of health are present. Clinics with Low IBH may not be motivated to engage in this practice change for chronic disease management and may need to be provided other reasons to do so. Larger systemic and policy changes are likely required that specifically target the mechanisms of healthcare inequities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Records of pile lengths are not available for several hundred high-mast light towers (HMLTs) throughout the state of Minnesota. The foundation systems, typically steel H-piles or concrete-filled steel pipe piles connected to a triangular concrete pile cap, risk overturning in the event of peak wind loadings if the foundation piles are not sufficiently deep to provide the designed uplift capacity. Without prior knowledge of the in situ pile lengths, an expensive tower foundation retrofit or replacement effort would need to be undertaken. However, the development of a nondestructive screening tool to determine the in situ pile length—compared with replacing or retrofitting all towers with unknown foundation geometries—would potentially provide significant cost savings. The main goal of the research is the development of nondestructive evaluation testing techniques for determining in situ pile lengths using steady-state vibration and hammer-impact seismic testing. The foundation testing protocol involves (1) a preliminary site investigation to determine the shallow subsurface geometry and orientation of the foundation pile cap, (2) the use of seismic cone penetrometer (SCP) attached to a cone penetration test rig to capture the induced steady-state and impact waveforms, and (3) data-driven analysis of field testing results to determine the pile lengths. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on Minnesota's new contract for deed law effective August 1, 2024, which introduces significant changes to enhance transparency and protect purchasers. It addresses requirements for investor sellers, including disclosures on balloon payments and acquisition costs, as well as procedures for contract cancellations and remedies for purchasers.

Simple Summary: Biliary tract cancers, which include cholangiocarcinoma, gallbladder, and ampulla of Vater cancers, are a significant health concern due to their increasing incidence and poor survival rates. Using data from the Rochester Epidemiology Project, this study tracks changes in incidence and survival rates among residents aged 20 and over in Olmsted County, Minnesota from 1976 to 2018. The findings illustrate a rise in overall biliary tract cancers from 6.53 cases to 10.25 cases per 100,000 person-years between 1976 and 2018 (p = 0.004). The incidence of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma has significantly increased from 0.25 to 3.93 per 100,000 person-years over the four decades, with a more pronounced increase observed in males, while gallbladder cancer incidence has decreased among women. Despite improvements in median survival times from 4.2 months to 10.8 months over the four decades (p = 0.019), the overall prognosis remains very poor. This study highlights the evolving epidemiology of these cancers and the critical need for enhanced diagnostic and treatment strategies to improve patient outcomes. Biliary tract cancers, including cholangiocarcinoma, gallbladder, and ampulla of Vater cancers, rank second among hepatobiliary cancers, known for their poor prognoses. The United States has witnessed a notable increase in intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma incidence. This study examines the incidence and survival outcomes of biliary tract cancers in Olmsted County, Minnesota from 1976 to 2018. Using data from the Rochester Epidemiology Project (REP), residents aged 20 and above were analyzed across four eras. Incidence rates were calculated and adjusted for age and sex, and temporal trends were assessed using Poisson regression. Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma exhibited a significant escalation in incidence rates over time, while gallbladder cancers showed a decline among women. Median survival times for biliary tract cancers notably improved. These findings confirm the rising incidence of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma and suggest improving survival rates. Nevertheless, the overall prognosis for biliary tract cancers remains very poor, emphasizing the continual need for enhanced management strategies and further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Freshwater mussels are threatened with extirpation in North America. They are a sentinel species for ecosystem function and contribute towards many ecosystem services. As mussels require clean water to survive, and since conserving ecosystem services is implicit in the federal Clean Water Act, incorporating mussel conservation into state water policies could serve multiple conservation goals. In this paper we conduct a comprehensive critical review of three topics related to freshwater mussels: their contribution to ecosystem services, their links with water quality, and threats to their survival from water pollutants and extent of protection available from regulation. In so doing, we identify gaps between the water quality requirements of mussels and the protection provided by current water regulation to help inform clean water and conservation goals in Minnesota. We find freshwater mussels to be generally sensitive to a wide variety of pollutants, and particularly to nutrients such as total nitrogen and total phosphorus and to major ions such as chloride. In addition, we find that current state water quality standards may not be sufficiently protective of mussels. We formulate a framework for determining an effective conservation strategy for mussels in Minnesota based on ecological and economic criteria to ensure adequate conservation at a reasonable cost. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The heuristic-systematic model (HSM) suggests that when presented with a choice, individuals will use either heuristic or systematic processing modes to arrive at a judgment. In this paper, we evaluate the HSM model in the context of hunter perceptions toward chronic wasting disease (CWD), a neurological disease found in members of the family Cervidae that threatens the health of cervid populations and the flow of benefits humans derive from them. Data were obtained from surveys of hunters who harvested inside (N = 1500) and outside (N = 3500) of Disease Management Areas (DMAs) across the state of Minnesota with an overall response rate of ∼33%. Results suggested that self-efficacy and information sufficiency were associated with heuristic processing, while motivation was associated with systematic processing. Heuristic processing was associated with lower levels of perceived risk than systematic processing. Our results have implications for the communication efforts related to CWD management and engagement with the public. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wind is an abundant, yet intermittent, source of renewable energy, with speeds changing both spatially and temporally over a wide range of time scales. While wind variability is well documented on large meteorological time scales and the behavior of turbulent flow at high frequencies is well understood, there remain questions in the literature regarding the intermediate region of these domains. Understanding wind variability at the microscale, here considering a frequency range of 10−2 Hz < f < 1 Hz, is key for wind turbine control and modeling. In this paper, we quantify the variability of wind conditions for the meteorological tower at the Eolos wind research station in Minnesota using power spectral density analysis. Spectral analysis of wind samples with similar mean wind speeds was conducted to test the hypothesis that the wind spectrum's shape is independent of the mean wind speed. Historical wind speed data were compared and evaluated to identify diurnal, seasonal, and interannual trends in the spectrum of wind at frequencies above 10−3 Hz. We conclude that the shape of the wind spectrum is independent of the mean wind speed following the Kolmogorov −5/3 law for turbulent flows for incoming wind, with some variations in slope and spectrum magnitude. While no conclusive diurnal, seasonal, or interannual trends were observed, it is shown that some variations in both slope and spectrum magnitude can occur on these time scales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

INTRODUCTION: Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is related to a variety of symptoms like dyspnea at rest, fatigue and exercise intolerance, all of which have a detrimental influence on patients' quality of life (QOL). Disease-specific health-related QOL (HRQOL) questionnaires are useful tools to objectively estimate the functional and psychological status of PH patients. The purpose of this study was to identify potential factors affecting physical and mental HRQOL in patients with precapillary PH. METHODS: We conducted a prospective cross-sectional analysis of HRQOL questionnaires in individuals with precapillary PH (PH-Groups 1, 3, or 4) using the Short form 36-item health survey (SF-36) and the Minnesota living with pulmonary hypertension questionnaire (MLHF-PH). Between January and February 2019, 73 consecutive patients, being followed up in two Greek PH centers, being clinically stable at the last three months and receiving PHspecific therapies based on the European PH Guidelines, completed both questionnaires. RESULTS: Patients with PH due to lung disease (PH-Group 3) presented significantly worse scores on MLHF-PH and significantly reduced scores in SF- 36 'physical functioning' and 'role physical' compared to the other PH-Groups. These patients were more frequently under oxygen therapy (p<0.001) and had a more advanced WHO FC (p=0.01). Oxygen treatment, WHO FC, 6MWD, and hemodynamic variables were also strongly associated with HRQOL. Patients receiving triple combination PH-therapy reported lower HRQOL scores. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with precapillary PH had impaired QOL. Those with PH due to lung disease reported the worst scores in HRQOL instruments. Several clinical, functional and hemodynamic factors were associated with reduced QOL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To assess the effectiveness of an infection control protocol developed to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 at two multi-week residential summer camps in 2021. Subject and methods: Data were collected from 595 camp attendees and staff members at two wilderness camps in Northern Minnesota. Testing was undertaken in all unvaccinated campers before arrival at camp, on day 4 of camp, and in the event of respiratory symptoms. Campers were limited to cohorts during the first 4 days of camp and wore masks indoors. The number of positive COVID-19 cases measured the efficacy of the protocol. Results: The testing and cohorting protocol successfully prevented the spread of COVID-19 among campers and staff. During the first summer session, there were zero positive cases of COVID-19 among 257 campers and 127 staff. During the second summer session, compliance with the protocol limited the spread of COVID-19 to just three individuals of 266 campers and 129 staff. Maintaining cohorts at arrival limited spread from a single positive case to only two tent companions. Conclusion: The testing and cohorting protocol limited the spread of COVID-19 among residential summer wilderness campers and staff. Post-arrival testing ensured newly acquired virus was limited in spread before COVID-19 precautions were relaxed on camp day 5. A strict evidence-based cohorting protocol limited in-camp spread and allowed for a successful summer camp season. The usefulness of this protocol with an evolving pandemic, increasing vaccination rates, and virus variants could have implications for future practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We analyze overall mortality in the U.S. as a whole and several states in particular in order to make conclusions regarding timing and strength of COVID pandemic effect from an actuarial risk analysis perspective. No effort is made to analyze biological or medical characteristics of the pandemic. We use open data provided by CDC, U.S. state governments and Johns Hopkins University. In the first part of the paper, we suggest time series analysis (ARIMA) for weekly excess U.S. mortality in 2020 as compared to several previous years' experience in order to build a statistical model and provide short-term forecast based exclusively on historical mortality data. In the second half of the paper, we also analyze weekly COVID cases, hospitalizations and deaths in 2020 and 2021. Two midwestern states, Minnesota and Wisconsin, along with geographically diverse Colorado and Georgia, are used to illustrate global and local patterns in the COVID pandemic data. We suggest vector autoregression (VAR) as a method of simultaneous explanatory and predictive analysis of several variables. VAR is a popular tool in econometrics and financial analysis, but it is less common in problems of risk management related to mortality analysis in epidemiology and actuarial practice. Efficiency of short-term forecast is illustrated by observing the effect of vaccination on COVID development in the state of Minnesota in 2021. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Within the Department of Medicine (DOM) in a large tertiary academic health care facility in midwestern United States, we have developed an educational offering that incorporates an academic writing program (AWP) blending the approaches of a writing accountability work group, a writing workshop, and didactic writing courses. The purpose of this AWP was to assist healthcare professionals (HCP) with their manuscript writing skills to enhance academic productivity. We report our evolving journey and experiences with this AWP. To date, it has been offered 3 times to 25 HCP over the course of 3 years. Among those responding to a post program follow up survey (N = 11), 8 (73%) indicated that they completed the project that they were working on during the AWP and went on to publish the manuscript (N = 5) or were in the process of submission (N = 2). Some indicated they has also gone on to present posters (N = 2) or were in the process of presenting posters (N = 2) or had received grants (N = 1) or were awaiting grant notice (N = 1). A number of attendees have continued to use and share the tools presented during the AWP. Based on input from attendees and increased requests for this AWP, this educational program has been deemed a success and expansion of this program is currently underway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Implementing minimum stocking standard policies in food retail settings has been one strategy used to address lack of healthy food availability. Policies alone may not be enough to increase healthy options, as barriers may arise during implementation, such as lack of distributors and/or refrigeration. Technical assistance (TA) from public health practitioners (PHPs) can bolster the implementation of such policies. This study describes the impact of a pilot intervention where PHPs provided TA to store managers/owners aimed to increase healthy options through implementing minimal stocking standards. This intervention consisted of TA about healthy products, placement, and promotion from state to county/city PHPs and from PHPs to managers/owners of small food retail stores. Thirteen food retailers and PHPs from 11 different agencies participated in this intervention. PHPs interviewed managers/owners pre- and post-intervention to understand perceptions and practices and collected data about the availability of healthy options. PHPs tracked the TA provided to managers/owners and completed a postsurvey, assessing their experience. During the pilot, stores increased the median number of varieties of healthy options. PHPs provided TA around healthy products, placement; and promotion building relationships with distributors and farmers, and overcoming infrastructure barriers. Finding distributors with healthy options remained challenging for some managers/owners. PHPs indicated that continued TA for managers/owners is necessary for sustainability and additional support around distribution and business/economic challenges is needed. Overall, this pilot indicates that PHPs are valuable partners to small food retailers, and in partnership, they have potential to address healthy food access issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The phenomena of global climate change and comprehensive urban expansion have precipitated significant and unprecedented transformations in landscape patterns. To enhance the assessment of these spatio−temporal changes and their driving forces at a regional level, we developed a comprehensive landscape index (CLI) to quantify these patterns and conducted a detailed analysis of the spatio−temporal variations in Minnesota over the last two decades. Our analysis of the CLI was conducted by examining both its quantitative relationships and spatial distribution patterns. The findings indicate a consistent increase in Minnesota's CLI over this period, marked by an escalation in landscape fragmentation and diversity, alongside a decline in landscape connectivity. Temporally, the CLI experienced a notable shift in 2010. Spatially, the clustering characteristics of landscape patterns have largely remained stable. Our analysis reveals that the CLI is most sensitive to total population (POP) and gross domestic product (GDP) factors, underscoring the significant impact of human activity on landscape patterns. Notably, the explanatory capacity of interactions between factors is substantially greater than that of individual factors, with the GDP and vegetation structure (VS) interaction demonstrating the greatest influence on the spatial distribution of landscape patterns. This highlights the critical role of the interplay between human socio−economic activity and vegetation coverage in shaping landscape configurations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Space–time prism is a fundamental concept in time geography that can model an individual's accessibility to resources under space–time constraints. A prism anchor is often defined by work, school, or home activity with a fixed location and schedule. Trips and other activities are relatively flexible and scheduled between prism anchors. This fixity-flexibility dichotomy may not capture the increasing complexity of human mobility behaviors or variations among individuals. Recent developments in location-aware technologies allow us to collect person-level mobility data with detailed space–time paths and contextual information. This article develops methods to extract prism anchors from these GPS-based survey data and examines whether home, work, and school activities can always be used to define prism anchors for everyone. To illustrate our methods, we use data collected in Minnesota and Beijing as two study cases. Results in both study cases suggest that not everyone has home, work, or school anchors, and people with the same socio-demographic background tend to have similar anchor types. By deriving home, work, and school anchors, we can better understand how a person's everyday schedules are governed by home, work, and school and refine person-based accessibility measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This phenomenological study examines the real-life experience of first-time online learners enrolled in a fully online master's program at a private, nonprofit University in Minnesota. Students encompassing different age groups and levels of experience with distance education and that had taken at least two online courses, with some nearing the end of their program, were recruited from various online programs to participate in a survey. A phenomenological examination of the interviews and focus group transcripts yielded comprehensive results in coding the prevalent category themes. The findings helped identify approaches to online education and the opportunities and challenges these participants faced in their online courses. These aspects were divided into themes that further illuminate the participants' real-life experiences. As a result, the analysis revealed the learners' appreciation for the flexibility that online learning brings into their lives. Furthermore, the researcher discovered that the participants were driven to improve their skills through the online learning environment by employing various resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soil health assessments aim to quantify soil health status using indicators linked to ecosystem services such as yield, nutrient cycling, water cycling, or carbon storage. Many indicators are related to soil biological processes, which can be challenging to interpret because they are sensitive not only to management, but also to nonmanagement variables such as soil inherent properties, topography, and climate. Existing studies address this challenge by grouping similar soils by taxonomy, geography, or a combination of these and other variables for soil health assessment. We investigated whether grouping soils based on multiple quantitative topsoil properties could be an alternative to taxonomic or geographic groups. We used an unsupervised classification algorithm, k‐means, to cluster publicly available soil and climate data for Minnesota. Clustering into eight conceptual groups ("clusters") based on 10 topsoil properties was determined to be the optimal algorithm output. We evaluated the ability of our soil clusters and other grouping methods to explain variance in eight soil health indicators. We found the combination of Major Land Resource Area (MLRA) and soil cluster performed best, explaining as much or more variance than other groupings for five of the eight indicators. The clusters distinguish zones of topsoil variation at the field scale, and MLRAs account for broader scale variation in climate and other landscape factors. The approach we describe is flexible and could be applied at different locations and scales to produce conceptual soil groups and associated maps to support soil health test sampling and interpretation at the field scale. Core Ideas: Case study explores utility of cluster analysis to group similar soils and aid in soil health indicator interpretation.K‐means classification simplified >6500 soil map units into eight clusters based on 10 topsoil properties.Soil clusters represent an intermediate level of complexity between map units and general soil associations.Major Land Resource Area and soil cluster together were most useful for stratifying soils.Clustering method is adaptable, and public soils databases make similar analyses possible in other regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hybrids between Corylus avellana and Corylus americana are one of several new perennial and winter annual crops being developed as part of the Forever Green Initiative at the University of Minnesota. As a woody perennial shrub, hazelnuts in agroforestry systems can provide a new revenue source for rural landowners; continuous living cover to prevent soil erosion, sequester soil carbon, protect water quality, and provide wildlife habitat; and a delicious and healthful new local food. If hazelnuts are to fulfill their potential, better germplasm and better nitrogen fertilization recommendations are both needed. We modeled these trials after trials by R.E. Worley, who showed that yields of pecan trees fertilized only when leaf nitrogen (N) fell below critical thresholds were maintained with lower levels of applied N, benefitting both the environment and growers' profits. Results of trials at three Minnesota sites, comparing N applied only when leaf N fell below 1.8%, 2.0%, or 2.2% with annual N applications and no N over 4 years, support using 2.2% leaf N as the critical threshold for N fertilization. Our results showed that whereas only 8% of N applied annually ended up in the harvested nuts and husks, N that was applied to plants that demonstrated hunger for it was more efficiently taken up. Our results suggest a need for more productive germplasm and further research to develop best management practices for N fertilization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Among nursing home (NH) residents with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and AD-related dementias (AD/ADRD), racial/ethnic disparities in quality of care exist. However, little is known about quality of life (QoL). This study examines racial/ethnic differences in self-reported QoL among NH residents with AD/ADRD. Methods: Validated, in-person QoL surveys from 12,562 long-stay NH residents with AD/ADRD in Minnesota (2012–2015) were linked to Minimum Data Set assessments and facility characteristics. Hierarchical linear models assessed disparities in resident-reported mean QoL score (range, 0–100 points), adjusting for case-mix and facility factors. Results: Compared to White residents, racially/ethnically minoritized residents reported significantly lower total mean QoL scores (75.53 points vs. 80.34 points, p <.001). After adjustment for resident- and facility-level characteristics, significant racial/ethnic differences remained, with large disparities in food enjoyment, attention from staff, and engagement domains. Discussion: Policy changes and practice guidelines are needed to address racial/ethnic disparities in QoL of NH residents with AD/ADRD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

2023 marks the 50th anniversary of legal regulation of acupuncture in the United States, as the first acupuncture law was enacted in Nevada. Acupuncture, like any other medical modality, is regulated at the state level, with each state formulating and enforcing its own laws and statutes over time. This article narrates the legislative process and major developments of the acupuncture profession in Minnesota, in the context of legislative developments across the country. It tells how this midsize, Midwest state's acupuncture profession became regulated, and examines the challenges faced by the profession before and after state statutes were enacted. Minnesota stands as a representative example of the legislative process in other states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Mitral valve failure is one of the most common valvular heart diseases worldwide. Valve replacement and repair have an impact on the quality of life of patients. Therefore, the present study was conducted to compare the quality of life in patients with mitral valve replacement and those who underwent mitral valve repair. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, we considered all cardiac patients with ischemic mitral insufficiency who underwent mitral valve repair and patients with a history of valve replacement in Imam Ali Hospital of Kermanshah between 2014 and 2020. Two Minnesota and general quality of life questionnaires along with a checklist for demographic variables were used for data collection. Data analysis was performed using SPSS version 21 software. Results: The mean quality of life score based on the general quality of life scale in the valve repair group was 32.33 (SD = 2.29) and in the valve replacement group 32.89(SD = 2.60), (p = 0.917). Also, mean quality of life, as measured by the Minnesota MLHFQ was 60.89(SD = 17.67) in the valve repair group and 63.42 (SD = 12.13) in the valve replacement group (p = 0.308). The results showed that the average general quality of life was different in study groups regarding education. Tukey's post hoc test showed that the average general quality of life in illiterate people is significantly lower than in people with academic degrees (P-value = 0.001). Conclusion: The quality of life of the patients in both the valve repair and replacement groups was at an average level. There was no significant difference between the general quality of life and the Minnesota scales, suggesting that both tools can be effectively used to measure patients' quality of life. The study's findings can be valuable for monitoring patients, screening for conditions, and enhancing communication between doctors and patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Sliding hiatal herniation (SHH) and gastroesophageal reflux (GER) commonly occur in French bulldogs. Wireless pH monitoring can quantitatively assess acidic GER in dogs affected by SHH. Hypothesis/Objectives: Measure acidic GER in French bulldogs with SHH, pre‐ and post‐brachycephalic obstructive airway syndrome (BOAS) surgery, utilizing a wireless pH capsule (Bravo Calibration‐free, Medtronic, Minnesota), and correlate with owners' observations of regurgitation. Animals: Eleven French bulldogs diagnosed with SHH via swallowing fluoroscopy. Methods: Prospective cohort study. A pH capsule was endoscopically placed in the esophagus. Up to 96 hours of data were acquired as the owner logged clinical signs. Spearman's correlation and Wilcoxon rank‐sum tests evaluated factors correlated with acid exposure time (AET), defined by the % time pH < 4. In 4/11 dogs, Bravo monitoring was repeated 2‐4 months after BOAS surgery. Results: Medians (Q1‐Q3) for age and weight were 21 months (17‐35.5) and 10.0 kg (8.9‐11.5). BOAS severity was mild (3), moderate (4), or severe (4). Medians (Q1‐Q3) for AET and reflux events were 3.3% (2.6‐6.4) and 70 (34‐173). Clinical score (P =.82) and BOAS severity (P =.60) were not correlated with AET, but age was negatively correlated (rho = −.66, P =.03). Median probability (Q1‐Q3) that regurgitation was associated with a reflux event was 72.5% (0‐99). Percent AET numerically improved in all 4 dogs that underwent BOAS surgery although not statistically assessed. Conclusions and Clinical Importance: Wireless pH monitoring documented acidic GER in French bulldogs with SHH, captured subclinical events, and showed improvements after BOAS surgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses legal cases, which include a restitution order where the definition of "resources" in restitution orders includes valuable possessions like home equity; the inapplicability of the physician-patient privilege to paramedics; and the refusal to extend the good faith exception to the exclusionary rule in Fourth Amendment cases to violations of Minnesota's constitution, despite its application in federal jurisprudence.

Human activities, including the movement of harvested cervids, pose significant risks for spreading chronic wasting disease (CWD) to new locations. This study used hierarchical agglomerative clustering to compare Minnesota, USA hunters' carcass disposal habits and likelihood of CWD testing as a function of individual differences in risk perceptions and hunting area. We utilized a survey of Minnesota hunters conducted during Spring 2020 that included a random sample of individuals that hunt statewide and in a local disease management zone (N = 5,000, response rate = 33%). We did not detect a significant difference in disposal behaviors as a function of CWD risk perceptions, but rather because of increased accessibility of low-risk disposal methods. Conversely, we found perceived likelihood of conducting CWD testing was positively associated with perceptions of risk. These findings have implications for vector tracing for future CWD outbreaks and highlight the benefit of understanding constituent habits and regulation compliance in disease management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The medicalisation of marijuana has occurred rapidly, albeit nonuniformly, across the US and around the world over the past 3 decades. This paper centres on the medicalisation of marijuana in Minnesota—which has one of the most restrictive programs in the country—as a case for evaluating the negotiation of institutional boundaries with the shift from criminalisation to medicalisation after nearly a century of criminal prohibition. Drawing upon Foucauldian discourse analyses of the medical and law enforcement associations' position statements and legislative hearings that shaped medical marijuana policy in Minnesota, this paper demonstrates a symbiotic convergence between medicine and law enforcement through the deployment of shared discursive strategies in their opposition to medical marijuana that reinforce marijuana's criminalised status by solidifying the boundaries between proper medicine and dangerous drugs. Criminal justice and medical institutions draw upon one another's definitions, logics, and practices in a mutually constitutive manner, while still maintaining distinct user subjects and institutional interventions for each based on the user's access to state‐approved forms of marijuana. The consequences for the governing of marijuana in Minnesota are explored, as well as the broader implications for the sociological study of medicalisation and criminalisation with respect to the governance of drugs and health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Automatic detection of traffic accidents has a crucial effect on improving transportation, public safety, and path planning. Many lives can be saved by the consequent decrease in the time between when the accidents occur and when rescue teams are dispatched, and much travelling time can be saved by notifying drivers to select alternative routes. This problem is challenging mainly because of the rareness of accidents and spatial heterogeneity of the environment. This paper studies deep representation of loop detector data using long‐short term memory (LSTM) network for automatic detection of freeway accidents. The LSTM‐based framework increases class separability in the encoded feature space while reducing the dimension of data. The experiments on real accident and loop detector data collected from the Twin Cities Metro freeways of Minnesota demonstrate that deep representation of traffic flow data using LSTM network has the potential to detect freeway accidents in less than 18 min with a true positive rate of 0.71 and a false positive rate of 0.25 which outperforms other competing methods in the same arrangement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Integrated medical and social care via community health worker (CHW) services is a growing area of interest, particularly among health care organizations that offer care for underserved populations. Establishing Medicaid reimbursement for CHW services is only one step to improve access to CHW services. Minnesota is one of 21 states that authorize Medicaid payment for CHW services. Despite available Medicaid reimbursement for CHW services since 2007, the actual experience of many Minnesota health care organizations in obtaining reimbursement for CHW services has been challenging due to barriers at multiple levels (e.g., clarifying and operationalizing regulation, navigating complexity of billing, building organizational capacity to reach key stakeholders at state agencies and health plans). This paper provides an overview of the barriers and strategies to operationalize Medicaid reimbursement for CHW services in the state of Minnesota, through the experience of a CHW service and technical assistance provider. Based on lessons learned in Minnesota, recommendations are made to other states, payers, and organizations as they navigate processes to operationalize Medicaid payment for CHW services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multilevel linear models allow flexible statistical modelling of complex data with different levels of stratification. Identifying the most appropriate model from the large set of possible candidates is a challenging problem. In the Bayesian setting, the standard approach is a comparison of models using the model evidence or the Bayes factor. Explicit expressions for these quantities are available for the simplest linear models with unrealistic priors, but in most cases, direct computation is impossible. In practice, Markov Chain Monte Carlo approaches are widely used, such as sequential Monte Carlo, but it is not always clear how well such techniques perform. We present a method for estimation of the log model evidence, by an intermediate marginalisation over non-variance parameters. This reduces the dimensionality of any Monte Carlo sampling algorithm, which in turn yields more consistent estimates. The aim of this paper is to show how this framework fits together and works in practice, particularly on data with hierarchical structure. We illustrate this method on simulated multilevel data and on a popular dataset containing levels of radon in homes in the US state of Minnesota. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dominant wavelength and hue angle can be used to quantify the color of lake water. Understanding the water color is important because the color relates to the water quality and its related public perceptions. In this paper, we compared the accuracy levels of two methods in calculating dominant wavelength and hue angle values using simulated satellite data calculated from in situ reflectance hyperspectra for 325 lakes and rivers in Minnesota and Wisconsin. The methods developed by van der Woerd and Wernand in 2015 and Wang et al. in 2015 were applied to simulated sensor data from the Sentinel-2, Sentinel-3, and Landsat 8 satellites. Both methods performed comparably when a correction algorithm could be applied, but the correction method did not work well for the Wang method at hue angles < 75°, equivalent to levels of colored dissolved organic matter (CDOM, a440) > ~2 m−1 or chlorophyll > ~10 mg m−3. The Sentinel-3 spectral bands produced the most accurate results for the van der Woerd and Wernand method, while the Landsat 8 sensor produced the most accurate values for the Wang method. The distinct differences in the shapes of the reflectance hyperspectra were related to the dominant optical water quality constituents in the water bodies, and relationships were found between the dominant wavelength and four water quality parameters, namely the Secchi depth, CDOM, chlorophyll, and Forel–Ule color index. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the significant updates to Minnesota's environmental laws enacted by the 2024 Legislature. It details enhanced enforcement powers for the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA), including broadened emergency powers and cost recovery for oversight of negotiated settlements. It also discusses the introduction of an extended producer responsibility (EPR) program for packaging, increased civil and administrative penalties.

We detail our experience running an annual four-day workshop at the University of Minnesota, called the Mathematics Project at Minnesota (MPM). The workshop is for undergraduates who come from groups underrepresented in mathematics and aims to increase the participation and success of such groups in the mathematics major at the University. In this paper, we explain how MPM is organized, discuss its objectives, and highlight some of the sessions that we feel are emblematic of the program's success. The paper concludes with an analysis of achievements and obstacles in the programs' first three years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction Smoking commercial tobacco products is highly prevalent in American Indian and Alaska Native (Indigenous) pregnancies. This disparity directly contributes to maternal and fetal mortality. Our objective was to describe cigarette smoking prevalence, cessation intervention uptake, and cessation behaviors of pregnant Indigenous people compared to sex and age-matched regional cohort. Aims and Methods Pregnancies from an Indigenous cohort in Olmsted County, Minnesota, identified in the Rochester Epidemiology Project, were compared to pregnancies identified in a sex and age-matched non-Indigenous cohort from 2006 to 2019. Smoking status was defined as current, former, or never. All pregnancies were reviewed to identify cessation interventions and cessation events. The primary outcome was smoking prevalence during pregnancy, with secondary outcomes measuring uptake of smoking cessation interventions and cessation. Results The Indigenous cohort included 57 people with 81 pregnancies, compared to 226 non-Indigenous people with 358 pregnancies. Smoking was identified during 45.7% of Indigenous pregnancies versus 11.2% of non-Indigenous pregnancies (RR: 3.25, 95% CI = 1.98–5.31, p ≤.0001). Although there was no difference in uptake of cessation interventions between cohorts, smoking cessation was significantly less likely during Indigenous pregnancies compared to non-Indigenous pregnancies (OR: 0.23, 95% CI = 0.07–0.72, p  = .012). Conclusions Indigenous pregnant people in Olmsted County, Minnesota were more than three times as likely to smoke cigarettes during pregnancy compared to the non-indigenous cohort. Despite equivalent uptake of cessation interventions, Indigenous people were less likely to quit than non-Indigenous people. Understanding why conventional smoking cessation interventions were ineffective at promoting cessation during pregnancy among Indigenous women warrants further study. Implications Indigenous pregnant people in Olmsted County, Minnesota, were greater than three times more likely to smoke during pregnancy compared to a regional age matched non-Indigenous cohort. Although Indigenous and non-Indigenous pregnant people had equivalent uptake of cessation interventions offered during pregnancy, Indigenous people were significantly less likely to quit smoking before fetal delivery. This disparity in the effectiveness of standard of care interventions highlights the need for further study to understand barriers to cessation in pregnant Indigenous people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Police violence is increasingly recognized as an urgent public health problem. Basic questions about police violence, however, remain unanswered, including which types of law enforcement agency are responsible for fatal police violence deaths. Methods: We estimated the proportion of police violence deaths in the U.S. (2013–2022) that were attributable to local, county, state, federal, or tribal police agencies, using mapping police violence data. We examined proportions overall, by decedent race/ethnicity, and by state. Results: Nationally, 60% of decedents were killed by municipal, 29% by county, 8% by state, and 3% by federal, police, with < 1% killed by tribal or other officers. These proportions varied by race/ethnicity, with 56% of Native American decedents killed by municipal police compared to 70–75% among other racially minoritized people. While municipal police were responsible for most deaths in most states, in the Southeast, county police predominated. In some Northeastern states (and Alaska), state police were responsible for > 40% of deaths. Conclusions: We identify wide geographic & racial/ethnic variation in the agencies responsible for fatal police violence. Findings suggest that the budgetary and infrastructural shifts required to prevent fatal police violence need to occur at multiple levels of government. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]