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Background & Aims: Texas has the highest age-adjusted incidence rate of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in the United States. The Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas has funded the Texas Collaborative Center for Hepatocellular Cancer (TeCH) to facilitate HCC research, education, and advocacy activities with the overall goal of reducing HCC mortality in Texas through coordination, collaboration, and advocacy., Methods: On September 17, 2022, TeCH co-sponsored a multi-stakeholder conference on HCC with the Baker Institute Center for Health and Biosciences. This conference was attended by HCC researchers, policy makers, payers, members from pharmaceutical industry and patient advocacy groups in and outside of Texas. This report summarizes the results of the conference., Results: The goal of this meeting was to identify different strategies for preventing HCC and evaluate their readiness for implementation., Conclusions: We call for a statewide (1) viral hepatitis elimination program; (2) program to increase nonalcoholic steatohepatitis and obesity awareness; (3) research program to develop health care models that integrate alcohol associated liver disease treatment and treatment for alcohol use disorder; and (4) demonstration projects to evaluate the effectiveness of identifying and linking patient with advanced fibrosis and cirrhosis to clinical care., (Copyright © 2023 AGA Institute. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Financial exploitation (FE) is one of the most common reports to Adult Protective Services (APS) and the cases are often complex. Consequently, APS caseworkers report FE investigations to be among the most difficult while simultaneously reporting low confidence in productive outcomes for these investigations. This necessitates finding ways to support APS FE investigations. This paper describes the structure, process, and formative findings of a collaboration between forensic accounting examiners and APS workers to investigate complex cases of FE. Among the 77 FE cases completed, forensic examiners reviewed multiple years of financial records which included over 101,000 transactions, totaling over $213,000,000.00 in finances, and identified over $8,000,000 in questionable activity. Scores on the 8-item Client Satisfaction Questionnaire were high indicating high program satisfaction by APS workers, subject matter experts, and forensic examiners. These findings support the feasibility and acceptability of forensic accounting and APS collaborations to investigate complex cases of FE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Belonging is a human need, one that is particularly difficult for children of immigrants to achieve. The Second-generation youth hangs in a balance between the culture of their parents and that of their friends and peers. Often these youth feel that they are not heard or seen by those around them, enhancing the feeling of not belonging in their communities, or even in their country. Therapeutic interventions could potentially create a "third space" in which they feel a sense of belonging. This paper explores the complexity in the experience of belonging in second-generation Latinx youth through a review of the literature, psychodynamic theories, a composite clinical case example and the reflections and implications to and from Second-generation Latina therapist. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The specific information provided in this paper offers a descriptive history regarding the attempts of Southern Methodist University (SMU) to be "modern" through tracing the institution's movement from one playing field to another. Like other southern universities, SMU started football and built an on-campus stadium of concrete and steel believing their legitimacy as an institution could be enhanced through providing football as a product for consumption. However, SMU is unique among many of its contemporaries because soon after building an on-campus facility, it decided to move off campus in the pursuit of greater name recognition and revenue. Collectively, such efforts were recognized as helping to make SMU the "educational surprise of the decade, if not the century," following its opening in 1915. The modernization of SMU football stadia involves construction and renovation of facilities from Armstrong Field (1915) to Gerald J. Ford Stadium (current). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On July 19th, 2005, American Army Private First Class LaVena Johnson died in Balad, Iraq, just 8 days shy of her 20th birthday. On July 13th, 2015, almost 10 years later, 28-year-old Sandra Bland's life came to an abrupt end in a jail cell in Waller County, Texas. Both women's deaths were ruled suicides, and both women's families and friends reject these judgments. Instead, they insinuate foul play by the state, which directly governed the militarized spaces within which the women both died. At first glance, these women appear to have had very different life trajectories, one a United States soldier and the other a Black Lives Matter activist. However, in both of their cases, the ruling of the suspicious deaths as suicides illustrates the state's attempt to render their deaths banal, and thereby diminish the state's own culpability. In understanding the unremitting acts of violence, on women's bodies, especially women of color, this paper focuses on how a Black feminist praxis extends feminist notions of an ethics of care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pattern of vertical distribution of plant roots determines plant water and nutrient uptake and influences various soil processes under field conditions. However, information of root distribution in the whole rooting profile is rarely available in practice. This paper documents a method to quickly quantify root vertical distribution pattern using limited root length density data obtained from soil cores under field conditions. It was implemented through the development of a Minitab macro and an R script, with sample calculations conducted on field collected root length density data from the winter wheat crop in Texas, USA. The method is potentially useful for quantifying plant root activities in natural soils where deep roots are difficult to access by physical means and data of root length density distribution are only available in the upper root zone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gender, although gaining attention, remains under‐researched in disaster risk reduction protocols and response and recovery efforts. This study examines women's experiences of two disasters in small towns in the United States, utilising qualitative interviews with residents of Granbury and West, Texas, during the first year of disaster recovery. Granbury was struck by an EF‐4 tornado on 15 May 2013, whereas an explosion occurred at a local fertiliser facility in West on 17 April 2013. The paper explores how women's experiences of inter‐gender power dynamics in decision‐making, the prioritisation of childcare, and women's participation in the community affect their post‐disaster recovery. Previous research highlights different forms of human response and recovery vis‐à‐vis 'natural' and technological disasters, with less attention paid to gender differences. The results point to the persistent, and similar, effect of gender stratification on women's experiences across different types of disasters in the US and the continued importance of gender‐sensitive disaster policies and programmes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives. To demonstrate the spatially uneven effects of abortion restriction laws in Texas. Methods. We used network analysis to determine the change in distance to the nearest surgical abortion provider for 5253 Texas neighborhoods after the passing of Texas Senate Bill 8 (SB8; 2021) and the US Supreme Court's Dobbs v Jackson Women's Health Organization (2022) decision. We identified associations between key measures of neighborhood socioeconomic context and change in distance to providers using multivariable linear regression models. Results. After the Dobbs decision, Texas residents experienced an average change in distance to the nearest provider of 457 miles (SD = 179). Neighborhoods of concentrated disadvantage experienced the greatest increase in distance to abortion providers after SB8's passing, and neighborhoods with high levels of income inequality experienced the greatest increase in distance after the Dobbs decision. Conclusions. We document the rapidly changing abortion landscape in a highly restrictive state and show that women living in more disadvantaged and unequal areas are most affected by the increasing distance to providers. Public Health Implications. Our methods and findings will continue to be relevant in understanding the burden placed on women in areas where medical abortion has been restricted because of the Dobbs decision. (Am J Public Health. 2024;114(10):1024–1033. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2024.307652) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The adoption rate for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design – Neighborhood Development (LEED-ND) projects has varied considerably across the United States. Local governments and developers face variation in the incentives and barriers while implementing LEED-ND projects across four key dimensions – economic, policy, public awareness, and organizational. This paper investigated the drivers of variation using a mixed-methods approach including a two-stage Heckman model, a survey of Texas subdivision developers and interviews with local planning officials. Results indicate that initial public funding may lead to more LEED-ND projects being completed, but with a diminishing return as these projects become established within the region. Support for local programs including tax abatement, public-private partnerships, and other incentives were also demonstrated to help facilitate LEED-ND project adoption. Overall this paper underscored the important role, especially early on, the public sector and local governments play in initiating local LEED-ND projects to inform and motivate the land development industry. • U.S. LEED-ND projects face variation in adoption rates, barriers, and incentives. • 4 key dimensions identified – economic, policy, public awareness, and organizational. • Initial public funding may lead to more LEED-ND projects being completed. • Local interviews find support for local programs to incentivize further projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • The flux of multivalent cations across non-selective CMX membranes was 1.4 times > sodium. • A CMX-S membrane at the cathode boundary reduced the flux of Ca, Mg, and Ba into the electrode rinse. • Ca, Mg and Ba interfered by blocking transfer sites on the CMX-S membrane at the cathode barrier. • Overall flux was improved by unblocking the CMX-S membrane with periodic polarity reversal. • Soluble Fe precipitated throughout the stack and within the diluate and concentrate tanks. Abstract Electrodialysis is an electrochemically driven membrane technology usually used for treating feed water containing several thousand mg/l total dissolved solids (TDS). This research investigated the use of conventional ED for the treatment of flowback water from shale gas hydraulic fracturing that contains up to tens of thousands of mg/l TDS and contain a mixture of multivalent cations. This paper discusses efforts to treat concentrated brines with electrodialysis and focuses on the mitigation of the detrimental effects of multivalent cations such as calcium, magnesium, barium, iron, and in the feedstock. A previous paper detailed the effects of calcium under defined lab conditions. The apparent calcium fouling (in and around) the electrode cells was mitigated by changing the single cathode chamber boundary membrane to a (CMX-S) that was more selective for monovalent cations. This paper covers efforts undertaken to mitigate problems associated with high concentrations of calcium, barium, iron, and magnesium. Four field samples of produced water from oil and gas operations in from the Marcellus shale formation (generally Pennsylvania, USA) and the Barnett shale formation (generally north central Texas, USA) were also tested. These results from field samples were similar to the results from lab defined tests. Mechanisms of process interference by the different multivalent cations appear different for each species. Calcium, magnesium, barium, and iron were preferentially transported from the diluate to the concentrate compared to sodium by a factor of about 1.4:1 on a charge basis resulting in a suppression of the flux of sodium to the concentrate. A single CMX-S membrane selective for monovalent cations was placed at the cathode barrier resulting in a reduced flux of calcium, magnesium and barium into the electrode rinse. However total ion flux was inhibited caused by apparent blockage of the cation transfer sites on the CMX-S membrane by the stagnant multivalent cations. A series of tests with periodic pulse polarity-reversal (anode and cathode reversed for a brief time) indicted the blockage by calcium and barium was immediately reversable, however, iron was more problematic and may have precipitated on membrane surfaces other than the cathode barrier. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flash flooding occurs when low-lying geographic areas are rapidly flooded and is mainly caused by heavy rains. Urban road networks are the primary structures affected by flood inundation, which causes disruption to transportation and reduces the efficiency of rescue services. This paper proposes a physically based spatiotemporal method of analyzing flood impacts on urban road networks that considers both the physical parameters of flooding and the susceptibility of the transportation network. The results indicate that the proposed method provides reasonable spatiotemporal and synthetic estimates of impacts to the road network of Austin, Texas, USA, under flash flooding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most scholarship on informal housing focuses on developing countries and little research investigates how low-income populations in the US participate in homeownership through self-built and self-provided housing. Meanwhile, informally developed areas are increasingly being uncovered in the US, especially in the urban periphery of growing metropolitan regions. This paper documents and analyses largely unknown housing conditions and needs for the growing number of people that live in such communities. Data for this paper were collected through a survey of 133 households in two unincorporated low-income, self-help settlements in Central Texas. In this survey we address (1) household composition, (2) specific housing conditions, and (3) reported structural and infrastructural problems. Through regression analyses we identify factors that mitigate or aggravate the severity of overall housing problems and identify the most significant concerns for residents. Our results offer future lines of action regarding property titles, financing and dwelling upgrading. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Thee article talks about farmer and confederate veteran Joseph Noah Rogers who started the "Rural Citizen" newspaper in Texas and his role as a key figure in the first phase of the Texas Farmers' Alliance's official involvement with journal­ism. Topics discussed include the newspaper serving as the official journal of the Texas Farmers' Alliance from 1882 to 1886 and Rogers' abandonment of the order in 1886 as the populist movement of the alliance threatened the interests of his patrons.

Purpose: The Joint Committee on Infant Hearing recommends hearing screening before 1 month of age, audiologic diagnosis before 3 months of age, and enrollment in early intervention before 6 months of age (1-3-6 benchmarks of Early Hearing Detection and Intervention [EHDI] programs). Nearly 98% of newborns have their hearing screened, but many, who do not pass or do not complete their newborn hearing screening, fail to complete the EHDI process. Historically, lower socioeconomic level, more complex infant health status, and farther geographical location reduce rates of EHDI follow-up, but levels vary widely across states. This study examined barriers to the EHDI process by comparing census-based variables at the state and regional levels to national and Texas EHDI outcomes, respectively. Method: We used correlational analysis to assess relationships between U.S. Census data (state- and region-specific population and geographic characteristics, sociodemographic and geographic factors, and health and health insurance) and EHDI data (newborn screening, audiologic diagnosis, and early intervention) at the national level and in Texas. Results: Nationally, higher labor force participation, lower unemployment rates, and presence of health insurance significantly correlated with higher rates of completing EHDI benchmarks. Larger population size and density and higher socioeconomic factors coincided with higher rates of completing the EHDI process and lower rates of loss to follow-up (LTF) or loss to documentation in Texas. Conclusions: Population, socioeconomic, and demographic factors significantly correlate with following through with the EHDI process, with weak correlations at the national level and strong correlations at the state level. These findings underscore the need to increase our attention to underserved, economically challenged, and/or geographically distanced families who have children with a higher risk of becoming LTF in the EHDI process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several papers have used panel data analyses to examine the effectiveness of U.S. state-level renewable portfolio standards (RPS) in promoting renewable capacity development, but the findings are inconclusive. Estimation of average treatment effects, however, can mask the fact that RPS policies across states are disparate and the treatment states are heterogeneous. We use the synthetic control method to conduct individual case studies of the early adopter states. Our findings indicate that the impact of RPS policies varied across states. We find Texas to be unique among these early adopters in that the RPS policy in Texas has led to increased renewable capacity. (JEL Q42, Q48) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Annals of the American Association of Geographers is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

As climate change impacts become increasingly severe, it is critical to have a comprehensive understanding of interactions between climate, energy, and water. Previous energy-water nexus studies have focused primarily on specific dependencies, such as water for thermoelectric cooling, rather than the potential for cascading impacts of supply disruptions at broader scales. This paper explores relative energy-water interdependencies across multiple sectors at the scale of the three primary electricity interconnections within the United States. Our results indicate the need for and potential benefits of integrated policy, planning, and management of energy and water resources based on an interdependent systems perspective. • Interconnection-level Sankeys provide insights into potential vulnerabilities • Electricity generation in the Eastern US is susceptible to water disruptions • Energy intensities of public water supply and agriculture are highest in the West • Electricity and industry sectors in Texas grid have the highest fuel dependence [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using data on the geographic location of fracking wells in four U.S. states with mandatory disclosure between 2011 and 2013 — Colorado, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, and Texas — this paper analyzes the socio-demographic characteristics of people living close to fracking activity. Geo-coded well data from the FracFocus registry are merged to blockgroup-level socio-demographic data from the 2006–2010 American Community Survey and population density and land use data from EPA's Smart Location Database 2010. Different buffer zones around fracking wells are applied to capture effects at different spatial scales and to compare only areas with similar geological properties. We explain the distance to the nearest well within a county with fracking activity or within a buffer zone by race/ethnicity, income, educational attainment, various land-use control variables, and county fixed-effects. We find robust evidence that minorities, especially African Americans, disproportionately live near fracking wells, but less consistent evidence for environmental injustice by income or educational attainment. Strong heterogeneity across states can be observed, suggesting that an improvement in disclosure laws in other states, that would make similar analyses possible, is of great importance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flood maps are needed for emergency response, research, and planning. The Height Above Nearest Drainage (HAND) technique is a low-complexity, terrain-based approach for inundation mapping from elevation, discharge-height relationship, and streamflow data. The recent operational capacities of the NOAA National Water Model (NWM) and pre-processed HAND products from the University of Texas offer an operational framework for real-time and forecast flood mapping across the United States. This paper offers the first detailed evaluation of the coupled NWM-HAND approach by comparing NWM-HAND simulations to a database of remotely sensed flood maps. These comparisons are made both quantitatively and through a detailed evaluation of selected results. The results show that NWM-HAND performs well in the majority of cases with 70 % of the calculated flood maps yielding an agreement of 80 % or better with the remote sensing observations. Persistent inaccuracies occur in lower-order reaches, regions of low relief, and when the NWM misses substantially either in magnitude or timing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Coupling of ANN waste forecasts with GIS collection route optimization. • GIS routes with minimum travel distances are sensitive to waste composition. • Results of 36 scenarios yield changes in travel distance of up to 19.9% • Dual compartment trucks reduce travel distance but increase waste collection time. Combining an artificial neural network (ANN) waste prediction model with a geographic information system (GIS) waste collection route optimization, the paper shows how the compositional features of waste materials affect the optimized truck route time, distance, and air emissions. Using data from Austin, Texas, USA, a nonlinear autoregressive ANN model is used to predict the waste generation rate of the recycling and garbage streams for the year 2023 in four sub-areas of the city. This ANN model resulted in mean absolute percentage errors ranging from 10.92% to 16.51%. Modified compositions of the recycling and garbage streams are then used as inputs, along with the year 2023 generation rates, to create 6 modified and 3 non-modified scenarios that reflect possible future changes in waste composition. These waste stream scenarios are then used as input parameters to determine optimal waste collection routes with minimal travel distance in each of the four sub-areas using the GIS vehicle routing problem network analysis tool. Results of these 36 scenarios yield changes in travel distance of up to 19.9%, when compared to the non-modified composition. Further, dual compartment trucks were compared to single compartment trucks and found to save between 10.3 and 16.0% in travel distance and slightly reduce emissions but had a 15.7–19.8% increase in collection time. Results suggest temporal changes in waste composition and characteristics are important in GIS route optimization studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract This paper documents a previously undescribed marine palynomorph, Doricodinium obscurum gen. et sp. nov., from Upper Cretaceous sections in the central and southern Western Interior of the USA. Although an archaeopyle has not been confirmed, a case is made here for a probable dinoflagellate cyst, possible peridinioid affinity. The type locality of D. obscurum is the Global boundary Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP) for the base of Turonian Stage, at Pueblo, Colorado, where it consistently occurs in intra-Lower to middle Turonian deposits. The taxon also occurs consistently in intra-Lower Turonian strata from the Iona-1 core, SW Texas, where astronomical age modelling gives an age range of 93.92–93.25 ± 0.12 Ma in that section. Outside the USA, it has until now only been recorded from the Cenomanian–Turonian boundary interval in Pakistan. Highlights • Description of Doricodinium obscurum gen. et sp. nov., a marine palynomorph, a probable dinoflagellate cyst. • Distribution calibrated at the GSSP for the Turonian Stage, Pueblo, Colorado. • Astronomical age modelling of its distribution in the Iona-1 core, SW Texas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chemoprophylaxis with intramuscular benzathine penicillin G has been used widely by the U.S. military to prevent epidemics of group A streptococcus infections during basic training. The recent global shortage of benzathine penicillin prompted a detailed analysis of this issue in 2017 by military preventive medicine and infectious disease authorities in San Antonio, Texas, and San Diego, California, USA. This paper explores the history of group A streptococcus and chemoprophylaxis in the U.S. military training environment, current policy and practice, and challenges associated with widespread chemoprophylaxis. In light of the history presented, preventive medicine authorities at basic training centers should be extremely cautious about discontinuing benzathine penicillin chemoprophylaxis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Current context for educational reform in the United States is codified in revisions of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) of 1965. Periodic reauthoriations reflect changing national and educational landscapes (Klein, 2015). The most recent re authorisation, Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) of 2015 (USDE, 2015), is currently undergoing the regulatory process and is scheduled to go into effect during the 2017-2018 school year (USDE, 2017). This paper mil examine the impact of standards based accountability (SBA) reform within a changing national context from the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) reauthorisation of2002 (USDE, 2002) to ESSA in 2015 through the Texas context of SBA, a descriptive analysis of types of standards, and a statistical analysis of performance by cohort from 2013 to 2016. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A general Natech risk assessment methodology is presented. • The methodology takes into account the possible domino effects. • The methodology relies upon Bayesian networks capabilities. • The methodology is implemented in a real case study. On February 2007, a massive fire in a propane de-asphalting unit in an oil refinery in Texas, USA happened due to liquid propane release from a cracked pipe in a control station injuring four people, damaging extensive equipment, causing significant business interruption, and resulting in more than $50 million losses. The accident was triggered by a natural hazard: freezing of piping at a control station caused an inlet pipe elbow to crack, which in turn, led to the release of high-pressure liquid propane which was rapidly ignited. In addition, there were two near-miss events due to potential domino effects. In fact, the accident could reasonably have resulted in much more severe consequences due to the exposure of large butane storage spheres and chlorine containers, increasing the possibility of a catastrophic domino effect. This paper develops a Natech (natural hazard triggering technological disasters) risk assessment methodology that relies upon Bayesian network capabilities and takes into account the potential Natech domino effects. The methodology is implemented in the intended refinery and mathematically graphically represents the dynamic cause–effect relations between units involved in the scenario, and handles uncertainties among the interactions. In addition, the methodology can provide a risk value for the entire scenario that can be used further for risk-based decision making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The burden of chronic disease continues to increase in the US and the world. The socio-demographics profile of the US population is comparable to the population profiles at the state and county level suggesting the chronic diseases burden might be the same at the local/county level. In this paper, we present the socio-demographics, chronic diseases and associated risk factor's profile of Galveston County and draw comparisons with Texan and US general populations. Additionally, we propose recommendations for chronic disease prevention and control in the Galveston County. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Great Depression editorials published in English- and Spanish-language newspapers in San Antonio, Texas, waged a war of ideas about the role of Mexicans and immigrants in the United States that went beyond socially constructing news events to another kind of storytelling—the mythmaking power of idea-driven opinion writing about “the other.” Against a backdrop of mass deportations and repatriations to Mexico, the city's three major daily newspapers staked dichotomous positions. William Randolph Hearst's Light railed against “the criminal menace,” competing against the independent San Antonio Express and its concept of the Mexican as “indispensable” worker hero. Meanwhile, the Spanish-language La Prensa offered a complex representation of the immigrant, creating a mythology that was largely absent from the mainstream media. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Teen food insecurity is gaining attention as a social problem in the United States. This study seeks to understand the barriers to teen food security, coping strategies used to address food insecurity, related impacts, and solutions proposed by teens. Photovoice and a focus group were the primary methods used to enable teens to express their experiences visually and aurally. Compared to results from other teen food insecurity research, teens in this study reported social support strategies like reliance on family and community organizations and sabotaging strategies like begging and stealing food less often than sacrificing strategies such as working jobs to supplement the family's food budget, giving money or food to family or friends, eating highly processed and inexpensive foods, or going without food. Overall, the findings highlight the importance of a teen-focused, trauma-informed, and healing-centered approach that recognizes teens' underlying economic, social, and physiological needs during a crucial developmental phase of life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Disparities in birth outcomes continue to exist in the United States, particularly for low-income, publicly insured women. Doula support has been shown to be a cost-effective intervention in predominantly middle-to-upper income White populations, and across all publicly insured women at the state level. This analysis extends previous studies by providing an estimate of benefits that incorporates variations in averted outcomes by race and ethnicity in the context of one region in Texas. The objectives of this study were to determine (1) whether the financial value of benefits provided by doula support exceeds the costs of delivering it; (2) whether the cost-benefit ratio differs by race and ethnicity; and (3) how different doula reimbursement levels affect the cost-benefit results with respect to pregnant people covered by Medicaid in central Texas., Methods: We conducted a forward-looking cost-benefit analysis using secondary data carried out over a short-term time horizon taking a public payer perspective. We focused on a narrow set of health outcomes (preterm delivery and cesarean delivery) that was relatively straightforward to monetize. The current, usual care state was used as the comparison condition., Results: Providing pregnant people covered by Texas Medicaid with access to doulas during their pregnancies was cost-beneficial (benefit-to-cost ratio: 1.15) in the base model, and 65.7% of the time in probabilistic sensitivity analyses covering a feasible range of parameters. The intervention is most cost-beneficial for Black women. Reimbursing doulas at $869 per client or more yielded costs that were greater than benefits, holding other parameters constant., Conclusions: Expanding Medicaid pregnancy-related coverage to include doula services would be cost-beneficial and improve health equity in Texas., (© 2023 Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

This paper interrogates the case for improved and broadened public sustainability reporting by universities, and explores whether and how global performance measures capture the institutional attitudes and activities pertinent to universities' contributions to sustainability. The analysis explores all stand-alone, English language reports produced by universities world-wide since 2007. The analysis focuses primarily on the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) index. The paper finds that those universities which have adopted the GRI share a distinct conceptualisation of their role in society. The GRI framework is helpful in capturing universities' environmental impacts and benefits, but is lacking in relation to universities' human rights and social concerns. The paper identifies value in universities adopting a globally accepted sustainability reporting framework and makes specific suggestions as to how the framework might be better adapted for universities.

Our nation's military veterans share a connection through their service, making them a distinctive community with unique information requirements. Community-based solutions are crucial to meet veterans where they are, and libraries of all types are in a position to help. In recognition of this, the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) awarded a grant to Texas A&M University, which held a forum attended by 250 librarians from across the United States. The discussions covered how veterans are currently being engaged, what services and programs are working, and where improvements could be made. Toolkit committees were then formed to brainstorm service and program ideas for veterans that can be utilized in various library settings, including medical facilities. These toolkits were uploaded to a freely available repository so that librarians can use and adapt these resources to develop their own veteran-oriented programming. Results from this collaboration among librarians have led to new connections, friendships being formed, and the generation of even more creative solutions to reach veteran populations. While considerations such as respecting copyright and dealing with grant funding appropriations are present, this should not keep librarians from utilizing these resources. This project is meant to be an ongoing and evolving effort. New ideas and collaborations are not just welcomed but encouraged to best serve these veterans who have so selflessly sacrificed for their country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The specific aim was to characterize retail purchases of red and processed meat and other major protein-rich foods in the U.S. and by state. Supermarket scanner data from grocery stores, supermarkets, and big box stores collected from 2017-2019 (NielsenIQ, New York, NY) was used to characterize retail purchases of red meat, processed meat, and other protein-rich foods in thirty-one states representative of US retail food sales. Red meat, processed meat, poultry, seafood, eggs, other meats, and non-meat foods (beans, nuts, seeds, meat alternatives) by weight accounted for 25.9%, 20.4%, 25.8%, 5.9%, 12.6%, 1.3%, and 10.1%, respectively of total sales in 2017-2019. Mean per capita purchases of red meat by weight was 30.1 g/d, ranging from 45.4 g/d in Mississippi to 21.9 g/d in New York. Mean per capita purchases of processed meat by weight was 23.8 g/d, ranging from 36.6 g/d in Mississippi to 15.2 g/d in California. We observed statistically significant correlations between red and processed meat purchases with cardiovascular mortality and colorectal cancer by state. Per capita retail purchases of red and processed meat appear to reflect a dietary pattern that is not consistent with current national and international dietary recommendations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The sources of predictability for the February 2021 cold air outbreak (CAO) over the central United States, which led to power grid failures and water delivery shortages in Texas, are diagnosed using a machine learning–based prediction model called a linear inverse model (LIM). The flexibility and low computational cost of the LIM allows its forecasts to be used for identifying and assessing the predictability of key physical processes. The LIM may also be run as a climate model for sensitivity and risk analysis for the same reasons. The February 2021 CAO was a subseasonal forecast of opportunity, as the LIM confidently predicted the CAO's onset and duration four weeks in advance, up to two weeks earlier than other initialized numerical forecast models. The LIM shows that the February 2021 CAO was principally caused by unpredictable internal atmospheric variability and predictable La Niña teleconnections, with nominally predictable contributions from the previous month's sudden stratospheric warming and the Madden–Julian oscillation. When run as a climate model, the LIM estimates that the February 2021 CAO was in the top 1% of CAO severity and suggests that similarly extreme CAOs could be expected to occur approximately every 20–30 years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vesicular stomatitis (VS) is a vector‐borne viral disease that causes lesions in livestock, premises, county and state quarantines, and important economic losses. We investigated vector–habitat characteristics for vectors associated with VS in regions of recurrent disease within the western United States (US) that consistently lead to the environment where vector, host, and pathogen populations intersect to enable pathogen transmission. We analyzed the habitats of previously identified insect vectors, including black flies (BFs) (Simulium vittatum complex), biting midges (BMs) (Culicoides variipennis complex, which includes Culicoides sonorensis), and sand flies (SFs) (Lutzomyia shannoni) in six regions of interest (ROIs) containing hotspots of VS ranging from Texas (TX) to Wyoming. This analysis broadened the understanding of (1) how regions of reoccurring VS differ from the broader western US, (2) how geographically separated regions and hotspots are similar across time, and (3) how vector–environment habitat a priori knowledge relates to observed hotspots. Analysis of watershed factors (livestock densities, land‐cover proportions, stream and lake densities, and irrigation methods) indicated a complex system separating areas with high, recurring VS from the broader western US. Although no single characteristic separated the six ROIs from other areas, we found two distinct emerging groups (northern ROI and TX). Hotspots, estimated from monthly VS concentrations, evolved northward throughout the year and most hotspots were closer to flowing water and agricultural land than the broader ROI. All ROIs contained environmental conditions suitable for multiple vectors at some point in the year, but BFs had the highest suitability scores, whereas BM scores were lower and varied annually with higher suitability in summer. SFs had the lowest suitability score in all ROIs, consistent with their low likelihood of being vectors. BM habitat patches were often orders of magnitude smaller than BF patches, and hotspot patches reinforce the likelihood that BF may be the most critical vector in northern ROI, whereas both BM and BF have similar likelihood in southern ROI. Given limited existing vector data, this analysis provides an alternate pathway for using habitat information to associate likely vectors responsible for transmission. Results could support early warning and mitigation efforts to reduce the incidence of VS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To determine whether snus might become a strategy for reducing the harm associated with cigarette smoking in the USA as appears to be the case in Sweden, we examined receptivity to snus use in two cities with the greatest exposure to the major brands. Methods A dual frame, telephone survey and a brief mail survey were conducted in 2011 and 2012 in Indianapolis, Indiana and Dallas/Fort Worth Texas. Over 5000 adults completed surveys. Trial, ever use, current use and reasons for using or quitting snus after trial were measured. Results Among male smokers, 29.9% had ever tried snus (CI 22.7 to 38.1) and 4.2% were current users (CI 1.6 to 10.7). Among female smokers, 8.5% ever tried snus (CI 4.4 to 15.7) and current use was unknown. Current use was virtually absent among former smokers and never smokers. A major predictor of any level of snus use was current use of conventional smokeless tobacco. Those who tried and gave up snus cited curiosity (41.3%) and the fact that it was available at low or no cost (30%) as reasons for trial; reasons for not continuing included preferring another form of tobacco (75.1%) and disliking the mouth feel (34.6%). Almost all current snus users indicated that they were trying to cut down on cigarettes, but few (3.9%) were using it to quit smoking entirely. Conclusions The low rate of adoption of snus suggests that neither the hopes nor the fears surrounding this new product are likely to be realised in the USA with the current marketing patterns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Following decades of mainstream bipartisan support, contraception has reemerged as a controversial political issue in the United States. At the same time, opposition to abortion has intensified. State legislatures across the country have enacted highly visible policies limiting access to family planning. Perhaps the most striking example occurred in 2011 in Texas, when legislators instituted unprecedented requirements on abortion providers and cut public funding for contraception by two thirds. Yet, despite popular interpretations of this phenomenon as a simple byproduct of increasing partisan divisions, little is understood about the factors underlying such policy shifts.Study Design: We fit Bayesian ideal-point models to analyze correlation patterns in record-vote data in the Texas House of Representatives in the 2003 and 2011 Legislatures. Both sessions had large Republican majorities and saw the passage of restrictive abortion bills, but they differed markedly with respect to public funding for contraception.Results: We demonstrate that variation in voting on family-planning issues cannot be fully attributed to partisanship in either session. However, the politics of abortion and contraception have converged over time, and - at least for Democrats - the correlation between constituency characteristics and voting behavior on family-planning legislation is markedly higher in 2011 than in 2003. These shifts have been partly driven by legislators from high-poverty, majority Latino districts near the US-Mexico border.Conclusions: Recent dramatic shifts in family-planning policy go beyond simple partisan divisions. As the politics of abortion and contraception have converged, policies that are increasingly hostile to reproductive health and that disproportionately affect low-income minority women have emerged.Implications: Recent shifts in family-planning policy restrict women's access to contraception and abortion, yet little research has examined why such shifts are occurring. This paper analyzes factors underlying voting behavior on restrictive policies in Texas. Identification of these factors helps us to better understand the current political climate surrounding our field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective Regulations that reduce nicotine and eliminate menthol in cigarettes have been proposed to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as product alterations that could reduce smoking prevalence in the USA. This study sought to assess the public response to either action. Methods A mail survey of a representative sample of 1074 adults was conducted in two major metropolitan areas to determine the level of support for immediate, gradual or no reduction of menthol and nicotine in cigarettes. Results There was more support for reducing nicotine (79%) than for reducing or removing menthol (59.5%). Most smokers (59.2%; 95% CI 50.7 to 67.2) and 36% of non-smokers (95% CI 31.7 to 40.8) opposed eliminating menthol, but few smokers (23.8%) or nonsmokers (20.3%) were opposed to reducing nicotine. Logistic regression showed no significant effect of smoking status on support for reductions in nicotine, but that smokers were significantly less supportive than nonsmokers of FDA action on menthol (OR=0.32, 95% CI 0.21 to 0.49). A significant race by smoking status interaction showed that African-American smokers were more supportive of removing menthol than non-African-American smokers. Conclusions The greater smoker support for reductions in nicotine than menthol could be due to inaccurate beliefs about the disease risk associated with the two substances (ie, a belief that nicotine is more harmful than menthol), or to greater awareness of the sensory role that menthol plays in smokers' satisfaction. In any case, if FDA goes ahead with regulations to remove menthol, it will be important to develop strategies to reduce smoker resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper compares the educational achievement and growth of Latinx third through eighth-grade students attending school along the U.S.-Mexico Border and in the interior of the four Border states. The theories of structural and legal violence predict that powerful Anglos have created systems of social reproduction, concentrated disadvantage, and immigration law that reduce Latinx education close to the U.S.-Mexico Border. We test these theories with data from the Stanford Education Data Archive (SEDA), which contains information on Latinx achievement and growth in all public school districts in the four Border states. We find that Latinx achievement and growth are similar along the Border and in the interior except in Texas, where concentrated disadvantage dramatically lowers Latinx achievement and growth. We also find that social reproduction is more beneficial for Latinx youth along the Border because, surprisingly, Latinx adults tend to be more educated near the border than in the interior. We find no evidence that immigration laws reduce education more near the Border than in the interior. We discuss the implications of our findings for theory and policy.

Rural locations provide limited economic opportunities, mainly relying on agricultural activities, with scarce industrial or commercial investment and employment. This has led to higher risks related to poverty, with a lack of opportunities for education, healthcare, and general services leading to rural migration. On the other hand, wind energy is growing exponentially in the United States (US). Rural locations offer very good siting options for wind farms considering the ever-growing size of their equipment and significant required area. Therefore, wind farms may provide financial opportunities to local rural communities, reducing poverty risks and improving living standards. These financial benefits include rental income for landowners, additional tax collection for public service funding, increased income for school districts, and overall larger local investments. However, the available data are too coarse, broad, and unconnected, not allowing local communities, wind developers, and stakeholders a clear panoramic of the benefits that each individual location, school district, or landowner may receive. This research compiled dispersed big data for its integration into a large Geographic Information System (GIS). This system is capable of performing analysis to provide a much better understanding of the actual benefits that the wind industry provides to each individual rural stakeholder. Data were converted to geospatial layers, when required, to allow for a fuller comprehension of all factors impacting financial benefits and risks from the wind industry. Analyses were expanded to evaluate the lease financial benefits for landowners in Texas, applying the data provided by local and state agencies. The approach developed in this research will allow for its application in diverse geographical locations to explore additional financial benefits that each individual rural stakeholder may receive from the wind industry. This will allow local authorities, landowners, wind developers, and communities to better negotiate for the future expansion of wind energy, providing all parties involved with significant benefits and allowing the continuous growth of renewable energy to overcome the damaging effects from climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Postpartum depression (PPD), a perinatal mood and anxiety disorder (PMAD), is a leading cause of complications of pregnancy and childbirth. In the United States, approximately 20 percent of women suffer from PMADs. In Houston, Texas, an estimation of 12,000 – 15,000 women experience PPD each year. Within the Texas Children's Paediatrics network, a large paediatric network located in Houston, Texas, mothers are screened during paediatric well‐child visits and those screening positive receive a referral to a psychiatrist with the network. However, there are not enough psychiatrists to meet the demand of services and Black, Latina, and women on Medicaid during pregnancy are less likely to attend a psychiatric visit compared to White, non‐Hispanic women. This study used a randomised control trial design to measure the effectiveness of an alternative treatment option for a racially diverse population of postpartum women with mild to moderate symptoms of PPD, a five‐session home visitation program using the Problem‐Solving Tools for PPD (PST4PPD) model delivered by master's level social workers. The control group was allocated to standard treatment with a psychiatrist. A total of 118 women gave consent and were randomised, 72 to home visiting and 46 to psychiatry. Results demonstrated that all participating mothers had significant decreases in PPD symptoms. The change in PPD symptoms among those in the home visitation program was not significantly different from the change in the control condition, indicating that the home visitation program was as effective as psychiatric treatment in significantly reducing PPD symptoms. Additionally, a high proportion of women in the home visitation program completed visits and demonstrated increased maternal self‐efficacy. Based on these results, a short‐term home visitation program by a social worker (PST4PPD) appears to be a promising treatment option for postpartum women with mild to moderate PPD symptoms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Presently, there are six undergraduate HRSA-funded MCH pipeline training programs (MCHPTP) in the nation and they have gained significant momentum since inception by recruiting, training and mentoring undergraduate students in a comprehensive MCH-focused approach. This article describes the outcomes from the 6 training programs; and primarily Baylor College of Medicine–Texas Southern University (BCM–TSU's) collaborative strategy focusing on the MCH research training and outcomes, which align with HRSA's MCH bureau's missions. Description: Each MCHPTP offers trainees interdisciplinary MCH research experiences through intra/inter-institutional collaborations and partnerships, but BCM–TSU's MCHPTP was the only one with the primary focus to be research. As a case study, the BCM–TSU Program developed an innovative research curriculum integrated with MCH Foundations Course that comprised 2 hour weekly meetings. Students were split into collaborative research groups of 4–5 students, with multidisciplinary peer-mentors, clinical fellows and MCH research faculty from institutions at the world—renowned Texas Medical Center. Assessment: Since the inception of the MCH mentorship programs, all six MCHPTPs have enrolled up to 1890 trainees and/or interns. BCM–TSU Program trainees are defined as undergraduate students in their 1st or 2nd year of college while research interns are upper classmen in their 3rd or 4th year of college. The case study showed that BCM–TSU Program trainees demonstrated outstanding accomplishments in the area of research through primary and co-authorships of 13 peer-reviewed journal publications by 78 trainees, over a period of 3 years, in addition to dozens of presentations at local, regional and national conferences. Conclusions: The research productivity of students in the six MCHPTPs is strongly indicative of the success of integrating MCH research mentoring into MCH didactic training. The development of a diverse and robust MCH mentorship program promotes and strengthens research activities in areas of high priority such as addressing health disparities in MCH morbidity and mortality in the U.S. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]