Illinois State Research Articles

Abstract 4139179: Is Prenatal Diagnosis Responsible for Differences in Timing to Postnatal Intervention for Critical Congenital Heart Defects?

Introduction: The relationships between prenatal diagnosis of congenital heart defects (CHDs) and outcomes are inconsistent. Some studies have shown that compared to postnatal diagnosis, prenatal diagnosis is associated with later surgical timing and worse outcomes. These findings could be due to confounding because more severe CHDs are likelier to be diagnosed on prenatal ultrasonography. To bypass this confounding, we evaluated prenatal diagnosis as a mediator. Aim: To evaluate whether prenatal diagnosis of CHD mediates the association between disease severity and timing to postnatal intervention. Hypothesis: Infants with severe CHD receive intervention sooner than those with mild CHD due to a higher prenatal diagnosis prevalence. Methods: This is a retrospective cohort study of all infants who received their initial cardiac catheterization or surgery between 0-60 days (i.e., critical CHD) at Ann&Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago (2015-2021). Birthing individuals with inadequate prenatal care were excluded. The primary exposure variable was a three-level categorical variable derived from existing literature, categorizing disease severity based on anatomic factors (mild, moderate, and severe CHD). The outcome was age at intervention, i.e., cardiac catheterization or surgery, whichever occurred sooner, in days. The mediator variable was whether prenatal diagnosis occurred. Control variables included birth weight, sex, surgery during the COVID-19 pandemic, race, ethnicity, birth hospital’s level of perinatal care as designated by Illinois state, presence of a syndrome or non-cardiac abnormality, and insurance status. Results: In total, 429 parent-infant pairs met inclusion criteria; 68.3% had prenatal diagnosis and 28.4% had severe CHD. In adjusted analyses, compared to those with the mild CHD, those with moderate CHD had 40.0% higher probability of prenatal diagnosis (p<0.001) and on average, received intervention 14 days sooner (p=0.001). Those with severe CHD had a 59.5% higher probability of prenatal diagnosis (p<0.001), and on average received intervention 19 days sooner (p<0.001). In a mediation analysis, prenatal diagnosis accounted for 27.2% of the difference in surgical timing between moderate and mild disease, and 29.5% of the difference in surgical timing between severe and mild disease ( Figure 1 ). Conclusion: The relationship between CHD severity and timing to postnatal intervention is partly attributable to prenatal diagnosis.

Laboratory and Field Evaluation of Asphalt Concrete Modulus &Critical Strain Inputs for M-E Flexible Pavement Design in the State of Illinois

This study aims to update the current algorithm for modulus prediction of hot mix asphalt in the state of Illinois-USA. Numerically, laboratory, and field-obtained modulus and strain levels were connected to advances in asphalt materials and current design criteria. Four mix designs were selected and combined with seven different binders for modulus measurements. The reference experimental results were compared to: the current Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) modulus algorithm, traditional regression models, a Bayesian Neural Network (BNN) model, and field measurements obtained using the Traffic Speed Deflectometer. Results showed that the current IDOT algorithm under-predicts modulus and BNN (840 data points, R^2 = 0.986) outperformed the Witczak and Hirsch models. Field modulus and critical strains were sensitive to temperature and showed considerable variability, but confirmed that HMA in perpetual pavement sections performs under low strain levels. These findings guided considerations for an updated design method: realistic modulus prediction can be achieved using data-driven methods and less conservative strain criterion might be considered.

An Areal Approach to Spatial Accessibility Analysis

Place‐based spatial accessibility quantifies the distribution of access to goods and services across space. The Two‐Step Floating Catchment Area (2SFCA) family of methods have become a default tool for spatial accessibility analysis in part due to their intuitive approach and interpretability. This family of methods relies on calculating catchment areas around supply locations to estimate the area and population that may utilize them. However, these “catchment areas” are generally defined by origin‐destination matrices of travel‐time, giving us point‐to‐point distances and not polygons with actual area. This means that population geographies (census tracts, blocks, etc.) are binarily included or excluded, with no room for partial inclusion. When using nongranular data, which is often the case due to data privacy restrictions, this has the potential to cause significant errors in accessibility measurements. In this article, we propose Areal 2SFCA: a new approach that considers the area of overlap between travel‐time polygons and population geographies. We demonstrate the effectiveness of the Areal 2SFCA method using a case study that compares the Enhanced Two‐Step Floating Catchment Area (E2SFCA) and Areal E2SFCA for the state of Illinois in the USA using multiple population granularities.

Community Choice Electricity Aggregation and Solar Adoption: Evidence From Illinois

We explore whether municipalities voting on the community choice aggregation (CCA) model of electricity procurement relates to the adoption of small-scale distributed solar in the US state of Illinois. Municipalities that held a referendum for CCA were more likely to have small-scale solar installations compared to those that did not. Among municipalities with solar installations, those that held CCA referendums have lower per capita solar power generation than those without CCA referendums. The impacts of CCA referendums on small-scale solar adoption are mixed and should be combined with other strategies to promote broader solar adoption in the U.S. energy market.

A Practitioner’s Guide to the Illinois Comprehensive Literacy Plan, and Implications for the Advanced, Accelerated, High Potential, and Gifted Literacy Learner

This is the first of a two-part series that will support an understanding of the Illinois Comprehensive Literacy Plan (ICLP) and its use in districts and schools with an asset-based mindset of flexibility and local autonomy. The ICLP was crafted and designed as a core literacy initiative. The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE), with support and input from educators across the state, used the outline and guidelines of Illinois Public Act 103-0402, including directives that support the differentiation of literacy instruction in a no one-size-fits-all philosophy of literacy instruction. After an overview that includes highlights of the ICLP, the instructional focus for this series will be on how the population of advanced, accelerated, high potential, or gifted literacy learners, who are present in all demographics and economic strata, have a home in the ILCP through the Goals, Values, and Seven Competencies of Literacy.

Harnessing Machine Learning to Predict Methadone Overdose Risk: Insights from Illinois's SUDORS Data

Knowledge of decedent characteristics associated with methadone involvement in unintentional drug overdose deaths can help to inform efforts to intervene in these deaths. ML models with existing data, offer a cost-effective means to help create effective interventions. In this study, we aim to develop an optimized ML algorithm for predicting overdose death patterns due to methadone using data from Illinois's State Unintentional Drug Overdose Reporting System (SUDORS). We utilized IL SUDORS 2019-2022 data for training (n = 11931) with selected indicators (n = 28). To address the imbalance in non-methadone-related deaths, we applied the Synthetic Minority Oversampling Technique. Next, we assessed various machine learning models, including logistic regression, support vector machine, random forest, neural network, and ridge regression. Model performance was evaluated using metrics such as accuracy, precision, area under the precision-recall curve (AUPRC), etc. Utilizing separate training (n = 15813), validation (n = 3388), and test (n = 3389) datasets, the Random Forest Model outperforms all other models with 92% accuracy, 91% precision, 93% recall, and 0.97 AUPRC. Notably, these outcomes were achieved using primarily demographic indicators. Through analyzing partial dependence plots, we were able to see how changes in each indicator dynamically influence methadone-related fatalities. This study demonstrates the potential of ML models in identification of methadone involvement in unintentional drug overdose deaths and contributes to the knowledge base for the prevention of these deaths. Leveraging SUDORS data, the Random Forest Model exhibited exceptional performance, highlighting its value for healthcare professionals, prevention and harm reduction specialists, and policymakers.

Deep learning hybrid models with multivariate variational mode decomposition for estimating daily solar radiation

Solar energy is one of the renewable and clean energy sources. Accurate solar radiation (SR) estimates are therefore needed in solar energy applications. Firstly, two deep learning models, including gated recurrent unit (GRU) and long short-term memory (LSTM), were developed in this study. Next, a data pre-processing technique named multivariate variational mode decomposition (MVMD) was used to construct the MVMD-GRU and MVMD-LSTM hybrid models. To better test the performance of proposed simple and hybrid models, four stations located in the Illinois State of the USA (i.e., Dixon Springs, Fairfield, Rend Lake, and Carbondale) were considered as the study sites. Whole the simple and hybrid models were established under two different strategies, i.e., local and external. In the local strategy, SR of each location was estimated using the minimum and maximum air temperatures from the same station. While, minimum and maximum air temperatures as well as SR data from the nearby station were utilized in external strategy to estimate SR time series of any target site. Root mean square error (RMSE), mean absolute error (MAE), and coefficient of determination (R2) metrics were used when evaluating the models performances. The overall results revealed that the proposed MVMD-GRU and MVMD-LSTM hybrid models illustrated better SR estimates compared to the simple GRU and LSTM in both the local and external strategies. The values of error metrics obtained for the superior hybrid models (i.e., MVMD-LSTM) during the testing period were as: RMSE = 2.532 MJ/m2.day, MAE = 1.921 MJ/m2.day, R2 = 0.916 at Dixon Springs; RMSE = 2.476 MJ/m2.day, MAE = 1.878 MJ/m2.day, R2 = 0.921 at Fairfield; RMSE = 2.359 MJ/m2.day, MAE = 1.780 MJ/m2.day, R2 = 0.924 at Rend Lake; RMSE = 2.576 MJ/m2.day, MAE = 1.941 MJ/m2.day, R2 = 0.914 at Carbondale. Therefore, the coupled models proposed in this study can be possibly recommended as suitable alternatives to the simple deep learning models with a reliable precision in estimating SR time series.

Assessing Illinois companion animal veterinarians' antimicrobial prescription practices and the factors that influence their decisions when treating bacterial infections in dogs and cats.

Judicious antimicrobial use in companion animal practice is critical for maintaining the effectiveness of antimicrobial agents against bacterial infections and reducing the selection of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria. This study aimed to provide insights into companion animal veterinarians' antimicrobial treatment recommendations for common bacterial infections in dogs and cats and describe the factors influencing their prescription choices. An online survey using QualtricsXM® software was administered between September and November 2022 to companion animal veterinarians who were Illinois State Veterinary Medical Association members. Descriptive and text analyses were conducted to assess the participants' responses. A total of 78 surveys were included in the analysis. Skin infections were ranked as the most common bacterial infections for which veterinarians prescribed antimicrobial agents, followed by ear, urinary tract, respiratory, and enteric infections. The severity of clinical symptoms and the results of bacterial culture and susceptibility tests were the most influential factors for veterinarians when making antimicrobial prescription choices. Veterinarians were aware of the current antimicrobial prescription guideline recommendations when prescribing antimicrobials empirically to nine hypothetical scenarios of bacterial infections. According to the results of the text analysis that assessed veterinarians' responses to an open-ended question, regarding their challenges when prescribing antimicrobial agents, the pairwise correlation of word frequencies within each response showed the highest correlations between the words 'owner' and 'compliance', 'administration' and 'route', 'cost' and 'culture', and 'patients' and 'acceptance'. The study results can support animal health stakeholders in the development of antimicrobial stewardship programmes to promote appropriate antimicrobial use and limit the emergence of antimicrobial resistance.

The Association of Medical Cannabis Use with Pain Levels and Opioid Use in Illinois’ Opioid Alternative Pilot Program

Objective The state of Illinois’ Opioid Alternative Pilot Program (OAPP) is the first and only official harm-reduction program in the US to address the opioid crisis via facilitation of safe and legal access to medical cannabis. This study evaluates the association of medical cannabis use with pain level and frequency of opioid use in the first cohort of OAPP participants in 2019. Methods A survey was sent OAPP enrollees between February and July 2019. Cannabis users (n = 626) were compared to non-users (n = 234) to determine whether there was an association between cannabis use and self-reported (a) pain level and (b) frequency of opioid use. Backward stepwise regression models were used. Results A total of 860 participants was included in the analysis. Overall, 75% of the study sample reported pain as their primary medical symptom, and 67% of cannabis users reported having a disability. The mean difference in pain level between cannabis users and non-users was 4.5 units (on a 100-point scale) higher among cannabis users than non-users (p = 0.03); and cannabis use was statistically associated with pain level. High-frequency opioid users had lower odds of reporting cannabis use within the past year than low/no opioid users. Conclusions Although there was a statistical association between cannabis use and pain, the difference of 4.5 points in pain level between users and non-users was too small to reflect a clinically meaningful relative difference. This study may provide useful information to providers and clinicians about how the OAPP and similar programs may reduce opioid use and improve health outcomes.

Anthropogenic features are the most important drivers of striped skunk (Mephitis mephitis) space use in a human-dominated Midwestern landscape

Striped skunks (Mephitis mephitis) are widespread generalist mesocarnivores that occur in a variety of habitats and are often associated with anthropogenic environments. They are also highly persecuted by humans, however, due to their noxious smell and propensity to carry disease. Consequently, the species is relatively understudied and there is still much unknown about the factors that affect their occurrences. To determine the probability of use patterns of striped skunks at the local (within 100 m) and landscape (within 1 km) scales, we deployed 46 and 54 motion-activated cameras between Dec 2021–Jun 2022 and Nov 2022–May 2023, respectively, across sites throughout the state of Illinois. We used an a priori, hypothesis-based approach to model striped skunk occupancy. The best local-scale probability of use model included road density and urban edge (w = 0.79), suggesting an avoidance of roads and selection for the interfaces of urban environments by skunks. The best model at the landscape scale included the interaction of housing density and coyote (Canis latrans) relative abundance (w = 0.31), describing a spatial niche differentiation among coyotes and skunks in urban settings compared to rural environments. Overall, our results suggest the primary drivers of striped skunk use in Illinois are anthropogenic features, but there exists a nuanced relationship, confirming the species’ designation as synanthropic misanthrope. Meanwhile, humans may mediate shifts in space-use patterns among sympatric mesocarnivores due to an expansion and divergence of ecological niches, resulting in reduced spatial overlap and competitive pressures among species.

Change in Nutrition and Physical Activity Practices in Early Childcare and Education Settings in Illinois During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

For many young children, early childcare and education (ECE) programs are the only source of nutritious meals and physical activity (PA); however, the COVID-19 pandemic led to program closures, restrictions, and changed practices. To examine changes in nutrition and PA-related best practices in ECE settings in Illinois from 2019, just prior to the pandemic, as compared to 2022. We also examined how changes over time varied by program type (ie, centers vs homes), Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) status, and/or Head Start/Early Head Start status. The study design is a repeated cross-sectional survey administered in December 2019 and October 2022. State of Illinois. A total of 888 and 1162 ECE providers completed initial and follow-up surveys, respectively. NA. Provider report of meeting 14 nutrition and 9 PA-related best practices. Overall, 9 nutrition-related best practices were maintained and 5 declined over time. Centers, CACFP, and Head Start providers reported significant declines in meeting nutrition-related practices over time. A total of 8 PA-related best practices were maintained and 1 declined over time. Centers reported a significant decline in 5 of the PA-related best practices over time, and these declines were significantly different than in homes over time. Similarly, Head Start programs reported a decline in 4 PA-related best practices over time, and the change was significantly different from non-Head Start programs in 3 of the 4 practices. The findings of this study should be considered a new baseline for ECE nutrition and PA-related best practices in Illinois and should serve as a wake-up call for advocates nationwide with regard to the provision of nutrition and PA-related best practices in centers and by CACFP and Head Start providers postpandemic.

Accessibility of Naloxone in Pharmacies Registered Under the Illinois Standing Order.

To expand access to naloxone, the state of Illinois implemented a standing order allowing registered pharmacies to dispense the drug without an individual prescription. To participate under the standing order, pharmacies were required to opt in through a formal registration process. In our study we aimed to evaluate the availability and price of naloxone at registered pharmacies. This was a prospective, de-identified, cross-sectional telephone survey. Trained interviewers posed as potential customers and used a standardized script to determine the availability of naloxone between February-December, 2019. The primary outcome was defined as a pharmacy indicating it carried naloxone, currently had naloxone in stock, and was able to dispense it without an individual prescription. Of 948 registered pharmacies, 886 (93.5%) were successfully contacted. Of those, 792 (83.4%) carried naloxone, 659 (74.4%) had naloxone in stock, and 472 (53.3%) allowed purchase without a prescription. Naloxone nasal spray (86.4%) was the formulation most commonly stocked. Chain pharmacies were more likely to carry naloxone (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 3.16, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.97-5.01, P < 0.01) and have naloxone in stock (aOR 2.72, 95% CI 1.76-4.20, P < 0.01), but no more likely to dispense it without a prescription. Pharmacies in higher population areas (aOR 0.99, 95% CI 0.99-0.99, P < 0.05) and rural areas adjacent to metropolitan areas (aOR 0.5, 95% CI 025-0.98, P < 0.05) were less likely to have naloxone available without a prescription. Associations of naloxone availability based on other urbanicity designations, overdose count, and overdose rate were not significant. Among pharmacies in Illinois that formally registered to dispense naloxone without a prescription, the availability of naloxone remains limited. Additional interventions may be needed to maximize the potential impact of a statewide standing order.

Oral cancer incidence rate is associated with access to dental care: City and statewide analyses.

Access to dental care may affect diagnosis of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). We tested whether the incidence rate of OSCC is higher in regions with less dental care access in the city of Chicago and state of Illinois. Ecological cohort. Population, outpatients, and inpatients. We extracted 5-year averages of the state-wide county-level and city-level OSCC incidence rates from 2015 to 2019 from the Illinois Department of Public Health. Dental care access information was also collected for each county for the same period, as well as the percentage of people that had ≥1 visit to a dentist in the previous year in Chicago. Multivariate Poisson regression was used to investigate the relationship between county-level access to dental care (and city-level dentist visits) and OSCC incidence rate, controlling for confounders, with additional flexible semiparametric models for confirmatory sensitivity analysis. In Illinois, higher 5-year incidence rate of OSCC was significantly associated with low access to dental care by county (IRR = 0.96, 95% CI 0.91, 0.98). Southern/southwestern counties had higher incidence rates of OSCC (15.5%-28.4%) and the lowest rates of dental care access (47.5%-69.2%) compared to northern counties (10.3%-15% and 55.4%-80.6%, respectively). In Chicago, people with more dentist visits had a reduced chance of being diagnosed with OSCC (IRR = 0.97, 95% CI 0.91, 0.99), consistent with state-wide analyses. OSCC incidence rate is closely associated with poor local dental healthcare access in a major state and urban city. Increasing dental access could improve cancer outcomes via improved oral health and earlier detection.

Assessing and comparing disease prevention knowledge, attitudes, and practices among veterinarians in Illinois, United States of America

Veterinarians play an essential role in safeguarding and promoting animal and human health by timely reporting of notifiable diseases to animal and public health agencies and by educating animal owners on effective disease prevention measures. Moreover, clinical veterinarians can prevent the transmission and spread of zoonotic diseases by adopting effective biosecurity practices in their clinics.An online questionnaire was administered between October and November 2021 to veterinarians registered with the Illinois State Veterinary Medical Association. Veterinarians were surveyed on their disease risk perception, biosecurity practices, and disease reporting knowledge. In total, 104 veterinarians (64 % females and 46 % males) completed the questionnaire, of whom 88 % were veterinarians working in clinical practice (88 % companion animals and 12 % bovine or swine), while 12 % were employed in non-clinical settings. The disease-reporting knowledge score was higher for veterinarians with biosecurity training (IRR: 1.35; 95 % CI: 1.47–1.75). Compared to large animal veterinarians, companion animal veterinarians had lower odds of having biosecurity training (OR=0.68; 95 % CI=0.02–0.28) and were less familiar with current biosecurity guidelines (OR=0.12; 95 % CI = 0.03–0.51). Veterinarians familiar with biosecurity guidelines had a higher probability (OR=4.4; 95 % CI: 1.21–16.28) of perceiving biosecurity practices as practical while working with animals. Conversely, veterinarians who perceived that they could transmit diseases to animals had lower odds (OR: 0.42; 95 % CI: 0.20–0.91) of wearing protective clothing while dealing with confirmed cases of zoonotic diseases.Based on our study results, a gap in disease-reporting knowledge was identified among companion animal veterinarians. Biosecurity training improved the disease-reporting knowledge of veterinarians, suggesting that providing continuing education for veterinarians would be beneficial to disease reporting. A disconnect between disease risk perception and biosecurity practices was identified and further studies are needed to understand this discrepancy to design effective education programs.

Targeted Tick-Borne Disease Recognition: Assessing Risk for Improved Public Health.

Tick-borne diseases (TBDs) pose a rapidly growing threat to public health. The incidence of TBDs is on the rise, necessitating a comprehensive understanding of the risk factors beyond demographic considerations. This brief report combines a preliminary review of the literature with geographical case mapping to identify the various factors influencing TBD risk. The report highlights the vulnerability of outdoor workers, the importance of outdoor activities, and the role of education in adopting preventive behaviors. Pet ownership and interactions with animals are also associated with an increased risk. The state of Illinois is used as a case study for this report, revealing regional variations in TBD incidence, and linking them to agricultural practices, forested areas, and park accessibility. These findings inform recommendations for targeted prevention strategies, emphasizing the need for detailed geographical data to enhance public health efforts in curbing TBD incidence and risk.

Systematic Approach to Evaluate the State of Illinois’ Preparedness for Smart Mobility

Connected, automated, shared, and electric (CASE) technologies are shaping Mobility 4.0—a connected, digitized, multimodal, and autonomous system of systems that is challenging past and existing strategic transportation planning practices at state and local levels. A systematic approach is presented to aid transportation agencies in their planning needs to evaluate preparedness for smart mobility. Guided by a set of online surveys, interviews, and workshops conducted among different stakeholders, this paper identifies strengths and opportunities to leverage the state’s public, private, and academic sector resources to prepare agencies in realizing the potential opportunities of Mobility 4.0 technologies, while avoiding possible pitfalls in the process. Seven smart mobility pillars were identified and ranked through a balanced scorecard analysis in this study for Illinois—namely (in decreasing order of importance), alternative fuels, scaling intelligent transportation systems, connected and automated (CA) freight, farm automation, CA logistics, insurance, and urban mobility. Tactical focus areas were also identified for each pillar and prioritized with suggested leads and stakeholders to champion the CASE directives and opportunities. Near-term actions were also suggested that included establishing a central structure for Illinois’ CASE program, enriching the knowledge base and experience, preparing the transportation infrastructure, partnerships with external stakeholders, and expansion of laws, regulations, and policies that will help administer and grow CASE technology deployment and integration.

Nutritional Science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), the land-grant university for the State of Illinois, was founded in 1865, and education in nutrition was recorded as early as 1874. Herein, the contributions of the UIUC to research and graduate training in the field of nutrition are highlighted. Over the past 150 years, faculty members from many academic units have provided foundational nutrition research, including identifying the last essential amino acid, threonine, and establishing chemically defined amino acid diets for chicks, rats, dogs, and cats that led to establishing amino acid requirements for these species. Research on the adverse health effects of trans fatty acids supported their removal from the food system. UIUC has led in the area of functional foods for health, including plant bioactives, soy, and fiber. More recently, UIUC faculty have evaluated the interactions between dietary components and neurocognitive, microbiome, and health outcomes, including cancer. In 2020, the cross-campus Personalized Nutrition Initiative was launched to coordinate interdisciplinary research. The Division of Nutritional Sciences was established in 1968 as one of the country’s first interdisciplinary graduate training programs. The Division of Nutritional Sciences program has conferred over 580 degrees and has implemented innovations in graduate education, many supported by federal training grants and endowed awards and programs.

Estimated public health impact of concurrent mask mandate and vaccinate-or-test requirement in Illinois, October to December 2021

BackgroundFacing a surge of COVID-19 cases in late August 2021, the U.S. state of Illinois re-enacted its COVID-19 mask mandate for the general public and issued a requirement for workers in certain professions to be vaccinated against COVID-19 or undergo weekly testing. The mask mandate required any individual, regardless of their vaccination status, to wear a well-fitting mask in an indoor setting.MethodsWe used Illinois Department of Public Health’s COVID-19 confirmed case and vaccination data and investigated scenarios where masking and vaccination would have been reduced to mimic what would have happened had the mask mandate or vaccine requirement not been put in place. The study examined a range of potential reductions in masking and vaccination mimicking potential scenarios had the mask mandate or vaccine requirement not been enacted. We estimated COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations averted by changes in masking and vaccination during the period covering October 20 to December 20, 2021.ResultsWe find that the announcement and implementation of a mask mandate are likely to correlate with a strong protective effect at reducing COVID-19 burden and the announcement of a vaccinate-or-test requirement among frontline professionals is likely to correlate with a more modest protective effect at reducing COVID-19 burden. In our most conservative scenario, we estimated that from the period of October 20 to December 20, 2021, the mask mandate likely prevented approximately 58,000 cases and 1,175 hospitalizations, while the vaccinate-or-test requirement may have prevented at most approximately 24,000 cases and 475 hospitalizations.ConclusionOur results indicate that mask mandates and vaccine-or-test requirements are vital in mitigating the burden of COVID-19 during surges of the virus.

Supporting an Inclusive and Equitable Classroom: Student Perspectives on a Textbook Affordability Initiative

abstract: As academic librarians become aware of the challenges textbook expenses pose to student success, they have increased efforts to provide free access to required course materials. Librarians at Illinois State University initiated a program to license course-assigned e-books, surveying participating students and faculty regarding their perspectives on textbook affordability and their experiences with the provided e-books. Student responses were overwhelmingly positive, and they identified several ways the e-books enhanced their experience in the course. The findings suggest that library-provided course materials contribute to students’ engagement as learners and their academic success within courses.

Prediction of evapotranspiration variance in the Budyko framework with the incorporation of soil storage and runoff

Water availability needs to be accurately assessed to understand and effectively manage hydrologic environments. However, the estimation of evapotranspiration (ET) is prone to errors due to the complex interactions that occur between the atmosphere, the Earth's surface, and vegetation cover. This paper proposes a novel approach for analyzing the sources of inaccuracy in estimating the annual ET using the Budyko framework (BF), particularly temporal variability in precipitation (P), potential evapotranspiration (EP), runoff (R), and the change in soil storage (ΔS). Error decomposition is employed to determine the individual contributions of P, R, EP, and ΔS to the ET error variance at 12 locations in the state of Illinois using a dataset covering a 22-year period. To the best of our knowledge, this study represents the first BF-based investigation that considers R in the error decomposition of the predicted ET variance. The ET error variance increases with the variance in the P and R in Illinois and decreases with the covariance between these two variables. In addition, when accounting for ΔS in the BF, the scenario in which ΔS affects the total available water (i.e., P) is reliable, with a low prediction error and a 13.87 % lower root mean square error compared with the scenario in which the effect of ΔS is negligible. We thus recommend the inclusion of ΔS and R as key variables in the BF to improve water budget estimations.