Browsing by Author "Arnold, Susan"

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    A Comprehensive Summary of Services and Resources Provided by Librarians in Support of CODA Accredited Predoctoral (DDS/DMD) Dental Education Programs in the United States and Canada
    (2017) Stellrecht, Elizabeth; McGowan, Richard; Lubker, Irene; Schvaneveldt, Nena; Arnold, Susan; Cortez, Elisa; Davis, Rebecca; Kronenfeld, Michael; Theis-Mahon, Nicole
    Many academic dental institutions have library services and librarians available to their constituents, but often a lack of awareness prevents these constituents from taking full advantage of these services. The aim of this study was to summarize the library services and resources that support dental education and research. This summary will demonstrate trends in dental librarianship as well as services and resources that can be adopted to serve the needs of dental education programs. To date, there has not been a comprehensive summary of these services. Methods: An environmental scan was carried out to take inventory of services that dental librarians provide. The study population consisted of librarians who work in dental libraries or college/university libraries that serve dental programs. The librarians surveyed were from institutions with a Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA)-accredited DMD/DDS program. Currently, there are 76 such programs in the U.S. and Canada. A questionnaire was distributed via email to the identified librarians. Follow-up phone interviews were conducted when necessary. Results: The results show that the majority of dental programs have a dedicated librarian or library liaison providing clinical, educational, and research support through a variety of approaches. Examples include evidence based dentistry instruction, research and grant support, collaboration on systematic reviews, service on curriculum committees, and involvement in the accreditation process. Conclusion: Librarians perform a variety of services that enhance dental education and research. Librarians provide beneficial services and resources for faculty, staff, and students. Increasing awareness and utilization of available services and resources in the dental community can facilitate research and complement dental education. The results of this survey demonstrate the many ways librarians provide support to their constituents. The service models cited here can be adapted in dental schools across North America.
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    Developing wipe sampling strategy guidance for assessing environmental contamination of antineoplastic drugs
    (SAGE, 2022-08) Arnold, Susan; Jeronimo, Matthew; Astrakianakis, George; Kunz, Miranda; Petersen, Ashley; Chambers, Carole; Malard Johnson, Darcy; Zimdars, Emily; Davies, Hugh W
    Surveillance for environmental contamination of antineoplastic drugs has been recommended by authoritative bodies such as the United States Pharmacopeia and the National Association of Pharmacy Regulatory Authorities. Clear guidance is needed on how to develop sampling strategies that align with surveillance objectives efficiently and effectively. We con- ducted a series of simulations using previously collected surveillance data from nine cancer treatment centers to evaluate different sampling strategies. We evaluated the impact of sampling 2, 5, 10, or 20 surfaces, at monthly, quarterly, semi- annual, and annual frequencies, while employing either a random or sentinel surface selection strategy to assess contam- ination by a single antineoplastic drug (AD) or by a panel of three ADs. We applied two different benchmarks: a binary benchmark of above or below the limit of detection and AD-specific hygienic guidance values, based on 90th percentile values as quantitative benchmarks. The use of sentinel surfaces to evaluate a three-drug panel relative to 90th percentile hygienic guidance values (HGVs) resulted in the most efficient and effective surveillance strategy.
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    Immunotherapy yields breed-specific worst survival outcomes among three investigated therapies in French bulldogs with high-grade glioma, November 12, 2024
    (2024) Arnold, Susan; Taylor, Amanda; Hansen, Katherine; Low, Walter; Pluhar, G. Elizabeth
    French bulldogs are one of the most popular dog breeds in the United States and are also among breeds with the highest risk for developing high-grade glioma (HGG). With limited treatment options and high translational value for studying canine HGG to advance understanding of human glioblastoma (GB), a variety of novel treatment options have been investigated. In other forms of cancer, immunotherapy has shown promising results, garnering interest in the treatment of HGG. Yet, when an immunotherapy-based clinical trial was conducted, a marked survival disparity in French bulldog patients compared to other breeds was observed. This retrospective, multi-institutional study was conducted to examine survival outcomes in immunotherapy-treated French bulldogs compared to closely related breeds, and to French bulldogs treated with several other treatment modalities. French bulldogs treated with immunotherapy experienced significantly shorter overall survival (OS) than Boxers and Boston terriers (132 vs. 221 days, respectively). French bulldogs treated with immunotherapy had no significant difference in OS compared to French bulldogs treated palliatively, whereas dogs treated with either a novel therapy involving sonodynamic therapy or stereotactic radiation therapy had significantly longer OS. This study provides evidence for a French bulldog-specific, immunotherapy-resistant form of HGG, suggesting that the breed harbors key molecular differences affecting the tumor and tumor-immune microenvironment and subsequent poor response to treatment.
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    N95 filtering facepiece respirator fit test performance for the general population attending Minnesota State Fair 2021 and 2022
    (2024-10-07) Bagheri Hosseinabadi, Majid; Yu, Minji; Petersen, Ashley; Griffin, Linsey; Durfee, William; Arnold, Susan; arnol353@umn.edu; Arnold, Susan; Division of Environmental Health Sciences, University of Minnesota
    This study aimed to investigate the performance of the general population passing quantitative fit tests for one type of N95 respirator (3M Aura Respirator 9205+) and consider the role of gender, age, race/ethnicity, and facial hair in the fit testing pass rate. The data was collected using a demographic questionnaire from the general population attending the Minnesota state fair 2021 and 2022. Demographic information included age (in years), gender, race/ethnicity, and facial hair (yes/no and type). Each participant also performed quantitative fit testing of N95 respirators (3M Aura Respirator 9205+) using a TSI PortaCount Pro+ model 8038. Fit testing was conducted according to the quantitative OSHA 29 CFR 1910.134 standard protocol with a criterion of ≥100 for pass level fit factor.
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    Survival data from glioma-bearing French bulldogs treated with immunotherapy, stereotactic radiation therapy, sonodynamic therapy, and palliative care
    (2024-11-21) Arnold, Susan; Taylor, Amanda; Hansen, Katherine; Agarwal, Vijay; Low, Walter; Pluhar, G. Elizabeth; saarnold@umn.edu; Arnold, Susan; University of Minnesota Canine Brain Tumor Program
    This retrospective, multi-institutional study was conducted to examine survival outcomes in immunotherapy-treated French bulldogs compared to closely related breeds, and to French bulldogs treated with several other treatment modalities. French bulldogs treated with immunotherapy experienced significantly shorter overall survival (OS) than boxers and Boston terriers (132 vs. 221 days, respectively). French bulldogs treated with immunotherapy had no significant difference in OS compared to French bulldogs treated palliatively, whereas dogs treated with either a novel therapy involving sonodynamic therapy or stereotactic radiation therapy had significantly longer OS. This study provides evidence for an immunotherapy-resistant form of HGG in French bulldogs, suggesting that the breed harbors key molecular differences affecting the tumor and tumor-immune microenvironment and subsequent poor response to treatment.
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    The Use of Heuristics and Exposure Models in Improving Exposure Judgment Accuracy
    (2015-09) Arnold, Susan
    Exposure assessments provide the foundation for determining whether occupational and environmental exposure risks are efficiently and effectively managed. The American Industrial Hygiene Association’s (AIHA) strategy is well-known and provides a simple yet elegant framework for exposure assessments. Judgments are made by identifying the exposure control category in which the 95th percentile of the exposure distribution is most likely located for a given job or task Acceptability is commonly evaluated by comparing the true group 95th percentile to the occupational exposure limit (OEL), and based on this comparison the exposure is classified into one of four categories: “highly-controlled”, “well controlled”, “controlled”, or “poorly controlled”. Qualitative assessments, made without personal exposure data and quantitative exposure assessments are performed after a thorough review of available information and data related to the workforce, jobs, materials, worker interviews, exposure agents, exposure limits, work practices, engineering controls and protective equipment. Recent studies suggest that when exposure assessments are conducted in an ad hoc manner using subjective inputs, the accuracy of these assessments is low; in many cases no more accurate than random chance. Moreover, they tend to underestimate the true exposure. Thus, there is an urgent need to improve the accuracy of these assessments. This research was focused on investigating exposure assessment inputs that improve exposure judgment accuracy when assessments are conducted without personal exposure data. Specifically, the use of heuristics and exposure models were investigated. A Study was conducted to assess the impact of objective inputs used in a checklist format on improving exposure judgment accuracy by practicing and novice industrial hygienists. The results indicated exposure judgment accuracy is significantly higher, relative to random chance and conventional approaches when guided by the checklist tool developed for this research. Two studies were conducted to systematically evaluate two widely used exposure models under highly controlled and real world conditions. This was an important first step in evaluating the potential utility of these models in improving exposure judgment accuracy. The results for the majority of the tests conducted met the performance criteria, suggesting the models will be useful for generating reasonably accurate exposure estimates.