Digital Commons Network^™

A Workflow Enabling The Automated Synthesis, Chain-End Degradation, And Rapid Mass Spectrometry Analysis For Molecular Information Storage In Sequence-Defined Oligourethanes, Julia R Shuluk, Christopher D Wight, James R Howard, Mary E King, Sarah R Moor, Rachel J Dehoog, Samuel D Dahlhauser, Livia S Eberlin, Eric V Anslyn

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

The field of molecular information storage has recently expanded to include abiotic sequence-defined polymers. While robust methods have been developed, there is a current bottleneck in the throughput of this work as information density is increased. Herein, we introduce an automated workflow in which a commercial peptide synthesizer composed of a single XYZ liquid-handling robot was adapted to both synthesize and sequence sequence-defined oligourethanes. Our sequencing method was improved to cut down the number of samples required for each oligomer from 13 to one. Additionally, we introduce the use of desorption electrospray ionization mass spectrometry as our analysis method for …

Enhancing Interprofessional Staff Competence In Culturally Sensitive Patient Education: A Web-Based Health Literacy Toolkit For Brazilian Immigrants In Florida, Faila Reis Pereira Dos Santos

Student Scholarly Projects

Practice Problem: Brazilian immigrants in Florida face cultural and language barriers that hinder their ability to understand and engage with healthcare services. Additionally, healthcare providers often lack the cultural competency needed to deliver effective patient education, contributing to poor health literacy within this population.

PICOT: The PICOT question that guided this project was: For healthcare interprofessional staff supporting Brazilian immigrants in Florida (P), how does the development of a web-based health literacy toolkit (I), compared to standard educational methods (C), influence their competency in delivering culturally sensitive patient education (O)?

Evidence: Research demonstrates that culturally tailored health literacy interventions improve …

Lived Experiences Of Ukrainian Nursing Students In The Us: A Transcendental Phenomenological Study, Katherine E. Ferrell

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological was to explore the lived experiences of Ukrainian prelicensure nursing students at a midwestern nursing program. The theory guiding this study was Albert Bandura’s social learning theory as it explains how people learn through observing, imitating, and modeling. The second theory guiding this study was Madeleine Leininger’s transcultural nursing theory as it identifies that nursing faculty must understand and have knowledge of different cultures to provide meaningful care and education to their students. This study obtained IRB approval before beginning recruitment of 10 Ukrainian nursing students from a private, faith-based university in the midwestern …

The Health Status Of Black Asian American Communities: A Qualitative Study On Black Asian Americans Under Structural Racism, Regina Lee Bryant

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this ethnographic study was to describe various disparities and obstacles related to health justice, culture, community, identity, resilience, resistance, and well-being of the Black Asian American populations under structural racism within the United States. Data was collected through in-depth interviews, participant observation, and thematic analysis in community settings, including online spaces like the Korean Black Club and the Blasian Facebook groups. These platforms provided insight into shared cultural dynamics and the challenges of navigating dual identities amidst systemic racism. The findings illuminated how structural racism impacted social determinants of health, including economic stability and cultural validation. The …

Bridging The Gaps In Nutritional Development: A Literature Review On Toddler Nutrition Interventions, Stephanie L. Branstine

Master of Nutrition and Dietetics

Optimal nutrition in early childhood is essential for achievement of developmental milestones all of which encompass established benchmarks of physical, emotional, and cognitive growth. The field of early childhood nutrition is dedicated to devising strategies that ensure young children receive the necessary nutrients for their ideal development. Despite advancements in areas such as the availability of diverse food options on the market, educational programs for young parents, and nutrition-focused school initiatives, nutritional deficiencies remain a significant challenge. These deficiencies hinder the ability of toddlers to thrive both physically and mentally, impacting their overall growth and developmental potential.

Recent research has …

Consanguinity: The Innocent Culprit In Autism Severity, Watfa Al-Mamari, Ahmed B. Idris, Najat Jalees, Saquib, Muna Al-Jabri, Halima Al-Shehhi, Maha Mohammed, Abeer Alsayegh

Sultan Qaboos University Medical Journal

Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the relationship between consanguinity and the severity of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), a neurodevelopmental condition influenced by both genetic and environmental factors. Methods: This retrospective study, conducted at the Genetic & Developmental Medicine Clinic at Sultan Qaboos University Hospital (SQUH), Muscat, Oman, examined the records of 139 children aged 1.5 to 14 years who were diagnosed with ASD between June 2011 and May 2024. The study analysed the correlation between consanguinity, homozygosity and ASD severity. Results: Of the 139 cases evaluated, 74.1% were male, with an average age of diagnosis of …

Cross-Cultural Comparison Of Mother-Child Interactions During Shared Reading, Yingshan Huang, Brenda L. Beverly, Victoria Henbest

Victoria S. Henbest Publications

The quantity and quality of maternal interactive behaviours during shared reading were compared for mothers from China and mothers from the US.Ten Chinese mothers from Fuzhou City in Fujian Province, China and 10 mothers from four US states video-recorded themselves reading two storybooks, one selected by the families and one by investigators, to their typically developing 4-year-olds. Videotapes were transcribed in Mandarin and English, respectively, and analysed using investigator-developed codes. Chinese mothers had a higher percentage of extra-textual talk than US mothers and attention to print (i.e. English letters or Chinese characters) was uncommon among mothers in both groups. Chinese …

Improving Dietary Supplement Information Retrieval: Development Of A Retrieval-Augmented Generation System With Large Language Models, Yu Hou, Jeffrey R Bishop, Hongfang Liu, Rui Zhang

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Dietary supplements (DSs) are widely used to improve health and nutrition, but challenges related to misinformation, safety, and efficacy persist due to less stringent regulations compared with pharmaceuticals. Accurate and reliable DS information is critical for both consumers and health care providers to make informed decisions.

Objective: This study aimed to enhance DS-related question answering by integrating an advanced retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) system with the integrated Dietary Supplement Knowledgebase 2.0 (iDISK2.0), a dietary supplement knowledge base, to improve accuracy and reliability.

Methods: We developed iDISK2.0 by integrating updated data from authoritative sources, including the Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database, the …

Reliability And Validity Of Thai Version Genital Appearance Satisfaction (Gas) Questionnaire, Suvit Bunyavejchevin, Thanawat Sangnucktham, Purim Ruanphoo

Chulalongkorn Medical Journal

Background: GAS questionnaire is constructed to measure feelings towards women’ own genitals in a broader spectrum. Thai language GAS questionnaire will be useful for clinical and research purpose.

Objectives: The aim of this study was study the reliability and validate the Thai version GAS questionnaire.

Materials and methods: Ninety Thai women attending the gynecologic outpatient clinic at King Chulalongkorn Memorial hospital were recruited between July 2017 to June 2018 in this study. Ten participants dropped out because they did not answer the second questionnaire. The original English-version of GAS questionnaire was translated into Thai version and backward translated …

Aiding Counseling Services To Increase Cultural Knowledge About Black And Lgbtq+ Populations, Brianna L. Walden

Public Health Capstone Projects

OBJECTIVES: The capstone project I would like to undertake is the creation of a quality improvement plan for the counseling and social work department of The Children’s Home to help them expand to reach vulnerable populations. A quality improvement plan, along with graphics reflecting the current data about mental health, will be delivered to The Children’s Home which they will be able to use in future projects and grant applications.

METHODS: The methods and research will be based on the 2024 Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA) and Community Counseling Needs Assessment conducted by The Children’s Home in August 2024 to …

A Preventionist Framework For Reducing Drowning: A Case For Parenting Interventions, Miriam G. Clark, Linda Quan, Patricia Chamberlain

International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education

Drowning is preventable but still claims the lives of over 300,000 people worldwide every year. The purpose of this theoretical review paper is threefold: 1) discuss the theoretical framework for a multi-faceted system of prevention; 2) discuss the importance of parenting, a crucial area where current drowning prevention research is falling short in this multi-faceted approach; and 3) discuss how evidence-based practices from psychosocial parenting research could be used to create drowning prevention interventions that support parents to implement water safety practices in their families. Practical ideas for integrating psychosocial parent interventions with drowning prevention knowledge are discussed. Such interventions …

Exploring Health Equity With Culturally Specific Providers Of Permanent Supportive Housing, Judith Solomon

University Honors Theses

Chronic homelessness is an important public health issue. Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) is a promising opportunity for transitioning people experiencing homelessness into housing, however there remain unaddressed racial inequities in service provision and outcomes. The aim of this study is to better understand the role of culturally specific (CS) providers of PSH in improving health equity. I analyzed interviews with CS PSH providers for themes related to health and healthcare. Providers spoke about the importance of connecting clients to healthcare. Providers stressed the importance of honesty and lived experience, highlighting the strong sense of responsibility to the community. Providers also …

Leveraging Large Language Models For Knowledge-Free Weak Supervision In Clinical Natural Language Processing, Enshuo Hsu, Kirk Roberts

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The performance of deep learning-based natural language processing systems is based on large amounts of labeled training data which, in the clinical domain, are not easily available or affordable. Weak supervision and in-context learning offer partial solutions to this issue, particularly using large language models (LLMs), but their performance still trails traditional supervised methods with moderate amounts of gold-standard data. In particular, inferencing with LLMs is computationally heavy. We propose an approach leveraging fine-tuning LLMs and weak supervision with virtually no domain knowledge that still achieves consistently dominant performance. Using a prompt-based approach, the LLM is used to generate weakly-labeled …

Using Machines To Guide Your Online Shopping Decisions, Daniel Verdi Do Amarante

Osmosis Magazine

I bet you’ve heard the term artificial intelligence in various conversations by now. But do you understand the process of teaching machines to develop abilities that are comparable – sometimes even better – to those of humans? At the University of Richmond, Dr. Park’s lab does just that.

Osmosis Magazine - Fall 2022

Osmosis Magazine

Osmosis is a student read, led, and written publication from the University of Richmond, focusing on all aspects of healthcare and science.

Addressing Health Disparities In Hematologic Malignancies: From Genes To Outreach, Christopher R Flowers, Rachel W Anantha, Veronica Leautaud, Pinkal Desai, Chancellor E Donald, Michelle A T Hildebrandt, Jean L Koff, Rulla M Tamimi, Wendy Cozen, Chijioke Nze, Ari M Melnick

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

This review underscores our shared responsibility to champion multidimensional strategies rooted in basic and translational science, community involvement, and societal responsiveness for a meaningful impact. Unifying themes include the need to enhance collaborative infrastructure to engage laboratory researchers, epidemiologists, data scientists, clinicians, patients, community leaders, and policymakers; patient-level support services; outreach, education, and navigation for patients at the community level; recruitment and retention of underrepresented groups in the healthcare and research workforce; and funding for these efforts.

Crisis Communication About The Maui Wildfires On Tiktok: Content Analysis Of Engagement With Maui Wildfire-Related Posts Over 1 Year, Jim P Stimpson, Aditi Srivastava, Ketan Tamirisa, Joseph KeaweʻAimoku Kaholokula, Alexander N Ortega

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: The August 2023 wildfire in the town of Lāhainā on the island of Maui in Hawai'i caused catastrophic damage, affecting thousands of residents, and killing 102 people. Social media platforms, particularly TikTok, have become essential tools for crisis communication during disasters, providing real-time crisis updates, mobilizing relief efforts, and addressing misinformation. Understanding how disaster-related content is disseminated and engaged with on these platforms can inform strategies for improving emergency communication and community resilience.

OBJECTIVE: Guided by Social-Mediated Crisis Communication theory, this study examined TikTok posts related to the Maui wildfires to assess content themes, public engagement, and the effectiveness …

Improving Effective Communication: A Practice Centered Approach To Language Barriers In Mental Health Care, Cassandra Zhou

NURS 502: Critical Inquiry and Scholarship in Nursing Practice

To move towards equitable mental healthcare practices for non-English speakers, this paper aims to provide a comprehensive review on the current procedures regarding diagnosing and treating non-English speakers to better explore possible recommendations.

Overcoming Language Barriers: Improving Healthcare Equity For Limited English Proficiency Patients, Carolina Suarez-Amador

NURS 502: Critical Inquiry and Scholarship in Nursing Practice

The effective delivery of patient care depends on two main factors: improved cultural competency training and an understanding of language barriers as vital health components. The requirement for language service at hospitals exists by federal law but numerous healthcare facilities are lacking in support, due to hiring unqualified interpreters and missing vital documents in multiple languages, leading to growing disparities in patient care (Diamond et al., 2010). Global trends, combined with growing population migrations have increased the probability for nurses and patients to face dilemmas from language barriers. Nurses shouldn’t have to master every language, but a comprehensive understanding of …

Nursing News & Views - March 2025, Brenda Rocha Rn, Cno

Nursing Newsletters

Nursing News & Views Newsletter - March 2025

Unmonitored Online Exams: Valid Assessment Or Score Inflation?, Daniel G. Lannin, Taylor Flinn, Alexandra Ilie, Dan Ispas

Faculty Publications – Psychology

Background: The validity of unmonitored online exams has raised concerns about academic integrity and grade inflation, especially given the rise of artificial intelligence–powered tools.

Objective: This study evaluates the validity of unmonitored online exams by comparing student performance between two sections of an undergraduate personality psychology course: one section completed an unmonitored online multiple-choice final exam while the other completed an in-person multiple-choice final exam.

Method: A quasi-experimental design was used with two undergraduate personality psychology course sections. Section 1 (Spring 2022, n=153) took an in-person final exam, while Section 2 (Spring 2023, n=160) took an unmonitored online final exam. …

The Learning Crisis In The United States Three Years After Covid-19, Harry Anthony Patrinos, Maciej Jakubowski, Tomasz Gajderowicz

Education Reform Faculty and Graduate Students Publications

The COVID-19 pandemic caused widespread disruptions to education, with school closures affecting over one billion children. These closures, aimed at reducing virus transmission, resulted in significant learning losses, particularly in mathematics and science. Using United States data from TIMSS, this study analyzes the impact of school closure on learning outcomes. The losses amount to 0.36 SD for mathematics and 0.16 SD for science. The declines are similar across grades. The average decline in mathematics performance among U.S. students is substantially greater than the global average. n science, the decline observed among U.S. students does not significantly differ from the global …

The Cross-Sectional Association Between Lifestyle Behaviors And Breast And Cervical Cancer Screening Among Hispanic Women Along The Texas-Mexico Border, Paul Gerardo Yeh, Audrey C Choh, Susan P Fisher-Hoch, Joseph B Mccormick, David R Lairson, Belinda M Reininger

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Objective: Lifestyle behaviors may influence timely cancer screening, but their relationship is unknown among Hispanic women who have low cancer screening rates.

Methods: We used Cameron County Hispanic Cohort data from 2014 to 2022 to evaluate the relationship between lifestyle and compliance with mammography and Papanicolaou (Pap) screening guidelines ("up-to-date") among Hispanic women along the Texas-Mexico border. The 2018 World Cancer Research Fund scoring system characterized cancer-preventive lifestyle adherence. Multivariable logistic regression assessed the association between lifestyle behaviors and mammography and, separately, Pap screening.

Results: Among 385 age-eligible women for mammography and 412 age-eligible women for Pap test screening, up-to-date …

Integrated Mental Health Care In Specialty Clinics For Children With A Diagnosis Of Asthma Or Diabetes: A Mixed Methods Study, Joan P. Totka, Maria Peña, Joshua A. Steinberg, Peter M. Wolfgram

College of Nursing Faculty Research and Publications

Introduction

Using patient-reported outcome measures (PROM) in a shared-space mental health-integrated specialty clinic, we explored the feasibility, acceptance, and experience of youth with asthma and diabetes, their families, and the healthcare team.

Method

Using mixed methods, we examined feasibility, acceptability, and experience of PROM inclusion in caring for youth with asthma (n = 7) and diabetes (n = 11), their families (n = 18), and healthcare providers (n= 13). Completion and receipt of PROM (feasibility), postvisit surveys (acceptance), and structured interviews (experience) between June 2019 and February 2020.

Results

Targeted PROM met feasibility goals (80%) …

The Correlation Between The Amount Of Weight Gain And Physical Activity Levels In Depot Medroxyprogesterone Acetate (Dmpa) Users, Zumroh Hasanah, Desiana Merawati, Raja Mohammed Firhad Raja Azidin, Dessy Amelia, Alifia Candra Puriastuti, Rizqie Putri Novembriani, Nurya Viandika, Putri Nurika Dewi

Indonesian Journal of Research in Physical Education, Sport, and Health

Background: DMPA is a widely used contraceptive in Indonesia due to its accessibility and effectiveness. However, side effects such as weight gain are a concern, with more than 90% of the 600 users in 2022-2023 experiencing them. Objective: This study aimed to examine the correlation between the amount of weight gain and physical activity levels in DMPA users. Methods: This study used a cross-sectional design with consecutive sampling, involving 82 women (aged 19-51 years, average weight 58 kg) selected using the Slovin formula. Data were collected through structured interviews and questionnaires covering demographics, medical history, and physical activity level based …

Development Of A Futsal Sports Curriculum Model Aged 6-8 Years At The Super Junior Club In Malang City, Dwi Novenda, Prisca Widiawati

Indonesian Journal of Research in Physical Education, Sport, and Health

Background: The lack of a structured futsal curriculum for children aged 6-8 years in futsal clubs, especially in Super Junior Club Malang, causes limitations in developing techniques, skills, and long-term athlete development. Objective: This is for developing a futsal curriculum model at the Super Junior Club of Malang City, which is presented as a curriculum for learning. Methods: The research and development model used in the study is to develop a curriculum model. Development research This uses the ADDIE method with steps study as follows: 1) analysis, 2) design, 3) development, 4) implementation, and 5) evaluation. This is done using …

The Synergistic Effects Of Circuit Training And Diet On Weight Loss, Body Fat Percentage, And Bmi In Obese Indonesian Females: A Randomized Controlled Trial, Ali Muthahhari Rahim, Ahmad Nasrulloh

Indonesian Journal of Research in Physical Education, Sport, and Health

Background: Despite the popularity of circuit training and dietary interventions, their combined effects on obese Southeast Asian populations remain underexplored.  Objective: This study aims to examine the effects of circuit training (using free weights and body weight) and dietary interventions (low-calorie diet and intermittent fasting using the OCD method), as well as their interaction, on weight loss, body fat percentage, and body mass index in obese individuals. Methods: This type of research is an experiment using a 2 x 2 factorial design. This experimental study used four groups that received different treatments, namely the provision of circuit training with free …

Wearable Technology For Cardiovascular Performance: A Systematic Review Of Smartwatch Applications In Fitness Training, Moch. Yunus, Nanang Tri Wahyudi, Ronal Surya Aditya, Alifia Candra Puriastuti, Daifallah M. Alrazeeni, Gadis Meinar Sari, Farsya Hidayah Septiananda, Lintang Nirmalasari Gemalochaya Manggolono

Indonesian Journal of Research in Physical Education, Sport, and Health

Background: Wearable technologies such as smartwatches have revolutionized cardiovascular fitness training through real-time monitoring and personalized exercise interventions. However, the effectiveness of smartwatch apps in improving cardiovascular performance still needs to be systematically evaluated.  Objective: This study aims to assess the contribution of smartwatch apps in improving cardiovascular fitness training using a systematic review based on the PRISMA framework. Methods: The research questions were designed using the PICO (Population, Intervention, Comparison, Outcome) model. A literature search was conducted in PubMed, Scopus, Google Scholar, Web of Science, and Crossref, focusing on articles published in 2020-2025 that met the inclusion criteria. Result: …

Families' Experiences Of End-Of-Life Care In An Acute Private Hospital: A Qualitative Study, Rosemary Saunders, Susan Alexander, Julie Andrew, Anne Wilkinson, Karen Gullick, Ashwini Davray, Manonita Ghosh, Karla Seaman, Michelle Gay

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Objectives This study explored bereaved relatives' experiences of end-of-life care (EoL care) in the last 3 days in an acute private hospital in Australia. Methods An interpretative qualitative study was conducted. Semi-structured interviews with 8 bereaved relatives whose family member had died at an acute private hospital shared their experiences of the EoL care during the last 3 days of life. The transcribed interviews were analyzed using inductive thematic analysis. Results Bereaved family members had mixed experiences, and their primary concerns related to the need for improvements in support for the family; communication; and clinicians partnering with families. The need …

Factor Structure And Longitudinal Changes In Bilinguals’ Oral Narratives Production: Role Of Language Exposure, Language-Domain Proficiency, And Transfer, Joseph Hin Yan Lam, Molly Ann Leachman, Cecilia Del Carmen Perez, Amy S. Pratt, Elizabeth D. Peña, Lisa M. Bedore, Ronald B. Gillam

Communicative Disorders and Deaf Education Faculty Publications

This paper examined the interaction between narrative performance, language exposure, and standardized measures of morphosyntax and semantics, in bilingual children tested two times, 1 year apart. We aimed to 1) identify the factor structure of oral narrative measures, and 2) examine the direction and strength of the effects of (i) language exposure and (ii) the relationship between language domains and narrative production. A total of 143 Spanish (L1)-English (L2) bilingual children completed a battery of oral narrative and oral language proficiency assessments in Spanish and English at two time points (kindergarten and Grade 1). Factor analyses yielded an identical two-factor …