Digital Commons Network^™

Fall 2021

Scientia

A Decade of Progress and Success; Speech Language Pathology Program; COVID-19 Long-Hauler Study; Peer Mentors Initiative; Faculty Update; Expert Engagement: Three CSH initiatives further education and scholarship while supporting communities in need; Strategic Command: Business consultant and med tech expert Stephen Sichak helps others face pandemic challenges; Taking Care: A School of Nursing research team plumbs the pandemic experiences of nurses nationwide

Exploring The Relationships Between Emotional Intelligence, Perceived Organizational Support, Job Satisfaction, And Intent To Stay Among Minnesota School Nurses, Kristin K. Coudron

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

School nurses face escalating job demands driven by increasing student health complexity, chronic condition management, and expanding public health responsibilities. Often serving as the sole healthcare professional within a school or district, they work in settings characterized by high autonomy, variable organizational support, and growing concerns about job satisfaction and retention. Limited empirical research has examined how personal and organizational resources jointly relate to school nurses’ intent to remain in practice. Guided by the Job Demands–Resources (JD–R) theory and the National Association of School Nurses School Nursing Practice Framework, this quantitative, correlational, cross-sectional study explored relationships among emotional intelligence, …

Limosilactobacillus Reuteri Promotes Melatonin Release From Human Intestinal Organoids Via 5′Ectonucleotidase Activity, Micah D Forshee, Erika J Nachman, Esha R Shenoy, Heather A Danhof, Ludwig Ermann Lundberg, Stefan Roos, Robert A Britton

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Strains of Limosilactobacillus reuteri have been used to prevent or treat various conditions; however, the mechanisms by which they exert beneficial effects are not completely understood. Infant colic is one example in which L. reuteri DSM 17938 reduces clinical symptoms. While the etiology of colic is unknown, abnormal melatonin levels in infants have been suggested as a possible contributor. L. reuteri DSM 17938 has been shown to produce adenosine from AMP via production of the extracellular enzyme 5′ectonucleotidase (5′NT). Adenosine is a potent signaling molecule that impacts several important aspects of host physiology, including the release of melatonin from the …

Using Randomization To Compare Ai And Expert-Generated Formative Assessment Questions In Medical Education, Akshat Kumar, Katie Stinson, Litao Wang, Elizabeth Nugent, Yongsu Lee, Mark Hormann, Latanya Jones Love, Toufeeq Ahmed Syed

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: AI-generated content is being used across the education spectrum and is beneficial for creating complex multiple-choice questions, such as those used in medical education. However, evaluating AI-generated content is challenging, and existing testing and evaluation methods are falling short. This study uses randomization to compare medical students' performance on and subjective evaluation of AI versus expert-generated questions. We hypothesized that there would be no difference in student performance or subjective evaluation of AI vs expert-generated questions.

Methods: We designed a single-center, randomized study where medical student participants received either one AI- or expert-generated question per day over four weeks. …

Steroid Receptor Coactivator 3-Deficient Regulatory T Cells Eradicate Multiple Solid Tumors In Syngeneic Mouse Models, Nuri Sung, Eunsu Kim, Yosef Gilad, Yuri Park, Adam M Dean, Yan Xia, Jianming Xu, Clifford C Dacso, David M Lonard, Sang Jun Han

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Steroid receptor coactivator 3 (SRC-3) is highly expressed in regulatory T cells (Tregs) and is important for their immunosuppressive activity. Recently, we demonstrated that disrupting SRC-3 expression in Tregs eliminates triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) and prostate cancer in syngeneic animal models by generating an anti-tumor immune microenvironment without inducing immune-related adverse events (irAEs). Further analysis of these mice revealed that SRC-3 knockout (KO) Tregs infiltrated breast tumors and facilitated the infiltration of CD8

Surveillance And Comparative Genomics Of Bacteria From Hospital And Human Reservoirs, Emily E. Benedict

WUSM Theses and Dissertations – All Programs

Bacteria are diverse and adaptable and, consequently, present in a wide variety of environments. They are capable of growing under intense pressures, including those brought on by the human immune system and disinfection strategies. To survive these pressures, bacteria develop resistances. Antimicrobial resistance, which occurs when a microbe is no longer responsive to the antibiotic intended to control it, is one such adaptation that presents an especially serious threat, as it limits treatment options for infections caused by antimicrobial resistant microbes. Similarly, the ability of bacteria to survive in environments subjected to heavy disinfection efforts, such as intensive care units …

Knowledge, Attitudes, And Practices (Kap) Of Parents Regarding The Prevention And Control Of Childhood Iron Deficiency Anemia In Egypt: A Cross-Sectional Study, Omnia Soliman

Theses and Dissertations

Childhood Iron Deficiency Anemia (IDA) remains a major public health challenge in Egypt, where its persistently high and rising prevalence carries substantial consequences for child growth, cognitive development, immunity, and long-term health outcomes. Globally, approximately 40% of children aged 6–59 months are affected by anemia (World Health Organization, 2025), and Egypt mirrors this burden, with national data showing a worsening trend in recent years. In Egypt, national strategies have traditionally focused on biomedical interventions such as iron supplementation and food fortification, while less attention has been directed toward behavioral and household-level determinants, particularly parental knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) related …

Mtorc2-Nav1.2 Signaling Drives Early Hyperexcitability In Alzheimer’S Disease Mouse Model, Nolan M Dvorak, Jeffrey L Noebels

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Hyperexcitability is a biomarker of early-stage Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) and hastens cognitive decline later in its course. Mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling contributes to the slope of this trajectory, as evidenced by early increased brain expression and the rescue of hyperexcitability by genetic deletion of mTOR complex 2 (mTORC2); however, a molecular mechanism directly linking mTOR signaling to membrane hyperexcitability in early-stage AD remains elusive. Here, we show that hyperactive mTOR signaling stimulates the voltage-gated Na+ channel 1.2 (Nav1.2), a previously identified downstream phosphorylation target of mTORC2 and a key regulator of membrane electrogenesis. Augmented Nav1.2 channel function induced …

An Advanced Healthcare System With An Automated Vit Model For Dermoscopic Skin Cancer Identification, Ahed Abugabah, Prashant Kumar Shukla, Suchi Mishra, Abhishek Dwivedi

All Works

Early and reliable diagnosis of skin cancer from dermoscopic images remains challenging due to class imbalance, subtle inter-class variations, lesion boundary ambiguity, and illumination inconsistency, which can degrade the robustness of conventional convolutional neural networks (CNNs). To address these limitations, this study proposes an automated smart healthcare framework for dermoscopic skin cancer diagnosis using an Enhanced Vision Transformer (E-ViT) that improves global-context modeling through self-attention while strengthening fine-grained lesion representation learning. Unlike standard ViT configurations, the proposed architecture integrates multi-scale patch embedding and attention refinement to better capture border irregularities and color–texture heterogeneity that are critical for melanoma discrimination. Furthermore, …

Comparative Performance Of Physiological Vital-Sign Forecasting Under Random And Patient-Wise Splitting Using Deep Learning, Lavanya Vasavi Chittem Reddy

Theses and Dissertations

Physiological vital-sign forecasting estimates future measurements based on recent temporal patterns and can support analysis of continuously recorded monitoring data. This study comparatively evaluated deep feedforward, recurrent, bidirectional recurrent, long short-term memory, and bidirectional long short-term memory architectures for one-step-ahead forecasting of peripheral oxygen saturation, heart rate, and pulse rate. Each model received consecutive observations of peripheral oxygen saturation, heart rate, pulse rate, respiratory rate, and age, while separate single-output models predicted the next value of the selected target.

Random and patient-wise data splitting were compared using identical input definitions, preprocessing procedures, model architectures, and training hyperparameters. The strongest architecture …

Smart Medical System Integrating Clinical Workflows For Robust Skin Cancer Detection Across Heterogeneous Pathologies, Ahed Abugabah, Prashant Kumar Shukla, Suchi Mishra, Abhishek Dwivedi

All Works

Skin cancer is among the most prevalent and life-threatening dermatological diseases worldwide, with melanoma responsible for a substantial proportion of skin cancer–related deaths due to delayed and unreliable diagnosis. Conventional clinical screening based on visual inspection and expert interpretation is inherently subjective and often affected by inter-observer variability, lesion heterogeneity, and imaging artifacts, highlighting the need for accurate and generalizable automated diagnostic systems. This study proposes a novel hybrid deep learning architecture for skin cancer classification that integrates an attention-guided autoencoder with a transformer-inspired global context modeling module, forming a unified and robust representation learning framework. The encoder–decoder structure is …

Immunomodulatory Role Of Muc5ac In Lung Cancer Progression, Julia G. Kim

Summer Research Program Abstracts

No abstract provided.

Perancangan Dan Implementasi Sistem Skrining Risiko Penyakit Berat Berbasis Web Dengan Fitur Rekomendasi, Mood Tracker, Dan Chatbot Pendukung, Septiawan Hadi Prasetyo, Restu Utami, Daniel Hulio Saptianus, Mirza Arya Herdiansyah

Jurnal Biostatistik, Kependudukan, dan Informatika Kesehatan

Skrining kesehatan dini berperan penting dalam upaya pencegahan penyakit dan peningkatan kualitas hidup masyarakat. Namun keterbatasan akses layanan kesehatan serta rendahnya kesadaran masyarakat masih menjadi tantangan utama. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk merancang dan mengimplementasikan sistem skrining risiko penyakit berat berbasis web yang dilengkapi kecerdasan buatan sebagai pendukung rekomendasi dan respon hasil skrining kesehatan. Sistem SagaHealth dikembangkan menggunakan arsitektur aplikasi yang terdistribusi dengan perbedaan antara antarmuka pengguna, server aplikasi, dan basis data. Proses skrining dilakukan berdasarkan data kesehatan pengguna dan menghasilkan kategori risiko penyakit. Selanjutnya, kecerdasan buatan digunakan untuk menyajikan narasi rekomendasi kesehatan yang informatif dan mudah dipahami. Verifikasi sistem dilakukan …

Machine Learning And Large Language Model Decision Support For Medication-Error Prevention Across The Medication-Use Process: A Systematic Review With Implications For Saudi Arabia, Emad A. Alsaleh, Maram J. Alnemer, Yousef H. A. Alhassan, Asaad A. A. Khalil, Mohammed A. Kaddoura, Azfar Athar Ishaqui, Muhammad B. Maqsood, Adnan Iqbal

Saudi Medical Journal

Objectives: Medication errors are a major source of preventable harm. We systematically reviewed workflow integrated artificial intelligence (AI) decision support (machine learning [ML], natural language processing, computer vision, and large language models [LLMs]) aimed at detecting, intercepting, or preventing medication errors, and considered implications for Saudi Arabia.
Methods: We searched MEDLINE (PubMed), Embase, Scopus, Web of Science Core Collection, IEEE Xplore, and the Cochrane Library for English language studies published from January 2010 to February 2026. Eligible studies used real clinical/pharmacy data and evaluated an AI component designed to prevent or detect medication errors across prescribing/order verification, dispensing, …

Policy Solutions For Traumatic Brain Injury: Advancing New York State's First Tbi Special Needs Assisted Living Program, Dianne Schwarz, Natalie F. Douglas

The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) presents long-term challenges that are poorly addressed by traditional assisted living and nursing home models. In New York State, individuals with moderate to severe TBI are often placed in settings unequipped to provide cognitive, behavioral, and neurorehabilitative care. This policy and advocacy paper proposes the establishment of a Special Needs Assisted Living Program (SNALP) specifically for individuals with TBI. Drawing from clinical expertise, stakeholder engagement, and a discontinued but promising pilot program, this manuscript outlines the systemic barriers to TBI-specific care, including regulatory gaps, lack of Medicaid reimbursement, and limited public awareness. The proposed model integrates …

Solving The Problem Of Non-Linear Data In The Health Care Professions Using Spline Regression, Heather Staal, Rob Lyerla, Diane Powers Dirette

The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy

No abstract provided.

Effect Of Beverages With Varying Acidity On The Surface Microhardness Of Resin Composites: An In Vitro Study, Vishnu S, Shweta Purohit, Yashas Dm, Mangala G K, Chinnu Mary Jose, Athira Bs

International Arab Journal of Dentistry

Introductions: The increasing consumption of acidic beverages has raised concerns regarding their impact on the longevity of composite resin restorations. Surface microhardness is a critical parameter for evaluating the mechanical performance and durability of restorative materials.

Aim: To evaluate and compare the effect of beverages with varying acidity on the surface microhardness of different composite resin materials and to assess the relationship between beverage pH and microhardness reduction.

Materials and Methods: This in vitro experimental study included 140 disc-shaped specimens of four composite resins: Filtek Z350 XT, Tetric N-Ceram, Beautifil II, and Charisma Smart (n = 35 …

Stem Cell-Based Therapies In Periodontology And Implant Dentistry: A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis, Abdullah Saeed, Marycris Padrigo

International Arab Journal of Dentistry

Introduction: Periodontal disease and peri-implantitis remain the leading causes of tooth and implant loss, and conventional regenerative procedures consistently fall short of full structural restoration. Stem cell therapies have emerged as a promising alternative, operating through multi-lineage differentiation, immunomodulation via paracrine signaling, and extracellular vesicle communication. Prior systematic reviews, however, lacked methodological rigor — omitting clustering adjustments, REML/HKSJ estimation, prediction intervals, and publication bias modeling.

Aim: This systematic review and meta-analysis evaluated whether stem cell therapy produces superior clinical and radiographic outcomes compared to cell-free controls in adults with periodontal or peri-implant bone defects.

Methods: Searches across …

Effects Of A Virtual Reality-Based Nature Video Intervention On Sleep Quality And Mental Well-Being In Patients With Multiple Sclerosis: A Randomized Controlled Trial ​, Hati̇ce Yağci Karamanli, Nuray Bi̇ngöl

Turkish Journal of Medical Sciences

Background/aim: Sleep quality and mental health are negatively affected in many patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). The study was conducted to evaluate the effects of virtual reality (VR) on sleep quality and mental well-being.

Materials and methods: The study was designed as a randomized controlled trial. Data were collected from patients with MS who presented to a hospital in Türkiye. The study was completed by 21 participants in the experimental group and 22 participants in the control group. Participants in the experimental group watched nature videos using VR headsets for 6 weeks. Participants completed the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) …

The Use Of Case-Based Experiential Learning With First-Year Occupational Therapy Students: A Two-Year Pilot Study, Michelle Jackson

Journal of Applied Disciplines

Background: Understanding and applying biomechanical principles to participation in functional activities is vital to occupational therapy (OT) education. Exposure to such principles underlying prosthetic use and occupational engagement related to lower extremity (LE) limb loss provides opportunities to better understand these concepts as well as the role of OT with this population.

Method: An experiential learning framework was used to develop a three-phase, case-study-based pilot project, completed with first-year graduate-level OT students from two cohorts (n = 26, n = 31).  At the conclusion of the project, an anonymous Likert-style survey and a reflection assignment were completed by all students. …

Oral Insulin Nanoparticles In Animal Models Of Diabetes: A Systematic Review Of Recent Studies, Dhea Rahmania, Shaum Shiyan, Yulianto Kusnadi, Subandrate Subandrate, Juliana Palungan, Ayeshah Augusta Rosdah

Pharmaceutical Sciences and Research

Oral insulin has long been explored as a potential alternative to injectable insulin therapy. However, the development remains challenging due to enzymatic degradation in the gastrointestinal tract and limited intestinal absorption. Nanoparticle-based delivery systems have also been proposed as a strategy to protect insulin and improve uptake after oral administration. Therefore, this systematic review aimed to summarize recent preclinical studies investigating oral insulin nanoparticles in diabetic animal models and examine the reported pharmacological outcomes. Relevant studies were identified through database searches in PubMed, SpringerLink, and ScienceDirect using predefined keywords related to oral insulin, nanoparticles, diabetes, and animal models. Articles published …

Bioactive Resin-Based Composites For Direct Posterior Restorations: A Contemporary Narrative Review, Ruaa Neamah Muslim, Ghadeer Shakir Shabaa, Wasan Abdulridha Hasan

Maaen Journal for Medical Sciences

Background and Rationale: Failure of dental restorations due to secondary caries remains one of the common problems in restorative dentistry. In order to solve the shortcomings of conventional bioinert materials, bioactive composite resins have recently been developed, allowing fluoride, calcium, and phosphate ion delivery as well as reducing the acidic activity of biofilm.

Aim of the Review: This literature review evaluates chemistry, mechanisms of action, clinical effectiveness, and physical handling properties of resin-based bioactive materials used for direct posterior restoration in permanent dentition.

Material Categories Examined: This literature review includes such material categories as resin-modified glass ionomers, S-PRG-giomers …

Association Of Vegf Gene Polymorphisms And Breast Cancer Susceptibility: An Updated Systemic Review And Meta-Analysis, Dr.Santhosh Kumar Y, Sushma Sree Kintali, Vignesh N

Chulalongkorn Medical Journal

Breast cancer is among the most common malignancies in women worldwide with genetic predispositions and environmental factors and identified low-penetrance genes such as BRCA1 and BRCA2 with implications in breast cancer susceptibility. Vascular endothelial growth factor polymorphisms of VEGF coding for VEGF protein that plays an important part in carcinogenesis through angiogenesis required for tumor growth, invasion, and metastasis. There are five polymorphisms associated with the VEGF gene; 936 C > T, 2578 C > A, 634 G > C, 460 T > C, and 405 C > G which have been linked to altered risks in cancer. Despite inconsistency in many results ascribed to …

Glutaraldehyde-Crosslinked Chitosan And Zinc Oxide Coating Reinforced With Polysulfone On Copper As A Platform For Electrochemical Formaldehyde Sensing, Anceu Murniati Anm, Rahmat Saputra Rs, Arie Hardian Ah, Manty Aldilani Ikaningsih Mai, Moh Haifan Haifan

Chimica et Natura Acta

Formaldehyde monitoring requires electrochemical platforms with stable structures and reliable interfacial responses. This study aimed to prepare and characterize a Cu|CS–GLA/ZnO–PSf composite film on a copper substrate as a platform for further formaldehyde-sensing development. The film was characterized using FTIR, SEM–EDX, XRD, and cyclic voltammetry. FTIR supported the presence of features associated with chitosan, imine, polysulfone, and Zn–O, while SEM–EDX revealed a heterogeneous polymer-rich coating with Zn- and O-containing domains distributed non-uniformly. XRD indicated a predominantly amorphous or poorly crystalline structure. Cyclic voltammetry showed scan-rate-dependent peak separations, with ΔEp increasing from 0.632 to 0.777 V in citrate buffer and from …

Engineering Pegylated Chitosan–Gold Nanoparticles For Radiosensitization And Sirna Delivery To Glioblastoma, Wesley Chiu

Summer Research Program Abstracts

No abstract provided.

The End Of Unmeasured Exploitation: How A.S.M., C.A.S., And S.I.A. Challenge Digital Attention Capitalism, Delante Clark

Graduate Scholarship and Creative Works

Digital attention capitalism generates value through the capture and monetization of human attention, yet it has historically lacked standardized mechanisms for measuring attention-related harm. This paper argues that the Attention Safeguard Models (A.S.M.), Cognitive Attentional Standards (C.A.S.), and Sociological Impact Assessment (S.I.A.) collectively challenge this system by introducing an integrated framework for classifying, measuring, and evaluating digital attention harm and its societal consequences. C.A.S. provides standardized measurement of digital attention harm, A.S.M. identifies and classifies patterns of attentional disruption and manipulation, and S.I.A. evaluates broader impacts on institutions, communities, civic engagement, education, social cohesion, and inequality. Together, these systems transform …

Analysis And Study Of The Content Of Chloride Salts In Oil, Natalia Evgenievna Sheina, Muborak Akramovna Mirshomilova

Technical science and innovation

The article addresses the critical issue of crude oil quality control, specifically focusing on the determination of chloride salts (sodium, calcium, and magnesium), which exert a destructive impact on processing equipment. The paper provides a detailed analysis of the adverse effects of salts, which lead to severe equipment corrosion, scaling, and a reduced yield of valuable oil fractions. The chemical principles and specific applications of two standardized methods for analyzing aqueous extracts according to GOST 21534-2021 and ASTM D3230 are described: indicator (argentometric and mercurimetric) and potentiometric titration. The experimental section presents the results of a comparative analysis of crude …

J Mich Dent Assoc Jul 2017

The Journal of the Michigan Dental Association

Archival issues of the Journal of the Michigan Dental Association may include reports on the activities of the association and its members, clinical articles, information on legal and ethical practice considerations, and perspectives of interest to MDA members and those in the oral health profession.

Slicing Through Innovation: Assessing The Durability And Effectiveness Of 3d Printed Scalpel Handles, Christopher Root, Chad Clark, Stephen Mcnichol, Natalie Freeman

DO Research Day

Advancements in 3D printing technology have revolutionized the manufacturing of medical instruments, offering new possibilities for creating customized and cost-effective tools. This study investigates the mechanical properties and breaking points of 3D printed scalpel handles using three different thermoplastic materials: Polyethylene Terephthalate Glycol (PETG), Polylactic Acid (PLA), and Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS). The handles were designed to replicate standard surgical scalpel dimensions and were printed using identical parameters across all samples to ensure consistency. Mechanical testing, including tensile and flexural strength tests, was conducted on all specimens to determine their breaking points under stress typically encountered during surgical procedures. Results …

Interrater Reliability Of Software Optimized Movement Assessment With Traditional Methods And Video-Based Functional Movement Screen Scoring And Compensatory Movement Identification, Joshua Paul Verdillo, Nj Ermina, Tanya Mariel Capilla, Russel James Balane, Evriel Prince Apura, Daryl Reymon Apla-On, Ressyl Love Salvador

Philippine Journal of Physical Therapy

Introduction: The Functional Movement Screen (FMS) is a seven-part movement assessment used to identify injury risks caused by faulty biomechanics. There are three barriers in traditional FMS assessments that could affect the tool’s validity: the subjectivity of human scores that could cause bias, the need for in-person evaluations which limit access for remote patients, and the requirement of specialized training to use the tool, which makes it less accessible. This study investigates the effectiveness of SOMA, an AI-based web application that uses the MediaPipe framework to automatically assess (FMS) performances.

Methods: This study employs a quantitative, cross-sectional, comparative design to …