Digital Commons Network^™

Replacing Sugar With Artificial Sweeteners: Is The Replacement Of Sugar With Artificial Sweeteners An Effective Strategy For Weight Loss?, Maragret Mccoy

Caravel Undergraduate Research Journal

In America today there is great concern about obesity. In an attempt to balance a busy daily life with a healthy diet, consumers are now relying on artificial sweeteners to help them make a small step to a better lifestyle. With this notion in mind, there is the question of whether these artificial sweeteners are healthy. This paper discusses the effects of artificial sweeteners on weight and caloric compensation, and considers some hypotheses regarding the reasons for weight gain.

A review of literature led to the conclusion that artificial sweeteners can be 100-13,000 times sweeter than sucrose and that sucrose …

Maternal Depressive Symptoms Predicting Development Of Internalizing Behavior Problems In Boys With Fragile X Syndrome, Sara Deal, Mary Blair Dellinger

Caravel Undergraduate Research Journal

Individuals with fragile X syndrome (FXS) often exhibit increased internalizing problem behaviors that substantially impact functioning. Research suggests that maternal depressive symptoms can increase the development of internalizing problem behaviors in their children. The present study examined whether (1) maternal depressive symptoms related to the degree of internalizing behaviors exhibited in their sons with FXS, and (2) age as an influencing factor for the development of internalizing behaviors. Child internalizing behaviors were measured in 49 male children with FXS (range 1.08-5.75 yrs). Maternal depressive symptoms were measured in each of their mothers with the FMR1 premutation (range 20.55-40.74 yrs). Increased …

Dexmedetomidine And The Prevention Of Emergence Agitation In Military Veterans With Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Taylor P. Ranegar

Doctor of Nursing Practice Scholarly Projects

Emergence agitation (EA) is a post-anesthetic complication that occurs when the patient is in a self-limited, nonfluctuating state of excitement while transitioning into a state of consciousness. EA can lead to negative adverse outcomes including, accidental invasive line removal, bleeding, respiratory depression, unintentional extubation, and injury to the staff and the patient. EA is often observed in military veterans who have a medical history of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). For patients with a history of military exposure undergoing elective general anesthesia who also have PTSD, anxiety, and or depression, the incidence of EA was estimated to be around 27%. The …

Staff Education Project:  Cultural Competency For Outpatient Nurses Caring For Adult Patients With Suds, Chloe Hylaire

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

No abstract provided.

Teaching Exercise: A Survey On Educational Aids And Self-Efficacy, Joshua I. Eaton, Lucas Morgan, Matthew Hermes

Honors College Theses

HEPs are an important part of therapeutic treatment because they allow for greater exercise stimulus than can be achieved from supervised exercise alone. 94.7% of physical therapists reported prescribing HEPs to their patients. However, patient adherence to these plans can be as low as 35%. Lack of HEP adherence likely leads to sub-optimal clinical outcomes in physical therapy patients. Self-efficacy is improved in patients by supplementing HEPs with instructional aids, especially in the form of videos instead of pictures or descriptions, because they act as a form of vicarious experience. It is possible that improving self-efficacy through vicarious experience could …

Occupational Therapy Program Development In Unhoused Communities, Abbigayle Jackson, Emma Pacheco, Mariko Turley, Jennifer Wickham, Tina M. Deangelis, Edd, Ms, Otr/L, Faota

Doctorate of Occupational Therapy Program Capstone Presentations

Objectives

- Outline the Modified Delphi process and its purpose for manual development

- Describe foundational elements of occupational therapy (OT) program development for unhoused populations

- Illustrate a program's community and societal impact

Airborne Fungal Monitoring In Healthcare Environments: A Systematic Review, Dana L. Surwill, Patricia Cruz, Mark P. Buttner, Jennifer R. Pharr, Nancy Lough, Theresa T. Roehr

Environmental & Global Health Faculty Research

Background: Fungal infections pose a significant threat to public health, with over 6.55 million cases and 2.55 million deaths annually. Exposure to fungal spores in indoor environments primarily occurs through inhalation or direct contact with surfaces. Monitoring is critical for early detection and prevention of outbreaks, yet routine airborne fungal testing is not universally mandated across healthcare settings. Methods: A systematic review of peer-reviewed articles from four databases was conducted to identify current airborne fungal monitoring guidelines and best practices for sample collection, culture media, incubation conditions, and results interpretation. Results: Eighteen articles met the inclusion criteria, and four studies …

Harness The Darkness! Blackout Poetry And Drama Therapy For Systemic Existential Dread: A Proposed Methodology, Kerry Sullivan

Expressive Therapies Theses

This thesis explores the intersection of drama therapy and blackout poetry as a therapeutic intervention to address systemic existential dread (SED) among emerging adults. The proposed methodology is titled "Bringing Blackout Poetry to Life" and consists of five sessions designed to explore the participants’ SED and generate poetry, culminating in a public performance. By integrating elements from psychodrama and drama therapy with the therapeutic process of blackout poetry, the intervention intends to aid processing on all levels of the expressive therapies continuum (ETC), strengthen tolerance for uncertainty, and facilitate sustainable community action. This theoretical framework is supported by a wide-ranging …

2025 Nursing Annual Report, Children's Health System Of Texas

2025

No abstract provided.

Ticking Time Bomb: The Economic Ramifications Of Mlb's Pitch Clock, Katie Ciuffreda

Business and Economics Honors Papers

In recent years, Major League Baseball has been challenged with declining engagement and attendance, particularly with younger audiences, with the long duration of games most commonly cited as the reason for disinterest. In response to this, MLB implemented a pitch clock that worked its way through the minor league system until it was introduced to the majors for the 2023 season. The goal for the clock was to reduce game times by increasing pace of play. While early evidence shows that the clock has been successful in that regard, its impact on player performance remains to be explored. This study …

Automated Analysis Of Radiation Oncology Incident Reports Using Large Language Models, Nathan A. Dobranski

LSU Master's Theses

Patient safety incident reporting in radiation oncology requires expert analysis that is time-intensive and subject to variability. This thesis presents the development and technical validation of a locally deployed large language model (LLM) system for automated incident report analysis across multiple cancer centers. The system was designed for automated summarization and taxonomy assignment of Radiation Oncology Incident Learning System (RO-ILS) reports, operating entirely on local infrastructure to preserve patient privacy. A two-round, multi-rater evaluation methodology was employed, incorporating 600 total expert evaluations from two academic cancer centers. Round 1 established baseline performance using Mistral 7B and Mixtral 8x7B models with …

Recommendations Made And Accepted By A Telehealth-Enabled Antimicrobial Stewardship Program Implemented At Rural Veterans Affairs Medical Centers, Taissa A Bej, Jason P Burnham, Joshua D. Nordman, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: To support Antimicrobial Stewardship programs (ASPs) as well as the clinical care of patients with infections, we disseminated and implemented a Videoconference Antimicrobial Stewardship Team (VAST) to connect multidisciplinary teams from rural Veterans Affairs (VA) medical centers with geographically distant ID experts. Here, we describe the clinical syndromes discussed and the response to recommendations made during VAST sessions.

METHODS: Between September 2021 to February 2024, eight ID consultants established VASTs with ten rural VAMCs, holding regularly scheduled videoconference sessions to discuss clinical cases and provide recommendations. Data were collected on patient demographics, clinical syndromes, and recommendations. Acceptance of recommendations …

Knowledge Of Advance Care Planning And Advance Directives Among Us Adults: Implications For Health Policy And Practice, Anisah Bagasra, Gretchen Agans

Faculty Articles

Background:

Objectives:

Feeding The Future: Prenatal Dietary Effects On Offspring Neurodevelopment, Emma Whatley

Senior Honors Theses

This study examined the effects of prenatal Western (WD) and Mediterranean (MD) diets on offspring metabolic, cognitive, and neurobiological outcomes in a preclinical mouse model. Working and long-term memory performance, dendritic morphology, and gene expression were assessed using behavioural tests (CAL, YMRM, WM) and Golgi-Cox analyses. Behavioural effects were minimal, with female MD offspring showing improved memory performance under standard conditions. Metabolic findings showed effects on body weight and blood glucose. Dendritic morphology was largely unchanged; however, subtle, sex-specific differences were observed. Differential gene expression between MD and WD suggests a role for future environmental stressors. Prenatal diet affects molecular …

Miracles Or Mirages? Miracle Language In Medical Communication, Thomas Yu

Senior Honors Theses

The current study seeks to understand how miracle language exists as a persuasive tool by examining the usage of miracle language in the discourse surrounding the release of Xolair for individuals with food allergies. This was accomplished by conducting a qualitative analysis of the miracle language employed by those engaged in the Xolair discourse. An extensive literature review was conducted to gain a foundational understanding of medical persuasion and miracle language, as well as an understanding of the theoretical foundations of this study. Twenty-four pieces of literature from pharmaceutical companies, and food allergy community members were chronicled and studied utilizing …

Structured Communication Education Program To Improve Interprofessional Communication In An Outpatient Mental Health Organization, Doris Ofodile

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

No abstract provided.

Faircarenlp: An Ai-Driven Patient Review Analyzer For Healthcare, Sayyed Mohammad Pourya Momtaz Esfahani, Davey Seeman, Christoffer Dharma, Mohammad Noaeen, Shion Guha, Zahra Shakeri

Health Services and Informatics Research

Objective

To develop and evaluate an automatic patient review analyzer that applies advanced Natural Language Processing (NLP) and machine learning methods to improve the efficiency, fairness, and accuracy of healthcare feedback analysis.

Materials and methods

We designed a multi-component pipeline incorporating sentiment analysis, key theme extraction, clinical Named Entity Recognition (NER), and fairness modules. Bias mitigation was addressed through the integration of three complementary approaches: adversarial debiasing, Hard Debiasing, and Iterative Null-space Projection (INLP). Multiple BERT-based models (DistilBERT, BioBERT, RoBERTa-base, BERT-base-uncased) were trained and evaluated under varying hyperparameters and fairness/adversarial loss configurations. Model performance was assessed using accuracy, F1, recall, …

Isass Brave New Continuing Medical Education World: The Stifling Of Innovation In Spine Surgery Through Overrestriction Of Collaboration, Morgan P. Lorio, Kai-Uwe Lewandrowski, Óscar L. Alves, Avelino Parajón, Matthew Scott-Young, Hansen A. Yuan, Alex R. Vaccaro

Department of Orthopaedic Surgery Faculty Papers

BACKGROUND: in 2020, the accreditation Council for Continuing Medical education (aCCMe) released the Standards for Integrity and Independence in Accredited Continuing Medical Education, effective january 1, 2022, to ensure that accredited activities are accurate, balanced, evidence-based, and clearly separated from marketing and sales. although these aims are broadly supported, implementation may have unintended consequences in procedure-intensive specialties such as spine surgery, where surgeon–industry collaboration often drives device innovation, clinical trials, and dissemination of new techniques.

OBJECTIVE: To examine how current interpretations of ACCME eligibility and financial-relationship standards may affect continuing medical education in spine surgery and to propose practical adaptations …

Ais26s: Ai In Biomedicine, Shiqian Shen

Paul English Applied Artificial Intelligence (AI) Institute Publications

This presentation explores the role of artificial intelligence in advancing biomedical research and clinical practice from the perspective of a physician-scientist. Dr. Shiqian Shen discusses current challenges in neuroscience and medicine, including limitations in human observation, data analysis, and decision-making across complex biological systems. The talk highlights how AI-driven approaches such as computer vision, neural signal processing, and large-scale data modeling can improve the understanding of disease mechanisms, enhance experimental workflows, and enable more precise, patient-centered care. Specific applications include automated classification of neural activity, behavioral analysis in animal models, and multimodal data integration. A key concept introduced is “shadow …

Reducing Intraoperative Hypothermia In Adults 18-60 Undergoing Primary Elective Unilateral Total Knee Replacement With General Anesthesia, Carrigan Collinsworth

Doctor of Nursing Practice Final Project Abstract

Reducing Intraoperative Hypothermia in Adults 18-60 Undergoing Primary Elective Unilateral Total Knee Replacement with General Anesthesia

Background

Intraoperative hypothermia (core temperature < 36°C) is associated with increased surgical site infections, blood loss, prolonged recovery, and longer hospital stays. Because forced-air warming devices are restricted during total joint arthroplasty at the project site due to infection concerns, patients relied on passive warming, resulting in a baseline hypothermia rate of 63.3%

Purpose

The purpose of this quality improvement project was to reduce the incidence of intraoperative hypothermia among adults aged 18-60 undergoing primary elective unilateral total knee arthroplasty with general anesthesia by implementing a conductive warming device in the operating room of a large level 1 trauma hospital

Methodology

This evidence-based quality improvement project implemented a conductive warming blanket following staff education. Data was collected through the electronic health record. Primary outcomes included hypothermia incidence and average intraoperative temperature. Secondary …

I Lost My Number, Can I Have Yours? Body Image Satisfaction With Sexually Dimorphic Traits Is Associated With Men's Dating Anxiety And Confidence, David A. Frederick, Tania A. Reynolds, Nikoline L. Smart, Justin R. Garcia, David A. Puts

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Evolutionary scientists posit that sexual selection processes caused males to develop sexually dimorphic traits to aid them during intrasexual competition and increase their likelihood of being chosen as mates. Evolutionary social sciences have extensively examined women's preferences for traits such as muscle mass and voice pitch, reasoning that these traits serve as cues of men's ability to provide direct benefits (e.g., resources) and indirect (genetic) benefits passed on to offspring. At the same time, body image researchers have extensively focused on the social causes and consequences of men's dissatisfaction with their muscularity and body fat. We connected these two research …

Intouch Week Of May 4, 2026, New York Medical College

InTouch

• NYMC and Hudson Regional Health Achieve Milestone Accreditation with Orthopedic Surgery Residency Program
• NYMC Honors 61 Inductees at 70th Alpha Omega Alpha Ceremony
• Students Honor Those Who Teach Beyond Their Lifetime During Convocation of Thanks
• D.P.T. Students Showcase Research at 22nd Annual Doctoral Project Presentation Day
• D.P.T. Career Panel Fosters Connections with Alumni
• NYMC Marks Autism Awareness Month with Campus-Wide Show of Support
• TCDM Students and Faculty Volunteer with Remote Area Medical to Treat More Than 190 Patients
• Save on NYMC Merch

Nurturing The Nurturers: Caritas Literacy Wellness Program, Pakeeza Ali

Doctoral Projects

Burnout, compassion fatigue, and emotional exhaustion remain significant concerns among oncology staff in high-demand ambulatory settings. This quality improvement project implemented the Caritas Literacy and Resilience Training Program (CLARITY), a microlearning-based intervention grounded in Watson’s Caring Science Theory, to support self-caring behaviors and emotional resilience among oncology staff in an ambulatory cancer center. A quasi-experimental, mixed-methods design was used, incorporating pre- and post-intervention survey data and qualitative focus group feedback. Quantitative outcomes were assessed using the Watson Caritas Self-Rating Score (WCSR) and post-intervention ratings of perceived effectiveness of the microlearning format. Wilcoxon signed-rank tests were used to examine pre-post change …

Randomised Controlled Trial Comparing Antibiotic Cement Bead Pouch Versus Negative Pressure Wound Therapy For The Management Of Severe Open Tibia Fracture Wounds: Beads Versus Vac (Bvv) Protocol, Lucas S Marchand, Gerard Slobogean, Nathan N O'Hara, Anthony D Harris, David W Grainger, Lehana Thabane, Mohit Bhandari, Gregory J Della Rocca, Patrick J Kellam, Robert D Zura, Debra Marvel, Jeffrey L Wells, I Leah Gitajn, Kyle J Jeray, Robert V O'Toole, Zachary M Working, Roman M Natoli, Patrick F Bergin, Jennifer E Hagen, Ashley E Levack, Ernesto Guerra-Farfan, Gregory M Schrank, Joan N Hebden, Franca Mossuto, Cassandra Tsoutsounakis, David Pogorzelski, Hailey Pineda, Sofia Bzovsky, Sheila Sprague, Bvv Investigators

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Introduction: Early open fracture management aims to minimise the risk of complications. For the most severe open fracture wounds, multiple irrigation and debridement surgeries are required to overcome severe wound contamination, to reassess the evolving tissue injury or to temporise and plan further surgery. When multiple irrigation and debridement surgeries are needed, uncertainty remains about how the open fracture wound should be managed to best minimise complications. The primary aim of this trial is to compare the antibiotic cement bead pouch vs negative pressure wound therapy in the management of patients with severe open tibia fracture wounds.

Methods and analysis: …

Ebp Project In A Primary, Foster Care Medical Home: Implementation Of The Ages & Stages: Social Emotional Screener, Sara Moore

2026

Background: Children in the foster care system have increased diagnoses, mental health concerns, and developmental delays.
Purpose: The pilot used the ASQ-SE to determine if the protocol was feasible and if the screener identified social-emotional difficulties in a primary care clinic that serves children in foster care. 
Method: A pilot was created, and the ASQ-SE was administered to 33 patients during well-child visits (ages 2 months-70 months) over six weeks.
Results: Implementing a social-emotional screener was feasible in the foster care primary care clinic. The infants and toddlers screened (N=33) were grouped by referral status: 57.6 % (19) …

Investigating Causal Associations Among Inflammatory Proteins, Blood Metabolites, And Alzheimer’S Disease Risk, Shuai Liu, Jingjing Zhu, Hua Zhong, Dan Zhou, Quan Long, Zichen Zhang, Xiaochen Yang, Qing Wu, Chao Cheng, Jianyong Wu, Hung N Luu, Jing Wang, Bingxin Zhao, Chong Wu, Youping Deng, Lang Wu

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a prevalent degenerative neurological disorder with limited treatment options. Prior studies reported specific metabolites and inflammatory proteins to be related to AD risk. However, the intricate relationship between inflammatory proteins, blood metabolites, and AD risk in European population remains unclear. Genetic instruments for 1,091 metabolites and 736 inflammatory proteins were derived from two recent comprehensive genome-wide association studies. Univariable Mendelian Randomization was employed to assess potential causal effects of metabolites on AD risk, potential effects of inflammatory proteins on metabolites, and effects of inflammatory proteins on AD risk. Multivariable MR (MVMR) was further applied to disentangle …

Syrah: A Pipeline To Maximize Spatial Transcriptomics Data Output, Carolyn Brewster, Frederick G Mann, Blair Benham-Pyle, Alejandro Sánchez Alvarado

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Spatial analysis of gene expression patterns has been a key technique for revealing the potential functions of genes. Traditionally, these analyses conducted using in-situ hybridizations and other labor-intensive protocols were constrained to examining only a few candidate genes per sample. However, the advent of spatial transcriptomic techniques like Slide-seqV2 has transformed this field, enabling massively parallel exploration of gene expression patterns within their tissue contexts by pairing spatial locations with RNA sequencing. Despite its potential, Slide-seqV2 datasets often produce fewer usable reads than expected. We have identified that a significant source of errors in the technology stems from the chemical …

Mogad Is The Most Common Cause Of Isolated Optic Neuritis In Children, Chaitanya Aduru, Akansha Chandrasekar, Kyla Blasingame, Jonathan Rosen, Jesse M Levine, Karla Salazar, Madhuri Chilakapati, Rod Foroozan, Victoria Hardwick, Jonathan M Yarimi, Nikita Shukla, Timothy E Lotze, Kristen S Fisher, Alexander J Sandweiss

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Objectives: The study aimed to characterize the clinical features, etiologies, and outcomes of isolated, first-time pediatric ON in the post-MOG-IgG era.

Methods: This was a single-center retrospective cohort study at Texas Children's Hospital of patients diagnosed with first-time ON between 2018-2024, with follow-up data collected through 2025. Inclusion criteria required monocular or binocular subacute vision loss with supportive paraclinical signs. Subjects were excluded if they had a prior history of demyelinating disease or extra-orbital demyelinating lesions on initial brain/spine MRI. Primary outcomes were the proportion of MOG-IgG seropositivity, retinal nerve fiber layer thickness, and visual acuity at onset and most …

Diabetic Nephropathy Masquerading As Systemic Disease: The Critical Role Of Renal Biopsy In A Young Uninsured Woman With Nephrotic Syndrome, Yolanda V. Gutierrez, Alexis Vargas Del Toro, Cristina Kochi Yamamoto, Jose Loayza Pintado, Andres Suarez-Parraga

School of Medicine Publications

Nephrotic syndrome can have overlapping features across multiple diseases, making diagnosis difficult without tissue confirmation. We describe a 30-year-old uninsured Hispanic woman with type 1 diabetes, hypertension, and CKD3B who presented with nephrotic syndrome, sepsis, and progressive muscle weakness. Her pleural effusions, periorbital changes, elevated free light chains, and dysphagia raised concern for systemic conditions such as amyloidosis or polymyositis, especially given inconsistent outpatient follow-up. Because her management would differ significantly depending on the underlying cause and due to the high risk of loss to follow-up, a renal biopsy was pursued. Serologic studies were unremarkable, and biopsy ultimately confirmed diabetic …

A Cross-Cultural Investigation Of Consumer Hoarding Behavior During Covid-19: Differences Between Sweden And The United States, Christy M. Cook, Pia A. Albinsson, James E. Stoddard

Atlantic Marketing Journal

This study is a cross-cultural exploration of consumer hoarding behavior during Covid-19; specifically, a comparison between Sweden and the United States. This research analyzes whether Swedish and American consumer hoarding behavior factors of prosocial orientation, consumer resilience and consumer risk-taking propensity reflect identical relationships during less predictable environmental forces (i.e., Covid-19 or global pandemic). Results from Partial Least Squares-Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) show that consumer prosocial orientation is negatively related to consumer hoarding and prosocial orientation is positively related to consumer resilience. In turn, both prosocial orientation and consumer resilience exhibit a positive relationship towards consumer hoarding. Consumer resilience is …