Digital Commons Network^™

Genome-Wide Association Study Identifies New Loci Associated With Risk Of Hbv Infection And Disease Progression, Zheng Zeng, Liu Hankui, Xu Huifang, Lu Haiying, Yu Yanyan, Xu Xiaoyuan, Yu Min, Zhang Tao, Tian Xiulan, Xi Hongli, Guan Liping, Zhang Jianguo, Stephen James O'Brien

Biology Faculty Articles

Background: Recent studies have identified susceptibility genes of HBV clearance, chronic hepatitis B, liver cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma, and showed the host genetic factors play an important role in these HBV-related outcomes.

Results: In order to discover new susceptibility genes for HBV-related outcomes, we conducted a genome-wide association study in 1031 Chinese participants, including 275 HBV clearance subjects, 92 asymptomatic persistence infection carriers (ASPI), 93 chronic hepatitis B patients (CHB), 188 HBV-related decompensated cirrhosis patients (DC), 214 HBV-related hepatocellular carcinoma patients (HCC) and 169 healthy controls (HC). In the case-control study, we observed novel locus significantly associated with CHB …

The Current - Volume 31 Issue 17, Nova Southeastern University

Student Newspapers

No abstract provided.

Critical And Ictal Phases In Simulated Eeg Signals On A Small-World Network, Louis R. Nemzer, Gary D. Cravens, Robert M. Worth, Francis Motta, Andon Placzek, Victor Castro, Jennie Q. Lou

Chemistry and Physics Faculty Articles

Healthy brain function is marked by neuronal network dynamics at or near the critical phase, which separates regimes of instability and stasis. A failure to remain at this critical point can lead to neurological disorders such as epilepsy, which is associated with pathological synchronization of neuronal oscillations. Using full Hodgkin-Huxley (HH) simulations on a Small-World Network, we are able to generate synthetic electroencephalogram (EEG) signals with intervals corresponding to seizure (ictal) or non-seizure (interictal) states that can occur based on the hyperexcitability of the artificial neurons and the strength and topology of the synaptic connections between them. These interictal simulations …

Assessment Of Monochloramine Toxicity On Three Small Coastal Organisms, Ashley K. Le

All HCAS Student Capstones, Theses, and Dissertations

Monochloramine ( is a secondary disinfectant used by water treatment facilities to eliminate lingering bacteria in basins, filters, and pipelines. While an effective disinfectant, monochloramine can have negative effects on aquatic organisms. Organis ms affected by the chemical can include species whose environment is near to effluent sites and aquaculture facilities that use tap water lines or has water intake pipes near to effluent sites. Three species commonly found in south Florida that are lik ely exposed to MCA by effluent sites or aquaculture facilities are mosquitofish Gambusia affinis pink shrimp Farfantepenaeus duorarum and the hard clam Mercenaria mercenaria These …

A Predator-Based Methodology For Studying Predator-Prey Relationships In Fishes, Ashley Vettese

All HCAS Student Capstones, Theses, and Dissertations

Changes in the ocean including acidification, increasing temperatures, loss of habitat, and increased hypoxic events has the potential to change predator-prey relationships. These changes in single interactions can then have effects on population sizes, community structures, and changes in trophic cascades. Understanding how changing abiotic factors impact predator-prey relationships will be crucial for understanding what populations and communities will look like under future ocean conditions. In this review, the goals are to (1) summarize the current knowledge on how changing ocean conditions affect predator-prey relationships; (2) describe an example predator-based approach to examine how changing these changing factors impact predator-prey …

Student Teachers With Mental Health Conditions Share Barriers To Success: A Case Study, Michael Houdyshell, Diane Kratt, Jackie Greene

The Qualitative Report

Universities are trying to address student mental health needs through counseling centers and other outreach initiatives. However, do individual colleges know how to address the mental health concerns of their own students? Three faculty members in the College of Education at a university located in the southern United States posed two questions to find out what it is like for student teachers to live with a mental health condition, and what would support academic performance in the College. Seventeen undergraduate students who self-reported as having a mental health condition and were completing their senior year as student teachers volunteered to …

Emotional Dimensions Of Teaching In Elementary Education Preparation, Kathleen M. Crawford, Juliann Sergi Mcbrayer, Katherine Fallon

The Qualitative Report

Student teaching is a pivotal event in teacher education preparation programs, and there is a need to investigate emotions in teaching. This study examined how one elementary program navigated the emotional dimensions of teaching. Findings revealed that the emotional dimensions of student teachers were influenced by individualized factors unique to the teacher; certain emotions were perceived as more acceptable to express; and supervisors needed to support student teachers to manage and respond to the emotional dimensions of teaching. The recommendation is to go beyond the technical and academic aspects of teaching and address the emotional dimensions to best prepare the …

Postgraduate University Students’ Experiences And Attitudes Toward Culturally Diverse Learning Environments, Orhan Sahin, Louise Jenkins

The Qualitative Report

In this paper we investigate the attitudes that Australian domestic university students hold toward cultural diversity on a large, metropolitan university campus. We employed a qualitative approach incorporating five individual semistructured interviews, and a focus group in order to gather data on the participants’ attitudes toward cultural diversity, and the contributing influences on these attitudes. The findings of this study indicate that the participants’ attitudes were impacted significantly by past and present experiences of cultural diversity, and the immersion in a culturally diverse university campus. The research contextualizes how these life experiences are responsible for shaping attitudes toward cultural diversity …

Occupational Therapy's Approach To Implement A Kangaroo Care Program, Marvieann Garcia-Rodriguez

Occupational Therapy Program Student Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Kangaroo care is considered best practice in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), though sadly is not implemented routinely in many units. The benefits of kangaroo care are well documented and include increased weight gain, thermoregulation, improved sleep, brain growth, decreased stress, improved oxygenation, and self-regulation. This project was initiated to develop, execute and evaluate a comprehensive kangaroo care program in a level 4 NICU. The nurses were interviewed within the NICU where the program was implemented to discover that many nurses did have some knowledge of kangaroo care but did not feel confident or comfortable supporting kangaroo care practice …

Self-Efficacy: Nurses’ Perceptions Of Caring For Patients Living With Diabetes, Victoria Yaros Mccue

Student Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Diabetes is an epidemic that affects over 415 million people worldwide. In the United States, the number of people diagnosed with diabetes is projected to triple to over 60 million by 2060. With this surge, the number of hospitalizations across the country has significantly increased. Direct care nurses play a vital role in the management of patients living with diabetes. The purpose of this research study was to explore and describe medical-surgical nurses’ perceptions of self-efficacy related to caring for patients living with diabetes. This study's guiding research question was: What are nurses’ perceptions on the influences that impact self-efficacy …

Advancing Disease Knowledge And Health Beliefs On Dyslipidemia By Implementing Patient Education, Edwin S. Ramos

Student Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Dyslipidemia represents a chronic health condition with adverse effects on the individual’s health and wellbeing that go beyond the factual elevation in the levels of total cholesterol in the blood or the increase in levels of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C). The association of dyslipidemia and adverse health events, including cardiovascular conditions such as coronary artery disease (CAD) and stroke, are evident in clinical practice. Vulnerable populations, such as the adult and elderly Hispanic individuals in a primary care setting, can greatly benefit from increasing their knowledge and health beliefs related to dyslipidemia. The purpose of this evidence-based practice (EBP) educational …

The Art Of Nursing: Perceptions, Experiences, And Interpretation Of Value Among Practicing Registered Nurses And Senior Bacclaureate Nursing Students, Anne Bizup

Student Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Background: The art of nursing is enjoying renewed interest due to changes in the healthcare reimbursement models in the U.S. Value-based reimbursement strategies utilize quality metrics to determine payments. Quality metrics are linked to the art of nursing.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to gather information about practicing nurses and senior baccalaureate nursing students’ interpretation of the human, social, and economic value and their experiences and perceptions of the art of nursing. This information supports changes in practice, policy, and education.

Theoretical Framework: Alligood’s theory of the art of nursing (2002) is the theoretical basis for the study. …

Com Outlook_Winter_2021, Nova Southeastern University

COM Outlook

No abstract provided.

Relationship Of Child Sexual Abuse Survivor Self-Perception Of Consent To Current Functioning, Nathan R. Daly

Theses and Dissertations

In 1998 Rind, Tromovitch and Bauserman conducted a meta-analysis using a college sample which challenged the prevailing belief that childhood sexual abuse (CSA) has inherent deleterious effects. Resultantly, the authors proposed alternative terminology (e.g., child-adult sex), without adequate investigation into what distinguishes child-adult sex from CSA. In response, the current study investigated the relationship between CSA, consent and adult functioning in a college sample. The sample consisted of 297 undergraduate college students, ranging in age from 18 to 63-years-old. Data was collected at a mid-sized university in the southeastern United States. The measures utilized in the study include the Symptom …

Intimate Partner Violence Survivors: The Relationship Between Risk Factors And Symptom Severity, Danielle Horrigan Millen

Theses and Dissertations

While violent crimes have been on a decline since 2005, domestic violence has been increasing steadily over the past decade (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2005, 2013, and 2014). A number of adult and childhood risk factors are associated with the increased likelihood of intimate partner violence (IPV) victimization. Witnessing interparental violence and experiencing abuse as a child are both linked to increased likelihood of experiencing IPV as an adult. (Ehrenstaft et al., 2003; Magdol, Moffitt, Caspi, & Silva, 1998; Stith et al., 2000; Stith, Smith, Penn, Ward, & Tritt, 2004; Widom et al., 2014). Additionally, relationship factors, including length of …

Judicial Decision Making And The Duty To Warn: An Empirical Study Of Case Law, Casey Dunn Ravitz

Theses and Dissertations

Duty to warn is an important staple of psychologists’ ethics training. It is also a widely misunderstood and problematic law that does not necessarily capture the intricacies of working with high-risk or potentially violent clients in outpatient settings. While inpatient settings allow for some control over one’s clients, outpatient settings increase the difficulty in performing risk assessments in duty to warn situations, as well as with managing clients who are not within one’s custody. While researchers have long identified issues related to psychologists’ understanding of the duty to warn, none have empirically explored whether the trends seen in individual cases …

A Comparison Of Clinic-Based And Telehealth Parent-Child Interaction Therapy, Abigail Peskin

Theses and Dissertations

Despite the rich evidence for early intervention to prevent/treat emotional and behavioral disorders, a gap continues to exist between research and practice, and multitudinous barriers prevent families from accessing vital evidence-based services. Telehealth is an emerging area of research and clinical practice, often proposed as a solution for multiple barriers to service provision. However, despite scattered promising evidence translating in-person treatments to telehealth, many treatments still lack established effectiveness in a virtual format. Parent-child interaction therapy (PCIT) is a traditionally in-person behavioral parenting intervention uniquely well-suited to telehealth, as during typical clinic practice the clinician is not in the clinic …

Inequality, Covid-19, And Human Rights: Whose Lives Matter?, Barbara Stark

ILSA Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Biosimilars Use In Medicine For Inflammatory Diseases, Inderbir S. Padda, Rajat Bhatt, Obaid Rehman, Mayur S. Parmar

HPD Articles

No abstract provided.

Experiences Of Incarcerated Young Men In Equine-Facilitated Psychotherapy: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, Cynthia Vanessa Penalva

Department of Family Therapy Dissertations and Applied Clinical Projects

In 2018, 14,000 young people between the ages of 11 and 18 were incarcerated in the United States (Fosler, 2018). Incarcerated are more likely than non-incarcerated youth to experience anxiety, depression, violence, and behavior issues. While mental health treatment facilities often provide resources such as continuing education, General Education Development, vocational training, and talk therapy services (Florida Department of Juvenile Justice, 2019), Equine-FacilitatedPsychotherapy (EFP) is a relatively unexplored intervention for this population. The increasing need for innovative mental health services tailored to specific client populations has inspired collaborations among community professionals seeking to deliver high-impact interventions. One such community effort …

Long-Term Sobriety From Opioid Use: An Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis, Claire C. Loucka

Department of Family Therapy Dissertations and Applied Clinical Projects

Opioid addiction is a current health crisis in the United States. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse 1.7 million Americans were addicted to opioids in 2017 (NIH, 2020, para 2). According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 130 Americans die every day due to an opioid overdose (CDC, 2019, para.1). Those in treatment are 60% more likely to relapse within the first 90 days post-treatment (Weich, 2010). Marriage and Family Therapists may often work in treatment settings addressing addiction and recovery. This study utilized a Solution Focused Brief Therapy lens to seek to understand the life …

Analysis Of Secondary Data To Determine The Relationship Between Age And Power Toothbrush Use, Kimberly Milleman

Health Sciences Program Student Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The purpose of this research is to determine the relationship between power toothbrush use and a person's chronological age. Additionally, the relationship between the gingival bleeding index (GBI) scores with relation to manual and electronic toothbrush use based on age group was determined. The Diffusion of Innovation and Social Cognitive theories were used to predict and interpret the study results. After approval was received from the Institutional Review Board at Nova Southeastern University, a retrospective de-identified data set was assembled and analyzed. Secondary data was analyzed to look for a relationship betweenchronological age and power toothbrush use and GBI scores. …

A Propensity-Matched, Mortality-Adjusted Study Of Palliative Care Consult To Reduce 90-Day Hospital Readmission In A Heart Failure Cohort, Janice Shirley

Health Sciences Program Student Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) instituted the Hospital Readmission Reduction Program (HRRP) to reduce the frequency of heart failure (HF) 30-day hospital readmissions. To meet the needs of patients with end-stage HF, palliative care (PC) is promoted to provide additional support to patients and reduceunnecessary hospital readmission. While PC is a plausible and logical intervention, effectiveness in achieving reductions in readmissions has not been assessed ina HF population with adequate controls to assess confounding.

The goal of this research was to assess the effectiveness of Palliative care for HF (HFPC) consult to effect change in 90-day hospital readmissions …

Job-Related Attitudes And Burnout Amongst Medical Physicists In The United States, Deborah L. Schofield

Health Sciences Program Student Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

In the last forty-five years, burnout has evolved from a psychological fad to a validated syndrome included in both the 10th and 11th editions of the International Classification of Diseases by the World Health Organization. Numerous studies have been conducted to determine the prevalence and toll of burnout within the health care sector including within the field of oncology. However, the impact of this syndrome on medical physicists has been largely unevaluated. This dissertation study aims to fill the gap in the literature by examining job-related attitudes and burnout amongst medical physicists in the United States. Themulti-dimensional theory of burnout …

Population Level Impact Of Self-Immolation On Burn Unit Resources: A Retrospective Case-Matched Study, Kristina Rosa Cruz Bolling

Health Sciences Program Student Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Background: This investigator sought to enhance medical knowledge and clinical care by distinguishing the population level characteristics of patients who attempted self-immolation within the burn population and determine the impact these patients have on health-care related resource utilization. Methods: Patients who met the inclusion criteria and were admitted for a documented attempt of self-immolation were case-matched based on age, gender, total body surface area burn, inhalation injury, and burn mechanism to individuals who experienced accidental burn injuries and were admitted to the burn unit during the same time-period. To compare patients, this investigator matched patient groups using a propensity score …

Exploring Living Conditions And Asthma Among Migrant Farmworkers, Jenelle Williams

Health Sciences Program Student Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Migrant farmworkers are exposed to many physical, chemical, and biological hazards that pose human health risks. Quality of housing is a major factor that contributes to asthma disparities around the world; however, no study to date has explored the factors associated with the high rates in this population. Poor housing conditions are associated with a wide range of health conditions, including respiratory infections and asthma. Addressing housing issues offers public health practitioners an opportunity to address an important social determinant of health. Using the Social Ecological Model, the objective of this quantitative, cross-sectional dissertation study is to examine the presence …

Relationship Between Electronic Health Literacy, Locus Of Control, Trust In Physicians, Attitudes Towards Providers, And Medication Adherence, Donrie Purcell

Health Sciences Program Student Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Health literacy is related to a variety of health outcomes, including diseases, quality of life, and even death. Few studies have investigated the relation of e-health literacy to outcomes or the mechanism by which they may be related. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relation of e-health literacy to patients' attitudes toward health care providers, trust in physicians, and medication adherence as well as theextent to which these relations were mediated by locus of control. Data were collected on participants 40 years and older having at least one chronic health condition from the Fostering Literacy for Good …

Applying An Ecological Perspective To Interprofessional Education: Attitude Changes In Students Of The Tri-Alliance, Angela M. Cecil

Health Sciences Program Student Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

In spring 2020, three partnering academic programs of the "tri-alliance"—occupational therapy, physical therapy, and speech-language pathology—immediately transitioned from hybrid interprofessional education(IPE) to uniprofessional, online learning experiences due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This transition presented opportunity to compare attitude changes and understand student perceptions about interprofessionalcollaboration between two tri-alliance student groups: Case 2018, N = 119 and Case 2020, N = 95. By incorporating the Bioecological Theory of Human Development (BTHD) and the Ecology of Human Performance (EHP), a comparative mixed methods case study merged quantitative results from a natural experiment and qualitative findings from a case study to learn about …

Spring 2021, Nova Southeastern University

KPCOM SGA Rounds

No abstract provided.

Spring 2021 Issue, Nova Southeastern University

Gulf War Dispatch Newsletters

No abstract provided.