Digital Commons Network^™

Correlates Of Recovery Capital Among Women In Jails: Leveraging A Dimensional Recovery Framework, Amanda Fallin-Bennett, Martha Tillson, Jaxin Annett, Hartley Feld, Michele Staton

Nursing Faculty Publications

Background: Recovery capital encompasses internal and external factors that support recovery from substance use disorder, such as employment, social support, and physical and mental health. There is a need for more research on recovery capital among women who are incarcerated, who often face complex barriers to recovery, such as poverty, unemployment, and histories of trauma.

Methods: Women (N ¼ 900) were recruited from Kentucky jails as part of the broader NIDA-funded Kentucky Justice Community Opioid Innovation Network (JCOIN) cooperative project. Measures from baseline interviews (during incarceration) were selected in alignment with the Substance Abuse Mental Health Service Administration (SAMHSA)’s four …

Financial Status, Fatalism, And Self-Care Of Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors Among Rural Adults Living In Socioeconomically Distressed Areas, Ashmita Thapa, Geunyeong Cha, Dustin Hodges, Jia-Rong Wu, Misook L. Chung, Martha J. Biddle, Jennifer L. Smith, Debra K. Moser

Nursing Faculty Publications

Purpose: Adults with fewer financial resources often have poor self-care. Rural dwellers commonly have fewer financial resources than urban dwellers and are often stereotyped as fatalistic about health. We examined whether fatalism mediates the association of financial status with cardiovascular disease (CVD) self-care in rural adults in economically distressed areas. We hypothesized that those with fewer financial resources would have poorer self-care, and fatalism would mediate this relationship.

Methods: We enrolled 1,122 adults (53 ± 15 years) at risk for CVD. Financial status was reflected by individuals’ perceptions of how well they made “ends meet” with their financial resources, fatalism …

A Performer's Guide To Selected Trumpet Excerpts Of Orchestral Works By Women Composers, Julia Stowell

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

Orchestral excerpts are brief passages from symphonic repertoire that are intended to demonstrate a player’s musical and technical abilities. The canon of orchestral trumpet audition excerpts has been relatively unchanged for several generations. This established canon of excerpts rarely features works written by women. As orchestras begin diversifying their programs, the frequently requested orchestral excerpts require new considerations to reflect these changes. In order for excerpts to be reflective of the orchestral canon, they must be updated as the canon changes.

Once an excerpt has been identified and obtained, the next issue is addressing its unique musical and technical challenges. …

Regulating Galaxy Growth: Ionized Gas Conditions, Star Formation Histories, And Environmental Effects, Shweta Jain

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

Understanding galaxy formation and evolution requires tracing how baryons cycle between stars, gas, and the interstellar medium (ISM) across cosmic time. The efficiency of star formation, the buildup of metals, and the regulation of gas inflows and outflows are governed by evolving physical conditions within galaxies and their environments. My thesis investigates how the ionized ISM, star formation histories, and environmental processes have shaped galaxy evolution over the past ∼ 12 Gyr. The primary focus of this work is the evolution of the physical conditions of ionized gas in galaxies, including gas-phase metallicity and ionization state. Using new and archival …

Phonics And Friends: A Critical Multimodal Discourse Analysis Of Popular Teacher Influencers' Content, Zachary T. Milford

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

This critical multimodal discourse analysis examined how five teacher-influencers aligned with the Science of Reading (SoR) movement performed authority, constructed discourses, and used affective and semiotic resources in viral TikTok videos about reading instruction. Drawing on Kress and van Leeuwen's (2001) multimodal social semiotics, Fairclough's (1992) critical discourse analysis, Foucault's (1977, 1982) theorizations of power, Papacharissi's (2014) theory of affective publics, Ong's (1982) secondary orality, and Taussig's (1993) mimesis and alterity, this interpretive, qualitative, multiple-case study analyzed fifty viral TikTok videos and four semi-structured interviews with teacher-influencers. Data were analyzed through within-case and within-mode coding, cross-modal analysis, and cross-case analysis …

Technology-Facilitated Violence And Abuse: Portrayals And Perceptions, Christina S. Walker

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

In the past, intimate partner violence (IPV) was primarily perpetrated in person. However, due to new mediated communication technologies and capabilities like social media and artificial intelligence (AI), perpetrators can use this technology for various purposes including subjecting others to violence, harassment, and abuse. Such violence can be a form of IPV and is referred to as technology-facilitated violence and abuse (TFVA). TFVA is becoming increasingly prevalent and is encountered by a staggering percent of women. Furthermore, unlike traditional forms of IPV, even men are subjected to TFVA at increasing and disproportionate rates, particularly male teens.

In the current state …

Non-Invasive Digital Restoration Of Damaged Photographic Film Negatives, Ankan Bhattacharyya

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

Physical restoration of damaged photographic film causes more damage. Also, existing non-invasive digital restoration of film negatives does not produce print-quality optical images. Instead, they produce X-ray projections, which are not the same as optical projections. This thesis addresses these problems and establishes a framework that can digitally restore old, damaged films without the need to open them physically. Virtual Unwrapping is an existing pipeline that has proven itself over the last couple of decades to work on unopenable papyrus scrolls, like the Herculaneum Scrolls. This thesis utilizes the concept of virtual unwrapping to restore damaged photographic film negatives. Due …

Frequency And Phase Synchronization Of Antenna Arrays With Phase Incoherent Microcontrollers, Harley W. Byrd

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

The construction of phased array antennas has traditionally been an expensive and complex task. It has recently been claimed that it is possible to construct high-performance Wi Fi antenna arrays using inexpensive consumer components. Motivated by some limited data available from online presentations of such devices, this thesis covers an attempt to construct a phased-array Wi-Fi antenna using several ESP32 chips, which have native Wi-Fi modulation and demodulation capabilities. While there are many positive aspects associated with utilizing ESP32 chips for this purpose, a key challenge is the inherent phase incoherence of their internal Phase Locked Loops (PLLs). The approach …

H2 Matrix Compression For Fast Magnetic Field Post-Processing, Calvin M. Demps

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

Large-scale computational electromagnetic simulations frequently require the assembly of dense system matrices, whose computation time and memory cost grow rapidly with problem size and can render high-resolution simulations impractical. This thesis presents a benchmark of the H² hierarchical matrix method applied to the construction of a coupling matrix that maps magnetization current in a structure to the magnetic field at observation points external to the structure. The underlying field interaction is derived from Maxwell's equations and discretized using a Nyström approach, producing a dense matrix.

The method is benchmarked across various geometries of increasing complexity and for increasing mesh …

A Qualitative Study Of Undergraduate Underrepresented Minoritized Students’ Online Learning Experiences, Susanne Morris

Theses and Dissertations--Curriculum and Instruction

This dissertation reports a qualitative secondary analysis of 37 semi-structured interviews with 40 undergraduate underrepresented minoritized (URM) students. Guided by social constructionism and intersectionality, the study explores how students make sense of online learning as a sociomaterial environment, attending to perceptions of constraints, affordances, and missing or misaligned signifiers. Interviews were analyzed using Braun and Clarke’s Reflexive Thematic Analysis to examine how institutional norms and course design shape what students experience as doable, safe, and meaningful. The study offers insight relevant to research and practice in equity and online learning.

Adolescent Relationships With Digital Actors And Their Influence In A Classroom Setting: An Interpretive Case Study, Kerry A. Hancock

Theses and Dissertations--Curriculum and Instruction

In this post-COVID-19 society students are strongly influenced by their use of digital text and electronic devices. The assumption of the study was that if students spend time with devices and digital text that it might be possible for them to develop relationships with the non-human actors that exist as part of the learning environments in schools. This  interpretive case study rooted, in Posthumanist ideology, used Latour’s Actor Network Theory to approach data collection.

A comparative approach was adopted for this interpretive case study research and data were collected in three stages: initial classroom observation and analysis to determine the …

Industry To Classroom: The Role Of Academic Program Consultants In Building Self-Efficacy Among Occupation-Based Career And Technical Education Teachers, Erica L. Settelen

Theses and Dissertations--Educational Leadership Studies

Occupation-based career and technical education (CTE) teachers bring industry expertise to secondary classrooms but often begin teaching without traditional pedagogical preparation or familiarity with public school systems. In Kentucky’s New Teacher Institute (NTI), academic program consultants (APCs) provide program-area support to strengthen induction. Using the framework of self-efficacy and guided by Ivankova’s mixed methods action research (MMAR) framework, this study examined how occupation-based CTE teachers perceived APC engagement during induction and how APC-created asynchronous supports were experienced.

In the Reconnaissance Phase, a sequential Quantitative → Qualitative design included an initial survey followed by interviews. Survey results indicated midrange familiarity with …

Perceptions Of Sport Psychology Efforts And Access In Women's Wheelchair Basketball, Lindsay C. Cohen

Theses and Dissertations--Kinesiology and Health Promotion

As the field of sport psychology grows, services and training programs must evolve to properly serve the evolution of athletes seeking care. This could mean discovering new measures, testing different types of interventions, or developing programs that can better accommodate specific populations that are looking for sport psychology services. One such population is para athletes, and although they have expressed interest in learning more about the field of sport psychology and how to implement mental skills efficiently, athletes have reported a lack of access to sport psychology services and sport psychology consultants (SPCs) (Dieffenbach et al., 2009). The purpose of …

Biomechanical Effects Of Exercise-Based Interventions In Chronic Nonspecific Low Back Pain: A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis, Lara De Vecchi Machado

Theses and Dissertations--Kinesiology and Health Promotion

Chronic nonspecific low back pain (CNLBP) is the leading cause of years lived with disability worldwide and represents a complex, multifactorial, and heterogeneous condition. It is characterized by substantial interindividual variability in muscle activation patterns, lumbo-pelvic coordination, and movement strategies. Although exercise is widely recommended as a first-line intervention and its clinical benefits are well established, the biomechanical mechanisms underlying functional improvement remain fragmented in the literature and are rarely synthesized quantitatively.

This dissertation conducted a systematic review with meta-analysis to investigate the biomechanical effects of exercise-based interventions in individuals with CNLBP. A total of 39 studies were included and …

Test-Retest Reliability And Validity Of The Gas Exchange Threshold, Erik Ryan Snell Mr.

Theses and Dissertations--Kinesiology and Health Promotion

Theoretically, the gas exchange threshold (GET) demarcates the moderate and heavy intensity domains, whereby exercise performed at and below the GET results in a change in oxygen consumption ([ΔVO₂] ≤ 200 mL), and exercise above the GET results in a slow component (ΔVO₂ > 200 mL). This study examined the reliability and validity of the GET. 14 subjects performed two maximal graded exercise tests (GXTs) to determine the GET and its reliability. The minimal difference (MD = 21W) was applied to determine the GET above (GET_+MD) and below (GET_-MD) power outputs for 30 min …

Are Multiple-Choice And Open-Ended Assessments Consistent In Predicting Science Achievement? Multivariate Multilevel Evidence From Chinese Students And Schools, Quan Wu

Theses and Dissertations--Education Sciences

A multivariate multilevel model was developed and applied to secondary data from a large-scale science assessment of Grade 8 students in China to examine the consistency between multiple-choice and open-ended formats of assessment in predicting science achievement at the student and school levels. The sample included 44,534 students from 159 schools across two regions. Multivariate multilevel results indicated a moderately positive consistency between the two formats at the student level and a strongly positive consistency at the school level; these consistencies were stable across regions and did not depend on student and school characteristics. The findings have important practical implications …

Academic Departments As Microfoundations Of Institutional Governance, Karley A. Riffe, Meghan J. Pifer

Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation Faculty Publications

Considerations of governance in US higher education do not typically include the academic department. This results in a knowledge gap about the role of these central organizing units of academic work in the governance of colleges and universities. Through the concept of microfoundations, we explore concrete ways in which departmental governance matters, how it may be challenging, and strategies for fostering effective governance within academic departments.

Impact Of A Workshop On Rural Healthcare Delivery On Medical Student Attitudes, Robert L. Snedegar, Ryan Hayes, Jun Xiang, Treah Haggerty, Kendra Unger, Jason Oreskovich, Amie M. Ashcraft

Journal of Appalachian Health

Introduction: Rural residents in the United States (U.S.) experience significant health disparities due to social determinants such as poverty, geographic isolation, and limited healthcare access. Physician shortages in rural areas further exacerbate these challenges.

Purpose: This study evaluates the impact of an educational workshop on medical students’ attitudes toward rural healthcare barriers, aiming to determine whether targeted education can enhance their understanding and interest in rural practice.

Methods: Third-year medical students at the West Virginia University School of Medicine participated in a workshop that included a 20-minute pre-recorded lecture and a 90-minute interactive virtual session. Pre- and post-surveys assessed students’ …

Geospatial Analysis Of Breast Cancer Incidence, Mortality, And Access To Screening In Rural And Appalachian Virginia, Jennifer Osher, Caleb Brown, Phillip Nichols, Tariq Ayubi, Jeremy Powers

Journal of Appalachian Health

Introduction: Breast cancer is the most common malignancy among women in the United States (U.S.), despite recent survival rates improving nationally. However, rural and Appalachian regions have experienced slower mortality declines. These communities face unique health care-related challenges that may contribute to observed disparities.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to assess differences in breast cancer incidence, mortality, and mortality-to-incidence ratio (MIR) between Appalachian and non-Appalachian counties, as well as rural and non-rural counties in Virginia (VA). Furthermore, we aim to evaluate whether availability of mammography is associated with these differences.

Methods: County-level breast cancer incidence and mortality data …

¿Cómo Se Dice, "Liberty And Justice For All Cannot Exist Without Equal Access For All" En Español?, Turner Denise Reynolds

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Like Balance On Ice: Towards A New Approach To The Open And Obvious Doctrine Under Kentucky Law, Hayden T. Crosby

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Just A Place Or A Just Place?: Domestic Violence, Urban-Rural Differences, And Access To Justice, Cassie Chambers Armstrong

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Gene Expression Profile–Based Test To Predict Melanoma Sentinel Node Status, Tina J. Hieken, Michael E. Egger, Christina V. Angeles, John R. Hyngstrom, Erin E. Burke, Michael C. Lowe, Georgia M. Beasley, Edmund K. Bartlett, Scott C. Bresler, Kelly L. Harms, Jonathan S. Zager, Julia S. Lehman, Nabil Wasif, Sanjay P. Bagaria, Kelly M. Mcmasters, David A. Wada, Prakash Pandalai, Keith A. Delman, Jay Lee, Klaus J. Busam, Jane L. Messina, Vernon K. Sondak

Surgery Faculty Publications

Importance Contemporary guidelines recommend sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) for patients with melanoma with predicted risk of SLN metastasis greater than 10% and consideration of SLNB when the risk is 5% to 10%. A gene expression profile (GEP)–based test that can accurately identify patients with a low risk of SLN metastasis would refine selection for SLNB. Objective To establish the predictive capability of the combined clinicopathological factors and GEP (CP-GEP) test to identify patients with primary cutaneous melanoma who can safely forgo SLNB and to investigate the prognostic value of CP-GEP regarding the outcome in patients with cutaneous melanoma after …

Overdose Education And Naloxone Distribution In Jails, Timothy Hunt, Carrie B. Oser, Peter D. Friedmann, Nicole Mack, Peter Balvanz, Bridget Freisthler, Redonna K. Chandler, Karli Hochstatter, Daniel R. Harris, La Shawn Glasgow, Lauren D’Costa, Mary R. Russo, Barry Eggleston, Arnie Aldridge, Paul Bellair, Allyson G. Cogan, James L. David, Nabila El-Bassel, Dawn Goddard-Eckrich, Steve Gomori, Holly Hagan, Steve Hanson, Ja Nae Holloway, Elizabeth N. Kinnard, Charlie Knott, Michael W. Konstan, Sharon L. Walsh, Patricia A. Lebaron

Sociology Faculty Publications

Background: Opioid-related overdose is the leading cause of mortality among individuals recently released from incarceration in the U.S. Naloxone is an FDA-approved opioid antagonist medication designed to rapidly reverse opioid overdose. Despite evidence of its acceptability and effectiveness at reducing the risk of opioid overdose death after release from incarceration, only an estimated 25% of US jails provide naloxone upon release. This study examines the effectiveness of the HEALing Communities Study (HCS) Communities That HEAL (CTH) intervention on enhancing access to overdose education and naloxone distribution (OEND) in participating jails in Kentucky, New York, Massachusetts, and Ohio. Methods: Communities were …

Assessing Patient Experiences And Priorities In Traumatic Brain Injury Health Care, Temitayo R. Okusanya, Madeline D. Furie, Sergey Tarima, Courtney O. Barry, Terri Deroon-Cassini, Yuka Kobayashi, Michael A. Mccrea, Kathleen S. Williams, Staci A. Young, Lindsay D. Nelson

Biostatistics Faculty Publications

Improving patient experiences and outcomes of traumatic brain injury (TBI) will require understanding patient perspectives of current care systems. Experts have called for building more integrated, patient-centered systems of care to better support patients through stages of TBI recovery. Informed by an earlier qualitative study, we conducted a survey to quantify patient perspectives on discharge and post-discharge experiences across seven hospitals in a single southeastern Wisconsin health system. Eligible participants were English or Spanish speakers and received TBI care between February 2023 and June 2024 at one level I trauma center emergency department (ED) and inpatient unit, two level III …

Quantifying Nuanced Differences In Hand Dexterity Between The Dominant And Nondominant Hands Of Healthy, Right-Handed, Young Adults, Brian J. Conway, Léon Taquet, Timothy F. Boerger, Kaitlin Goetschel, Kate B. Krucoff, Sergey Tarima, Brian D. Schmit, Max O. Krucoff

Biostatistics Faculty Publications

When individuals present with hand injuries, clinicians often use the contralateral hand as an internal control. However, subtle differences in baseline dexterous abilities between the dominant and nondominant hands are poorly understood. To address this gap, here we quantified such differences, measured as independence (individuation) and smoothness of finger movements. A cohort of 47 right-hand-dominant healthy adults (22 males and 25 females) moved each finger independently 10 times, while joint angle data were tracked with a dataglove (CyberGlove III, CyberGlove Systems, San Jose, CA). Each finger’s performance was compared with its counterpart on the opposite hand using Wilcoxon-signed rank tests. …

Exclusivity In Early Maya Monumentality, Scott R. Hutson, Mario Zimmermann, Iliana Ancona Aragón

Anthropology Faculty Publications

Datasets from around the world suggest that people completed early monumental construction projects without long-term structures of hierarchy or authority. In the Maya area, some of the first monuments produced by semisedentary societies, such as those at Yaxuna and Ceibal, were built in the absence of substantial social inequality. The focus of these monuments was a relatively inclusive plaza. This article presents evidence of an eighth-century BC monumental construction at Ucí, another site that was probably not fully sedentary. At Ucí, however, the first large architecture is not inclusive. Structure 14sub5 lacks a front stairway, separating people in the plaza …

Acute Effects Of Lactate Infusion On Metabolism, Ad Biomarkers, And Cognition, Riley E. Kemna, Paul J. Kueck, Anneka Blankenship, Casey S. John, Chelsea N. Johnson, Zachary D. Green, Hana Mayfield, Lauren Yoksh, Lance Johnson, John P. Thyfault, Jonathan D. Mahnken, Benjamin F. Miller, Jill K. Morris

Physiology Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Impaired cerebral glucose metabolism is a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Lactate is an alternative brain fuel; however, whole-body lactate metabolism has not been measured in AD. METHODS: The Lactate for Energy and Neurocognition Trial (NCT05207397) was a single-arm trial that enrolled 24 cognitively healthy (CH) older adults and 12 cognitively impaired (CI) participants. Subjects underwent a stable isotope lactate infusion to evaluate lactate metabolism, cognitive testing, and blood biomarker analyses. pTau217, brain-derived tau (BD-tau), pTau181, glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), neurofilament light chain (NfL), total tau, and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) were analyzed by Simoa HD-X (Quanterix). RESULTS: …

Genomic, Transcriptomic, And Immunogenomic Landscape Of Over 1300 Sarcomas Of Diverse Histology Subtypes, Alex Soupir, Oscar E. Ospina, Oliver Hampton, Michelle Churchman, Michael Radmacher, Dale Hedges, David Mckean, Phaedra Agius, Saman Zeeshan, Nathan D. Seligson, Raphael Pollock, David Liebner, James L. Chen, Gabriel Tinoco, Bodour Salhia, Martin Mccarter, Breelyn A. Wilky, Benjamin J. Miller, Michael J. Cavnar, John S. Groundland, Bryan P. Schneider, Gregory Riedlinger, Stephen B. Edge, Christopher A. Moskaluk, Kenneth Cardona, Abdul Rafeh Naqash, Ricardo J. Gonzalez, John E. Mullinax

Surgery Faculty Publications

Given their rarity and diversity, a fundamental understanding of the genomic underpinnings for many sarcoma subtypes is still lacking. To better define the molecular landscape of this group of diseases, we perform matched whole exome sequencing and RNA sequencing on a cohort of 1340 sarcoma tumor specimens. We identify recurrent somatic mutations and observe an increased mutational burden in metastatic vs. primary samples (p < 0.001). We observe frequent copy number alterations including whole genome doubling, with this feature being more common in metastatic tumors (p = 0.026). Estimation of immune cell abundances followed by hierarchical clustering identifies five immune subtypes ranging from low to high and we observe inferior overall survival in immune deplete clusters compared to immune enriched (p < 0.01). Interestingly, GIST predominantly form a distinct “immune intermediate” cluster that is marked by a specific enrichment for NK cells (FDR < 0.01).

High-Throughput Screens Identify Genotype-Specific Therapeutics For Channelopathies, Christian L. Egly, Alex Shen, Tri Q. Do, Carlos Tellet Cabiya, Paxton A. Ritschel, Suah Woo, Matthew Ku, Brian P. Delisle, Brett M. Kroncke, Björn C. Knollmann

Physiology Faculty Publications

Genetic diseases such as ion channelopathies substantially burden human health. Existing treatments are limited and not genotype specific. Here, we report a 2-step high-throughput approach to rapidly identify drug candidates for repurposing as genotype-specific therapy. We first screened 1,680 medicines using a thallium-flux trafficking assay against Kv11.1 gene variants causing long QT syndrome (LQTS), an ion channelopathy associated with fatal cardiac arrhythmia. We identified evacetrapib as a suitable drug candidate that improves membrane trafficking and activates channels. We then used deep mutational scanning to prospectively identify all Kv11.1 missense variants in an LQTS hotspot region responsive to treatment with evacetrapib. …