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University Assessment Services, National Survey Of Student Engagement: Mennonite College Of Nursing, First-Year; 2020, Illinois State University

Student Success

National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) Mennonite College of Nursing report. Administered by University Assessment Services, Illinois State University, to First-Year students. 2020.

Size And Density Of Upside-Down Jellyfish, Cassiopea Sp., And Their Impact On Benthic Fluxes In A Caribbean Lagoon, Chester B. Zarnoch, Noshin Hossain, Erika Fusco, Mary Alldred, Timothy J. Hoellein, Sophia Perdikaris

School of Global Integrative Studies: Faculty Publications

Anthropogenic disturbances may be increasing jellyfish populations globally. Epibenthic jellyfish are ideal organisms for studying this phenomenon due to their sessile lifestyle, broad geographic distribution, and prevalence in near-shore coastal environments. There are few studies, however, that have documented epibenthic jellyfish abundance and measured their impact on ecological processes in tropical ecosystems. In this study, the density and size of the upside-down jellyfish (Cassiopea spp.) were measured in Codrington Lagoon, Barbuda. A sediment core incubation study, with and without Cassiopea, also was performed to determine their impact on benthic oxygen and nutrient fluxes. Densities of Cassiopea were 24–168 …

No. 39: Urban Food Governance Perspectives In Changing African And Southern Cities, Gareth Haysom

Hungry Cities Partnership

The key urban food governance question in African and other Southern cities is understanding the role that appropriate infrastructures could play in delivering positive outcomes in the urban food system. This discussion paper looks at urban food governance needs in African cities and reflects on the governance actions required in order to respond to wider food system changes and challenges. It argues that food in the African city is a public good and discusses the role that a state (and city government) should play in enabling access. The paper finds that the normalization of food poverty, the absence of agency, …

Remaking Environmental Justice, Clifford Villa

Faculty Scholarship

From movements for civil rights in the 1960s and environmental protection in the 1970s, the environmental justice movement emerged in the 1980s and 1990s to highlight the disparate impacts of pollution, principally upon people of color and low-income communities. Over time, the scope of environmental justice expanded to address concerns for other dimensions of diversity. New and continuing challenges tell us that we need to reframe our understanding of environmental justice to ensure better protection for people going forward. One way to reframe this understanding may be to apply the heuristic of vulnerability analysis as proposed by legal theorist Martha …

Plant Responses To Climate Change At Flat Iron Lake Preserve, Lucas Walker, David Warners

Summer Research

This summer was a continuation of a long-term study that began in 2008. Each year, students have lived at the preserve and over 10 weeks in the summer they track the flowering period of native plants that are growing there. . The goal of this study is to investigate the possible effects of climate change on the flowering period of plants in West Michigan. This year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the research period was reduced to 8 weeks; however quality data were still collected.

Computational Modeling Of Coumarin Acidity, George Du Laney, Leah Knoor, Mark Muyskens

Summer Research

This summer’s research focused on the photoacidic behavior of hydroxylated coumarins.

A photoacid has two primary pKa values : ground state (pKa ) and excited state (pKa *). Computational modeling was used to predict these values.

Nutech Ventures Annual Report 2019-2020

NUtech Ventures: Publications

NUTech Ventures annual report 2019-2020.

Water In Your Neighbourhood: A Model For Implementing A Semester-Long Course-Based Undergraduate Research Project In Introductory Biology, Ana Lucia Fuentes, Maria Entezari

Publications and Research

Undergraduate biology education has changed over the past decade, incorporating an iterative and evidence-based approach. Many educational assessments have confirmed the effectiveness of integrating authentic research and open-ended inquiry into introductory biology courses, demonstrating a significant positive impact on students’ learning and attitude towards STEM majors. Despite these findings, only a handful of Biology instructors in 2-year colleges adopt this approach, and when adopted, most activities constitute a small fraction of these courses. Finding a feasible, sustainable, semester-long, and cost-effective strategy to incorporate authentic research in the curriculum which promotes integrated understanding of science and addresses socio-scientific issues, is a …

Reports Of Ministries And Educational Institutions, Crcna

Agendas and Acts of Synod

No abstract provided.

The Gender And Sexuality Of Jewish Women, Risa Cole

Master of Liberal Studies Theses

Drawing from the author’s personal experiences and research on Judaism and modernity, the thesis of this paper is that all Jewish women are affected by both world views in ways that are complex and multifaceted.

The Stoic Trinity, Oliver Trapp

Master of Liberal Studies Theses

The ancient philosophical school of Stoicism has experienced a revival in the past decades. Psychologists created the field of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, inspired by Stoic techniques; self-help authors picked and chose from the Stoic canon to provide strategies for personal effectiveness; and academics attempted to reformulate Stoic theory on purely rational grounds. Yet, can Stoicism be the answer to our modern predicament of anxiousness and confusion? Can it help us live happy lives today, that is to say, satisfying lives that makes sense, and are full of purpose and meaning? In this thesis, I argue that today one still needs …

Comparative Phase Imaging Of Live Cells By Digital Holographic Microscopy And Transport Of Intensity Equation Methods, Jeremy M. Wittkopp, Ting Chean Khoo, Shane Carney, Kai Pisila, Shahab J. Bahreini, Kate Tubbesing, Anna Sharikova, Alexander Khmaladze, Supriya Mahajan

Physics Faculty Scholarship

We describe a microscopic setup implementing phase imaging by digital holographic microscopy (DHM) and transport of intensity equation (TIE) methods, which allows the results of both measurements to be quantitatively compared for either live cell or static samples. Digital holographic microscopy is a well-established method that provides robust phase reconstructions, but requires a sophisticated interferometric imaging system. TIE, on the other hand, is directly compatible with bright-field microscopy, but is more susceptible to noise artifacts. We present results comparing DHM and TIE on a custom-built microscope system that allows both techniques to be used on the same cells in rapid …

Variations On A Theme: Intricacies Of Unanchored Poly-Ubiquitin Signaling And Toxicity, Jessica Renee Blount-Pacheco

Wayne State University Dissertations

Ubiquitin is an 8.5 kDa post-translational modifier involved in essentially all eukaryotic cellular processes. Through a process called ubiquitination, ubiquitinating enzymes chemically attach ubiquitin to substrate proteins to control their fates, resulting in anything from their recruitment into signaling pathways to their proteasomal degradation, with a plethora of possibilities in between. Ubiquitin molecules can also be attached to one another, resulting in poly-ubiquitin chains with various effects depending on the number of ubiquitin molecules and the specific amino acid residues used to link them together. While most poly-ubiquitin in the cell exists as conjugated species, there are also untethered poly-ubiquitin …

“It Is Like Living In A Diminishing World”: Older Persons’ Experiences Of Living With Long-Term Health Problems – Prior To The Strength Intervention, Cecilia Åberg, Catharina Gillsjö, Jenny Hallgren, Mia Berglund

College of Nursing Faculty Publications

Introduction: Ageing is often associated with multiple long-term health problems influencing older persons’ well-being in daily living. It is not unusual that the point of interest in research is often on the management of the actual health problem instead of being holistic and person-centred.

Purpose: To describe the phenomenon of living with long-term health problems that influence daily living, from the older persons’ perspective.

Methods: Qualitative individual interviews were conducted with 34 older persons living with long-term health problems. The data were analysed using a Reflected Lifeworld Research (RLR) approach, grounded in phenomenology. Results: Life with long-term …

The Intertwining Of Reconciliation And Displacement: A Lifeworld Hermeneutic Study Of Older Adults’ Perceptions Of The Finality Of Life, Lina Palmér, Maria Nyström, Gunilla Carlsson, Catharina Gillsjö, Irene Eriksson, Ann-Charlotte Dalheim-Englund

College of Nursing Faculty Publications

Purpose: This study aimed to explain and understand the existential meaning of the finality of life from the perspective of healthy older adults.

Method: Participants were recruited from a major project on older adults’ life situations. They were interviewed about their thoughts on the end of life, and their responses were interpreted using a lifeworld hermeneutic approach.

Results: The findings showed that thinking about the inevitable finality of life involves feelings of liberation, frightening thoughts, a comforting promise of something beyond death, acceptance of the concept of death as a companion in life and a desire to …

Going Mobile With Primary Care: Smartphone-Telemedicine For Asthma Management In Young Urban Adults (Teams), Jennifer R. Mammen, Judith D. Schoonmaker, James Java, Jill Halterman, Marc N. Berliant, Amber Crowley, Marina Reznik, Jonathan M. Feldman, Robert J. Fortuna, Sean M. Frey, Kelsey Turgeon, Ashley Philibert, Kimberly Arcoleo

College of Nursing Faculty Publications

Background: The majority of adults with persistent asthma have chronically uncontrolled disease and interventions to improve outcomes are needed. We evaluated the efficacy, feasi- bility, and acceptability of a multi-component smartphone-telemedicine program (TEAMS) to deliver asthma care remotely, support provider adherence to asthma management guide- lines, and improve patient outcomes.

Methods: TEAMS utilized: (1) remote symptom monitoring, (2) nurse-led smartphone-tele- medicine with self-management training for patients, and (3) Electronic medical record- based clinical decision support software. Adults aged 18-44 (N=33) and primary care providers (N=4) were recruited from a safety-net practice in Upstate New York. Asthma con- trol, quality of …

Effects Of The Intervention “Reflective Strength-Giving Dialogues” For Older Adults Living With Long-Term Pain: A Pilot Study, Lena Hedén, Mia Berglund, Catharina Gillsjö

College of Nursing Faculty Publications

Background. Long-term musculoskeletal pain is a major, often undertreated, disabling health problem among an increasing number of older adults. Reflective STRENGTH-giving dialogues (STRENGTH) may be a tool to support older adults living with long-term pain. The main aim of this pilot study was to investigate the immediate and longitudinal effect of the intervention STRENGTH on levels of pain, wellbeing, occurrence of depression symptoms, and sense of coherence (SOC) among community-dwelling older adults suffering from musculoskeletal pain compared to a control group. Methods. The study was semiexperimental with an intervention group and a control group. The effect of a …

Unmet Healthcare Needs Of Children In Vulnerable Families In South Korea: Finding From The Community Child Center Child Panel Survey, Suyon Baek, Eun-Hi Choi, Jung Eun Lee

College of Nursing Faculty Publications

Presented in this paper is a study that examined the status of unmet healthcare needs of children in vulnerable families and identified factors affecting such unmet needs. The Community Child Center (CCC) Child Panel Survey data in Korea were used. A multiple stepwise logistic regression analysis was performed to examine factors influencing unmet healthcare needs of children. Influencing factors comprised predisposing, enabling, and need factors based on the Andersen Behavioral Model of Health Services Utilization. A total of 340 sixth-graders from vulnerable families participated, and 96 (28.2%) children had unmet healthcare needs. Factors included absence of an after-school caregiver (OR …

A Mixed‐Methods Analysis Of Younger Adults' Perceptions Of Asthma, Self‐Management, And Preventive Care: "This Isn't Helping Me None", Jennifer R. Mammen, Kelsey Turgeon, Ashley Philibert, Judith D. Schoonmaker, James Java, Jill Halterman, Marc N. Berliant, Amber Crowley, Marina Reznik, Jonathan M. Feldman, Robert J. Fortuna, Kimberly Arcoleo

College of Nursing Faculty Publications

Background: Young adults (ages 18‐44) have increased emergency department use for asthma and poor adherence to medications. The objective of this mixed‐methods study was to understand experiences with and approaches to managing asthma, of which little is known in this age group.

Methods: Surveys (Asthma Control Questionnaire, Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire) and 1:1 semi‐structured interviews were used to explore experiences with asthma, symptoms, self‐management behaviors, and relationship to asthma control and quality of life. Qualitative data were analyzed using content analysis techniques. Descriptive statistics and bivariate correlations were used to examine distributive characteristics and associations between variables.

Results: Forty …

Multivariate Ewma Models And Monitoring Health Surveillance During A Pandemic, Jeffrey E. Jarrett, Xia Pan

College of Business Faculty Publications

We examine a common problem is biological analytics and surveillance in health care. These methods can improve greatly the process of monitoring health data to assess changes in the likelihood of Pandemics and disease incidence in a world where medical knowledge is still largely in an embryonic period. Based on an illustration, we suggest that multivariate exponential moving-average (MEWMA) control charts are suitable in many cases where detection and inspection of several or more variables over a lengthy period of testing provide for the best analysis of data leading to pre-­diagnostic and diagnostic therapy. Though these methods came …

Isolation Of Isotrichophycin C And Trichophycins G–I From A Collection Of Trichodesmium Thiebautii, Kelly M. Mcmanus, Riley D. Kirk, Christopher W. Via, James S. Lotti, Alexandre F. Roduit, Roberta Teta, Silvia Scarpato, Alfonso Magoni, Matthew Bertin

Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences Faculty Publications

The trichophycin family of compounds are chlorinated polyketides first discovered from environmental collections of a bloom-forming Trichodesmium sp. cyanobacterium. In an effort to fully capture the chemical space of this group of metabolites, the utilization of MS/MS-based molecular networking of a Trichodesmium thiebautii extract revealed a metabolome replete with halogenated compounds. Subsequent MS-guided isolation resulted in the characterization of isotrichophycin C and trichophycins G–I (1–4). These new metabolites had intriguing structural variations from those trichophycins previously characterized, which allowed for a comparative study to examine structural features that are associated with toxicity to murine neuroblastoma cells. Additionally, we propose the …

Radiation Actions And Dimensions Of Radiation Safety Among U.S. Radiologic Technologists, Quentin T. Moore

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Background: Radiation safety culture is a fundamental contributor to procedural justification, exam optimization, and dose-limiting practices in medical imaging. Multiple intrapersonal, interpersonal, institutional, community, and policy factors could influence the outcomes of radiation safety culture.

Purpose and Aims: The purpose of the study was to examine the determinants of radiation safety culture among U.S. radiologic technologists. The specific aims were to: 1) develop a survey instrument tailored to radiation actions and dimensions of radiation safety with a sequential use of multiple techniques; 2) examine determinants of radiation safety culture employing McLeroy’s socioecological model; 3) examine relationship between the determinants of …

Clozapine And Hematologic Adverse Reactions: Impact Of The Risk Evaluation And Mitigation Strategy Program, Eric P. Borrelli, Y. Lee, Aisling R. Caffrey

Pharmacy Practice and Clinical Research Faculty Publications

Introduction: In October 2015, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) instituted an update to the mandatory Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) program for clozapine to improve safety monitoring of hematologic events. However, the impact of the clozapine REMS program on reporting of hematologic adverse events has not been quantified.

Methods: We assessed adverse event reports for agranulocytosis, granulocytopenia, leukopenia, and neutropenia from the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) for a 1-year time period before (October 2014 to September 2015, pre-REMS) and after (October 2015 to September 2016, post-REMS) the implementation of the clozapine REMS program. The AERSMine platform …

Psychosocial Outcomes Among College Students With Learning Disorders, Bobbi Isaac

Wayne State University Dissertations

Specific learning disorders, also known as learning disabilities, are defined as neurodevelopmental disorders in which long-term difficulties with learning and using academic skills occur within the context of one or multiple academic areas (i.e., reading, mathematics, writing). As our understanding of learning disorders (LD) has evolved beyond a focus on childhood diagnosis, a limited body of research has emerged examining adult outcomes for individuals with learning disorders in regards to higher education, employment, psychosocial, and health outcomes. Much of the results of this research seems to indicate that individuals with LDs may have poorer outcomes in adulthood across these domains. …

Development Of Photoacoustic Tomographic Systems For Brain Hemorrhage Detection, Karl Kratkiewicz

Wayne State University Dissertations

Preterm neonates (age) and/or with low birth weight (

Photoacoustic imaging (PAI) is an imaging modality which derives its contrast from differences in optical absorption coefficients of tissue through laser irradiation and acoustic detection. Therefore, PAI derives its signal directly from optical absorbers such as blood; the critical component in a hemorrhage. We discuss operation and processing methods of our Verasonics Vantage system. We then investigate thermal safety of PAI in mouse model for various laser pulse repetitions rates and illumination duration. We then develop two photoacoustic tomographic systems for eventual translation to clinic for hemorrhage detection. One system being …

Exploring The Scope And Limitations Of The Oxidative Deamination Of N-Acetyl Neuraminic Acid, Mohammed Bakr Hawsawi

Wayne State University Dissertations

Sialic acids are molecules of importance in the fields of carbohydrate chemistry and glycoscience, and their diversity make them even more attractive to scientific research. Modifications of sialic acid derivatives may lead to several biological and chemical features that can be utilized for medicinal purposes. The modern drug therapy is dependent on the chemical discoveries of potent and effective molecules. N-Acetyl neuraminic acid is the parent and most common molecule in sialic acid family that received considerable attention in glycochemical research. This dissertation explores the scope as well as the limitations of the Zbiral oxidative deamination of N-acetyl neuraminic acid …

In Vitro Atherosclerosis Disease Model Via The Ring Stacking Method, Cameron Brandon Pinnock

Wayne State University Dissertations

Creation of an in vitro atherosclerotic disease model using the novel Ring Stacking Method. Singular self-assembling tissue rings made up smooth muscle cells and fibrin hydrogel are stacked on one another to create a tissue engineered vessel. These biologically engineered blood vessels are then seeded with endothelial cells via combined static rotational and dynamic bioreactor in order to create a functional intima layer. Early stage atherosclerosis was induced via the addition of oxidized low-density lipoproteins (ox-LDL) to the fibrin hydrogel that creates the media layer of the engineered vessel. After the creation of the intima layer the engineered vessel was …

Parametric Study Of Short Latency Vestibular Evoked Potentials In Healthy Young Adults, Sabahet Fatima Rizvi

Wayne State University Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of developing a novel approach of otolith assessment in humans. This approach used vestibular short-latency evoked potentials (VsEP) to evaluate some fundamental characteristics of VsEP responses in healthy young adults. Currently, measures for direct assessment of the otoliths are non-existent, as vestibular evoked myogenic potentials (VEMPs) rely on neck muscle contraction for cVEMPs or are a reflection of the vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) for oVEMPs, rather than the otoliths themselves (Fujimoto, Suzuki, Kinoshita, Egami, Sugasawa, & Iwasaki, 2018).

Stimuli consisted of bone-conducted vibrations elicited by a specialized vibrator (Bruel & Kjaer, …

Development Of A Novel Cardiac Ischemia-Reperfusion Model In The Axolotl, Jeremy Tolentino Llaniguez

Wayne State University Dissertations

The Center for Disease Control’s National Center for Health Statistics data for mortality from diseases of the heart show the age-adjusted death rate has fallen from almost 600 deaths in the 1950s to just over 190 deaths per 100,000 U.S. residents today. With the recognized limitations of pharmacotherapy of myocardial infarction (MI), cell-based therapies have been undergoing rapid development and clinical testing. However, there is still no consensus about cell types, delivery routes, dosing and treatment schedules and pretreatment conditioning of cells prior to administration. Furthermore, a fundamental question remains unanswered about the reasons for the poor capacity for myocardial …

Use Of Alkoxyamines To Quantify And Map Uracils And To Kill B Cell Cancers, Madusha Lakshani Watuthanthrige Perera

Wayne State University Dissertations

Majority of B-cell lymphoma and leukemia originates in germinal centers and over express AID resulting high levels of uracils and eventually AP sites. Treating cells with a small alkoxyamine AA3 with a terminal alkyne group specifically killed B cell lymphoma cell lines without killing normal human B cells and non-hematological cancers. To study the cytotoxicity of AA3, I designed and synthesized a series of AA3 analogs with and without the alkyne group. Using cytotoxicity assays I demonstrated that the alkyne functionality plays a major role in AA3 cytotoxicity in B-cell cancers and further showed that the effectiveness is modulated by …