Digital Commons Network^™

Utilization Of Psychotherapeutic Interventions By Pediatric Psychosocial Providers, Cynthia Fair, Amanda Thompson, Marie Barnett, Stacy R. Flowers, June Burke, Lori Wiener

Family Medicine Faculty Publications

One of the Standards of Psychosocial Care for Children with Cancer and their Families recommends that all youth with cancer and their family members have access to psychotherapeutic interventions and support throughout the cancer trajectory. This study was created to identify the psychosocial interventions and services provided to children with cancer and their family members, to ascertain whether there are differences in interventions provided by age of the patient and stage of treatment, and to learn about barriers to psychosocial service provision. An online survey was disseminated to psychosocial providers through the listservs of national and international professional organizations. The …

Hepatitis C Virus Care Cascade In Persons Experiencing Homelessness In The United States In The Era Of Direct-Acting Antiviral Agents: A Scoping Review, Aubrey Del Rosario, Jonathan Eldredge, Sara Doorley, Shiraz I. Mishra, Denece Kesler, Kimberly Page

Publications

The hepatitis C virus (HCV) care cascade has been well characterized in the general United States population and other subpopulations since curative medications have been available. However, information is limited on care cascade outcomes in persons experiencing homelessness. The main objective of this study was to map the available evidence on HCV care cascade outcomes in people experiencing homelessness in the U.S. in the era of direct-acting antiviral agents (DAAs). Primary and secondary outcomes included linkage to care (evaluation by a provider that can treat HCV) and sustained virologic response (SVR) or cure. Exploratory outcomes included other cascade data, like …

Dietary Fiber Utilization In The Gut: The Role Of Human Gut Microbes In The Degradation And Consumption Of Xylose-Based Carbohydrates, Elizabeth Drey

Department of Food Science and Technology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Xylans are a family of xylose-based polysaccharides naturally present in fruits, vegetables, and cereal grains. Resistant to digestion by host enzymes, xylans reach the large intestine intact, where they are utilized by members of the gut microbiome. They are initially hydrolyzed by primary degraders that utilize extracellular xylanases to cleave xylan into smaller oligomers. These xylooligosaccharides (XOS) can then either be further hydrolyzed by primary degraders or can cross-feed secondary consumers, including Bifidobacterium. While several Bifidobacterium species have metabolic systems for XOS, studies have shown these species grow poorly on longer XOS and xylan substrates. In this thesis, …

Responding To The Pandemic: A Multicountry Study On Social-Political Factors And Health Outcomes Of Covid-19, Lan Yao

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

Introduction. Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) poses a major global threat to human beings, which has caused devastating consequences of population health, political, and economic crises in many countries. This dissertation was composed of three research activities to study the following aims: (1) review the existing literature focusing on political factors and health outcomes of COVID-19; (2) assess the relationship between democracy and case fatality rate of COVID-19 by controlling for the effect of age, comorbidity, health expenditure, healthcare workforce, and population density; and (3) identify the trajectory pattern cases peak days, deaths peak days, and peak periods.

Methods. We accessed …

The Neoliberalization Of Higher Education: Paradoxing Students' Basic Needs At A Hispanic-Serving Institution, Megan A.K. Schraedley, J. Jacob Jenkins, Molly Irelan, Megan Umana

Communication and Media Faculty Publications

Millions of college students in the United States lack access to adequate food, housing, and other basic human needs. These insecurities have only been exacerbated in recent decades by the country's neoliberal approach to higher education, with disproportionately negative consequences for historically underserved populations (e.g., racial/ethnic minorities, low-income students, and first-generation college students). For each of these reasons, this study explores the organizational paradoxes faced by students attending a public, 4-year Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) in southern California. Drawing upon 30 semi-structured interviews with undergraduates who self-identified as historically underserved, our three-stage conceptualization of data analysis revealed three specific paradoxes: (1) …

The Echo: November 1, 2021, Taylor University

2021-2022 (Volume 109)

New Taylor president envisions the next chapter — A bird’s eye view: Michael Lindsay’s professional career — Taylor requires COVID-19 vaccination for study abroad — Lutheran Health Network builds hospital in Gas City — Samuel Morris statues renovated, running — Fall Fashion — Eaks serves the DC at quarantine peaks — Marissa Williams: Unification through photography — Scheduling J-terms — Building a relationship with food — Editors explain: Michael Lindsay’s professional career — Grieving shared trauma through unity — Parnassus holds true to their mission — ‘Ted Lasso’ season two crabs up the humor and heart — Taylor soccer players …

Silica Hydride: A Separation Material Every Analyst Should Know About, Joseph J. Pesek, Maria T. Matyska

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

This review describes the development, special features and applications of silica hydridebased stationary phases for HPLC. The unique surface of this material is in contrast to ordinary, standard silica, which is the material most frequently used in modern HPLC stationary phases. The standard silica surface contains mainly silanol (Si-OH) groups, while the silica hydride surface is instead composed of silicon-hydrogen groups, which is much more stable, less reactive and delivers different chromatographic and chemical characteristics. Other aspects of this material are described for each of the different bonded moieties available commercially. Some applications for each of these column types are …

Causes, Timing, And Modes Of Death In A Tertiary Pediatric Intensive Care Unit: Five Years’ Experience, Ayman Al-Eyadhy, Mohamad-Hani Temsah, Gamal M. Hasan, Mohammed Almazyad, Ali A. Alhaboob, Majed Alabdulhafid, Fahad Alsohime, Ahmed S. Alzahrani, Abdullah M. Alammari, Faisal S. Abunohaiah, Nawaf F. Alfawzan, Suhail S. Alghamdi

Saudi Medical Journal

Objectives: To identify the causes, modes, and timing of death in a tertiary pediatric intensive care unit (PICU). Methods: This is a retrospective data analysis of patients older than 48 hours and younger than 15 years who died in the PICU over a 5-year period from January 2012 until December 2016 at a tertiary hospital in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Results: There were 101 deaths out of 2295 admissions, representing average crude mortality rate of 4.4%. Sepsis was the most common cause of death in 31 patients (30.7%), followed by lower respiratory tract infections in 19 (18.8%), and cardiac diseases in …

College Of Natural Sciences Scholarship Brunch Program, November 6th 2021, College Of Natural Sciences

College of Natural Sciences Newsletters and Reports

This is the program for the first annual College of Natural Sciences Scholarship Brunch, held on November 6th, 2021 at McCrory Gardens.

Nutrinews: November, 2021, Department Of Nutrition And Dietetics, University Of North Florida

NutriNews

This issue features UNF COVID Corner, Plant Powered Protein: Is it Enough? A Day i the Life of an Iranian Nutrition Student, Plant Power: Vegetarianism Edition, Nutrition Club Spotlight: SNDA, Are Vegans more at Risk for Developing a B12 Deficiency? Here's What you need to know?, Shopping in Season: Beets, Don't Fight the Phytonutrients!, Can athletes be plant-based?

The Role Of The Filifactor Alocis Hypothetical Protein Fa519 In Oxidative Stress Resistance, Ezinne Rebecca Aja

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Filifactor alocis, a fastidious, Gram-positive, obligate anaerobic bacterium, is a newly appreciated member of the periodontal community, which is now proposed to be a diagnostic indicator of periodontal disease. Its pathogenic characteristics are highlighted by its ability to survive in the oxidative-stress rich environment of the periodontal pocket and to significantly alter the microbial community dynamics by forming biofilms and interacting with several oral bacteria. Currently, there is incomplete information on the pathogenic mechanism(s) and a possible dynamic functional role of F. alocis in the dysbiotic microbial community. Because the stress response of this bacterium to the oxidative environment …

Biology Of Alniphagus Aspericollis (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae) In Alnus Tenuifolia In Northern Idaho And Notes On Alniphagus Hirsutus, Malcolm M. Furniss, Sandra J. Kegley

Western North American Naturalist

The biology of Alniphagus aspericollis (LeConte) was studied in thinleaf alder (Alnus tenuifolia Nutt.) in northern Idaho. Infested alders were mature and dying from infection by a white rot fungus, Phellinus igniarius (L.) Quél. The beetle is monogamous and has one generation per year, with broods overlapping in developmental stages throughout summer. Alniphagus aspercollis individuals passed winter as larvae and sexually immature brood adults, some of which overwintered in short hibernation galleries. Beetles emerged in May to create a new generation. Egg galleries were short, with closely spaced, elongate larval mines. Larvae passed through 4 instars before pupating. New …

Standardisation Of Staff Training To Increase Efficiency, Kikundwa Emma Mbabazi, Z Ekeocha, S Byrn, K Clase

BIRS Africa Technical Report Papers

In any industry or organization, personnel training is emphasized with reference to National Regulatory Authorities (NRAs) guidelines and other globally accepted guidelines. In spite of many refresher training programs, the pharmaceutical industry still faces significant variations in individual/ team efficiency and productivity. Individuals/teams given the same task, SOPs, environment and materials continue to produce significantly different results reflecting the possibility of operating on different sets of theoretical and practical information, which may stem from differing trainer, training program or training method. This study focused on using a standardized manual for training two teams A and B involved in vaccine production, …

Vol 2 November '21 Cover, Publishing And Table Of Contents, Donna L. Williams

Journal of the Louisiana Public Health Association

No abstract provided.

Vol 2 November '21 Full Issue, Donna L. Williams

Journal of the Louisiana Public Health Association

No abstract provided.

Program Evaluation - The "Consider Breastfeeding" Mixed Media Campaign For Breastfeeding Promotion" An Evaluation Of A Pilot Study, Caitrin Alb, Melissa Goldin Evans, Meshawn Tarver, Renata A. Granger, Elizabeth Langlois, Katherine Theall

Journal of the Louisiana Public Health Association

No abstract provided.

Effects Of Drying Process On The Volatile And Non-Volatile Flavor Compounds Of Lentinula Edodes, Lijia Zhang, Xiaobo Dong, Xi Feng, Salam A. Ibrahim, Wen Huang, Ying Liu

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

In this study, fresh Lentinula edodes was dehydrated using freeze-drying (FD), hot-air drying (HAD), and natural drying (ND), and the volatile and non-volatile flavor compounds were analyzed. The drying process changed the contents of eight-carbon compounds and resulted in a weaker “mushroom flavor” for dried L. edodes. HAD mushrooms had higher levels of cyclic sulfur compounds (56.55 µg/g) and showed a stronger typical shiitake mushroom aroma than those of fresh (7.24 µg/g), ND (0.04 µg/g), and FD mushrooms (3.90 µg/g). The levels of 5′-nucleotide increased, whereas the levels of organic acids and free amino acids decreased after the drying process. …

Study Of Atmospheric Pollution And Health Risk Assessment: A Case Study For The Sharjah And Ajman Emirates (Uae), Yousef Nazzal, Nadine Bou Orm, Alina Barbulescu, Fares Howari, Manish Sharma, Alaa E. Badawi, Ahmed A. Al-Taani, Jibran Iqbal, Farid El Ktaibi, Cijo M. Xavier, Cristian Stefan Dumitriu

All Works

Dust is a significant pollution source in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) that impacts population health. Therefore, the present study aims to determine the concentration of heavy metals (Cd, Pb, Cr, Cu, Ni, and Zn) in the air in the Sharjah and Ajman emirates’ urban areas and assesses the health risk. Three indicators were used for this purpose: the average daily dose (ADD), the hazard quotient (HQ), and the health index (HI). Data were collected during the period April–August 2020. Moreover, the observation sites were clustered based on the pollutants’ concentration, given that the greater the heavy metal concentration is, …

Higher Habitual Flavonoid Intakes Are Associated With A Lower Incidence Of Diabetes, Nicola P. Bondonno, Frederik Dalgaard, Kevin Murray, Raymond J. Davey, Catherine P. Bondonno, Aedin Cassidy, Joshua R. Lewis, Cecilie Kyrø, Gunnar Gislason, Augustin Scalbert, Anne Tjønneland, Jonathan M. Hodgson

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Background:

Higher flavonoid intakes are hypothesized to confer protection against type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Objectives:

We aimed to 1) investigate associations between flavonoid intakes and diabetes, 2) examine the mediating impact of body fat, and 3) identify subpopulations that may receive the greatest benefit from higher flavonoid intakes in participants of the Danish Diet, Cancer, and Health Study followed up for 23 y.

Methods:

Cross-sectional associations between baseline flavonoid intake, estimated using FFQs and the Phenol Explorer database, and body fat, estimated by bioelectrical impedance, were assessed using multivariable-Adjusted linear regression models. Nonlinear associations between flavonoid intake and incident diabetes …

The Molecular Mechanisms Of Estrogen Receptor Α On Two Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms To Regulate Wnt Signaling In Osteoblasts, Sarocha Suthon

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

Osteoporosis is the most common bone metabolic disorder, affecting over 200 million people globally. It is characterized by bone mass depletion and microarchitectural deterioration, leading to bone fragility and susceptibility to bone fracture. Genetic factors, estrogen deficiency, and dysregulation of the WNT signaling pathway contribute to the development of this disease. Genome-wide association studies have predicted that the single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) rs2887571 and rs9921222 associate with low bone mass, but the mechanism of these SNPs has remained unknown. Analysis of osteoblasts from 112 different joint replacement patients reveals that the genotype of rs2887571 correlates with WNT5B expression, and the …

Role Of Smad2 And Smad3 On Adipose Tissue Development And Function, Roshan Kumari

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

Introduction: Obesity and its associated metabolic syndrome are major medical problems worldwide including United States. Adipose tissue is the primary site of energy storage, playing important roles in health. Adipose tissue also has other critical functions, producing adipocytokines and contributing to normal nutrient metabolism, which in turn play important roles in satiety, inflammation, and total energy homeostasis. Activin A and activin B play important roles in maintaining body composition and energy homeostasis. This dissertation highlights the role of activin/SMADs signaling in adipose tissue development, function, and maintenance.

SMAD2/3 proteins are downstream mediators of transforming growth factor-β (TGFβ) family signaling, including …

Contributions Made By Undergraduates To Research Projects: Using The Credit Taxonomy To Assess Undergraduate Research Experiences., Matt Honoré, Thomas E. Keller, Jen Lindwall, Rachel Crist, Leslie Bienen, Adrienne Zell

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

The authors developed a novel tool, the CREDIT URE, to define and measure roles performed by undergraduate students working in research placements. Derived from an open-source taxonomy for determining authorship credit, the CREDIT URE defines 14 possible roles, allowing students and their research mentors to rate the degree to which students participate in each role. The tool was administered longitudinally across three cohorts of undergraduate student-mentor pairs involved in a biomedical research training program for students from diverse backgrounds. Students engaged most frequently in roles involving data curation, investigation, and writing. Less frequently, students engaged in roles related to software …

The Role Of Precision Agriculture In Food Security, Bruce Erickson, Scott W. Fausti

College of Business Faculty Publications and Presentations

Precision agriculture (PA) is the application of information technology to better manage crop and livestock production, heralded as another tool to advance food security around the world. Precision agriculture has the potential to increase productivity, improve resource allocation for inputs such as pesticides, fertilizers, water, feed, and labor, provide for more stable production, and reduce agricultural production's environmental effect. But PA is an approach that can be very different depending on farm characteristics, such as crops and livestock raised, farm size, management, the farms’ access to technical support, and the characteristics of the operator such as age and education. As …

Fingerlings Mass Estimation: A Comparison Between Deep And Shallow Learning Algorithms, Adair Da Silva Oliveira Junior, Diego André Sant’Ana, Marcio Carneiro Brito Pache, Vanir Garcia, Vanessa Aparecida De Moares Weber, Gilberto Astolfi, Fabricio De Lima Weber, Geazy Vilharva Menezes, Gabriel Kirsten Menezes, Pedro Lucas França Albuquerque, Celso Soares Costa, Eduardo Quirino Arguelho De Queiroz, João Victor Araújo Rozales, Milena Wolff Ferreira, Marco Hiroshi Naka, Hemerson Pistori

School of Computing: Faculty Publications

The paper presents some results regarding the automatic mass estimation of Pintado Real fingerlings, using machine learning techniques to support the fish production process. For this purpose, an image dataset called FISHCV1206FSEG, was created which is composed of 1206 images of fingerlings with their respective annotated masses. Through the fish contours, the area and perimeter were extracted, and submitted to the J48, SVM, and KNN classification algorithms and a linear regression algorithm. The images were also submitted to ResNet50, In- ceptionV3, Exception, VGG16, and VGG19 convolutional neural networks. As a result, the classification algorithm J48 reached an accuracy of 58.2% …

Qupath Digital Immunohistochemical Analysis Of Placental Tissue, Ashley L. Hein, Maheswari Mukherjee, Geoffrey A. Talmon, Sathish Kumar Natarajan, Tara M. Nordgren, Elizabeth Lyden, Corrine K. Hanson, Jesse L. Cox, Annelisse Santiago‑Pintado, Mariam A. Molani, Matthew Van Ormer, Maranda Thompson, Melissa K. Thoene, Aunum Akhter, Ann Anderson‑Berry, Ana G. Yuil-Valdes

Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences: Faculty Publications

Background: QuPath is an open‑source digital image analyzer notable for its user‑friendly design, cross‑platform compatibility, and customizable functionality. Since it was first released in 2016, at least 624 publications have reported its use, and it has been applied in a wide spectrum of settings. However, there are currently limited reports of its use in placental tissue. Here, we present the use of QuPath to quantify staining of G‑protein coupled receptor 18 (GPR18), the receptor for the pro‑resolving lipid mediator Resolvin D2, in placental tissue. Methods: Whole slide images of vascular smooth muscle (VSM) and extravillous trophoblast (EVT) cells stained …

A Lifestyle Approach To Weight Loss With Women Diagnosed With Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, Elizabeth T. Perry

DNP Research Projects

Polycystic ovarian syndrome is an endocrine disorder with the highest prevalence in the United States. The purpose of this study was to determine if a whole food plant-based diet, moderate caloric restriction, and moderate-intensity exercise could reduce body mass index in overweight women diagnosed with polycystic ovarian syndrome. The study was a bound case study, five participants were recruited and two participants completed the study. Self-reported measurements on biometric data were recorded pre and post-intervention. The study also examined the effect these lifestyle changes had on menstrual regularity. Health coaches were utilized to assist participants in adherence to the lifestyle …

Nutrient Cycling In Tropical And Temperate Coastal Waters: Is Latitude Making A Difference?, Christian Lønborg, Moritz Müller, Edward C. V. Butler, Shan Jiang, Seng Keat Ooi, Dieu Huong Trinh, Pui Yee Wong, Suryati M. Ali, Chun Cui, Wee Boon Siong, Erik S. Yando, Daniel A. Friess, Judith A. Rosentreter, Bradley D. Eyre, Patrick Martin

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Tropical coastal waters are highly dynamic and amongst the most biogeochemically active zones in the ocean. This review compares nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) cycles in temperate and tropical coastal waters. We review the literature to identify major similarities and differences between these two regions, specifically with regards to the impact of environmental factors (temperature, sunlight), riverine inputs, groundwater, lateral fluxes, atmospheric deposition, nitrogen fixation, organic nutrient cycling, primary production, respiration, sedimentary burial, denitrification and anammox. Overall, there are some similarities but also key differences in nutrient cycling, with differences relating mainly to temperature, sunlight, and precipitation amounts and patterns. …

Prevalence And Sociodemographic Factors Associated With Vision Difficulties In Ghana, Gambia, And Togo: A Multi-Country Analysis Of Recent Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys, Abdul-Aziz Seidu, Pascal Agbadi, Precious Adade Duodu, Nutifaga Eugene Yaw Dey, Henry Ofori Duah, Bright Opoku Ahinkorah

College of Nursing Faculty Research and Publications

Background

The sense of sight is one of the important human sensory abilities that is required for independent functioning and survival. The highest burden of sight-related problems is recorded in low-and middle-income countries, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. Despite the burden, nationally representative analyses to understand the prevalence and determinants of vision difficulties are hard to find. Therefore, this study addressed this knowledge gap by estimating the prevalence of vision difficulties and its correlates in gender-stratified models in three West African countries: Ghana, Gambia, and Togo.

Methods

The study used the most recent Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys of Ghana (2017–2018), Gambia …

Gourmetnet: Food Segmentation Using Multi-Scale Waterfall Features With Spatial And Channel Attention, Udit Sharma

Theses

Deep learning and Computer vision are extensively used to solve problems in wide range of domains from automotive and manufacturing to healthcare and surveillance. Research in deep learning for food images is mainly limited to food identification and detection. Food segmentation is an important problem as the first step for nutrition monitoring, food volume and calorie estimation. This research is intended to expand the horizons of deep learning and semantic segmentation by proposing a novel single-pass, end-to-end trainable network for food segmentation. Our novel architecture incorporates both channel attention and spatial attention information in an expanded multi-scale feature representation using …

Effects Of Sesame Consumption On Inflammatory Biomarkers In Humans: A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis Of Randomized Controlled Trials, Shabnam Rafiee, Roghaye Faryabi, Mohammad Ali Zareian, Jessie Hawkins, Nitin Shivappa Mbbs, Mph, Ph.D., Laila Shirbeigi

Faculty Publications

Objectives. Existing evidence produces conflicting findings regarding the effect of sesame intake on inflammatory biomarkers; thisknowledge gap has yet to be met through systematic review and meta-analysis. )is meta-analysis of randomized, controlledclinical trials (RCTs) was conducted to evaluate the effects of sesame consumption on markers of inflammation in humans. Methods. PubMed, Scopus, and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews were searched through August 2020 to identify relevant papers for inclusion. Using the random-effects model, data were evaluated as weighted mean differences (WMD) with 95% confidence intervals (CI). Cochrane’s Q and I-squared (I2) tests were used to …