Digital Commons Network^™

Modeling X-Linked Dystonia Parkinsonism (Xdp) In Patient-Derived Medium Spiny Neurons, Shivani Aryal

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

X-linked dystonia-parkinsonism (XDP) is an adult-onset neurodegenerative disorder that results in the loss of striatal medium spiny neurons (MSNs). XDP is an X-linked disorder caused by disease-specific mutations around the TAF1 gene. This thesis highlights the utility of directly reprogrammed MSNs from fibroblasts of affected XDP as a platform that captures cellular and epigenetic phenotypes associated with XDP neurodegeneration. In addition, this thesis demonstrates the neuroprotective effect of SAK3 currently tested in other neurodegenerative diseases. XDP fibroblasts from three independent patients as well as age- and sex-matched control fibroblasts were used to generate MSNs using miRNA-9/9*-124 and the transcription factors …

Occupational And Environmental Factors Influencing Morale Of United States Federal Wildland Firefighters, Rachel M. Granberg, Ting Shen, Seth W. Pearson, Robin M. Verble

Psychological Science Faculty Research & Creative Works

Background. Wildland firefighters have physically and psychologically demanding jobs that can result in social, economic and health-related stress. Previous studies have examined the physiological and physical effects of a career in wildland fire, but fewer studies have addressed psychological effects, and to date, none have directly analyzed the hiring and work experiences of wildland firefighters. Aims. We surveyed work experiences, health and well-being, and morale of wildland firefighters, explored factors that can improve recruitment and retention, and summarized broad patterns. Methods. We conducted a voluntary anonymous survey of 708 federal wildland firefighters via an online platform over 2 months in …

Addressing Water Hyacinth (Pontederia Crassipes) Impacts On Aquatic Biota In Lake Okeechobee, Joseph Salerno

All HCAS Student Capstones, Theses, and Dissertations

The incursion of water hyacinth, Pontederia crassipes in Lake Okeechobee has resulted in management systems to be implemented to reduce the coverage of the invasive macrophyte. Its residence in the Lake Okeechobee ecosystem and the effects it has on organisms in the lake, whether it be positive or harmful is unknown. This study attempted to assess the potential effects that water hyacinth has on aquatic biota in Lake Okeechobee. Biotic data were collected on open water, water hyacinth covered, and native vegetation covered habitats via hook-and-line fishing, electrofishing, baited minnow traps, and the sampling of plant roots over a thirteen-month …

Restoration Of Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease Susceptible Species In The Arrecife De Puerto Morelos National Park, Mexico Using Colony Microfragmentation, Marina Garmendia

All HCAS Student Capstones, Theses, and Dissertations

The Arrecife de Puerto Morelos National Park (APMNP) has been a marine protected area in Mexico’s Mesoamerican Reef since 1998 and includes ~90 km² of coral reef. Significant declines in stony coral cover have been recorded within the APMNP, primarily due to increasing ocean temperatures and disease events which precipitated the need for active restoration activities. This study addressed if current APMNP conditions, in relation to Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease (SCTLD), are appropriate for the restoration of stony corals through outplanting SCTLD-susceptible species microfragments. In September 2022, three species (Montastraea cavernosa, Orbicella annularis, and O. faveolata) …

Comparison Of Molecular Methods For Absolute Quantification Of Low-Abundant Bacterial Communities In Milk, Carmina Chavez, Janet E. Williams, Michelle K. Mcguire, Mark A. Mcguire

Undergraduate Research Symposium Posters

Milk was historically thought to be generally sterile. However, use of culture-dependent and culture-independent methods has provided strong evidence that milk has a microbiome (Figure 1). Culture-independent methods (e.g., high-throughput sequencing) have demonstrated the diversity of microbes in milk but provide relative abundance data. Culture-dependent methods have indicated microbial communities in milk are of low abundance, but it is challenging to measure absolute quantities accurately. Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) has been used to quantify bacterial taxa in milk, However, concentrations often fall below the detection limit (Figure 2 & 3). Digital droplet PCR (ddPCR) allows detection of low-abundant …

Kenyon Collegiate - December 8, 2023

Kenyon Collegiate

No abstract provided.

Visual Imagery Subcategories And Their Neural Associations, Miguel Ibarguren

Undergraduate Scholarship and Creative Works

This literature review compiles research findings related to the brain areas associated with various visual imagery subcategories and explores their contributions to them. Through a search procedure, four research projects were used to identify ten distinct brain areas that demonstrated greater involvement in visual imagery. The visual imagery subcategories discussed in these research projects, and investigated in this review, include scene construction, episodic memory, imagery vividness, and visuospatial imagery. Scene construction was found to utilize the parahippocampal gyrus, hippocampus, retrosplenial cortex, and posterior parietal cortex. Episodic memory involves the same areas as scene construction, but also includes the precuneus and …

Animal-Assisted Therapy In Mental Illness, Chanae Cypress

MSN Capstone Projects

Mental health disorders are a significant global health concern, with a growing need for alternative therapeutic approaches. Animal-assisted therapy has gained recognition for its potential to improve the emotional and psychological well-being of individuals struggling with these disorders.

This Capstone Benchmark proposed project explores the potential positive impact of animal-assisted therapy (AAT) on patients with mental health disorders during inpatient hospitalization. The project outlines a 4-week intervention program involving 45-60 minutes sessions with dogs, which patients receive 2-3 times per week. For this Capstone Benchmark project, the selected PICOT question is: In patients with mental health disorder (P) how does …

The Impact Of Evidence-Based Diabetes Self-Management Education In A1c Levels In Adults With Type 2 Diabetes, Concepcion Fanous

MSN Capstone Projects

Diabetes Mellitus II is a leading cause of death in the United States, imposing a significant healthcare cost. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, 2020), one out of every ten Americans have been diagnosed with diabetes, with 90 to 95% of them having type 2 diabetes (T2d). Effective management T2d is crucial to prevent clinical complications, expensive medical care, and a diminished quality of life. Uncontrolled diabetes can lead to severe medical complications including atherosclerotic cardiac cardiovascular disease, renal disease, and microvascular disease (American Diabetes Association [ADA], 2021). The economic burden of diabetes complications amounted to …

Implementing New Staffing Ratios In The Emergency Room To Improve Nurse And Patient Outcomes, Analicia Solis

MSN Capstone Projects

The significance of appropriate nurse staffing in enhancing patient outcomes and mitigating nurse burnout is well-documented. Inadequate nurse staffing can lead to negative consequences, including burnout, decreased nurse retention, and potential safety risks (Shin et al. 2018; Wynendaele et al. 2019) Research has also established a strong connection between nurse-to-patient ratios, well-being, and job dissatisfaction among nursing staff (Andel et al. 2021; Thompson-Munn et al. 2021).

Given this evidence, there is a compelling rationale for aligning nurse staffing ratios with proposed federal standards to address burnout, improve well-being, and enhance patient outcomes. Implementing these changes necessitates careful planning and assessment. …

Assessing The Association Between Experiential Avoidance, Resilience, And Post-Traumatic Stress Symptoms, Victoria G. Latayan

Honors Capstones

Resilience is a specific skill that can be fostered over time which, when mastered in greater amounts, allows individuals to more readily cope with interpersonal conflict and stress. The purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which experiential avoidance of distressing stimuli and trait resilience predict Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) symptoms. To test this, participants were instructed to complete self-report questionnaires that assessed experiential avoidance and resilience. Each participant also completed the PTSD checklist for DSM-5. The results of the study showed that while trait resilience did not significantly predict Post-Traumatic Stress Symptoms (PTSS), experiential avoidance and …

Pathogenicity Of Acinetobacter Calcoaceticus, Kaitlan A. Sullivan

MUSC Theses and Dissertations

Acinetobacter is a genus of gram-negative bacteria that have been appearing frequently in hospitals contributing to infections in the blood, lungs, urinary tract, and other parts of the body. It infects patients with weakened immune systems that are placed on ventilators, after the use of catheters, or have any other open wounds produced by prolonged hospital stays. This genus of bacteria is problematic due to its high probability of becoming resistant to multiple classes of antibiotics. Thus, we are determining the pathogenicity of clinical isolates of Acinetobacter calcoaceticus using the organism Caenorhabditis elegans as a model.

We are testing …

When The Walls Talk, Eric F. Spina

President's Blog: From the Heart

"Our Heart. Our Home." These welcoming words greet me outside my office, and the sight always brightens my day.

A Critical Juncture For Human Rights In Global Health: Strengthening Human Rights Through Global Health Law Reforms, Benjamin Mason Meier, Luciano Bottini Filho, Judith Bueno De Mesquita, Roojin Habibi, Sharifah Sekalala, Lawrence O. Gostin

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

The 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), establishing a human rights foundation under the United Nations (UN), has become a cornerstone of global health, central to public health policies throughout the world. As the world commemorates the 75th anniversary of the UDHR on 10 December, this “Human Rights Day” celebration arrives at a critical juncture for human rights in global health, raising an imperative for World Health Organization (WHO) reforms to strengthen the right to health and health-related human rights.

How A Community Harm Reduction Partnership Lowers Barriers To Care Through Radical Welcome, Caroline Kelmis, Nyann Biery Ms, Bryant Rivera, Erin Barron Rn, Bsn, Cpn, Mha, Yvonne Kingon Mph, Msn, Rn, Cpnp, Belle Marks, Hasshan Batts, Abby S. Letcher Md

Department of Family Medicine

No abstract provided.

The Development Of A Young Adults Cancer Patient Peer Match Application, Mojde Kalantari

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the challenges and needs of young adult cancer patients, along with potential online resources to aid them, that includes social media, public and private organizations, and mobile applications. The focus of this research narrows down to communication and social networking mobile applications, particularly those with peer matching features. Although there are only three social apps in this category, a comprehensive analysis was undertaken. The research aims to underscore the need for a dedicated mobile application that connects young adult cancer patients with the same diagnosis. In response to this need, a mobile app named "YA Peer Match" …

My Body, My Data: California's Attempt To Protect Reproductive And Fertility Data, Yeniliz Peguero

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights and Social Justice (ERSJ) Blog

Following the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs that there is no constitutional right to an abortion, many became concerned about data collected by fertility and menstrual cycle apps. Specifically, users, privacy experts, and even legislators feared that data collected by these apps “could provide a deep well of evidence for states seeking to track and potentially arrest anyone seeking or receiving an abortion. Katharine Kemp’s analysis of twelve popular fertility apps within the United States and abroad revealed the unsafe data practices of some of these apps. These apps allow users to log information including when they had sex, if …

Assessing University Dance Programs: Evaluating The Dance Education Vs Performance Majors For Teacher Preparedness, Kionna N. Burgess

Master's Theses

The primary purpose of this study was to analyze how universities are preparing all dancers for the option of becoming a dance educator outside of training in dance technique. The researcher evaluated current dance educators in K-12 public education schools on their level of preparation from their chosen undergraduate and graduate programs for dance education. There were two research instruments used in this study: online surveys and online interviews completed by the dance educators. The data suggested that there is a need for more undergraduate and graduate dance programs to provide adequate teacher preparation training for those who may enter …

2023-December-08-Etsu Celebrating Reaffirmation Of Accreditation.Pdf, University Marketing And Communication, East Tennessee State University

ETSU News

East Tennessee State University is celebrating a milestone that occurs only once every 10 years: reaffirmation of its accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC).

The reaffirmation announcement was made at the SACSCOC annual meeting on Dec. 5. ETSU received full reaccreditation status with no findings or recommendations.

“ETSU must undergo the reaffirmation process every 10 years to ensure that the institution continues to deliver high-quality educational programs, operate efficiently and progress toward its public mission,” said ETSU President Dr. Brian Noland. “This successful reaffirmation is not just a mark of institutional success; it …

Front Matter

Texas A&M Law Review

Front Matter

Revisiting The Congressional Review Act, Jesse M. Cross

Texas A&M Law Review

It now has been over 25 years since Congress first enacted the Congressional Review Act, an effort to reclaim congressional oversight of agency rulemaking in a post-Chadha world. For many years, the CRA remained a relatively obscure statute, but an explosion in use has now transformed it into an important component of our administrative state. This has made it imperative for those both within and without Congress to understand the law. Yet the real-world operation of the CRA remains little understood.

This Article attempts to shed light on this opaque yet consequential statute. Drawing on interviews with governmental and private …

Time To Heal: Trauma's Impact On Rape & Sexual Assault Statutes Of Limitations, Jillian Miller Purdue, Fredrick E. Vars

Texas A&M Law Review

Short statutes of limitations for sex crimes ask the impossible of many victims: report the crime before they have recovered from the trauma. Perpetrators go free as a direct result of the injury they caused. Nearly a third of victims of rape and sexual assault have PTSD during their lifetimes. PTSD is associated with three symptoms pertinent to reporting a crime: avoidance coping (avoiding distressing thoughts, feelings, or reminders of the attack), dissociative amnesia (forgetting important or all aspects of the attack), and depression. These symptoms all affect a victim’s psychological ability to report a crime before a short statute …

The Consequences Of Systemic Racism, Richard Delgado

Texas A&M Law Review

Book Review

Redefining "Beneficial Use" To Combat Water Scarcity, Genene Adams

Texas A&M Law Review

Many western states in the U.S. are experiencing severe or exceptional drought, where water shortages are common, widespread, and have created troubling emergency conditions. How long these droughts plaguing the West will last is unknown. What is evident, however, is water use under a wellestablished doctrine must change in order to ensure communities do not run out of water. As a decades-long drought persists, frequent higher-than-average temperatures linger due to climate change, and population growth skyrockets, the need to implement a narrower standard for water use in the West is critical.

The purpose of this Comment is to propose an …

Social Media And State Action: Click "Like" And Follow This Two-Part Test, Jacob E. Spicer

Texas A&M Law Review

The right to free speech was deemed so important by the Framers of the Bill of Rights that they enshrined this right in the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment. There was, however, no way they could have envisioned how communication would evolve to what it is now in the twenty-first century and the related issues that would arise. The threshold question to all alleged First Amendment violations is whether the action at issue is state action. As means of communication progressively move more online to social media, this question has become more difficult to answer. Many government officials …

Solving Solar: How Past Policy Collides With Future Technology, Conner Watson

Texas A&M Law Review

This Comment discusses the importance of developing a solar waste management plan. Specifically, this Comment presents the argument that the United States should not create a large federal regulatory framework that includes expansive subsidies for solar panel recycling, but instead should invest in solar recycling technologies that offer solar recyclers the opportunity to profitably recycle junk panels. Ultimately, the federal government’s role should be limited to one of investment and support as states craft solar waste management systems that work for them.

In support of this argument, this Comment explores the history and future of solar panel development, the current …

Improving Access To Early Interventions For Prediabetic Patients, Kimberleigh M. Telling

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Approximately 88 million Americans, or nearly one-third of the population, have prediabetes. This condition has a high rate of progression to type 2 diabetes, reaching 70%. However, early identification, diagnosis, and participation in lifestyle interventions can effectively reduce the risk and promote euglycemia. Regrettably, 85% of those with prediabetes are unaware. The goal of this quantitative quality improvement project was to enhance the use of the prediabetes diagnosis code by primary care providers, who play a crucial role in preventing type 2 diabetes. The purpose was to improve access to early intervention for individuals with prediabetes, following the guidelines of …

A Tunable System For High Frequency Bioimpedance Plethysmography, Daniel H. Tebbs

Theses and Dissertations

Bioimpedance measurements are useful for determining a variety of biological conditions. By accounting for small impedance variations due to the arterial pulse, the effect of the blood can be studied more closely. The quasi-circulator system presented enables monitoring of pulsatile impedance changes with input frequencies above 1 MHz. The adjustable Rmatch allows for dynamic tuning of the system to increase sensitivity. By tuning Rmatch to be near the match point, the pulsatile signal in the output magnitude can be amplified, and tuning Rmatch to be at the match point causes the pulsatile signal in the output phase to be amplified. …

Evaluating Clinical Outcomes In Patients Being Treated Exclusively Via Telepsychiatry: Retrospective Data Analysis, Cheryl Person, Nicola O'Connor, Lucy Koehler, Kartik Venkatachalam, Georgia Gaveras

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Depression and anxiety are highly prevalent conditions in the United States. Despite the availability of suitable therapeutic options, limited access to high-quality psychiatrists represents a major barrier to treatment. Although telepsychiatry has the potential to improve access to psychiatrists, treatment efficacy in the telepsychiatry model remains unclear.

OBJECTIVE: Our primary objective was to determine whether there was a clinically meaningful change in 1 of 2 validated outcome measures of depression and anxiety-the Patient Health Questionnaire-8 (PHQ-8) or the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7)-after receiving at least 8 weeks of treatment in an outpatient telepsychiatry setting.

METHODS: We included treatment-seeking patients …

Collaborative Nurses Leading The Way To Quality & Safety Improvement Utilizing A Home-Grown Mock Survey - "Continuous Readiness Rounds" (Crr), Rosalina Butao, Eva Mitra, Gen Crespo, Christina Fontaine, Alex Duarte

All Publications

No abstract provided.