Digital Commons Network^™

Nutritional Profile And Health Benefits Of Stevia Rebaudiana Bertoni: An Updated Review, Ishrat Fatima, Mubashrah Munir, Sehrish Sadia, Akash Tariq, Rahmatullah Qureshi

Journal of Bioresource Management

Aim of this comprehensive review is to document the up-dated data about pharmaceutical potential of Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni with special focus on its antioxidant activity. A total of 184 research articles were reviewed and five research engines were used to collect the data. The S. rebaudiana (Asteraceae) is indigenous to South America, now cultivated in many countries worldwide to be used as a natural bio-sweetener. Various nutritionally and medically important bioactive compounds such as diterpene glycosides, fatty acids, alkaloids, tannins, saponins, anthraquinones, phenolics, flavonoids, carbohydrates, carotenoids, steroids, polysaccharides and other phytochemicals constitute chemical composition of Stevia. Owing to the …

Immunotherapy Targeting Different Immune Compartments In Combination With Radiation Therapy Induces Regression Of Resistant Tumors, Nils-Petter Rudqvist, Maud Charpentier, Claire Lhuillier, Erik Wennerberg, Sheila Spada, Caroline Sheridan, Xi Kathy Zhou, Tuo Zhang, Silvia C Formenti, Jennifer S Sims, Alicia Alonso, Sandra Demaria

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Radiation therapy (RT) increases tumor response to CTLA-4 inhibition (CTLA4i) in mice and in some patients, yet deep responses are rare. To identify rational combinations of immunotherapy to improve responses we use models of triple negative breast cancer highly resistant to immunotherapy in female mice. We find that CTLA4i promotes the expansion of CD4+ T helper cells, whereas RT enhances T cell clonality and enriches for CD8+ T cells with an exhausted phenotype. Combination therapy decreases regulatory CD4+ T cells and increases effector memory, early activation and precursor exhausted CD8+ T cells. A combined gene signature comprising these three CD8+ …

Bioaccumulation Of Non-Essential Trace Elements Detected In Women's Follicular Fluid, Urine, And Plasma Is Associated With Poor Reproductive Outcomes Following Single Euploid Embryo Transfer: A Pilot Study, Andrea Palomar, Roberto Gonzalez-Martin, Alicia Quiñonero, Nuria Pellicer, Rocio Fernandez-Saavedra, Isabel Rucandio, Rodolfo Fernandez-Martinez, Estefania Conde-Vilda, Alberto J. Quejido, Caroline Zuckerman, Christine Whitehead, Richard T. Scott, Francisco Dominguez

Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology Faculty Papers

This study aims to determine the association of non-essential trace elements present in follicular fluid, plasma, and urine with reproductive outcomes of women undergoing intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), preimplantation genetic testing for aneuploidies (PGT-A) and single frozen euploid embryo transfer (SET/FET). This single-center, prospective cohort study included sixty women undergoing ICSI with PGT-A and SET/FET between 2018 and 2019. Urine, plasma and follicular fluid samples were collected on the vaginal oocyte retrieval day to simultaneously quantify ten non-essential trace elements (i.e., Ba, Sr, Rb, Sn, Ti, Pb, Cd, Hg, Sb, and As). We found several associations between the levels of …

Sero-Epidemiology Of Rotavirus Gastroenteritis In Children In Ilorin, Kwara State, Omosigho Omoruyi Pius, Izevbuwa Osazee Ekundayo, Saheed Ibrahim Damilare

Journal of Bioresource Management

Rotavirus is responsible for the most severe dehydrating diarrhea among young children due to gastroenteritis. In this study, we aimed to ascertain the occurrence of childhood gastroenteritis caused by Rotavirus among infants and young children who are younger than 5 years of age in Ilorin, Kwara State and determined the risk factors posing the challenges to be susceptible to diarrhea associated with rotavirus in Ilorin, Kwara State. Diarrhea stool samples were collected from children who passed watery stools, who met predetermined inclusion criteria and who presented at the study hospitals Viz: General Hospital and Specialist Hospital Alagbado and Children Specialist …

Morphometric Analysis And Biochemical Estimation Of Wild Shrimps (Family: Penaeidae) Found In Coastal Waters Of Pakistan, Noor Us Saher, Syeda Hadiqa Noor

Journal of Bioresource Management

The world recognition of Seafood nutritional value for human consumption remain consistent throughout the time. Different informations and aspects have been studied and considered and generated various data sets but limited informations found about the biochemical concentration of various fishery species caught in the Pakistan. Therefore, the recent study design to evaluate the proximate levels of components in the edible component (flesh) of commercial shrimp species were studied. Four shrimp species; Fenneropenaeus indicus, Metapenaeopsis stridulans, Metapenaeus stebbingi, and Parapenaeopsis stylifera were selected for the assessment of proximate composition. The selected shrimp species were collected from the fishery catch of Korangi …

Characterization Of Nacl Stress In Young Bismarckia Palm (Bismarckia Nobilis), Muhammad Afzal Naeem, Iqra Hanif, Midrar Ullah, Muhammad Hassaan Khan, Tahmina Nazish

Journal of Bioresource Management

Salinity is a major problem caused by the accretion of excess salts composites in the form of ions like sodium (Na⁺), potassium (K⁺), calcium (Ca²⁺), magnesium (Mg²⁺) and chloride (Cl^-). The possible out-turns of the salinity on the morphology; physiology and biochemical variables of bismarckia palm (Bismarckia nobilis) were investigated in this study. The seedlings of bismarckia palm were grown in pots and periodically irrigated with various concentrations of NaCl solution to assess the various biological variables at the regular intervals. The experiment was performed by following the …

Shortening Harvest Interval, Reaping Benefits? A Study On Harvest Practices In Oil Palm Smallholder Farming Systems In Indonesia, Rosanne E. De Vos, Lisa Nurfalah, Fatima A. Tenorio, Ya Li Lim, Juan Pablo Monzon, Christopher R. Donough, Hendra Sugianto, Asri A. Dwiyahreni, Nurul L. Winarni, Nadia Mulani, Gilang Ramadhan, Muhammad Ali Imran, Antonius P. Tito, Pandu Sulistiawan, Muhammad Khoirul, Rana Farrasati, Iput Pradiko, Patricio Grassini, Maja Slingerland

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

CONTEXT: Smallholders are responsible for a large share of global palm oil production. Yet, in Indonesia, the main palm oil producing country, smallholders’ yields remain low. Better management practices, including short harvest interval (HI, the number of days between two harvest rounds), could help to raise smallholder yields. However, at present, HI is long in smallholder fields and the drivers underlying this phenomenon are poorly understood.

OBJECTIVE: We explored agronomic, socio-economic, and institutional factors that underlie harvesting practices in independent oil palm smallholder farming systems in Indonesia to assess scope for sustainable intensification through shorter HI and reduced …

Human Health Risk Assessment Of Some Heavy Metals In Eme River, Umuahia, Abia State, Nigeria, Emeka Donald Anyanwu, Onyinyechi Gladys Adetunji, Paschal Emeka Etusim, Solomon Nnanna Umeham

Journal of Bioresource Management

This study evaluated the health risk of some heavy metals in Eme River, Umuahia. The study conducted in 6 stations was between December 2017 and November 2018. The non-carcinogenic method that involves determination of chronic daily intake (CDI), hazard quotient (HQ) and hazard index (HI) was applied in the assessment of ingestion, dermal and incidental ingestion exposures. Iron, lead and cadmium exceeded their limits and warranted risk assessment. The heavy metals’ CDI values for the three routes were lower than their respective reference doses except for cadmium (ingestion route). Except for cadmium (ingestion), the hazard quotients also recorded values lower …

Cardiovascular Variability, Sociodemographics, And Biomarkers Of Disease: The Midus Study, Tara Gruenewald, Teresa E. Seeman, Tse-Hwei Choo, Jennifer Scodes, Clayton Snider, Martina Pavlicova, Maxine Weinstein, Joseph E. Schwartz, Ramakrishna Mukkamala, Richard P. Sloan

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Introduction: Like heart rate, blood pressure (BP) is not steady but varies over intervals as long as months to as short as consecutive cardiac cycles. This blood pressure variability (BPV) consists of regularly occurring oscillations as well as less well-organized changes and typically is computed as the standard deviation of multiple clinic visit-to-visit (VVV-BP) measures or from 24-h ambulatory BP recordings (ABPV). BP also varies on a beat-to-beat basis, quantified by methods that parse variation into discrete bins, e.g., low frequency (0.04–0.15 Hz, LF). However, beat-to-beat BPV requires continuous recordings that are not easily acquired. As a result, we …

A Phenomenological Study Of Teachers' Experiences With Educational Gamification And Its Impact On Student Engagement In The Middle School Math And Science Classroom, Kimberly Rudd Parks

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand digital gamification and its effect on student engagement based on the lived experiences of middle school math and science teachers in rural schools in the southeast region of the United States. Nick Pelling’s gamification theory guided the study herein. Gamification theory served as a tool to alter learner engagement which impacted instruction and learning. I used a criterion-based purposeful selection of 10 middle school math and science teachers with gamification experience. Participating teachers had three or more years of teaching experience and taught in regional rural schools. The hermeneutical phenomenological study …

The Relationship Between High School Math Students' Self-Esteem And Their Perceptions Of Teacher Behaviors, Patti Pearcy Gallagher

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this predictive, correlation study was to determine if there is a relationship between high ability high school math student’s self-reported self-esteem and their perceptions of teachers’ behaviors as controlling or supportive at the high school level. The criterion variable was self-esteem, and the predictor variables were student perceptions of teachers’ behaviors as controlling or supportive. Research has connected the positive self-esteem in educational achievements in the classroom to a high probability of success in the workforce as well. Other research has also correlated lower academic success to lower self-esteem and less success in the workforce. Students often …

Exploring Factors For Employee Attrition And Retention By Life Stage, Robert Joshua Whitton

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The objective of this study was to evaluate if a relationship exists between factors for push (attrition) and pull (retention) and employee life stage. With job attrition rates increasing almost 10% in the last 10 years and employers paying $2.4 trillion in 2021 because of employee turnover, the need to understand what drives retention and attrition remains very real. A survey, containing a demographics section and items rated on a Thurstone-like scale, was administered to full-time employees in the United States. Four hundred and eighty participants responded to the survey, but after removing responses that were incomplete or were completed …

Music Education And At-Risk Students: A Home For Everyone, Sherry L. Francis

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Despite positive efforts toward inclusion, learners with special needs are progressively increasing in the United States today especially “at-risk” students; therefore, it is imperative music educators prepare to meet the needs of a diverse population. At-risk most commonly refers to students who struggle academically and have a higher probability of dropping out of school, ultimately, leading to an unstable life. Any student can be at-risk, regardless of background or ability level. Fortunately, music education plays an important role in reaching and retaining at-risk students, particularly, in high school. Music is a reinforcing, valuable tool that creatively encourages student achievement which …

The Impact Of Covid-19 On Leadership Development And Burnout Among Korean Immigrant Church Leaders In The United States: A Phenomenological Study, Jinwon Seo

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The global outbreak and pandemic of COVID-19 is an unprecedented event that causes many people to experience psychological, spiritual, and social health crises as well as physical crisis. There is limited empirical research existed on the influence of COVID-19 on church leaders, particularly within the Korean immigrant community. A phenomenological approach was adopted, utilizing semi-structured individual interviews with Korean immigrant church leaders to explore their lived experiences during the pandemic. The findings revealed three primary themes: change, support, and burnout. Korean immigrant church leaders demonstrated balanced leadership development in guiding, providing, and protecting roles, but also experienced exhaustion due to …

The Paradoxical Effect Of National Diversity And Inclusion Management On Organizational Commitment, Clara Iyabo Stephens

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The United States demographic and workforce are increasingly becoming more diverse. However, the question remains of how the leaders within diverse organizations can consistently manage workforce interaction to attain employee commitment. This quantitative study examines the relational effect of diversity and inclusion management on organizational commitment. Data for this study was collected using the SurveyMonkey online identity anonymity survey weblink. Voluntary participants entered the online survey through an invitation link to the consent page, explained the study's purpose focus on Nigerian American Immigrants and relevant inclusion and exclusion criteria. Initial one hundred thirty-five responses, whereas one hundred and twenty met …

Temporal Dynamics Of Genetically Heterogeneous Extended-Spectrum Cephalosporin-Resistant Escherichia Coli Bloodstream Infections, William C Shropshire, Benjamin Strope, Selvalakshmi Selvaraj Anand, Jordan Bremer, Patrick Mcdaneld, Micah M Bhatti, Anthony R Flores, Awdhesh Kalia, Samuel A Shelburne

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Extended-spectrum cephalosporin-resistant Escherichia coli (ESC-R-Ec) is an urgent public health threat with sequence type clonal complex 131 (STc131), phylogroup B2 strains being particularly concerning as the dominant cause of ESC-R-Ec infections. To address the paucity of recent ESC-R-Ec molecular epidemiology data in the United States, we used whole-genome sequencing (WGS) to fully characterize a large cohort of invasive ESC-R-Ec at a tertiary care cancer center in Houston, Texas, collected from 2016 to 2020. During the study time frame, there were 1,154 index E. coli bloodstream infections (BSIs) of which 389 (33.7%) were ESC-R-Ec. …

Public Health Instructors' Attitudes Regarding Online Instructional Course Design: A Collective Case Study, Meaghan A. Gargin

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this collective case study was to describe instructors’ attitudes regarding Keller’s personalized system of instruction (PSI) for a sample of online master’s-level public health instructors at an institution of higher education. The central research question was how do public health instructors describe their attitudes regarding personalized system of instruction and online graduate education? The institution selected for this investigation was “University A.” The theory guiding this study was Keller’s personalized system of instruction (PSI), as it features five elements for student-centered course design in higher education learning. The elements include: (a) self-pacing, (b) unit mastery, (c) lectures …

Unraveling The Molecular Basis Of Zinc Cluster Transcription Factor Specificity: A Comprehensive Study Of Half-Site Promoter Binding Interactions And Their Role In Gene Expression Regulation, Pamela Samantha Recio

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

The regulation of gene expression relies on the complex interplay of transcription factors (TFs) that interact with DNA to control gene activity. Despite extensive research efforts, accurately predicting crucial aspects of the transcriptional process, such as TF occupancy in vivo, remains a challenging task. Existing thermodynamic models of TF function often fall short in explaining experimental observations, suggesting the presence of undiscovered biological mechanisms. This dissertation aims to unravel the underlying principles governing the binding specificity of Zinc cluster TFs and is organized into two chapters. Chapter 1 offers a comprehensive overview of transcriptional regulation in yeast, highlighting current TF …

Identifying The Serious Clinical Outcomes Of Adverse Reactions To Drugs By A Multi-Task Deep Learning Framework, Haochen Zhao, Peng Ni, Qichang Zhao, Xiao Liang, Di Ai, Shannon Erhardt, Jun Wang, Yaohang Li, Jianxin Wang

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Adverse Drug Reactions (ADRs) have a direct impact on human health. As continuous pharmacovigilance and drug monitoring prove to be costly and time-consuming, computational methods have emerged as promising alternatives. However, most existing computational methods primarily focus on predicting whether or not the drug is associated with an adverse reaction and do not consider the core issue of drug benefit-risk assessment-whether the treatment outcome is serious when adverse drug reactions occur. To this end, we categorize serious clinical outcomes caused by adverse reactions to drugs into seven distinct classes and present a deep learning framework, so-called GCAP, for predicting the …

August 24, 2023, James Madison University

The Breeze, 2020-

The Breeze is the student newspaper of James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia.

Pediatric Hearing Aid Management: Experiences And Perspectives Of Spanish-Speaking Parents, Karen Muñoz, Diego Guillen, Carlos Muñoz, Michael P. Twohig

Psychology Faculty Publications

Purpose: The purpose of the study was twofold: (a) to explore hearing aid management experiences of Spanish-speaking parents who have young children using hearing aids and (b) to explore parents' access to the Internet and perceptions about remote audiology services.

Method: The study used a mixed methods design. Data were collected through a phone interview.

Results: Eleven mothers of children aged 14-60 months participated. Most of the children (9/11) had a bilateral hearing loss, and two had an additional disability. Three themes emerged for hearing aid management experiences: audiology services, routines, and emotional challenges/supports. Parents had variable levels of confidence …

Structured Illumination Microscope Image Reconstruction Using Unrolled Physics-Informed Generative Adversarial Network (Upigan), Seyedeh Parisa Dajkhosh

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

In three-dimensional structured illumination microscopy (3D-SIM) where the images are taken from the object through the point spread function (PSF) of the imaging system, data acquisition can result in images taken under undesirable aberrations that contribute to a model mismatch. The inverse imaging problem in 3D-SIM has been solved using a variety of conventional model-based techniques that can be computationally intensive. Deep learning (DL) approaches, as opposed to traditional restoration methods, tackle the issue without access to the analytical model. This research aims to provide an unrolled physics-informed generative adversarial network (UPIGAN) for the reconstruction of 3D-SIM images utilizing data …

Abdominal Aortic Calcification, Bone Mineral Density And Fractures: A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis Of Observational Studies, Abadi K. Gebre, Joshua R. Lewis, Kevin Leow, Pawel Szulc, David Scott, Peter R. Ebeling, Marc Sim, Germaine Wong, Wai H. Lim, John T. Schousboe, Douglas P. Kiel, Richard L. Prince, Alexander J. Rodriguez

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Background: Abdominal aortic calcification (AAC) has been inconsistently associated with skeletal health. We aimed to investigate the association of AAC with bone mineral density (BMD) and fracture risk by pooling the findings of observational studies. Methods: MEDLINE, EMBASE, Web of Science, and Google Scholar were searched (August 2021). All clinical studies that assessed the association between AAC and BMD or fracture were included. AAC was categorized into any/advanced (all higher reported groups) versus no/less advanced (lowest reported group). Pooled standardized mean differences (SMDs) and risk ratios (RRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were determined for BMD and fracture, respectively, using …

Techniques For Automating The Prediction Of Covid-19 Hospital Admission Risk, Joshua M. Landman

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Machine learning has catalyzed significant strides in improving the quality of predictions regarding patient health. However, significant specific expertise is still required to properly develop statistical and machine learning models that can perform those predictions. Automated machine learning, or AutoML, represents an opportunity to democratize the construction of machine learning models and enable stakeholders without that expertise to create those models. In this dissertation, I explore the feasibility of implementing an AutoML pipeline for predicting the risk of patients’ admission to the hospital within 30-days of their first positive COVID-19 test by presenting a series of methods that (1) assess …

Music Advocacy: The Cognitive Development, Behavioral And Emotional Management, And Academic Success That Music Education Provides Students In Louisiana’S Low Socioeconomic Elementary Schools, Cory D. Dugar

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

There are many technological curricular activities in math and science classrooms, yet few are found in music classrooms. Although many elementary schools may be benefiting from advocacy for music and technology, many elementary schools in the state of Louisiana have lost funding for music programs. For the Louisiana Department of Education to act as an advocate for music education, there must be a thorough understanding of the benefits of music education. Extensive research is one way to suggest that elementary music classes can raise the cognitive capacity of elementary students and could be the catalyst for ensuring the upcoming generation’s …

Black Teacher Recruitment And Retention In Rural Areas Of Southeastern North Carolina, Angelina Latrice Cobb

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore teacher recruitment and retention practices for Black educators in rural counties in Southeastern North Carolina. The theories that guided this study are John Ogbu’s cultural-ecological theory of minority school performance, and Richard Valencia’s deficit thinking theory. The research question that supported this study was: What are the lived experiences of recruitment and retention initiatives for Black teachers in rural Southeastern North Carolina? The study design was a descriptive study that utilized the sample of Black educators in rural Southeastern North Carolina. There was a total of 10 teacher participants in this …

Sticks And Stones May Break My Bones But Words Will Never Hurt Me...Until I See Them: A Qualitative Content Analysis Of Trolls In Relation To The Gricean Maxims And (Im)Polite Virtual Speech Acts, Angelika C. Smith-Jones

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The troll is one of the most obtrusive and disruptive bad actors on the internet. Unlike other bad actors, the troll interacts on a more personal and intimate level with other internet users. Social media platforms, online communities, comment boards, and chatroom forums provide them with this opportunity. What distinguishes these social provocateurs from other bad actors are their virtual speech acts and online behaviors. These acts aim to incite anger, shame, or frustration in others through the weaponization of words, phrases, and other rhetoric. Online trolls come in all forms and use various speech tactics to insult and demean …

The Benefits Of The Suzuki Method For Children’S Cognitive And Physical Development: A Descriptive Phenomenological Study Of Suzuki Specialists, Hyeyeon Kim

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This descriptive phenomenological study aimed to explore the experiences and perceptions of Suzuki specialists regarding the cognitive and physical development of children participating in the Suzuki method of music instruction. Music educators recognize the Suzuki method as a successful approach for delivering content and meeting music students’ needs. This study may provide a roadmap for conducting the Suzuki method with young students aged five to twelve. The lived experiences of Suzuki teachers provided a unique perspective for understanding how Suzuki instruction contributes to children’s physical and cognitive development. This study explored the following central research question: How do Suzuki specialists …

The Effects Of Grade-Level Configuration On Students' Academic, Social And Emotional Health: A Case Study, Gerry Benaquista

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this case study aimed to understand how educators perceive the impacts of grade-level configurations regarding academic, social, and emotional effects on students transitioning from elementary school to middle school in the northeast part of the United States. Grade level configuration is defined as the number of grade levels grouped within a school in a district (Malone et al., 2020). The central research question was: What are the differences in student success in schools with transitions between grade levels and schools without transitions? Schlossberg’s theory regarding transition and the 4 S framework guided this study to facilitate the …

Perceptions Of Applying Universal Design For Learning To Quaver’S Marvelous World Of Music To Increase Engagement Of Students With Autism., Whitney Leanne Mansell

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The prevalence of students with autism is rising in elementary schools across the United States. General music teachers have been tasked with including students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in the elementary music classroom but have had minimal training on the topic. This educational applied research study measured the perceived effectiveness of applying universal design of learning principles (UDL) to Quaver’s Marvelous World of Music curriculum to increase the engagement of students with ASD in elementary music classrooms. Directed by Howard Gardner’s theory of Multiple Intelligence, this applied research study produced quantitative data showing increased engagement using UDL with Quaver’s …