Digital Commons Network^™

Access To Virtual Care In Behavioral Health: A Social Determinant Of Health, Patrick J. Hearle, Emily A. Smith, Richard J. Caplan, Ram A. Sharma

SKMC Student Presentations and Publications

Abstract Objective: In the wake of COVID-19, the use of virtual modalities to provide healthcare has increased significantly. While virtual care services, particularly for behavioral health encounters, have become commonplace in many healthcare systems, there is limited data describing to what extent access to virtual care is affected by social determinants of health. The present study aims to characterize the utilization of virtual (video, phone) and non-virtual (in—person office visits) behavioral health care encounters among differing socioeconomic and demographic populations in two campuses served by a tertiary care center in Delaware to identify trends and potential barriers to these services. …

Psychoeducation On Addiction For Healthcare Providers, Lovester Duncan

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Summary Walden University College of Nursing This is to certify that the doctoral study by Lovester Duncan has been found to be complete and satisfactory in all respects, and that any and all revisions required by the review committee have been made. Review Committee Dr. Kristina Bohm, Committee Chairperson, Nursing Faculty Dr. Mary Martin, Committee Member, Nursing Faculty Chief Academic Officer and Provost Sue Subocz, Ph.D. Walden University 2024 The DNP project aimed to increase healthcare providers’ knowledge, awareness, and comfort with prescribing medication-Assisted Treatments (MATs). Inadequate treatment and higher overdose and death risks result from providers lacking experience with …

Hospital Location, Socioeconomic Factors, And Obesity Impact On Patient Readmission Rates 30 Days Post-Coronary Artery Bypass Graft, Mazalo Looky

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) is associated with a high rate of readmissions within 30 days after discharge. Patient variables such as obesity and socioeconomic status (SES) are modifiable, whereas hospital factors such as location indicate the need for a better regional needs assessment. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of hospital location, SES, and obesity (independent variables) on the 30-day readmission rate post-CABG (dependent variable) among US patients. Secondary data sets available from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and the Society of Thoracic Surgery websites were analyzed to assess the impact of location, …

Ucf Pegasus Plan - 2nd Grade - Immigration, Emily T. Yackel, Elizabeth Logan, Hannah Schwarz, Mckinzi Johnson, Katie Molloy, Victoria Kingstone

Pegasus Plans: Social Studies Unit Plans for Florida Teachers

During this unit, students will learn about the history and symbols associated with immigration throughout the 1800s to modern times. Students will interact and explore with different pieces of literature and technologies dealing with Ellis Island, the Statue of Liberty, and other countries’ cultural influences. Materials such as virtual tours, AR apps and arts integration will be used throughout this unit plan.

Ucf Pegasus Plan - 5th Grade - The Constitution, Joshua Houlbrooke, Madison Gilmore, Jacob Schwartz, Brenda Falcon, Spencer Millwood, Akili Hart

Pegasus Plans: Social Studies Unit Plans for Florida Teachers

During this unit, students will explore the history of the United States government, examine its structures and their functions, serving to establish within them strong civic knowledge as citizens of this nation. Students will interact with projects, activities, digital media, literature, and many different information rich means of effective social studies education.

Enhancement Of Ambient Air Quality Index Forecasting Using Optimized Ensemble Model, Vanitha M

Theses and Dissertations

Forecasting ambient air quality is essential for environmental sustainability and public health, especially in heavily populated regions such as China, India, and the United States where air pollution remains a serious concern. Traditional forecasting models often struggle to accurately represent air quality data because of its complex patterns and nonlinear interactions. To address these challenges and improve forecast performance, this research proposes a comprehensive strategy that integrates parallel heterogeneous ensemble modeling with Bayesian optimization.

The study begins with a seasonal machine learning–based imputation technique (SeasonalMLImpute) designed to handle missing data in meteorological and air quality parameters. This method is evaluated …

Exploring The Factors Involved To Support African American Males' Success In Mathematics During The Early Grades, Elmore Travis Collier

LMU Theses and Dissertations

This study used a mixed methods approach to examine the instructional and social emotional factors that support African American boys’ success during early elementary grades. The study investigated key influences including teacher and parent demographics, student-teacher, and parent-student relationships, building mathematical confidence in students, and approaching math as a long-term investment. It explored how these factors existed within an ecosystem that contributed to positive math outcomes for students by the third grade. The study used surveys and interviews of teachers, parents, and students to describe instructional activities, relationships, and interactions at school and home that supported positive math outcomes. Findings …

Senior Voice Recital Program, Ethan Gonzalez

Honors Capstones

I performed a vocal recital for my senior year at NIU as part of the final requirements for the completion of the Music Education degree. This document consists of in-depth biographies on the composers; Henry Purcell, George Frideric Handel, Johannes Brahms, Claude Debussy, and Manuel De Falla. Additionally, I have provided research on each piece performed in the program that discusses the history, harmonic structure, and any cultural significance that ensued from the piece. I have also provided English translations to pieces sung in foreign languages. This recital is made possible by daily practice towards my musical skills and diligent …

Association Of Unmet Social Needs With Disease-Related Outcomes In Pediatric Patients With Sickle Cell Disease, Molly Sonenklar, Sarah Marks, Cerelia Donald, Cecelia Valrie, Wally Smith, India Sisler

School of Medicine Faculty Publications

Background: Social determinants of health (SDoH) are socioeconomic factors that influence health and well-being, though when unmet can greatly contribute to health disparities. Individuals with sickle cell disease (SCD) are at increased risk of mortality, disability, and healthcare utilization. However, there are limited data linking specific social needs with disease outcomes in this population. Therefore, we sought to identify the unmet needs in one institution and their association with healthcare utilization. Methods: Children with SCD and their guardians answered demographic and SDoH questionnaires during routine Sickle Cell Clinic appointments. We defined an unmet social need as any positive answer to …

Reading Law's Great Unread: Qualitative Computational Methods, Artificial Intelligence And The New Empirical Legal Research, Simon Wallace

PhD Dissertations

How will new computational technologies change legal research and our visions of what law is? Inspired by the work of digital humanists, Bourdieu, and sociologists of literature, this dissertation explores how the methods of “distant reading” can be used to develop new classes of critical insights about law. After situating the project theoretically, this dissertation reports on a series of new computational studies about Canadian law. Chapter 1 measures Canadian statutory and regulatory law, showing that law has grown unevenly over the past decade and a half. Chapter 2 uses new artificial intelligence to transcribe and analyze Supreme Court of …

Clinical And Radiologic Findings In Children With Anomalous Pontine Cranial Nerves, Karen K Moeller, Brandon H Tran, Thierry A G M Huisman, Nilesh K Desai, Marcia K Kukreja, Rajan P Patel, Uma S Ramaswamy, Carol Liu, Stephen F Kralik

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

We retrospectively reviewed the clinical and radiologic findings in 17 children with an aberrant cisternal cranial nerve 7 (CN7), and found that these patients had additional anomalies involving other pontine cranial nerves (CNs). The hallmark imaging feature identified in all patients was an aberrant cisternal segment of an enlarged-appearing CN7. The abnormal nerve coursed anteriorly toward the Gasserian ganglion, where it fanned out toward the internal auditory canal, Meckel cave, or both. This finding was accompanied by a small cisternal CN5, which often had a lateral bowed appearance. CN5 and CN7 were abnormally close to each other. Meckel's cave appeared …

Resurrecting The Muse: Kithara And Lyric Poetry Performance Practice In Greco-Roman Antiquity, Abigail Petersen

Honors Projects

Both students and pedagogues of classical studies are familiar with the inherent musicality of Greek and Latin poetry, and they also widely accept the idea that poets sang their works to accompaniment on a kithara, or large lyre. However, little work has been done to perform works of poetry according to this tradition, and thus many modern attempts at oral recitation feature a forced and pedantic rhythm that bores the listener and fails to do justice to the revered art of Greco-Roman poetry. Through a review of primary and secondary sources, I examine the construction of the kithara, the context …

Latinas In Law Enforcement: Tokenism, Barriers And Changes Along The Narrow Bridge To Promotion, Saturnino Velazquez

Theses and Dissertations from DePaul University

The purpose of this qualitative study was to better understand and analyze themes and patterns shared among the lived experiences of 12 female Latina Law Enforcement Officers (LEOs) in male-dominated police departments in the Midwest (Illinois and Minnesota). The researcher chose to adopt a basic interpretive qualitative research methodology for this study because it provides a flexible and useful research tool, and provided a broader approach to interpreting meaning from rich and detailed data, yet complex, and account of semi-structured interviews that served as a data collection instrument. This study was guided by the theoretical framework of Kanter’s research on …

Development Of A Stable And Buffered Reference Electrode For Binary Molten Chlorides Salts, Carlos Mejia, Nicholas Christensen, Ricardo Rodriguez Ceron, Devin Rappleye

Faculty Publications

The development of stable and buffered reference electrodes (REs) is crucial for molten salt electrochemistry, particularly in pyrochemical processing, such as electrorefining. These REs must maintain a stable potential to ensure precise control over electrorefining processes by preventing unwanted shifts in the potential that could lead to impurity deposition. This study evaluated metal chlorides and metal oxides as potential candidates for REs, with their stability assessed via electrochemical methods over extended durations. While metal chloride-based REs exhibited stable potential behavior over time, their response followed the Nernst equation, leading to potential shifts with varying concentrations of oxidized species. Metal oxide-based …

Using Fragments To Uncover Connections Through Call And Response, Resonance, And Dissonance, Mary Garland, Laurinda Brown, Melissa Dunlop, Carol Laidler, Marian Liebmann, Donata Puntil, Artemi Sakellariadis, Jane Speedy

Professional Services

CANI-net (Collaborative Artful Narrative Inquiry Network) has evolved over the last thirty years from being a research center and network at the University of Bristol to holding online monthly “open inquiry space” sessions attended by scholars, educators, and artists around the world. The sessions are flexible, encouraging the presentation of work in progress, ideas just emerging, middling, in a warm, friendly, supportive atmosphere with students and academics and others engaging, collaborating, and offering feedback to one another. Each session usually offers the opportunity for those present to write into the shared space, and to then share that writing. In the …

Deciphering Immune Suppression Mechanisms Of Primary And Metastatic Breast Cancer, Seunghyun Lee

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

Immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) has revolutionized cancer treatment, receiving FDA approval for various previously incurable cancers. In breast cancer, the combination of pembrolizumab (an anti-PD-1 antibody) with chemotherapy has become the standard-of-care for early-stage (Keynote-522) and advance-stage (Keynote-355) triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). Unfortunately, over 30% of TNBC patients fail to respond to the combined chemo-immune therapy treatment, and the causes are unknown. Furthermore, ICB has demonstrated poor results in hormone-receptor positive breast cancer. While it is well-established that breast cancer cells can evade immune responses, the specific mechanisms driving immune evasion remain unclear. Thus, deciphering the immune system's role in …

Itaconate Transporter Slc13a3 Impairs Tumor Immunity Via Endowing Ferroptosis Resistance, Heng Lin, Kole Tison, Yuheng Du, Paul Kirchhoff, Chan Kim, Weichao Wang, Hannah Yang, Michael Pitter, Jiali Yu, Peng Liao, Jiajia Zhou, Linda Vatan, Sara Grove, Shuang Wei, Thomas Vigil, Yatrik M Shah, Richard Mortensen, Ilona Kryczek, Lana Garmire, Jwala P Sivaccumar, Ashwin Kumar Ramesh, Ningyan Zhang, Zhiqiang An, Shaomeng Wang, Weiping Zou

The Brown Foundation: Institute of Molecular Medicine

Immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) triggers tumor ferroptosis. However, most patients are unresponsive to ICB. Tumors might evade ferroptosis in the tumor microenvironment (TME). Here, we discover SLC13A3 is an itaconate transporter in tumor cells and endows tumor ferroptosis resistance, diminishing tumor immunity and ICB efficacy. Mechanistically, tumor cells uptake itaconate via SLC13A3 from tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs), thereby activating the NRF2-SLC7A11 pathway and escaping from immune-mediated ferroptosis. Structural modeling and molecular docking analysis identify a functional inhibitor for SLC13A3 (SLC13A3i). Deletion of ACOD1 (an essential enzyme for itaconate synthesis) in macrophages, genetic ablation of SLC13A3 in tumors, or treatment with SLC13A3i …

Latinas In Law Enforcement: Tokenism, Barriers And Changes Along The Narrow Bridge To Promotion, Saturnino Velazquez

College of Education Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative study was to better understand and analyze themes and patterns shared among the lived experiences of 12 female Latina Law Enforcement Officers (LEOs) in male-dominated police departments in the Midwest (Illinois and Minnesota). The researcher chose to adopt a basic interpretive qualitative research methodology for this study because it provides a flexible and useful research tool, and provided a broader approach to interpreting meaning from rich and detailed data, yet complex, and account of semi-structured interviews that served as a data collection instrument. This study was guided by the theoretical framework of Kanter’s research on …

Adipocyte-Derived Small Extracellular Vesicles Exacerbate Diabetic Ischemic Heart Injury By Promoting Oxidative Stress And Mitochondrial-Mediated Cardiomyocyte Apoptosis, Lu Gan, Jianli Zhao, Peng Yao, Theodore A. Christopher, Bernard Lopez, Wayne B. Lau, Walter Koch, Erhe Gao, Xin-Liang Ma, Yajing Wang

Department of Emergency Medicine Faculty Papers

BACKGROUND: Diabetes increases ischemic heart injury via incompletely understood mechanisms. We recently reported that diabetic adipocytes-derived small extracellular vesicles (sEV) exacerbate myocardial reperfusion (MI/R) injury by promoting cardiomyocyte apoptosis. Combining in vitro mechanistic investigation and in vivo proof-concept demonstration, we determined the underlying molecular mechanism responsible for diabetic sEV-induced cardiomyocyte apoptosis after MI/R.

METHODS AND RESULTS: Adult mice were fed a high-fat diet (HFD) for 12 weeks. sEV were isolated from plasma or epididymal adipose tissue. HFD significantly increased the number and size of plasma- and adipocyte-derived sEV. Intramyocardial injection of an equal number of diabetic plasma sEV in nondiabetic …

Sd-Weat: Towards Robustly Measuring Bias In Input Embeddings For Artificial Intelligence Language Models, Magnus Gray

Theses and Dissertations

Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming industries and markets, from healthcare to entertainment, revolutionizing decision-making processes. However, as AI grow more influential, they also risk amplifying existing biases, potentially leading to harmful consequences. Recent advancements in large language models (LLMs), such as GPT-4 and Llama, have heightened concerns about bias in natural language processing (NLP) tasks, driving the need for robust methods to detect and mitigate bias. Current approaches, such as the Word Embedding Association Test (WEAT) and its sentence-level extension the Sentence Encoder Association Test (SEAT) often fall short in capturing the nuances of biases in the input embeddings …

When Help Hurts: Workplace Instrumental Support And Employee Emotional Exhaustion Within-Person, Jensine Paoletti-Hatcher, Anthony T. Misisco, Eden B. King

Psychology Faculty Publications and Presentations

The social support paradox describes mixed findings on the effects of social support on well-being. An application of the person-environment fit perspective can address the paradox by reasoning that similar quantities of social support needs and social support supplies should result in optimal well-being outcomes. We integrate a person-environment fit perspective with self-determination theory in an examination of the relationship between workplace instrumental support and emotional exhaustion through a two-week experience sampling method study. Fifty-nine participants responded to questions about desired quantities of work-related help from their colleagues (coworkers and supervisors) and their perceived quantities of work-related help after work …

Algorithmic Reconstruction Of High-Fidelity Synthetic Sird Data, Dylan Mack

Electrical and Systems Engineering Undergraduate Student Research

During infectious disease outbreaks, epidemiologists are faced with problems similar to those of state estimation. Often, only population-level measures of the outbreak are available, such as infection counts per week or test positivity rates. However, these aggregate statistics yield little insight into the individual-level dynamics of an epidemic. Further, empirical data does not directly measure transmission network structure and producing this information via contact tracing is extremely resource-intensive and scales poorly. In this poster, I present an algorithm that produces synthetic, individual-level disease state measurements that both obey the mechanics of an SIRD model and, in aggregate, match empirical infection …

Mems 411: Electrostatic Precipitator Design For Washu Racing Composites Team, Robert J. Wild, Takato Muro, Jackson Ford, David Wiggin

Mechanical Engineering Design Project Class

The objective of this paper is to develop an effective method to remove carbon fiber particulates from the air in the WashU Racing garage using electrostatic precipitation.

Mems 411: Talking Goniometer, Jeffrey Reinhold, Matthew Ren, Corin Riahi, Moises Rodriguez

Mechanical Engineering Design Project Class

Our project is about designing a goniometer that will aid Rachel Apter, an occupational therapy graduate student, more easily determine the angles created by limbs bending about a joint. A goniometer is essentially a protractor designed to affix its base arm to a stationary limb and it’s rotating arm to a moving limb. The moving arm follows the moving limb, measuring the coupled limb’s range of motion. The main complaint centering around goniometers is that they are hard to read due to the small tick marks that indicate the angle. To fix this problem, the goniometer will be edited to …

Mems 411: The Ball Bearing Sorter Group N, Jack Zhao, Anri Cifuentes, Shawn Xiong, Richard Li

Mechanical Engineering Design Project Class

The challenge was to design and develop an automated device capable of sorting and packaging six types of ball bearings—varying in size (1/4 inch and 1/2 inch) and material (stainless steel, brass, and nylon). The device needed to meet strict performance and design constraints, including fitting within a compact 20x20x20-inch footprint, weighing no more than 15 pounds, and sorting bearings with high speed and accuracy.

This problem represents a practical scenario in automated manufacturing, where efficient and precise sorting is crucial for streamlining assembly line operations. The solution required integrating innovative engineering mechanisms, such as size differentiation, material separation, and …

Mems 411: Mailbox Assistant, Peter Scholl, Benjamin Cortes, Garbiel Arcas, Colin Zeiss

Mechanical Engineering Design Project Class

Oftentimes elderly people struggle with reaching into their curbside mailbox from their car, especially if the mail is pushed all the way to the back. With the Mailbox Assistant, sore shoulders can be saved through a drawer that slides out from the mailbox. This modification can be made to any mailbox without altering the outside appearance thus keeping it within HOA standards.

Mems 411: Hydroponic Gardening System, Tiger Lu, Aj Shanahan, Jaquelin Guzman, Brandon Lacy

Mechanical Engineering Design Project Class

This report summarizes the engineering design process undertaken for the development of a hydroponic gardening system. The project began with selecting a concept, as a team, we decided to focus on designing a system tailored to community gardening needs. The report is organized into five main sections: Problem Understanding, Concept Generation, Concept Selection, Concept Embodiment, and Design Refinement. In the Problem Understanding phase, the team conducted extensive research on patents, codes and standards, user needs, design metrics, and project management. This foundational research was critical to ensure all aspects were considered before beginning the building process. User needs were identified …

Mems 411: Timed Mosquito Egg Container Design Project, Paige Warren, Witt Ciesla, Ethan Sobel

Mechanical Engineering Design Project Class

The goal of this project is to design and construct a device that allows for the controlled study of mosquito egg-laying behavior in response to artificial light and temperature variations. Specifically, the device will limit access to cups of standing water, which serve as egg-laying sites, to preprogrammed times of day over a 7-day period.
The device should ensure the following:

• Control Access: The container should be open and closed at predetermined intervals, allowing mosquitoes to access the cups of standing water only during these times.
• Programmability: It should be easy for a novice to specify the opening and closing …

Mems 411: Ball Bearing Sorter, Abdissa Effa, Juliet Whitehead, Ayub Shifa

Mechanical Engineering Design Project Class

The challenge is to design and fabricate a compact device capable of autonomously sorting and transporting ball bearings of varying materials (chrome steel, brass, nylon) and sizes (¼” and ½”) into designated packaging stations. The device must operate efficiently, accurately, and within the constraints of a 20x20x20-inch enclosure, meeting industrial assembly line standards of speed and precision while minimizing human intervention. It aims to address the need for high-rate sorting systems in manufacturing environments, ensuring accurate material identification and classification for streamlined operations.

Mems 411: Asme Ball Bearing Sorter, Ryan Lively, Joseph Huster, Wil Collins

Mechanical Engineering Design Project Class

The ASME Student Design Competition focused on the design and construction of a ball bearing sorter. This ball bearing sorter must be capable of sorting 2 sizes of ball bearings, being 1/2 inch and 1/4 inch. For each size, there are 3 different bearing materials, brass, steel, and acetal plastic. The device is intended to have the bearings fed into a hopper, and then fully autonomously sort the bearings. The autonomous sorting was to transport the various bearings into 6 different packing stations, one for each size and material bearing. These packing stations must be easily removable. This design project …