Digital Commons Network^™

A Multidisciplinary Approach To Identify Postoperative Delirium In Geriatric Patients Using A Brain Health Screening Tool, Ashlyn Mccartney

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Postoperative delirium (POD) is a common occurrence, effecting nearly 61% of the surgical population recovering from anesthesia. POD increases risk of morbidity and mortality leading to prolonged hospital length of stay by 0.8 to 7.3 days and increased costs by $1,551 to $23,698 (Masharaf et al., 2022; Sethi, 2021). An academic medical center in northern West Virginia (WV) lacks a structured practice/protocol to identify high risk patients and assess POD. An evidence-based solution was developed based on the PICO question: Does a multidisciplinary approach to perianesthetic care utilizing a brain health screening tool, compared to lack of a screening tool, …

Symptoms Of Anxiety, Trauma, Depression, And Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders In A Subsequent Pregnancy Following A Previous Pregnancy Loss, Juliana Lynn Restivo Haney

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Pregnancy loss is a common and intense personal event that has been found to be a risk factor for increased symptoms of mood, trauma, obsessive-compulsive and anxiety disorders in subsequent pregnancies. Using a self-report online survey, the current study hypothesizes that levels of anxiety, trauma, and obsessive-compulsive symptoms will be higher in pregnant individuals who had a pregnancy loss in their most recent previous pregnancy (n= 61) when compared to pregnant individuals whose most recent previous pregnancy resulted in a live birth (n= 62). Participants responded to an online questionnaire asking about reproductive and mental health history, symptoms of perinatal …

Artificial Intelligence And Mediation Ethics, Zachary R. Calo

Scholarly Works

No abstract provided.

Tax Sentiment And Compliance: Evidence From Social Media, Andrew Belnap, Jacob Thornock, Kevin Standridge, Braden Williams

Faculty Publications

Motivations for voluntary tax compliance that fall outside of a standard, rational model can be intrinsic or extrinsic. We use social media rhetoric about taxes to create a measure of tax sentiment that reflects taxpayers’ extrinsic, behavioral motivations for voluntary compliance, and then examine the association between public tax sentiment and tax compliance. Our machinelearning based approach for measuring sentiment uses millions of tax-related tweets, which vary by time and geography. We find that tax sentiment is negatively associated with tax compliance. Our main findings and cross-sectional tests are consistent with the notion that paying one’s taxes is a way …

The Intellectual Structure Of Audit Committee Research: A Bibliometric Analysis (1969 – 2020), Joel Behrend, Marc Eulerich, David A. Wood

Faculty Publications

The audit committee is a widely recognized mechanism of effective corporate governance. We advance prior literature reviews by using bibliometric analysis techniques that comprehensively process large bodies of bibliometric information. We base inferences on citation patterns of 1,173 articles to identify concepts that “shine through” within the scientific understanding of audit committees. Using content analysis, we then analyze these concepts and explore existing interrelationships. We document a declining influence of audit committee research, as well as a widening gap between the quantitative and qualitative research camps. While the former is mostly derivative in nature, the latter produces innovative insights on …

Demonstrating The Need For Intergenerational Trauma-Specific Substance Use Treatment For Mothers Receiving Substance Use Treatment And Their Children, Brittany Ti-Esha Smith

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

For decades the United States has faced substance use epidemics that have devastating public health consequences, with the most recent epidemic being the opioid epidemic. While the substance that is the center of the epidemic’s changes over time, one factor that has been found to be positively related to substance use has remained consistent, that preventable risk factor is adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). Those who experience ACEs are at elevated risk for developing SUD. If the trauma that is a result of experiencing ACE is not treated it can complicate recovery and impact the individuals’ families. The children of individuals …

Development Of Lab-On-A-Chip Platforms Incorporating A Novel Acoustic Atomization Induced Pump Based On A Vibrating Sharp Edge Capillary., Balapuwaduge Lihini Tharanga Catherine Mendis

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Capillary Vibrating Sharp-edge Ionization device (cVSSI device) was developed by our laboratory with a low cost and an easy fabrication procedure. The generation of small liquid droplets by this technique has been used as an ionization source for mass spectrometry analysis platforms. On usual applications incorporating the cVSSI device a syringe pump was connected to the back end of the vibrating sharp tip capillary to ensure continuous loading of sample into the capillary to sustain the ionization process at the tip end of the vibrating sharp tip capillary. We were able to observe that upon the generation of droplets the …

Multidisciplinary Approach To Injury Rehabilitation: The D1 College Athlete Perspective, Lindsey Leatherman

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Sport injuries continue to be unavoidable disruptions in student-athletes’ athletic careers with over 200,000 injuries estimated to be reported each year in college sport (Kerr et al., 2015). Researchers continue to emphasize the importance of an interprofessional approach to rehabilitation to help athletes manage the adverse psychological and emotional reactions to injury (Appaneal et al., 2009; Gervis et al., 2020; Putukian, 2016). The purpose of this study was to extend and replicate the research of Clement and Arvinen-Barrow (2021) by incorporating perspectives of Division I US student-athletes. The current study describes 321 NCAA Division I collegiate athletes’ experiences of receiving …

Standardizing Nasogastric Tube Securement: A Quality Improvement Initiative, Shannon Lee Thompkins

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Problem: At a large academic medical center located in the northeastern United States, nasogastric tubes (NGT) were traditionally secured with tape. The institutional policy was nonspecific with no written procedure. The inconsistent use of nasal bridle securement devices (NBSD) and predominant use of tape has the potential to lead to a high rate of NGT dislodgement.

Background: NGT complication and dislodgement rates range from 2%-36% (Gimenes et al., 2019). Stabler et al. (2018) report 29%-63% NGT dislodgement rates in critically ill patients. Patients with intracranial hemorrhage dislodge NGTs in 25% of patients (Rahman et al., 2022)

Available Knowledge: Based on …

Investigation Of Synergistic Effect Between Polystyrene And Polyethylene Under Conventional Thermal Heating And Microwave Heating, Thang Luong

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Single-use plastics (Low Density Polyethylene, LDPE; Polystyrene, PS; Polypropylene, PP) are increasingly used in the modern world, with their usage growing every year. An effective method to manage the resulting waste is urgently needed, as landfilling and incineration have proven harmful to the environment in the long term. Mechanical recycling may not maintain the desirable characteristics of the single-use plastics through several cycles. Pyrolysis emerges as a promising approach to address plastic waste. Given that single-use plastic waste often comes in a mixture, combining plastic in the feedstock is a viable solution to effectively convert these polymers altogether to gain …

Dynamic Load Identification Using Optimal Sensor Placement And Dynamic Condensation Methods, Iole Pecora

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Knowledge of excitation loads that structures experience during their service life is pivotal in different engineering fields, not only from a structural design optimization point of view but also as prevention of possible damages to the structures themselves. However, in case of dynamic events such as tornadoes, structures subjected to impulsive load due to their vicinity of explosions, the excitation load cannot be directly determined through direct measurements. In these scenarios, the inverse problem is used, and it is called load identification. This type of problem tries to determine the excitation load knowing the system response through a series of …

Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach’S Sonata In C Minor, Wq. 65/31: A Study Of Performance Practice, Weiyang Sun

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This dissertation discusses concepts of performance practice in Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach's keyboard works, including historical instruments, fingering, articulation, ornamentation, dynamics, rhythm, and other related topics. It provides an interpretive analysis of C. P. E. Bach's Sonata in C Minor, Wq. 65/31, for keyboard, as a way to discuss the application of these issues. Additionally, this dissertation includes a brief biography of C. P. E. Bach, a list of his keyboard works, and a discography of current and historical recordings of the Sonata in C Minor, Wq. 65/31.

Changes In Psychiatric Diagnosis Associated With Sars-Cov-2 Infection And Predicting The Development Of New Psychiatric Illness In Covid Patients By Using Machine Learning Approach: A Study Using The Us National Covid Cohort Collaborative (N3c), Asif Rahman

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The enduring impact of COVID-19 extends beyond acute illness, with potential long-term psychiatric consequences raising significant concern among healthcare professionals and researchers alike. Emerging evidence suggests a multifaceted relationship between COVID-19 and the development of different psychiatric illnesses like Schizophrenia Spectrum and Psychotic Disorders (SSPD), Depression, Bipolar disorder, Personality disorder, Trauma, and a range of other mental health conditions. Considering these emerging connections, our study endeavors to rigorously assess the associations between COVID-19 and various psychiatric illnesses while simultaneously employing machine learning techniques to predict the development of new psychiatric disorders in individuals affected by the virus. Leveraging the extensive …

Breaking The Silence: International Students’ Communication About Sexual Assault And Opportunities For Improved Prevention Messaging, Samaha Ghani

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The beginning of college campus life is one of the most exciting phases of student life. However, for some students, it might pose a threat in the form of sexual violence. In the United States, sexual violence is highly pervasive, placing college students at a greater risk of victimization. Currently, there is a lack of data on sexual crimes within the international student population on U.S. college campuses due to cultural and language barriers. As such, the purpose of this study is to explore international students’ communication needs around the topic of sexual consent and sexual violence. This vulnerable and …

Beccaria, The Executioner, And The French Revolution, Willa Carlyle Reising

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This thesis explores ideas and practices in the French penal system during the Revolutionary era, especially during the Reign of Terror, considering the experiences of Revolutionary leaders and the executioner of Paris during the Revolution. It argues that while in some ways Revolutionary leaders used Enlightenment penal laws to justify their actions during the Reign of Terror, in other ways the Reign of Terror was a departure from Enlightenment penal reform laws. The main Enlightenment penal reformer which this thesis uses is Cesare Beccaria because he was influential in France and during the French Revolution in helping to create early …

Power Safety Plan Checklist As An Intervention In The Operating Room, Scott John Fankhauser

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

ABSTRACT

Power Safety Plan Checklist as an Intervention in the Operating Room

Scott J. Fankhauser

Background: Intraoperative power failures (IOPF) force anesthesia providers to quickly make decisions to prevent patient harm when equipment does not operate as designed. Familiarity with alternative methods is critical during this decision process to deliver high-quality care during IOPF events. Purpose: The purpose of this project was to assess the impact of a checklist on anesthesia providers’ perceptions regarding continuation of care during an IOPF. Interventions: Pre- and post-intervention surveys were conducted during a simulation and education setting for annual competencies. Methods: The study …

A Domain Adaptation Approach For Morphology-Independent Cell Instance Segmentation, Voke Rotimi Brume

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

In recent years, there has been an upward trend of utilizing deep learning to automate cell segmentation processes. As global storage capacities grow exponentially, so have microscopy data collections become larger and more frequent. To benefit from them, accurate and precise quantitative analysis tools like cell instance segmentation have become necessary. However, the highly variable nature of these data collections necessitates retraining segmentation models to maintain high accuracy on new data collections. This process is time-consuming and labor-intensive since a user must annotate much of the new data, usually under the supervision of a medical professional. The problem is further …

Iron Coated Sand: A Sustainable Substrate Amendment For Nutrient Management And Growth Of Floriculture Crops, Savannah Mead

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Acid mine drainage and phosphorus pollution are two of the most pervasive forms of water contamination in Appalachia and globally. The horticultural industry is a contributor to nutrient pollution via leaching from greenhouses, necessitating the adoption of more sustainable practices for container production in controlled environments. In this thesis, an acid mine drainage-based iron-coated sand product was assessed on its effectiveness for phosphate adsorption when used as a sustainable substrate amendment for soilless container production of flowering ornamentals. The first study centered around the amount of iron-coated sand to use for production of petunias, pansies, and chrysanthemums. Iron-coated sand at …

Spiral Wave Teleportation And Multiplex Network Synchronization In Light Sensitive Belousov-Zhabotinsky Systems, Shannyn Alicia Tyler

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

We experimentally and computationally investigate dynamical behaviors in excitable and oscillatory media using light sensitive Belousov-Zhabotinsky (BZ) systems. These systems are not in a state of thermodynamic equilibrium, and have been proven to show various interesting phenomena including spatiotemporal patterns, self-organization, and chaos. We utilize the BZ reaction, a nonlinear chemical reaction, known for its relaxation-type oscillations, to explore the dynamics of these systems.

We examine spiral wave teleportation in an excitable media as an effective alternate defibrillation method. Spiral waves have emerged as a key phenomenon associated with the initiation and persistence of cardiac arrhythmias. Using a light sensitive …

Bystander Interventions For Sexual Assault Prevention Among Students In Greek Life, Caterina Defazio

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Background: Bystander-based sexual violence (SV) prevention programs are critical on college campuses to meet federal Title IX requirements and have proven effective in reducing violence. Greek-affiliated students (members of fraternities and sororities) are at a higher risk for sexual assault than their peers, yet current training programs often do not address their specific needs. This dissertation comprises three interconnected studies that collectively aim to improve bystander intervention strategies for this high-risk group. Aim 1 - Scoping Review: A scoping review was conducted to identify and describe bystander intervention programs delivered to Greek-affiliated students in the US and Canada. An eight-database …

Making Home Here: Young Refugee-Migrant Women And The Work Of Emplacement In A Rural Appalachian Town, Valentina Muraleedharan

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This dissertation centres young refugee-migrant women’s voices, perspectives, concerns, and actions living in a small, rural Appalachian town called Easton, exploring their social, cultural, and economic experiences. It infers that through their critical participation in family life and labour in making a home in a new place, young refugee-migrant women’s relations to family and place impact how they negotiate their aspirations and future im/mobilities to create pathways to emplacement. Emplacement is an ongoing process that hinges on the efforts of individuals, families, and communities to find a way in a new place by giving meaning to their surroundings. This research …

Policy Dynamics In Young Democracies: Attention, Electoral Change, And Responsiveness In Ghana And South Africa, Christiana Bugri

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

My dissertation is a collection of three essays that assess the nature of government attention in young democracies. Theories of the policy process focus on policy dynamics in Western democracies with little application to non-Western democracies. This dissertation bridges this gap by studying policy dynamics in the neopatrimonial democracies of Ghana and South Africa. The dissertation sheds light on how the unique features of young democracies (centralization, clientelism, and powerful executives) shape government attention, responsiveness to public opinion, and the importance of elections in policy change. The first essay examines the dynamics of government attention and how the neopatrimonial nature …

Evaluating The Efficacy Of The Archaeal Proteasome To Alleviate Protein-Misfolding Retinopathy, Celine Brooks

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Nearly all neurodegenerative diseases (NDs) and some eye diseases are characterized by the presence of misfolded and aggregated proteins. The ubiquitin proteasome system (UPS) is responsible for degrading the majority of proteins including misfolded and aggregated proteins. However, in NDs the performance of the UPS is impaired, and this impairment partially comes from these protein aggregates inhibiting the proteasome. This inhibition leads to an accumulation of protein aggregates, more proteasomal inhibition, and fewer chaperones for newly synthesized proteins, triggering a collapse in proteostasis, which is thought to contribute to the pathogenesis of NDs. Consequently, stimulating proteasome function is being investigated …

An Appalachian Perspective On Suicide: A Focus On West Virginia’S Unique Context, Erin Delaney Caswell

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

INTRODUCTION: The Appalachian region, spanning 13 states from New York to northern Mississippi, experiences the suicide rates in the United States (U.S.), underscoring a public health crisis exacerbated by persistent socioeconomic challenges. West Virginia (WV), the only state entirely within Appalachia, serves as a focal point for understanding the broader suicide crisis in the region, as WV has the highest suicide rates in the region. Moreover, the state has several unique socioeconomic factors, like increased poverty, lower educational attainment, limited access to healthcare, and a high prevalence of chronic pain and substance that may contribute to elevated rates of suicide. …

Using Touchmath® As An Intervention For Students With Disabilities At A Public Montessori School, Anne M. Cox

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Students with high-incidence disabilities enrolled in public Montessori elementary schools do not always make adequate growth in mathematics using traditional Montessori materials and instruction. While direct instruction methods are not typically used in a Montessori setting, such teaching practices have been proven to be successful when teaching students with disabilities.

This study analyzed the effects of an evidence-based math intervention, TouchMath^®, on the addition fact fluency and acquisition of double-digit addition skills of elementary students with disabilities who receive small-group special education instruction in a public Montessori school. The students’ confidence levels before and after receiving the intervention …

Triggered Online System Re-Identification Applied To Model Predictive Control Using Gaussian Processes, Daniel Augusto Kestering

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Safety, product quality, enhanced performance, and increased profit all depend on the control of chemical and energy processes. However, operational issues can lead to control challenges, especially when processes are subject to disturbances during their operation. Process control methods work best when processes operate close to their designed operat- ing conditions, but lack of performance or other issues may occur when the process is far from such conditions. To overcome these challenges, in this dissertation, online model re- identification is proposed for Model Predictive Control (MPC). This involves reassessing the predictive model of an advanced controller, namely MPC, when re-identification …

The Role Of Uric Acid In Metabolic Abnormalities Of Obesity, Andrew P. Giromini

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Uric acid (UA) is the single most tightly associated metabolite for obesity and type 2 diabetes. While the field varies on whether UA is causative or correlative of the metabolic dysfunction allied to obesity, these studies use different diets and animal models to make these claims. It is the goal of this dissertation to compare different diets commonly used in this research to delve deeper into the data and determine which diets induce elevated circulating UA levels as well as which diets also induce metabolic dysfunction. Early chapters of this dissertation examine the comparison of high fructose consumption, both in …

Measures Of Feed Efficiency In Beef Cattle: Biological Basis And Effect On Response To Dietary Supplementation, Modoluwamu Idowu

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

During the feedlot receiving period, newly weaned beef cattle face various stressors, including weaning, transportation, vaccination, and exposure to pathogens. Additionally, changes in diet and low dry matter intake contribute to nutrient deficiencies, heightening susceptibility to disease and performance declines. Therefore, we examined the effects of dietary supplementation with a multicomponent blend of prebiotics and probiotics on the health, immune status, metabolism, and performance of newly weaned beef steers during a 35-day receiving period. Our results showed that compared to the control group, the supplemental additive (SYNB) increased average daily gain (ADG), dry matter intake, and meal events during the …

Aberrant Lipid Accumulation And Retinal Pigment Epithelium Dysfunction In Prcd-Deficient Mice, Sree Indrani Motipally

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Progressive Rod-Cone Degeneration (PRCD) is a peripheral membrane protein predominantly expressed in photoreceptor outer segment (OS) disc membranes with an unknown function. Several mutations in Prcd are implicated in Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) in humans. The most common “cysteine to tyrosine” (C2Y) mutation in Prcd leads to progressive retinal atrophy in multiple dog breeds and RP in humans. Canine models harboring the C2Y mutation in Prcd show disorganized OS structure with greatly attenuated photoreceptor OS renewal rates. Recent studies show defects in the photoreceptor nascent disc flattening in the absence of Prcd. However, it is unclear how OS discs eventually …

An Investigation Of Relations Between Developmental Stage, Impulsivity, And False Confessions, Madison G. Gallimore

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The current study examined relations between developmental stage, impulsivity, and false confessions. Based on the findings from Tervo-Clemmens et al. (2023), participants were divided into two groups based on age; ages included those who had not yet reached executive functioning maturation (12-to-20-years-old) and those who had reached executive functioning maturation (21-to-37-years-old). Impulsiveness was determined by performance on a delay-discounting task based on Mok et al. (2020) and the Barratt Impulsivity Scale-11 (BIS-11) Self-control subscale. False confessions were measured based on whether participants orally admitted to a minor wrongdoing. All participants experienced the same study procedure. The false confession paradigm utilized …