Digital Commons Network^™

Pre-Sleep Routines Affecting Sleep In Adults, Diana Navarro, Rebecca King, Cassandra Nelson

Fall 2024 OTD Capstone Symposium

This capstone project examines the impact of pre-sleep routines on adult sleep quality, emphasizing the role of consistent habits, reduced technology use, and stress management. A six-week intervention incorporating evidence-based strategies such as sleep hygiene education, environmental adjustments, and relaxation techniques was conducted. Results revealed significant improvements in sleep quality, as measured by the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and enhanced physical and emotional well-being among participants. These findings highlight the importance of tailored pre-sleep routines in addressing sleep disorders and provide a foundation for broader implementation and future research.

Burden Of Disease Scenarios By State In The Usa, 2022–50: A Forecasting Analysis For The Global Burden Of Disease Study 2021, Ali H. Mokdad, Catherine Bisignano, Johnathan M. Hsu, Dana Bryazka

Open Access archive

Background: The capacity to anticipate future health issues is important for both policy makers and practitioners in the USA, as such insights can facilitate effective planning, investment, and implementation strategies. Forecasting trends in disease and injury burden is not only crucial for policy makers but also garners substantial interest from the general populace and leads to a better-informed public. Through the integration of new data sources, the refinement of methodologies, and the inclusion of additional causes, we have improved our previous forecasting efforts within the scope of the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) to produce …

No. 31: Precarity, Food Insecurity, And Migration: The Kerala-Gulf Nexus And Women Domestic Workers, Anand Panamthottam Cherian

Migration and Food Security (MiFOOD) Network

Low-skilled Malayali women migrants employed as domestic laborers in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)1 countries navigate a transnational labor system that entrenches gendered hierarchies and structural inequalities. Ethnographic fieldwork conducted in Kerala and the United Arab Emirates utilizing biographical methods such as life history and oral history reveals that migration, often envisioned as a pathway to economic security, intensifies vulnerabilities through layers of exclusion, exploitation, and deprivation. These women’s lived experiences underscore the precarious conditions that define their labor trajectories, shaped by systemic governance failures and socio-cultural dynamics.

Food security, positioned at the nexus of material survival and symbolic significance, emerges …

Distributional Impacts Of The Changing Retail Landscape, Yue Cao, Judith A. Chevalier, Jessie Handbury, Hayden Parsley, Kevin R. Williams

Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers

A common tactic to estimate willingness-to-travel exploits variation in the relative proximity of consumers to supplier locations. The validity of these estimates relies on the exogeneity of that consumer-supplier distance. We argue that distance to suppliers is endogenous because suppliers strategically choose locations to target consumers; we introduce a novel instrument to address this form of endogeneity. Using geolocation data from millions of smartphones, we estimate consumer preferences for specific retail chains across income groups and regions. We show that accounting for distance endogeneity significantly alters willingness-to-travel measures. Contrary to the prevailing “retail apocalypse” narrative, we find that consumer surplus …

Gaze Interrupted, Claire Baskin

Undergraduate B.F.A. Theses in Studio Art

No abstract provided.

Correlation Of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Dosage With Level Of Colonization, Nutrient Concentration, And Photosynthesis Pigment Of Cavendish Banana Plant, Muhammad Akhsan Akib, Nur Ilmi, Risnawati, Retno Prayudyaningsih, Syatrawati

Jurnal Kultivasi

The commercial development of Cavendish bananas still faces many obstacles, including the availability of seedlings/suckers at low prices, so technological substitution is needed to stimulate the growth of Cavendish banana suckers in the form of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) biological agents. The research aims to determine the correlation between AM doses and colonization levels, tissue nutrient concentrations, and photosynthetic pigments in Cavendish banana seedlings/suckers. It is also a novelty in this research study. The research was carried out in Parepare city at coordinates 3°59'30.204" S; 119°38'42.936" E using four AM doses as independent variables, namely 0 g, 5 g, 10 g, …

The Microorganisms Associated With Doliolids In A Productive Coastal Upwelling System, Melissa Steinman, Moritz S. Schmid, Robert K. Cowen, Su Sponaugle, Kelly R. Sutherland, Anne W. Thompson

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Doliolids have a unique ability to impact the marine microbial community through bloom events and filter feeding. Their predation on large eukaryotic microorganisms is established and evidence of predation on smaller prokaryotic microorganisms is beginning to emerge. We studied the association between microorganisms and wild-caught doliolids in the Northern California Current system. Doliolids were collected during bloom events identified at three different shelf locations with variable upwelling intensity. We discovered doliolids were associated with a range of prokaryotic microbial functional groups, which included free-living pelagic Archaea, SAR11, and picocyanobacteria. The results suggest the possibility that doliolids could feed on the …

Epigenetic Mechanisms And Senescence In Aging And Cancer, Alla Karpova

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

Aging is marked by the progressive decline of cellular and organ function. This process often manifests through DNA damage, epigenomic alterations, telomere shortening, and metabolic or mitochondrial dysfunction. As DNA damage and other stressors accumulate, cells take measures to prevent malignant transformation. One such measure is cellular senescence, a state of irreversible cell cycle arrest that halts the growth of pre-malignant cells. When cells are unable to enter senescence due to high levels of genomic alterations, they typically undergo apoptosis or necrosis. However, if mutations affect key driver genes, allowing cells to evade death, they may become malignant, continuing to …

Self-Reported Access To Oral Health Care And Perception Of Oral Health From 2011-2020, Taylor Lordo

Honors Scholar Theses

An individual’s perception of their oral cavity directly correlates with whether he/she will seek oral health care. Self-reported oral health (SROH) rating is typically measured on a scale of excellent to poor and is a validated measure of an individual’s oral health. This study aimed to (1) examine the correlation between SROH and access to oral health care, (2) assess changes in access and SROH from 2011 to 2020, and (3) analyze variations across age, gender, and race. Data was collected from the 2011-12, 2013-14, 2015-16, and 2017-20 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey for individuals 20 or older. Two …

Does The Mediterranean Diet Play A Beneficial Role In Managing The Health Of Overweight/Obese Breast Cancer Survivors?, Syeda Maria Yaqoob, Layla Haidar, Marlyn A Allicock, Natalia I Heredia

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Numerous studies have established a correlation between the Mediterranean diet and a reduced risk of breast cancer, as well as its efficacy in supporting weight management. Notably, obesity is widely recognized as a significant risk factor for the development of breast cancer. The Mediterranean diet has been shown to improve health outcomes among overweight or obese breast cancer survivors. This narrative review aims to consolidate information on the existing research interventions elucidating the benefits of the Mediterranean diet for the overall health of breast cancer survivors.

Methods: Using the search terms "Mediterranean diet" and "breast cancer survivor", a total …

Evaluation Of The Thermal Insulation Potential Of Post-Harvest Blocks Using The Native Strain Of The Edible Mushroom Pleurotus Ostreatus, Miguel Aravena, Leonardo Almonacid-Munoz, Carlos Rojas-Herrera, Hector Herrera, Juan Pablo Cardenas Ramirez, Alejandro Veliz Reyes, Cristiane Sagredo-Saez

School of Art, Design and Architecture

In recent years, the need to adopt materials that are partially or fully recyclable or biodegradable has grown significantly. This paper presents a study aiming to develop a physical and thermal characterization of post-harvest blocks (spent mushroom substrate) used in the production of the edible mushroom Pleurotus ostreatus in order to test its feasibility as an insulation material. For this purpose, culture blocks based on wheat straw residues were prepared using a wild strain of the fungus. After the mushroom harvest, the post-harvest blocks were evaluated for stability, thermal conductivity, moisture content, fire behavior, and surface analysis. The results showed …

Antibiotics For Acute Watery Or Persistent With Or Without Bloody Diarrhoea In Children: A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis, Syeda Kanza Naqvi, Mustafa Bin Ali Zubairi, Ayesha Arshad Ali, Ashraf Sharif, Rehana Abdus Salam, Zain Hasnain, Sajid Bashir Soofi, Shabina Ariff, Yasir Bin Nisar, Jai K. Das

Institute for Global Health and Development

Background: The use of antibiotics in the treatment of acute and persistent watery diarrhoea has long been a subject of contention. While the advantages of using antimicrobials are acknowledged, concerns remain regarding potential adverse effects and antibiotic resistance. Therefore, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the efficacy of antibiotics compared to placebos for the treatment of diarrhoea.
Methods: We searched PubMed, CINAHL, the Cochrane Library, ClinicalTrials.gov, the World Health Organization (WHO) International Clinical Trials Registry Platform, and Scopus from inception until 20 July 2023 for studies published after the year 2000 assessing antibiotics vs placebo in acute …

Zinc Supplementation For Acute And Persistent Watery Diarrhoea In Children: A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis, Ayesha Arshad Ali, Syeda Kanza Naqvi, Zain Hasnain, Mustafa Bin Ali Zubairi, Ashraf Sharif, Rehana Abdus Salam, Sajid Bashir Soofi, Shabina Ariff, Yasir Bin Nisar, Jai K. Das

Institute for Global Health and Development

Background: Zinc is a micronutrient that plays a role in immune system strengthening and regulation of intestinal epithelial cells, and can reduce the duration and severity of diarrhoea. We conducted a systematic review of randomised controlled trials (RCTs) to assess the effectiveness of zinc compared to no zinc for the management of acute and persistent diarrhoea in children.
Methods: We searched PubMed, the Cochrane Library, Scopus, CINAHL, ClinicalTrials.gov, and World Health Organization (WHO) International Clinical Trials Registry Platform from inception until 31 July 2023 for studies published from year 2000 onwards that assessed the use of zinc in the management …

The Immune System Under Pressure: Understanding The Impact Of Stress On Immune Function And Health, Kaeshwinie Murugan

Honors Theses

Stress has a profound impact on the immune health of college students, exacerbated by challenges such as academic pressures, sleep deprivation, and inadequate coping strategies. This study investigates the relationship between stress and immune function among students at Western Michigan University, utilizing survey data and existing literature to explore mechanisms of stress-induced immune suppression and identify effective interventions. The survey, conducted with 100 participants, revealed that over 70% experienced stress that adversely affected their immune systems, with 60% reporting insufficient sleep and 20% sleeping less than five hours per night.

The survey further highlighted students' reliance on specific coping mechanisms, …

Comparative Study Of Rice Morphological And Physiological Characteristics Of Rice Grown Under Organic And Inorganic Farming, Amad Safrudin, Ratna Dewi, Dulbari

Jurnal Kultivasi

Organic farming practices have shown a potential to improve rice yields, aside from the popular conventional ones. This study aimed to comparatively analyze the morpho-physiological characteristics of rice plants grown under organic and inorganic farming. This research was conducted at the Polinela Organic Farm experimental station (5°21'10"S 105°13'43"E, 114 m sea above level), from February to April 2023 using a completely randomized design. The results showed that rice grown organically exhibited a notably higher chlorophyll index and actual water use efficiency compared to those grown inorganically. Conversely, inorganic farming resulted in a greater number of tillers than organic farming. However, …

Maize Hybrids’ Genetic Variability Based On Qualitative And Quantitative Traits, Slamet Bambang Priyanto, Herawati, Suwarti, Ayyub Ar Rahman, Nining Nurini Andayani, Abdul Fattah, Muhammad Azrai

Jurnal Kultivasi

Genetic variability was a prerequisite to doing a plant breeding program. A broad genetic variability allows plant breeders to select a desired genotype. This research aims to assess the maize hybrid's genetic variability based on qualitative and quantitative traits. This research was conducted in the Bone district, south Sulawesi, from November 2022 to March 2023. Fifteen maize hybrids were arranged in a randomized complete block design with three replications. The variables observed are qualitative and quantitative traits. Principal component (PCA) and cluster analyses assessed the genetic variability. The result indicated that based on a loading factor greater than 0.70, the …

Resilience Reimagined: A Study On Nurses' Resilience Through Integrative Nurse Coach Education, Melody Love Hawkins

Group: Nebraska Methodist College

Nurses face high levels of stress and burnout, worsened by staffing shortages and the COVID-19 pandemic. These stressors contribute to high turnover and negatively affect patient care. Nurses often work in environments that hinder self-care, leading to emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and diminished job satisfaction. These challenges harm both nurse well-being and patient outcomes, emphasizing the need to build resilience to reduce burnout.

A 12-week online Foundational Integrative Nurse Coach Program aimed to enhance nurses’ resilience and well-being. The program blends integrative nursing principles with advanced coaching techniques, focusing on holistic health… mind, body, and spirit. Nurses were educated on stress …

Machine Learning Approaches For Predicting Dental Caries In Permanent Molars Of Children And Adolescents Using Nhanes 2011-16 Data, Pritam Deb, Christina Scherrer Phd, Lin Li Phd

Symposium of Student Scholars

Dental caries remains a prevalent chronic disease among children, significantly affecting their quality of life, educational outcomes, and school attendance. Between 2011 and 2016, caries affected 17.4% of children aged 6-11 and 56.8% of adolescents aged 12-19, with higher incidences among non-Hispanic Black and Mexican American youth, and those from lower-income families. This study aims to develop a robust machine learning model to predict the presence of decayed, missing, or filled permanent molars (DMFT) in children and adolescents using demographic, dietary, and oral health examination data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) for the years 2011 to …

Education Policy Committee Agenda December 05, 2024, Utah State University

Educational Policies Committee

• Approval of Minutes
• Subcommittee Reports
• Other Business
• Adjourn: 4:00pm

Curriculum Subcommittee Agenda December 05, 2024, Utah State University

Educational Policies Committee

• Approval of Minutes
• Program Proposals
• Semester Course Approval Reviews
• Other Business
• Adjourn: 3:00pm

Screen Media, Obesity, And Nutrition, Amanda E. Staiano, Alyssa M. Button, Gary S. Goldfield, Thomas N. Robinson, Jorge Mota, Susan J. Woolford, Peter T. Katzmarzyk

Population and Public Health Science Faculty Publications

This chapter provides an update on and the synthesis of the most current evidence on screen use, nutritional intake, and obesity in youth. The strongest evidence of a mechanism linking screen media use to obesity is through repeated exposures to unhealthy food marketing and excess eating while viewing screens. Evidence of the neurocognitive effects on dietary consumption via the effects of executive function, satiety, and memory is emerging. Interventions to reduce children's screen time or to incorporate screen media into improving nutrition and obesity outcomes have had mixed results. The evidence base is also limited by imprecise measurements of screen …

Digital Screen Media Use, Movement Behaviors, And Child Health, Mark S. Tremblay, Nicholas Kuzik, Stuart J.H. Biddle, Valerie Carson, Mai J.M. Chinapaw, Dorothea Dumuid, Wendy Yajun Huang, Travis J. Saunders, Amanda E. Staiano, Russell R. Pate

Population and Public Health Science Faculty Publications

This chapter summarizes the associations between children's digital screen media use (DSMU) and their health, within the 24-h movement behavior framework (physical activities, sedentary behaviors, sleep), provides recommendations for healthy DSMU, and highlights future research directions. Key concepts include behavior displacement, combined associations, and DSMU context and content. Displacement examples include more DSMU decreasing time for healthier behaviors (e.g., physical activity or sleep) or replacing reading books and magazines with DSMU alternatives (e.g., texting, social media). How DSMU affects the relationships between various combinations of movement behaviors and children's health is largely unknown. Total DSMU is most frequently studied, but …

Faculty Senate Chronicle December 5, 2024, Heather Loughney

The University of Akron Faculty Senate Chronicle

Minutes for the regular meeting of The University of Akron Faculty Senate on December 5, 2024

Health Services Monthly Educational Newsletter To Parents/Guardians, Dena L. Hinkle, Jennifer L. Fisher, Emily Garnett, Chelsea K. Mckee

Nursing Department Graduate Presentations/Conferences

This health services newsletter was created as an educational and information tool for parents/guardians of Will County School District 92. The intention of this project was to increase student compliance with health requirements, improve parental/guardian education regarding student health, and provide necessary student health education topics. The project began by completing a literature review which allowed for a thorough survey of existing information. The theoretical framework Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child (WSCC) serves as the foundation for this proposal, along with Pender’s Health Promotion Model and the School Nursing Practice Framework. The three graduate nursing students determined important educational …

Nasa Microgreen Cultivation In Space Utilizing Pegda Hydrogels, Thomas Alarcon Ali, Zohaib Gabriel Khan, Ariel Marroquin, Samuel Martinez, Fabiha Samiha, Emily Yong

Publications and Research

During long-term space expeditions, it is crucial that astronauts receive the nutrients they need to maintain their overall health. While the current space diet of palatable foods is commendable and constantly evolving, nutritional content and food quality degrades over long durations. Microgreens are excellent candidates for space cultivation because they are nutrient-dense, young plants that are are densely grown and harvested when leaves are just emerging. However, antigravity, microgreen fragility, degradation speed, contamination, and limited water resources are substantial barriers to doing so. This study aims to address these challenges by cultivating microgreens inside a hydrogel, a soilless medium, to …

Factors Of Police Decision-Making Of Veterans In Crisis, Paul N. Guzman

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Since 9/11, the need for veteran crisis intervention has increased. Police agencies often respond to veterans in crisis by deploying officers who have completed Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) training, and many of the officers are prior military. However, little research has focused specifically on the factors influencing police officers’ decision-making when responding to veterans in crisis. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the association and predictability between event type, veteran behavior, police officer military experience, police officer CIT, and the disposition of veterans as measured by arrest, referral for mental health services, and the use of force. …

Ai-Enabled Wearable Cameras For Assisting Dietary Assessment In African Populations, Frank P-W Lo, Jianing Qiu, Modou L Jobarteh, Yingnan Sun, Zeyu Wang, Shuo Jiang, Tom Baranowski, Alex K Anderson, Megan A Mccrory, Edward Sazonov, Wenyan Jia, Mingui Sun, Matilda Steiner-Asiedu, Gary Frost, Benny Lo

Children’s Nutrition Research Center Staff Publications

We have developed a population-level method for dietary assessment using low-cost wearable cameras. Our approach, EgoDiet, employs an egocentric vision-based pipeline to learn portion sizes, addressing the shortcomings of traditional self-reported dietary methods. To evaluate the functionality of this method, field studies were conducted in London (Study A) and Ghana (Study B) among populations of Ghanaian and Kenyan origin. In Study A, EgoDiet's estimations were contrasted with dietitians' assessments, revealing a performance with a Mean Absolute Percentage Error (MAPE) of 31.9% for portion size estimation, compared to 40.1% for estimates made by dietitians. We further evaluated our approach in Study …

Factors Of Police Decision-Making Of Veterans In Crisis, Paul N. Guzman

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Since 9/11, the need for veteran crisis intervention has increased. Police agencies often respond to veterans in crisis by deploying officers who have completed Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) training, and many of the officers are prior military. However, little research has focused specifically on the factors influencing police officers’ decision-making when responding to veterans in crisis. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the association and predictability between event type, veteran behavior, police officer military experience, police officer CIT, and the disposition of veterans as measured by arrest, referral for mental health services, and the use of force. …

Integrative Multi-Omics Analysis Uncovers Tumor-Immune-Gut Axis Influencing Immunotherapy Outcomes In Ovarian Cancer, Spencer R Rosario, Mark D Long, Shanmuga Chilakapati, Eduardo Cortes Gomez, Sebastiano Battaglia, Prashant K Singh, Jianmin Wang, Katy Wang, Kristopher Attwood, Suzanne M Hess, A J Robert Mcgray, Kunle Odunsi, Brahm H Segal, Gyorgy Paragh, Song Liu, Jennifer A Wargo, Emese Zsiros

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Recurrent ovarian cancer patients, especially those resistant to platinum, lack effective curative treatments. To address this, we conducted a phase 2 clinical trial (NCT02853318) combining pembrolizumab with bevacizumab, to increase T cell infiltration into the tumor, and oral cyclophosphamide, to reduce the number of regulatory T cells. The trial accrued 40 heavily pretreated recurrent ovarian cancer patients. The primary endpoint, progression free survival, was extended to a median of 10.2 months. The secondary endpoints demonstrated an objective response rate of 47.5%, and disease control in 30% of patients for over a year while maintaining a good quality of life. We …

Fall 2024 Student Scholar Symposium Abstract Volume, Chapman University Center For Undergraduate Excellence

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

No abstract provided.