Digital Commons Network^™

A Paradoxical Tale: Sodium Taurocholate Counteracts Bactericidal Potency Of Silver-Modified Cerium Oxide Nanoparticle (Agcnp), A Sporicidal Disinfectant Against C. Difficile On Abiotic Surfaces, Deepa Shah

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation 2023-2024

The nosocomial pathogen Clostridioides difficile colonizes the gut leading to antibiotic-associated diarrhea, and severe inflammation. C. difficile spores—the main agent of transmission—survive for months on contaminated surfaces. Common disinfecting agents such as bleach and peroxides are used to prevent this; however, these chemicals are highly corrosive, toxic and pose serious health concerns. Seeking to address the challenges posed by conventional disinfectants, our research tested the feasibility of redox-active, silver-modified cerium oxide nanoparticles (AgCNP) formulations as a safer alternative. We tested the efficacy of AgCNP in rich culture media on C. difficile NAP1, a known hypervirulent strain associated with hospital endemics, …

The Case For Photothermal Spectroscopy In The Future Of Planetary Science Missions, Christopher T. Cox

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation 2023-2024

Optical PhotoThermal InfraRed (O-PTIR) is a relatively new spectroscopy method for studying materials. It produces transmission-like spectra using a remote reflectance technique that is rapid, requires little sample preparation, and is well-suited for the technique to be adapted for a space flight instrument. The method involves a tunable pulsed IR laser creating a photothermal effect on the surface of a material and measuring the distortion of a probing visible laser in the same region of the sample, which can be obtained at sub-micron spatial resolutions. A measurement campaign was performed utilizing Photothermal Spectroscopy Corporation's O-PTIR instrument, mIRage®. In this campaign, …

Building Better Homes For Pollinators: How Native Plants Benefit Pollinator Communities In Suburban Landscapes, Mykayla Hagaman

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation 2023-2024

Pollinators provide key ecological services. With one-third of our global food production dependent on pollinators, maintaining healthy pollinator communities is vital. Bees are the most pervasive and effective pollinator species, yet are currently declining worldwide, with the main cause linked to habitat loss. To combat this decline, researchers are turning to suburban landscapes to aid in pollinator conservation. Incorporating native plants into suburban landscapes has been shown to benefit pollinators. However, there is a lack of information on how different landscape designs and growing conditions influence pollinator communities. To better understand whether native plants can effectively improve suburban pollinator habitats, …

Examining The Impact Of A Video Review Guide On Robotic Surgical Skill Improvement, Mary Mansour Soliman

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation 2023-2024

Surgical education has the arduous task of providing effective and efficient methods of surgical skill acquisition and clinical judgment while staying abreast with the latest surgical technologies within an ever-changing field. Robotic surgery is one such technology. Many surgeons in practice today were either never taught or were not effectively taught robotic surgery during training, leaving them to navigate the robotic learning curve and reach mastery independently. This dissertation examines the impact of a video review guide on improving robotic surgical skills. Using Kolb’s Experiential Learning Theory as a framework, the literature review argues that video review can be used …

Work Motivation And Occupational Attitudes: An Application Of Self-Determination Theory Among Rangers, Richard L. Elligson Jr

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation 2023-2024

Job attitudes of rangers play a key role in the implementation and effectiveness of conservation initiatives. As such, scholars have begun to examine the attitudes rangers hold towards their role, organization, and external working environment. However, little is known about work motivation among rangers. Work motivation is a key predictor of employee performance, job attitudes, and well-being. The relationship between work motivation and ranger occupational attitudes may offer insight that conservation agencies can leverage to improve positive job attitudes. Guided by self-determination theory and the criminal justice literature, this study examines the relationship between ranger work motivation and attitudes towards …

Examining Factors Associated With Secondary Trauma Through Lived Experiences Of K-12 School Leaders And Their Impact On School Leadership Practices., Shakelia M. Henderson

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation 2023-2024

This dissertation delves into the intricate examination of factors associated with secondary trauma as experienced by K-12 urban school leaders and the subsequent influence on their leadership practices. A primary objective of this research is to comprehend the contributing factors leading to post-traumatic growth among school leaders while also investigating their perceptions of the school district's role in fostering this growth. Set within an urban school district, this study focuses explicitly on Title 1 schools, where the impact is expected to be pronounced. Existing literature highlights a dearth of knowledge regarding the nuanced effects of secondary trauma on school leaders, …

The Role Of Medical Cannabis Use In Pain, Sleep, And Mental Health Outcomes Among Older Adults, Madison H. Maynard

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation 2023-2024

Older adults represent the fastest growing demographic of cannabis users, and they endorse cannabis use for a variety of reasons including modulation of chronic pain, mental health symptoms, and sleep concerns. Despite escalating patterns of use, current evidence leaves questions of efficacy unanswered among these groups of users. Goals of the present study were to examine the role of medicinal cannabis within subjects at the daily level on the interrelated symptoms of depression, anxiety, sleep, and pain. A final sample of 106 medical cannabis users were recruited nationwide, ranging from 55 to 74 years of age (66.67% female, 82.86% white). …

The Color Of Disease: Race Science, Pandemic Influenza, And The Rise Of Epidemiology In The Segregated South, Andrew Kishuni

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation 2023-2024

This thesis evaluates the relationship between race science and eugenics, statistical epidemiology and Southern public health thought, African American health, and the 1918-1920 influenza pandemic. Historians have neglected the flu as an important epidemiological event in Southern history and historiography. To demonstrate the significance of the flu, this thesis makes several arguments based on research from new qualitative and quantitative evidence. The chief argument is that African Americans suffered disproportionately compared to whites in the South, challenging the consensus that the flu affected both races equally. Segregation did not protect African Americans from the flu. In some cases, African Americans …

Do Generalist-Pollinated Plants Exhibit Pollination Syndromes? Examination Of Floral Size, Shape, Color, And Scent On Pollinator Services To Wild Sunflowers (Helianthus), Charles A. Pitsenberger Ii

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation 2023-2024

Traditional pollination syndromes group angiosperms into categories based on how floral traits impact the functional group of pollinator most associated with those traits. The concept, while well supported for specialist-pollinated plants, is a poor predictor of pollinator identity in generalist systems, such as those common to the family Asteraceae. One potential avenue for future refinement of the concept is the combination of large floral trait datasets, quantitative pollinator data, and phylogenetic comparative methods. Helianthus is a well-studied genus of North American aster whose species include the agriculturally significant H. annuus, which represents the third largest oilseed crop globally. The genus …

Platform-Independent Estimation Of Human Physiological Time From Single Blood Samples, Yitong Huang, Rosemary Braun

Mathematics Sciences: Faculty Publications

Abundant epidemiological evidence links circadian rhythms to human health, from heart disease to neurodegeneration. Accurate determination of an individual's circadian phase is critical for precision diagnostics and personalized timing of therapeutic interventions. To date, however, we still lack an assay for physiological time that is accurate, minimally burdensome to the patient, and readily generalizable to new data. Here, we present TimeMachine, an algorithm to predict the human circadian phase using gene expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cells from a single blood draw. Once trained on data from a single study, we validated the trained predictor against four independent datasets with …

Human Rights & The Rights Of Nature: Friends Or Foes?, Jérémie Gilbert

Fordham International Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Ecocide In War And Peace, From The Air Pollution Consequences Of The War In Ukraine To Japan's Disposal Of Fukushima Water Into The Ocean, Giovanni Chiarini

Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law

This Article will propose and analyze potentially prosecutable cases of alleged global ecocide and propose targeted amendments to Articles 36(3) and (5) of the ICC Rome Statute. These proposed amendments may serve as a blueprint to procedurally ensure environmental expertise at the international judicial level. Ecocide is unfortunately not currently recognized under the Rome Statute. However, certain scholars have suggested defining it as a fifth international crime. This analysis identifies environmental crises, international criminal law expectations and examines the environmental pollution caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the Japanese government’s decision to dispose of radioactive treated water from …

A Meta-Analysis Of Cannabis Research: Is There Evidence Of Lasting Neurocognitive Effects?, Mark J. Crisafulli

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation 2023-2024

Cannabis use in the United States has generally increased over the past decade as more States have legalized recreational use. In conjunction with changes to the chemical makeup, which has made available cannabis more potent, the long-term effects experienced by cannabis users may have changed, and more individuals may be effected. The current study replicated the methods used in Schreiner & Dunn (2012) and Grant et al. (2003) to conduct a meta-analysis examining the neurocognitive effects of cannabis after abstinence lasting a period of at least 25 days. Previous research has found mixed results, with some studies finding significant differences …

Validating Machine And Human Decision-Making In Forensic Fire Debris Analysis, Frances A. Whitehead

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation 2023-2024

This work presents a background on the chemical complexity of fire debris analysis, including an ever-present matrix of pyrolysis products as the catalyst that led to the creation of the National Center for Forensic Science's Fire Debris Database. A selection of these 1,000+ casework-relevant ground truth samples was used to create two newly proposed analyst workflows to connect the current method of categorical reporting with evaluative reporting practices reflective of the strength of the evidence. Both workflows use linear sequential unmasking to help mitigate bias, a discrete scoring system for quantification of the analysis, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves …

Understanding Health-Seeking Decision-Making Process And Behavior Among Haitian Immigrants: A Grounded Theory Approach, Shelleta Ladonice

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation 2023-2024

Black people in the U.S. die at younger ages, have significantly higher rates of death from treatable medical conditions, are more likely to have late-stage breast and colon cancer diagnoses and more likely to die from these cancers, and are at higher risk for chronic illnesses compared to other racial and ethnic groups. Accessing healthcare is crucial to health and well-being; however, U.S. immigrants' use of healthcare services is far less than native-born Americans. Haitian immigrants experience health disparities at the highest rate compared to other Black immigrants in the U.S. Given their unique history, culture, and immigration experience, it …

Interaction Of Sexual Orientation, Racial, And Gender Discrimination On Mental Health Outcomes, Rebekah Kanefsky

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation 2023-2024

Experiencing discrimination is associated with greater risk of developing mental health symptoms. Important theories on the mental well-being of people who identify with underrepresented groups suggest that poorer outcomes are not simply associated with identifying with an underrepresented group. Rather, “minority stressors” (e.g., discrimination) drive poor mental health outcomes. Despite the connection between mental health and discrimination, there has been less research focused on the combined impact of multiple forms of discrimination and how they interact for individuals who possess multiple, underrepresented identities. Further, significantly less research has been conducted utilizing quantitative methodology. To investigate the relationship between different forms …

Social Cognition, Anhedonia, And Support In Relation To Depression Severity In Individuals With Breast Cancer, Samantha D. Simpson

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation 2023-2024

Breast cancer is associated with significant disruption in social support, social cognition, and depression. This study seeks to explore social and emotional factors using the integrative model for social reward processing. To better understand these relationships, 103 women with breast cancer (e.g., stage I – IV; mean age = 58.74, SD = 11.48; range 25 - 82) completed the Anticipatory and Consummatory Interpersonal Pleasure Scale, Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System - Depression Scale, Medical Outcomes Study- Social Support Survey, and the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test. Path analysis, controlling for current breast cancer stage and history of …

Examining Changes In Pain Sensitivity Following 8 Minutes Of Cycling At Varying Exercise Intensities, Brandi B. Antonio

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation 2023-2024

This study assessed the effect of an eight-minute cycling intervention using varying intensities on exercise-induced hypoalgesia (EIH). Generally, current research examines EIH using protocols that last for more than 10 minutes and reach 75% of an individual's VO2 peak. The main objective of this study was to examine the effect of varying intensities on pressure pain threshold (PPT) and heat pain threshold (HPT) at the thigh and forearm, tested pre- and post-cycling intervention.

Healthy male participants (n=16) performed a graded exercise test on a cycle ergometer to establish their peak power output (PPO). In subsequent visits, participants completed five different …

Enhancing Oil-In-Water Emulsified Bildgwater Treatment Using Electric Field Forward Osmosis (Effo), Nareg Krikorian

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation 2023-2024

Bilgewater discharge needs to meet the existing regulations with an oil concentration of less than 15 ppm. Among many treatment options, forward osmosis (FO) can be an economic-environmental method utilizing an osmotic pressure gradient between feed solution (FS) and draw solution (DS) which are separated via a semipermeable membrane. However, FO membrane foundling is still challenging. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of electric field forward osmosis (EFFO) to mitigate membrane fouling and thus improve oil-in-water emulsion separation. Standard bilge mix (SBM) was used as representative bilgewater and mineral oil (MO) was used as control. …

Uracil Landscape Of Mouse B Cell Genome Undergoing Class-Switch Recombination, Fathima Rukshana Mohamad Ramshan

Wayne State University Dissertations

Activation-induced cytosine deaminase (AID) is required for both somatic hypermutation (SHM) and class switch recombination (CSR) within mammalian antibody genes. Uracils created by AID in the Ig loci are recognized and processed by base-excision and mismatch repair pathways leading to antibody diversification. This involves a hypermutation process restricted to the V(D)J segments of the immunoglobulin genes, SHM, and an error-prone end-joining process that causes isotype switching, CSR, but the molecular details of these processes have remained obscure for the past 20+ years. Most studies of SHM and CSR have used AID-promoted mutations as a proxy for the uracils, but their …

Dietary Folate Regulates Organismal Growth And Longevity, Aiman Shahab

Wayne State University Dissertations

Folate (Vitamin B9) is an essential cofactor in one-carbon transfer reactions. It is involved in multiple critical processes including DNA synthesis, DNA methylation, protein synthesis and antioxidant defense mechanisms. Inadequate intake and availability of folate is a known risk factor for several diseases. The effect of folate deficiency in causing adverse health outcome is well documented. Recently, excess folate exposure has been associated with deleterious effects on health in humans and animal models. However, the underlying mechanisms involved in mediating such effects are poorly understood, requiring extensive investigations. This work was conducted to understand the effect of excess folate on …

Density Functional Studies Of Molecular Separation And Charge Transport, Timothy Quainoo

Wayne State University Dissertations

This thesis presents a series of studies which can be grouped majorly into two sections both focusing on the utilization of density functional theory techniques; Molecular electronics and Molecular separation. Molecular electronics has been anticipated to hold a great future as it seeks to apply molecular building blocks in the creation of electronic components. On the other hand, the utilization of mild conditions in chemical processes is geared toward the major goals of green chemistry as it produces less waste and is cost-effective. Thus, this dissertation tackles and answers some of the unanswered questions in literature by using theoretical methods …

Addressing Salon Segregation: Structural Racism In The Salon Industry, Jessica S. Willson

Wayne State University Dissertations

In the United States, hair salons remain unofficially segregated by race, reflecting broader patterns of systemic inequality with deep historical roots and contemporary manifestations. This dissertation examines Black hair not merely as a physical attribute but as a profound aspect of cultural identity and personal expression. It aims to illuminate the broader implications of salon segregation, challenging the notion that it is a natural outcome of human preferences or tendencies. Instead, it argues that this segregation is the result of entrenched social processes, deliberate structural racism, and discriminatory policies that cause significant harm to Black individuals. By presenting testimonials from …

Design And Synthesis Of Aminoglycoside-Based Heparan Sulfate Mimetics For Structure-Activity Relationship Studies Of Heparan-Binding Proteins, Joseph Wakpal

Wayne State University Dissertations

Cancer remains a formidable challenge in modern medicine, demanding innovative approaches and treatments. Among the emerging strategies, inhibiting heparanase and fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF2) has garnered considerable attention in recent years. This dissertation presents a novel approach to designing and synthesizing a diverse library of heparan sulfate (HS) mimetics derived from aminoglycosides to study their binding to two heparin-binding proteins involved in cancer development and metastasis. Heparanase cleaves HS polysaccharide chains in the extracellular matrix (ECM) and is a regulator of aggressive tumor behavior. Clinical studies have illustrated that aberrant heparanase expression correlates with increased tumor size, amplified tumor …

Towards Explainable Neural Network Fairness, Mengdi Zhang

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

Neural networks are widely applied in solving many real-world problems. At the same time, they are shown to be vulnerable to attacks, difficult to debug, non-transparent and subject to fairness issues. Discrimination has been observed in various machine learning models, including Large Language Models (LLMs), which calls for systematic fairness evaluation (i.e., testing, verification or even certification) before their deployment in ethic-relevant domains. If a model is found to be discriminating, we must apply systematic measure to improve its fairness. In the literature, multiple categories of fairness improving methods have been discussed, including pre-processing, in-processing and post-processing.
In this dissertation, …

Disease Footprints: Understanding Basic Pathophysiology, Jeff Vasiloff, Md, Mph

OHIO Open Faculty Textbooks

Basic pathophysiology explained by Jeffrey Vasiloff, MD, MPH, Associate Clinical Professor, PA Program; Adjunct Professor, PT Program, College of Health Sciences and Professions, Ohio University Dublin Medical Campus; Physician Consultant: Ohio Association of Physician Assistants; Physician Volunteer: Franklin County & Columbus Medical Reserve Corps; Board Certification: Internal Medicine & Diabetes and Endocrinology.

Brief Of Amici Curiae Scholars For The Advancement Of Children’S Constitutional Rights In Support Of Defendants-Appellees: St. Mary Catholic Parish V. Roy, Lauren Fontana, Catherine Smith, Tanya M. Washington, Robin Walker Sterling, Suzette Malveaux, Jeremiah Chin, Sara S. Hildebrand

Scholarly Articles

Amici are scholars of children and the law, education law, family law, and anti-discrimination law. Amici draw this Court’s attention to the harms that four-year-olds in the LGBT community – LGBT children and children with LGBT parents – would bear should state-funded religious schools be granted a license to discriminate against them. An exemption to Colorado’s Universal Preschool Program’s equal-opportunity requirement would allow plaintiffs to discriminate against these children and plant unfair barriers in their paths to a high-quality education and inflict dignitary, psychological, and familial harms upon an entire class of young people solely because of their or their …

Relationship Between Genotype And Disease Phenotype For Gluten-Related Disorders, Michael Roberts, Nadine Grzeskowiak, Stephen Bricher

Faculty Publications

We investigated gluten-related disorders (GRD) in intestinal biopsy-proven subjects to determine the relation between genotype (i.e., Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) DQ alleles) and phenotype (i.e., antibody levels and clearly defined symptoms). Subjects had known DQ genotypes, information on IgA anti-Endomysial antibodies (EMA) and/or anti-tissue Trans Glutaminase (tTG) antibodies (tTGA). Subjects also answered a survey characterizing gastrointestinal, skin, and neural symptoms. Though all were biopsy-proven, HLA genotypes included all combinations of DQ2.5, DQ2.2, DQ8, DQ7.5, DQ5, and DQ6. Subject antibody levels were proportional to the number of DQ2.5 haplotypes, and subjects with non-CD-associated haplotypes did not have positive antibody scores (despite …

East Marshall Street Well Project: Reparative Work And The Policy For Human Remains, Rome Kamarouthu

East Marshall Street Well Project Symposium Posters

This poster introduces the public to the history of medical exploitation tied to the East Marshall Street Well in the 19 th century, as well as the reparative efforts of the East Marshall Street Well Project, a partnership between VCU and a community group known as the Family Representative Council. It stresses that the Family Representative Council has called upon VCU to bury the remains found in the well, as well as to support research and memorialization efforts. The poster highlights the work of student fellows in fulfilling those recommendations, specifically in conducting and processing oral history interviews, and in …

The Effectiveness Of Concept Maps On Students’ Achievement In Science: A Meta-Analysis, Dimitris Anastasiou, Clare Nangsin Wirngo, Pantelis Bagos

Graduate Research - College of Education

This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of concept maps on science achievement among elementary and secondary education students, including low-achieving students. A systematic search located 55 studies about concept mapping in science achievement published in peer-reviewed journals and dissertations between 1980 and 2020. We extracted 58 independent standardized mean difference effect sizes from 55 eligible studies involving 5,364 students from Grade 3 to Grade 12 who used concept maps to learn physics/earth science, chemistry, and biology that met the specified design criteria. A random-effects model meta-analysis revealed that the mean effect size was moderate for overall science (g …