Digital Commons Network^™

A Bioinformatic Survey Of Rna Isoform Diversity And Expression Across 9 Gtex Tissues Using Long-Read Sequencing Data, Madeline L. Page, Bernardo Aguzzoli Heberle, J. Anthony Brandon, Mark E. Wadsworth, Lacey A. Gordon, Kayla A. Nations, David W. Fardo, Mark T.W. Ebbert

Biostatistics Faculty Publications

Background: Even though alternative RNA splicing was discovered nearly 50 years ago (1977), we still understand very little about most isoforms arising from a single gene, including in which tissues they are expressed and if their functions differ. Human gene annotations suggest remarkable transcriptional complexity, with approximately 252,798 distinct RNA isoform annotations from 62,710 gene bodies (Ensembl v109; 2023), emphasizing the need to understand their biological effects. For example, 256 gene bodies have ≥ 50 annotated isoforms, and 30 have ≥ 100, where one protein-coding gene (MAPK10) even has 192 distinct RNA isoform annotations. Whether such isoform diversity results from …

Association Of Genetic Scores Related To Insulin Resistance With Neurological Outcomes In Ancestrally Diverse Cohorts From The Trans-Omics For Precision Medicine (Topmed) Program, Chloé Sarnowski, Yixin Zhang, Farah Ammous, Lincoln M.P. Shade, Daniel Dicorpo, Xueqiu Jian, Donna K. Arnett, Thomas R. Austin, Alexa Beiser, Joshua C. Bis, John Blangero, Eric Boerwinkle, Jan Bressler, Joanne E. Curran, Charles S. Decarli, Harsha Doddapaneni, Josée Dupuis, David W. Fardo, Jose C. Florez, Stacey Gabriel, Richard A. Gibbs, David C. Glahn, Namrata Gupta, Hector M. González

Biostatistics Faculty Publications

To better characterize the potential biological mechanisms underlying insulin resistance (IR) and dementia, we derive cross-population and population specific polygenic scores [PSs] for fasting insulin and IR-related partitioned PSs [pPSs]. We conduct a cross-sectional study of the associations of these genetic scores with neurological outcomes in >17k participants (36% men, mean age 55 yrs) from the Trans-Omics for Precision Medicine (TOPMed) program (50% Non-Hispanic White, 23% Black/African American, 21% Hispanic/Latino American, and 4% Asian American). We report significant negative associations (P < 0.002) of the cross-population (P = 1.3 × 10^-5) and European (P_EA = 3.0 × 10^-8) fasting insulin PSs with total cranial volume, …

Do Communities Implementing The Communities That Heal Intervention Have Significantly Lower Rates Of High-Risk Opioid Prescribing And Dispensing?, Frances R. Levin, Douglas R. Oyler, Denise C. Babineau, Jennifer Villani, Redonna K. Chandler, Patricia R. Freeman, Daniel P. Alford, Naleef Fareed, Nicole Mack, Trang Q. Nguyen, Daniel M. Walker, Joella Adams, Trevor J. Baker, Donna Beers, Shoshana N. Benjamin, Jennifer Bhuiyan, Derek Blevins, James L. David, Netrali Dalvi, Lauren D'Costa, Daniel J. Feaster, La Shawn Glasgow, Dawn A. Goddard-Eckrich, Yi Han, Mallory Harris, Timothy Hunt, Charles Knott, Adrienne Matson

Biostatistics Faculty Publications

Introduction: Prescription opioids can contribute to risk for opioid use disorder and overdoses. Improving prescription opioid safety is a critical component in reducing opioid risks. This report aims to determine whether communities randomized to the Communities That HEAL (CTH) intervention have significantly different rates of prescription opioid safety measures. Study Design: A multisite, 2-arm, community-level, cluster randomized, unblinded, wait-list controlled comparison trial designed to assess the effectiveness of the CTH intervention in reducing opioid-related overdose deaths among community residents 18 years of age or older (adults). Setting/Participants: Sixty-seven (67) communities in Kentucky, Massachusetts, New York, and Ohio. “Participants” were communities …

Drug Overdose Deaths In Kentucky, 2019–2024, Aaron P. Smith, Juan Lang, Carmen Canedo, Patricia R. Freeman, Lindsey R. Hammerslag, Daniel R. Harris, Amber Kizewski, Peter Rock, Nima M. Seyedtalebi, Philip M. Westgate, Jeffery Talbert, Sharon L. Walsh, Svetla Slavova

Biostatistics Faculty Publications

Background: Kentucky has historically experienced a high burden of drug overdose deaths. During the first years of the COVID-19 pandemic, the state saw a 45% increase in overdose deaths in 2020, followed by an additional 15% increase in 2021. However, drug overdose deaths declined in 2023 and 2024. This study used electronic death certificate records from the Kentucky Office of Vital Statistics (2019–2024) to evaluate whether Kentucky’s 2024 drug overdose death rates have declined to pre-pandemic levels and if declines were observed across all demographic groups. The results from Poisson regressions are reported as rate ratios (RRs) and their 95% …

Quantifying Nuanced Differences In Hand Dexterity Between The Dominant And Nondominant Hands Of Healthy, Right-Handed, Young Adults, Brian J. Conway, Léon Taquet, Timothy F. Boerger, Kaitlin Goetschel, Kate B. Krucoff, Sergey Tarima, Brian D. Schmit, Max O. Krucoff

Biostatistics Faculty Publications

When individuals present with hand injuries, clinicians often use the contralateral hand as an internal control. However, subtle differences in baseline dexterous abilities between the dominant and nondominant hands are poorly understood. To address this gap, here we quantified such differences, measured as independence (individuation) and smoothness of finger movements. A cohort of 47 right-hand-dominant healthy adults (22 males and 25 females) moved each finger independently 10 times, while joint angle data were tracked with a dataglove (CyberGlove III, CyberGlove Systems, San Jose, CA). Each finger’s performance was compared with its counterpart on the opposite hand using Wilcoxon-signed rank tests. …

Using An Intersectional Framework To Explore Cannabis And Tobacco Co-Use Patterns, Bethany Shorey Fennell, Cherell Cottrell-Daniels, Kory Heier, Kristen Mcquerry

Biostatistics Faculty Publications

Cannabis and tobacco co-use is an emerging public health concern linked to increased dependence and reduced cessation success for both substances. However, little is known about how co-use patterns vary by product type, motivation, and demographic characteristics. This protocol outlines a cross-sectional study designed to characterize the frequency, type, and context of cannabis and tobacco co-use among U.S. adult tobacco users using an intersectional framework. A national sample of adults who used tobacco in the past 30 days (N = 3777) were recruited via CloudResearch Prime Panels. Participants completed detailed measures of tobacco and cannabis use, co-use behaviors, motivations, expectancies, …

Radon And Tobacco Risk Counseling During Lung Cancer Screening Shared Decision-Making, Stacy R. Stanifer, Kathy Rademacher, Whitney Sedio, Naomi Cheek, Amanda Thaxton Wiggins, Mary Kay Rayens, Ellen J. Hahn

Biostatistics Faculty Publications

Objective: Examine frequency of tobacco and radon risk counseling during lung cancer screening shared decision making among qualified health care providers and the relationship between radon beliefs, tobacco and radon counseling self-efficacy, and related tobacco and radon risk counseling among providers. Methods: Cross-sectional, observational study design employing a mailed self-report survey sent to a stratified random sample of 1,000 qualified health care providers in Kentucky. Regression analyses to examine the association among sociodemographic characteristics, radon beliefs, self-efficacy, familiarity with lung cancer screening guidelines, and tobacco or radon risk reduction counseling during lung cancer screening shared decision making. Results: In all, …

Pfos And Lung Injury: A Review Of Human And Experimental Evidence, Farzana Hakim

Theses and Dissertations

Human epidemiological research has shown the adverse health consequences of long-term accumulation of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in human tissue. Specifically, this review will examine the relationship between PFAS exposure, impaired immune system functioning, and an elevated risk of respiratory disease using both human and experimental data. Research on human populations indicates that children exposed to PFAS have lower levels of antibodies to vaccines; those children prenatally exposed to PFAS are more susceptible to upper respiratory infections; and that adult humans have a higher incidence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Additionally, experimental studies demonstrate that PFOS and PFOA …

Leveraging Virtual Reality In Nursing Education To Enhance Confidence And Knowledge, Kerry Vaccaro, Amanda Bodinet, Concetta Zak

Biennial Convention (CONV)

Blood transfusion reactions can be life threatening and are rarely encountered by nursing students in clinicals. Simulation has been shown to have a positive impact on transfusion-related competence in nursing students (Brown, C. & Brown, M., 2023). BSN nursing students faced challenges in recognizing and responding to blood transfusion reactions. A Virtual Reality (VR) simulation was introduced as an innovative teaching modality. Virtual Reality provides learners with a more life-like experience that is standardized and safe (Kiegaldie & Shaw, 2023). The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether VR simulation, compared to traditional lecture, improves senior-level BSN students' confidence …

Advanced Practice Provider (App) Midline Training Initiative, Al-Zada Aguilar, Sarah D. Maute

Biennial Convention (CONV)

Temporary, non-tunneled central venous catheters (CVCs) are commonly used for vascular access in patients with vesicant infusion needs or difficult intravenous access (DIVA). However, CVCs are associated with primary bloodstream infections (BSIs), contributing to significant morbidity, mortality, and financial burdens. At our institution, central line-associated bloodstream infection (CLABSI) rates and central utilization ratios have steadily increased since 2023, rising from 0.43 to 0.75 and 0.17 to 0.21, respectively, despite system-wide infection prevention initiatives. Recognizing the limitations of current approaches, particularly for DIVA patients, midlines emerged as an alternative to both CVCs and ultrasound-guided peripheral IVs (USG-PIVs).

In response, a multimodal …

Faculty Perceptions Of Student Mental Health And Real-World Readiness, Allison A. Maloney, Meghan Pontz

Biennial Convention (CONV)

The mental health of students is a cornerstone for achieving global goals of quality education & good health and well-being. These priorities are urgent calls to action for educators and policymakers to foster sustainable economic development. The COVID-19 pandemic has magnified the vulnerabilities of educational and health systems worldwide, redefining how students are educated and prepared for the workforce. This challenge is pertinent in higher education, where faculty play a role in equipping students for professional environments while addressing their mental health needs—a determinant of future workforce resilience and productivity.

This study examines faculty perceptions of student mental health and …

Integrating Telehealth Innovation To Advance Emergency Department Flow And Nursing-Led Care, Patrice Callagy, Maria Cheung

Biennial Convention (CONV)

Purpose: Efficient patient flow is critical for managing capacity and delivering timely, equitable care in emergency departments (EDs). As patient acuity and census increased at Stanford Health Care (SHC), traditional Fast Track spaces were reassigned to higher-acuity patients, leaving lower-acuity patients with prolonged lengths of stay (LOS). Prolonged LOS increases the risk of patients leaving without treatment, impacting care outcomes. To address this, SHC’s Digital Health team and Emergency Services leadership developed an innovative Virtual Fast Track care framework using telehealth technology and multidisciplinary workflows.

Methods: This novel approach applies an "inverted telemedicine" model in which care is provided within …

Sustaining The Future Workforce With What Matters Most To Nurses, Deirdre O'Flaherty

Biennial Convention (CONV)

Introduction: Meaningful recognition confirms the value of nurses’,environments that acknowledge this influence a healthy workplace. Applying quadruple aim framework, optimizing healthcare system outcomes places wellbeing in the forefront and supports fostering resilience, hardiness, interprofessional collaboration and engagement, augmenting the work setting.

Objectives: Discussing strategies, interprofessional collaboration, engagement, fortified resilience, empowered staff and have brought value and meaning to nurses. This study compares peer-reviewed literature on the impact of leadership styles, organization culture and support among nurse managers.

Methods: We previously studied and analyzed clinical nurses’ and nurses in leadership positions perceptions of resilience, empowerment and pre-pandemic engagement. Results …

Goodbye Textbook: Content Creation For A Non-Clinical Nursing Course Using Ai Tools, Julie Kientz Elting

Biennial Convention (CONV)

Purpose: To provide guidance for faculty interested in creating materials using AI tools for nursing courses which allows ‘unadoption’ of textbooks.

Background: When discussing AI text generation tools like ChatGPT and Gemini (AI tools), many nursing faculty are only aware of the risks to academic writing (Abujaber et al., 2023). But there are many pedagogical benefits of AI tools that enhance student learning (Elting & Desio, 2024; Glauberman et al., 2023; Srinivasan et al., 2024) and manage faculty teaching, communication, and administrative tasks (Srinivasan et al., 2024). What is less known is how AI tools can be used to create …

A Prevalence Study Of Iron Deficiency Anemia Among Children In Elbasan, Albania: Directions For Health Care Policy, Artilda Lala

All Dissertations

Iron deficiency anemia (IDA) is one of the most prevalent disorders worldwide, especially in children from low-income and underdeveloped countries. In Albania, anemia is a major public health concern with many unstudied regions (prefectures and rural municipalities). Childhood IDA can impair cognitive development, immunity and overall well-being, so early diagnosis and prevention of anemia is critical. This study examined the prevalence of IDA in children aged 0-10 years in the district of Elbasan, Albania. The data were additionally analyzed for relationships with demographic (age, gender, education, parental education and child academic performance) and nutrition variables.

A cross-sectional study design was …

Repealing Reorgs, Reuven S. Avi-Yonah

Law & Economics Working Papers

Under the Supreme Court's opinion in Moore, it is likely that realization is essential for defining income as a constitutional matter. Therefore, when a transaction involves realization, it should presumptively be taxable unless there are very good reason for nonrecognition of gain. Given this reality, there are good reasons for Congress to consider repealing tax-free reorganizations and the other nonrecognition rules of the corporate tax, primarily for non-tax reasons. Acquisitive A, B, and C reorganizations and acquisitive section 351 transactions typically are used for large public corporations to acquire startups, which encourages monopolies. Triangular mergers raise corporate governance concerns …

Reduction In Patient Falls: A Quality Improvement Project, Jotis J. Lee

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Patient falls remain one of the most frequent adverse events in hospital settings, leading to injury, prolonged hospital stays, and increased healthcare costs. The identified problem was high fall rates at a specialty hospital. The purpose of this Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) quality improvement (QI) project was to evaluate the effectiveness of an evidence-based (EB) educational intervention, using the Fall TIPS (Tailoring Interventions for Patient Safety) toolkit, in improving direct care nursing staff’s knowledge, confidence, and perceived ability to implement fall prevention strategies for high-risk patients. The aim was to improve the nursing staff’s knowledge, confidence, and perceived ability …

Dual-Level Pattern Tree For Visual Field Improves Glaucoma Progression And Polygenic Risk Prediction, Luo Song, Lucy Q. Shen, Louis R. Pasquale, Michael V. Boland, Sarah R. Wellik, Carlos Gustavo De Moraes, Ayellet Segre, Janey L. Wiggs, Constance Turman, Jonathan S. Myers, Tobias Elze, Nazlee Zebardast, David S. Friedman, Jae H. Kang, Mengyu Wang

Wills Eye Hospital Papers

PURPOSE: To develop a dual-level pattern tree to characterize visual field (VF) loss subtypes that can be used to better predict glaucoma progression and glaucoma polygenic risk scores (PRSs).

METHODS: This study included 113,030 patients from three datasets, each used for a specific purpose: (1) model training, (2) progression forecasting, and (3) PRS correlations. We applied archetypal analysis to cluster 24-2 VFs into trunk patterns and their branch patterns. The Cox regression model was used to forecast VF progression using mean deviation (MD) slope, MD-fast slope, total deviation (TD) pointwise slope, and visual field index (VFI) slope. Multivariable regression analyses …

Quicknotes December 2025, Southern Adventist University

QuickNotes – Advancement e-Newsletter

QuickNotes is an e-newsletter that comes from Advancement at Southern Adventist University. The December 2025 edition features the university's online prayer call for alumni, parents, and employees.

Acute Effects Of Lactate Infusion On Metabolism, Ad Biomarkers, And Cognition, Riley E. Kemna, Paul J. Kueck, Anneka Blankenship, Casey S. John, Chelsea N. Johnson, Zachary D. Green, Hana Mayfield, Lauren Yoksh, Lance Johnson, John P. Thyfault, Jonathan D. Mahnken, Benjamin F. Miller, Jill K. Morris

Physiology Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Impaired cerebral glucose metabolism is a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Lactate is an alternative brain fuel; however, whole-body lactate metabolism has not been measured in AD. METHODS: The Lactate for Energy and Neurocognition Trial (NCT05207397) was a single-arm trial that enrolled 24 cognitively healthy (CH) older adults and 12 cognitively impaired (CI) participants. Subjects underwent a stable isotope lactate infusion to evaluate lactate metabolism, cognitive testing, and blood biomarker analyses. pTau217, brain-derived tau (BD-tau), pTau181, glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), neurofilament light chain (NfL), total tau, and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) were analyzed by Simoa HD-X (Quanterix). RESULTS: …

Direct Measurement Of Mavacamten And Deoxyatp Perturbation Of The Srx/Drx Ratio In Porcine Cardiac Myofibrils Using A Simple, Accessible And Multiplexed Approach, Matvey Pilagov, Ateeqa Naim, Kenneth S. Campbell, Thomas Kampourakis, Michael A. Geeves, Neil M. Kad

Physiology Faculty Publications

Cardiac muscle adapts to varying physiological demands by modulating the number of active myosin II motors available for contraction. These motors are organized into thick filaments in the sarcomere and generate force through an ATP-dependent interaction with thin filaments that contain actin. To conserve energy, when demand is low myosin can occupy the super-relaxed (SRX) state, which acts as a reserve. Here, we build upon the earlier studies to quantify the size of this cardiac reserve using fluorescence imaging of Cy3-ATP directly in myofibrils. This approach employs a pulse-chase method and exploits the high permeability of isolated myofibrils to monitor …

Net Effects Of Correlated Determinants Of Health Among U.S. Older Adults, Haomiao Jia, E I. Lubetkin

Publications and Research

Background

The health effect produced by a contributing factor alone may be different from the effect when other interacting factors are present. The effects of a set of contributors, estimated by regression coefficients, may be invalid or inappropriate if some of the predictors are correlated or the model has interaction and nonlinear terms. The net effect (NE) of a given contributing factor is the effect produced by the factor alone, not by other factors due to their correlations with the factor of interest. This study estimated NE of selected determinants of health for U.S. older adults.

Methods

Participants, aged ≥ …

Digital Literacy And Family Engagement For Student Success, Genesis B. Mendoza

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

The North Monterey County Unified School District (NMCUSD) in Castroville, California, serves a student population in which 87.5% are identified as low-income and nearly half are designated as English Language Learners. Families face significant barriers to accessing educational and community resources, barriers worsened by limited digital literacy and technology access. The NMCUSD Castro Plaza Family Resource Center serves as a vital hub supporting families in the predominantly rural and socioeconomically disadvantaged region. This project aimed to strengthen family engagement and digital inclusion through hands-on workshops. Workshop topics included online student registration and data verification, training on essential district digital tools …

An Analytical Assessment Of Sentiment Analysis Trends And Methods Through Systematic Review And Topic Modeling, Chelsey Hill, Fatima Irshaidat, Marina Johnson, Jorge Fresneda

Department of Information Management and Business Analytics Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Sentiment Analysis (SA) applies Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) techniques to identify and interpret opinions, emotions, and sentiment polarity in text data. This study presents a systematic literature review of SA research published between 2012 and 2024 using a dataset of 14,482 journal articles indexed in Scopus. The primary objective of this research is to provide a data-driven overview of the evolution of SA research, offering insights into methodological evolutions, emerging application areas, and the growing influence of AI in the field. The research findings reveal a multidisciplinary growth of SA research, with increasing contributions from Health Sciences …

An Analytics Framework For Healthcare Expenditure Forecasting With Machine Learning, John Wang, Shubin Xu, Yawei Wang, Houda El Bouhissi

Department of Information Management and Business Analytics Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

The United States healthcare system relies heavily on Medicaid, which serves nearly 80 million people and accounts for a substantial share of both state and federal budgets. This study employs a range of forecasting methods, including ARIMA, Holt's linear trend, polynomial regressions (degree 2 and 4), Prophet, and piecewise linear regression, as well as machine learning models such as random forest, gradient boosting, and support vector regression, to analyze the growth of Medicaid expenditures. Using data from 1966 to 2024, the analysis identifies historical patterns and evaluates model performance with Root Mean Squared Error (RMSE) and related metrics to project …

Optimizing Telehealth Utilization During Covid-19: Enhancing Efficiency And Equity Through Data Envelopment Analysis And Machine Learning, Ying Chih Sun, Ozlem Cosgun, Raj Sharman

Department of Information Management and Business Analytics Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

This study investigates the efficiency of telehealth utilization across U.S. counties during the COVID-19 pandemic, with a focus on identifying the key drivers of efficiency, especially in rural and underserved areas. The primary research goal is to assess the efficiency of telehealth utilization and examine patterns of resource misallocation. A hybrid methodological framework integrates Data Envelopment Analysis to measure county-level efficiency scores and Machine Learning techniques to uncover the most influential predictors of those scores, revealing patterns in resource distribution and infrastructure that contribute to disparities in telehealth performance. Using secondary data from CMS’s 5% Medicare Fee-For-Service claims and various …

Injury Prevention And Care Training Website, Samantha E. Myers

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

Injury Prevention and Care is a University of Nebraska Omaha (UNO) resource within Campus Recreation and Wellness. It serves a variety of students, staff, , and other membership holders with a variety of resources and treatments in caring for injuries and in seeking to prevent new or worsening of injuries. In facilitating the health and growth of this department and their staff, updating the current training resources, and making them more accessible was necessary. Moving forward, discussions of the importance of accessibility and providing various resources, both in IPC and across the UNO campus, were pivotal in the formation and …

Pathways To Aggression: Understanding Peer Victimization In Adolescence, Makenzie H. Clarken

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

Insight into aggression among early adolescents is important to understanding its predictors and consequences. In adolescence, aggression is typically related to underlying issues. Addressing this is important, as unmanageable aggression progressing past early adolescence can result in involvement in the criminal justice system. Studies show that peer victimization is associated with increased levels of aggression. Aggressive adolescents may attract victimization from their peers, or those who are victimized may respond with aggression. The current study followed a sample of 182 fifth and sixth graders over the course of the school year. Constructs such as aggression, peer victimization, and social withdrawal …

Empowerment Or Imprisonment? The Line Between Sex Work And Sex Trafficking: A Comparison Of Law Enforcement And Academic Perspectives, Jocelyn Belcastro

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

This research explores the line between consensual sex work and sex trafficking to gain a better understanding of the prevalence and pathways through which sex work may transition into sex trafficking. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with law enforcement professionals that work closely with survivors of sex trafficking to examine the pathways from consent to coercion. An interview with a former sex worker, now college professor, was also conducted to examine the lived experience and academic perspective. Both the law enforcement and academic perspectives were analyzed and compared to one another to form a nuanced understanding of the complex issue of …

Comparative Analysis Of The Effects Of Peppermint Oil On Colorectal Cancer Cells And Human Fibroblasts, Allen W. Mccumbers

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

This study contrasted the effects of Peppermint Oil on two cell lines, HT29s (colorectal adenocarcinoma cells) and HFFs (Human Foreskin Fibroblasts). Cytotoxic as well as genomic effects were compared between the cell lines. Trypan Blue, Alamar Blue, and qPCR assays were used to study these effects. Both cell lines were treated with a range of Peppermint Oil concentrations, and it was determined that there is a dose-dependent factor associated with cytotoxicity. To confirm results, Alamar and Trypan Blue assays were repeated at 300 and 500 cells/mL respectively. Effects were confirmed, and results were averaged and plotted. Alamar Blue revealed that …