Digital Commons Network^™

Illuminated Magazine - Fall 2025, School Of Graduate Studies, East Tennessee State University

Illuminated: Graduate Student Research Magazine

• 2: Editorial Staff
• 5: Graduate Students and Advisors
• 6: ETSU’s First Master of Music Cohort Finds Its Voice on Campus
• 9: Where Are They Now? Jacob Mitchell
• 10: Characterizing and Enhancing Carotenoid Production in Tomato Plants
• 14: Where Are They Now? Jeremiah J. Flake
• 15: In the Gaps of the System: Centering BIPOC Mothers in Maternal Mental Health
• 18: Roles of Female Musicians in Appalachian Bluegrass
• 20: Where Are They Now? Alexis Moser
• 21: From Guyana to Tennessee: Bridging Gaps in Women’s Mental Health Care
• 24: Where Are They Now? Megan Roberts
• 26: Characterizing User Experience in AI Chatbots within …

Computational Investigation Of The Role Of 3d Genome Architecture In The Lifecycle Of The Malaria Parasite, Srish Maulik

College of Engineering Summer Undergraduate Research Program

Malaria, a mosquito-borne infectious disease caused by the Plasmodium parasite, is responsible for more than a half a million deaths per year, the vast majority of which occur in central Africa. The parasite undergoes an incredibly complex cell molecular transformation as it transitions from living in mosquitoes to living in humans with different sets of genes being activated or silenced in order to evade the immune system of the host. Understanding how its genome guides this transition is critical for developing adequate treatments. In this project, we aim to develop a computational framework for investigating the role of the three …

Changes In Antiviral Prescribing For Children With Influenza In Us Emergency Departments., Tess Stopczynski, Olla Hamdan, Justin Z. Amarin, James W. Antoon, Laura S. Stewart, Haya Hayek, James Chappell, Andrew J. Spieker, Eileen J. Klein, Janet A. Englund, Geoffrey A. Weinberg, Peter G. Szilagyi, John V. Williams, Marian G. Michaels, Julie A. Boom, Leila C. Sahni, Mary Allen Staat, Elizabeth P. Schlaudecker, Jennifer E. Schuster, Rangaraj Selvarangan, Ayzsa Tannis, Heidi L. Moline, Samantha M. Olson, Natasha B. Halasa

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

IMPORTANCE: Despite national recommendations, antiviral prescribing in emergency departments (EDs) for children at higher risk of severe influenza, such as those younger than 5 years and those with specific underlying conditions, remains low.

OBJECTIVE: To assess whether there were changes in antiviral prescribing for children at higher risk of severe influenza in academic pediatric EDs before the COVID-19 pandemic (2016-2020) vs the late pandemic period (2021-2023).

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This multicenter, cross-sectional study included influenza-positive children younger than 18 years presenting to the ED at 1 of 7 US pediatric academic hospitals participating in the Centers for Disease Control …

Population Health And Systems Science: Medical Student Feedback On A Novel Approach That Follows A National Curricular Framework, Jeffrey Levin, Gary Beck Dallaghan, Chaynee Atwood, Vanessa Casanova, Cynthia Ball, Theresa Byrd, Emmanuel Elueze, Michael Kennedy, Dalia Nessim, Peter Pendegrass, Yordanos Tiruneh

School of Medicine Faculty Publications and Presentations

Introduction: Population Health and System Science, a longitudinal course at a new medical school in northeast Texas, incorporates case-based learning and experiential field visits during an 18-month pre-clerkship phase. The course integrates content from public and population health, preventive medicine disciplines, and health administration and leadership. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional survey assessed student self-reports on achievement of session objectives and introduction to national core curricular, cross-cutting, and systems thinking domains. Results: Of 36 students, 33 responded. Most rated objectives favorably. Open-ended responses highlighted relevance to future practice and requested more content on biostatistics, epidemiology, health equity, and healthcare economics, …

Fit For Success: Exploring Physical Activity Promotion And Effects On Students At The University Of South Carolina Through A Podcast Series, Maia Schwarzmueller

Senior Theses

College students face unique challenges when trying to maintain physical activity levels, such as time constraints, stress, and lack of proper facilities. The Fit for Success podcast will explore how physical activity is a powerful tool towards enhancing self-perception, academic success, and stress management as well as delve into the specific barriers that University of South Carolina students face to physical activity. The podcast will also explore different aspects of physical activity promotion including group fitness, competition, and built environment. The goal of the podcast is to help students to see physical activity as an important component of many facets …

Aligning Climate-Energy Policies With Citizen Beliefs, Scientific Findings, Health And Economic Benefits, And Geopolitical Stability, A. R. Mcconnell, Tyler P. Jacobs

Psychology Faculty Works

Recent and abrupt deviations in U.S. climate and energy policies are shifting the United States away from a more sustainable future toward greater fossil-fuel use that will accelerate global warming. These new priorities go against the wishes of the American people as measured by many nationally representative surveys, and they ignore the scientific consensus regarding climate change and its deleterious consequences. This new agenda will harm the physical and mental health of Americans, imperil the U.S. economy, weaken American leadership in science, and increase geopolitical instability. Despite the frightening nature of these unprecedented departures from past climate-energy policies, successfully combating …

(Si15-121) Analyzing Seitr Tuberculosis Transmission Model Using Caputo–Fabrizio Fractional Derivative With Diverse Contact Rates, S. S. Sumaiya Banu, T. Gunasekar, S. Manikandan, Kamalendra Kumar, M. Suba

Applications and Applied Mathematics: An International Journal (AAM)

In the modern age, tuberculosis remains a pressing global health concern. Our study introduces and evaluates the SEITR pandemic TB transmission model, dividing the population into five compartments to explore distinct characteristics relevant to our investigation. Additionally, we delve into the application of fractional calculus. Through the Laplace transform method, we derive series solutions for all compartments, ensuring their existence and uniqueness. We also investigate the reproduction number of the tuberculosis epidemic model, examining how varying contact rates impact disease spread. We apply the predictor-corrector method for the Caputo-Fabrizio fractional derivative to verify the accuracy of our approach. This accurately …

Arcadia Magazine, 2025-10

Alumni Magazine

No abstract provided.

Reducing Aspiration Pneumonia By Implementing An Enhanced Oral Care Toolkit, Jennifer London

All Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Scholarly Projects

Problem: Oral care is essential for reducing bacteria and preventing aspiration pneumonia. The risk of aspiration pneumonia increases when protocols are not followed. In 2024, a regional hospital in the Midwest United States spent approximately one million dollars on the preventable healthcare-associated infection known as aspiration pneumonia. A pre-project chart audit of 100 random patient charts on a medical/surgical step-down unit revealed that only 1 of the 100 charts had oral care documented as completed.

Aim of the Project: The primary aims of this project were to increase nursing documentation of oral care by 50% and to decrease …

Improving Pain Assessment After Bedside Percutaneous Endoscopic Gastrostomy (Peg) Placement, Sherman Cotton

All Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Scholarly Projects

Problem: Baseline audits at a 44-bed critical-illness recovery hospital showed low reliability in two post-PEG practices: (1) pain reassessment within 90 minutes of an intervention and (2) complete PEG-site documentation (skin, drainage, tube position/measurement). Baseline performance averaged 55% and 62%, both of which were below the organization’s 90% benchmark.

Aim of the Project: From May to July 2025 (12 weeks), improve on-time pain reassessment and ensure PEG-site documentation reaches at least 90%, maintaining this level for three or more consecutive weeks; monitor workload to prevent increases in perceived charting time and ensure safety by avoiding a rise in PEG-related …

Implementing A Sepsis Questionnaire To Reduce Readmissions…A Health Plan’S Experience, Vernita L. Kelley

All Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Scholarly Projects

Problem: Sepsis is a life-threatening condition with high readmission risk, threatening patient recovery and survival. In the managed care organization (MCO) where this DNP project was implemented, sepsis ranks among the top five readmission diagnoses. The organization's 30-day readmission rate of 15.5% is substantially higher than the benchmark of 9.29%, highlighting a clinical quality issue, a strain on patient outcomes, and a strain on healthcare resources.

Aim of the Project: This quality improvement (QI) project aimed to reduce sepsis readmissions by embedding a sepsis questionnaire into case management workflows to identify clinical risks and social determinants of health, improve transitions, …

Neonatal Early-Onset Sepsis: It’S Not Always What You Think, Gabriela M. Henriquez, Kedar Tilak, Douglas Swanson, Susana Chavez-Bueno

Posters

No abstract provided.

An Evaluation Of Pharmaceutical Clinical Trials From Saudi Arabia Registered On Clinicaltrials.Gov: A Cross-Sectional Study, Mohammad H Aljawadi, Khalid F. Alonazi, Ibrahim M. Alsultan, Nora A Kalagi, Marwan A. Alrasheed, Abdullah M. Alhammad

Saudi Medical Journal

ABSTRACT Objectives: To evaluate clinical trials involving pharmaceutical agents conducted in Saudi Arabia and registered on ClinicalTrials.gov. Since the early 2000s, Saudi Arabia has expanded its involvement in clinical research. Recognizing the importance of clinical trials, we aimed to analyze the clinical trial landscape in the Kingdom to identify well-covered areas and potential gaps. Methods: In this descriptive cross-sectional study, ClinicalTrials.gov was used as the primary source to collect data regarding pharmacological and biological interventions conducted in Saudi Arabia between 2002 and June 2025. Results: A total of 474 pharmaceutical studies were included. Of these, 52.95% were completed, indicating moderate …

The Current State Of Diagnostics For Neuroimmunological Disorders In Africa, Malya Sahu, Mashina Chomba, Fiifi Duodu, Monica Diaz, Dilraj Sokhi, Deanna Saylor

Internal Medicine, East Africa

The epidemiology of neuroimmunological disorders in Africa remains poorly understood. Regional variation in diagnostics and provider knowledge has led to challenges in real-world application of diagnostic criteria. We conducted a cross-sectional survey of clinicians practicing in Africa to characterize the current state of clinical diagnostic resources and developed a clinician-driven prioritized action plan. 130 respondents from 24 out of 54 countries in Africa participated (44% national response rate). Most respondents specialized in neurology (n = 86, 66%) and practiced in an urban setting (n = 84, 65%). While all participating countries had access to a neurologist and ophthalmologist, only half …

From Altamont To Astroworld: An Analysis Of Management Issues In Large Scale Music Festivals, Jennifer Morriss

Honors College Theses

The most common problems in music festivals can largely be broken into two categories: risks to the individual and risks on a grand scale. It is the responsibility of event managers to consider how to best keep everyone safe and maintain proper organization. Risks to the individual are often things like substance use and abuse, harm reduction, and sexual assault or harassment. Meanwhile, broad risks tend to be issues of evacuation and emergency management, crowd safety, stampedes, and casualties or violence. It is crucial to reflect on prior common safety and security issues when setting out to produce a large …

Changing Characteristics Of Cryptococcal Infections And Outcomes: A Single-Center Retrospective Cohort, Charis C. Hodges, Kenneth Long, Gerald Mcgwin, Todd Mccarty, Peter Pappas

Heersink School of Medicine Student Presentations

No abstract provided.

Mentoring Programs For Youth In Hagerstown, Maryland: Addressing The Opioid Epidemic, Stephane Reed

Selected Social Change Portfolios in Prevention, Intervention, and Consultation

Goal Statement: The goal of this social change portfolio is to help develop and promote mentoring programs for youth in Hagerstown, Maryland as preventive strategy to reduce the impact of the opioid epidemic. This initiative seeks to strengthen resilience, enhance academic performance and foster healthy decision-making among adolescents through consistent, supportive adult-youth relationships. The proposed mentoring framework to integrate culturally responsive, trauma-informed and community-based approaches address the systemic and interpersonal factors contributing to misuse in Washington County. Significant Findings: In Washington County, where Hagerstown is located, it continues to experience one of the highest opioids overdoes within Maryland which is …

Antibiotic Treatment Duration For Isolated Methicillin-Susceptible Staphylococcus Aureus Native Tricuspid Valve Endocarditis, Sami El-Dalati, Bennett Collis, Evan Hall, Talal Alnabelsi, Chloe Cao, Meredith Johnson, John Gurley, Luke Strnad, Hassan Reda, Michael Sekela, Armaghan E.Rehman Mansoor, David Olafsson, William Harris, Bobbi Jo Stoner

Surgery Faculty Publications

Background MSSA tricuspid valve infective endocarditis (TVIE) is associated with significant morbidity and there is not consensus surrounding the optimal duration of antibiotic therapy. We report the outcomes of treating MSSA TVIE endocarditis using a multidisciplinary team and cardiovascular infectious diseases consult service. Methods Patients were identified from the multidisciplinary endocarditis team registry in a single-centre retrospective study. Results Between 7 September 2021 and 7 September 2024, 34 patients, including 27 who inject drugs, with isolated native MSSA TVIE were identified. Patients received a median of 28 days (IQR 11–41) of antibiotics and 50% transitioned to oral antibiotics for a …

Partial Oral Versus Intravenous Antibiotic Therapy For Endocarditis With Management By A Multidisciplinary Team, Sami El-Dalati, Bennett Collis, Takaaki Kobayashi, Evan Hall, Talal Alnabelsi, Chloe Cao, Meredith Johnson, John Gurley, Luke Strnad, Corey Adams, Victoria Weaver, Hassan Reda, Michael Sekela, Tessa London, Kara Kennedy, Armaghan E.Rehman Mansoor, David Olafsson, Grant Laugherty, Alyssa Tremblay, Angella Linder, Deborah Gill, Nicholas J. Van Sickels, Alexander Pomakov, William Harris, Bobbi Jo Stoner

Surgery Faculty Publications

Background. Despite trial data supporting oral stepdown therapy for infective endocarditis (IE), its use remains limited, especially in North America. We evaluated outcomes of patients with IE managed by a multidisciplinary team and treated with either intravenous (IV) or partial oral antibiotics. Methods. This was a single-center retrospective study of patients with definite IE identified from an institutional registry between 7 September 2021 and 1 March 2025. Clinical and outcomes data were analyzed using multivariable logistic regression. Results. Of 236 patients, 143 received IV therapy alone and 93 were transitioned to partial oral therapy. Baseline characteristics were similar, though valve …

Valid And Accepted Novel Bacterial Taxa Isolated From Domestic Companion And Agricultural Animals Described In 2024, Sara D. Lawhon, Claire R. Burbick, Trinity Krueger, Elena Ruiz-Reyes, Ayden Wisney-Leonard, Mallory Lenmark, Erik Munson

Clinical Lab Sciences Faculty Research and Publications

Recognizing and updating bacterial names is key to communication between the veterinary clinical microbiology laboratory, veterinarians, and clients. Moraxella oculi sp. nov., distinct from Moraxella bovis and Moraxella bovoculi, was isolated from a cow with infectious bovine keratoconjunctivitis. Several respiratory pathogens were recognized, including Neisseria leonii sp. nov. described from rabbits, Mannheimia indoligenes sp. nov. described from cattle in Europe, and Moraxella haemolytica sp. nov. described from a goat in China. Stenotrophomonas forensis sp. nov. is a novel designation within the Stenotrophomonas maltophilia complex associated with isolates derived from horses. New additions to the Campylobacter genus included Campylobacter californiensis …

Chemistry And Biochemistry Affiliated Publications: Snapshot Of The Research Publications 2019-2024., Jeremy J. Smith, Lutishoor Salisbury

University Libraries Faculty Publications and Presentations

This report highlights the chemistry and biochemistry faculty publications for the period 2019-2024. It includes tables identifying the types of publications, the characteristics of the authors, inter-departmental and external cooperation, summary of the citations of the publications, and the JCR ranking of the journals in which they published.

Art Forms: Born Out Of Necessity, Urmi Duttagupta

Publications and Research

This collection of artworks expresses the artist’s profound passion for mathematics and life’s complex balance. As a female mathematician, she uses artistic expression and intricate patterns to evoke mathematical beauty and feminine strength, celebrating the presence and resilience of women in mathematics.

Development Of A Strategy To Neutralize Ccl8 Activity And Ablate Ccl8 Cellular Targets, Bernardo Chavez

Theses and Dissertations

The chemokine CCL8 (monocyte chemoattractant protein-2) is a versatile signaling molecule involved in tumor progression, immune cell recruitment, and therapeutic resistance. Through activation of receptors including CCR1, CCR2B, and CCR5, CCL8 promotes leukocyte trafficking, epithelial–mesenchymal transition, and the establishment of immunosuppressive tumor microenvironments. In breast cancer and inflammatory diseases, elevated CCL8 levels correlate with poor clinical outcomes, making it a promising therapeutic target.

A strategy was developed to block CCL8 activity and selectively ablate CCL8 receptor expressing cells. A neutralizing monoclonal antibody, 1G3E5, was identified from a panel of murine candidates based on high affinity CCL8 binding. Sequencing revealed two …

Cervical And Tumor-Associated Microbiomes In Botswana Women With And Without Hiv With Carcinoma Of The Cervix Before And After Definitive Chemoradiation, Travis T Sims, Kyoko Yoshida-Court, Molly B El Alam, Pleasure Ramatlho, Rebecca Ketlametswe, Matthew S Ning, Erle S Robertson, Kathleen M Schmeler, Lauren E Colbert, Ann H Klopp, Surbhi Grover

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Purpose: Cervical cancer remains a significant public health concern globally and particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, where high rates of HIV infection exacerbate cervical cancer incidence. Understanding the cervical microbiome and its role in cancer progression is essential, especially in regions where both cervical cancer incidence and HIV prevalence are high. This study aimed to characterize the cervical microbiome in women living with HIV (WLWH) and HIV-negative women with squamous cell carcinoma of the cervix in Botswana, compare the microbiome between before and after chemoradiation therapy (CRT) in WLWH, and assess the prognostic value of specific microbial taxa for overall survival …

Neutrosophic Statistical Regression Models For Predicting The Incidence Of Nosocomial Infections In Post-Trauma Patients, Nairovys Gómez Martinez, Gerardo Ramos Serpa, Riber Fabian Donoso Noroña, Gloria Medina Naranjo

Neutrosophic Sets and Systems

The rationale for predicting nosocomial infections in post-trauma patients is based upon the ability to assess all relevant and subjectivity factors effectively for each individual. This research is currently relevant to public health because nosocomial infections are one of the most stubborn factors plaguing patients and health facilities alike. Therefore, it is timely and appropriate to be able to predict accurate and generalizable findings—yet the current literature does not utilize a predictive approach that considers the uncertainty and imprecision when clinicians encounter such clinical data. Therefore, this dissertation aims to fill that gap with a statistical-neutrosophic regression model which inherently …

Assessing Viral Susceptibility In Tilapia Species Using Plithogenic Fuzzy Soft Set: A Multi-Expert Approach For Tilv, Raúl González Salas, Jhael Mikaela Gómez Ashqui, Marco Paúl Medina Valencia

Neutrosophic Sets and Systems

This research assessed tilapia species susceptibility to Tilapia Lake Virus (TiLV) via a new plithogenic fuzzy soft set (CFS). This mathematical conception offers a holistic assessment via biological, environmental, and epidemiological attributes, merging unknown and variable data across multiple researching experts. Thus, the findings emerged from controlled and field assessed mortality, viral titers, and microenvironments of up to five species processed through the CFS model to determine vulnerability rankings. CFS revealed Oreochromis niloticus was the most susceptible to TiLV with red hybrids second and O. mossambicus most resistant. In addition, the CFS model revealed specific parameters, including temperature and population …

Institute For Global Health And Development : Issue 12 - October 2025, Institute For Global Health And Development

IGHD Newsletters

• Dr. Bhutta Awarded the Virchow Prize 2025 For Global Health
• Mapping Climate Vulnerability and Resilience Across the Prepare Pakistan Project – Promoting Climate Resilience, Pakistan’s High-Risk Districts
• Choice Project Dissemination Workshop Held in Accelerating Progress Towards Health and Health-Related SDGS Nairobi
• Farhana Tabassum Attends the Inauguration Of “Imagining Life” At the Climate Action Center, Karachi
• IGHD Participates in the Green Zameen Fellowship on Sustainable Energy Transition
• IGHD Team Leads Systematic Reviews & Meta-Analysis
• Empowering Research in Maternal Health Dr. Khadija Vadsaria Completes Her PhD at Aga Khan University
• Climate Change and Maternal Health Dr. Jai Das Featured in the Economist …

Sinclair Lewis Society Newsletter, Vol 34, No. 1, The Sinclair Lewis Society

Sinclair Lewis Society Newsletter

“Every Time Something Big and Stupid Happens in America, Lewis Becomes Popular Again”: A Conference Retrospective, with Notes from a First-Time Visitor to Sauk Centre by Shaun F. Richards

Pickerbaugh’s Rhymes: Another Target of Satire in Arrowsmith by George Killough

In Memoriam: Robert E. Fleming, Father of the Sinclair Lewis Society by Sally E. Parry

Arrowsmith 100 years later: Osterholm Links Lewis’s Novel to Modern Society by Shalon Wilber

Becoming A Writer: A Review of Writers Like Us: My Life with Sinclair Lewis, by Barnaby Conrad, with Barnaby Conrad III by Shaun F. Richards

Sinclair Lewis and the Pulitzer …

Rapid Discrimination Of Mycobacterium Tuberculosis And Non-Tuberculous Mycobacteria Disease Via Interpretive Machine Learning Analysis Of Routine Laboratory Tests, Jia Wei Tang, Xue Song Xiong, Ting Ting Huang, Yu Lu Zhang, Lin Fei Yao, Wen Wen Zhang, Yun Yun Xie, Quan Fa Liang, Zhi Xuan Tan, Kun Jiang, Xin Liu, Liang Wang

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Objectives Rapid discrimination of infections caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) and non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) is crucial in clinical settings. Despite overlapping clinical and radiological features, the two require markedly different therapeutic approaches and public health responses. Current laboratory methods are time-consuming and complex, underscoring the urgent need for a simple and efficient diagnostic tool to inform public health decision-making. Methods Demographic, haematological and biochemical data were collected from two hospitals in Jiangsu province, China, between December 2018 and October 2024. A total of 400 patients were included in the training cohort, with 66 patients used for external validation. Six machine …

Examining The Role Of Social Environment On Covid-19 Infections And Vaccine Uptake Among Migrants In Japan: Findings From Nationwide Surveys In 2021 And 2023, Yuanyuan Teng, Clive E Sabel, Tomoya Hanibuchi, Tomoki Nakaya

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

Studies have shown that migrants and ethnic minority groups were disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, yet the role of the social environment in shaping their vulnerabilities remains underexplored in Japan. This study explored the experiences of migrants in Japan during the COVID-19 pandemic and examined the association between social environmental factors (i.e., population density, neighborhood deprivation, ethnic density, and social networks) and both COVID-19 infections and vaccination uptake. Two nationwide online surveys were conducted in 2021 and 2023 to capture migrants' experiences and analyze these associations during the middle and waning stages of the pandemic. Modified Poisson regressions with …