Digital Commons Network^™

Factors Influencing Tuberculosis Diagnosis, Treatment And Recovery In Alor, East Nusa Tenggara (Ntt), Indonesia, Abdillah Ahsan, Fitri Kurnia Rahim, Elisabeth Kramer, Indah Suci Widyahening, Maulida Gadis Utami

Journal of Health Research

Background: Indonesia aims to reduce tuberculosis (TB) incidence by 50% in 2025 and 80% in 2030. In Alor, TB case notification has reached only 38%, while contact investigation remains low at 21% (46 of 220 cases), ranking 6^th lowest in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT). This study explored factors influencing TB diagnosis, treatment, and recovery.

Method: Focus group discussions were conducted with 32 recovered TB patients at three community health centers (Moru, Alor Kecil, and Kenarilang). In-depth interviews were held with six key local stakeholders, including representatives from the Health Office, the Research and Development Unit, three heads of community …

Effectiveness Of Self-Management Education On Behavior Improvement Among Stroke Survivors In Indonesia: A Randomized Controlled Trial, Yurike Septianingrum, Ratna Yunita Sari, Lono Wijayanti, Rizqa Septiana, Andis Yuswanto, Ah Yusuf, Ika Yuni Widyawati, Nor Aziyan Yahaya

Journal of Health Research

Background: This study aimed to investigate the impact of stroke self-management education (SSME) on improving self-management behaviors among stroke survivors.

Methods: An individual randomized controlled trial was conducted from June to August 2024 in an educational hospital in Surabaya, Indonesia. Participants were selected based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria and then randomly assigned via computer-generated randomization to the intervention and control groups. After 3 weeks of intervention, the self-management behavior of stroke survivors was evaluated using the Stroke Self-Management Behavior Questionnaire (SSMBQ). A per-protocol analysis was used to compare the intervention groups, which included only those patients who completed …

A Hybrid Roberta–Rule-Based Aspect-Based Sentiment Analysis Model For Hospital Patient Reviews: Development, Validation, And Case Application In India, Akash Gajanan Prabhune, Karpaga Priya P S, Vinay R Sri Hari, Akhila Rayampalli, Ankur S Thakur, Ebin M Yohannan

Journal of Health Research

Background: Patient Online Reviews (PORs) provide real-time, unsolicited feedback that complements traditional satisfaction surveys. However, existing sentiment analysis tools often handle only monolingual data, broad sentiment categories, or lack review authenticity checks. This study develops a hybrid Aspect-Based Sentiment Analysis (ABSA) model combining RoBERTa with a rule-based aspect detection layer to extract fine-grained sentiment insights from Indian hospital reviews.

Methods: We curated and manually annotated 4,862 Google Maps reviews from 25 Indian hospitals across six aspects—Doctor Behavior, Staff Behavior, Cleanliness, Facility Experience, Cost, and Waiting Time. Though the scheme included positive/negative/neutral labels, the final model used binary polarity (positive vs. …

Intrapersonal, Interpersonal, And Environmental Factors Associated With Self-Directed Ageism Among Older Thai Adults, Jirawan Wittayanukorn, Piyawat Katewongsa, Yothin Sawangdee, Rossarin Gray, Tawanchai Jirapramukpitak

Journal of Health Research

Background: Self-directed ageism occurs when older adults internalize negative age-related stereotypes, a process that undermines self-esteem, reduces social participation, and leads to poorer health outcomes. Understanding the intrapersonal, interpersonal, and environmental factors that contribute to self-directed ageism is essential for developing more effective interventions to reduce it.

Method: Data were drawn from the Survey on Conditions of Society, Culture, and Mental Health (Thai Happiness) 2014, a nationally representative survey. Managed by checking for completeness, duplicates, and missingness, 8,998 people (aged 60 years and over) were included. Factors associated with self-directed ageism were analyzed using binary logistic regression analysis, taking into …

The Use Of Artificial Intelligence Generated Screen Summaries Along With Direct Voice Navigation For Improved Content Discovery For Visually Impaired Users, Koustav Roy, Hanumanth Rao Godari

Defensive Publications Series

Current accessibility features on display-based entertainment systems require visually impaired users to navigate through on-screen user interface elements sequentially. This linear, item-by-item traversal through each element in the user interface is inefficient for understanding the overall context of content-rich user interfaces that may include a significant amount of information for presenting to a user.

The disclosed technology utilizes a generative artificial intelligence (generative AI) model to analyze the content of a user interface for a display-based entertainment system that is presented on a screen of a computing device (e.g., a smart television). The generative AI model may generate a concise, …

Enhancing Topical Delivery Of N-Acetylcysteine And Collagen Via A Novel Electrospun Collagen/Pmma Nanofibrous Mats As Facial Mask Development: Nanofibers Optimization And In Vitro Experiments, Samar A. Salim, Galala University, King Faisal University, Badr University, National Research Centre, City Of Scientific Research And Technological Applications (Srta-City),, Badr University

Nanotechnology Research Centre

This study endeavours to craft a potent topical facial mask using electrospun nanofibers. The nanofibers were carefully fabricated based on loading of N-acetylcysteine (NAC) onto electrospun marine collagen (MC), and poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) nanofibers. Through precise adjustments of electrospinning parameters, a uniform array of nanoscale fibres with a smooth surface was achieved. The morphology and chemical structure configuration of nanofibers (NFs) were examined using SEM, FTIR, and XRD analyses. Furthermore, the cytotoxic impact was assessed on a human normal fibroblast cell line (BJ1), while protein levels were gauged using the Bradford dye-binding assay (Coomassie assay). Also, the antioxidant potential …

Mental Health First Aid Certification's Impact On Filipino Nurses' Ability To Increase Personal Help-Seeking Behaviors, Self-Awareness Of Health Changes, And Improved Self-Connection, Maria Elena Holguin, Brenda Marshall, Faith Atte, Katherine J. Roberts

School of Nursing Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Background

Post COVID-19, almost 50% of nurses reported severe depression, and over 30% moderate to severe anxiety. Nurses from minority racial and ethnic backgrounds, including Filipino nurses, accounted for more than 54% of COVID-related deaths, despite comprising only 24.1% of the nursing workforce. Filipino nurses, making up only 1% of the U.S. population, comprise 4.5 % of the nursing workforce and face significant barriers to seeking mental health services, including stigma, a sense of shame, and adherence to cultural values that view mental illness as unacceptable.

Aim 

To assess the impact of Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) certification among Filipino …

Absolute Extraction: Utilizing Rural Critical Criminology To Examine Appalachia’S Toxic Dependence On Extractive Industries, Andrew Kennedy

The Mid-Southern Journal of Criminal Justice

Brought forth by common rhetoric, Appalachia is often viewed as the closest space to that of an empyrean domain. Separated from the sleepless city, its allure rests in its created identity of a quiet, green escape from the city, which offers serenity on all fronts. Although Appalachia can fulfill this profile, such an ascension ignores the burning yellow grass below. The purpose of this paper is to examine the history of the destruction of Appalachia through the lens of extractive industries and the region’s designation as a sacrifice zone. Through the application of rural critical criminology, this paper holds that …

The Controlled Substances Act: A Menagerie Of Arbitrary Regulation And Failure Of Purpose, Dylan Andrus

The Mid-Southern Journal of Criminal Justice

The Controlled Substances Act (CSA) is the primary regulatory and criminal legislation surrounding drugs in the United States. Passed in the 1970s, the CSA established the drug classification scheduling system we use today. Despite being over 50 years old today, the CSA has not achieved its goal of eliminating or even significantly reducing drug use and offenses. This paper conducts an analysis of the CSA's legislative intent versus its actual results through reviews of measures such as incarceration rates, inconsistent regulation, and disproportionate racial effects to argue that the Controlled Substances Act has failed in its mission while causing significant …

Bridging The Gap Between Substance Use Treatment Barriers In Rural Areas, Dakota Baker

The Mid-Southern Journal of Criminal Justice

The purpose of this paper is to examine the continued concern about substance abuse/misuse and limited access to treatment in rural areas. Rural areas lack the adequate treatment needed to combat substance use disorder (SUD), mainly due to the lack of sufficient providers trained to identify, treat, and support those dealing with SUD. Additional barriers such as the high cost of treatment, stigma surrounding substance use disorders, geographical barriers, and the criminalization of substance abuse are other barriers that will be discussed in this paper (Griffin & Botvin, 2010; Hargons et al., 2023; Khazaee-Pool et al., 2024; National Center for …

Teachers' Perspectives On Humane Education Implementation, Rebecca Ann Bartaway

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Humane education (HE) encompasses multiple concepts, including animal ethics, ecological environment, and social justice. The problem prompting this study was that individuals who have graduated from a higher education HE program face challenges in successfully integrating HE into their K–12 classrooms. Grounded by Weil's solutionary approach to HE, the purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore the teaching experiences of individuals who graduated from a higher education HE program and successfully integrated HE into their classrooms. Participants were purposefully sampled from a small population of educators who completed a U.S. degree or certificate program in HE and successfully …

Resting Autonomic Activity, Emotional Reactivity, And Executive Function In Preschool-Age Children Who Stutter, Dana J. Meyerson

Theses - ALL

Purpose: This study investigated whether preschool-aged children who stutter (CWS) differ from children who do not stutter (CWNS) in autonomic physiological reactivity and regulation during a phrase-repetition task paired with affective image-viewing conditions. Additionally, the study investigated whether individual differences in executive function skills, specifically inhibitory control, predicted variability in physiological responses across participants. Methods: Forty-three preschool-aged children (18 CWS, 25 CWNS) completed three laboratory visits that involved collection of electrocardiogram (ECG) recordings at rest and during a phrase-repetition task paired with visual stimuli of either neutral (fixation cross) or negative (IAPS) emotional valence. Inhibitory control was assessed using the …

Longitudinal Association Between Sleep Disturbance And Disordered Eating In Adolescents: The Mediating Role Of Emotion Dysregulation, Antonia Louise Hamilton

Theses - ALL

Accruing evidence suggests a significant relationship between sleep disturbances and disordered eating. Early adolescence is a period of heightened vulnerability for sleep disturbances and disordered eating. However, the longitudinal relationship between sleep disturbance and disordered eating remains unclear in early adolescent samples. The current study aims to examine if sleep disturbance longitudinally predicts disordered eating in early adolescents three years later, how the odds of having clinically significant disordered eating change per each unit increase in sleep disturbance, and if emotion dysregulation mediates these relationships. It is hypothesized that baseline sleep disturbance will predict greater disordered eating at follow-up, and …

Novel Origin Of Sperm Heteromorphism In The Drosophilidae, Karan Bhatt

Theses - ALL

Sperm heteromorphism, the production of two or more discrete sperm types or morphs within a single testis, occurs in diverse taxa. This phenomenon is believed to represent a division of labor by male gametes, with only one morph (the "eusperm") participating in fertilization and the other morph(s) specialized to perform some other (typically unknown) function within the female reproductive tract. One of the most intensively investigated systems is the Drosophila obscura species group, for which sperm heteromorphism evolved once in the common ancestor to the group, with all examined descendent species exhibiting sperm length heteromorphism. The absence of additional sperm …

Exploring The Role Of Astrocyte System Xc– In Excitatory/Inhibitory Balance, Samantha Olivia Sutton

Theses - ALL

Astrocytes play a central role in maintaining excitatory/inhibitory (E/I) balance in the central nervous system by supporting intracellular glutathione (GSH) synthesis and regulating extracellular glutamate. System xc– (Sxc–), an obligate cystine/glutamate antiporter encoded by SLC7a11, couples the import of L-cystine with the export of L-glutamate. It is highly expressed throughout the cortex, hippocampus, striatum, and cerebellum, where its activity provides cystine—the rate-limiting substrate for cysteine-dependent GSH production—and contributes to ambient glutamatergic tone. Although global loss of Sxc– alters seizure threshold and redox homeostasis, whether these effects arise specifically from the loss of astrocytic Sxc– has remained unresolved. This thesis examined …

Comparing The Antibacterial Efficiency Of Chitosan And Dextran As Nanocomposites Against Escherichia Coli, Saja Sachit, Alaa Al-Taie

Baghdad Science Journal

Nanoparticles (NPs) are widely used in many different fields and applications. In this study, Silver (Ag) NPs and Titanium dioxide (TiO₂) NPs were generated using the laser ablation method by using Q-switched Nd: YAG laser. In addition, Chitosan (CS) and Dextran nanopolymers were chosen to prepare the nanocomposites by combining the two types of nanopolymers with the generated NPs in different ratios to obtain the samples: CS and Dextran as a control, CS-Ag, CS-TiO₂, CS Ag-TiO₂, Dextran-Ag, Dextran-TiO₂, and Dextran Ag-TiO₂. Several tests were carried out on these nanocomposites such …

Biosynthesis Of Silver Nanoparticles From Halophilic Green Algae (Dunaliella Viridis) Extract And It Is Antibacterial Activity, Payman Omer Salih, Trifa Kamal Jalal, Hoshyar Abdullah Azeez

Baghdad Science Journal

Biological synthesis of nanoparticles is a new area of nanotechnology that has advantages in terms of cost and the environment compared to chemical or physical synthesis methods. The current work is carried out to synthesize silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) utilizing green algae (Dunaliella viridis Teodoresco 1905) extract as a reducing and capping agent and to evaluate the antibacterial efficacy of AgNPs. The. The measures of UV-V spectroscopy, XRD, TEM, SEM-EDSand FTIR were used to characterize the synthesized silver nanoparticles. Additionally, agar well diffusion and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) methods were used for antibacterial activity. The plasmon absorbance of AgNPs was …

Unveiling Devin Morrison’S Modern Jazz By Analyzing His Musical Techniques And Influences From Early 90s Gospel Music, Rashad C. Sylvester

Recital Papers

Unveiling Devin Morrison’s Modern Jazz by Analyzing His Musical Techniques and Influences From Early 90S Gospel Music

Intercultural Communicative Competence (Icc) Among Efl Learners And Teachers And The Potential For Ai As A Guide, Zeynep Saka

Theses - ALL

This study investigates the Intercultural Communicative Competence (ICC) of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students and instructors in Turkey by examining both perceived and observed aspects of ICC, as well as the potential role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in supporting intercultural communicative competence education. Guided by Byram’s (1997) model and informed by Speech Act Theory (Searle, 1969) and Politeness Theory (Brown & Levinson, 1987), the study adopted a mixed-methods design including 89 students and 46 instructors from nine state universities. Data were collected through a 25-item ICC questionnaire and a series of Discourse Completion Tasks (DCTs) completed under self-guided …

Espacios De Cambio: Evaluating Community-Based Art Therapy Within The Latinx Community, Bennie Guzman

Theses - ALL

This research presented in this graduate thesis explores the social-emotional benefits of community-based approaches of art therapy within the Latinx community. The literature contextualizes the socio-historical experiences of the Latinx community and presents an argument for the use of a community-based approach of art therapy. This study evaluates the social-emotional benefits of the “Arts as Mindfulness” program, an initiative created by the author in collaboration with La Casita Cultural Center at Syracuse University. Methods of data collection include creative reflections and a focus group with program participants. The research conducted data analysis using a hermeneutic phenomenological approach. Themes that arose …

Assessing The Gender Differences In Mental Health Access And The Intersectionality Of Depression, Anxiety, Stress Between Black Men And Black Women During Covid-19, Turquoise Ef'e Pipes

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The COVID-19 pandemic, which emerged in the past five years, has had a particularly severe impact on well-being, mental health, and access to care for Black communities. Therefore, the purpose of this quantitative study, grounded in intersectionality theory was to assess gender differences between Black women and Black men confronted with depression, anxiety, stress symptoms and mental health access during the crisis of COVID-19, which has been under researched within this demographic. The study sample included participants from various cities across the United States who lived through the COVID-19 pandemic from March 2020 to March 2023 (n= 104). A MANOVA …

Virtually Present In The Vastness: Vr’S Pathway To Awe And Appreciation, David Paul Peters

Dissertations - ALL

This dissertation explores how spatial presence in Virtual Reality (VR) creates awe and appreciation through the role of perceived vastness. 92 participants played a custom-built VR game (VR Nature Photographer) in three environments designed to be low, medium, and high in vastness. A repeated-measures design measured spatial presence, vastness, awe, and appreciation across conditions. Results showed higher vastness increased all four outcomes, with awe and vastness having the largest effect sizes and presence and appreciation medium sized. Mediation analyses showed perceived vastness fully mediated the effect of spatial presence on awe in all vastness conditions and partially mediated its effect …

Mapping Research Trends On Mental Health Literacy Among University Students: A Bibliometric Systematic Review, Eko Pramudya Laksana, Muslihati Muslihati, Arbin Janu Setiyowati, Salsabila Kholifahtun Nisa, Muhammad Nur Hudha, Margaret Kehinde Soetan

Jurnal Kajian Bimbingan dan Konseling

Mental health is a global issue that has received increasing attention, particularly among university students. Mental health literacy (MHL) is an important factor in promoting students' psychological well-being through knowledge, attitudes, and the ability to recognize and address mental health problems. This study aims to map the developmental trends of MHL research among university students in order to provide a comprehensive overview of the direction and focus of studies in this field. This research employed a bibliometric literature review approach by analyzing 48 journal articles indexed in the Scopus database and published between 2021 and 2025. The findings indicate that …

Perceptions Of Lumbee Tribe Members On Participating In Diabetes Type Ii Prevention Practices, Jeremy Wesley Lowery

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Type II diabetes (DB2) is one of the leading causes of death in the United States, whether directly or as a comorbidity. This is especially alarming for Native Americans, who have the highest DB2 prevalence and death rates when compared to their non-Native American peers. This qualitative phenomenological study explored the lived experiences of Lumbee Tribe members in Robeson County regarding DB2. The health belief model was used as a lens through which to understand and interpret findings. In-person semi-structured audio-recorded interviews were conducted with 12 participants recruited through social media. Data were coded and analyzed using deductive thematic analysis. …

Antifungal Activity Of Nutmeg Mace (Myristica Fragrans Houtt) Ethanol Extract Against Candida Spp., Muhammad Akbar Yandji, Eka Astuty, Fitri Kadarsih Bandjar

Folia Medica Indonesiana

Candida infections are increasingly common worldwide and represent one of the leading causes of death after cardiovascular disease. There are three types of candida that often infect humans, namely Candida albicans, Candida tropicalis and Candida parapsilosis. In the standard treatment used, immunity and side effects of treatment have been found. Therefore, other treatment options are needed, one of which is by using mace (Myristica fragrans Houtt) which is a native plant of Maluku and has secondary metabolite compounds that can be antifungal agents. This study aims to test the ability of ethanol extract of mace nutmeg ( …

Group Counseling Deactivation Mode To Improve Psychological Well-Being Of Students, Muya Barida, Dian Ari Widyastuti, Yuanita Dwi Krisphianti, Aslina Ahmad, Nurul Hidayati Rofiah, Andriyani Andriyani, Riana Mashar, Emiko Saraswaty

Jurnal Kajian Bimbingan dan Konseling

Life moves dynamically, profoundly impacting adolescents and often causing deep anxiety due to numerous pressures. The gap between expectations and reality frequently exacerbates this anxiety. Ideally, adolescents should be equipped to manage their inner lives to prevent excessive anxiety, and individuals can better manage anxiety if they possess strong psychological well-being. This study aims to improve psychological well-being through a group counseling deactivation mode. The research applied an experimental research method with a one group pretest-posttest design. Participants consisting of junior high school students in Yogyakarta, selected through purposive sampling for their low psychological well-being levels. Data on psychological well-being …

Online Counseling In Improving Achievement Motivation Over The Last Decade: A Bibliometric Review, Shopyan Jepri Kurniawan, Bambang Dibyo Wiyono, Mohd. Aziz Zulazmi

Jurnal Kajian Bimbingan dan Konseling

This research aims to determine online counseling research trends to increase achievement motivation. The method used in this research is bibliometric analysis using VOSviewer. The data used is the Scopus database for the last 10 years. Research findings found that there were 4302 documents that met the specified criteria. The number of online counseling studies increased gradually over the 2013-2022 research period. The largest source of documents comes from 3691 articles. Meanwhile, the annual distribution of 100 or more citations will be the highest in 2022 with 16. The keyword ``achievement motivation'' is not included in the top 10 keywords, …

Synthesis, Characterization, Antioxidant Content And Antibacterial Study Of New Ligand And Its Complexes From Sulfonic Acid And 2-Phthalaldehyde, Mawlood Khalid Mawlood, Wurood Ali Jaafar

Baghdad Science Journal

The research includes preparation of a new Schiff base from the condensation of sulfonic acid with 2-phthalaldehyde by dissolving (0.2 g, 0.346 mmole) of the ligand (L) in (10 ml) of absolute ethanol, then 0.06 g of potassium hydroxide (KOH) dissolved in 10 ml of distilled water added to it and reacting the product with some binary metal salts (Mn, Co, Ni, Cu, Cd, Zn, Pt, Hg). The biological study was conducted against two types of gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria, Staphylococcus. aureus and Escherichia coli, and the fungus Candida albicans was also used. All the prepared complexes showed …

Green Ai-Enhanced Deep Learning Model For Breast Cancer Detection And Classification In Mammography Images: Bc-Net-512, Nesma Abd El-Mawla, Mohamed A. Berbar, Nawal A. El-Fishawy, Mohamed A. El-Rashidy

Mansoura Engineering Journal

This study champions a sustainable approach for developing a Deep Learning (DL) model for medical image analysis, specifically focusing on breast cancer (BC) detection in mammograms. By prioritizing low-computing algorithms to achieve high diagnostic accuracy while minimizing the model's environmental footprint, that aligns with the principles of Green AI. In this paper, an innovative architecture called BC-Net-512 was constructed for the classification of BC mammography. It is composed of lightweight Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) blocks for texture, density, and structure feature extraction and detection, a thin, fully connected layer for learning complex patterns and correlations in the extracted features, and …

Extensive Superficial Dermatomycosis Caused By Cladophialophora Sp., A Deep Mycosis Pathogen: A Case Report, Nikko Vanda Limantara, Agnes Sri Siswati, Flandiana Yogianti

Journal of General - Procedural Dermatology and Venereology Indonesia

Background: Superficial dermatomycosis, predominantly caused by dermatophytes, affects approximately 20–25% of the global population. However, non-dermatophytic fungi, such as Cladophialophora species (sp.), can also cause similar cutaneous infections. Although less common, these organisms are particularly concerning in immunocompromised individuals.

Case Illustration: A 66-year-old immunocompromised male presented with widespread pruritic and erythematous patches, initially misdiagnosed as tinea corporis. Despite receiving standard antifungal therapy, his condition persisted. Further investigation through fungal culture identified Cladophialophora sp., which was resistant to common antifungal agents such as fluconazole, itraconazole, and ketoconazole. However, the fungus was sensitive to terbinafine, which has …