Digital Commons Network^™

A Case Of Navigating Autism And Atypical Rashes In Dermatology Practice., Benjamin S Kahn, Kathleen Ward, Nedyalko Ivanov, Marcus Goodman

PCOM Scholarly Works

A 4-year-old nonverbal autistic female presented to the clinic with a 3-month history of a persistent, inflamed papular rash, which was violaceous to skin-toned, verrucous, and dome-shaped with crateriform ulcerations on an erythematous base localized in the perianal region. A dermatologic condition with these characteristics, location, and demographic warrants a thorough workup, physical exam, and broad differential diagnosis. The clinical appearance of these lesions can mimic many cutaneous conditions in this age group and requires careful attention for potential signs of abuse. As demonstrated in our case, with a comprehensive patient history, a biopsy, and a culture of the lesions, …

Increased Myo/Nog Cell Presence And Phagocytic Activity In Retinal Degeneration: Insights From A Mouse Model, Diana Crowley, Samantha Murad, Courtney Helm, Rachel Souza, Sarah Coughlan, Scott Serpico, Eric Sugarman, Kyle Marguiles, Brian Heist, Kathryn D. Mitchell, Christopher K. Sutera, Mark Martin, Carlos Font, Mary Woodruff, E-Jine Tsai, Rushil Brahmbhatt, Paul Lecker, Grzegorz Gorski, John Benalcazar, Serena Young, Abey Martin, Lindsay Gugerty, Jacquelyn Gerhart, Mindy George-Weinstein, Arturo Bravo Nuevo

PCOM Scholarly Works

Myo/Nog cells play a pivotal role in ocular development and demonstrate a rapid response to stress and injury. This study investigates their behavior and distribution in a murine model of retinitis pigmentosa, specifically in C3H/HeJ mice, which exhibit photoreceptor degeneration due to a homozygous mutation in the Pde6brd1 gene. Retinal samples from C3H/HeJ and C57BL/6J mice were analyzed at postnatal weeks 2.5 to 6 using hematoxylin and eosin staining, immunofluorescence for brain-specific angiogenesis inhibitor 1 (BAI1) expressed in Myo/Nog cells, and TUNEL labeling for apoptotic cell detection. The results demonstrated a progressive thinning of the outer nuclear layer (ONL) in …

Infections With Chlamydia Pneumoniae And Sars-Cov-2 And Alzheimer's Disease Pathogenesis, Alexa Romanella, Maegan Mccall, Rachel Corwin, Alaha Abdul Faruq, Emily Lingo, Sanya Bhambhani, Christine J. Hammond, Brian J. Balin

PCOM Scholarly Works

INTRODUCTION: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most prevalent neurodegenerative disease in the world, but our understanding of causation is still lacking. A current evidence-based hypothesis proposes that certain infectious agents initiate the neurodegeneration consistent with AD. Two infectious agents correlated to AD pathogenesis are Chlamydia pneumoniae (Cpn), a respiratory obligate intracellular bacterium, and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the coronavirus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic. Both organisms may predispose susceptible populations to disease manifestations, such as AD.

METHODS: This review focused on peer-reviewed original research and review articles evaluating the potential association of Cpn and SARS-CoV-2 with AD. …

Resources To Study The Isoforms Of The P53 Family Of Transcription Factors, Dana L. Woodstock

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

The p53 family of transcription factors regulates diverse gene regulatory networks such as those involved in DNA damage repair, epidermal commitment, and neuronal development. As a result, dysfunction in these pathways lead to numerous human health conditions, including multiple types of cancer and craniofacial developmental disorders. Each family member regulates a distinct gene network leading to varied cellular and organismal phenotypes, but all are capable of regulating programmed cell death, likely due to considerable similarity between protein structure and binding sites in DNA. Analysis of these shared and distinct functions is complicated by each p53 family member gene (TP53, TP63, …

The Dynamics Of Mystical Experiences: Interaction Effects And Distinct Contributions Of Meq-30 Factors, Genevieve Falabella

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

Many participants in clinical trials of psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT) report mystical experiences. Researchers often use the 30-item Mystical Experience Questionnaire (MEQ-30) to measure mystical experiences. Several studies have validated a four-factor structure of the MEQ-30, but only as a subset of items within broader versions of the scale (e.g., MEQ-43). As such, the factor structure of the standalone MEQ-30 remains unvalidated in English. Additionally, some data suggest that certain factors might be more strongly associated with psychedelic-associated outcomes than others, which could provide insight to enhance the therapeutic potential of PAT. The aim of this study was to examine the …

Epitaxial Quantum Dot Scintillators With Monolithic Photodetector Integration: Physics, Fabrication And Characterization Of Materials And Devices, Allan Oreave Minns

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

This dissertation discloses the physics, fabrication, and characterization of high-performance scintillator detectors based on epitaxial InAs quantum dots (QDs) in GaAs. The detector crystals grown include monolithically integrated In_0.35GaAs photodetectors with Al_0.92-0.6In_0.03-0.35Ga_0.05As metamorphic buffer layers (MBL). A device fabrication process was developed for the lithographic patterning, chemical etching, contact metallization and readout integration of materials grown by means of molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) on 3-inch GaAs (001) wafers. Low capacitance integration with readout electronics was achieved through wire bonds to custom printed circuit boards (PCBs) with commercial components.

The relationship between device …

Impact Of The New York State Gender Recognition Act On Mental Health Outcomes Among Non-Binary Adults Served By The New York Public Mental Health System, Sahil Chaudhry

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

This dissertation explores the impact of the 2021 New York State Gender Recognition Act (GRA) on mental health outcomes and service utilization among non-binary adults in the public mental health system. The GRA introduced pivotal legal reforms—including the option for an “X” gender marker and self-attestation for gender identity changes on state-issued documents—designed to affirm gender diversity and reduce structural barriers for transgender and non-binary populations. Guided by gender affirmation theory and minority stress frameworks, this study investigates how these legal shifts relate to changes in mental health service engagement and psychological well-being among non-binary individuals.

Using a difference-in-differences (DD) …

From A Child's Perspective: A Qualitative Study Of Elementary School Student Engagement, Deanna J. Springstead-Gonzalez

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

Abstract

Background and Purpose. This study sought to investigate child engagement from the children's perspective, aiming to understand better what they perceive as factors that facilitate or constrain their academic engagement in classrooms. By centering children's voices, this research challenges traditional views of students as passive recipients of education, instead recognizing them as active participants with valuable insights into their learning experiences. This work builds on the frameworks proposed by Shirley and Hargreaves (2021) and Lawson and Lawson (2013) that utilize socio-ecological theory to better understand those factors impacting children’s learning experiences.

Method. The study was conducted at an elementary …

Simulating A Multi-Tier Intervention For Refugee Mental Health Using Agent-Based Modeling, Bishan Huang

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

Increasing numbers of people are fleeing political violence and becoming refugees who resettle all around the world.Compared to the general population in the countries where they resettle, refugees disproportionately suffer from depression and higher trauma-related mental health symptoms including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) due to the experiences that led to their refugee status, as well as post-migration stressors, disadvantages in multiple social determinants of health, and lack of social support. New York City has received refugees from over 50 countries and may require policy and infrastructure changes to meet refugee mental health needs, especially in face of the recent surge …

Musical Motivation: Investigating Musical Contingent Self-Worth And Its Interactions With Music Training And Perceived Musical Ability, Douglas Allan Kowalewski

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

This program of research centers on a novel measure of how much value one places on having and displaying their musical ability – musical contingent self-worth – and how that construct interacts with existing measures of music training and perceived musical ability to predict performance on both musical and general cognitive tasks. Two studies (Experiments 1 and 2) provide evidence for the validity and reliability of an MCSW scale and additionally show that it uniquely predicts both reactions to, and performance on, a musical skills task (Experiment 1). These initial studies also show that MCSW interacts with music training to …

Associations Of Screen Time, Growth, And Sleep In The Upstate Kids Study, Brooke Turcotte

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

In the modern digital era, children are increasingly engaging with digital media (i.e., screen time), and the health-related implications of increased screen time are not fully understood. Excessive screen time in early childhood is increasingly recognized as a potential contributing factor to adverse health outcomes, including increased body mass index (BMI) and disrupted sleep patterns. Despite American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry recommendations for limiting screen time, studies indicate that many children surpass these guidelines, leading to concerns about reduced physical activity and disrupted sleep. Sedentary behaviors associated with screen time have been linked to increased risk of obesity, …

A Dynamically Adapting Forecast Cone Based On Ensemble Spread, Michael N. Barletta

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

Dynamically based ensemble prediction systems have gained considerable attention because they can provide a greater range of possible forecast outcomes and quantify the uncertainty in forecasts. In turn, forecasters can convey clearer messages to the public on the range of forecast scenarios and display inherent uncertainty in weather forecasts, which can be difficult to do with deterministic forecasts. Although global ensemble prediction systems have demonstrated skill in their probabilistic track predictions, the information contained within them is not always fully utilized beyond the mean forecast and standard deviation (i.e., spread). One way that these ensembles could be better employed is …

Self-Preservation: Autobiography As A Form Of Archivization As Seen Through The Life And Poetic Works Of John Clare, Meghan J. Slaff

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

This paper will look at how the processing efforts of an archivist mirror that of an autobiographer through the shared motivation of adding to the cultural memory or textual canon of a society. For archival purposes, the typical steps of ingesting, preparing, and presenting a collection are creation, capture, arrangement/description, and pluralization. To create an autobiography, writers take the memories that have been created and experienced due to events in their lives and capture those memories via recording in the literary form known as autobiography. These autobiographers then arrange and describe their memories in a way that shows vast similarities …

Identifying The Impacts Of Land Use/Land Cover Changes On Ecosystem Services From A Geospatial Perspective In Albany County, Kyaw Khaung Thant Zin

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

Ecosystem services encompass the broad array of direct and indirect advantages that people derive from nature and its ecosystems. Considering accelerating environmental change and degradation, recognizing the importance of these services is more crucial than ever, as they illustrate the many ways in which healthy ecosystems sustain human life. However, these services are diminishing at a rapid and unprecedented rate, raising global concern over both the transformations taking place and their root causes. Among the leading threats, land-use change stands out as a particularly significant one, influenced by a variety of driving factors. Albany County, New York, characterized by its …

Kafka In The Plague Years: Reinterpreting Absurdity In The 2020s, Chris Lownie

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

No word better encapsulates the confusion and inequality proliferating in the post-2020 global world than “absurd.” Absurdity consumes the way we interact with one another, going about life-as-usual in pocket worlds in which the individual is alienated from both oneself and others. Life is defined by a series of problems that regularly go ignored by both institution and general populace alike, but not by the human body: the effects of sustained illness and reinfection by recurrent viruses in a world that no longer acknowledges their severity nor their pervasiveness nor steps we may take towards personal safety. Daily life has …

Integrable Deformations, T-Dualities And Higher Order Corrections In String Theory, Parita Shah

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

This thesis explores the interplay of hidden symmetries and dualities in string theory, with a particular emphasis on the role of T-duality. As a fundamental symmetry of string theory, T-duality offers a powerful lens through which one can study integrability, solution-generating techniques, and quantum corrections, all essential aspects of modern string theoretic frameworks.

A central focus of this work is the application of the duality covariant formalism of Double Field Theory (DFT) to address problems involving integrable deformations and higher-order quantum corrections. We examine how generalized integrable models can be embedded into DFT and how the formalism captures hidden symmetries …

Essays On Innovation And Labor Market Benefits, Kyoungah Noh

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

The first chapter examines the impact of bank failures on team-based innovation, focusing on the persistence of inventor teams under credit supply constraints. Using U.S. patent and FDIC data from 2000 to 2012, this paper presents three main findings. First, bank failures significantly reduce both the number of team patents and the number of inventors with collaborators. Second, negative banking shocks decrease the likelihood that inventor teams remain together for projects in subsequent periods. However, team-specific factors, including geographic proximity, prior collaboration experience, and smaller team sizes, mitigate the adverse effects of bank failures and help preserve the stability of …

Association Of Non-Communicable Diseases With Severe Covid-19 Among People Living With And Without Diagnosed Hiv/Aids In New York State, Ravi Kumar Balu

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

Background: People living with diagnosed HIV (PLWDH) have a higher chance of co-infections and co-morbidities than the general population. When SARS-CoV-2 was first reported in China in December 2019 and later declared a pandemic, it was speculated that PLWDH might be more prone to SARS-CoV-2 infection and severe disease outcomes given their increased vulnerability to other respiratory infections like influenza, pneumococcal pneumonia and tuberculosis. However, several facets of COVID-19 disease in PLWDH are incompletely understood, including whether non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are strong risk factors for severe disease outcomes and death as they are in the general population.

Methods: The data …

Three Essays On Addressing Conflicts And Consensus During Energy Transitions, Paul Inseok Jo

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

Addressing the current climate crisis becomes more urgent, but also controversial. This is because the move toward a renewable energy system tends to produce new winners and losers by generating disproportionate outcomes across different stakeholders. Given this context, more actors and organizations are engaged in the policymaking process of energy transitions while competing or cooperating to defend their interests and values. Therefore, it is pivotal to understand these dynamic interactions to achieve a just transition based upon energy justice. This research thus strives to respond to this research question: How can different coalitions and stakeholders reach consensus by mitigating tensions …

Grandparenthood And Psychological Well-Being Of Middle-Aged And Older Adults: Multigenerational Family Relationships In China, Dandan Zhao

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

This dissertation examines whether and how experiences of grandparenthood—including becoming a grandparent, providing grandchild care, living with grandchildren, and exchanging intergenerational support—affect the well-being of middle-aged and older adults in China. Drawing on data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS, 2011–2018), a nationally representative survey of Chinese adults aged 45 and older, the study employs Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression and random effects models to investigate the associations between multigenerational family relationships and depressive symptoms among this population.

There is limited evidence that the transition to grandparenthood itself has a significant impact on psychological well-being. However, patterns …

Complex Missing Data Problems In Education Surveys, Thomas Wesley Robertson

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

Missing data are a nearly universal problem in human subjects research, including in education. However, reporting and addressing missing data is an issue, despite guidelines from the APA style guide and the What Works Clearinghouse, as well as guidance from prominent statisticians on the best methods to use. Prior research conducted in 2004 and 2014 found that in the field of education, most studies do not report or address missing data. In addition, no study has looked specifically at how missing data are reported and addressed in complex surveys. The current study has two main objectives: first, to determine if …

Welfare States And Imprisonment Rates: Revisiting The Study Of Public Assistance And Punishment In The United States, Stefan Ivanov

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

In the past fifty years, the United States has seen significant changes in both the criminal legal system and the welfare state. The incarceration rate surged by 475% from 1972 to 2007, driven by state-level decisions about criminal legal policy and disproportionately affecting Black Americans. Simultaneously, welfare programs became less generous, especially for those deemed “undeserving.” A long line of social science scholarship emphasizes that these two major social institutions—the welfare state and the carceral state—must be considered as complementary and alternative methods of managing marginalized groups. Quantitative research often confirms these claims, finding a durable inverse relationship between welfare …

Rebuttal: Reduced Oxidative Capacity Of Skeletal Muscle Is Not An Inevitable Consequence Of Adult Ageing, Ian R. Lanza, Christopher W. Sundberg, Jane A. Kent

Physical Therapy Faculty Research and Publications

We thank Drs Marcinek and Ferrucci for their perspective on the inevitability of age-related declines in skeletal muscle oxidative capacity (Marcinek & Ferrucci, 2025). We agree that mitochondria have numerous roles in the cell beyond provision of chemical energy, many of which may be altered by ageing, but our focus in this debate is entirely on its role in energy production.

Perspectives Of Midwives And Nurse Practitioners In Kentucky On Exercise Counseling During Pregnancy: A Qualitative Study, Madhawa Perera, Taniya S. Nagpal, Maire M. Blankenship, Dano Tolusso, Jordyn Cox, Dilini Prashadika, Mark Schafer, Rachel A. Tinius

Physical Therapy Faculty Research and Publications

Introduction

Healthcare professionals are in an optimal position to deliver exercise information to pregnant women, yet previous research suggests this seldom happens. Midwives and nurse practitioners, who may have more time with pregnant women, are particularly well suited for this role.

Objectives

This qualitative study examined the exercise advice and counseling provided by midwives and nurse practitioners in Kentucky, focusing on the barriers they face.

Methods

Twenty-one midwives and nurse practitioners were recruited until the sample size reached saturation. A survey with open-ended questions was distributed to potential participants in regional hospitals, universities, and professional associations. The framework method was …

Age-Related Differences In Eye Movements And The Association With Archimedes Spiral Tracing Performance In Young And Older Adults, Brittany Heintz Walters, Wendy E. Huddleston, Kristian M. O'Connor, Jinsung Wang, Marie K. Hoeger Bement, Kevin G. Keenan

Physical Therapy Faculty Research and Publications

Age-related hand motor impairments may critically depend on visual information though few studies have examined eye movements during tasks of hand function in older adults. The purpose of this study was to assess eye movements and their association with performance while tracing on a touchscreen in young and older adults. Eye movements of 21 young (age 20–38 years; 12 females, 9 males) and 20 older (65–85 years; 10 females, 10 males) adults were recorded while performing an Archimedes spiral tracing task, a common clinical assessment sensitive to age-associated impairments in hand function. Participants traced an Archimedes spiral template on a …

Reduced Oxidative Capacity Of Skeletal Muscle Is Not An Inevitable Consequence Of Adult Ageing, Ian R. Lanza, Christopher W. Sundberg, Jane A. Kent

Physical Therapy Faculty Research and Publications

Skeletal muscles support posture and locomotion, thermoregulation, cardiorespiratory function, metabolic health and other important aspects of life. Muscles generate chemical energy by synthesizing ATP through the creatine kinase reaction, glycolysis, and oxidative phosphorylation (oxphos), the latter of which produces the majority of ATP in the cell. Oxidative phosphorylation occurs in the mitochondrion, which is structured as a reticulum located near the ATPases responsible for powering the cross-bridge cycle, calcium pumps and membrane homeostasis (Glancy et al., 2015). Energy production in mitochondria is accomplished by coupling the oxidation of reducing equivalents (NADH, FADH₂) in the electron transport chain (ETC) …

Trumpian Populism And The Changing Intellectual Landscape In Antitrust: Century-Old Resonances, The New Right And Possible End Of An Era., Jonathan B. Baker

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

Three sides predominated in the U.S. antitrust policy debate during the Biden administration: neo-Brandeisians (or antimonopolists), centrist reformers (or post-Chicagoans), and conservatives (or Chicagoans). At that time, Trumpian populists did not comfortably fit with any of these groups and were at best secondary participants in policy discussions.

Nine months after the start of the second Trump administration, the intellectual landscape was different. Trumpian populism has now taken center stage at the antitrust enforcement agencies through two senior appointments-- Abigail (Gail) Slater as Assistant Attorney General for Antitrust in the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Mark Meador as a Federal Trade …

Getting Donor-Advised Funds Regulation Right: Closing The Public Support Test Loophole, Benjamin Leff

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

Donor-Advised Funds (“DAFs”) have been the subject of vigorous critical scholarship in the past two decades. This Article addresses two timely issues in DAF regulation: the theoretical justifications for extra strict regulation of DAFs, and, in light of those justifications, how to close a major loophole in the regulatory scheme. DAFs have been called “virtual private foundations” because they are similar in some respects to private foundations, but until two decades ago, they were treated for legal purposes as public charities. In 2006, Congress enacted legislation that both formally recognized DAFs for the first time and subjected them to several …

The Unenforceable Indian Trust, Ezra Rosser

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

This Essay explores the Indian trust relationship in light of recent decisions, especially Arizona v. Navajo Nation, that severely limit the judicial enforcement of federal trust responsibilities. Given the built-in tension between the trust responsibility and self-determination, periodic reassessment of the role and power of the Indian trust is perhaps inevitable. The Supreme Court's attack on meaningful enforcement of the trust responsibility is deeply problematic in that it puts tribes in the position of getting neither the benefits of a special Indian trust nor those principles that are supposed to govern trusts in general. But the Court is not …

Institutions And Economic Development, Ezra Rosser

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

INTRODUCTION: Though forty years have passed since the American Indian Law Review published Economic Development in Indian Country: What Are the Questions? by Professor Frank Pommersheim, many of the same challenges and questions about economic development remain. This brief Essay looks back at Pommersheim’s work, surveys the state of scholarship on economic development today, and offers a few ideas about the future of such work. To this day, economic development remains a backwater among law professors compared to sexier topics like criminal jurisdiction, civil authority over nonIndians, and whatever is the most recent opinion from the U.S. Supreme Court. But …