Digital Commons Network^™

R&D Efficiency Of Drug Development At Universities, John Aylworth

Theses and Dissertations

Research and development (R&D) efficiency in the pharmaceutical industry is a measure of the relative value of new and novel products cast against the costs required to make them. For six decades, the R&D efficiency of large pharmaceutical companies has declined to critical levels. Most recently, nearly half of the companies studied were experiencing negative R&D efficiency, or products whose costs to bring to market outweigh the value they offer both commercially as well as to the health and well-being of society (Schuhmacher et al., 2023). One of the most prominent consequences of the inefficiencies plaguing the drug development industry …

The Cognitive And Positive Aspects Of Language Brokering Among Latinx Individuals: An Integrative Systematic Review, Jacqueline Juarez

Theses and Dissertations

English has been the prominent language spoken in the United States; however, with the rise of the Spanish language, it is imperative to address how Spanish speakers navigate spaces. Research has found mixed findings about the outcomes of serving as a language broker. This integrative systematic review aimed to identify and analyze literature on Latinx language brokers regarding cognitive strategies and abilities and the positive processes and perceptions that contribute to enhancing mental health. This review also sought to focus on factors that may contribute to resiliency over time for Latinx language brokers. A total of 31 studies were included …

The Use Of Humor In Mental Healthcare: A Systematic Review, Blake Song

Theses and Dissertations

Humor has been observed, practiced, and documented as an essential feature of society for thousands of years. However, there is still no formalized or widely referenced clinical guidance on how to effectively and appropriately utilize humor in mental healthcare despite ample research over the last 70 years noting the many potential benefits. This lack of guidance may, at least in part, be due to unresolved concerns pertaining to the use of humor in counseling and healthcare settings. For instance, humor is believed by some to be potentially distracting or undermining to the counseling process if used inappropriately. This continued absence …

Self-Compassion And Leadership Effectiveness At Work, Janette Muñoz

Theses and Dissertations

Leaders are currently facing unprecedented times in the workforce, with rapid technological advancements, complexity with geopolitical implications and economic fluctuations, and employee disengagement. Through these changes, leaders are expected to make business decisions, guide their teams, and deliver business results. To navigate these complexities, the role of business leaders is evolving, making self-compassion and associated practices potentially important for leaders. Complexity and the speed of change may lead to an increase in challenges and mistakes experienced at work, actual or perceived, which may lead to decreased internal capacity, higher stress and potentially burnout. This study explores the relationship between self-compassion …

Structural And Functional Analysis Of Translation Inhibition By Betacoronavirus Non-Structural Protein 1, Michael Brandon Vetick

Yale Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Dissertations

humans: SARS-CoV, SARS-CoV-2, and MERS-CoV. Key to their viral lifecycle is Non-structural protein 1 (Nsp1), an essential pathogenicity factor that potently restricts the cell’s antiviral response. Despite poor protein sequence conservation of Nsp1 between evolutionarily distant β-CoVs, these proteins have proven to be highly conserved both functionally and structurally. Nsp1 functions by inhibiting host gene expression through contacts made with two mRNA ribonucleoprotein (mRNP) complexes: the initiating ribosome and the Nxf1/Nxt1 mRNA nuclear export complex. It is believed that two Nsp1 functions occur on the ribosome: Nsp1 is able to coordinate cleavage of the host mRNA and Nsp1 is able …

On Developing A Behavioral Paradigm To Measure Intolerance Of Uncertainty: The Ambiguous Approach Index, Heather Clark

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Research in clinical psychology over the last 40 years has solidified intolerance of uncertainty (IU) as an important transdiagnostic etiological and maintenance factor of affective psychopathology. Theoretically, IU is the dispositional cognitive tendency underlying anxiety related avoidance behaviors, such as worry, checking, and hypervigilance which lead to increased functional impairment. IU is associated with increased severity of numerous psychological concerns including anxiety, depression, and other commonly comorbid conditions. Further, higher levels of IU are found in clinical than non-clinical samples, emphasizing its role in mental health outcomes. However, behavioral paradigms used to differentiate between individuals of different diagnostic groups or …

Structure And Function Of Sulfated Fucans And Fucosylated Chondroitin Sulfates: Therapeutic And Mechanistic Insights, Marwa Farrag

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) are heteropolysaccharides widely exploited in the clinic and as molecular models in biomedical research. Marine-derived GAG analogs, particularly sulfated fucans and fucosylated chondroitin sulfates exhibit unique and diverse glycan motifs that are not found in the typical mammalian GAGs. The distinctive structures of the marine sulfated glycans (MSGs) not only expand the structural landscape of GAG-like molecules but also provide valuable platforms to elucidate structure-activity relationships and explore their potential as novel scaffolds for glycan-based therapeutic development. This dissertation presents the isolation, structural characterization, controlled depolymerization, and functional evaluation of several MSGs, highlighting their therapeutic potential, particularly those …

On Planar Brownian Motion Singularly Tilted Through A Point Potential, Barkat Mian

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

We construct a family of time-inhomogeneous two-dimensional diffusion processes, defined over a finite time interval [0, T]. These diffusions have transition density functions that are given by the integral kernels of the semigroup corresponding to the two-dimensional Schrödinger operator with a point potential at the origin. Although, in a few ways, our processes of interest are closely related to two-dimensional Brownian motion, they have a singular drift pointing in the direction of the origin that is strong enough to enable the possibility of visiting there with positive probability. Our main focus is on characterizing a local time process at the …

"Keep Coming Back!": How Recovering Addicts Use Narcotics Anonymous For Social Rehabilitation., Taylor Leigh Ransom

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the role of Narcotics Anonymous (NA) in shaping identity transformation and social reintegration among individuals in recovery. Using an ethnographic approach, including participant observation at NA meetings and semi-structured interviews with members, along with textual analysis of Narcotics Anonymous literature, this research explores how NA fosters social recovery by providing a structured yet flexible space for identity reconstruction. Through shared narratives, rituals, and peer support, members navigate the transition from an “addict” identity to one centered on personal accountability, community, and long-term abstinence from drugs.

By situating NA within broader sociological discussions of addiction recovery, social capital, …

Beyond Guns Vs. Butter: Gendered Dynamics In Security Policy Preferences, Elaine Elizabeth Tagert

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation challenges the foundational assumptions of the “guns versus butter” debate by recentering gender, insecurity, and state legitimacy in the analysis of public opinion. Drawing on over 300,000 individual responses across 80 countries, and original survey data from post-conflict Colombia, it demonstrates that the commonly held belief that women are more likely to prioritize welfare over security is both context-dependent and empirically unstable. Rather than reflecting innate preferences, gendered policy attitudes emerge from lived experiences of violence, inequality, and institutional trust.

The first empirical chapter reveals a striking reversal of conventional expectations in the Global South: in regions where …

Measurement Of Forces In Standing Wave Ultrasonic Fields, Milan Rai

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The acoustic radiation force provides the physical mechanism for the non-contact levitation and manipulation of particles in ultrasonic standing wave fields. This thesis presents a study on the measurement, simulation, and validation of acoustic radiation forces acting on spherical particles levitated in air. The motivation for this work is to provide high-precision measurements of acoustic radiation forces in trapping systems, which are of particular interest in biomedical manipulation, materials science, and contactless assembly.

The study employs a three-part methodology: theoretical analysis, experimental observation, and numerical simulation. Theoretically, the acoustic radiation force was derived from Gor’kov’s potential (valid for ka « …

Navigating The Neighborhood: Community, Identity, And Gentrification In Crown Heights, Brooklyn, Kayla Karyl Thomas

Yale Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Dissertations

Crown Heights, Brooklyn, New York. This dissertation is a multi-method community study focusing on 21st century gentrification, concurrent socio-political changes, and their relationship to the ways residents understand and negotiate routine interpersonal relationships. The empirical core of the dissertation consists of three distinct yet interrelated papers on the social landscape of the contemporary Crown Heights neighborhood. These papers detail a range of approaches that residents adopt to better understand their own experiences of discrimination, gentrification, and efforts at reconstructing community and responding to change. Complemented by a chapter on the history of a single ‘representative’ Crown Heights apartment building, its …

Majority Dynamics On Random Graphs With Almost Balanced Initial Settings: The Power Of Few, Hoang Bao Linh Tran

Yale Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Dissertations

A community of n people participate in a parliamentary election with two major parties. Every person initially supports one side, and with each day, changes their opinion to match the majority among their friends. This process, commonly known as Majority Dynamics in literature, and similar processes, have been studied in many different contexts, including Statistical Physics, Computer Science, Economics and Ecology, as discussed in the influential survey by Mossel and Tamuz (2014).

Tran and Vu (2019) considered the process on a Erdös-Rényi G(n, p) random graph and discovered the "Power of Few" phenomenon: Starting from a …

Leveraging Large-Language Models As Collaborative Reasoning Partners To Enhance Scientific Workflow, Douglas B. Craig

Wayne State University Dissertations

The rise of Large Language Models (LLMs) has transformed artificial intelligence, offering advanced capabilities in text generation, natural language understanding, and multi-modal interactions. However, their use as standalone tools or as perceived repositories of static knowledge has limited their potential in real-world applications, especially in critical domains like healthcare and scientific research, where transparency, explainability, and accountability are paramount. This research addresses these limitations by conceptualizing LLMs as reasoning engines within a hybrid framework that integrates retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) and case-based reasoning (CBR) within a note-taking application.

The study introduces a novel system, LmRaC, designed to enhance the reliability, explainability, …

Using Genetically Heterogenous Mice To Identify Regulators Of Immune Checkpoint Blockade Response, Justin Hackett

Wayne State University Dissertations

Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors (ICI) have dramatically improved patient outcomes in metastatic lung cancer, metastatic melanoma, subtypes of renal cancer and others. However, despite the clinical success, most patients still fail to have a durable response. Understanding what determines response and predicting who will respond to therapy is essential to improving patient outcomes. To investigate genetic underpinnings of ICI response we utilized F1 crosses of C57Bl/6 with Diversity Outbred mice (DOB6F1) and multiple Collaborative Cross (CC) strains to identify and validate (respectively) genetic loci that associated with response to ICI. The genomic data suggested that the lactation and immunomodulatory peptide prolactin …

The Role Of Fruiting Bodies In Protecting A Community Of Myxococcus Xanthus Spores From The Environment, Dave Lall

Wayne State University Dissertations

Environmental microorganisms have evolved a variety of strategies to survive fluctuations in environmental conditions, including the production of biofilms and differentiation into spores. Myxococcus xanthus are ubiquitous soil bacteria that produce starvation-induced multicellular fruiting bodies filled with environmentally resistant spores (a specialized biofilm). Isolated spores have been shown to be more resistant than vegetative cells to heat, ultraviolet radiation, and desiccation. The evolutionary advantage of producing spores inside of fruiting bodies is not clear. Here, we examine a hypothesis that the fruiting body provides additional protection from environmental insults. We developed a high-throughput method to compare the recovery (outgrowth) of …

Environmental Pollution And Early-Life Metabolic Programming, Lisa Koshko

Wayne State University Dissertations

Substantial evidence demonstrates that parental pollutant exposures can induce harmful health effects in the offspring, including the predisposition to Type II Diabetes. As rates of Type II Diabetes continue to rise in younger populations, a crucial gap lies in understanding the role of parental influence in the etiology of later-life metabolic disease. Therefore, the central goal of this work was to determine how early life exposure to smoking level benzene, an endocrine-disrupting air pollutant, affects the metabolic health of offspring, and to identify potential developmental mechanisms involved in disease susceptibility. This goal was achieved using two models of early life …

The Category Is: Body: A Pcsim Approach To Culture-Specific Bid Healing Programming For Bgcm, Gabriel A. Delong

Wayne State University Dissertations

Black gay cismen (BGCM) are among the highest population demographics to experience body image dissatisfaction (BID) and among the least likely to seek healing programming. Culture-specific experiences such as sexual racism have been linked to body image dissatisfaction among BGCM. While the harmful experiences of sexual racism have been studied among BGCM, body image healing programming continues to address the needs of predominantly White straight ciswomen. Additionally, medical mistrust, identity preservation, and culturally incongruent healing practices have been linked to reasons BGCM are reluctant to seek healing practices. This dissertation aims to address the gap in existing literature by employing …

Designing For Neurodiversity In Web Spaces, Kelly Getz, Kimberly Shotick

Faculty Books & Book Chapters

In this chapter, we share how we carried out library website usability studies with neurodivergent students. The research is situated within the Social Model of Disability and places value on students' experiences challenges. Through usability studies and inclusive web service redesign plans, we center the opinions and expectations of neurodivergent student users in ways neurotypical users have been centered and designed around in the past. The chapter will share methods and best practices for conducting usability studies with neurodivergent individuals as well as findings from our own study.

Feasibility Of Utilizing Native Grasses And Forbs In Lieu Of Exotic Cool Season Grasses On Roadside Rights-Of-Way, Wesley Bollinger, Rabin Bhattarai, Jeffrey W. Matthews

JTRP Technical Reports

We assessed the status of 34 native species plantings along roadsides in Indiana and Illinois and evaluated soil conditions, distance from road, and surrounding landscape cover to determine which factors led to successful long-term establishment of plantings. Cover by seeded native species and native species overall increased with distance from road and decreased with increasing soil nitrate and phosphorous. Number of native species and seeded native species increased with distance from road and greater seed mix diversity. In contrast, richness of non-native, non-seeded species was greater at shorter distances from road. Across all sites, 84 of the 150 native species …

Reducing The Dependency On Chlorides And Impacts, Ajuna P. John, Hoon C. Shin, Isaiah C. Mwamba, David J. Yu, Amisha Shah, Samuel Labi

JTRP Technical Reports

This study examined the performance and environmental impacts of various deicing materials, assessed their short- and long-term effects on infrastructure, soil, and water quality, and identified opportunities for operational improvement within INDOT’s winter maintenance practices. The study used a comprehensive methodology that included an extensive literature review, a detailed survey of INDOT personnel (both field crews and supervisory staff), in-depth interviews, and rigorous statistical analysis. Additionally, a multi-criteria decision analysis framework was developed and used to evaluate alternative deicing materials based on performance, cost, environmental impact, and ease of application. The results and findings suggest that sodium chloride remains the …

Assessing Genetic Diversity And Population Structure In The Imperiled Aconitum Reclinatum (White Monkshood), An Endemic Wildflower Of Central Appalachia, Diamanda A. Zizis

Master’s Theses

Aconitum reclinatum, white monkshood (Ranunculaceae), is a Pennsylvania critically imperiled plant species found in five states of the Appalachian region of the United States: Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, and Tennessee. This plant is adapted to cool, moist environments but faces threats from increasing habitat loss, deer browse, logging, and changes in rainfall and temperature associated with climate change. Comprehensive knowledge of A. reclinatum genetic population structure remains limited. To address this, we collaborated with Natural Heritage programs within the range of A. reclinatum to sample populations across the species distribution and generate a genotyping-by-sequencing data set of …

Proceedings Of The Tenth Annual Indiana Stem Education Conference: Generational Advances Through Stem Education, William S. Walker Iii, Lynn A. Bryan, S Selcen Guzey

Indiana STEM Education Conference

The Proceedings of the Tenth Annual Indiana STEM Education Conference are edited by the Center for Advancing the Teaching and Learning of STEM (CATALYST, https://www.education.purdue.edu/catalyst/) at Purdue University. The theme for the 2025 conference is Generational Advances through STEM Education. This year’s conference provides opportunities to learn about effective STEM education strategies, curriculum, and resources to engage students by considering the advances and impact of STEM.

Psychosocial Correlates Of Hiv Prevention, Care, And Well-Being Among Older Women Aging With Hiv, Thi Vu

Yale Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Dissertations

Background: Approximately 54% of the nearly 1.1 million people living with diagnosed HIV in the United States are aged 50 and older. From 2015 to 2019, diagnoses among women ages 55 years and older increased by 7% while diagnoses among other age groups decreased. In 2019, women made up 19% of all HIV diagnoses. Despite advances in HIV science and education, there is still a dearth of research focused on the growing population of older women with HIV. Durvasula’s Contextualized Model for HIV/AIDS Care and Prevention for Older Women highlights that older women with HIV face different barriers to care, …

A Strategy To Address Youth Homelessness In The Minneapolis Metro Area For The Southview Seventh-Day Adventist Church, Sean Lee

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

The Seventh-day Adventist Church’s teaching on serving a vulnerable neighbor is a crucial foundation of the identity of church members as the disciples of Jesus. Therefore, each congregation needs to be aware of the needs of the community it serves. Furthermore, it is crucial to identify vulnerable neighbors and develop targeted strategies to address their specific needs and issues. According to government reports and media coverage on the issue of youth homelessness in the Minneapolis and St. Paul metro area, youth homelessness is an existing issue, even though resources are invested to address it. Moreover, research shows that the …

Volunteering And Spiritual Practices: A Cross-Country Analysis In The Seventh-Day Adventist Context, Elbert Kuhn

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

Although the number of Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) volunteers worldwide has increased dramatically, the Church continues to face challenges in engaging people, particularly young adults, in volunteer and mission projects on a global scale. While interest in volunteering is growing, especially in countries within the southern hemisphere, the percentage of participation remains disproportionately small in comparison to the global church membership. Given this disparity, there is a pressing need to research the impact of the volunteer experience on spiritual practices and discipline. Understanding how volunteering influences young adults’ spiritual growth is critical to developing strategies that can effectively engage more …

The Mordecai-Esther Mentorship Initiative: A Cross-Gender Mentorship Model For Commissioned Female Pastors In South Central Conference, Latina Carriger

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

In the South Central Conference of Seventh-day Adventists (SCC), while male pastors receive formal mentorship through the ministerial internship program leading up to ordination, female pastors—who are only commissioned and not ordained—often experience a lack of continued mentorship beyond commissioning. This absence hinders their professional development, limits leadership opportunities, and contributes to feelings of isolation. The current mentorship framework does not adequately support the ongoing growth of female pastors in a context where ordination is not extended to women, thereby creating a gap in pastoral leadership development and equity.

Method

This project utilized a qualitative case study design to …

Beyond The Bench: Historical Injustices And Future Pathways For Florida’S Family Court, David J. Blum

Honors Undergraduate Theses

This thesis examines systemic inequities in Florida’s family law system, focusing on how legal doctrines, discretionary practices, and enforcement patterns disadvantage unwed and noncustodial fathers. Drawing on statutory analysis, case law, empirical studies, and psychological research, it evaluates several reforms designed to promote fairness while protecting child welfare. These include mandatory paternity testing at birth, a rebuttable presumption of equal custody, stronger enforcement of visitation orders, equitable tax restructuring, and improved training for legal professionals. Current Voluntary Acknowledgment of Paternity (VAP) procedures often create binding obligations without confirming biological parentage, resulting in long-term emotional, legal, and financial consequences. Research shows …

The Post-Alert Lexicon: A Multiphased Study To Develop Content For Post-Alert Messages, Jeannette Sutton, Hugh D. Walpole, Micki Olson, Lauren B. Cain, Savanah Olivas, Bruce Pollock, Nicholas Waugh

Emergency Preparedness, Homeland Security, and Cybersecurity Faculty Scholarship

Using a multi-phased, mixed methods approach, grounded in theory on alerts and warnings, the Post-Alert Lexicon serves as a companion to the Warning Lexicon to provide evidence-based guidance on how to construct a post-alert message for 45 hazards and missing person events. We draw from the results of quantitative content analyses of a census of post-alert messages issued as Wireless Emergency Alerts from 2012-2022, and public message testing experiments for three hazard types (wildfire, earthquake, and bomb threat), to find that a focus on hazard resolution and public action, rather than the commonly employed language of “all clear,” increases message …

Pesticide And Pathogen Exposure Causes Idiosyncratic Gene Expression Responses Across Four Diverse North American Bumble Bee Species, Rubén Martín-Blázquez, Sydney A. Cameron, Austin C. Calhoun, James P. Strange, Ben M. Sadd

Faculty Publications – Biological Sciences

Bumble bee (Bombus Latreille) populations of certain species have declined precipitously in North America over several decades. Hypotheses for declines include exposure to the pathogen Nosema bombi and neonicotinoid pesticides. Importantly, populations of some bumble bee species remain stable despite their presumed exposure to these same stressors. We hypothesise that declining and stable species exhibit distinct responses to N. bombi and neonicotinoids, detectable as differential gene expression profiles. To test this, we exposed larvae of Bombus occidentalis (declining) and B. impatiens (stable) to N. bombi and to the neonicotinoid imidacloprid, plus a combination of both. RNA-seq analysis revealed almost …