Digital Commons Network^™

Repurposing Pramlintide In Colorectal Cancer: Mechanistic Insights Into Metabolic Reprogramming, P53 Signaling, And Chemosensitivity In Hct-116 And Ht-29 Cell Lines, Rusul Ali Kadhim

Maaen Journal for Medical Sciences

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most fatal cancers in the world; acquired chemoresistance and an increasing prevalence of early-onset illness make treatment limited. This review investigates pramlintide, which is used in diabetes management, as a potential for repurposing in CRC treatment. According to the in vitro study on HCT-116 and HT-29 cell lines, the binding of pramlintide to the AMY3 receptors alters tumor glycolysis by inhibiting hexokinase II, thereby decreasing both the Warburg effect and the pentose phosphate pathway. The consequent NADPH depletion increases oxidative stress and makes CRC cells more susceptible to standard chemotherapeutics like oxaliplatin, irinotecan, …

Radiological And Chemical Safety Assessment Of Drinking Water From Treatment Plants And Rivers In Kut City, Iraq, Ahmed A. Alswaty, Hadi D. Alattabi

Karbala International Journal of Modern Science

Climate change and increasing anthropogenic activities, particularly wastewater discharge into rivers, have raised pollution levels in the water sources of Kut City, necessitating an assessment of the radiological and chemical safety of drinking water at the city's treatment plants. Thirteen water samples were collected, comprising ten treated and three raw water samples from the source rivers. An HPGe detector was used to measure the radionuclides ²¹⁴Bi, ²¹⁴Pb, ²¹²Bi, ²¹²Pb, ⁴⁰K, and ¹³⁷Cs. All measured radionuclides were below the minimum detectable activity (MDA). ICP-OES analysis supported these findings, as U concentrations in most samples were …

Facilitating Timely Hospice Referrals Using A Screening Toolkit In A Rural Hospital: A Quality Improvement Initiative, Jessica Muse

Doctoral Projects

End of life care is often a difficult time for patients, families, and caregivers. Hospice is a valuable resource for individuals who are considered terminally ill and have a life expectancy of six months or less. Many patients who are near the end present to acute care settings for treatment needs. While there are several clinical indicators that may suggest hospice care is the best plan of care for a patient, identifying hospice appropriate patients can be difficult in an acute care setting and there are currently no numerical assessment tools available in the literature that provides a quick reference …

An Eco-Inspired Emulsion Membrane Harnessed With Waste Vegetable Oil For Effective Separation Of Ibuprofen: Insights Into Stability, Performance, And Kinetics, Huma Warsi Khan, A. Vijaya Bhaskar Reddy, Parvez Alam Khan, Samsur Akm Rahman, Muhammad Moniruzzaman

Publications and Research

Emulsion liquid membranes (ELMs) have emerged as excellent alternatives for the separation and recovery of biologically active drugs (BADs) from industrial waste at trace concentrations. Conventional ELMs generally utilize toxic petroleum-based solvents (PBS) that pose environmental and health risks. Although virgin vegetable oils have been appeared as sustainable alternatives to PBS, their widespread application is limited by economic constraints, resource sustainability, and competition with the food supply. In contrast, waste vegetable oil (WVO) represents an abundant, low-cost, and eco-friendly alternative, yet its potential as a green diluent for ELMs remains largely unexplored. To address this challenge, present study investigated the …

Building Motivation Through A Christian-Based Vocational Sports Academy, Elasha E. Naylor-Cooper

Doctor of Strategic Leadership (DSL) Capstone Abstracts

Project Type: Business Proposal Capstone

Project Overview: CTA Academy - Christian Technology and Athletics Academy - is a proposed private Christian school designed to provide 6-12 grade students with an alternative educational pathway that integrates academic achievement, Christian formation, career preparation, athletics, wellness, and leadership development. The project responds to concerns surrounding student engagement, motivation, academic performance, limited access to affordable private education, and the separation of academic, vocational, spiritual, and athletic development within traditional educational models. CTA Academy proposes a diversified funding model, including scholarship-supported funds, college and business partnerships, donors, sponsors, and fundraisers. This model seeks to make …

Implementation Of A Six-Month Produce Prescription Program For A Rural Medicaid Population Increased Vegetable Consumption And Reduced Food Security In Washington State, Nicole Stendell Hollis, Tafere Belay, Alyssa Castillo, Lupita Silva, Deborah Guack

All Faculty Scholarship for the College of Education and Professional Studies

Objective

Methods

Voucher Reliance And Tuition Determination In Private K-12 Schools: A Quantitative Analysis Of Florida Schools Under 500 Students, Rebekah A. Kogelschatz

PhD in Education

The purpose of this quantitative survey study was to investigate the relationship between voucher dependency and tuition-setting practices among leaders of private K-12 schools in Florida with fewer than 500 students. Guided by resource dependence theory, the study examined school leaders’ perceptions of scholarship funding, tuition income, affordability, sustainability, timing, and flexibility in tuition-setting decisions, as well as the adequacy of current scholarship amounts. A quantitative, non-experimental survey design was used. The sample included 85 decision-making school leaders from private K-12 schools in Florida whose roles involved financial or tuition-setting decisions. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, reliability analysis, confirmatory …

Grieving While Becoming: Examining Where Grief, Whole Person Formation, And Student Support Meet, Tynia J. Albea

Papers

College is often a pivotal period in young adults’ lives. Adulthood may seem like a distant concept. However, grief and trauma appear to affect young adults significantly, often without a safe space to digest or comprehend. Thus, current student support may limit and disrupt a student’s ability to understand their emotional regulation, virtues, and identity. This analysis aims to understand how student support services provide resources and spaces for students experiencing grief and/or trauma and identify how grief intersects with student success. Using student development theory with an empathetic, trauma-informed lens, faculty and staff will be able to support students …

Retention Rates: A Qualitative Study Exploring Teachers’ Perspectives Of Teaching In Northeast Florida, Dawn J. Kell

Doctor of Education (Ed.D)

This qualitative phenomenological study explored workplace experiences and motivational factors influencing teacher retention among Northeast Florida charter school educators. With nearly half a million teachers leaving the classroom annually and approximately 41% leaving within their first five years, understanding why educators remain in the profession is imperative for sustaining student success and educational quality. The purpose of this study was to explore motivational factors that lead teachers to remain in the profession despite current challenges. Using a purposeful sampling method, 12 certified Northeast Florida charter school teachers participated in 30-minute semi-structured interviews conducted via Zoom. Each 30-minute interview was recorded, …

Beyond Satisfaction: Predictors And Correlates Of Marital Health, Erin C. Smalley

Doctor of Education (Ed.D)

This quantitative, nonexperimental, cross-sectional study evaluated factors associated with and predictive of marital health. Marital health was identified as a more holistic evaluator of marital connection and commitment, moving beyond individual satisfaction. The original sample was taken from the archived Marriage Health in America survey data. The sample included 3,808 United States adults. Participants completed a marital satisfaction index and a marital health measure, while simultaneously ranking 32 identified factors of marital health. The results found that love for each other was the strongest predictor of marital health, followed by communication through listening, respect, trust, and sexual intimacy. These findings …

Ai-Driven Biomarker Discovery & Progression Modeling For Precision Diagnosis Of Glaucoma, Cheng Huang

Computer Science and Engineering Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation presents a comprehensive study on the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) for glaucoma diagnosis and retinal image analysis. Leveraging multimodal imaging data including fundus photography, Optical Coherence Tomography Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) and Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography (OCTA), the research develops a suite of deep learning frameworks designed to detect early glaucomatous changes with high precision, robustness, and interpretability. A series of novel architectures are introduced, spanning vessel segmentation networks, biomarker discovery pipelines, and multimodal fusion models, all designed to enhance diagnostic accuracy and generalizability across diverse populations. To facilitate reproducible and scalable ophthalmic AI research, this work …

Enrollment Profile Report Fall 2026, Systems Intelligence And Data Analytics, University Of Nebraska At Omaha

Enrollment Reports

No abstract provided.

Dipl 1711ac: Introduction To International Relations, Brendan J. Balestrieri Ph.D.

Diplomacy Syllabi

This course aims to familiarize students with the foundational literature and theoretical frameworks that underpin the field of International Relations. We will integrate these elements by examining contemporary issues and significant historical events through the perspective of IR theory. The course starts with a basic historical review of International Relations study, progressing to the practical use of these theories to understand and interpret major occurrences in global politics.

By the end of this course, you will have:

- Obtained a working knowledge of the “big three” theoretical approaches to international relations and their constituent theories as well as the ability …

Dipl 1711: Introduction To International Relations, R. Joseph Huddleston Ph.D.

Diplomacy Syllabi

This course aims to familiarize students with the foundational literature and theoretical frameworks that underpin the field of International Relations. We will integrate these elements by examining contemporary issues and significant historical events through the perspective of IR theory. The course starts with a basic historical review of International Relations study, progressing to the practical use of these theories to understand and interpret major occurrences in global politics.

By the end of this course, you will:

• Discuss the crucial events of contemporary world politics (WWI-present).

• Argue the main schools of international relations theory and use them to analyze …

Dipl 4170 Aa/Na Topics In Economic Development, Omer Gokcekus Ph.D.

Diplomacy Syllabi

This course provides students with an in-depth analysis of five major areas of economic development: poverty, inequality, and social protection; gender and economic opportunity; education and human capital; institutions, governance, and corruption; and food security, agriculture, and development. For each topic, students will engage with scholarly research, learn how key development concepts are defined and measured, and examine what major development indicators capture—and what they may miss. Particular attention will be given to country specificity and initial conditions, recognizing that development problems and the effectiveness of policy interventions depend on a country’s economic, social, and institutional circumstances. Students will then …

Dipl 4101/5101 Senior/Honors Project, Martin S. Edwards Ph.D.

Diplomacy Syllabi

This class is the capstone of your undergraduate experience. As such, you will be drawing on the lessons that you have learned in DIPL 3800 to develop and execute a research project. The class will be a mix of one-on-one sessions as well as traditional class meetings. My expectation is for you to write a publishable quality manuscript that tests hypotheses head-to-head either qualitatively or quantitatively.

Dipl 6031 International Environmental Policy, Philip Moremen Ph.D.

Diplomacy Syllabi

This course will address the nature, content, and structure of international environmental policy and law.  The course will first familiarize students with international environmental problems and basic principles.  The course will then take up various specific topics, such as global warming, stratospheric ozone depletion, trade and environment, and forest protection.  Throughout, the course will apply interdisciplinary tools to help understand the international environmental regulatory system.  The course will explore the roles of different actors in that system, as well as the difficulties of negotiating and implementing agreements that form the rules of the system.

In terms of the learning goals …

Rethinking Behavior - Fall 2026, Midwest Symposium For Leadership In Behavior Disorders

ReThinking Behavior Magazine

A magazine for professionals serving children and youth with behavioral needs.

Fall 2026, Volume 10, Issue 1

Emergency Medicine Updates: The Physiologically Difficult Airway, Aaron J Lacy, Brit Long, Michael Gottlieb, Jarrod M Mosier

2020-Current year OA Pubs

INTRODUCTION: Airway management is an integral skill for emergency clinicians. While most of the focus is often on anatomic challenges, clinicians must also consider the unique physiologic challenges that risk decompensation during airway management, often termed the physiologically difficult airway.

OBJECTIVE: This paper evaluates key evidence-based updates concerning management of the physiologically difficult airway for the emergency clinician.

DISCUSSION: Peri-intubation complications in the emergency department are often driven by physiologic instability rather than anatomic difficulty. Key phenotypes of the physiologically difficult airway include hypotension, hypoxemia, metabolic acidemia, and right ventricular dysfunction, and are associated with high rates of physiologic collapse …

Cannabis Retailers' Marketing Practices And Compliance With State Regulations: A 2025 Point-Of-Sale Audit In 5 U.S. Cities, Carla J Berg, Cassidy R Loparco, Matthew E Rossheim, Morgan B Speer, Elizabeth Platt, Caitlin Davie, Hermela Amdeta, Darby Mihelich, Diane M Ndisebuye, Yuxian Cui, Patricia A Cavazos-Rehg, Y Tony Yang, Scott Burris

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Cannabis retail surveillance is crucial to inform regulations and enforcement efforts. This point-of-sale audit study examined marketing practices and compliance with age verification rules, required signage, and marketing restrictions among 161 cannabis retailers in 5 US cities in states authorizing nonmedical cannabis retail (Los Angeles [LA], California; Las Vegas [LV], Nevada; Denver, Colorado; Portland, Oregon; Seattle, Washington) in summer 2025. Descriptive and bivariate analyses characterized retailers overall and across cities. Overall, 84.5 % of retailers requested age verification upon entry (range: Seattle = 43.3 % to LV = 100 %); 8.1 % never verified (range: LV/Denver = 0 % to …

Using Electronic Health Record Audit Logs To Identify Pediatric Intensive Care Unit Teams, Liem M Nguyen, Stefanie S Sebok-Syer, Dane Jacobson, Karley Mariano, John Grunyk, Shelby Burk, Yasaman Nourkhalaj, Kimberley Kirk, Jochen Profit, Christian Rose, A Jay Holmgren, Thomas Kannampallil, Daniel Tawfik

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: Teamwork influences patient outcomes, but electronic health records (EHRs) do not reliably capture patient care team members, limiting its study. EHR audit logs provide insights into healthcare workers' workflows and may help identify patients' care team members.

OBJECTIVE: To develop, validate, and compare algorithms utilizing EHR audit logs to identify patient-centric primary teams (bedside nurse, frontline clinician, and attending physician) in pediatric intensive care units (ICUs).

METHODS: We observed rounds for 1931 patient days (development = 678; validation = 1253) across pediatric (PICU), neonatal (NICU) and cardiovascular (CVICU) ICUs at a quaternary children's hospital and documented each patient's daytime …

Spatial Bias In Quality Of Estimated Delivery Date Records In The Electronic Health Record, Abigail Lewis, Randi Foraker, Min Lian, Min Zhao, Inez Oh, Aditi Gupta, Antonina Frolova, Philip R O Payne

2020-Current year OA Pubs

OBJECTIVES: This study evaluates the quality of estimated delivery dates (EDD) captured in electronic health record (EHR) systems, focusing on identifying and quantifying bias in these estimates for patients seeking prenatal care.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: We measured spatial and racial biases in the completeness and concordance of EDDs recorded in the EHR for patients seeking prenatal care. Element presence and agreement were compared across the catchment area to identify spatial patterns of bias in EDD records.

RESULTS: We obtained 38 477 unique pregnancy episodes in the EHR representing 33 081 unique patients between 2018 and 2022. Clear spatial and racial …

Efficacy And Safety Of Frail Patients Treated With Ciltacabtagene Autoleucel In The Real World: A Center For International Blood And Marrow Transplant Research Analysis., Hira Mian, Muhammad Salman Faisal, Tiening Chen, Ruta Brazauskas, Temitope Oloyede, Nausheen Ahmed, Aimaz Afrough, Larry D Anderson, Rahul Banerjee, Jesus Berdeja, Aram Bidikian, Jakob Devos, Binod Dhakal, Ajoy Dias, Danai Dima, Yvonne A Efebera, Lohith Gowda, Doris K Hansen, Hamza Hashmi, Heather J Landau, Lazaros Lekakis, Abu-Sayeef Mirza, Ravi Narra, Krina Patel, Ashley E Rosko, Mark Schroeder, Surbhi Sidana, Saad Usmani, Marcelo C Pasquini, Taiga Nishihori, Othman Salim Akhtar, Meera Mohan

Oncology Articles

Background: Ciltacabtagene autoleucel (cilta-cel), an anti-B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA) chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapy, is approved for relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM).

Methods: Using the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research registry, this study evaluated outcomes of frail patients receiving commercial cilta-cel from March 2022 to December 2023. Frailty was defined by an adapted simplified score incorporating age, performance status, and comorbidities.

Results: Among 541 patients with available frailty status, 183 (33.8%) were frail and 358 (66.2%) were nonfrail. Overall response rates were comparable (frail 82.8% vs. nonfrail 88.5%). However, frail patients had inferior progression-free survival (PFS) (12-month …

Decoding Surface Chemistry Effects On Polystyrene Nanoplastic Fouling In Plasma-Grafted Pes Membranes With Distinct Functional Groups, Mohadeseh Najafi, Javad Farahbakhsh, Ebrahim Mahmoudi, Michael Johns, Masoumeh Zargar

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Nanoplastic (NP) fouling remains a key challenge for ultrafiltration (UF) membranes, yet systematic, controlled comparisons of how membrane functional groups govern NP-membrane interactions are still limited. Here, the role of membrane surface chemistry was systematically investigated using a controlled comparative framework based on plasma-grafted polyethersulfone (PES) UF membranes tailored with structurally comparable methacrylate monomers bearing distinct terminal functionalities, including mono-2-(methacryloyloxy)ethyl succinate (MMES, -COOH), N-[3-(dimethylamino)propyl] methacrylamide (DMAPMA, -N(CH3)2), and [2-(methacryloyloxy)ethyl]dimethyl-(3-sulfopropyl)ammonium hydroxide (SBMA, zwitterionic). Comprehensive characterisations supported successful surface grafting while preserving the membrane substructure. Fouling and separation were assessed using polystyrene (PS) NPs having different surface chemistries, i.e., PS, PS-COOH and …

Recommendations From Health Research For Children And Adolescents Living In The Kimberley Region Of Western Australia: A Scoping Review, Lisa Cannon, Elizabeth J. Elliott, Andrew Dossetor, Tracey W. Tsang, Md Irteja Islam, Alexandra L. Martiniuk, Habiba Naanai, Tuguy Esgin, Emily Carter, Lauren J. Rice

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Background: Aboriginal leaders in Western Australia’s Kimberley region have voiced concern that research conducted on their lands is not being adequately used to inform meaningful change. Objective: This scoping review, grounded in an Aboriginal-academic partnership, identifies the child and adolescent health-related research conducted in the region and summarises the authors’ recommendations for knowledge translation. Methods: Drawing on PRISMA-ScR guidelines, we conducted a comprehensive search of multiple databases for publications between January 1967 and June 2025, focusing on children aged ≤ 18 years. Data extraction was conducted using Covidence, and publications were categorised based on the International Classification of Diseases (11th …

Bemotrizinol And The Modernization Of Us Sunscreen Regulation, Umayr R. Shaikh, Christopher G. Richter, Leela K. Raj, Afrin Mirza, Harold William Higgins, Jane M. Grant-Kels

SKMC Student Presentations and Publications

No abstract provided.

Improving Assessment And Documentation Adherence In An Age-Friendly Health System With A Focus On "What Matters", Thelma I. Arzu

Doctor of Nursing Practice Final Project Abstract

Purpose

To improve adherence in assessing and documenting “What Matters” (WM) using a standardized assessment and documentation process.

Background

The project was implemented within a large Age-Friendly Health System (AFHS) in Houston, Texas, comprised of a geriatric outpatient clinic and a House Call program. Although the 4Ms of AFHS were regularly documented in the outpatient setting, there was limited documentation in the House Call Program.

Methodology

A standardized process was established with clinician stakeholders to assess and document WM using simplified assessment criteria, the electronic medical record (EMR) 4Ms documentation phrase, and a designated location for the 4Ms phrase in …

Editor-In-Chief's Note, Surekha K. Rao

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

No abstract provided.

Volume 29, Issue 1 Full Contents

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

No abstract provided.

You’Ve Got Junk Mail: Prevalence Of And Factors Related To Sending And Receiving Unsolicited Nudes, Aimee Adam, Brittany Sizemore, Todd Manson

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

Unsolicited nudes are common, but most of the research in this area has focused on the motivations of men sending such images and the reactions of women who receive them. In this online study, we attempted to investigate the prevalence of sending and receiving unsolicited sexual images in a broader population, and variables related to this behavior. In our sample of 357 participants, we found few people (less than 20%) acknowledged ever having sent such images, and no difference in whether people had ever sent unsolicited nudes based on gender identity. However, we found that most people (almost 68%) had …