Digital Commons Network^™

Well-Being Despite Adversity: A Portfolio Approach To Understanding Resilience Among Autistic Adults, Krista Rose

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

Autistic individuals, across the lifespan, face increased exposure to stressful, adverse, and potentially traumatic experiences. These experiences pose a negative impact on well-being and quality of life. Prevailing risk-based models are anchored in deficit-focused conceptualizations and provide limited insight into autistic individuals’ experiences afteradversity, highlighting the important shift towards strength-based models within resilience. Although resilience is a crucial topic to promote positive outcomes and well-being among autistic individuals, existing research is limited, lacks an integrated framework, and has not yet been investigated in the context of stressful, adverse, or potentially traumatic experiences, despite the deleterious effect these experiences pose …

The Role Of Δ-Containing Gabaa Receptors In Modulating Experimental Kainic Acid-Induced Seizures In Adult Mice, Julia Gudis

FCRH Honors Program Theses

Epilepsy, a neurological disorder characterized by recurrent seizures, is often driven by hyperexcitable neural circuits that result from an imbalance between excitatory and inhibitory signaling. Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) is the primary inhibitory neurotransmitter in the central nervous system and is essential for maintaining neuronal excitability. One mechanism through which GABA exerts inhibitory control is via δ-subunit–containing γ-aminobutyric acid type A receptors (δ-GABAARs), which mediate tonic inhibition by providing steady background suppression of neuronal activity. δ-GABAARs are particularly enriched in the DG, where they help regulate the excitability of granule neurons and preserve the DG’s gating function. This project will test …

The Manifestation Of Antihaitianismo In Abinader’S Dominican Political Atmosphere, Isabella Alcantara

FCRH Honors Program Theses

In the past decade, Haitian migration has become central to Dominican political discourse. This shift is particularly evident under President Luis Abinader’s administration, which has overseen a sharp increase in restrictive border enforcement and citizenship measures targeting Haitian migrants fleeing escalating humanitarian crises. While existing scholarship on Dominican nationalism highlights the historical role of antihaitianismo in shaping exclusionary state practices, less attention has been paid to how contemporary elite rhetoric reproduces these dynamics in more indirect, coded ways. Drawing on theories of symbolic politics and securitization, this study examines how state discourse constructs Haitian migrants within national narratives. It asks: …

Science Sojourners: The (Un)Making Of Women Scientists From China To America, Jane Jia-Yin Wang

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

Science is often imagined as a borderless profession in which knowledge, careers, and talent circulate freely across national boundaries. Yet scientific careers remain embedded within institutions that correspond to immigration regimes, geopolitical tensions, and unequal social structures. Drawing on 32 in-depth interviews with early-career Chinese women scientists trained in the U.S., this dissertation examines how globally mobile scientists navigate decisions about careers, migration, and everyday life between China and the U.S.

Rather than treating migration as a series of discrete decisions driven by labor markets or state policies, this dissertation argues that career and life orientations are fundamentally intertwined through …

Advancing Data Extraction Workflows For Single-Case Design Meta-Analysis Using Large Language Models, Yaosheng Lou

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

Single-case experimental designs (SCEDs) are a form of longitudinal research that is particularly valuable for studying marginalized and underrepresented populations. Meta-analysis plays an essential role in synthesizing evidence across studies and enhancing the generalizability of findings. However, as interest in SCEDs grows and the evidence base expands, conducting meta-analyses has become increasingly labor-intensive and time-consuming. This dissertation addresses these challenges by examining the applicability of large language models (LLMs) for data extraction and meta-analytic dataset compilation in the context of SCED meta-analysis. Because LLM performance is influenced by model selection, prompt design, and the specific materials being extracted, this dissertation …

A Cross-Cultural Study Of Parenting Styles And Involvement In Bullying Of Children With And Without Sen, Tansu Ince Cakan

School of Law, Humanities and Social Sciences Theses

This study explores the relationship between parenting styles and children's involvement in bullying, focusing on children with and without Special Educational Needs (SEN) in inclusive education settings in England and Türkiye. While bullying has been widely studied, most research has primarily examined typically developing children, leaving a gap in understanding the experiences of children with SEN. This study addresses this gap by comparing the impact of parenting styles on bullying experiences across both groups and cultural contexts.A mixed-methods approach was employed, combining quantitative and qualitative data collection. The quantitative phase included a questionnaire completed by 217 parents in Türkiye and …

The Impact Of Trade Liberalisation On Human Rights To Freshwater For Domestic Uses In The Developing World: An Examination Of Nigeria., Dickson Esonarae

School of Law, Humanities and Social Sciences Theses

AbstractName: Dickson Efosa Esonarae.Title: The Impact of Trade Liberalisation on Human Rights to Freshwater for domestic uses in the Developing World: An Examination of Nigeria.Freshwater is a vital life-sustaining resource. Though considered basic in developed countries, it is often scarce and mostly of inadequate quality in the developing world (Global South), with the WHO and UNICEF Report estimating about 1.1 billion people globally lacking access. Consequently, several countries are determined to provide freshwater for their people but often hampered by financial constraints for the requisite infrastructure. Considering this limitation, the International Economic Institutions (IEIs) identified the private sector as the …

Exploring Mathematics Texts In A Further Education College, Rajdulari Pettitt

School of Law, Humanities and Social Sciences Theses

Learning mathematics is a challenge for many learners in Further Education. It is also a requirement since Government policy stipulates that Further Education (FE) learners in England, who have achieved a General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) Mathematics grade 3 or lower, are required to continue studying this subject alongside their vocational courses. As a core subject, mathematics includes numbers, shapes, patterns and statistics with progression generally from concrete to abstract form; mathematics texts include specific vocabulary such as probability trees and procedures such as calculations using decimals. Engagement with mathematics has been shown to be related to motivation, confidence …

‘The Limits Of The Landscape: A Critical Examination Of Outdoor Learning, Self-Regulation, And Semh Within Neoliberal Schooling’, Nicola Clayton

School of Law, Humanities and Social Sciences Theses

This doctoral thesis critically examines a specialised outdoor learning intervention for primary pupils with significant Social, Emotional, and Mental Health (SEMH) needs who are at risk of exclusion. It assesses the intervention’s implementation and its efficacy in supporting these pupils' capacity for self-regulation and stress management.The study is situated amidst escalating global child mental health concerns and recent English educational policy shifts that mandate schools to actively foster pupil well-being. Exploring outdoor education as a widely cited approach for promoting positive mental health, this research engages with established social theories, particularly those of Bernstein and Bourdieu, to critique the wider …

Exploring The Reading Motivation And Reading Experiences Of Secondary School Students With Dyslexia In England, Ahmet Kaan Alper

School of Law, Humanities and Social Sciences Theses

This research examines how a small group of secondary school students with dyslexia in England make sense of their reading experiences and motivation to read across school, home and everyday settings. It responds to concerns that literacy policy and practice foreground accuracy, speed and comparison, leaving limited space for reading for pleasure on students’ own terms. Drawing on Michel Foucault’s concepts, the study treats dyslexia and literacy as historically and institutionally produced categories and explores how discourses, norms and accountability regimes shape what counts as legitimate reading and a motivated reader. The research is grounded in a relativist ontology and …

Safe Family Therapy Activities And The Emotional Well-Being Of Parents Of Autistic Children, Gamze Camci

School of Law, Humanities and Social Sciences Theses

This thesis addresses a critical gap in the existing literature on the emotional well-being of parents of autistic children by applying SAFE family therapy activities grounded in the Narrative Attachment Therapy approach through a three-cycle action research design. Stage 1 involved 3 parents as primary participants, with their children present during selected sessions. Stage 2 included 2 families; the primary focus was on 3 parents across these families. Stage 3 engaged 5 therapists. Data were collected through interviews, diaries, questionnaires and therapy recordings. Data from interviews and journals were analysed thematically, whereas questionnaires were analysed idiographically. The first and second …

Navigating The Digital Shift In Mozambique: Teacher Agency And Digital Learning In Schools, Clive Ruraca

School of Law, Humanities and Social Sciences Theses

The educational technology industry frequently promotes the idea of a significant paradigm shift, proposing that technology can supplant traditional, transmission-based pedagogies such as ‘tell and practice’ approaches. In theory, this perspective positions digital tools as catalysts for systemic educational reform, capable of replacing rote learning with dynamic, technology-supported models (Voogt et al., 2013; Wang et al., 2024; Casilli & Posada, 2019). Employing an interpretative, empirical methodology, involving questionnaires and interviews with secondary school teachers. Data from this study are used to explore teachers’ experiences with digital learning tools through the lens of Activity Theory. This study examines the digital shift …

Rethinking Remimazolam: Reconciling Regulatory Positioning With Clinical Reality, Theodora Wingert, J Robert Sneyd

More Faculty of Health Research

Goyal and colleagues share a large United States health system’s experience of 9431 cases of real-world remimazolam use, offering insight into current practice patterns, recovery times, and accurate adverse event rates. The authors report rapid recovery after remimazolam, including shorter time to post-anaesthesia care unit discharge readiness and faster return to baseline on the Richmond Agitation–Sedation Scale following flumazenil administration, with a critical event rate of 0.7%. Interesting practice patterns were observed, including frequent co-administration with other anaesthetics rather than as a sole agent. Although only licensed for procedural sedation in the United States, the authors reported extensive use of …

Safe Practice Guidance And Brief Manual Revised, Becky Stancer, Rudi Dallos

School of Law, Humanities and Social Sciences

Revised and updated practice manual for SAFE2 website

Policy Brief For All-Party Parliamentary Group (Appg) On Autism: National Implementation Of Systemic Family Therapy For Autism, Becky Stancer

School of Law, Humanities and Social Sciences

Addressing the Crisis of Premature Mortality and Family Trauma in Autism through Systemic Intervention.

The Role Of Conflicting Cognitions In Changing Hazardous Consumer Behaviour, Krzysztof Kubacki, Krzysztof Stepaniuk, Dariusz Siemieniako, Karolina Małagocka, Chrystyna Misiewicz

Plymouth Business School

Despite diverse approaches deployed worldwide to address harmful alcohol consumption, understanding binge drinking as a hazardous consumption behaviour remains a pressing issue in marketing and consumer behaviour research. Thus, this study examines the role of cognitive dissonance – and its absence – in facilitating transitions between different phases of binge drinking. Drawing on 38 biographical interviews conducted in Australia, the Netherlands, Poland, and the United States, we identify six instances where cognitive dissonance, or the absence thereof, contributes to the transition into, between, and out of phases of binge drinking. By examining conflicting cognitions that emerge from the gaps between …

Educational Interventions To Prepare Undergraduate Students For Out-Of-Hours Practice As A Newly Qualified Doctor In The United Kingdom: A Scoping Review, Alex Gordon, Molly Parkinson, Rosanna Watts, Kamal El-Badawi, Erin Dawson, Rohan Chiktara, Lorna Burns, Nicola Brennan

Peninsula Dental School

Background: In the United Kingdom (UK), newly qualified doctors are routinely responsible for out-of-hours (OOH) care, often managing acutely unwell patients with limited supervision. Despite national recommendations encouraging OOH experience during medical school training, there is no formal curriculum for OOH practice. Objectives: This scoping review aimed to identify the range of educational interventions designed to prepare UK medical students for OOH clinical responsibilities and assess their reported effects on perceived and actual preparedness. Methods: Following Joanna Briggs Institute methodology, a systematic search of seven databases and grey literature sources was conducted. Eligible studies involved UK-based medical students and reported …

A Pilot Study Assessing The Oral Microbiome In Women Of Menopausal Age: Do Oral Nitrate–Reducing Bacteria Play A Role?, Katie Muddiman, Amazon Doble, Abish Stephen, Raul Bescos Garcia, Charlotte Illsley, Tomas Nicholas, Sally Hanks, Lisa Du Toit, Zoe Brookes

Peninsula Dental School

Introduction The links between oral health and female ageing are poorly understood, but many changes occur in the oral cavity of menopausal women that affect quality of life, and few current oral health interventions consider gender as part of their approach. The aim of this pilot study was to test the hypothesis that the oral microbiome and microenvironment change during female ageing and are thus worthy of further consideration both experimentally and clinically. Methods This observational pilot study retrospectively assessed women aged 18 to 89 years (n = 60) attending a UK primary care dental school facility for blood pressure …

Seeing Anxiety: Ecological Video Ethnography And Simulation To Understand Anxiety And Decision-Making In Dental Care, Mona Nasser, Hannah Drayson, Sally Hanks, Nicholas Peres, Michael Punt

Peninsula Dental School

BACKGROUND: Dental anxiety is a widespread barrier to care, often contributing to appointment avoidance, treatment disruption, and emotional strain for both patients and clinicians. While extensively studied as a psychological trait, less attention has been paid to how anxiety manifests situationally and relationally, through non-verbal, affective, and spatial cues within clinical encounters. Moreover, in certain contexts, such affective signals can intersect with decision-making processes, shaping how patients interpret, engage with, or withdraw from clinical choices.

OBJECTIVE: To explore how anxiety manifests within the micro-choreography of dental encounters, develop a taxonomy of 'anxious tells', and assess the utility of ecological video …

Long Covid And Cardiovascular Diseases Among U.S. Adults: Results From The U.S. Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, Geoffrey Y Zhang, John C Lin, Dang Nguyen, Sameed Ahmed M Khatana, Thomas P Giordano

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Objective: Long COVID is associated with persistent symptoms including cardiovascular complications; however, the epidemiology and directionality of this association remain unclear.

Methods: Utilizing a retrospective cohort study design with cross-sectional analyses, 8,332 respondents aged 18 and older from the 2022 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) who had a prior COVID-19 infection, were analyzed to determine the temporal association between long COVID and cardiovascular disease (CVD), modeling each as both outcome and exposure in separate analyses.

Results: Long COVID was associated with any CVD diagnosis (OR 1.37; 95% CI: 1.05-1.80), specifically angina (OR 1.81; 95% CI: 1.18-2.77) and myocardial infarction (OR …

Safety And Efficacy Of Vadadustat Versus Darbepoetin Alfa For Chronic Kidney Disease-Related Anemia In Patients Receiving Dialysis By Baseline Erythropoiesis-Stimulating Agent Dose, Alan Jardine, Steven K Burke, Wenli Luo, Todd Minga, Mark J Sarnak, Wolfgang C Winkelmayer, Rajiv Agarwal, Glenn M Chertow, Kai-Uwe Eckardt, Mark J Koury

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Introduction: Erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESAs) and iron supplementation are standard treatments for chronic kidney disease (CKD)-related anemia. Targeting higher hemoglobin values in CKD increases cardiovascular risk. Whether the increased risk is from higher ESA doses or higher hemoglobin levels is uncertain, but alternative therapies are sought for patients requiring high ESA doses. Phase 3 INNO2VATE trials in patients with dialysis-dependent CKD (DD-CKD) demonstrated vadadustat's noninferiority compared with darbepoetin alfa. To determine vadadustat's potential to treat anemia, including in patients requiring high ESA doses, its safety and efficacy were compared with those of darbepoetin alfa across prespecified baseline ESA dose subgroups in …

Mindful Diagnostics In Culture-Negative Endocarditis: Early Noninvasive Diagnosis Of Tropheryma Whipplei By Plasma Microbial Cell-Free Dna, Ashita Jain, Sarwat Khalil, Muhammad R Sohail, Laura C Lelenwa, Enrique Garcia-Sayan, Kenneth K Liao, Ahmed Hamdi, Todd Lasco, Mayar Al Mohajer

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Tropheryma whipplei was identified by plasma microbial cell-free DNA sequencing within 4 days in severe culture-negative endocarditis after antibiotics had already been started. The result supported earlier diagnostic clarification and antimicrobial de-escalation before valve pathology was available, illustrating a practical diagnostic-stewardship role for noninvasive sequencing in high-acuity endocarditis.

Editorial: New Insights On Vascular And Metabolic Diabetic Complications, Hua Mao, John D Imig, Ricardo Espinosa-Tanguma

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

No abstract provided.

Comparing Rotational Thromboelastometry And Standard Coagulation Assays For Predicting Intraoperative Bleeding In Pediatric Liver Transplantation, Kirby Deshotels, Trung Nguyen, Jun Teruya, Muhammed Umair M Mian, Kelby Fuller, Sanjiv Harpavat, Anna Banc-Husu, Amir Navaei, John Goss, Moreshwar Desai, Arun Saini

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Background: Utility of preoperative rotational thromboelastometry (ROTEM) over standard coagulation assays (SCAs) in predicting intraoperative bleeding during orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) in children with liver failure (LF) remains unclear.

Methods: In this single-center retrospective cohort of pediatric OLT recipients, we compared the predictive values of preoperative ROTEM parameters (intrinsic pathway (INTEM) maximum clot firmness (MCF), extrinsic pathway (EXTEM) clotting time (CT), INTEM CT, and fibrinogen-based (FIBTEM) MCF) and the corresponding SCAs (platelet count, international normalized ratio (INR), activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT), and fibrinogen level, respectively) for significant intraoperative bleeding (blood loss of > 22 mL/kg; i.e., ≥ 85th percentile for …

Definitions Of Arginine Availability: A Critical Metabolic Marker Of Physiological Processes, Mustafa Tosur, Farook Jahoor, Ashok Balasubramanyam

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

No abstract provided.

Modulation Of Corneal Sensory Processing And Pain Responses By Dry Eye And Corneal Wounding, Ebru Yaman, Yangluowa Qu, Kaylin C Arpaia, Fairouz Elsaeidi, Uma Lakshmi Balakrishnan, Lance He, Henry Skrehot, Jehan Alam, Rui Chen, Mary Ann Stepp, Cintia S De Paiva, Stephen C Pflugfelder

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Background: Dry eye disease (DED) is a multifactorial disorder of the ocular surface in which tear film instability, epithelial barrier disruption, and neurosensory dysfunction contribute to symptom generation. Although several contributing factors have been identified, how different forms of ocular surface stress affect sensory pathways and behavioral responses remains unclear.

Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate corneal barrier function, sensory responses, and pain-related behaviors across acute and chronic dry eye and corneal injury models, and to assess stimulus-specific responses associated with TRPV1 and TRPM8 mediated pathways.

Methods: Female C57BL/6 J wild type and Mmp9KO mice were evaluated in acute desiccating …

Editorial: Advances In Phage Applications: Deciphering Phage Biological And Ecological Mechanisms Through Metagenomics, Tasha M Santiago-Rodriguez, Gary A Toranzos

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

No abstract provided.

Helicobacter Pylori And Cancer: What's The Link?, Elettra Merola, Giovanni Mario Pes, David Yates Graham, Maria Pina Dore

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is a human bacterial pathogen that causes one of the most common chronic bacterial infections worldwide. The microorganism has been classified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer as a Group I carcinogen. While the etiological link to gastric cancer is well established, the precise molecular and cellular mechanisms driving this transformation are highly complex and incompletely understood. Fundamentally, the infection results from the chronic presence of acute on chronic gastric mucosal inflammation. H. pylori pathogenicity is increased by bacterial virulence factors including the cytotoxin-associated gene A (CagA) and Vacuolating cytotoxin A (VacA) …

Genomic And Structural Analysis Of Major Antigenic Proteins’ Variability In The Human Relapsing Fever Spirochete Borrelia Persica, Dor Shwartz, Yaarit Nachum-Biala, Reinhard K Straubinger, Ofir Segev, Asaf Levy, Job E Lopez, Gad Baneth

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Antigenic variation enables immune evasion of pathogens, yet the mechanisms for the rapid change in their antigens without loss of structural and functional features are not fully known. Tick-borne relapsing fever (TBRF) spirochetes of the genus Borrelia can be used as a model because their variable major proteins (Vmps) drive antigenic variation followed by recurrent waves of bacteremia. In this study we generated the genome of Borrelia persica LMU-C01 and evaluated Vmp structure across relapsing fever Borrelia species. Borrelia persica was found to have a genome of 1.7Mb with one linear chromosome, 12 linear and one circular plasmids. Telomeric hairpin …

Hybrid Sars-Cov-2 Immunity Among Frontline Workers In A High-Tourism Setting: A Community-Based Serosurvey In Ambergris Caye, Belize, June 2022, Oluwadara Okeremi, Ella Hawes, Anh N Ly, Russell Manzanero, Sarah M Gunter, Shannon E Ronca, Allison Lino, Allyson Hidalgo, Meghan Si, Allison Stewart-Ruano, Adriana Maliga, Eric J Nilles, Gerhaldine Morazan, Kristy O Murray

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Tourism is central to Belize's economy, yet the influx of international travelers may contribute to infectious disease introduction and transmission among local workers, including SARS-CoV-2. In June 2022, we conducted a cross-sectional seroepidemiologic study among tourism and government workers in the tropical island tourism center of Ambergris Caye, Belize. The goal of this study was to determine SARS-CoV-2 antibody prevalence for both vaccination (anti-spike protein) and natural infection (anti-nucleocapsid protein), vaccine uptake, history of COVID-like symptoms, and risks for infection two years into the pandemic. Workers from 30 hotels and government agencies were enrolled. Participants completed questionnaires to capture demographics, …