Digital Commons Network^™

A Community-Engaged, Mixed-Methods Approach To Prioritizing Needs In A Statewide Assessment Of Community Cancer Needs, Jessica R. Thompson, Todd Burus, Caree R. Mcafee, Christine Stroebel, Madeline Brown, Keeghan Francis, Melinda Rogers, Jennifer Redmond Knight, Elaine Russell, Connie L. Sorrell, Elizabeth A. Westbrook, Pamela C. Hull

Markey Cancer Center Faculty Publications

Introduction Kentucky has the highest all-site cancer incidence and death rate in the US. In 2021, the University of Kentucky Markey Cancer Center convened a steering committee to conduct a statewide community cancer needs assessment (CNA). The goal of the final CNA phase was to gather community input on prioritizing Kentucky’s cancer-related needs and ways to address them. Methods In 2021, we recruited 162 people to participate in online concept mapping, a participatory mixed method, to explore connections and identify priority areas. Fifty-one community members and 111 organizational partners participated in survey-based activities to prioritize 80 items representing key CNA …

Population-Level Incidence Of Human Papillomavirus–Positive Oropharyngeal, Cervical, And Anal Cancers, By Smoking Status, Sameer V. Gopalani, Mona Saraiya, Bin Huang, Thomas Tucker, Jacqueline M. Mix, Anil K. Chaturvedi

Markey Cancer Center Faculty Publications

We estimated the population-level incidence of human papillomavirus (HPV)–positive oropharyngeal, cervical, and anal cancers by smoking status. We combined HPV DNA genotyping data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Cancer Registry Sentinel Surveillance System with data from the Kentucky Cancer Registry and Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System across smoking status. During 2004-2005 and 2014-2015 in Kentucky, most cases of oropharyngeal (63.3%), anal (59.7%), and cervical (54.9%) cancer were among individuals who ever smoked. The population-level incidence rate was higher among individuals who ever smoked than among those who never smoked for HPV-positive oropharyngeal (7.8 vs 2.1; adjusted incidence …

Neurotensin Accelerates Atherosclerosis And Increases Circulating Levels Of Short-Chain And Saturated Triglycerides, Jing Li, Liping Yang, Jun Song, Baoxiang Yan, Andrew J. Morris, Hunter Moseley, Robert M. Flight, Chi Wang, Jinpeng Liu, Heidi L. Weiss, Edward F. Morris, Ilyes Abdelhamid, Mathias J. Gerl, Olle Melander, Susan Smyth, B. Mark Evers

Markey Cancer Center Faculty Publications

Background and aims: Obesity and type 2 diabetes are significant risk factors for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (CVD) worldwide, but the underlying pathophysiological links are poorly understood. Neurotensin (NT), a 13-amino-acid hormone peptide, facilitates intestinal fat absorption and contributes to obesity in mice fed a high-fat diet. Elevated levels of pro-NT (a stable NT precursor produced in equimolar amounts relative to NT) are associated with obesity, type 2 diabetes, and CVD in humans. Whether NT is a causative factor in CVD is unknown.

Methods: Nt+/+ and Nt–/– mice were either injected with adeno-associated virus encoding PCSK9 mutants or crossed with Ldlr–/– …

The Silent Scream, Christine Roberts Gettys

Liberal Studies (MA) Final Essays

Abstract: The Silent Scream (a memoir) is one woman’s journey across six decades, dealing with physical and mental health conditions. Using vignettes and stream-of-consciousness, the author allows the reader to share lived experiences, demonstrating the interplay between cerebral palsy and childhood trauma. She analyzes 1) language development, 2) the power of biopsychosocial factors to create, intensify, recognize, manage, and mitigate stress, 3) the power of learning to identify and meet needs, and 4) the effectiveness of healthcare delivery and services. She advocates for trauma-informed and life-long learning, ongoing counseling, and increased awareness and proposes that engagement is its own outcome. …

The Case For Waivable Employee Rights: A Contrarian View, William Corbett

Journal Articles

No abstract provided.

​Thinking Outside Of The "White Box": An Afrofuturistic Critique Of Terry Stops, Nina-Simone Edwards

Library Scholarship

What would the future look like if the privacy invasions that Black Americans are currently subjected to were not so normalized? This Note brings an Afrofuturistic perspective to the analysis of Terry stops, putting forward an alternative legal paradigm that uplifts Black Americans, their privacy, and their experiences, rather than police practices. Part I of this Note looks to the past, drawing on Afrofuturism’s tenant of reclamation, and assesses the development of vagrancy laws. Under these laws, vague legal standards allowed law enforcement to criminalize Black people after the end of slavery, punishing those who fell outside of the “white …

Systems Check: A Qualitative Case Study Of Educators And Parent-Educators Supporting Adolescent Readers From An Ecological Systems Perspective, Kristi Nicole Grooms

Theses and Dissertations

In spite of decades of research and an abundance of well-intentioned intervention efforts, supporting adolescent readers, particularly at the middle level, remains a significant area of concern for educators in the United States. The struggles are present for educators working to help underperforming readers reach grade-level and keep advanced readers motivated and engaged. At home, parents and guardians experience similar challenges. Data on adolescent comprehension performance continues to be frustrating in terms of producing consistent positive results. This qualitative action research study investigated the ongoing challenge of supporting adolescent readers, specifically within the context of 7th grade, through a systems …

Young Children's 21st Century Mathematical Skills And The Role Of The Early Childhood Environment In Developing These Skills, Mistelle Moore

Theses

This research examined the preparation of young children in an Early Years school environment in the development of 21st Century mathematical skills including critical thinking, problem-solving, innovation, collaboration, creativity, and communication. The research used a field-based case study using qualitative data collection methods, and the data were reviewed using thematic analysis. The research explores the pedagogical strategies employed by an Early Years teacher and the interplay of various stakeholders in nurturing 21st Century mathematics competencies among young learners. Key findings of the research indicated that there were eight elements that Early Years teachers should apply in their mathematics lessons as …

Relational Apophaticism And A Contemporary, Ecumenical Practice Of Christian Spiriutal Direction In The Western Church, Ian Raymond Wilson

Theses

Defining and nurturing Christian spiritual growth and maturity is challenging. This is especially so in a contemporary environment that might be considered individualistic and self-preoccupied and where the meaning of the term ‘spiritual’ has become increasingly vague. This thesis explores the concept of ‘relational apophaticism’ proposing it as a pathway of spiritual growth and the essence of spiritual maturity. A contemporary, ecumenical ministry of Christian spiritual direction in the Western Church, and perspectives on spiritual growth and maturity evident in St. Gregory of Nyssa’s mystical writings The Life of Moses and Homilies on the Song of Songs are drawn on …

The Efficacy Of A Junior Doctor Led Near-Peer Surgical Teaching Program For Medical Students: A Prospective Study, Wendy Liu

Theses

Background Near-peer teaching (NPT) involves teaching by peers who are at a close, but not the same, level of training. This study investigated whether a novel surgical NPT workshop, designed and delivered by junior doctors using simulation models for acute otorhinolaryngology conditions, improved the knowledge and confidence level of senior medical students.

Methods A one-day NPT workshop was held for medical students in their third year of a four-year postgraduate medical degree at the University of Notre Dame, Sydney, Australia. Four acute otorhinolaryngology/head and neck surgery problems that might be encountered by junior doctors and require prompt management were chosen. …

Influences Of Professors' Personality Traits, Teaching Styles, And Generational Affiliation On Technology Acceptance: A Mixed-Methods Exploration Of Blended Learning Readiness, Joey K. Freeman

Education Dissertations

The abrupt transition to emergency remote teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic offered minimal time to prepare, resulting in faculty reliance on prior pedagogical practices in the shift to an online instructional environment. Although the pandemic altered the learning environment in the short-term, it also offered a glimpse of how higher education institutions (HEIs) could transform their learning environments in the long-term. Though a body of literature exists on factors that influence technology acceptance, a limited number of studies have explored personality traits, teaching styles, and generational affiliation. An adapted Technology Acceptance Model considered these variables as antecedents to perceptions, attitudes, …

School Librarians’ Self-Efficacy As Educational Technology Coaches, Becky P. Johnson

Education Dissertations

Although school librarians adapt and continue to thrive through radical changes, one in five school librarian positions are cut due to a loss of funding. One way school librarians can promote their knowledge in digital and information literacy and their skills as education leaders is to serve as educational technology (EdTech) coaches in their school community. With the influx of EdTech in schools, districts are shifting budgets and quickly adding technology-focused jobs, which leaves other positions at risk for job loss. This exploratory mixed-methods study examined the self-efficacy of school librarians to serve as EdTech coaches through the lens of …

Electronics Design For Krepe Atmospheric Entry Capsule Avionics, Matt Ruffner

Theses and Dissertations--Electrical and Computer Engineering

This research documents the design, testing, and implementation of sensing, control, and communications subsystems for small atmospheric entry capsules. Atmospheric entry capsules pose a unique electronics design challenge given mission requirements, environmental constraints, and inherent risk involved in space based missions. Previous work on small satellites developed the CubeSat platform as a means of ensuring reliability after university-led small satellite missions experienced failures. The publication of the CubeSat platform allowed researchers to focus on the payload science utilizing a standardized form-factor and reusable electronics. Environmental and operational constraints of CubeSats and atmospheric entry capsules overlap and best-practices associated with building …

Cross-Layer Design Of Highly Scalable And Energy-Efficient Ai Accelerator Systems Using Photonic Integrated Circuits, Sairam Sri Vatsavai

Theses and Dissertations--Electrical and Computer Engineering

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has experienced remarkable success in recent years, solving complex computational problems across various domains, including computer vision, natural language processing, and pattern recognition. Much of this success can be attributed to the advancements in deep learning algorithms and models, particularly Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs). In recent times, deep ANNs have achieved unprecedented levels of accuracy, surpassing human capabilities in some cases. However, these deep ANN models come at a significant computational cost, with billions to trillions of parameters. Recent trends indicate that the number of parameters per ANN model will continue to grow exponentially in the foreseeable …

Nonuniform Sampling-Based Breast Cancer Classification, Santiago Posso

Theses and Dissertations--Electrical and Computer Engineering

The emergence of deep learning models and their success in visual object recognition have fueled the medical imaging community's interest in integrating these algorithms to improve medical diagnosis. However, natural images, which have been the main focus of deep learning models and mammograms, exhibit fundamental differences. First, breast tissue abnormalities are often smaller than salient objects in natural images. Second, breast images have significantly higher resolutions but are generally heavily downsampled to fit these images to deep learning models. Models that handle high-resolution mammograms require many exams and complex architectures. Additionally, spatially resizing mammograms leads to losing discriminative details essential …

Information-Theoretic Learning Framework Based On Covariance Operators On Reproducing Kernel Hilbert Spaces, Jhoan Keider Hoyos Osorio

Theses and Dissertations--Electrical and Computer Engineering

Information theory provides tools to quantify uncertainty, dependence, and similarity between probability distributions, which are crucial for addressing various machine-learning problems. However, estimating these quantities is challenging because data distributions are usually unknown, and only observations are available for analysis. In this dissertation, we advance the field of information-theoretic learning by developing a comprehensive framework using kernel methods for analyzing probability distributions using reproducing kernel Hilbert spaces (RKHS). By leveraging covariance operators in this representation space, we propose approaches to estimate a set of fundamental information-theoretic quantities, that, because of their resemblance with conventional quantities in information theory, we call …

Inclusive Publishing Strategies For Journal Staff And Prospective Authors In The Digital Humanities, Rachel Schrauben Yeates

Master's Projects

In this project, I will share the inclusive strategies and solutions to common pitfalls I observed in my exploratory review of a selection of DH online journals and share Inclusivity Guides tailored to journal staff and prospective authors to perform a quick audit of journal site design and content. I paid special attention to the information available to researchers considering submitting their work for publication. Which journals leave a good impression and provide potential authors with enough information to confidently submit their work? How can prospective authors assess a journal’s commitment to furthering and practicing inclusivity in their field, and …

Prepared Foods Photos V. Chicken Joes, Southern District Of New York

Historical and Topical Legal Documents

No abstract provided.

Ligon V. Facebook, Northern District Of Georgia

Historical and Topical Legal Documents

No abstract provided.

Paxton V. Tiktok, Texas District Court

Historical and Topical Legal Documents

No abstract provided.

Strafford County 2023 Annual Report Of The Commissioners, Treasurer, Other County Officers, And The Strafford County Delegation For The Year Ending December 31, 2023, Strafford County Representatives

Strafford County, NH Annual Reports

This is an annual report containing vital statistics for a county in the state of New Hampshire.

Jackson Davis's Portfolio, Jackson J. Davis

Graduate Student Portfolios, Professional Papers, and Capstone Projects

No abstract provided.

Msw Portfolio, Kandace Mcgee

Graduate Student Portfolios, Professional Papers, and Capstone Projects

No abstract provided.

Master Of Social Work Portfolio, Amber Thornton

Graduate Student Portfolios, Professional Papers, and Capstone Projects

This reflection on my journey through the Master of Social Work (MSW) program highlights the transformative influence of critical self-reflection, research, policy analysis, and leadership in shaping my development as a social worker. The program has equipped me with key competencies to engage effectively with individuals, families, groups, and communities, promoting empowerment and advancing social justice. Through hands-on experiences in individual engagement, family assessment, group intervention, and organizational evaluation, I have gained a holistic understanding of social work that emphasizes empathy, tailored interventions, and systemic change. My involvement in policy practice and advocacy has underscored the importance of evidence-based research …

Msw Portfolio - 2024, Jocelyn E. Olsen

Graduate Student Portfolios, Professional Papers, and Capstone Projects

No abstract provided.

A Winding Path Toward Purpose, Barry Maxwell

Graduate Student Portfolios, Professional Papers, and Capstone Projects

No abstract provided.

Becoming An Advanced, Integrated Social Work Practitioner, Lindsay Klug

Graduate Student Portfolios, Professional Papers, and Capstone Projects

This portfolio reflects the author's journey of self-discovery and gaining real-world experience in the field of social work. It describes how the author has demonstrated mastery over the social work competencies outlined by the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) and the University of Montana.

Diverse Minds, Shared Planet: Designing, Assessing, And Adapting Curricula To Engage Diverse Learners With Their Environment And Inspire Positive Change, Mallory Rose Lampe

Graduate Student Portfolios, Professional Papers, and Capstone Projects

The pieces that compose this portfolio together explore how environmental education can connect diverse learners to their environment through the integration of accessible curricula to inspire stewardship and action to take care of the planet we share.

Where Social Work And Schools Collide, Anna Siderius

Graduate Student Portfolios, Professional Papers, and Capstone Projects

No abstract provided.

Arth102: History Of Western Art Ii, Heather Horton

Open Educational Resources

Syllabus for History of Western Art II, a chronological survey of major periods, styles, artists, and monuments of western visual arts, primarily painting, sculpture, and architecture beginning with the development of the arts from about 1300 to the present day.