Digital Commons Network^™

Behavioral Effects Of Novel Treatments For Pain Management Using Combinatorial Methods, Rohit Rajeev Nambiar

Theses and Dissertations

Pain, despite being an uncomfortable feeling to experience, is a necessary protective mechanism for the body1. Understanding that pain results from several different mechanisms within the body is important to discovering the optimal way to treat and manage a person’s pain. Modern medicine has seen numerous advancements in treating or managing acute and chronic pain, particularly with opioid drugs. However, these treatments come with potential side effects, including opioid use disorder (OUD) and fatal overdose. Finding new treatment methods, or improving existing methods, is crucial for patients with pain. This thesis explores two projects looking to develop safer analgesia using …

Knowledge And Awareness Of Thalassemia Carrier Screening Among Thai Medical Students, Pawitchaya Jariyapongpaiboon, Boodchiya Rojsuriyawong, Suwijak Meenapa, Pacharapan Surapolchai, Prapasri Kulalert, Chanapat Chouwalit, Thanpisit Phanawal, Prapasiri Niamkamnoet, Parin Pongrungsee, Kitiwan Rojnueangnit

Asian Medical Journal and Alternative Medicine

Introduction: Thalassemia is the most common hereditary hemolytic anemia in Southeast Asia, including Thailand. Despite thalassemia screening tests being currently performed in all Thai pregnant women, this approach can sometimes be too late. Prevention would be improved if we could perform thalassemia screening tests prior to pregnancy.

Objectives: Assess the knowledge and awareness of thalassemia screening in medical students.

Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional survey among Thai medical students in 16 universities, during April 2022- May 2023, by using a valid set of research questions in the online-based questionnaire to assess their knowledge and awareness of carrier screening tests and intention …

Melatonin In Pediatric Critical Care: From Physiology To Bedside Roles, Chanapai Chaiyakulsil

Asian Medical Journal and Alternative Medicine

Melatonin is an endogenous indoleamine synthesized by the pineal gland. Though melatonin is best known for its chronobiologic effects, regulating the circadian rhythm and sleep, it might play a wider role in critical illness. It has been proposed for use as an analgesic and sedative, an antihypertensive, an anti-inflammatory, and for the prevention of delirium. Melatonin use in children has increased dramatically over the years, but the evidence on its use in critically ill children remains limited. This review article aimed to describe the basic physiology and biology of melatonin, including its production and functions, dosing, and side effects, …

It Takes A Community: Barbershops As Healing Spaces For Black Men, Aron Anthony King, Piri W. Ackerman, Patricia Fernandez

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

Black men in the United States experience disproportionately poor mental health outcomes yet remain significantly underrepresented in accessing care. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health, African American adults are 20% more likely to report serious psychological distress and are more likely to experience feelings of sadness, hopelessness, and worthlessness compared to their white counterparts. Despite these disparities, less than half of Black men experiencing mental illness seek treatment. Intersecting factors such as racism, stigma, medical mistrust, and traditional notions of masculinity contribute to these gaps, highlighting the need for more culturally responsive …

Study Links Mississippi Student Gambling Problems To Mental Health, Clara Turnage

University of Mississippi News

OXFORD, Miss. – As gambling becomes more accessible to college students, a statewide study of Mississippi's public universities found gambling problems frequently occur alongside depression, anxiety and substance use.

Enhancing Cultural Competency Through Training In A Primary Care Clinic, Rogelio Perez Iii

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Cultural competence remains essential in primary care settings serving diverse populations, yet staff at a small Southern Texas primary care clinic reported no previous formal cultural competency training in workplace orientation or school. The purpose of this Doctor of Nursing Practice quality improvement project was to evaluate whether a brief, evidence-based cultural competency intervention improved clinician cultural competency scores. Madeleine Leininger’s Culture Care Theory provided the theoretical framework, Lewin’s Change Theory guided the change process, and the Plan-Do-Study-Act cycle directed implementation and evaluation. The problem addressed was the lack of structured training to support culturally responsive communication, patient trust, and …

Impacting Competency In C-Ssrs Suicide Risk Screening On An Inpatient Psychiatric Unit, Fidelis Sangye

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Suicide remains a leading public health concern, and inconsistent application of the Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS) may contribute to variability in suicide risk assessment and delayed intervention within inpatient psychiatric settings. The purpose of this quality improvement (QI) project was to evaluate the effectiveness of a standardized C-SSRS-guided educational intervention on staff competency in suicide risk screening. Guided by Lewin’s Change Theory and implemented using the Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) framework, this quantitative pretest-posttest QI project was conducted on an adult inpatient psychiatric unit. The intervention consisted of a 25-minute instructor-led PowerPoint presentation on standardized C-SSRS administration and evidence-based suicide risk …

Usa V. Derby Clerfe

2026 Decisions

USDC for the Western District of Pennsylvania

Threads Across The Atlantic: A Dialogue Of Feminist Writings Between Portugal And Cape Verde, Elliana Shillig Venancio

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines the feminist literary traditions of Portugal and Cape Verde through a comparative analysis of Ana de Castro Osório’s Infelizes and Dina Salústio’s Mornas eram as noites. Separated by nearly nine decades and an ocean, these two works nonetheless converge in their insistence on women’s autonomy, bodily sovereignty, and resistance to patriarchal structures. Drawing on Hélène Cixous’s theory of écriture féminine and Kimberlé Crenshaw’s framework of intersectionality, this thesis argues that despite the significant differences in time, geography, and socio-political context that separate these authors, powerful threads of feminist consciousness bind their writing together. At the same time, …

“Lost In Transcription?”: A Case Study Of Using Ai And Humans-In The Loop To Create Captions And Transcripts For A Library Symposium, Eva Lu, Sonya Panangaden, Mark Weiler, Michael R. Clark

Library Publications

In many regions, academic libraries are increasingly expected to generate recorded content as part of their services and operations, such as hosting public or academic events. These recordings require quality captions and transcripts to address the needs of users with disabilities as required by human rights legislation. Unfortunately, auto-generated captions cannot be relied upon to provide error-free outputs. This paper presents a case study of how we used AI and involved 35 volunteers from across North America to create captions and transcripts for recordings of a 3-day virtual accessibility symposium. This initiative was put in place to ensure all attendees …

Analyzing The Transition From Writing Center Tutor To Graduate Student Instructor, Luci Mackenzie Sullivan

Theses and Dissertations

Writing center tutoring is almost universally considered to be beneficial preparation for graduate student instructors (GSIs) of writing, so much so that many programs require writing center experience as part of their GSI training. Despite various similarities between the roles of tutor and teacher, the precise ways in which writing center experience influences GSIs as teachers remain unclear. This IRB-approved, mixed-methods study builds on previous empirical scholarship on transfer between tutoring and teaching to determine how new GSIs with previous writing center experience integrate practices, knowledge, and dispositions developed in the writing center. My findings echo those of previous studies …

Malt1 Protease Inhibition Restrains Glioblastoma Progression By Reversing Tumor-Associated Macrophage-Dependent Immunosuppression In Mice, Juliana Hofstätter Azambuja, Saigopalakrishna Yerneni, Lisa Maurer, Hannah Crentsil, Gabriela Debom, Linda Klei, Mei Smyers, Chaim Sneiderman, Kristina Schwab, Rajesh Acharya, Aivi Nguyen, Josie Emery, John Little, Jeffrey Meridew, Yijen Lin Wu, Prasanna Ekambaram, Dong Hu, Pete Gough, John Bertin, Ari Melnick, Gary Kohanbash, Riyue Bao, Peter Lucas, Linda Mcallister-Lucas

College of Life Sciences Faculty Papers

MALT1 protease is an intracellular signaling molecule that promotes tumor progression via cancer cell-intrinsic and cancer cell-extrinsic mechanisms. MALT1 has been mostly studied in lymphocytes, and little is known about its role in tumor-associated macrophages. We show that MALT1 is expressed in glioblastoma (GBM)-associated macrophages. Mechanistically, GBM tumor cells induce a MALT1-NF-κB signaling axis in macrophages, leading to enhanced macrophage migration and polarization toward an immunosuppressive ('M2-like') phenotype. Inactivation of MALT1 protease promotes transcriptional reprogramming that reduces migration and restores a macrophage anti-tumor 'M1-like' phenotype. Preclinical in vivo analysis shows that MALT1 inhibitor treatment results in immuno-reactivity of GBM-associated macrophages …

Dis/Ability Critical Race Theory In The Early Childhood Education Classroom, Milo Knickerbocker

Masters Projects

Data shows that many Black and Disabled students are underserved in their current learning environments. This project provides a theoretical introduction to Dis/ability Critical Race Theory (DisCrit), as well as guidance on how to incorporate the theory into the early childhood education setting. This is done in attempt to provide a more equitable and inclusionary learning environment.  This project incorporates a data-driven professional development program surrounding DisCrit and incorporation of anti-racist and anti-ableist inclusionary teaching methods, for the betterment of all students.

Self-Regulation For Early Childhood Classrooms, Emily Fox

Masters Projects

The ability to self-regulate is essential for young children's social, emotional, behavioral, and academic development. However, growing exposure to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), toxic stress, family instability, and other social and environmental stressors has contributed to challenges in the development of these skills. Children with underdeveloped self-regulation skills are more likely to experience difficulties with executive functioning, peer relationships, classroom behavior, and school readiness, demonstrating the need for early intervention. The purpose of this master's project was to investigate the major social and environmental stressors affecting young children's self-regulation and to develop a research-based intervention to support self-regulation development in …

Teaching Writing With Confidence: A Professional Learning Series To Build Special Education Teachers' Knowledge And Self-Efficacy For Explicit Writing Instruction, Lindsay E. Bowen

Masters Projects

Writing is an essential skill used to communicate ideas effectively, assess understanding, and demonstrate critical thinking across educational and workplace settings. Yet, research demonstrates that a majority of special education teacher preparation programs do not offer standalone courses in writing instruction methods, leaving many special education teachers to enter the profession with limited knowledge of effective writing instruction for students with high-incidence disabilities. This project explores current research on effective sentence-level writing instruction for students with high-incidence disabilities, as well as a research-based approach for applying these practices in a systematic yet adaptable manner to meet the needs of individual …

Ndls Communicator: Week Of 08.10.26, Notre Dame Law School

NDLS Communicator

The Latest News

• Notre Dame Law School Welcomes Global Visiting Faculty for Fall 2026

Alumni News

• Alfredo Ortega '17 LL.M.
• Nicole Matusko '08 J.D.
• JoAnn Chávez '86, '90 J.D.
• Kimberly D. West '26 J.D.

Faculty Briefs

• Jennifer MAson McAward
• Lloyd Mayer
• Paolo Carozza
• John Meiser
• Patrick Corrigan
• Mary Ellen O'Connell
• Msgr. John Paul Kimes
• Derek Muller
• Sherif Girgis
• Rick Garnett
• A.J. Bellia
• Haley Proctor
• Ashley Sanchez
• Daniel Slate
• Stefan Daniel
• Nicole Garnett
• Stephen Tierney KC

Events

• Dean's Initiative for Leadership and Scholarly Excellence (LSE)
• Welcome Week

Around the Watercooler

• Farewell to Lisa Driver
• Staff Spot Awards accepting nominations

Fieldwork Educators' Perspectives On Occupational Therapy Students Addressing Sexuality And Intimacy: Expectations, Supports, And Barriers, Elizabeth Deluca-Berg

Student Dissertations

Sexuality and intimacy are recognized as meaningful occupations within occupational therapy practice; however, they remain inconsistently addressed in clinical care. Previous research has identified limited educational preparation as a contributing factor to occupational therapists' discomfort and lack of confidence in addressing these occupations. Although classroom instruction provides foundational knowledge, Level II fieldwork serves as the primary setting in which students apply knowledge within authentic clinical environments. Despite the central role of FW educators in facilitating students' professional development, little research has explored how they prepare OT students to address sexuality and intimacy during fieldwork. The purpose of this basic qualitative …

Supporting Graduate Student Flourishing: Development Of A Whole-Person Formation Framework Through A University-Wide Task Force, Elisa Greene, Amanda Grieme-Bradley, Maren Bishop

Papers

How do whole persons form for lives of character and flourishing within graduate schooling years? What steps could an institution take to move toward that end? This work describes the process of one institution’s use of a task force examining these questions using a combination of literature review and structured interviews with key stakeholders across campus. The context of the institution’s unique mission, vision, and virtue framework provided a foundation out of which four areas of focus emerged: 1) infrastructure and representation, 2) belonging and community, 3) communication, and 4) professional identity formation. Investment in these institutional themes supports formation …

Growing Students' Fluency And Comprehension Skills, Makayla Irwin

Masters Projects

Research emphasizes the importance of building strong foundational skills among early readers. While reading is taught everyday in the classroom, there are not enough strategies and knowledge known by teachers to effectively instruct on fluency and comprehension skills. Fluency and comprehension are known as being crucial aspects of the reading process, but they have been inadequately included in many literacy curriculums. This project, grounded in research and well developed theories, holds fluency and comprehension instruction high in regard to the development of a proficient reader.It has been found that educators lack the training, resources, and confidence necessary to successfully teach …

Mystical Revelation And Knowledge Of God: Reclaiming Spirituality In Theology Through The Mystics, Elizabeth A. Merski

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Since the scholastic era, the pursuit of God has occurred preeminently through reason, leading to an imbalanced theology of God that persists to the present day in the form of intellect-centered theology. As a resolution, this work proposes that the mobilization of private, mystical revelation as a source of legitimized theological knowledge of God has the potential to close the existent epistemological gap between reason/belief and theology/spirituality, demonstrating the integral unity between authentic knowledge of God and the receiver’s personal acceptance of God in faith. After examining the required methodological components for the discipline of theology and identifying criteria for …

Beyond The Pencil: Creating Early Writers, Pamela L. Gernaat

Masters Projects

“Schools in many countries are faced with the challenge of developing student writing proficiency. Identifying and implementing effective writing instruction for young, beginning writers play important roles in improving student writing performance. Providing effective writing instruction to beginning writers can promote writing development and minimize the number of children who encounter challenges in learning to write” (Finlayson & McCrudden, 2022, p. 1). Despite the amount of research that has been done on the importance of early writing instruction, many lower elementary students struggle with the ability to write and cannot keep up with the cognitive demands of written instruction. Many …

Potential Effects Of Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Taxation On Oral And Systemic Health Outcomes, Rahnuma Ahmad, Muhammad Noorani, Mainul Haque, Mohammed Razzaque

School of Medicine Publications

No abstract provided.

Gs Connect Sms Terms And Conditions

Information Technology Services Policies

This policy establishes the terms and conditions governing text message (SMS) communications sent by Georgia Southern University through GS Connect, the University's student success platform. These terms satisfy carrier registration requirements under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) and Twilio's A2P 10DLC program compliance standards.

An Atmospheric Optical Turbulence Structure Parameter Measurements System Based On Direct Ri Sensing Using High-Resolution Fiber-Optic Sensors, Matej Njegovec, Simon Pevec, Vedran Budinski, Boris Macuh, Melissa K. Beason, Denis Onlagic

Faculty Publications

The paper presents a method to characterize the refractive index structure parameter (C_n²) associated with optical turbulence directly. The characterization system is based on miniature, high‑resolution, all‑fiber refractive index (RI) sensors. The refractive index sensors employ open‑path, low‑finesse Fabry–Perot interferometers that are approximately 8 mm long and 200 μm in diameter. The active part of the interferometers is made of ultra‑low‑expansion glass, which eliminates the influence of thermal expansion on the refractive index measurements. The proposed refractive index sensor, operating in a differential configuration, achieved a resolution of 2×10^-9 RIU using a custom‑designed spectral interrogation system …

Vitamin D As A Candidate Host Susceptibility Factor In Sugar-Driven Oral Dysbiosis, Moldir Turaliyeva, Nuraly S. Akimbekov, Ilya Digel, Adil Y. Yerezhepov, Mohammed Razzaque

School of Medicine Publications

Introduction: Sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) represent a modifiable dietary factor that promotes oral dysbiosis by supplying fermentable sugars and generating low-pH conditions that favor acidogenic and acid-tolerant biofilms. Vitamin D plays a biologically significant role in oral host defense through regulation of the epithelial barrier, induction of antimicrobial peptides, immune modulation, inflammatory control, and mineral metabolism. However, the extent to which vitamin D modifies the SSB -oral microbiome -disease pathway in humans remains unclear.

Methods: This narrative-conceptual review employed structured evidence mapping. Relevant literature was identified through PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, and Web of Science Core Collection, with additional sources obtained via citation …

The Measured Toll: Visualizing The Hidden Impact Of Chronic Painkiller Use, Yun Chia (Lisa) Song

Theses

The Measured Toll: Visualizing the Hidden Impact of Chronic Painkiller Use investigates how clinical data can be reinterpreted through the lens of information design to reveal long-term effects on heart and liver health that are often overlooked or invisible. This project translates complex medical information into a visual language that prioritizes clarity, emotional resonance, and user engagement. Through a series of printed posters and a motion-based introduction, the work employs abstract design strategies—including subtle distortion, radial line structures, and restrained typography—to evoke a sense of internal tension and gradual change. By structuring the visuals to unfold as a narrative, the …

Functionality Risk Assessment And Risk-Based Management For Critical Infrastructure Systems, Anteneh Zewdu Deriba

Dissertations and Theses

Critical infrastructure systems such as transportation networks serve as the lifelines of modern society, supporting economic activity and ensuring access to critical services. Their disruption under extreme events can produce consequences extending far beyond physical damage to individual assets. In transportation networks for instance, failures of critical assets such as bridges and tunnels can reduce accessibility of communities, limit freight capabilities for commerce, and increase travel distance and travel time of road users. These consequences associated with the system functionality loss are tied not only to the physical vulnerability and failure of individual assets, but also to the system configuration …

Staged Bilateral Magnetic Resonance‐Guided Focused Ultrasound For Treating Essential Tremor: Systematic Review And Meta‐Analysis, Nima Norbu Sherpa, Andrea Gonzalez Lezana, Gabriela Prilip, Kenji Fukutome, Nathan J. Pertsch, Ruth Reeve, Nadège Bault, Elsa Fouragnan

School of Psychology

BackgroundUnilateral magnetic resonance guided focused ultrasound (MRgFUS) thalamotomy reduces tremor in essential tremor, yet disability often persists on the untreated side. The added benefit and safety of a staged contralateral lesion remain uncertain.ObjectiveThe aim was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of staged bilateral MRgFUS thalamotomy for essential tremor.MethodsWe searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, Web of Science, Cochrane CENTRAL, Scopus, ClinicalTrials.gov, and World Health Organization International Clinical Trials Registry Platform from inception to April 12, 2026 (PROSPERO CRD420251027624). Eligible studies were staged bilateral MRgFUS with Clinical Rating Scale for Tremor outcomes and adverse events, and at least 3 months of follow up. …

Enabling Asl Digital Communication Under Poor Internet Access, Swann Thantsin

Student Theses

Video conferencing degrades asymmetrically. When bandwidth falls, a hearing caller loses picture quality and keeps the conversation; a deaf and hard of hearing signer, whose language is carried entirely in the visual modality, loses the conversation. This thesis asks whether signed video reduced to the rates at which commercial platforms fail can be reconstructed at the receiver well enough to keep signing legible. A twostage reduction pipeline crops to the signer and transmits the face and hands at higher fidelity than their surroundings, achieving a reduction of approximately 99%; reconstruction uses a recurrent bottleneck mixer architecture, trained both conventionally and …

Curious Minds, Critical Thinkers: Contextualization-Based Instruction In Secondary Social Studies, Kelcie J. Mashburn

Masters Projects

Research shows that many secondary students lack the critical thinking skills necessary for academic and civic success. Traditional instructional methods that prioritize content coverage and recall fail to help students develop and apply this skill. Effective instruction requires educators to move beyond these traditional methods and intentionally design curriculum that incorporates instructional strategies that engage students in analysis, investigation of diverse perspectives, and formulate evidence-based conclusions. This project addresses this gap by presenting a contextualization-based curriculum unit designed to support and build critical thinking skills among secondary Social Studies students. The result is a unit that immerses secondary Social Studies …