Digital Commons Network^™

Disability Activism And Legal Education: How The Student And Parent Activists Of The Disability Rights Movement Paved The Way For Law Students To Challenge Discrimination, Dana Dworkin

Northwestern Journal of Law & Social Policy

Disability discrimination in education is a long-standing and powerful tradition in the United States. Students with disabilities in higher education have historically been, and continue to be, the most powerful harbingers of change in eliminating disability discrimination in education. The birth of the disability rights movement occurred in higher education institutions across the nation in the 1970s, and the movement achieved both cultural and legislative success. Its spirit continues on today in U.S. law schools. Law students with disabilities are utilizing the legislative advances achieved by the disability rights activists of yesteryear in order to create a more equitable system …

Sparing The Gory Details: Legal And Social Inertia And The Refusal To Confront The Body In Pregnancy, Francesca Laguardia

Northwestern Journal of Law & Social Policy

Health, including pain, suffering, blood, and guts, has always played an outsized role in legal and public analysis of abortion. Since the overturning of Roe v. Wade, the health implications of forced childbirth have returned to the public’s attention, as evidenced by prevalent health exceptions to abortion bans, legal actions in regard to those bans and exceptions, public attention to those cases, and public opinion polling. Recent, highly publicized cases of medical emergencies associated with pregnancy could be expected to reinvigorate a public exploration of the health risks of pregnancy, but the public has consistently refused to acknowledge the full …

Experiences Of Post-Secondary Teachers With Using Information And Communication Technologies In Rural Communities, Latonya Shirelle Motley

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Teaching and learning in the 21st century requires full access and use of digital technologies but this can be challenging in rural areas. Teachers at post-secondary schools in rural communities often have limited access to information and communication technologies (ICT), which restricts their ability to fully serve their rural students. Guided by the theory of the digital divide, the purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore the experiences of post-secondary teachers with using ICT in rural areas in the United States. Data for this qualitative study were collected from 44 participant interviews who evaluated their access of digital …

Individual Noise-Tolerance Profiles And Neural Signal-To-Noise Ratio: Insights Into Predicting Speech-In-Noise Performance And Noise-Reduction Outcomes, Subong Kim, Susan Arzac, Natalie Dokic, Jenn Donnelly, Nicole Genser, Kristen Nortwich, Alexis Rooney

Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Background/Objectives: Individuals with similar hearing sensitivity exhibit varying levels of tolerance to background noise, a trait tied to unique individual characteristics that affect their responsiveness to noise reduction (NR) processing in hearing aids. The present study aimed to capture such individual characteristics by employing electrophysiological measures and subjective noise-tolerance profiles, and both were analyzed in relation to speech-in-noise performance and NR outcomes. Methods: From a sample of 42 participants with normal hearing, the neural signal-to-noise ratio (SNR)—a cortical index comparing the amplitude ratio between auditory evoked responses to target speech onset versus noise onset—was calculated, and individual noise-tolerance profiles were …

Community-Based, Culturally Relevant Stem: Engaging Rural And Indigenous Students Through Partnerships, Institutional Flexibility, And One Health, Ellen Chenoweth, Paul Cotter, Janice Straley, Kari Lanphier

Faculty, Staff, and Students

Rural and Indigenous students face many barriers to persistence in biomedical and STEM trajectories including poor access to science experiences, a dearth of relatable educational resources, and educational structures misaligned with rural and Indigenous student and community needs. Rural Alaska Students in One Health Research (RASOR) is designed to provide a positive first college experience for rural and Indigenous students. Key innovations include 1) a partnership between the University of Alaska and tribal governments to allow for culturally relevant, locallymentored research experiences and 2) a customizable program structure. We also surveyed adults in the region regarding attitudes about science, its …

Environmental Exposures Increase Health Risks In Childhood Cancer Survivors., Omar Shakeel, Nicole Wood, Hannah M. Thompson, Michael E. Scheurer, Mark D. Miller

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

Childhood cancer survivors (CCSs) are at increased risk for chronic health issues due to late effects of cancer and its treatment. We address the impact of environmental exposures, such as air pollution, tobacco smoke, extreme weather events, and pesticides, on the health and survival of CCSs. These environmental hazards have been associated with worsening health outcomes and decreased survival among CCSs on a global scale. We also highlight that providers at a major pediatric cancer center in the United States have limited knowledge and practical skills about environmental risk factors and how to reduce exposures. Our survey results show that …

Stream Fish Assemblage Dynamics And Barriers To Aquatic Connectivity In The Ichawaynochaway Creek Watershed, Georgia, Usa, Jake R. Duhé

LSU Master's Theses

Stream fishes in the southeastern United States are adapted to hydrological disturbances such as droughts. However, this region is projected to experience increasingly frequent and severe disturbances that will elevate water demands given increasing agricultural and urban development. Further, road-stream crossings (RSCs) are abundant features in these streams that can exacerbate drought-mediated stream fragmentation and impede movements by many aquatic organisms, including fishes, when poorly constructed. These compounding effects may adversely affect the diversity and abundances of resident stream fishes, but their interactions remain poorly understood, warranting rigorous testing of how droughts and RSCs influence stream fish dynamics. I assessed …

Alma Link Resolver Subject Report 2024-2025, Andrée J. Rathemacher

Technical Services Reports and Statistics

Statistics for 2024-2025 on the number of OpenURL requests by Library of Congress classification code made to the Ex Libris Alma link resolver for items held by the University of Rhode Island Libraries.

Information provided includes Classification Code, Classifications, Number of Requests, Number of Clicked Requests, and % Clicks from Requests.

Alma Link Resolver Title & Issn Report (Top 500) 2024-2025, Andrée J. Rathemacher

Technical Services Reports and Statistics

Statistics for 2024-2025 on the total number of OpenURL requests by journal title and ISSN made to the Ex Libris Alma link resolver for items held by the University of Rhode Island Libraries. Includes only the top 500 journals.

Information provided includes journal Title, ISSN, EISSN, Number of Requests, Number of Clicked Requests, % Clicks from Requests.

Irradiation Of Prostate Cancer Alters Circulating Small Extracellular Vesicle Functions, Aejaz Sayeed, Vaughn Garcia, Cecilia E. Verrillo, Rachel M. Derita, Md Niamat Hossain, Shiv R. Krishn, Samuel Sey, Christopher D. Shields, Adrian D. Altieri, Qin Liu, Khalid Sossey-Alaoui, William K. Kelly, Lucia R. Languino

Department of Pharmacology, Physiology, and Cancer Biology Faculty Papers

It is known that β1 integrins and a downstream signaling molecule c-Src are upregulated in prostate cancer (PrCa) tissues, are co-expressed in circulating small extracellular vesicles (sEVs) and contribute to cancer progression. Here, we demonstrate that sEVs from PrCa patients show robust expression of both β1 integrins and c-Src. The impact of irradiation, a widely used therapy for the treatment of PrCa, on circulating sEVs is however not fully understood. We show that sEVs isolated from the plasma of transgenic adenocarcinoma of mouse prostate (TRAMP) mice, stimulate migration and anchorage-independent growth of recipient cancer cells, but sEVs are not active …

Detecting Ionospheric Disturbances Using High Frequency Coastal Radar Transmissions From The West Coast Of The United States, Riley N. Troyer, Kenneth Obenberger, Michael Negale, Eugene Dao, Zsolt Balint, Eric Burnside, Kris Robinson, Jeffrey M. Holmes, Pavel Inchin, Jonathan Snively

Space Dynamics Laboratory Publications

Coastal radar system are located around the world and many happen to transmit at frequencies capable of skywave propagation via the ionosphere. Therefore, they can be detected hundreds to thousands of kilometers away. This paper demonstrates the opportunity to detect 39 Coastal Ocean Dynamics Application Radar transmitters located on the western coast of the United States using three HF radio receivers in Utah and New Mexico. It also illustrates the possibility to use the phase and Doppler measurements of these signals to derive displacements of the refracting ionospheric layer up to meter resolution for the 2023 annular solar eclipse, an …

Lived Experiences Of Sexual Orientation Discrimination Of Gay Male Service Members, Dwayne A. Tyler

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The repeal of the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy (DADT) has been an area of study among scholars since 2011. Researchers have demonstrated that discrimination based on sexual orientation is still occurring in the armed forces. However, researchers have not studied the lived experiences of active-duty male service members in the army who self-identified as gay. The purpose of this phenomenological qualitative study was to examine the lived experiences of discrimination based on the sexual orientation of male service members who self-identified as gay in the army since the repeal of the DADT policy. Using semi-structured interviews, four self-identified gay …

Staff Education Project An Educational Project To Educating Mental Health Staffs On Stress Management To Improve Knowledge And Staff Retention, Lilian Eneude

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This evidence-based educational project addressed the knowledge gap in stress management techniques among mental health nursing staff at an acute psychiatric facility. Mental health professionals experience substantially higher rates of workplace stress and burnout compared to other healthcare workers, affecting staff wellbeing, patient care quality, and organizational outcomes. The practice-focused question was: Does educating mental health nurses on stress management improve knowledge as evidenced by pre- and post-intervention? A comprehensive literature search was done at the Walden University Library using CINAHL, PubMed, and PsycINFO databases that yielded 200 potential articles, with 45 full-text articles reviewed and 20 high-quality studies included …

Personal Social Media Usage And The Effect On Individuals’ Job Satisfaction: A Social Identity Theory Perspective, Daniel Adam Blair

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Social networking sites are web-based platforms that serve as tools to enhance connectivity and communication for a broad spectrum of different individuals, but they may be doing a disservice to the users who overuse the platforms as a means to bolster their self-esteem surrounding their different identities. The purpose of this study was to examine the differences in individuals’ job satisfaction levels when using personal social media (PSM) to varying degrees and how individuals’ social identities may influence this interaction. Utilizing the social identity theory framework, this study aimed to determine whether a relationship exists between PSM usage and job …

Strategies In Cybersecurity For The Protection Of Patient Health Information (Phi), Denise Holloway

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Health information technology (IT) professionals are consistently seeking better ways to balance the availability of patient health information (PHI) with data breach prevention, as these breaches negatively impact health organizations legally and ethically due to the exposure of PHI. However, some health IT professionals lack strategies to protect PHI against cybersecurity attacks. Grounded in Dr. Edward Hutchins’ distributed cognition framework, the purpose of this qualitative pragmatic inquiry was to understand what strategies health IT professionals use to protect PHI against cybersecurity attacks. The participants were six IT professionals from Washington D.C., Maryland, and Virginia with at least five to seven …

Service Provider Practice And Dual Victimization Survivors Seeking Emergency Shelter, Lana Heinen

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The Violence Against Women Act supports responses to the crimes of domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking. It does not provide a permanent or guaranteed pathway to safe and stable housing for those experiencing the dual victimization of domestic violence and human trafficking. Service provider practices can alleviate or aggravate barriers faced by this population. These practices are influenced by the education and training service providers receive before entering the field and throughout their career. The purpose of this generic qualitative study was to explore service providers’ perceptions of structures and barriers contributing to the obstacles of accessing …

Elementary School Administrators Perceptions Of School-Wide Restorative Practices In A School District In Georgia, Simone Simmons

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This basic qualitative study explored the perceptions of elementary school administrators regarding the uses of restorative practices (RPs) to address an increase in undesirable behaviors among K–5 students in a northern public school district in Georgia. Guided by restorative justice theory, which emphasizes repairing harm and fostering positive relationships, the study focused on understanding how administrators perceive the effectiveness of RPs in managing student behavior during instructional time. The research questions focused on administrators’ perceptions of the effectiveness of RPs in addressing student behaviors in the classroom. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 10 elementary school administrators from the …

Pol Θ-Mediated End-Joining Uses Microhomologies Containing Mismatches, Yuzhen Li, Ngoc K Dang, Wei He, Mark Returan, Denisse Carvajal-Maldonado, Adele T Guerin, Han Xu, Bin Liu, Richard D Wood

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

DNA polymerase theta (Pol θ) initiates repair of DNA double-strand breaks by pairing single strands at short "microhomologies". It is important to understand microhomology selection, as some cancer cells rely on Pol θ for survival. Here, we investigate end-joining by purified human Pol θ, employing DNA sequencing of products generated from oligonucleotide libraries having diverse 3' ends. Pol θ overwhelmingly selects short internal microhomologies found within 15 nucleotides of the terminus of single-stranded DNAs, restricting deletion size during end-joining. Significantly, we find that the selected microhomologies are usually interrupted by mismatches and that base pairing within 6 nucleotides of the …

A Hedgehog-Foxf Axis Coordinates Dental Follicle-Derived Alveolar Bone Formation, Mizuki Nagata, Gaurav T Gadhvi, Taishi Komori, Yuki Arai, Chiaki Tsutsumi-Arai, Angel Ka Yan Chu, Seth N Nye, Yuntao Yang, Shion Orikasa, Akira Takahashi, Peter Carlsson, W Jim Zheng, Joshua D Welch, Noriaki Ono, Wanida Ono

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The alveolar bone is a specialized mineralized structure supporting the lifelong functionality of the tooth in mastication. The alveolar bone develops from the dental follicle (DF) during tooth root formation due to deliberate epithelial-mesenchymal interactions. However, how DF progenitor cell fates are regulated toward alveolar bone osteoblasts remains unknown. We find that Hedgehog signaling activities are transiently activated during the onset of tooth root formation and alveolar bone formation. Parathyroid hormone-related protein (PTHrP)-expressing DF cells are highly responsive to Hedgehog signaling, yet constitutive Hedgehog activation using Pthrp-creER and Ptch1-floxed alleles potently suppresses alveolar osteoblast and ligament differentiation of PTHrP+ DF …

Discharge System Field Sampling Plan, 2025 Update Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Npl Site Butte Mine Flooding Operable Unit | Butte, Montana, Mark Thompson, Dave Griffis

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

A Scoping Review Of Personalised Uk Maternity Care: Where Are We Now?, Louisa Tompkins, Gary Hodge, Jill Shawe, Lisa Burrows, Annick Bogaerts, Susie Pearce

School of Nursing and Midwifery

Background/AimsPersonalised care has been recommended continuously to improve UK maternity services. The aim of this review was to explore the current provision of personalised care and consider why it may not yet be fully embedded in practice.MethodsThis review of Embase, Medline, the Healthcare Management Information Consortium, the British Nursing Index, CINAHL, Google Scholar and reference lists found 15 articles published between 2014 and 2024, which were included for thematic analysis and synthesis.ResultsThe themes included the complexities of personalised care, different perspectives when implementing personalised care and the effect of cultural factors embedded in maternity services.ConclusionsBarriers to implementing personalised care include …

Vân Lê, Vân Lê '26, Nathalie Romero '25, Posse Legacy Project, Illinois Wesleyan University

All oral histories

Interview of Vân Lê on July 2, 2025 Vân Le is a Posse 6 Scholar who double majored in Political Science and International Global Studies Vân was also a member of the Multilingual Accessibility RSO, Pi Sigma Alpha and Scholars at Risk chapter at IWU. She was also an Eckley Scholar for 2025.

Artificial Intelligence For Detecting Non-Alcoholic Steatohepatitis (Nash), Muhammad Wildan Gifari, Yogi Ramadhani, Dhadhang Wahyu Kurniawan

Pharmaceutical Sciences and Research

Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), an inflammatory disease of the liver, has recently raised concern among healthcare professionals worldwide due to its asymptomatic features, making early diagnosis challenging. If left unnoticed, NASH often progresses to lethal diseases such as liver fibrosis or hepatocellular carcinoma. Recent developments in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) might facilitate the early diagnosis of NASH in a more efficient manner, forming a promising strategy to diagnose patients. In simple terms, AI is any machine that is capable of human-level intelligence, including visual perception, speech recognition, or decision making. A subclass of AI, which particularly deals with knowledge-based …

Pan-Cancer Copy Number Analysis Identifies Optimized Size Thresholds And Co-Occurrence Models For Individualized Risk Stratification, Minh P Nguyen, William C Chen, Kanish Mirchia, Abrar Choudhury, Naomi Zakimi, Vijay Nitturi, Tiemo J Klisch, Stephen T Magill, Calixto-Hope G Lucas, Akash J Patel, David R Raleigh

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Chromosome instability leading to aneuploidy and accumulation of copy number gains or losses is a hallmark of cancer. Copy number alteration (CNA) signatures are increasingly used for cancer risk stratification, but size thresholds for defining CNAs across cancers are variable and the biological and clinical implications of CNA size heterogeneity and co-occurrence are incompletely understood. Here we analyze CNA and clinical data from 691 meningiomas and 10,383 tumors from The Cancer Genome Atlas to develop cancer- and chromosome-specific size-dependent CNA and CNA co-occurrence models to predict tumor control and overall survival. Our results shed light on technical considerations for biomarker …

Immature Acta2r179c/+ Smooth Muscle Cells Cause Moyamoya-Like Cerebrovascular Lesions In Mice Prevented By Boosting Oxphos, Anita Kaw, Suravi Majumder, Jose E Esparza Pinelo, Ting Wu, Zbigniew Starosolski, Zhen Zhou, Albert J Pedroza, Xueyan Duan, Kaveeta Kaw, Angie D Gonzalez, Ripon Sarkar, Michael P Fischbein, Philip L Lorenzi, Lin Tan, Sara A Martinez, Iqbal Mahmud, Laxman Devkota, L Maximilian Buja, Heinrich Taegtmeyer, Ketan B Ghaghada, Sean P Marrelli, Callie S Kwartler, Dianna M Milewicz

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

ACTA2 pathogenic variants altering arginine 179 cause childhood-onset strokes due to moyamoya disease (MMD)-like occlusions of the distal internal carotid arteries, but the mechanisms of pathogenesis are unknown and no preventive treatments exist. Here we show that Acta2R179C/+ smooth muscle cells (SMCs) fail to fully differentiate and maintain stem cell-like features, including increased migration and glycolytic flux compared to wildtype (WT) SMCs. Increasing mitochondrial respiration with nicotinamide riboside (NR) drives differentiation and decreases migration of Acta2R179C/+ SMCs. Carotid artery injury of Acta2SMC-R179C/+ mice leads to premature death, intraluminal SMC accumulation leading to MMD-like occlusive lesions, neurologic symptoms, …

Protective Role Of Dietary Short-Chain Fatty Acid Propionate Against Autoimmune Responses And Pathology Of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus In Mrl-Lpr Mice, Hui Wang, Yuejin Liang, Paul J Boor, Kamil Khanipov, Yuanyi Zhang, Xiaoying Yu, Chandra Shekar R Ambati, Nagireddy Putluri, M Firoze Khan

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Background: Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic autoimmune disease that affects multiple organs, including the skin and kidneys. The etiology of SLE remains unclear but involves hormonal, environmental, and genetic factors. Environmental factors, such as diet and microbiota-derived metabolites, among which short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) are major players, can influence autoimmune disease pathogenesis.

Objectives: This study investigates the involvement of SCFAs in the pathogenesis of SLE and further investigates the effect of propionate (PA) supplementation on SLE disease outcome in MRL-lpr mice.

Methods: Cecal SCFAs from mouse models with varying degrees of SLE disease activities (C57BL/6, MRL+/+, and MRL-lpr) …

The Minnesota Conference Proposed Guidelines For Education And Training In Clinical Neuropsychology, Anthony Y Stringer, Kathleen Fuchs, Veronica Bordes Edgar, Thomas Bristow, Stephen Correia, Suzanne Penna, Anny Reyes, Douglas M Whiteside, Cady Block, Douglas Bodin, Sakina Butt, Matthew Calamia, Nyaz Didehbani, Peter Dodzik, Vonetta M Dotson, Mary Fernandes, Krista Freece, Richard Fuller, Glen Getz, Lana Harder, Farzin Irani, Laura Janzen, Brick Johnstone, Erin Kaseda, Megan Kramer, Cynthia Kubu, Jose Lafosse, Jennifer Lee-Darocha, Beatriz Macdonald, Adriana Macias Strutt, Michelle Madore, Will Mcbride, Luis Daniel Medina, Grace Mucci, Kritika Nayar, June Paltzer, Courtney Ray, Rebecca Ready, Taylor Rose Schmitt, Beth Rush, Shifali Singh, Scott Sperling, Lisa Stanford, William Stiers, Nikki Stricker, Allen Thornton, Ryan Van Patten, Susan Vandermorris, Kris Verroulx, Jaime Wilson, Ingram Wright, Andrea Zartman, Robert Bilder, Daryl Fujii, Amy Heffelfinger, Thomas Parsons, Antonio E Puente, Celiane Rey-Casserly, Brad Roper, Maureen Schmitter-Edgecombe

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Objective: The Houston Conference Guidelines (Hannay et al., 1998) provided an initial framework for North American neuropsychology training that served the specialty well for several decades. Subsequent advances in technology, increased diversity of the U.S. and Canadian populations, and the adoption of competency-based training models within Health Service Psychology have created a need to update neuropsychology training guidelines. Therefore, in 2022, the Minnesota Conference to Update Education and Training Guidelines in Clinical Neuropsychology began a two-year drafting process leading to the currently proposed update.

Method: A Steering Committee worked with content experts, consultants, and delegates representing North American neuropsychological organizations …

Predictive Indicators For Graduation Upon Acceptance Into A Naacls-Approved Medical Laboratory Science Program, Warren Hovis

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The primary purpose of this study was to determine the influence of selected academic and personal demographic characteristics on student success at a NAACLS-accredited medical laboratory science program in the southern portion of the United States.

Both academic and demographic categories were selected on students who entered the medical laboratory science program from 2014 to 2019 (pre-COVID). The sanitized, archived data set was provided by the MLS department and the registrar and student affairs office at the participating school. The extant data set contained academic and demographic variables, collected over a five-year period, of initially over 170 accepted MLS students. …

Environmental Exposures Increase Health Risks In Childhood Cancer Survivors, Omar Shakeel, Nicole M Wood, Hannah M Thompson, Michael E Scheurer, Mark D Miller

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Childhood cancer survivors (CCSs) are at increased risk for chronic health issues due to late effects of cancer and its treatment. We address the impact of environmental exposures, such as air pollution, tobacco smoke, extreme weather events, and pesticides, on the health and survival of CCSs. These environmental hazards have been associated with worsening health outcomes and decreased survival among CCSs on a global scale. We also highlight that providers at a major pediatric cancer center in the United States have limited knowledge and practical skills about environmental risk factors and how to reduce exposures. Our survey results show that …

Burnout Theory, Pandemic Teaching And Teacher Efficacy: What Is Lost When Schools Return To “Normal”?, Katy Farber, Penny A. Bishop

Journal of Educational Research and Practice

Our qualitative study examined educators’ perceptions of teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic through the lens of burnout theory. Using the three components of burnout as theorized by Maslach and Leiter (2016), we analyzed teachers’ self-reports of emotional exhaustion, cynicism/depersonalization, and reduced sense of professional self-efficacy. We interviewed 16 teachers who taught through the emergency remote-learning phase of the pandemic in March 2020 and remained in the same district when prepandemic practices returned. We conducted semistructured interviews in person and on Zoom with special educators, integrated arts teachers, school counselors, and general classroom teachers. We describe the unanticipated finding that teachers …