Digital Commons Network^™

Allostatic Load, Educational Attainment, And Risk Of Cancer Mortality Among Us Men, Cynthia Li, Sydney P Howard, Charles R Rogers, Sydney Andrzejak, Keon L Gilbert, Keith J Watts, Malcolm S Bevel, Myles D Moody, Marvin E Langston, Judah V Doty, Adetunji T Toriola, Darwin Conwell, Justin X Moore

2020-Current year OA Pubs

IMPORTANCE: Health disparities among racial and ethnic minoritized populations, particularly for cancer mortality rates, remain a major public health concern. Men from underrepresented backgrounds (Black and Hispanic men, specifically) face the pervasive effects of discrimination in their daily lives, which also contribute to the complex associations among allostatic load (a marker of chronic stress), educational opportunities, and elevated risks of cancer mortality.

OBJECTIVE: To elucidate the associations among educational attainment, allostatic load, and cancer mortality risk among men.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This is a retrospective cohort analysis of data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, a nationally …

Neuroanatomical Variability And Substance Use Initiation In Late Childhood And Early Adolescence, Alex P Miller, David A A Baranger, Sarah E Paul, Hugh Garavan, Scott Mackey, Susan F Tapert, Kimberly H Leblanc, Arpana Agrawal, Ryan Bogdan

2020-Current year OA Pubs

IMPORTANCE: The extent to which neuroanatomical variability associated with early substance involvement, which is associated with subsequent risk for substance use disorder development, reflects preexisting risk and/or consequences of substance exposure remains poorly understood.

OBJECTIVE: To examine neuroanatomical features associated with early substance use initiation and to what extent associations may reflect preexisting vulnerability.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: Cohort study using data from baseline through 3-year follow-up assessments of the ongoing longitudinal Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study. Children aged 9 to 11 years at baseline were recruited from 22 sites across the US between June 1, 2016, and October 15, …

Increasing Nursing Staff Knowledge On Medication Nonadherence Among Mental Health Patients, Princess Ndidi Amadi

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Medication nonadherence is a challenge among patients with severe mental health disorders, increasing the patients’ risk for exacerbations of psychosis and relapse, which may result in hospital emergency room visits and hospital admissions. In patients with schizophrenia, major depressive disorders, and bipolar disorders, the mean medication nonadherence is 49%. While no single strategy works, a combination of behavioral and educational strategies has been shown to improve patient adherence to their medication regimen. The purpose of the Doctor of Nursing Practice project was to increase healthcare professionals’ knowledge of behavioral and educational strategies to improve medication adherence among patients with severe …

Conservation Genomics In The Federally Endangered Whorled Sunflower, Helianthus Verticillatus (Asteraceae), Samantha Grace Drewry

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

Genetic diversity among and within populations of species is critical for survival in our rapidly changing world. Conservation genomics links studies of population genomic variation with conservation managers to provide scientific data for species management strategies. The whorled sunflower, Helianthus verticillatus (Asteraceae), is an endangered plant species endemic to the southeastern United States. Only five populations were known to exist, in Alabama, Georgia, and Tennessee, until about seven years ago when additional populations of the species were discovered in Mississippi and Virginia. Population genetic work using microsatellites revealed that the Mississippi population (known as MSCC) was genetically distinct from all …

Game Of Chance, Lily Kate Anthony

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

“Game of Chance” features a purportedly psychic protagonist, Lucy Cartwright, who works as a tarot card reader online and in public forums. After a series of toxic relationships and a lifetime of watching her mother’s relationships fail, Lucy is initiated into the world of tarot and Twin Flames by a fraudulent psychic named Christine. While romantic pressure from her culture and peers mounts, Lucy resorts to spellwork to manifest her Twin and then meets Chance, an optometry student and amateur gambler who falls for her quickly. The fragility of their connection is revealed when Lucy panics at contradictions in the …

The Legacy Of Section 230: Case History And Legal Perspective On Free Speech Regulation In The Digital Age, Owen Rosenberg

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

This thesis explores the legal evolution and societal implications of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, a landmark provision that shields internet platforms from liability for user-generated content. Since its inception, Section 230 has fostered unprecedented growth in digital communication by allowing platforms to host and moderate content without traditional publisher liabilities. However, with the rise of social media and algorithmic content promotion, the statute's broad immunity has sparked intense debates about platform responsibility. Through case analyses—including Reno v. ACLU, Gonzalez v. Google LLC, and Twitter, Inc. v. Taamneh—this study examines how judicial interpretations of Section 230 have adapted …

Negation As Cue During Semantic Learning, David Aaron Heath

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

Word learning begins by mapping novel words to referents in the world. Over time, this mapping becomes a reliable semantic representation with semantic relationships to other words. A major contributor to the strength of semantic relationships is context. We explored the extent to which purely linguistic context can influence semantic relationships. We used an artificial language learning task combined with the visual world paradigm to assess the degree of coactivation between yoked items. Participants learned novel words for familiar images in yoked pairs. We manipulated the linguistic context during training trials by presenting the novel words with a negation or …

Prenatal Tobacco Exposure, Brain Subcortical Volumes, And Gray-White Matter Contrast, Troy B. Puga, Gaelle E. Doucet, Grace Thiel

Student Publications

Importance Maternal tobacco use during pregnancy (MTDP) remains a major public health challenge. However, the complete spectrum of effects of MTDP is not fully understood.

Objectives To examine the longitudinal associations of MTDP and children’s brain morphometric subcortical volume and gray-white matter contrast (GWC) development.

Design, Setting, and Participants Cohort study of children aged 9 to 10 years at wave 1 (October 2016 to October 2018) and at a 2-year follow-up (wave 2; August 2018 to January 2021; aged 11-12 years) across 21 US sites in the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study. Data were analyzed from October 2023 to …

Connecting Lighthouses To Spiritual Tourism: The Case Of The Hellenic Lighthouse Network, Polyxeni Moira, Paraskevi Kakaroucha

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

Lighthouses operate as carriers of cultural value and encapsulate universal connotations. They are harmoniously integrated in unspoilt landscapes, some of which are considered dystopian. Their delicate albeit resilient structure, settled within dynamic geophysical fields, elicits philosophical quests and metaphysical concerns. Lighthouses are connected to narratives of heroism, solitude, self-efficacy and lunacy, with altruistic keepers and divine or supernatural entities starring in plenty of them. Moreover, lighthouses have been associated with religious facilities and rituals for many centuries. Therefore, they attract people pursuing transformative experiences away from mass tourism locations and could unsurprisingly be included in alternative spiritual tourism itineraries.

Greek …

Passion Plays And Their Touristic Utilisation: Authenticity Or Commercialisation?, Dimitrios Mylonopoulos, Polyxeni Moira, Elli Terzoglou

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

Tourism development and the economic benefits that come from tourism have led to the increase and revival of religious celebrations and festivals in the form of events and performances, especially during the Holy Week. Many events such as Passion Plays of Jesus, due to their enduring existence in time, ‘authenticity’, particularities, originality and the emotions they evoke, capture the attention of both religious people and tourists. These Passion Plays are specific religious-cultural events that consist of depictions of scenes from Jesus Christ’s passion, following the biblical narrations (e.g. the Teaching, the Passion, the Crucifixion, the Resurrection). According to UNESCO (2014), …

Impact Analysis Of Religious Events: Medjugorje As A Pilgrimage Destination, Igor Stamenkovic, Ivan Dodig, Dajana Vukojević

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

Medjugorje is one of the most well-known and attractive pilgrimage sites for Roman Catholics. The phenomenon of Medjugorje is linked to the apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary to six children, which, according to the children’s claims, began in June 1981, after which this town has become one of the most visited destinations in the whole of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Tens of thousands of pilgrims attend the International Youth Festival “Mladifest”, a religious gathering that has been going on for more than thirty years. The purpose of this paper is to research and explain how this religious event impacts a …

Dante’S Pilgrimage: Transformation As A ‘Web Of Belief’, Stephen F. Haller

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

In Dante’s allegorical pilgrimage to hell and back, he travels through three stages of transformation that are illustrated in his paradigmatic example of identity transformation; namely, Dante’s Divine Comedy. As a pilgrim, he starts out in a state of ‘unease’ (or ‘sin’). Next, there is a ‘solution’ to his psychological disarray, which results in the religious experience of joy. William James has persuasively argued that these are the common features of all religious experiences (1901). Dante is in a stage of his life when he can no longer be reached by argument. This state of mind is described, by the …

Increasing The Attractiveness Of Hungarian Religious Pilgrimage Routes, The Case Of Rurallure, Ákos Lencsés, Ildikó Kádárné Kelemen, Ildikó Csepregi, Zsófia Galgócziné Szabó

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

The paper discusses the regional variations and attractiveness of pilgrimage routes in Europe, focusing on the Way of Mary. The Horizon Europe project rurAllure aims to use innovative techniques, such as narrative techniques of cultural heritage and mapping non-religious points of interests, to expand the area around the route and attract younger and spiritually-seeking pilgrims. The study introduces the selection criteria, workflow, and technologies used to enhance the tourism experience along the route, exploring alternative route variants and narrative creating techniques. For this, we describe and analyse the data of Points of Interest (POIs), narratives, and recommended trips generated as …

The Effectiveness Of Turn Teams In Preventing Pressure Injuries, Grace Elizabeth Carlisle

Honors Capstone Projects and Theses

No abstract provided.

Understanding Bigeye Scad (Selar Crumenophthalmus) In Southeast Florida: Age-Growth, Reproduction, And Diet, Mariah France

All HCAS Student Capstones, Theses, and Dissertations

In southeastern Florida, the bigeye scad (Selar crumenophthalmus) is highly regarded as a baitfish for targeting billfish and other large sportfishes, often commanding market prices as live bait exceeding $180 per dozen. Despite its economic significance, there is limited knowledge regarding the species within the Atlantic Ocean, especially the population that occurs in Florida. Bigeye scad were collected monthly from local bait shops in Pompano Beach, Miami, and Islamorada to assess age-growth, reproductive behaviors, and dietary habits. Specimens from May to August had the highest values for length-weight relationships and gonadsomatic index, indicative of a spawning season during …

Vps13b Is Localized At The Interface Between Golgi Cisternae And Is A Functional Partner Of Fam177a1, Berrak Ugur, Florian Schueder, Jimann Shin, Michael G Hanna, Yumei Wu, Marianna Leonzino, Maohan Su, Anthony R Mcadow, Catherine Wilson, John Postlethwait, Lilianna Solnica-Krezel, Joerg Bewersdorf, Pietro De Camilli

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Mutations in VPS13B, a member of a protein family implicated in bulk lipid transport between adjacent membranes, cause Cohen syndrome. VPS13B is known to be concentrated in the Golgi complex, but its precise location within this organelle and thus the site(s) where it achieves lipid transport remains unclear. Here, we show that VPS13B is localized at the interface between proximal and distal Golgi subcompartments and that Golgi complex reformation after Brefeldin A (BFA)-induced disruption is delayed in VPS13B KO cells. This delay is phenocopied by the loss of FAM177A1, a Golgi complex protein of unknown function reported to be a …

Substance Use Disorder Civil Commitment And Association With Post-Commitment Treatment Retention Among Adult Women, Lydie Ultimo

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The effects of substance abuse are a public health challenge, as evidenced by the prevalence of drug-related overdoses since the year 2000. Involuntary civil commitment (ICC) denotes a legal basis to mandate treatment for people at imminent risk of harm due to substance use disorders (SUD). Grounded on the transtheoretical model stages of change, this quantitative retrospective cohort study analyzed the relationship between mental disorder history, medication for addiction treatment (MAT), and voluntary retention in SUD treatment post-ICC, controlling for age, race/ethnicity, drugs used, housing status, and Department of Children and Families services. Secondary data from the Massachusetts Department of …

Staff Education To Improve Antipsychotic Medication Adherence, Muhammad J. Matlub

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This staff educational project addressed a gap in practice involving minimal nursing intervention to support antipsychotic medication adherence. Antipsychotic medication nonadherence results in undermanaged schizophrenia, which is associated with relapse psychotic episodes, suicidality, and violence. Therefore, the project’s purpose was to educate the providers on long-acting injectable (LAI) antipsychotic medication to facilitate the use of the medications to address antipsychotic medication nonadherence. Eight providers were involved in the educational intervention and were educated on the LAI antipsychotic treatment intervention through an interactive educational session. Knowledge surveys were administered before and after the educational intervention. The collected data were analyzed using …

Nanofabrication Of Tetraphenyl Porphyrin Surface Assemblies Linked With Tin Tetrachloride: A Scanning Probe Microscopy Investigation, Quynh Do

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Scanning probe microscopy (SPM) and colloidal lithography methods were used to study the covalent coupling of porphyrins to surfaces. In this dissertation, experimental methods for SPM operation, techniques, and applications are described. Measurement of tip-sample interactions between a sharp tip and surface is translated into digital image data maps with x-, y-, and z-data. Colloidal lithography can be used to fabricate test platforms for AFM studies. The periodicity and arrangement of the designed nanostructures is determined by the size of the colloidal particles used for surface masks. Data processing is required to obtain images and topography information from raw AFM …

Urinary Metal Levels, Cognitive Test Performance, And Dementia In The Multi-Ethnic Study Of Atherosclerosis, Arce Domingo-Relloso, Katlyn E Mcgraw, Susan R Heckbert, Jose A Luchsinger, Kathrin Schilling, Ronald A Glabonjat, Irene Martinez-Morata, Melanie Mayer, Yongmei Liu, Alexis C Wood, Jeff Goldsmith, Kathleen M Hayden, Mohamad Habes, Ilya M Nasrallah, R Nick Bryan, Tanweer Rashid, Wendy S Post, Jerome I Rotter, Priya Palta, Linda Valeri, Timothy M Hughes, Ana Navas-Acien

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

IMPORTANCE: Metals are established neurotoxicants, but evidence of their association with cognitive performance at low chronic exposure levels is limited.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the association of urinary metal levels, individually and as a mixture, with cognitive tests and dementia diagnosis, including effect modification by apolipoprotein ε4 allele (APOE4).

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: The multicenter prospective cohort Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) was started from July 2000 to August 2002, with follow-up through 2018. A total of 6303 MESA participants were included. Data analysis was performed from October 12, 2023, to June 13, 2024.

EXPOSURE: Urine samples were collected at baseline …

Individualized Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Neuromodulation Enhances Visuospatial Perception: A Proof-Of-Concept Study, Anthony Allam, Vincent Allam, Sandy Reddy, Eric M Rohren, Sameer A Sheth, Emmanouil Froudarakis, T Dorina Papageorgiou

Duncan NRI Faculty and Staff Publications

This proof-of-concept study uses individualized functional magnetic resonance imaging neuromodulation (iNM) to explore the mechanisms that enhance BOLD signals in visuospatial perception (VP) networks that are crucial for navigation. Healthy participants (n = 8) performed a VP up- and down-direction discrimination task at full and subthreshold coherence through peripheral vision, and superimposed direction through visual imagery (VI) at central space under iNM and control conditions. iNM targets individualized anatomical and functional middle- and medial-superior temporal (MST) networks that control VP. We found that iNM engaged selective exteroceptive and interoceptive attention (SEIA) and motor planning (MP) networks. Specifically, iNM increased …

Extreme Wrinkling Of The Nuclear Lamina Is A Morphological Marker Of Cancer, Ting-Ching Wang, Christina R Dollahon, Sneha Mishra, Hailee Patel, Samere Abolghasemzade, Ishita Singh, Vilmos Thomazy, Daniel G Rosen, Vlad C Sandulache, Saptarshi Chakraborty, Tanmay P Lele

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Nuclear atypia is a hallmark of cancer. A recent model posits that excess surface area, visible as folds/wrinkles in the lamina of a rounded nucleus, allows the nucleus to take on diverse shapes with little mechanical resistance. Whether this model is applicable to normal and cancer nuclei in human tissues is unclear. We image nuclear lamins in patient tissues and find: (a) nuclear laminar wrinkles are present in control and cancer tissue but are obscured in hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) images, (b) nuclei rarely have a smooth lamina, and (c) wrinkled nuclei assume diverse shapes. Deep learning reveals the presence …

Machine Learning-Guided Differential Gene Expression Analysis Identifies A Highly-Connected Seven-Gene Cluster In Triple-Negative Breast Cancer, Hany Ghazal, El-Sayed A. El-Absawy, Waleed Ead, Mohamed E. Hasan

BioMedicine

Background: One of the most challenging cancers is triple-negative breast cancer, which is subdivided into many molecular subtypes. Due to the high degree of heterogeneity, the role of precision medicine remains challenging. With the use of machine learning (ML)-guided gene selection, the differential gene expression analysis can be optimized, and eventually, the process of precision medicine can see great advancement through biomarker discovery.

Purpose: Enhancing precision medicine in the oncology field by identification of the most representative differentially-expressed genes to be used as biomarkers or as novel drug targets.

Methods: By utilizing data from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) repository …

Transformative Interventions In Cell Biology: The Development And Use Of Instructor/Student-Interactive Demonstrations Of Key Cell Biology Concepts, Prashanth Rao, Ashok Upadhyaya, Meera Nanjundan

International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education

In Cell Biology, a sophomore/junior undergraduate-level high-enrollment core course, students are expected to develop a broad and detailed understanding of the functioning of eukaryotic cells. For example, some of the more challenging biological concepts include machinery involved in the replication and translational processes, protein trafficking/orientation in membranes, as well as both G protein-coupled receptor and receptor tyrosine kinase signal transduction pathways. In this instructional article, we describe prior published reports of the use of interactive demonstrations of several of these key biological concepts in the classroom. Furthermore, we narrate our efforts to integrate several of these disparate evidence-based techniques (EBTs) …

Fostering Active Learning And Metacognitive Skills In A Cognitive-Science Based Math Course, Sheila Tabanli

International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education

There is a large body of research on how to improve student learning through active learning and metacognition. However, without well-structured guidelines, students do not tend to actively engage with the taught material, peers, and the instructor at a desirable metacognitive level (Deslauriers et al., 2019). To address this problem, a research-driven assessment structure is integrated into a nontraditional course called “Methods for Mathematical Problem Solving” (M2PS). Methods for Mathematical Problem Solving was designed by the author to teach students effective study principles stemming from cognitive science. The assessments include synchronous check for understanding (CFU) assignments to further investigate the …

Learners Authoring Their Agency Related To An English For Academic Purposes Course, Riina Seppälä

International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education

Given the demands of modern working life, university studies should support students’ life-long learning and agency. This article explores the types of agency learners from an English for Academic Purposes (EAP) course described in interviews. The interviews were conducted in two groups in 2 consecutive years, in two stages: at the end of the EAP course as well as 6 to 7 months later. Through thematic content analysis, three types of agency were identified: instrumental agency, operational agency, and reflective agency. These types usually differed in terms of the contexts in which the learners placed the agency, the positions the …

Efficacy Of Online Laboratory Exercises In Achieving Undergraduate Learning Outcomes In Introductory Astronomy Classes, Kristen Miller, Shelli Carter

International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education

Fully online courses and degree programs are popular with students today. It is important that these courses provide the same rigor and value of a traditional learning experience in a face-to-face classroom in order to ensure mastery of concepts and learning objectives. Online classes typically have suffered due to a lack of hands-on experiences for the students. One remedy to this is to include simulated hands-on work in the course through online laboratory exercises. The belief is that these simulated labs allow students to actively engage in the learning process, thus providing a traditional learning component in the online classroom. …

The Effects Of Math Anxiety On The Performance Of Undergraduate Business Majors: Using Self-Efficacy As A Mediator, Audrey Meador

International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education

This research contributes to the body of knowledge regarding mathematics anxiety, self-efficacy, and performance in mathematics. Specifically, this study analyzed these constructs as they pertain to undergraduate business students enrolled in entry-level, prerequisite mathematics courses. Information was collected via surveys utilizing the Mathematics Self-Efficacy and Anxiety Questionnaire (MSEAQ). Results based on regression modeling were consistent with prior research involving the relationship between mathematics anxiety and performance, with self-efficacy serving as a mediator. Data indicated an inverse relationship between math anxiety and math self-efficacy, an inverse relationship between math anxiety and students’ expected grade, differences in math self efficacy by business …

Using Legitimation Code Theory (Lct) To Define And Track The Practice Of The Scholarship Of Teaching And Learning, Mark Brooke, Daron Loo, Chloe Wong

International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education

In this article, we demonstrate how Legitimation Code Theory (LCT) can be enacted to explore the nature of Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) in higher education. Specialization and semantics from LCT are applied to define SoTL practice and map cumulative knowledge building processes. As members of the Faculty Development Committee (FDC), we enact LCT tools to conceptualize our professional development. We provide SoTL narratives as well as vignettes depicting how LCT led to positive transformative learning. The article concludes that LCT tools, with their explanatory power, can be utilized to form highly effective components of a faculty development program.

Factors Related To Study Progress Among First-Year Agriculture Students, Hanna-Riitta Kymäläinen, Jokke Hasa, Ilona Södervik

International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education

The first study year at university predicts the progress and quality of later studies. The aim of our study was to explore factors that affect first-year agriculture students. In the end of their first year, 49 students answered a questionnaire measuring self-efficacy, approaches to learning, and study-related burnout. They also reported the factors that enhanced or impeded their studies. According to their approaches to learning, students were clustered into three profiles. One of these represented successful students with an organized approach, strong self-efficacy and little burnout, and another a more unorganized group. The third group had a dissonant profile and …