Digital Commons Network^™

Enhancing Emergency Preparedness In California High Schools: A Policy Framework For Implementing Nata-Compliant Emergency Action Plans Through Multidisciplinary Task Forces, Jennifer Lu

Doctor of Nursing Practice Final Manuscripts

Abstract

Background: Sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) is the leading cause of death in young athletes, yet it is highly survival with proven measures: a structured emergency action plan (EAP), cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training, and access to an automated external defibrillator (AED) within 3 minutes can raise survival rates to 90%. Despite this, high schools show inconsistent compliance, largely due to the lack of fragmented oversight and lack of standardized practices

Purpose of Project: This proposal advocates for multidisciplinary task forces to enforce venue-specific, National Athletic Trainers Association (NATA)-compliant EAPs across California high schools, with the goal of improving emergency response …

Optimizing Lactation Support: Enhancing Patient-Centered Care And Breastfeeding Self Efficacy Through Data-Driven Survey Analysis, Jessica L. Doshay

Doctor of Nursing Practice Final Manuscripts

Objective: The objective of this project was to implement evaluation of an integrated lactation support model within a multi‑site pediatric primary care organization to assess patient experience and breastfeeding confidence associated with a lactation consultation.

Background: Optimizing the patient experience is an indicator of healthcare quality. Improving breastfeeding outcomes remains a national priority. Structured lactation support delivered by International Board-Certified Lactation Consultants (IBCLCs) enhances breastfeeding outcomes, the impact of this is often undocumented in primary care settings.

Methods: This quality improvement project was conducted within the lactation department of a multicenter pediatric clinic in Southern California. Pediatric clinicians who were …

"It's Such A Natural Fit": Integrating Reggio Emilia And Head Start For Emergent Multilinguals, Christina Bohr

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

Early childhood education classrooms reflect the increasing cultural and linguistic diversity of the United States where many children are raised speaking more than one language. Teachers in the early education field play a critical role in supporting children’s development of language and identity. Head Start, who serves a large population of emergent multilinguals (mls), plays an essential role in offering learning environments that foster language development in both English and their home language, among many other critical skills. The Reggio Emilia philosophy is a child-centered and community-oriented approach that promotes children’s independence, exploration, and intellectual development, and is frequently integrated …

Streamlined Biomedical Image Processing Pipelines, Jiehyun Kim

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation focuses on advancing carotid artery analysis through a series of visualizations and deep learning tools for calcified plaque assessment and related biomedical imaging tasks. Accurate plaque evaluation is essential, but current workflows depend on slow, clinician-dependent manual review. To address these limitations, this work introduces the CACTAS framework, a set of tools and methods that enable fast and reliable plaque segmentation for clinicians.

The first study, the CACTAS-Tool, provides a web-based labeling tool that enables clinicians to label plaque directly in three dimensions through a streamlined one-click interface. This tool significantly reduces the effort required to generate high-quality …

Academic Identity Construction Among 1.5-Generation Students In Esl Business Communication Courses At A U.S. University, Rachel K. La Russo

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

Although 1.5-generation students complete most of their K-12 schooling in the United States, at the university level they are often placed in ESL courses due to deficit views of multilingualism that assess their writing as grammatically inaccurate. Research shows ESL courses often fail to foster 1.5-generation students’ academic development, resulting in low educational achievement and high drop-out rates (Barsony, 2016; di Gennaro, 2016; Marchese, 2021; Uman, 2018). The purpose of this qualitative study is to investigate academic identity construction among 1.5-generation students enrolled in two de facto ESL Business Communication courses at a large urban university in Fall 2022. Drawing …

Accounts Of Student Financial Aid Counselors: Identifying And Reducing Obstacles In Their Counseling Roles And Responsibilities, Andrew Joshua Marx

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

In the financial aid office, student financial aid counselor positions are held by professionals often new to the field of financial aid. Their work supports students’ access to financial aid through routine updates to students’ accounts, counseling students on navigating the financial aid process, and guiding students on petitions for exceptions. Their ability to resolve the financial aid concerns of students may be constrained by obstacles that result from financial aid policy, challenging work conditions, or resource limitations. Their attitudes, behaviors, and conduct not only shape how financial aid policy is implemented but, crucially, place it in the context of …

The Marginalizing Effect Of Special Education: Investigating The Overrepresentation Of Black Males Identified With Emotional Impairment In A Separate School In An Urban Setting, Cindie Neilson

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

The American public education system relies heavily on normed and standardized mechanisms to define competence, behavior, and academic success. By design, such systems cannot accommodate the full range of human variation and instead reproduce expectations rooted in dominant culture norms. When embedded within a racially stratified educational system, Special Education, while intended to provide access and opportunity for students with disabilities, can function as a mechanism through which inequality is reproduced. This qualitative study examined the persistent overrepresentation of Black males identified with Emotional Impairment in highly restrictive separate day school settings. The research was conducted in a public separate …

Computer-Aided Development Of Novel Antioxidants, Rita Bernadett Vlocsko

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

Physiological redox homeostasis is a fine balance between prooxidants and antioxidants that are integrated elements of several reduction-oxidation mechanisms at molecular, organellar, cellular and tissue levels. When this equilibrium is disrupted and prooxidants become dominant, the body relies on endogenous and exogenous antioxidants to counterbalance the dysregulation and ultimately prevent the progression of oxidative stress. Reactive species (reactive oxygen species, reactive nitrogen species, or reactive sulfur species) are significant contributors to prooxidant activity. Over the years, substantial knowledge has been accumulated regarding their origin and roles in disease development, leading to the discovery and development of antioxidants that effectively target …

Whose Knowledge Is Sustained?: Dominican Students’ Cultural And Linguistic Experiences Navigating White, Female, And Monolingual Pedagogical Spaces, Carminia Lissette Castillo

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

This qualitative study examined how Dominican newcomer youth experience schooling in U.S. secondary schools, with emphasis on language, curriculum, identity, belonging, and students’ visions for more humanizing educational environments. Grounded in student testimonios, the study explored how school structures, pedagogical practices, and teacher–student relationships shape students’ academic engagement, emotional well-being, and sense of recognition as they navigate migration, language transition, and racialized identity formation. Informed by raciolinguistic, culturally sustaining, and critical interpretive frameworks, this study centered Dominican students’ voices as sources of knowledge about schooling, exclusion, and possibility. The findings comprise three central themes. First, students described raciolinguistic schooling …

Xanthogranulomatous Osteomyelitis As A Bone Tumor Mimic: A Systematic Review Of Pre-Biopsy Diagnostic Clues And Management Decision Points, Ethan J. Sack, Max Deneroff, Austin Khau, Zubair Mohammed, Chadi Ellaham, Jared Nichols

Student Publications

Xanthogranulomatous osteomyelitis (XO) is a rare inflammatory form of osteomyelitis that can closely resemble a primary bone tumor or metastatic lesion at presentation. This systematic review was conducted in accordance with Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines and focused on pre-biopsy diagnostic clues and management decision points in published skeletal XO reports. PubMed, Embase, and Scopus were searched from January 2026 to May 2026, identifying 86 records. Eligible studies included human case reports and case series describing histologically confirmed skeletal XO or xanthogranulomatous inflammation involving bone; non-skeletal xanthogranulomatous disease, duplicate reports, review articles without extractable patient-level …

Drilling Fluid Enhancement Via Addition Of Sustainably Synthesized Nanoparticles, Hasan A. Abbood, Sarmad Al-Anssari

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

The addition of nanoparticles to the drilling fluids for geological projects is a promising application for enhancing the stability, rheological properties, and overall performance of the mud. This study aims to thoroughly analyze and compare the effects of silica and alumina nanoparticles on the properties and effectiveness of polymer drilling mud. Silica and alpha-alumina nanoparticles were synthesized using the sol-gel process and characterized through several techniques, including X-ray diffraction, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, field-emission scanning electron microscopy, and atomic force microscopy. The effects of silica and alumina nanoparticles on various properties of drilling mud were then measured using a permeable plugging …

Enhancing Physiological Complexity Through Mindfulness: A Wearable-Based Intervention For First Responders And Their Partners, Thurmon Lockhart, Rahul Soangra, Christopher W. Frames, Sun-Kyung Lee, Amberlee Martin, Susanne Lee, Abigail H. Gewirtz

Physical Therapy Faculty Articles and Research

Background/Objectives: First responders frequently encounter high-stress environments that challenge physiological resilience and autonomic regulation. Heart rate variability (HRV) complexity is a critical marker of adaptive capacity and stress regulation. This study assessed the impact of a wearable-based mindfulness intervention on HRV complexity among first responders using a smartwatch. Methods: A total of 87 first responders participated in a one-month wearable-based intervention. Participants wore Garmin Vivosmart 5 devices to continuously collect PPG data (photoplethysmogram), focusing on beat-to-beat intervals (BBIs). The intervention involved daily Ecological Momentary Assessments (EMAs) and individual randomization to either a mindfulness message, a prompt to access an audio …

Artificial Intelligence In Healthcare: Ethical Frameworks, Challenges, And Global Approaches To Responsible Implementation: A Perspective, Vikas Vaibhav, Arwinder Singh, Yashpal S, Raviprakash Meshram, Varun Chandran A, Kshitiza Sharma

Graduate Medical Education Research Journal

Major advancements in domains like diagnosis and personalised treatment will be seen because of the rapid growth of artificial intelligence (AI) in healthcare. But this shift additionally presents significant ethical concerns that need to be carefully considered at every stage of AI's research, use, and impact on society in medical settings.

This review summarises the findings of multiple systematic and scoping reviews, as well as studies of specific AI applications published between 2013 and 2025. Additionally, it examines ethical norms from different countries and international organisations objectively. Consistent ethical challenges identified include the "black box" problem (lack of transparency and …

Knowledge And Perception Of Patients Regarding A Postpartum Standardized Hypertensive Disorder Educational Program, Arin Everett, Niranjana Balu, Santiago Ortiz Barragan, Marly Azzi, Sanela Potchileev, Courtney Bisson, Ariel Mueller, Lea Runesha, Sajid Shahul, Sarosh Rana

Graduate Medical Education Research Journal

Background. Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) are a major contributor to rising maternal mortality in the United States. The postpartum period represents a critical window to provide education aimed at reducing the risks of complications. This study evaluates the patients’ understanding of HDP and their retention of key education concepts during the first six weeks postpartum after participation in a structured quality improvement program.

Methods. Prospective cohort study of patients diagnosed with HDP were enrolled in the remote blood pressure monitoring program (RPM) and delivered between June 2023 and January 2024. Baseline surveys were administered prior to discharge and repeated …

National Report Of United States (2025), Christine Speidel

Research Reports & White Papers

The Observatory on the Protection of Taxpayers’ Rights (OPTR) identifies principles, minimum standards and best practices for the effective protection of taxpayers’ rights. It allows for the permanent monitoring of global compliance with such minimum standards and their amendment and development in different regions of the world.

Software Engineering: Ai-Enhanced Full Stack Development, Huixin Wu, Haiying Xiao

Open Educational Resources

This course provides instruction in full‑stack web application development using modern JavaScript technologies. Students design, implement, and deploy web‑based solutions while applying AI‑assisted development tools in an ethical and effective manner. The curriculum emphasizes problem‑solving, system design, teamwork, and industry‑standard best practices, with dedicated focus on cloud‑native development—including containerization, distributed services, and modern deployment pipelines—as well as API‑first architecture, enabling students to build scalable, maintainable, and interoperable applications aligned with current industry expectations.

Increasing Access To Medications For Opioid Use Disorder For All Justice-Associated Populations, Edgar Rodriguez

Doctor of Nursing Practice Final Manuscripts

The purpose of this paper is to support a federal mandate requiring universal access to medication of opioid use disorder for all the justice-involved populations. The policy proposal aims to standardize evidence-based treatment across correctional systems, improve treatment initiation during incarceration, strengthen continuity of care after release, reduce overdose mortality, and address disparities in access for racial and economic groups and rural communities. This policy paper calls for the increase of access to medications of opioid use disorder across the United States for all justice-involved population. The opioid crisis has created a public health problem in the United States by …

Mri-Based Deep Learning Radiomics Model For Automated Classification Of Disc Degeneration In The Lumbar Spine, Shiv Patil, Om Gandhi, Mert Karabacak, Matthew Carr, Konstantinos Margetis

Student Papers, Posters & Projects

Disc degeneration in the lumbar spine is a major cause of low back pain (LBP). The accurate grading of disc degeneration on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is critical for clinical management and patient selection for spine surgery. This study aims to develop and evaluate machine learning (ML) models that combine features from deep learning (DL) and radiomics for the automated prediction of Pfirrmann grade (PG), a measure of disc degeneration, using multi-parametric lumbar spine MRI. Sagittal T1, T2, and T2 SPACE MRIs of 218 patients with LBP were acquired from the SPIDER dataset. For each intervertebral disc and available sequence, …

On The Brink Of Silence: Ethnographic Perspectives On Hunting And Forest Life Among The Awa Guajá In Eastern Amazonia, Uirá Garcia

Tipití: Journal of the Society for the Anthropology of Lowland South America

The central theme of this article basically resides in the relationship established by indigenous peoples between their hunting practices and the forest. Indigenous ways of connecting ‘hunting’ and ‘forest’ necessarily pass through other modes of knowing, only marginally – if it all – dependent on vision. On the contrary, sounds, smells and even dreams are, for many South American indigenous collectives, more trustworthy indices than what the eye sees. This article divides into two parts. In the first, I set out the main ideas related to the anthropological study of hunting in Amazonia at a conceptual level. In the second, …

Working Out Your Self-Image: Strength, Self-Esteem, And Human Flourishing, Kingston K. Christie

Honors Projects

This project integrates empirical research in exercise science with theological anthropology to examine the psychological effects of resistance training and the meaning of strength within a Christian framework of human dignity and flourishing. The empirical component investigated the effects of a four-week progressive resistance training intervention on global self-esteem and physical self-concept among undergraduate university students with moderate-to-low baseline self-esteem. Eleven participants (N = 11; 20.15 ± 1.52 yrs) completed the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES) and Physical Self-Description Questionnaire Short Form (PSDQ-S) before and after the intervention, with muscular strength assessed via submaximal testing across the squat, bench press, deadlift, …

Between The Root And The Stem: On Women-Plant Relations, Predation And Familiarisation Among The Awajún (Upper Amazonas, Peru), Nils Haukeland Vedal

Tipití: Journal of the Society for the Anthropology of Lowland South America

What to do with the problem of predation? This is not only a conundrum for anthropologists working in what has become known as animist societies. The gardening activities of the Awajún people of northern Peru’s high jungle are modelled on the teachings of the original mother of cultivated plants, Núgkui, who granted the Awajún their cultivars. Yet gardening is not an easy matter. The manioc sprouts seek to suck the blood of gardeners unless they are treated correctly. This article explores how predation is constantly kept at bay through familiarisation practices in which garden plants are made into the vegetative …

Simplification Of Technical Language In Tagesschau News For B1-Level German Vocabulary Learning, Syaula Qonit Helga, Dewi Kartika Ardiyani

Journal of Innovation and Teacher Professionalism

This study aims to identify and categorize the types of Fachsprache (specialized language) found in simplified Tagesschau news and to explore their potential use for B1-level German vocabulary learning. The study employs a qualitative descriptive approach using content analysis. Data were collected from news videos available on the Tagesschau YouTube channel and analyzed according to three categories: (1) CEFR level, (2) subject area, and (3) usage context. The data were processed through data reduction techniques to simplify Fachsprache terms at higher CEFR levels, followed by data display and interpretation to examine the identification results, and finally, conclusion drawing. The findings …

"Nothing Is Simple". An Ethnographic Theory And Its History, Marcio Goldman, Elizabeth Ewart, Patrick O'Hare

Tipití: Journal of the Society for the Anthropology of Lowland South America

This lecture was given on April 16th, 2026, at St Andrews University, as the 2nd Peter Gow Memorial Lecture. Its aim is not only to pay tribute to a great anthropologist who died prematurely, but also to explore a fundamental aspect of his work. Namely, the fact that Peter Gow developed what we might call an “ethnographic theory of mixture”. This theory is elaborated here through a comparison between Peter Gow’s work and my own, with a particular focus on what I have termed the Afro-indigenous relationship, counter-miscegenation, and counter-syncretism.

Debatrix, Vivienne Lu, Huy Ngo, Luke Ponssen, Jonathan Preiss, Ryan Rani

Computer Science and Engineering Senior Theses

Developing public-speaking skills remains a persistent challenge in formal education, constrained by limited instructional time and the lack of scalable, individualized feedback. Existing automated tools address only narrow aspects of this problem, offering text-based coaching against rigid rubrics that fail to capture argument quality, evidence use, or real-time rebuttal skill. This thesis presents Debatrix, an AI-powered platform that enables K-12 students, university learners, and independent self-studiers to debate an intelligent opponent. The system combines automatic speech recognition, large language model-driven rebuttal generation, and a multi-dimensional rhetorical analysis engine that evaluates argument structure, evidence integration, and persuasive technique. Users receive explainable …

Evaluating The Market Withdrawal Of Andexanet Alfa, Jordyn Linfield, Addisyn Cooper, Alexander Defranco, Emma Gerding, Jessica Kelley, Tyler Henney, Connor Dains, Brenna Hissong, Brittany Bates

Pharmacy and Wellness Review

The coagulation cascade comprises intrinsic, extrinsic, and common pathways that converge when thrombin converts fibrinogen (factor I) into fibrin, leading to fibrin mesh formation, stabilization of the platelet plug, and ultimately thrombus formation. Inhibition of the coagulation cascade can be achieved with a variety of anticoagulant medications, including direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs). The mechanism of action of DOACs is to inhibit either factor Xa or thrombin. Reversal of anticoagulation remains an important clinical consideration when managing patients on DOACs who experience serious bleeding events. Andexanet alfa is a recombinant, modified human factor Xa protein previously indicated for patients receiving rivaroxaban …

Beyond Behavior: Understanding Trauma As A Pathway To Transform Classroom Discipline, Jennifer J. Snead

Masters Projects

Many students entering early childhood and elementary classrooms have experienced trauma that impacts their ability to learn, regulate emotions, and fully participate in school. Research shows that adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) can affect brain development, particularly in areas related to attention, memory, and self-regulation—skills essential for success in the classroom. Even though trauma-related behaviors are becoming more common, many educators report feeling underprepared to recognize and respond to these behaviors due to limited training in trauma-informed practices. As a result, student behavior is often misunderstood as defiance, which can lead to discipline practices that do not address the root cause. …

Effects Of A 10-Day Remote Ischemic Preconditioning Protocol On Anaerobic And Aerobic Performance And Post-Exercise Cytokine Responses, Paulina Brzezińska, Jan Mieszkowski, Madalena Kochanowicz, Andżelika Borkowska, Jędrzej Antosiewicz, Andrzej Kochanowicz

Baltic Journal of Health and Physical Activity

Background: Remote ischemic preconditioning (RIPC) consists of brief cycles of limb is-chemia and reperfusion and has been proposed as an ergogenic strategy. This study examined whether a 10-day lower-limb RIPC protocol affects anaerobic and aerobic performance and post-exercise cytokine responses in physically active men. Materials and methods: Sixty healthy, physically active men were assigned to anaerobic (Wingate Anaerobic Test (WAnT), n = 29) or aerobic (Bruce treadmill test (BTT), n = 28) protocols and completed a 10-day lower-limb RIPC (220 mmHg) or SHAM (20 mmHg) intervention. Serum IL-6, IL-10, and IL-15 were measured at baseline and immediately post-exercise before and …

Designing Captcha Systems With Reinforcement Learning For Adaptive Defense, Meghana Indukuri, Eman Naseerkhan, Joshua Rose, Martin Tran, Younghee Park

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

CAPTCHA (Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart) systems remain a widely deployed defense against automated abuse, but advances in machine learning have reduced the effectiveness of traditional challenge-based designs and exposed limitations in proprietary risk-scoring systems. This paper presents an adaptive, reinforcement learning-based CAPTCHA defense framework for high-security web applications. The proposed system formulates bot detection as a partially observable Markov decision process and uses a Proximal Policy Optimization (PPO) agent with Long Short-Term Memory to analyze streamed behavioral telemetry, including mouse movements, clicks, keystrokes, and scrolling, over sequential interaction windows. During the observation phase, …

Choline Counteracts Pregnancy Undernutrition-Associated Colitis In Sheep By Restoring Microbiota Driven Bile Acid Metabolism, Weibin Wu, Peng Jiao, Yamei Gu, Huizhen Lu, Caiyun Fan, Zheng Sun, Lizhuang Hao, Shengyong Mao, Jianbo Cheng, Yanfeng Xue

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

High-fertility sheep experience undernutrition during late gestation, which induces body metabolic disruption and intestinal inflammation. Crucially, the gut microbiota-bile acid axis is a promising intestinal inflammation target, but how choline modulates this axis in livestock enteritis is unknown. This study investigated choline's protective mechanisms against undernutrition-induced intestinal inflammation in sheep, focusing on gut microbiota and bile acid regulation. Choline consistently alleviates colitis severity, restores epithelial barrier integrity, and suppresses intestinal inflammation. These protective effects are accompanied by pronounced remodeling of the colonic microbial ecosystem, characterized by the enrichment of Clostridiales bacterium to elevate bile salt hydrolase activity and regulate bile …

Ethically Grounded Charismatic Leadership, Jiaxing Wu

The Scholarship Without Borders Journal

Charisma has long been praised as one of the best features that a leader could have to not only successfully inspire their employees but also be able to transform an organization through a shared vision. Although it has been widely regarded as a favorable leadership quality, prior research has also not fully explored the ethical foundations that determine whether its influence produces beneficial or destructive outcomes. With that duality in mind, this paper aims to conduct a literature review to examine the potential ethical issues within charismatic leadership theory moderated by the effect of ethical leadership. Drawing from the existing …