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Quality Improvement Initiative For Emergency Cesarean Delivery: Implementation Of Rapid Sequence Spinal Anesthesia, Hunter L. Baselj, Joseph A. Gabster

Doctor of Nurse Anesthesia Practice (DNAP) Manuscripts

Abstract

Background: General anesthesia (GA) for emergency cesarean sections (EmCS) poses potential risks Rapid Sequence Spinal Anesthesia (RSSA) offers a promising alternative that preserves benefits of neuraxial anesthesia while accommodating the urgency of EmCS. This quality improvement (QI) project aimed to implement and evaluate the use of RSSA at a teaching hospital, utilizing a decision-tree tool to enhance clinical efficiency and assess provider perceptions regarding its impact on airway complications and post-operative pain outcomes. Methods: A RSSA decision-making chart was developed and introduced to anesthesia providers at a teaching hospital. A total of 16 providers, including CRNAs, SRNAs, and anesthesiologists, …

Utilizing Simulation Training To Understand Maternal Cardiac Arrest Precipitated By Amniotic Fluid Embolism: A Quality Improvement Project, Erica L. Wright, Megan L. Tiernan, Michael W. Neft, Paige Spagiare, Erica Coffin

Doctor of Nurse Anesthesia Practice (DNAP) Manuscripts

Background and Problem: Maternal cardiac arrest precipitated by amniotic fluid embolism is among the leading direct causes of death among laboring women (Enomoto et al., 2022). Because it presents suddenly without any immediate apparent cause and lacks specific diagnostic tests, frontline obstetric caregivers must be vigilant, competent, and prepared to handle this potentially catastrophic emergency. Coordination among multiple disciplines is paramount since two lives, not just one, are at risk. Unfortunately, the rarity of maternal cardiac arrest significantly limits opportunities for staff to learn how to identify and manage these events successfully. Method: This quality improvement project established a simulation-based …

Improved Obstetric Hemorrhage Care Through Toolkit Revision: A Quality Improvement Project, Samantha Kalkstein, Amber Woodring

Doctor of Nurse Anesthesia Practice (DNAP) Manuscripts

Obstetric hemorrhage (OBH) remains a leading cause of preventable maternal morbidity and mortality in the United States. Accurate risk identification is critical for initiating timely interventions; however, current risk assessment practices vary significantly. This quality improvement (QI) project aimed to implement the California Maternal Quality Care Collaborative (CMQCC) OBH Risk Assessment Tool on the labor and delivery (L&D) unit of a community-based hospital to standardize risk stratification and improve interdisciplinary communication. Guided by the Johns Hopkins Nursing Evidence-Based Practice model, the project involved a gap analysis, staff education, and the introduction of a paper-based CMQCC tool formatted for visibility and …

Native Spaces: The Struggle For Colleges To Incorporate Native Frameworks Into Curriculums, Eleanor A. Gelb

Honors Scholar Theses

Out of the thousands of universities in America, there are only thirty-seven Native American Serving Nontribal Institutions (NASNTIs), schools with ten percent or more of the total student population being of Native American descent. While many typical American colleges offer courses on Native American history for students with Native American studies majors and minors, the students involved in these programs are often taught through the lens of traditional schooling, which negates the full effectiveness of these classes. Native leaders across the country are pushing for Native frameworks to be adopted by universities so that past and contemporary Native histories may …

Optimizing Processes To Improve Relative Value Units For Healthcare Providers, Amalia Vaca

Master's Projects and Capstones

Problem: An outpatient epilepsy clinic receives reimbursement for services rendered based on three relative value units (RVUs). Nurse practitioners (NPs) in the clinic are not meeting their expected RVUs based on current productivity limitations.

Context: The clinic assessment revealed workflow gaps limiting NPs’ ability to increase productivity. The clinic is high-performing, and the staff worked collaboratively to improve the work RVUs. However, dissatisfaction can occur in other microsystems if collaboration breaks down.

Intervention: A microsystem assessment, NP interviews, and clinic template revisions were discussed with leadership and implemented.

Measures: Monthly productivity reports and pre- and post-intervention visit templates were collected …

Exploring Potential Impacts Of Polyethylene Mesh And Polypropylene Rope Leachate On Bay Scallop (Argopecten Irradians) Survival And Growth, Katherine R. Johnson

Graduate Masters Theses

The bay scallop (Argopecten irradians), a commercially and ecologically significant bivalve along the Eastern coast of the United States, has faced severe population declines due to various anthropogenic impacts. At the same time, the proliferation of plastics, particularly in maritime industries, has introduced new threats to marine environments through both physical pollution and chemical leaching. This study aimed to assess the acute toxicological effects of leachates from two commonly used plastic products, polyethylene Netron and polypropylene rope, on A. irradians larvae. Experiments were conducted in June–July 2023 at the Nantucket Shellfish Hatchery. Leachates were prepared by incubating 0.5, …

The Role Of Intolerance Of Uncertainty In Prenatal Anxiety: Exploring Meta-Cognitive And Psychosocial Moderators, Jenna A. Macri

Graduate Masters Theses

Prenatal anxiety is common and has been linked to myriad adverse psychological and physical health outcomes for both the pregnant individual and the child. While research on factors contributing to the etiology and maintenance of prenatal anxiety is limited, intolerance of uncertainty has been identified as a key factor related to anxiety during pregnancy. The current study aimed to substantiate the role of intolerance of uncertainty in prenatal anxiety and explore meta-cognitive and psychosocial constructs as potential moderators of the relation between intolerance of uncertainty and prenatal anxiety. Additionally, due to inconsistencies in the operationalization of prenatal anxiety in the …

The Gendered Role Of Friendships For Advanced Care Planning And Health In Later Life, Zee Kee Emily Lim

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

Friendship is becoming more pertinent to older adults because they are increasingly living with fewer family ties in later life due to changing social and demographic trends (Fiori et al., 2020; Verdery et al., 2019). However, friendships are not as extensively studied as compared to family relationships (Blieszner et al., 2019). Thus, additional research is needed to better understand the influence of friendships on health and health behaviors in later life.

This dissertation includes three studies that focus on the association between friendship and loneliness, advanced care planning, and cognitive function, examining the role of gender in these three studies, …

Multimodal Learning In Real-World Application: Enhancing Feature Representation And Training Strategies, Nana Lin

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

Multimodal learning has emerged as a critical paradigm for developing intelligent systems that can understand and reason across diverse inputs such as images, text, and audio data. Despite significant advances, effective deployment of multimodal models in practice remains a challenging task. This dissertation explores how multimodal learning can be effectively applied to high-stakes, real-world scenarios, with a focus on enhancing feature representation and training efficiency. Specifically, this research investigates multimodal learning strategies in two key domains: healthcare and surveillance.

In the healthcare domain, we explored the data fusion and alignment approaches for cognitive decline diagnoses. First, we propose the LOVEMA …

Effects Of Emotion Regulation On Reactions To Racism In Process Of Antiracism Among White Individuals, Stephanie Marando-Blanck

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

The current study used multiple mediation models to explore the pathways and relationships among white privilege awareness, white emotional empathy, white cognitive empathy, white guilt, and different types of emotion regulation as predictors of individual and institutional antiracist engagement. Gaining an understanding of how white individuals experience and regulate certain racial emotions in the process of learning about their white privilege may inform antiracist trainings, diversity, equity and inclusion workshops, multicultural courses in schools, as well as counseling trainings in cultural humility. White adults (N = 170) were recruited through an online crowdsourcing platform (Prolific) and completed a brief (~20 …

Oral Hygiene Practices, Treatment Needs And Barriers To Dental Care Among Adolescents Attending Special Education Schools In Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia, Nur Hafizah Nor Wira, Noraida Mamat, Maryani Mohamed Rohani, Aimi Kamarudin, Sofia Anis

Journal of Dentistry Indonesia

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the oral health practices, status, and treatment requirements of adolescents with special healthcare needs attending special education schools in Selangor, Malaysia. The adolescents’ parents perceived challenges to oral healthcare were also established. Methods: The current study employed a cross-sectional approach involving 131 adolescents with varying special needs. The participants were between 13 and 18 years old and fulfilled the pre-determined inclusion criteria. The participants’ parents supplied information on sociodemographic, oral health practices, and possible obstacles to dental care through an online survey form. The oral examination on decay, missing, and filled teeth (DMFT), simplified …

Effectiveness Of Resin-Infiltration In Masking White Spot Lesions And Enamel Defects, Color Stability And Inhibition Of Caries Progression: A Systematic Review, Amaradri Sravya, Chandrappa Vinay, Kadidal Uloopi, Peddi Ravigna, Penmatsa Chaitanya, Spandana Cheeli

Journal of Dentistry Indonesia

Objective: The study aims to demonstrate the efficacy of resin-infiltration in masking white spot lesions and enamel defects, color stability, and caries progression inhibition in primary and permanent teeth. Methods: PubMed, Cochrane library, Wiley Online Library, and Google Scholar databases were searched from 2018 to 2022 and only randomized controlled clinical trials (RCT’s) were included. The studies were analyzed regarding the clinical efficacy of resin-infiltration in masking white spot lesions and enamel defects, color stability, and inhibition of caries progression. Results: Of the 14 articles identified, 5 RCTs were included. The quality of the studies was assessed …

It's Deeper Than Rap. Exploring The Lived Experiences Of Black Faculty With Hip-Hop Epistemologies Through Counterstory, Austin Ashe

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation study explores the experiences of Black professors who carry Hip-Hop epistemologies and utilize Hip-Hop as a method to navigate the social and structural systems within their predominantly white institutions (PWIs). Grounded in Critical Race Theory, the study utilizes narrative inquiry and counterstorytelling. The analysis involved the development of a composite counterstory featuring the fictional protagonist, Hampton Franklin. The findings highlight common experiences among participants. Findings suggest that Black faculty are insiders whose positions grant them access and influence. Second, they are outsiders that navigate hypervisibility, invisibility, and racial battle fatigue. Third, each participant was a “pedagogue of the …

Blackloving: The Culturally Responsive Engagement Practices Of Black Middle School Principals, Deandra L. Williams

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

Black students are highly capable of learning and contributing to society when school communities are built on a foundation of love and there is meaningful school–family engagement. The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine how Black middle school principals engaged with Black families using BlackLoving culturally responsive family engagement practices as Black students transitioned from elementary to middle school in Boston Public Schools (BPS). The researcher employed Black Indigenous methodology, in the form of talking circles and memoing, to gather the stories of four former Black Boston public school principals (who were all men) and to explore their …

Institutionalized Bullying In Tertiary Institutions In Nigeria And Perceived Mental Health Impacts: A Phenomenological Qualitative Study, Chika Bosah, Casey Mace Firebaugh, Tara R. Zolnikov

The Qualitative Report

Institutionalized bullying is when bullying moves beyond individual instances of bullying and is culturally embedded in an institution, such as a school or workplace. This type of bullying has not been thoroughly examined in tertiary school settings in Nigeria. This phenomenological qualitative study examined the experiences of tertiary students (from four different institutions in Nigeria) and their experiences of institutionalized bullying to determine if and to what extent this practice is occurring. There were (n=48) tertiary students engaged in open-ended, semi-structured interviews in Nigeria in 2022. Interviews were transcribed, coded, and thematically analyzed. Overall, this study found that institutionalized bullying …

Exploring Technology-Enhanced Learning: A Comparative Study Of Online And Offline Interactive Practices In The Iranian Higher Education System, Naser Rashidi, Mohamad Reza Farangi, Ali Hosseini

The Qualitative Report

This study explored how interactive teaching and learning are enacted through technology-enhanced methods in Iran’s higher education system. Using an exploratory qualitative design, it investigated the pedagogical strategies employed by instructors and examined whether these practices align with the principles of Technology-Enhanced Learning (TEL) across online and in-person contexts. Data were collected through the analysis of 263 class reports and 37 semi-structured interviews with university instructors. Thematic analysis using MAXQDA revealed six cohesive and interpretive themes: fostering human connection, empowering student voices, learning as dialogue, adaptive teaching, multimodal engagement, and feedback as dialogue. These themes reflect a holistic view of …

Biomarkers For The Diagnosis Of Indeterminate Pulmonary Nodules: Are We There Yet?, Kevin C Mcgann, Timothy A Khalil, Michael N Kammer, Edwin J Ostrin, Harvey I Pass, Jun-Chieh James Tsay, Leopoldo N Segal, Melissa Potter, Stephen A Deppen, Fabien Maldonado, Eric L Grogan

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Indeterminate pulmonary nodules (IPNs), which are nodules that cannot be classified as definitively benign or malignant at the time of detection, are now diagnosed on the order of millions per year. Management of IPNs remains heavily debated, and routine practice ultimately involves some balance of overall clinical risk assessment and additional diagnostic tests or procedures which may generate significant risk, cost, and worry. Biomarkers are biologically based tests or indicators capable of accurately characterizing the physiologic properties of homeostasis and disease that are not otherwise easily evaluated by the clinician. Accurate biomarkers thereby serve as reliable surrogates for biological aberrancy, …

Expression Graph Network Framework For Biomarker Discovery, Yang Liu, Jason Huse, Kasthuri Kannan

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Biomarker discovery for complex diseases, such as cancer, hinges on uncovering molecular signatures that capture intricate, interconnected relationships within biological data-a challenge that traditional statistical and machine learning methods often fail to meet due to the complexity of high-dimensional gene expression profiles. To overcome this, we introduce the expression graph network framework (EGNF). This cutting-edge graph-based approach integrates graph neural networks with network-based feature engineering to enhance the predictive identification of biomarkers. EGNF constructs biologically informed networks by combining gene expression data and clinical attributes within a graph database, utilizing hierarchical clustering to generate dynamic, patient-specific representations of molecular interactions. …

Braingenebot: A Framework For Variant Prioritization And Generative Pretrained Transformer-Informed Interpretation Across Polygenic Risk Score Studies, Gang Qu, Nitesh Enduru, Xinyi Liu, Xiaoqian Jiang, Zhongming Zhao

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Polygenic risk scores (PRS) are widely used to assess genetic susceptibility in Alzheimer's disease (AD) research. However, the rapid expansion of PRS studies has led to dataset-specific biases-stemming from factors like population makeup, genotyping methods, and analysis pipelines-that result in inconsistent variant prioritization and limit generalizability and reproducibility. To address these challenges, we propose a transductive learning framework that integrates multiple PRS datasets for more robust risk variant prioritization, incorporating genome-wide association study (GWAS) priority scores as biologically informed priors. Additionally, we introduce BrainGeneBot, an AI-driven tool leveraging generative pretrained transformers with retrieval-augmented generation technology to streamline genomic analyses in …

I Do, And I Will: Effectual Religiosity May Strengthen The Triad Chord Of Commitment For Women Of Faith, Tamara M. Chamberlain, Loren Marks, David C. Dollahite, Ashley Lebaron-Black, Elizabeth Kay Madsen, Christina N. Cooper

Faculty Publications

Although religiosity is commonly linked to marital satisfaction in sociological research, few studies have examined how it strengthens marital commitment among women of faith. This study explored the perspectives of religious, heterosexual married women using interviews in the United States from 196 highly religious couples with successful marriages. Three core themes emerged: (1) personal commitment—including the decision to marry, religious beliefs and practices, and the need for effort and sacrifice; (2) moral commitment—highlighting sexual relations before marriage, promises made before God, family, and friends, and views on fidelity and divorce; and (3) structural commitment— emphasizing the role of a religious …

The Female Body In Visual Narratives, Dolly Sharma

Journal of Gender, Ethnic, and Cross-Cultural Studies

When a photographer seeks to capture the culture of a particular place inhabited by a minority group in society, a pertinent question arises as to how one might capture the female body in ways that avoid eroticisation while still conveying the photographer’s intent. The way photographers approach the Himalayan and Indian regions is particularly complex when they must decide whether to ask women to pose themselves in order to frame the multiple narratives that emerge out of a female body—such as motherhood, nurturing an infant, ornamentation and adornment, and the bodily manifestations of patriarchal and prejudicial practices. Photographer Olivier Föllmi, …

Constructing Gender Disparity Through Culture: A Socio-Pragmatic Study Of Impoliteness, Indirectness And Implicature In Igbo Female Degrading Proverbs, Uche Oboko Dr, Grace Ikechukwu

Journal of Gender, Ethnic, and Cross-Cultural Studies

Igbo proverbs are valuable expressions that unravel linguistic idiosyncrasies and project the essential principles of life. This study examines the extent to which fifty Igbo proverbs that contain implicit impoliteness imports and implicature are used indirectly to demean women and create bias against them in the Igbo socio-cultural setting. In this qualitative research, the fifty Igbo proverbs were selected based on their contents from the five Igbo-speaking states in the southeastern part of Nigeria (Abia, Anambra, Enugu, Ebonyi, and Imo). The proverbs were translated from the Igbo language to the English language, interpreted, and analyzed. The analysis was conducted using …

Josef Madlener’S “Der Berggeist”: Not The “Origin Of Gandalf”, Douglas A. Anderson

Journal of Tolkien Research

Article on why Josef Madlener’s “Der Berggeist” can not be the “Origin of Gandalf”

Abiotic Factors Influencing Anuran Occupation Of Neotropical Brazilian Caves, Vinícius F. Sperandei, Willian Vaz-Silva, Tejerina-Garro L. Francisco

International Journal of Speleology

Despite increasing research on the Neotropical underground environment, anurans remain poorly understood in this habitat. It was analyzed scientific literature records of anurans in Brazilian natural caves and performed a redundancy analysis (RDA) to identify the environmental, taxonomic, geographic, geological and land-use variables that influence their cave occupancy. It was examined a total of 247 literature records, encompassing 83 species/morphospecies, which revealed distinct cave-dwelling tendencies. Some anuran species occupy caves at altitudes between 5 to 21 meters above sea level (m asl), in areas characterized by rocky outcrops and grassland. Others are associated with caves surrounded by forest, savanna, pasture …

Prophetic Law In Indonesia And South Africa: A Comparative Constitutional Study On The Integration Of Religious Law Into Legal Systems, Kelik Wardiono, Arief Budiono, Saepul Rochman, Jan Alizea Sybelle

Padjadjaran Jurnal Ilmu Hukum (Journal of Law)

Prophetic law is an ancient legal framework rooted in divine commandments, such as God's Ten Commandments to Moses, as well as Christian and Islamic laws, nowadays commonly referred to as religious law. The meaning of prophetic law is religious law from Abrahamic religions. Particularly, Christian law has significantly influenced Western civilization, with its impact extending to regions like South Africa besides customary law. Similarly, Islamic law has also left a lasting impression on Indonesia's legal system besides customary law. This article employs a comparative law method to analyze the constitutions of Indonesia and South Africa, focusing on the legalization of …

Compliance Vs. National Interest: Why Do Trade Restrictions Fail Under The Wto?, Enni Ekakusumawati, Abdul Masba Magasing, Maskun, Winnar Sitorus, Muhammad Mutawalli Mukhlis

Padjadjaran Jurnal Ilmu Hukum (Journal of Law)

Trade restrictions are tools that countries often use to safeguard national interests, including economic stability, national security, and public welfare. However, under the World Trade Organization (WTO) framework-especially the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)-many such restrictions violate core principles such as non-discrimination (Articles I and III), the prohibition of quantitative restrictions (Article XI), and rules governing exceptions (Articles XX and XXI). This article examines why trade restrictions frequently fail in WTO dispute settlement by analyzing the substantive and procedural requirements under WTO law. Through a normative legal approach, it studies GATT provisions, WTO agreements, and case decisions-particularly the …

Students’ Perceptions Of International Faculty Members In Higher Education, Pearlean Chadha

Irish Journal of Academic Practice

This paper investigates university student perceptions of international faculty members in the context of an Irish higher education institution. Though international student numbers are rising in Ireland, classrooms continue to predominantly comprise Irish and EU students. However, the faculty has growing number of non-EU lecturers due to many economic and social factors. This study uses a quantitative survey method with a sample of business students from TU Dublin. The survey, based on the study by Yao et al. (2012), employed a 7-point Likert scale to explore student perceptions of their interactions with international faculty members in both online and offline …

Review Of Roas, David, Cronologías Alteradas: Lo Fantástico Y La Transgresión Del Tiempo [Altered Chronologies: The Fantastic And The Transgression Of Time], Dale Knickerbocker

Alambique. Revista académica de ciencia ficción y fantasía / Jornal acadêmico de ficção científica e fantasía

A review of Roas, David, Cronologías alteradas: lo fantástico y la transgresión del tiempo [Altered Chronologies: the fantastic and the transgression of time], Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, 2022. 158 pp., by Dale Knickerbocker

Bridging Innovation And Security: A Bibliometric Review Of Blockchain’S Impact On Higher Educational Institution Management, Zhi Ning Koo, Bak Aun Teoh, Phern Chern Bryan Teoh

International Journal of Management, Finance and Accounting

Blockchain technology in higher education institutions (HEIs) can revolutionize academic administration by improving data security, increasing transparency, and boosting operational efficiency. However, blockchain adoption in HEIs faces technological, organizational, and regulatory challenges. A bibliometric review procedure assessed the 246 relevant studies from Scopus peer-reviewed literature on blockchain adoption’s main themes, most prominent authors, journals, and articles. The findings highlight Blockchain’s ability to streamline credential verification, automate academic processes, and reduce administrative costs. However, key barriers such as scalability limitations, interoperability issues, financial constraints, and regulatory challenges continue to hinder widespread implementation. Besides, there is a significant gap in top management …

Internet Of Things (Iot) Adoption By Organisation: A Systematic Review, Yusliza Jamalut, Mohd Fairuz Abd Rahim, Jeen Wei Ong

International Journal of Management, Finance and Accounting

Despite the transformative potential of the Internet of Things (IoT) and Industry 4.0, adoption of IoT technologies remains slow and limited in organisations. This study addresses this challenge by conducting a systematic review to identify key factors influencing IoT adoption from the organisation level and social science perspective. Using the PRISMA protocol, a total of 16 empirical articles published between 2016 and 2024 were selected from Scopus and Web of Science databases. A deductive thematic analysis guided by the Technology-Organisation-Environment (TOE) framework revealed that relative advantage, organisational readiness, and competitive pressure were the most frequently cited determinants of adoption. Meanwhile, …