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Medical School Watercooler Newsletter - July 18, 2024, Lindsay Hughes

Watercooler Newsletter

This is the July 18, 2024 edition of the Frederick P. Whiddon College of Medicine’s newsletter - Watercooler.

Contents Include

• Medical student presents diagnostic radiology research at conference in Singapore
• Summer Research Day set for July 26
• USA welcomes new anatomic and clinical pathologist

Disasters And Disorganization: The Flood Of 2022 In Eastern Kentucky And The Struggles That Linger, Justin Hutchens

Online Theses and Dissertations

In July of 2022, a generational flood washed out many small communities across 13 Kentucky counties in Central Appalachia. This disaster, like previous disasters, uncovered structural and socioeconomic issues perpetuated by those in power that were hidden from the outside world. Minimal news coverage of the flood damage created the impression that aid has been substantial, and towns have been rebuilt. This ethnographic research, carried out in 2023 in Letcher County, reveals extensive damage and long-term consequences for the region. Through a series of interviews with residents of the county, this paper examines the disaster, the structural context in which …

A Systematic Review Of Trauma-Informed Care In Applied Behavior Analysis, Staci Archibald

Theses

Although the use of trauma-informed care (TIC) has been featured in the delivery of different human services fields, its integration in applied behavior analysis (ABA) is scarce. The purpose of this research was to determine how many empirical studies include both principles of behavior analysis as well as TIC. The findings imply that, while research in this area is very limited, including TIC in ABA may improve treatment outcomes, particularly for people with complicated trauma histories and many restrictive measures. This review revealed a significant literature gap regarding specific frameworks and guidelines for effectively integrating TIC into ABA practices. Addressing …

Implementing Interdisciplinary Sustainability Education With The Food-Energy-Water (Few) Nexus, Chelsie Romulo, Bhawani Venkataraman, Susan Caplow, Shamili Ajgaonkar, Craig R. Allen, Aavudai Anandhi, Steven W. Anderson, Caterina Belle Azzarello, Katja Brundiers, Eunice Blavascunas, Jenny M. Dauer, Daniel L. Druckenbrod, Ennea Fairchild, Lydia R. Horne, Kyungsun Lee, Marizvkuru Mwale, John Mischler, Emily Pappo, Nirav S. Patel, Nicole D. Sintov, Carla S. Ramsdell, Shirley G. Vincent

GGS Faculty Publications

Growth in the green jobs sector has increased demand for college graduates who are prepared to enter the workforce with interdisciplinary sustainability skills. Simultaneously, scholarly calls for interdisciplinary collaboration in the service of addressing the societal challenges of enhancing resilience and sustainability have also increased in recent years. However, developing, executing, and assessing interdisciplinary content and skills at the post-secondary level has been challenging. The objective of this paper is to offer the Food-Energy-Water (FEW) Nexus as a powerful way to achieve sustainability competencies and matriculate graduates who will be equipped to facilitate the transformation of the global society by …

Occupational Therapy's Role In Maternal, Infant, And Family Wellness: Policy, Procedure, And Program Development, Emilee Armstrong

Department of Occupational Therapy Entry-Level Capstone Projects

This capstone project aimed to advocate for maternal, infant, and family wellness through occupational therapy services. The focus areas of my capstone project included administration, advocacy, policy and program development. I developed two post-cesarean delivery policies for maternal rehabilitation and father-infant bonding, a Kangaroo Father Care program, and an occupational therapy position proposal. The Kangaroo Father Care program included healthcare professional educational modules, an administration checklist, and facility and patient flyers. My project aimed to develop the foundation for implementing acute maternal rehabilitative services for a regional hospital in Northeast Indiana. The knowledge and skills I gained throughout my capstone …

Unh Researcher Develops Model For More Equitable Welfare Fund Distribution, Robbin Ray

Media Relations

No abstract provided.

Teaching Humanizing Language In Legal Writing Classrooms: Fostering Empathy And Inclusion, Amanda K. Stephen

Presentations

No abstract provided.

The Minutes Of The Marshall University Staff Council Meeting, July 2024, Marshall University Staff Council

Staff Council Minutes

No abstract provided.

Variables That Support Trauma-Informed Care Implementation By Registered Play Therapists™, Christopher Todd Correa

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Federal agencies, researchers, and professional associations have addressed concerns regarding the growing number of children who are exposed to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and trauma. In response, they have recommended adoption of trauma-informed care (TIC) that provides care to children. However, there were mixed results in terms of successfully implementing TIC at places of employment. The purpose of this quantitative survey study was to investigate whether Registered Play Therapist™ (RPTs™) experiences, perceptions, and knowledge predicted their attitudes regarding TIC. This study involved exploring perceptions of RPTs™ regarding effectiveness of implementing TIC. The trauma-informed systems model guided this study. Research questions …

Relationship Between Sports Participation, Weight Intentions, And Insufficient Sleep On E-Cigarette Use Among U.S. High School Students, Stephanie Deivert

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Despite public health efforts, e-cigarette use among youths persists, posing risks due to high nicotine content and the potential for transitioning to traditional cigarette smoking. Although sports participation has shielded individuals from traditional cigarette use, recent studies revealed a higher susceptibility to e-cigarette use among young athletes, though influencing factors were unexplored. Using the socioecological model, this retrospective cross-sectional study examined the relationship between sports participation, weight intentions, insufficient sleep, and e-cigarette use among U.S. high school students by analyzing 2021 National Youth Risk Behavior Survey data. Binary logistic regression assessed associations between variables. An interaction term examined the moderating …

Exploring Strategies Leaders Use For Enforcing Cybersecurity Policies To Protect Information Systems And Data, Ma'risa Lashawn Young

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Cybersecurity policies are critical for organizations to protect their digital assets and sensitive information. Leaders must explore and implement effective cybersecurity policies because the lack of effective strategies will lead to increased security risks. Grounded in the social cognitive theory, the purpose of this qualitative, pragmatic inquiry was to explore strategies cybersecurity leaders use to enforce cybersecurity policies in organizations to protect organizational information systems and data. The participants were cybersecurity leaders associated with cybersecurity policies and their implementation and enforcement in different organizations located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Data collection included semistructured interviews of five …

American And German Environmental Policy: Differences In Institution Building Between The Great Lakes And Lake Constance, Thomas Johnson

Honors Theses

When it comes to the protection of water sources, the relationships between stakeholders around the Great Lakes region and the Lake Constance region differ remarkably. This is due to a variety of different reasons, the biggest reason being the major differences between the political norms of these two areas. During the 1960’s and 1970’s the relations between America and Canada and their respective ecological coalition groups were very different from those between Germany, Switzerland, Austria and their coalition groups. These differences resulted in a distinct evolution in the formation and handling of Transnational Advocacy Coalitions, or parapublic institutions, in the …

Optimization Of A Sers-Based Vertical Flow Immunoassay Utilizing A Plasmonic Syringe Filter For Rapid Biomarker Detection And Quantification, Anthony Abeiku Amissah

Theses and Dissertations

Many current diagnostic tools for accurate disease detection and quantification are often tedious and involve multiple complex steps. Consequently, there is a critical need for alternative point-of-care devices that are affordable and deliver rapid and reliable results. Recently, surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) has emerged as a highly effective analytical method, enhancing Raman scattering of molecules adsorbed onto nanoparticles and allowing for low-level detection and quantitative chemical analysis. In this study, we employ SERS to develop a rapid diagnostic test using human immunoglobulin G (hIgG) as a model biomarker because it is abundant in human serum, cheap, readily available, and well-understood. …

Transformative Learning: Changing Nurses’ Perceptions About People In Poverty, Jacqueline Debrew

Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences

Background: Meaningful learning experiences with clients in poverty may help nursing students change their perceptions towards those experiencing poverty and, thus, provide unbiased, nonjudgmental care when they become nurses.

Purpose: The purpose of this research was to understand what learning activities and experiences nursing students found meaningful and led to a change in prior perceptions of people in poverty.

Methods: Guided by Mezirow’s Theory of Transformative Learning, accelerated BSN students enrolled in a mental health nursing course (n = 14) were assigned reflective journals throughout the semester on their assigned clinical experiences, which were analyzed for emergent themes.

Results: …

Comparison Of Kindergarten Readiness Outcomes For Two Preschool Accreditation Systems, Amanda Krause Discala

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

There is little evidence about whether enrollment in one of the two most used quality rating systems for preschool programs in New Jersey leads to a significant difference in student outcomes. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine whether meaningful differences exist in the kindergarten readiness scores of preschool children at centers using different quality improvement systems. The theoretical framework, Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems model, posits that human development is influenced by many varying social systems working together. The research question examined if there were significant differences in scores from the beginning to the end of the year on …

Man Up: Masculinity And Emotional Abuse Victimization, Kola Brown

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) is often only thought of in the context of physical violence towards women perpetrated by men. Historically, this form of violence garnered much attention due to its objective and visible nature. Unfortunately, other forms of abuse and male victims are often not recognized and result in victim blaming. One such form of abuse is psychological aggression. Studies show that men experience IPV at nearly equal rates as women, but that men experience psychological aggression, also referred to as emotional abuse, at higher rates. Additionally, Black families have the highest rates of abuse. However, due to abuse …

Vitamin D Deficiency, Hypertension, And Cardiovascular Diseases In Post-Menopausal African American Women: The Jackson Heart Study, Michelle Alexander

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

Cardiovascular disease is a primary health burden in the population that affects all ethnic groups. Hypertension is also a condition that is very prevalent in the population and is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease is hypertension. African Americans have the highest prevalence of hypertension and cardiovascular disease as well as higher mortality rates compared to other ethnicities. Vitamin D deficiency affects all populations and research has shown it to be a risk factor for both hypertension and cardiovascular diseases. In this study we examined the association between vitamin D deficiency and cardiovascular diseases, and the association vitamin D …

Rural African American Students' Narratives Of Mathematics Experiences And Identity, Austin Shamar Ferrell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

The purpose of this study was to explore the personal narratives of five recent African American high school graduates, from several rural educational backgrounds, to understand the impact of ruralness on the construction of their mathematics learning process and mathematics identity. Narrative interviewing was used to gain valuable data which was analyzed through a qualitative thematic analytical approach and linear reconstructed narratives. General analysis of the data revealed that African American college students, from a particular university in the Southern part of the United States, who have a rural K-12 mathematics educational experience have distinctive experiences while learning mathematics. Three …

Using Sistacircle Methodology To Understand The Decision-Making Process Of African American Mothers Of Gifted Children Concerning Where To Enroll Their Children In School, Keishana L. Barnes

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

Deciding where to enroll their children in educational settings presents African American mothers of gifted children with on-going and multifaceted decisions to navigate. This qualitative study explored the narratives and experiences of African American mothers navigating the educational journeys of their intellectually gifted children. Drawing from personal reflections and existing literature, the research situates itself within the historical context of gifted education in American schools and the disproportionate impact on the African American community. Despite extensive research on disproportionality in gifted education, there remains a gap in the literature focusing on the lived experiences of African American individuals, particularly mothers, …

Fortifying Federated Learning: A Comprehensive Analysis And Novel Solutions For Privacy And Security Issues In Federated Learning, Sagar Pathak

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

Data exhibits a natural distribution, and effective machine learning models rely on substantial datasets. However, much data remains inaccessible due to privacy and security risks in traditional centralized settings, which require data collection on a central server. Federated Learning (FL) addresses this by moving computation to the data source instead of the server. Despite this, FL faces challenges from data and model poisoning attacks due to its distributed nature. Verifying the authenticity of clients in FL is difficult. Proposed solutions include statistical analysis of client updates, hardware-based isolation, Differential Privacy (DP), and Homomorphic Encryption (HE). However, these solutions have limitations …

Biostatistical Methods In High-Dimensional Estimation And Prediction Problems, Chengzhou Wu

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

High-dimensional data, such as DNA methylation data, refers to datasets where the number of variables (features) exceeds the number of samples by a significant margin. In our research, our objective is to utilize advanced biostatistical methods to accurately estimate and predict outcomes from these complex datasets. In the first project, we aim to identify Differentially Methylated Regions (DMRs) within the human genome using a novel biostatistical method. These genomic regions or specific positions exhibit distinct methylation patterns across various phenotypes. Despite existing methodologies like EWAS and dmrff, challenges such as low statistical power, high false positive rates, and complexities in …

Neuropsychological Evaluation Of Retired Nfl Athletes With History Of Multiple Concussions: Examining Race-Norming Practices And Associations With Cognitive Functioning, Lauren Ashley-Marie Schenck

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

This dissertation investigates the neuropsychological outcomes of retired NFL athletes with a history of multiple concussions, focusing on race-norming practices and their associations with cognitive outcomes. The primary objective was to investigate whether race-norming in neuropsychological assessment impacts ratings of cognitive impairment in this population. A secondary goal was to determine if concussion history and other health-related conditions could predict cognitive impairment status. To explore these aims, a comprehensive approach was adopted, involving a detailed review of existing literature, data collection from retired NFL players with a history of multiple concussions (including comprehensive neuropsychological examination), and rigorous statistical analysis. Participants’ …

Risk Of Invasive Waterfowl Interaction With Poultry Production: Understanding Potential For Avian Pathogen Transmission Via Species Distribution Models, Reilly T. Jackson, Percival Matzinger Marshall, Chris R. Burkhart, Julia Schneck, Grant Kelly, Caleb P. Roberts

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Recent outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza have devastated poultry production across the United States, with more than 77 million birds culled in 2022–2024 alone. Wild waterfowl, including various invasive species, host numerous pathogens, including highly pathogenic avian influenza virus (HPAIV), and have been implicated as catalysts of disease outbreaks among native fauna and domestic birds. In major poultry-producing states like Arkansas, USA, where the poultry sector is responsible for significant economic activity (>$4 billion USD in 2022), understanding the risk of invasive waterfowl interactions with domestic poultry is critical. Here, we assessed the risk of invasive waterfowl-poultry interaction …

Optimizing Adherence To Antiretroviral Therapy Among Adolescents Living With Hiv In Low And Middle-Income Settings, Samuel Kizito

Brown School Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

Globally, 1.8 million adolescents are living with HIV (ALHIV), of whom 89% (1.5 million) are in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) (UNAIDS, 2021b). Unfortunately, despite advances in prevention—such as the prevention of mother to child transmission (PMTCT) and pre-exposure prophylaxis—new infections continue to occur. For example, in 2021 alone, the number of new HIV infections among adolescents aged 10 to 19 was 160,000 cases. Moreover, the rate of HIV-related deaths among adolescents has only declined by 10% in the last decade, which is not fast enough to meet the 2030 global targets. Despite antiretroviral therapy (ART) playing a crucial role in controlling …

The Role Of Value Stream In Measuring Environmental Costs And Reducing Costs, Saba Shaker Dhari, Muqdad Ahmed Nouri

Journal of Economics and Administrative Sciences

Most economic units suffer from high rates of environmental pollution and a shortage of available resources and energy. This iead to a significant increase in production costs. In addition the economic units lack of using modern cost methods through which environmental costs and production costs are identified, allocated and measured. One of these methods is the value flow method . which works to track production processes, analyze inputs and outputs, and classify them into sound products and unhealthy products (waste).This in turn enables management to identify value-added activities and non-value-added activities, and works to reduce environmental impacts, the amount of …

Seguir Adelante: A Qualitative Exploration Of Latino Farmworkers' Work And Non-Work Resources, Faviola Robles Saenz

Dissertations and Theses

Precarious work sectors within the United States have relied on Black and Brown labor for many decades. More specifically, Latino immigrant workers have been an exploited community within many dangerous workforces but especially within the agricultural industry. They are a crucial population for the labor and economy of the U.S., yet Latino farmworkers report feeling expendable, being discriminated against, and being exposed to hazardous working conditions. Due to these experiences, scholars have explored the role non-work resources have in providing support for this community, their social networks being especially beneficial for them. However, research on the links between their work …

24 Conference Program - Nanotechnology Convergence For Sustainable Energy, Environment, Climate Change And Health: A Us-Africa Conference, Isabel Escobar, Ahmed El-Gendy

Nanotechnology Convergence for Sustainable Energy, Environment, Climate Change and Health: a US-Africa Conference

No abstract provided.

Clemson University Board Of Trustees, Compensation Committee, 2024 July 18, Clemson University Board Of Trustees

Minutes

No abstract provided.

Algorithmic Methods For Metagenomic Data Analysis, Diem Trang Pham

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

DNA sequencing technologies have transformed genomics, allowing for the decoding of genetic information stored within an organism's DNA. Recent advances in Next-Generation Sequencing technologies (NGS) provide great opportunities to obtain, analyze, and understand genetic information of many species. Using NGS, researchers can obtain millions fragments of DNA, known as \textit{reads}, from different environments. Metagenomics, a study of DNA from environmental samples, explores microbial taxonomy and function. Analyzing metagenomic data is an important problem as recent studies shows the relation of microbial composition to certain diseases or disorders of human health. This task can be computationally expensive since microbial communities usually …

Health Disparities In Cervical Cancer: Estimating Geographic Variations Of Disease Burden And Association With Key Socioeconomic And Demographic Factors In The Us, Tara Castellano, Andrew K. Elhabr, Christina Washington, Jie Ting, Yitong J. Zhang, Fernanda Musa, Ezgi Berksoy, Kathleen Moore, Leslie Randall, Jagpreet Chhatwal, Turgay Ayer, Charles A. Leath

School of Medicine Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Despite advances in cervical cancer (CC) prevention, detection, and treatment in the US, health disparities persist, disproportionately affecting underserved populations or regions. This study analyzes the geographical distribution of both CC and recurrent/metastatic CC (r/mCC) in the US and explores potential risk factors of higher disease burden to inform potential strategies to address disparities in CC and r/mCC. METHODS: We estimated CC screening rates, as well as CC burden (number of patients with CC diagnosis per 100,000 eligible enrollees) and r/mCC burden (proportion of CC patients receiving systemic therapy not in conjunction with surgery or radiation), at the geographic …