Digital Commons Network^™

Envisioning Telehealth Beyond The Pandemic: A Federally Qualified Health Center’S Inquiry Toward Sustainable Telehealth Programs, Krista Zampacorta

Capstone Projects – Politics and Government

There has been a growing interest in telehealth, as the practice has shown to alleviate barriers and improve healthcare access. Since the outbreak of COVID-19, organizations have deployed prompt integration of telehealth services to slow the spread of the virus. This spurred widespread adoption of telehealth. In addition, the pandemic evoked stable interest in telehealth among patients, healthcare professionals, and Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs). Chestnut Health Systems, an FQHC operating in the Midwest, deployed an Illinois State University Stevenson Center Fellow to investigate how the organization may deploy larger-scale efforts and contingency plans into the care of patients during …

Portraits Of Bankruptcy Filers, Pamela Foohey, Robert M. Lawless, Deborah Thorne

Articles

One in ten adult Americans has turned to the consumer bankruptcy system for help. For almost forty years, the only systematic data collection about the people who file bankruptcy has come from the Consumer Bankruptcy Project (CBP), for which we serve as co-principal investigators. In this Article, we use CBP data from 2013 to 2019 to describe who is using the bankruptcy system, providing the first comprehensive overview of bankruptcy filers in thirty years. We use principal component analysis to leverage these data to identify distinct groups of people who file bankruptcy. This technique allows us to situate the distinctions …

Elucidating The Role Of O-Glcnacylation And Gsk3b In Alzheimer's Disease, Emily Valencia

Selected Honors Theses

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is one of the most common types of neurodegenerative disease. There are currently no treatment methods for AD, but there are treatments for some of the symptoms. Aberrant levels of both O-GlcNAcylation and GSK3ß have been found in patients with AD. Studies have suggested that there is a relationship between the level of O-GlcNAcylation and the phosphorylation of GSK3ß. In order to discover new treatment methods, the phosphorylation of GSK3ß should be explored. This study uses a western blot analysis to quantify the ratio of p-GSK3ß:GSK3ß between the experimental group (higher levels of O-GlcNAcylation) and a control …

A Preliminary Investigation Of Trust-Based Relational Intervention In Reducing At-Risk Behavior For Children In Care, Kaeleigh G. Ausley

Selected Honors Theses

Children in care face a breakdown of the family unit, which often puts them at risk of becoming victims to complex developmental trauma, insecure or disorganized attachments, and even the delinquency system. There are 424,000 children in the United States foster care system that face these dangers (Children’s Rights, 2021). The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of Trust-Based Relational Intervention in reducing the risk factors of incarceration for children in care. The participants in this study were 85 caregivers (50 TBRI-users; 35 non-TBRI users) who were recruited via email from the Pearl Project to complete an …

The Effects Of Floatation-Rest On Cortisol Levels Of Patients With Glioblastoma Grade Iv: A Conceptual Framework, Hilario Gomez

Selected Honors Theses

Glioblastoma is reported to be the most aggressive and common brain tumor in adults (Davis, 2016). To help alleviate pain in patients with glioblastoma, floatation-REST (Restricted Environmental Stimulation Technique) is proposed. Such therapy has been shown to benefit chronic tension headaches, muscle tension, and other stress-related pain conditions (Feinstein, 2018). The magnesium and sulfate components of Epsom salt combined with controlled warm water allow the muscles and joints to relax. Studies show that magnesium targets the Adrenocorticotropic Hormone (ACTH) produced by the Anterior Pituitary Gland which in turn affects cortisol hormone levels to activate the body's immune defenses and eliminate …

Mental Health Of Creative Professionals In Ministry, Anna G. Fawkes

Selected Honors Theses

This study examines the perceptions of creative professionals working in ministry. A “creative” is defined as anyone whose job relies on their ability to create and innovate, and the focus of this research is on creatives that serve in church environments where their creativity and spirituality are intertwined with their work. A quantitative research approach was designed to study the creative’s perception on six key-areas of their work/life balance. The resulting survey was administered online to willing participants who identified themselves as creative professionals in ministry. The data found that found that the creative's perception of their organization as "stifling …

The Assessment Of College Female Athletes’ Perspectives On Their Coaches’ Discussion On Food Relationships And Body Positivity, Maggie E. Vernon

Selected Honors Theses

This study examined the differences in how often college female athletes’ coaches discussed food relationships and body positivity with how often the college female athletes wished their coaches discussed food relationships and body positivity. I hypothesized that the coaches’ discussions of food relationships and body positivity did not meet the expectations of the college female athletes. Twenty-six participants from Southeastern University in a population of female athletes completed an online survey that produced quantitative data to determine the discrepancy. The survey consisted of three main topics of eating habits, eating disorders, body positivity, and their relationship building with their coaches. …

Level Up: Examining The Effects Of Sexualized Video Game Characters, Sarah D. Lethbridge

Selected Honors Theses

Characters in video games, especially female characters, are often designed or depicted to be sexually attractive. These characters are sexualized by exaggerated body proportions, revealing clothing, and behavior. There are a variety of methods by which players could be impacted by these sexualized characters, including the mere exposure effect, Proteus effect, and avatar identification. The increase of video game usage and sales in recent years, specifically among the COVID-19 pandemic, brings a greater need to understand the effects of these video games. Little research currently exists on the topic, and often provides conflicting data. The current study enlisted volunteers to …

The Prevalence Of Nutritional Interventions As Treatment In The American Healthcare System: Assessing The Experiences And Perspectives Of Adult Patients, Macy R. Holmbeck

Selected Honors Theses

It is well known that good nutrition is effective in promoting optimal health and in preventing and treating disease. However, it is unclear whether this understanding is successfully being reflected in the treatment that patients are receiving from their healthcare providers in the United States. This study surveyed adult patients about their experiences in the American healthcare system regarding the treatment they’ve received from various providers, as well as their perspectives on the role of nutritional interventions in healthcare. The sample included 23 adults reporting one or more chronic illnesses and 19 adults never diagnosed with chronic illness. Medical treatment …

Emergency Airway Management In Covid-19 Patients And Risk To Healthcare Workers: A Low-Middle Income Country Data From The Intubate Covid Registry, Faisal Shamim, M Nazir, Naseem A. Sheikh, Asma Salam, Badar Afzal Khan

Department of Anaesthesia

No abstract provided.

Digital Islam And Muslim Millennials: How Social Media Influencers Reimagine Religious Authority And Islamic Practices, Bouziane Zaid, Jana Fedtke, Don Donghee Shin, Abdelmalek El Kadoussi, Mohammed Ibahrine

All Works

Digital platforms have empowered individuals and communities to re-negotiate long-established notions of religion and authority. A new generation of social media influencers has recently emerged in the Muslim world. They are western-educated, unique storytellers, and savvy in digital media production. This raises new questions on the future of Islam in the context of emerging challenges, such as the openness of technology and the often-perceived closedness of religious and cultural systems within Muslim societies. This paper uses a multiple case research design to examine the roles of social media influencers in reimagining Islam and reshaping spiritual beliefs and religious practices among …

International Financial Assistance And Inequality In Emerging Markets: Colombia, Egypt And Turkey, Sara Farag

Theses and Dissertations

This research study investigates the effects of the three main pillars of structural adjustment policies imbedded in IFI funding facilities on income inequality in three specific cases; Colombia, Egypt and Turkey to uncover if income inequality present in those emerging markets is attributed to; the policy reforms conditionality or to pre-existent country features. The three main pillars of policy conditions discussed in this thesis are 1. Government Expenditure Reforms, 2. External Sector Reforms, and 3. Financial Sector Reforms. My hypothesis is that, although pre-existent country features may have had an impact on the levels of inequality a populace faces, the …

Water Quality Adjacent To Swine Slurry Holding Ponds Associated With A Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation, Andrew Sharpley, James Burke, Kristofor Brye, Larry Berry, Phillip Hays, Mike Daniels, Karl Vandevender, Tim Glover, Brian Haggard

Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Environmental concerns exist over extended storage of liquid animal waste in outdoor holding ponds before land application, particularly in regions with underlying karst geology. To determine the effects of holding ponds on water quality, belowground interceptor trenches, groundwater (well), and a downslope ephemeral stream were monitored for water quality parameters. Nitrate-nitrogen concentrations increased (p < .0001) in well and ephemeral stream samples but decreased in trench samples (Trench 1 with a p < .0001) near the swine production facility and holding ponds over a 5-yr monitoring period (April 2014–June 2019). In contrast, chloride, which is a conservative element that can move freely through the soil without chemical, physical, or biological modification, and electrical conductivity decreased (p < .0001 to .0203) over the monitoring period in well and Trench 1 samples. Flow in the interceptor trenches was highly responsive to rainfall, suggesting the trenches were mainly capturing shallow subsurface flows initiated by rainfall. A lack of any increasing trend in chloride and electrical conductivity for ephemeral stream, well, or trench samples suggests that elevated nitrate-nitrogen concentrations in well and ephemeral stream samples may have been influenced by sources other than the liquid manure holding ponds (i.e., sources that have low chloride and electrical conductivity values). In regions with underlying karst geology, surface and subsurface water resources may require more expansive monitoring to demonstrate liquid manure holding ponds effects on nearby water quality.

Luteolin Causes 5′Cpg Demethylation Of The Promoters Of Tsgs And Modulates The Aberrant Histone Modifications, Restoring The Expression Of Tsgs In Human Cancer Cells, Sreepoorna Pramodh, Ritu Raina, Arif Hussain, Sali Abubaker Bagabir, Shafiul Haque, Syed Tasleem Raza, Mohammad Rehan Ajamal, Shalini Behl, Deepika Bhagavatula

All Works

Cancer progression is linked to abnormal epigenetic alterations such as DNA methylation and histone modifications. Since epigenetic alterations, unlike genetic changes, are heritable and reversible, they have been considered as interesting targets for cancer prevention and therapy by dietary compounds such as luteolin. In this study, epigenetic modulatory behaviour of luteolin was analysed on HeLa cells. Various assays including colony forming and migration assays, followed by biochemical assays of epigenetic enzymes including DNA methyltransferase, histone methyl transferase, histone acetyl transferase, and histone deacetylases assays were performed. Furthermore, global DNA methylation and methylation‐specific PCR for examining the methylation status of CpG …

Cytokinins: Wide-Spread Signaling Hormones From Plants To Humans With High Medical Potential, Moustafa Fathy, Sahar M. Saad Eldin, Muhammad Naseem, Thomas Dandekar, Eman M. Othman

All Works

Nature is a rich source of biologically active novel compounds. Sixty years ago, the plant hormones cytokinins were first discovered. These play a major role in cell division and cell differentiation. They affect organogenesis in plant tissue cultures and contribute to many other physiological and developmental processes in plants. Consequently, the effect of cytokinins on mammalian cells has caught the attention of researchers. Many reports on the contribution and potential of cytokinins in the therapy of different human diseases and pathophysiological conditions have been published and are reviewed here. We compare cytokinin effects and pathways in plants and mammalian systems …

Carvacrol Alleviates Hyperuricemia-Induced Oxidative Stress And Inflammation By Modulating The Nlrp3/Nf-Κb Pathwayt, Muhammad Riaz, Lina Tariq Al Kury, Noreen Atzaz, Abdullah Alattar, Reem Alshaman, Fawad Ali Shah, Shupeng Li

All Works

Purpose: Gouty arthritis is generally induced by the accumulation of monosodium urate (MSU) crystals in the joints due to elevated serum uric acid levels, potentially leading to serious pathological disorders such as nephrolithiasis, renal failure, and acute gouty arthritis. In this study, we aimed to validate the anti-gout effects of carvacrol, a phenolic monoterpene. Materials and Methods: Male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into normal saline, disease group by injecting potassium mono-oxonate (PO) at a dose of 250 mg/kg, and three treatment groups, either with carvacrol 20 mg/kg or 50 mg/kg and 10 mg/kg allopurinol. The blood and tissue samples were …

Hearing, Darius Chan, Gerome Goh

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

In certain international commercial arbitrations, for instance, in expedited proceedings under the auspices of various institutional rules, the tribunal may decide the dispute based on documentary evidence only. However, in most cases, hearings are generally conducted for the tribunal to hear examination of any factual or expert witness and/or for oral argument. It is not uncommon for there to be multiple hearings in a single arbitration, with each hearing focusing on specific procedural or substantive issues. The hearing is therefore a forum for the parties to adduce evidence and/or put forward their legal views in direct confrontation with each other. …

The Influence Of Collaboration And Culture On The Ikea Effect: Does Cocreation Alter Perceptions Of Value In British And Indian Children?, Lauren E. Marsh, Joanna Gil, Patricia Kanngiesser

School of Psychology

Creating objects can increase our evaluation of them, even when we compare them to physically identical copies (IKEA effect). Here we evaluate the influence of collaboration on the IKEA effect in two societies—the United Kingdom and India. One hundred twenty-eight 5-to-6-year-old children (48% female, 50% British middle class, 50% Indian middle class) assembled toys in pairs. Half of the children collaborated to assemble a single toy and half assembled their own toy. In both societies, children demonstrated an IKEA effect (η2p = .19), valuing their own creation over an identical copy. This was the case regardless of whether children collaborated …

A Comprehensive Review On The Risk Of Metabolic Syndrome And Cardiovascular Disease After Liver Transplantation, Kashyap Chauhan, Adnan Khan, Salil Chowdhury, Heather Ross, Natali Salinas, Dina Halegoua-De Marzio

Division of Internal Medicine Faculty Papers & Presentations

Survival rates after liver transplantation have increased dramatically over the past 20 years. Cardiovascular disease is the most common extra-hepatic cause of mortality in the long-term post liver transplant. This is intimately linked with both the higher pre-existing rates of metabolic syndrome in these patients as well as increased propensity to develop de novo metabolic syndrome post-transplant. This unfavorable metabolic profile that contributes to cardiovascular disease is multifactorial and largely preventable. This review explores metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular disease and their contributory factors post liver transplantation to highlight areas for potential intervention and thus reduce the significant morbidity and mortality …

Visual Perspective Taking Without Visual Perspective Taking, S Samuel

School of Psychology

What happens when an observer takes an agent's visual perspective of a scene? We conducted a series of experiments designed to measure what proportion of adults take a stimulus-centered rather than agent-centered approach to a visual perspective taking task. Adults were presented with images of an agent looking at a number (69). From the perspective of the viewer, the number appeared upside down. We then asked participants what number the agent saw. An agent-centered approach, that is, one that takes into account the other's visual experience, should produce the correct answer "69". Even an egocentric error (i.e., the participant's own …

Patterns Of Crystallin Gene Expression In Differentiation State Specific Regions Of The Embryonic Chicken Lens, Zhiwei Ma, Daniel Chauss, Joshua Disatham, Xiaodong Jiao, Lisa Ann Brennan, A Sue Menko, Marc Kantorow, J Fielding Hejtmancik

Department of Pathology, Anatomy, and Cell Biology Faculty Papers

Purpose: Transition from lens epithelial cells to lens fiber cell is accompanied by numerous changes in gene expression critical for lens transparency. We identify expression patterns of highly prevalent genes including ubiquitous and enzyme crystallins in the embryonic day 13 chicken lens.

Methods: Embryonic day 13 chicken lenses were dissected into central epithelial cell (EC), equatorial epithelial cell (EQ), cortical fiber cell (FP), and nuclear fiber cell (FC) compartments. Total RNA was prepared, subjected to high-throughput unidirectional mRNA sequencing, analyzed, mapped to the chicken genome, and functionally grouped.

Results: A total of 77,097 gene-specific transcripts covering 17,450 genes were expressed, …

Cover Crops May Exacerbate Moisture Limitations On South Texas Dryland Farms, Stephanie Kasper, Faeqa Mohsin, Lindsey Richards, Alexis Racelis

School of Integrative Biological & Chemical Sciences (Formerly Dept. of Biology)

Cover crops are a sustainable management tool for mediating weed pressure, reducing soil erosion, and enhancing soil organic carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) levels. Yet, adoption rates across water-limited farms in Texas remain low, especially among producers without irrigation access, due to concerns that cover crop use of soil moisture will negatively impact subsequent cash crop yields. This three-year cover crop trial in a rain-fed sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L.) farm in Lyford, Texas, trialed different cover crop mixes and seeding rates and confirmed that cover cropping leads to significant soil moisture deficits and cash crop failure when rainfall is low …

Providing Information Resources To Remote Clients During The Covid-19 Pandemic: The Perspective Of The Distance Education Academic Libraries, Tinyiko Vivian Dube

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

The study aimed to determine the information resources provided to remote clients by the distance education academic libraries in Gauteng Province of South Africa during the COVID-19 pandemic. The positivism research paradigm anchored this paper and used the quantitative research approach. Microsoft Form was used to design the questionnaire to collect data from the academic library staff. Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) was used for data analysis. Cluster sampling was adopted as the actual number of the target population was not known. The findings revealed that the COVID-19 pandemic brought changes in the provision of information resources to …

Discussion Of Four Orchesetral Works By Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Pyotr Tchaikovsky, Richard Strauss, And Igor Stravinsky, Ji Yeon Kim

Research Papers

No abstract provided.

Gamification Via App-Based Rewards Systems: Behavioral Changes And Effects On User Interactions, Eric Michael Halfacre

Research Papers

User retention and consistent engagement can be difficult with many applications vying for our limited time and attention. Finding innovative ways to draw in new users while appealing to current users also causes many developmental and marketing hurdles. Incorporating games, especially for those who have grown up with a controller in their hands, can be an incentive to gamify activities that award users just for participating. These processes can incentivize and reinforce participatory habits to better the users' lives or can also be a detriment with unforeseen effects.

This research aims to analyze and assess game-based systems used to change …

Almost Like Being There: Embodiment, Social Presence, And Engagement Using Telepresence Robots In Blended Courses, Karen G. Hickenbottom

Education Dissertations

As students’ online learning opportunities continue to increase in higher education, students are choosing not to come back to campus in-person for a variety of personal, health, safety, and financial reasons. The growing use of video conferencing technology during the COVID-19 pandemic allowed classes to continue, but students reported a sense of disconnectedness and lack of engagement with their classes. Telepresence robots may be an alternative to video conferencing that can provide learning experiences closer to the in-person experience, which also provides a stronger sense of embodiment, social presence, and engagement in the classroom. This study explored the use of …

Generation Status, Ethnic Identity, Colonial Mentality, And Enculturation In Filipino Americans, Kamille Patricia Urmaza La Rosa

Dissertations

Filipino Americans’ psychological experiences pertaining to their generation status, ethnic identity, enculturation, and colonial mentality are rarely studied in counseling psychology due to inconsistent disaggregation of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AA&PI) data (Agbayani-Siewert, 2004; Espiritu, 2003; Nadal et al., 2010; Okamura, 2013). Literature suggests that the study of these constructs related to their mental health can guide more culturally informed care for this historically excluded population (David & Nadal, 2013; Nadal, 2020). The current study used an exploratory design to test six research hypotheses and accomplish the following: examine relationships between the constructs, investigate intergenerational differences, validate a measure …

Recruiting Vulnerable Populations Using Social Media: Implications For Nursing Research, Abbey Jo Klein, Alyson Hanish

Posters and Presentations: College of Nursing

No abstract provided.

Impact Of The Covid-19 Pandemic On The Malaria Control Program At The Epidemic Treatment Center Of Regional Hospital Of Kindia, Guinea, Mohamed Keita

Capstone Experience: Master of Public Health

The impact of infectious disease outbreaks and pandemics on the health systems could be alarming especially when there is an overlap in clinical manifestations of two infectious conditions. Despite the remarkable progress in reducing the burden of malaria in Africa since 2000, the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the malaria control program. This paper describes the impact of the COVID- 19 pandemic on the health service delivery in Guinea and its consequences on malaria control programs before and during the COVID 19 pandemic. This paper aims to assess the impact of the COVID 19 pandemic on the malaria control program between …

Interrogating Race And Place-Based Inequities In Hiv And Covid-19, Rohan Khazanchi

EMET Projects

Over the last four years, I have developed a research focus examining the intersections of race, place, and health. My M.D. Honors Thesis reflects a snapshot of these efforts. In this collection of brief research reports, I leverage area-based measures to investigate structural inequities in three contexts: the HIV epidemic in our hyperlocal community, the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, and clinical trials for novel COVID-19 therapeutics. I apply novel social epidemiologic tools to measure and explore disparate outcomes. And, in reflecting upon my findings, I discuss concrete implications for clinicians, researchers, and policymakers alike.

Chapter 1: Neighborhood-Level Deprivation …